Rangers Analysis: Lighter Workload For Henrik Lundqvist This Season
by Nick Montemagno on Sep 6, 2011 6:00 AM EDT
in New York Rangers Analysis
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PrintThe New York Rangers will only go as far as Henrik Lundqvist can take them, and that's not changing anytime soon. However, the Swedish netminder will have more help this season than he's had in any other since beginning his NHL career back in 2005-06. The Blueshirts now possess a solid defensive core, and also went out and acquired some offensive help this summer as well. There are no guarantees that everything will go as planned, but if it does, Hank will be one happy goaltender.
Not only will some of the pressure come off of Lundqvist to constantly keep the Rangers in close games, but his overall workload should become lighter as well. More "goals for" makes it easier for Lundqvist to hold the opposition to fewer "goals against", and that's the hope the organization has going into 2011-12. They've built this team around King Henrik, and although it has taken a while, they've finally built it right.
So aside from facing fewer shots and taking on less pressure, I would also like to see Lundqvist play in fewer games. Last season Henrik played in 68 total contests, which is more than what the Rangers would have liked to see. They didn't have that much of a choice, though, as back-up Marty Biron broke his collarbone late in the season. Still, though, even if Marty was healthy for the entire year, Lundqvist would have played in more games than he should have.
I'd personally prefer a 60-20 split between the two goalies this year, and obviously that is a rough number since there are 82 games in the season. People forget that Marty Biron was once a starting goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers and helped to carry them far into the playoffs a few years back. He may not be the same today as he was then, but he remains a very high quality netminder that the Rangers are fortunate to have.
Continue reading after the job....
With exception of one or two games, Biron was fantastic between the pipes last season. He is a strong competitor like his partner in Henrik Lundqvist, and he puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform to a certain standard. He's proven to the coaching staff that he can handle himself against any caliber team, so I don't think there are any doubts that he will be getting more starts in the upcoming season.
This will keep Lundqvist fresh, mentally and physically, throughout the course of the year, especially in the playoffs. I think we all noticed how fatigued Hank was by the fourth or fifth game of that first-round series against Washington back in April, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with the fact that he was forced to play out the entire final third of the season with Biron out. That will change in 2011-12.
As a team gets better, a goaltender's job gets slightly easier. It's not a drastic change, but you do find that goalies on better teams traditionally put up better numbers. This is basically what has led to Roberto Luongo being overrated in the past. Lundqvist will never be overrated because he is just too good, but a slightly lighter workload won't hurt him, and will actually help in the long-run.
Your goalie is also your key to success, therefore it should be a main priority to make sure he is always fresh and focused throughout the season. I think with the roster the Rangers have entering the upcoming season, the chances of that actually/finally happening are much greater than in the past.
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That’s exactly right Nick. 30 more goals than last year will make a big difference since you don’t have to worry about keeping opponents under 2 goals per game EVERY game. BTW, Luongo is overrated. He allowed me to keep my statement intact that the Canucks will never win a Cup with him in nets, If Schneider were in goal then they might have won. Too bad the Americans couldn’t get more shots on goal in the Olympics because Luongo was juggling the puck like a hot potato all game. Like a nervous rookie. I’m tired of hearing Luongo’s praise when we have the best goalie since the lockout. Hopefully the team will be a contender and get the King the Vezina he deserves.
He’s as good as anyone in the regular season but playoffs he can’t do anything.
John Tortorella on 24/7 will be like Ari Gold on Entourage.
I am the f*cking game pal - Johnny Drama
You wanna hug it out? Let's hug it out bitch - Ari Gold
I practice Prustbyterianism
by RichieToGabbySCORE on Sep 6, 2011 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions
The fact remains...
…but not for a freak shot by Stepan, Biron would’ve provided exactly what is prescribed here last season for Hank in terms of GP’s to spell him, esp. down the stretch.
As long as we at least try and keep the shots down in practice (duh?!), our obvious strength in net, the best it’s been since Richter/Healy, this should be the least of our concerns. :)
Exactly right...
Biron started 15 games by Feb 7th, which would have put them at exactly 60 for Lund and 22 for Biron by the end of the season…
'Cause Brawndo's got electrolyes....
I have two things to say this morning..
1) 150 Posts on yesterdays thread, pretty god damn impressive in my book for a Labor Day Hockey discussion.
2) I think Biron is one of the 5 most important Rangers this season. Whether its keeping the ship afloat if Hank gets dinged or has rough patch like last season or just giving hank 20-25 nights off (especially 2nd of back to backs against non division opponents and all games in Montreal).
by Gabby the Gutless Sniper on Sep 6, 2011 7:27 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Where did I see this before?
Oh yeah, it was last year.
Injuries happen.
by It may HAVE to Last a Lifetime on Sep 6, 2011 9:04 AM EDT reply actions
Yes and no...
Yes they do, but seriously, if one more happens in practice, the culprit should be benched for as long the injury.
Inexcuseable! :(
either benched
Or shot…whichever is more cost effective
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A lot of smoke and desperate clawing at the door. It wouldn’t work. It would just be a big, hot mess." -Dig Deep
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by Kevin Power on Sep 6, 2011 1:12 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
What about traded to the Islanders?
by It may HAVE to Last a Lifetime on Sep 6, 2011 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s a fate worse than death
"Don't look now, but there's one too many people in this room and I think it's you." Groucho Marx
In Prust We Trust
"Kovalev would work with Tortorella like a kitty would work in a microwave.
A lot of smoke and desperate clawing at the door. It wouldn’t work. It would just be a big, hot mess." -Dig Deep
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by Kevin Power on Sep 6, 2011 3:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I tend to disagree, last year to start the season, lundqvist was “off” for a while and that was during a time where he was splitting games with Biron. Lundqvist is the type of goaltender that plays good over long stretches because he gets in a rhythm and last year early on before Biron was hurt lundqvist would be good for a game, then look off the next. After Biron was hurt Lundqvist was pretty much lights out for the rest of the season.
@clalicata17
You can't run him into the ground though
Lundqvist playing 70+ games a year is a problem, and we haven’t seen the effects because the team hasn’t had a deep playoff run. The Rangers need to have a healthy and rested Lundqvist for the playoffs.
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by Joe Fortunato on Sep 6, 2011 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m not saying to run him into the ground… I’m just stating he was better when playing consistently… It’s the whole idea of taking a field player in baseball and making him a DH and wondering why he struggles, some guys just don’t have the mindset to bat and not play the field, just like lundqvist who doesn’t do well when he’s not consistently between the pipes… I hope thats not the case just stating what I saw
@clalicata17
I absolutly agree
Lundqvist had a 2.34 gaa before Biron’s injury and 2.13 after. Some may attribute that to him simply stepping up when the team needed him to but I feel that he’s a guy that wants to be in net every night regardless of how much rest he’s had. 70 starts is definitely a lot to ask of him but by mid Feb I want to see Biron get no more than 2 starts over the last 24 games unless the playoffs are secured. Lundqvist is absolutely a better goalie when he plays night in and night out
What was the save%? GAA could’ve just been the team clamping down on the shots against, not necessarily Lundqvist stepping up.
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by George E. Ays on Sep 6, 2011 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions
The only thing I don’t agree is after being rested he would look good then be off…Just like you said the King likes to stay in rhythm which couldn’t be clearer last season when after being rested for 5 days he’d start and play horribly. Let him play close to 70 games like we all know he wants to because that is the type of competitor he is and rest him before the playoffs
by Ranger McJersey on Sep 6, 2011 3:43 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Lundqvist should play the important games. He should play eddy divisional matchup with te exception of the islanders. I want him to play all the big games for us. Management should plan a schedule on the games he should play.
John Tortorella on 24/7 will be like Ari Gold on Entourage.
I am the f*cking game pal - Johnny Drama
You wanna hug it out? Let's hug it out bitch - Ari Gold
I practice Prustbyterianism
by RichieToGabbySCORE on Sep 6, 2011 12:40 PM EDT reply actions
so you want him playing almost every game in the second half of the season?
"Don't look now, but there's one too many people in this room and I think it's you." Groucho Marx
In Prust We Trust
"Kovalev would work with Tortorella like a kitty would work in a microwave.
A lot of smoke and desperate clawing at the door. It wouldn’t work. It would just be a big, hot mess." -Dig Deep
Follow me @8kpower
by Kevin Power on Sep 6, 2011 1:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Whether hank plays a lot during the 2nd half of the season will be dictated by where we are in the standings, not just by who we play… I tend to say that hank will start more often in conference games, but if and i say if so HYPOTHETICALLY if we were 10 points up in the conference on the team following us if we were in 1st obviously there is more wiggle room for us to give him a rest, but if we are once again battling for our lives in a playoff hunt, biron will not see the ice…
everything at this point is a what if scenario
@clalicata17
it obviously wouldn’t work out that way. I’m sure there are plenty of games we could throw Biron in during the second half. Biron should just play the bottom tier teams.
John Tortorella on 24/7 will be like Ari Gold on Entourage.
I am the f*cking game pal - Johnny Drama
You wanna hug it out? Let's hug it out bitch - Ari Gold
I practice Prustbyterianism
by RichieToGabbySCORE on Sep 6, 2011 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions
top-175 overall fantasy hockey rankings
Sorry for off topic, just thought I’d note by position our highest players in each position ranking:
LW – Dubi at 16
RW – Gabs at 6
Center – Richards at 8
Goalie – Hank at 3
D-men – Staal at 49 (which is a joke – they put Souray at 36, which seriously damages the listmaker’s credibility.)
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Was Redden on the list?
Maybe I nodded off the past 18 months but I thought Souray has been out of the NHL (playing AHL) for past year plus. How does he score fantasy points if he’s not on a roster?
by Gabby the Gutless Sniper on Sep 6, 2011 1:38 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
My bad.. Dallas signed him.
They were making so many bad moves this offseason this one fell in the weeds to me. When Florida plays Dallas it will be the greatest combination of overpaid mediocrity since the 2003 Rangers.
by Gabby the Gutless Sniper on Sep 6, 2011 1:45 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He’s pretty much a lock for their top PP unit, taking Richards’ spot. That’s a way to rack up points fairly quickly.
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I believe in next year.
by red army line on Sep 6, 2011 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Old..slow..decrepit…One-Trick-Pony.
by Gabby the Gutless Sniper on Sep 6, 2011 4:25 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
…That trick being offense.
Red Line Station and @RedArmyLine, featuring coverage of the most frustrating team in the NHL
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by red army line on Sep 6, 2011 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Not really, just his shot. Which in the distant past generated offense.
by Gabby the Gutless Sniper on Sep 7, 2011 5:08 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Why should that have changed?
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by red army line on Sep 7, 2011 5:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Biron is a damn good backup
Best we’ve had in years. Better than Dan Blackburn that’s for sure.
by Guess Who's Back? on Sep 6, 2011 7:17 PM EDT reply actions
He was like 21
Goalies get better as they age.
Proudly suffering as a Ranger fan.
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Does the Idea of
A Rangers without Hank frighten anyone else? Sure teams do well with ‘good’ or mediocre goalies, but this team is built around him and I worry down the road it’d be a long road to recovery reshaping the team without Hank.
Unless, of course, Johnson proves to be some phenom.
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