PHILADELPHIA — Brian Boucher, journey man conqueror of Henrik Lundqvist last April in the most compelling shootout in NHL history, continues to live the dream, 6-0-1 with a 1.83 goals against average in his last seven starts for the NHL’s standings leader.
And Lundqvist? He comes here to suffer the same repeated nightmare.
You can’t wake up with a pillow any more soaked than was King Hank after Claude Giroux made a 47-save Game 82 effort, as the Rangers’ hopes to get into the 2010 playoffs vanished between the goalie’s legs.
Yesterday wasn’t nearly as one-sided, or, on Dec. 18 with both teams comfortably in playoff position, as dramatic. Nevertheless, almost halfway through another tied game, here Lundqvist was again, by his lonesome against a slick Flyer, in this case Nikolay Zherdev coming out of the penalty box.
Mike Richards heard Lundqvist bang the ice to alert his defense, picked up a loose puck left by a Brian Boyle fan of an attempted pass to Michal Rozsival, and wheeled a 120-foot, two-line, beauty that hit Zherdev perfectly and perfectly alone at the Rangers line.
As a teammate of Zherdev’s in 2008-09, Lundqvist saw that move to the backhand daily in practice, but knowing it isn’t necessarily stopping it. Before Lundqvist could even think, “Why didn’t you bear down like this for us?” the puck was over his blocker and the Flyers had a 1-0 lead.
“He is very patient,” said Lundqvist. “I tried to be patient.”
If the Rangers, who turned the puck over far more than Lundqvist says he still turns over that shootout in his mind — “I don’t think so much about that game as I do about missing the playoffs and not letting it happen again,” he insists — had been as patient as their goalie, they might have stolen a point.
Since we likely will not live to see Boucher beat Lundqvist in a shootout when Olli Jokinen is not the last Rangers shooter, the visitors might even have stolen two points. But getting it to overtime against the Flyers has become a much harder deal than in the years Lundqvist was the key to a remarkable Rangers 13-2-1 Philly visitation that turned with the second trip last season. The Flyers have now won the last four Rangers appearances (3-0-1) at the Whatever They Call It Now Center, during which the Rangers have scored three goals.
“They’re a better team, the biggest difference,” said Lundqvist. “Last few years they were pretty good, but they’re a great team now and I think they feel it, too.
Indeed, after Andreas Nodl had a half-empty net on a heads-up feed by Giroux to make it 2-0, a glimmer of Rangers’ hope — created by Derek Stepan’s lead-halving goal midway in the third period — lasted only 1:34, until Ville Leino deflected in Kimmo Timonen’s point drive.
Zherdev’s quick hands put one off Lundqvist’s blocker, arguably his only baddie, to set the final score of a game that would have required a lot of blood rushing to an upside-down goaltender’s head to come out differently.
“It’s disappointing giving up four goals in a game where I felt pretty sharp,” said Lundqvist. But that’s what happens when a relentless opposition creates a gap between the forwards and defense commensurate with the talent gap between the two teams.
The Flyers snatched the Rangers’ playoff berth in Game 82, went on to the finals, added depth and confidence they can win it all without a star goalie. The Rangers still have one, but it’s gotten harder for him to make the difference here.