Roberto Luongo will be at the Garden tonight, but don’t expect Henrik Lundqvist to change his game just because he will share the ice with one of the two top goaltenders in the NHL this season.
After all, he’s the other one.
And Lundqvist knows that whatever problems Luongo and the Canucks present, they’ll be familiar ones for the Rangers’ MVP.
“We’re a low-scoring team,” Lundqvist said. “Every mistake I make [could] cost us the game. I don’t expect any different.”
He shouldn’t, especially heading into another game without center Scott Gomez, who didn’t skate yesterday because of a bruised ankle. Although it seems like a daunting task, Lundqvist doesn’t mind.
“If you look back at the last couple of home games, we haven’t scored more than one or two goals, so the defense has to stay sharp,” Lundqvist said. “But I like that. I like the challenge. We don’t really go after the big show. We go after the two points. It doesn’t matter how it looks.”
Coach Tom Renney doesn’t mind the defensive style, either.
“We are finding ways to win,” Renney said. “There’ve been teams in this league that haven’t scored an awful lot and won Stanley Cups and they don’t operate too far away from us. And we’re good with that.”
Gomez likely needs “a couple of practices” before he is ready to return, so his status for Saturday’s game at Ottawa is questionable.
“He’s in very good shape, but you want to pay attention to rehab protocol,” Renney said.
His absence has been felt.
“Gomez’ speed is something we miss,” Lundqvist said. “Especially on the power play, when he can skate out with the puck.”
Linemates Aaron Voros and Nikolai Zherdev both were benched in the third period of Monday night’s shootout win over the Senators and Renney spoke to both of them.
“He has to stay positive,” the coach said of Zherdev. “We need him.”
Voros said he understood the move.
“I was a step behind and I can’t afford to be like that,” Voros said. “I know our line is supposed to produce.”
CANUCKSatRANGERS
Tonight – 7:30MSG
WEPN
(1050 AM)