Henrik Lundqvist was turned to the wall in the visitor’s locker room, his hands over his face, preparing to face a number of questions, while still clearly trying to answer one of his own — how could this have happened again?
With another remarkable, highlight-overflowing performance, Lundqvist kept the Rangers’ abysmal offense afloat as long as he could. But the goalie’s 33 saves were not enough to prevent the Blueshirts from slipping one loss from the end of their season after dropping Game 5 of their opening-round series against the Capitals, 2-1 in overtime, last night at Verizon Center.
It was the second straight game in Washington the Rangers lost in OT, after dropping Game 2, 1-0, and they’ve been pushed into a 3-2 hole heading into Game 6 tomorrow at the Garden.
“The difference between winning and losing right now is so small,” Lundqvist said. “It’s really tough, but you have to remember we managed to get two [wins] at home. We have to win again there and force a Game 7.”
The reigning Vezina Trophy winner was barely audible afterward, still in shock at what had transpired. It was only six days ago that Lundqvist sat at the same stall in the same locker room, following a 37-save gem wasted last Saturday.
But no amount of experience in such situations could cushion the emotions that came crashing to the ice when sudden death ended on Mike Ribeiro’s goal 9:24 into overtime. Nor can it shatter the unyielding belief that comes with success in similar situations, which the Rangers accomplished in coming back from a 3-2 deficit in last year’s first-round series against Ottawa.
“It’s frustrating and disappointing, but it’s not over,” Lundqvist said. “We have to regroup, it’s a tough couple hours, and you just forget about it.”
Lundqvist stood on his head, elbows and knees, and just about every other body part he could contort, making multiple brilliant saves in the third period and overtime. He extended the game far beyond what the Rangers could have reasonably asked for, while the Blueshirts offense barely made Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby break a sweat, managing only 15 shots from the second period through overtime.
After allowing Washington’s top-ranked power play to tie the game in the second period, Lundqvist denied two great chances from Alex Ovechkin early in the third period with the Capitals on another power play on back-to-back shots from the doorstep. Lundqvist then stopped Ovechkin twice again in overtime, once on an unobstructed wrist shot with 12:45 left and again two minutes later, on a one-timer in front of the net. Ovechkin failed to score on a game-high nine shots and has gone without a goal in four straight games.
“He stood in there again for us,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said of Lundqvist. “He gave us a chance to win. It’s the same story. He’s been great all along here.”
The narrative is becoming repetitive, though the ending is still unwritten. Without some support for Lundqvist, it won’t be hard to predict.
howard.kussoy@nypost.com