There was a time when the Rangers looked forward to shootouts. Heck, there was a time when the Rangers played for a shootout. They figured they had the best shootout goalie in the NHL and actually played to get into the shootout. I don't know the exact records, maybe jb can look it up, but in 2012 Henrik Lundqvist and Pekka Rinne of Nashvile were voted the top two goalies in a shootout.
Not any more. Last night against the JV Bluejackets the King was 0-2 on the shootout and the Rangers lost to Columbus 4-3. The Rangers were down 3-1 going into the 3rd period and fought back with two goals to tie the game and send it into OT and eventually a shootout. Lundqvist did make 30 saves but this isn't the old Lundqvist, something is missing here.
Henrik seems to be fighting the puck. The old Henrik would wait out the shooters and beat their final dekes. Now he seems to be reacting to every deke and is usually down on the ice and out of position. Granted I am not an exper,t but from my fan's perspective that is the way it looks to me.
What is ironic here is that he just signed a seven year extension and he seems more tense and less relaxed. He seem more anxious and less secure. To me he looks like he is over reacting to every shot on goal. The smoothnesss is missing, The air of confidence is missing.
For the first time in his Ranger career he has a bono fide NHL backup goalie in Cam Talbot. Could that be causing a problem? Maybe we will find out more after the Olympics. I believe he will be Sweden's goalie but not knowing the country's team, I don't know if he has another threat from another goalie.
I may be wrong but these are my thoughts. Again, without a top notch Lundqvist, the Rangers are going nowhere!
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Missing The Point!
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Agree that Lundqvist does not look as confident in goal as he has been in the past years. If Sweden can go far in the O-Games then I think his game will return.
I find it interesting that Nash "wakes up" last night and scores 2 goals the day before Canada choose its team.
Jagr and Nedved on the Czech team? Will Old Guys rule? Can't wait to watch...
Agree that Henrik seems to be over reacting or over compensating, however you want to put it, due to low confidence. Season's tend to take on a personality of their own and this one is not going the King's way. It's snowballing on him. However, he has moments of brilliance which shows me that the King is still in there. Henrik is one of those guys who truly cares, works harder than anyone and his emotions are taking over his head which is causing this tightness or anxiety we are noticing. The contract being out of the way has helped him in some way but also seems to be another source of pressure for him. As Dan Stryker said, I am also hoping that Henrik has a strong Olympic games because that can provide a boost of confidence for him. If he does have a strong Olympics then the next key will be for the the Rangers to have a strong 1st game back for Henrik and that is not exactly the Rangers strong suit. Lets hope they surprise us.
Nash has been a very hot topic of adverse conversation in my family over the past few weeks. Sitting down to watch the CBJ game Jeanine said Nash will have a great game because he wants to play for Canada. Quite a few guys deserved that honor over Nash including St. Louis and Jeanine's pick Logan Couture from SJ. If Dan is correct and old guys do rule, than Stevie Y will be feeling pretty bad fore not using his veto power to add Marty. I have a feeling that one will bite him. But hey he has Nash or "Cash" - as Jeanine likes to call him.