PHILADELPHIA — When Henrik Lundqvist was finally able to breathe after taking a Brian Boyle practice slapshot on the right side of the neck that forced the goaltender to immediately leave the ice in pain, the entire Rangers organization exhaled.
“It’s a little stiff now, but it will be fine,” said Lundqvist, who should be good to go here tonight against the Flyers. “The shot hit me in the throat between my [neck] padding and the extra padding I have at the bottom of my mask, and when it did, I had trouble breathing and then I got really dizzy because blood was blocked going to my brain.”
Bent at the waist and banging his stick on the ice after falling to his knees in the crease, Lundqvist skated immediately to the locker room, followed closely by Boyle.
Or, as head coach John Tortorella referred to him, “Dr. Boyle.”
“I was shooting well today, but obviously that one didn’t go quite where I wanted it to,” said Boyle, the most relieved man on skates. “I didn’t hit him flush, but at that point, what do you do?”
Other than checking the train schedule to Hartford, not much, except focus on keeping shots down at practice. Boyle is hardly the only culprit. Lundqvist, who had a welt on his neck and met the press wearing sweats zipped up to his chin, said, “It happens” but shots whizzing past The King’s head at practice happen all too frequently.
If Lundqvist isn’t going to pull a Billy Smith and start slashing his teammates for these breaches as the Islanders goaltender did during his heyday, then perhaps he should simply vacate the net if shooters can’t keep the puck down.
“I have enough padding and protection,” Lundqvist said. “Usually I’m able to move away from [a high shot], but this time I didn’t.”
Lundqvist revealed that he’d suffered a broken jaw while practicing with the Swedish National Team in Russia years ago.
“A shot hit my left side and broke the other side of my jaw,” Lundqvist said. “I practiced the next day … it wasn’t until two weeks later when I still had pain that I found out it was broken.
“There were no screws, but I couldn’t eat for a couple of weeks, just a lot of soup.”
Boyle certainly recognizes how deep in the soup he would be had Lundqvist sustained damage from the errant slapper.
“He’s fine,” the big center said. “And I’ll be all right, too.”
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Tonight’s game marks the first visit to Philadelphia since the Game 82, 2-1 shootout defeat here April 11 kept the Rangers from making the playoffs for the first time in five years.
A victory would have propelled the Rangers, who had gone 7-1-1 in their previous nine, into the tournament while knocking out the Flyers. The Rangers had not held a playoff spot since Feb. 1.
Lundqvist, who’s team was outshot 45-23 overall, including an 18-4 first period, was beaten by Daniel Briere (suspended tonight) in the first round before P.A. Parenteau went up top against Brian Boucher in the bottom of the second to tie.
But Claude Giroux then beat Lundqvist five-hole to give the Flyers a 2-1 edge. When Olli Jokinen’s weak attempt failed, the Rangers were out and the Flyers were on their way to the Finals.
“It’s going to remind you a little bit, coming into the building because it was a special game,” Lundqvist said. “It was a tough feeling, and I’ll probably think about it at the morning [skate] but then I’ll start to focus.”
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Ryan Callahan, banged up and bloodied blocking six shots in Monday’s 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks, did not skate yesterday but will play tonight. Callahan missed last year’s finale with a knee injury, as did Sean Avery. … Tortorella did not address any potential lineup changes, but Derek Boogaard obviously will be back in.