Rangers Analysis: Lundqvist Not Coming Through in the Clutch
by Nick Montemagno on Dec 9, 2009 7:00 AM EST
in New York Rangers Analysis
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PrintAllowing 11 goals in his last four starts, Henrik Lundqvist has begun to struggle in net at about the worst possible time for the New York Rangers. Come to think of it, the all-star goaltender always seems to be off of his game at around this time every year. This season, though, Lundqvist has allowed goals when the Blueshirts desperately need him to make the big save, something he is usually successful at doing, but lately those big saves have not been made.
Now I mentioned Hank has allowed eleven goals in his last four, however, I value quality over quantity when looking at the Swedish star's recent difficulties. By this I mean the soft goals Lundqvist has let by him are eventually coming back to hurt the Rangers at the end of the night. Lundqvist is not coming through in the clutch and is allowing game-determining goals that should never have even given him a problem blocking. Take Sunday's tilt against the Detroit Red Wings for example. With less than five minutes remaining in a tied contest, Dan Cleary throws the puck at the net from practically behind the goal line, and somehow it manages to elude Lundqvist, who eventually kicked it in with his skate. That simply cannot happen and is not expected from a goaltender of his caliber.
Then you have the goal that would break Lundqvist's "to be" shutout in Buffalo on Saturday. Yes, if Brian Boyle would have buried the puck in the wide open cage just before the play it would have been a 3-0 victory, but nonetheless, Vanek rips a shot from the boards above the face-off circle and the shot beats Lundqvist through zero traffic, no redirections, and no interference at all. It was just a simple slapper that is saved ninety-five percent of the time.
Going back to last week when the Rangers hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second of a home-and-home at Madison Square Garden. Mike Rupp, who has taken off into a scoring surge since registering his first career hat-trick against New York, enters the zone and sends a soft wrister toward the far post. Rupp missed his target and shot just below the crossbar, yet is still passes a questionable Lundqvist. The shot was moving at a slow pace and Hank just simply missed the puck with his glove therefore beating him. Granted Lundqvist is not normally good with his glove (now known as a weakness around the league), but shots of that speed are saved nine of ten times. Unfortunately the law of averages did not apply this time around as it turned out to be the game-winner and cost the Rangers the game.
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Just to put in perspective exactly how much Henrik has not looked like his usual composed self, you just have to look at the statistics. Lundqvist currently leads the league in losses (11). He is fifth in goals against (63). Then he is 18th in save percentage (.914) and 20th in goals against average (2.64). I remind you that when I say he is first and fifth in losses and goals allowed, it does not mean he is fifth best or at the top of the list. It means he is at the bottom with the most losses and most goals against in the league.
Those are not Henrik Lundqvist stats by any means. Most often when you look at goaltending leaders, you can find the 27-year-old netminder with one of the higher save percentages and lower goals against averages. That has not been the case in 2009-10 thus far, and has many of us worried, as well as Lundqvist himself.
Now do not get me wrong here, I love Lundqvist and what he does. In fact, he is one of my favorite players in the league and not solely because he is a Ranger. This guy is extremely competitive, much like Richter was, and will turn this around; no doubt in my mind. I think his problem right now is that he is too frustrated and aggravated. He is not used to such horrid stats, or seeing soft goals tumble past him. It has him thrown off mentally and I do not think the fact that the defense in front of him is invisible on a consistent basis is helping much.
You cannot completely blame the defense, but they factor in negatively when you discuss Henrik's struggle. That being said, the defense has tightened up and played well in the last two contests, which resulted in less goals against, but the soft ones still managed to haunt the five-year veteran in goal.
I am not going to panic just yet based on Lundqvist's history and what he has proved, and I believe that he needs to approach his game with a similar mentality. He needs to come back to Earth and have the train of thought he has when he leads the league in the specific categories listed above. Hopefully the combination of the coaching staff, team support, and two days off have helped that cause. A great deal of things are going wrong for this team at the moment, and goaltending cannot be one of them if the Blueshirts look to get out of this current slump anytime soon.
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Well said Nick, and you’re absolutely right, the defense is not completely at fault. It’s worth noting that while scoring is still a problem on this team, whereas in years past a goal or two would bail Hank out, many nights this season its been 2 or 3 goals needed.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Dec 9, 2009 8:06 AM EST reply actions
One correction
Pominville, not Vanek on the Buffalo softie.
The soft goals are not a late trend either….he allowed a 75footer to Backstrom that coughed up a lead in Washington way back when (the game that Gabby eventually bailed him out in). And the flutterbug he allowed to Leopold against Florida broke a 1-1 tie in a game they lost by 1.
He’s also been really good at times, but he’s not the old Lundqvist right now, for whatever reason.
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Thanks for the correction, for some reason I thought it was Vanek.
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by Nick Montemagno on Dec 9, 2009 11:08 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Something happened; what?
I love SB Nation and Blueshirt Banter!!
something happened, outside of hockey, in the Rangers team. Is a key player, perhaps Henrik himself, going through a personal crisis? Divorce, ill parent or child, cancer diagnosis? something happened.
And it sucked all the life out of the Rangers. if your great goalie has personal troubles that make him into only a good goalie, leave him distracted, how can you play with the confidence you need to play very well?
Perhaps this is why Torts is not ranting and raging at the team. because he knows that won’t help this situation.
Question to BB: you are reporters, supposed to find out, and report, the news. what have you discovered, found out, learned, about this odd situation?
thanks, Jeff Drummond
erm thanks for the props
A) Lundqvist isn’t married.
B) We’re not exactly reporters, and if something like that had happened then it would have gotten out already.
C) and we can’t exactly go around MSG asking questions, not like people would be there to answer questions anyway.
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by Joe Fortunato on Dec 9, 2009 12:49 PM EST up reply actions
There’s nothing Torts can really say to Hank about soft goals. Stop them next time? Hank is enough of a professional and understands his role on this team. He is incredibly competitive and is the type to lose sleep over the goal he gave up to Cleary. I’m never worried about him… there are far bigger problems that need to be addressed than the occasional soft goal on his part.
If we scored some more
they wouldn’t be that noticeable
Rangers FTW!
by BleedsRangerBlue on Dec 9, 2009 2:00 PM EST reply actions
well
Hasn’t Lundy always had a similar problem? We alllllll know how amazing of a goalie he is, and sometimes you watch in amazement cuz he just performed a three save sequence in like 6 seconds. However, from what i recall after watching nearly every game in the season, Lundy def lets in goals that make u scratch ur head and wonder, which is why when he has a bad game, they are horrible!!!! But, once again, before i get yelled at, we all know he is amazing and at times is the sole reason we were in playoff contention!!
Regardless
Even though he’s given up some cheap goals, how do you expect a team to win in the new NHL scoring 1 goal? The reason our defense wasn’t as tight is because we got rid of a guy named Tom Renney who was defense first and replace him with a guy named John Tortorella who is Offense first. Renney never encouraged his defense to jump the play and join the rush while Torts system is based on the defense joining the rush when possible to keep pressure on. So a less tight defense is what will ensue provided you are taking more chances, however the Tort system is high risk, high reward, and we have all the makings of a High Risk and no reward system. Without scoring the Tort system is absolutely useless. Yes the goals are cheap, but when you are making 35-40 saves a night and having to win games 1-0 or 2-1 when you are hung out to dry consistently how long can you continue make every single save without making atleast one mistake?
Well put. As I watch the games, it seems like it’s inevitable that Henrik is going to get beat late…and on a questionable i.e. soft goal. Hopefully, it’s just a slump … but I’m getting concerned that his weaknesses are being exploited way too often. Weak on the glove side…and on bad angle shots from the side of the net. And an added concern…he’ll be playing way too much hockey this year… hopefully, they’ll find someone to spell him after the Olympics so that come playoff time (and the playoffs are by no means a given) he’ll be strong and on top of his game.
Having said all of this, without Henrik, the Rangers would be lost.
Quite Ordinary
Henrik has played brilliantly in past seasons and has been one of the top goalees in the NHL. Not this year, for whatever reason. I know Martin Brodeur and nobody would compare Henrik with Martin this year. The Rangers are not coming together as a team and Henrik’s poor play is one of the many reasons. With him or without him the Rangers are now lost.
How Do You Get Off With Saying This?
How could anyone here agree?
I would’ve ranted earlier but the site was down for what seemed like the entire day.
Anyway, Lundqvist isn’t coming through in the clutch? Are You Kidding Me? GIVE THE GUY A BREAK! Lundqvist deserves to win. The Rangers deserve to lose. Lundqvist hasn’t done anything wrong. To place any blame on Lundqvist is just absurd.
How can you say Lundqvist doesn’t make the saves when needed? How many big saves has he made? Then one goes in and you get pissed off at him for not saving it. The Detroit goal was not his fault what so ever. Any goalie would’ve moved the left leg towards the post. You can not, and should not blame Lundqvist at all for that goal. It was a fortunate bounce for Detroit. The puck hit off the side of the net and careened towards the post, and it hit off Lundqvist’s right leg. The puck was not in. It sat behind his leg. He didn’t know where it was, and it was unlucky where the puck wound up. But to say he isn’t clutch? The Penguins game was awful. Why? There was just Lundqvist, and no one else on the ice. Please don’t tell me you are blaming Lundqvist for Rupp’s hat trick. The goal the Sabres scored on him you can’t over analyze. Lundqvist deserves that shutout no doubt. It was unfortunate the puck went in. How bad do you think Lundqvist felt about it? How can you say the Rangers bail out Lundqvist’s mistakes? What mistakes? Lundqvist has played brilliantly. How could any of you say Lundqvist is just an average goalie now? Henrik’s poor play? Henrik will inevitably give up a soft goal? What the Heck are you guys talking about? You are all being too overly critical and you don’t realize every goal against could’ve been prevented if the players in front of him took advantage of opponent mistakes. Torts’ system isn’t working. I like Torts yes, but I also know when something isn’t working. You guys have argued with me before about Torts but when will you truely place blame where blame is due?
Now I’m not the guy to start going off like this. Sorry. But I was drawn to this site when I saw the title of this article. Now C’mon you guys. How many of you are going to blame Lundqvist for the Blackhawks game? C’mon now. Which one of you will say Lundqvist should’ve saved the shot in overtime? How many times did Lundqvist make the save when needed?
It’s not even this last week. Yes I know you could say some questionable goals were scored on him. You can not blame Lundqvist for them. His play is fine. He is the best player the Rangers have. As I said in the beginning: LUNDQVIST DESERVES TO WIN – THE RANGERS DESERVE TO LOSE. There is no support. There is no defense. If you ask me, the Rangers’ players aren’t coming through in the clutch. Lundqvist is. (If you get what I’m trying to say here)
Lundqvist does have something wrong with his mental game. What is it you ask? It’s him frustrated that the players aren’t playing as they should in front of him. The players make the mistake and when there is a goal against you turn and point fingers at Lundqvist. “Lundqvist isn’t used to such horrid stats”? Let me ask you this. Do you think Lundqvist even knows what his stats are? I think he could care less about his stats. You should care less about them too. Stats don’t tell the true story. Saying he leads the league in losses points a finger directly at Lundqvist and presents a view on his game like he is suddenly terrible. Don’t look too much into stats. When the players in front of you score 1 goal, then expect you to make the save instead of scoring another goal you get frustrated. Lundqvist is very, very unlucky right now. We all expect Lundqvist to make the save. He can’t save them all. When he deserves a shutout (He should have 3 or 4) and doesn’t get one, I want the Rangers to lose the game. If the Rangers can’t play a full 60 min game to give Lundqvist the shutout he deserves, then lose the game. I want Lundqvist to win every night. I want the Rangers to lose every night they don’t provide for their goalie.
Maybe I haven’t presented my opinion in the way I should. I’m filled with so much disgust I probably am not articulating my opinion clearly. If I haven’t presented any evidence worthy to you I’m sorry. But I don’t know how you can look at Lundqvist’s stats and think he sucks. You can’t think that. That is my main argument. You can’t think Lundqvist isn’t playing well. His stats are the way they are because he is literally a one-man team more often than not. Maybe we were too used to him winning the tough games we are scratching our heads now at the fact we don’t in them anymore. It’s not because of Lundqvist. It’s because of the system, and the players in front of him.
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| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Rangers
|
52 | 34 | 13 | 5 | 73 |
|
Philadelphia
|
54 | 31 | 16 | 7 | 69 |
|
New Jersey
|
54 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 66 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
54 | 30 | 19 | 5 | 65 |
|
New York Islanders
|
53 | 22 | 23 | 8 | 52 |
(updated 2.11.2012 at 8:02 AM EST)
Rangers Schedule
Next 5 Games
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Washington
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Sun 02/12 | 12:30 PM EST |
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Boston
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Tue 02/14 | 7:00 PM EST |
|
Chicago
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Thu 02/16 | 7:00 PM EST |
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Columbus
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Sun 02/19 | 8:00 PM EST |
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Pittsburgh
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Tue 02/21 | 7:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
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@
Philadelphia
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Sat 02/11 | W 5 - 2 |
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Tampa Bay
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Thu 02/09 | OT - W 4 - 3 |
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New Jersey
|
Tue 02/07 | L 0 - 1 |
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Philadelphia
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Sun 02/05 | W 5 - 2 |
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@
Buffalo
|
Wed 02/01 | SO - W 1 - 0 |
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