New York Rangers: 5 reasons why Henrik Lundqvist will bounce back
Henrik Lundqvist was not his normal dominant self last year. However, the King could be poised for a bounce back season with the New York Rangers in 2017-2018.
Last season, Henrik Lundqvist had the worst statistical season of his career. His goals against average of 2.74 and save percentage of .910 were well below average for the Rangers net minder. Much was made of Lundqvist’s struggles and analysts and fans alike were left to question whether last season was the beginning of his decline.
At age 35, the Swedish net minder is entering the later stages of his career. Earlier this year I examined if other all-time goalies experienced a significant decline after the age of 35. While there were certain seasons that stood out as poor, for the most part, the best of all time were just that until they turned 40.
Lundqvist’s last season will make fans wary of what is to come this season. However, they shouldn’t worry too much, the King is poised to bounce back. Here are five reasons why that will happen in 2017-2018.
2017 World Championships
Of all the reasons to why Lundqvist will bounce back, this might seem like the most inconsequential. However, his performance in the 2017 IIHF World Championships should leave a much better taste in his mouth than ending the season with a loss to the Senators.
Lundqvist started five games for the Swedish team and was a key part of their eventual gold medal. In those five games, Lundqvist posted a .946 save percentage and a 1.31 goals against average. It’s a small sample size, but it proves that he is still more than capable of shutting down the best in the world.
The World Championships should propel Lundqvist into this season with a renewed confidence. At the very least he will be able to look back at those games and use them as early season motivation to get off to a quick start.
Bolstered blue line
The main knock on the Rangers last season was their inconsistency on defense. The blue shirts were just above league average in most standard defensive categories. Their penalty kill operated at just over 80% and the defense relinquished 2.66 goals per game.
While those numbers didn’t put the Rangers towards the bottom of the league, among teams who made the playoffs, there were just three with a worse goals allowed per game average than the Rangers. All those numbers should be better this year and because of that Lundqvist should have a better season as well.
The poor defense left Lundqvist out to dry on multiple occasions and as a result, his numbers suffered. With Kevin Shattenkirk signed and Brendan Smith re-signed, the Rangers top four is arguably the best in the league on paper. That should certainly equate to a better outcome between the pipes for Lundqvist.
Take an L, bounce back
In the last three season, Lundqvist has only followed a loss with another loss 15 times. The King is one of the best in the game at rebounding after a poor performance. Even last season, which many consider to be the worst of Lundqvist’s career, he rarely followed a loss with another.
If the entirety of last season is looked at as a failure of Lundqvist, then based on the way he has performed in his career, 2017-18 is set to be another stellar season. The pressure is on Lundqvist to prove to everyone that last season was a fluke.
Lundqvist has proven that he can rebound better than just about any goaltender in the league. It is one of the reasons that he is already considered an all time great. The stats back it up, Lundqvist rarely will let failure compound.
Goalie whisperer
Lundqvist is one of the all time greats. However, a main reason for the success he has had is the Rangers goaltender coach, Benoit Allaire. Allaire started with the Rangers in 2004 and he has been the mastermind behind the scenes of not just the Lundqvist’s success, but also the Rangers success with goaltenders in general.
Lundqvist hasn’t been without slumps in his career, but he has always turned it around. He has credited Allaire for helping him make the necessary adjustments at the right times. With the luxury of having such a talented goaltending coach in Allaire, the Rangers can rest easy knowing he will be hard at work doing whatever he can to help Lundqvist regain his level of dominance.
Allaire has been instrumental in building the Rangers success from the net out. With his help throughout the offseason, Lundqvist should be revamped and ready to go in 2017-2018.
Henrik being Henrik
At the end of the day, Lundqvist is still one of the games best goaltenders. Over 12 seasons he has compiled 405 wins, a 2.32 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Lundqvist is the only net minder in NHL history to total at least 20 wins in his first 12 seasons.
He remains one of the most competitive players in all of the NHL and physically he doesn’t seem to have lost a step. All that equates to Lundqvist being able to return to form this upcoming season. Lundqvist, more so than anyone else realizes the Ranger’s window is closing. With his competitive drive, he also wants the Cup more than anyone else on the roster.
Next: Ranking the last five offseasons
2016-2017 was a bad season for Lundqvist only compared to his previous statistics. Look for him to be able to bounce back in a big way this season. With a renewed confidence and a better defense in front of him, Lundqvist should be back to his old ways in 2017-2018.