ANAHEIM, Calif. — If Henrik Lundqvist endured a learning curve through the guts of the season in which he watched from the Rangers bench far more often than usual, there’s nothing for the goaltender to learn about playing every game down the stretch.
“It’s so exciting at this time of year, you don’t get tired no matter how often you play,” The King, who will make his 13th straight start tonight when the Rangers face the Ducks, said following yesterday’s early afternoon practice.
“In November and December it can be tough to play all the time, but right now you want to be out there every night, you want to make the difference for your team every game.”
With Marty Biron shelved for the duration with the broken collarbone he sustained in practice last week and sophomore pro Chad Johnson serving as the backup, Lundqvist will get his wish. There are 14 games to go and unless something untoward develops, The King is likely to get all of them, at least until the Rangers clinch a playoff spot.
“It’s his ball now,” coach John Tortorella said. “Marty Biron did the things we wanted him to do, but this is Henrik’s show now.”
If Lundqvist runs out the string, he will have started the final 27 games one year after starting 25 of the final 26, two years after starting 27 of the final 29 and three years after starting 22 of the final 23. If he goes the distance, he will finish with 67 starts after getting 70 or more the previous three seasons.
“It was different for me this year, definitely, but in the long run, it’s great,” Lundqvist said. “Getting as much rest as I did before is one of the reasons I feel so good now.”
Lundqvist was exceptionally sharp in Friday’s 4-1 victory in Ottawa and Sunday’s 7-0 Garden rout of the Flyers that allowed the Rangers to regain their equilibrium before the trip that began with a day of R&R at general manager Glen Sather’s Western White House at La Quinta.
The goaltender has had a good year, but hasn’t yet strung together the kind of run in which he has stolen games for his team on a consistent basis. If inconsistency in the middle of the year is a tradeoff for Lundqvist reaching his peak now, it would seem to be a worthwhile exchange.
“There was definitely an adjustment for me in not playing as often and things I learned that will help me next year,” said Lundqvist, who started only five of the 10 games from Jan. 16 to Feb. 7. “It’s important for me not to overthink, overanalyze and question my game so I can relax mentally.
“When you play every game, it’s easy to be in the right place mentally. But in the end, I can see how it’s helped.”
Not that Tortorella would for a moment agree that a tradeoff had been made or might have been made. The coach was defiant when asked about that, refusing to give an inch.
“I don’t agree at all that there might be a tradeoff, not at all,” he said. “There was no tradeoff. There was a decision reached by the coaching staff to try to win the Stanley Cup and not just get in [the [playoffs].”
Now Lundqvist goes every game. To try to get the Rangers into the playoffs.