New York Rangers: Do you need elite goaltending to win?

Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers have officially lost yet another season to the rebuild and the question looms, what is next for the crease?

For the first time in his 14 year career with the New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist’s numbers were not those of an elite NHL goaltender.  He missed out on a 20-win season for the first time and he posted career lows in in save percentage (.908%), goals against average(3.05), and he didn’t have a shutout.

The frustration shows.  “It’s just disappointing. Because it comes down to a couple plays where, if our effort is a little higher, I think there’s no goals (allowed).” Lundqvist was quoted in a Newsday report after a Rangers loss against Ottawa on April 3. You can certainly place some of the blame on the Ranger defense. In 12 games this season, Lundqvist had faced more than 35 shots, winning only five of those matchups.

Although his numbers are not elite, Lundqvist is still a good goalie and better than many others in the league. In a league which is only a few years removed from the dominant trio of Jonathan Quick, Carey Price, and Henrik Lundqvist, the NHL seems to be in a goaltending rut.  There has been a general decline in goalie statistics that mirrors the increase in overall offense. Nine teams had a .900 or worse save percentage in the regular season.

Examples

The San Jose Sharks finished the season with the worst save percentage in the NHL at .889 yet they had won two rounds of playoff hockey.  Some say that the Sharks are in a weak division, but with 101 points, they would have finished third in the Atlantic or Metropolitan Division and they would have won the Central Division.

The Calgary Flames won the Pacific Division with 107 points, yet they finished 21st overall in save percentage at .903.   That was worse than the Rangers. Calgary took a beating in the first round against an offensively talented Colorado Avalanche team. Losing the series in five games, Calgary lost by four goals in games three and five.

The  Flames ran a tandem of Dave Rittich and the somewhat questionable Mike Smith. Smith over the course of the 2018-19 season, Smith, had a .898 save percentage on the season and won 23 contests.    There were 42 goalies with a minimum of 30 games played who had a better save percentage than Smith.  With that record (worse than Rittich), Smith had been the playoff starter for the Flames.

One thing the Sharks and Flames goaltenders have in common is that both Martin Jones and Smith have been elite players in the past.  Jones played to a career high .918 in 2015-16 and Mike Smith had a season that landed him 4th in the Vezina voting in 2011-12, with a .930 save percentage on a miraculous Phoenix Coyotes team.

What separates Jones and Smith from Lundqvist is the five skaters on the ice in front of them. Jones has played his whole career with players such as Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier all of whom have 60+ points this season.   Smith can rely on the offense of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Elias LIndholm, and Mark Giordano, all with over 70 points. The New York Rangers have had four players with 60 points or more since 2013-14 and Mika Zibanejad was the first Ranger with over 70 points since Marian Gaborik in 2012.

Understanding Lundqvist

The Rangers have never had an issue with goaltending while Lundqvist has been on the team, and they will not have issues while he remains on the team, particularly now that he has a goaltending partner in Alexandar Georgiev who can take over some of the workload. The Rangers have made major additions to their defense, including Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba.

What the New York Rangers need to do is put a team on the ice that can do more than allow shots. If the San Jose Sharks can be a dominant 101 point team with a .888 team save percentage, so can the New York Rangers in 2019-20. With the additions of new offensive tools such as Kaapo Kakko and blueliners like Fox and Trouba, the Rangers and Lundqvist could see a resurgence in goaltending dominance.

When the St. Louis Blues and rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington defeated the Boston Bruins and league veteran Tuukka Rask, it certainly reinforced the argument that you don’t need elite goaltending to win the Stanley Cup.