Memories of the King

Tonight is Henrik Lundqvist’s night.  The New York Rangers will honor one of the greatest players to wear the uniform by retiring his #30 to hang in the rafters next to fellow goalies Eddie Giacomin’s #1 and Mike Richter’s number #35.  It’s a fitting honor for a sure Hall of Famer.

Ranger fans have been incredibly lucky when it comes to goaltending.  It has always be

en the strength of the team going back to the days of John Ross Roach, Lorne Chabot and Dave Kerr.   Even in the dark days of the fifties through the mid-sixties when the Blueshirts didn’t win a playoff series in 17 years, they had Gump Worsley as their backstop. Then came Giacomin, Richter and Lundqvist.

In an unscientific poll, we asked Ranger fans to vote for their choice for greatest Ranger goalie. Guess who won.

It’s no mystery that the end of the long seven year playoff drought coincided with Lundqvist’s debut in the NHL.  It’s no mystery that it was with Lundqvist in net that the Rangers made the playoffs in 12 of 13 seasons.   There was never any doubt that Lundqvist would lead the Rangers into the postseason even if it took sheer will.

Much has been written about Lundqvist’s career in the days leading up to this night.  There’s not much more to add  so perhaps it’s best to turn to personal memories.

The first year

In over 50 years of watching Rangers hockey, I can truly say that the 2005-06 season was one of the most enjoyable.  Coming out of the lockout, that Rangers team under Tom Renney ended that seven year playoff drought with a team that was incredibly fun to watch. With Jaromir Jagr and the “Czechmates” the team finished with 100 points for only the third time in franchise history.

What made it so unexpected was the arrival of a young Swedish goalie who surprised everyone by stealing the starting job from veteran Kevin Weekes.  What is easy to forget is that no one, really no one, expected that team to play that well and that rookie goalie to be so good.

Sure, they lost in the first round of the playoffs, swept by the New Jersey Devils, but it was a giddy year to be a Ranger fan.

The playoffs

In Lundqvist’s 12 trips to the playoffs there are too many memories.  Tops on the list are the  comebacks from 3-1 deficits against Pittsburgh and Washington.  There’s the record in elimination games.   His shutout in Game Six of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals one game after giving up four goals and getting pulled in Game Five.

I remember when Alex Ovechkin mocked Lundqvist after scoring in Game One of the 2015 Eastern Conference Second Round.  Ovechkin skated by Lundqvist and said “All series, baby, All series. All series,” the taunt captured on camera.   All Lundqvist did was hold the Capitals to 10 goals in the next six games with the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history held to only two goals the rest of the series.

The 2014 Final

I know that there are Ranger fans who blame Lundqvist for the loss in the 2014 Final, saying that he was outplayed by Jonathan Quick.  But the sight of him, prone on the ice after Alec Martinez scored is an image burned in the mind of every Ranger fan.  People forget that he faced over 40 shots in three of those games and 51 shots in that final game.

We also will never forgive the referees for not disallowing that Dwight King goal in Game Two for goalie interference when they had already penalized the Rangers’ Benoit Pouliot in the same game for the same thing.  Without that goal, Los Angeles doesn’t get the momentum that led to a comeback from a two-goal deficit and a win in overtime.

Despite it being a five game series, with one game going to overtime and two to double overtime, it was a blowout and Lundqvist had a lot to do with that.

Star of the game

One great memory is that whenever Lundqvist was named the first star of the game he would launch his goalie stick into the crowd, usually across the ice from the locker room entrance.  I actually got one hand on his stick after one such game, but couldn’t hold on to it.  He eventually had to stop doing it because it led to a brawl in the stands.

The Winter Classic penalty shot

That save on the penalty shot by Daniel Briere was fabulous and a fitting way to end one of the most memorable games in Blueshirts’ history.   Of course, the bigger memory is John Tortorella calling out the league and the referees for even calling the penalty, but it was another example of Hank stepping up on the biggest stage for the safe of the game.

Those two 50-save games

Lundqvist always had a flair for the dramatic and one of the last highlights of his career was near the end of the 2018 season after the Rangers threw in the towel and gutted the team as they started the rebuild.  In consecutive road games in Vancouver and Calgary he made 50 saves, only the third goalie to do that in NHL history and the first to win both games.  Not only that, the second game was on his 36th birthday.  And he did it with rookies Neal Pionk, John Gilmour, Tony DeAngelo and Rob O’Gara on the blue line in front of him.

All hail the King

As we watch the festivities tonight, we will see countless replays of unbelievable saves.  Some of them we will remember, some we’ve forgotten.

We will hear about the franchise records he holds and he holds nearly all of them.

An impeccably dressed Lundqvist will make an emotional speech, saying exactly the right thing.

It’s not politically correct to say it, but deep down, most Ranger fans are glad that he never had a chance to play a game for the Washington Capitals.  Seeing him in that uniform was unthinkable and we have to take some solace that he retired as a Ranger and only a Ranger.

Now, we get to hear his perspective from the MSG Network studios and he’s already been a revelation as we finally get to hear what he thinks about the game.

Sure, it’s a shame that he never won a Stanley Cup, but that only puts him in good company with Rod Gilbert, Ed Giacomin, Vid Hadfield, Jean Ratelle and Harry Howell.

Thanks for the memories Hank, it was a great run.