Henrik Lundqvist needs to be better, but his defense needs to step up too

Anthony Scultore Updated: Jan 29, 2022

Lundqvist watches game winner slip by 12/1/14 TB (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Last season, I would entertain the argument that Lundqvist needed to be a better playoff goalie. After his remarkable run to the Final, I put that to bed. Had he received more goal support and an interference call against L.A. – he could’ve been the MVP of the post season.

One argument I would never entertain is that he’s an overrated goaltender. That would get you shut down right away. This season, in similar light, I refuse to even consider that Lundqvist is regressing as per a recent article in the NY Post.

[su_quote cite=”Larry Brooks” url=”https://nypost.com/2014/12/02/lundqvists-head-scratching-regression-is-killing-the-rangers/”]But the first two months of 2014-15 haven’t been close to good enough from Lundqvist, who has surrendered too many unsightly goals and has had way too many borderline nights for a team that isn’t good enough to overcome mediocrity in nets. Lundqvist’s save percentage dropped to .905, 31st in the 30-team league among goaltenders with 10 or more starts after Monday’s misadventure in which he surrendered five goals on 20 shots — including a back-breaking softie for the winner — in the Blueshirts’ 6-3 empty-net-abetted defeat by the Lightning at the Garden that marked the team’s third loss in three games within 15 days to conference-leading Tampa Bay.[/su_quote]

Can we all stop and recognize that he also has 4 shutouts on the season. His career high was 11 in 68 games (2010-11) and he could be well on his way to breaking that this season. Now, while he ranks 31st among goaltenders with a .905 save percentage today, he ranks 21st at even strength (.917 sv%)*. Of course that isn’t anything to get excited about but it’s an indicator that there are other issues.

One of those big issues – the Rangers penalty killing. NY ranks 19th at an 80% efficiency rate and has given up 16 power play goals this season. In contrast, NY was 3rd last year at 85.3. So what is Lundqvist’s save percentage against while shorthanded? This year it is a paltry .833, last season it was .895%.

The other issue, a really soft group of defenders.

Sure, Hank has had a hard time finding the puck in some games this season, but where’s the help from his defense? Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I watched Bolt after Bolt drive the net and screen Lundqvist virtually untouched. On the game tying tally by Matt Carle, he was left all alone to Lundqvist’s right. The game winning power play goal by Brett Connolly, the Lightning played keep away with the puck and found the kid all alone in the middle, who then snapped it against the grain. Where was a Ranger to hit these guys?

These are just two examples of how the defense has let Lundqvist down from time to time. No, it isn’t every game but there have been far too many soft nights by the Rangers. A quick glance at the top 50 hitters in the league shows only 2 Rangers make the list. One is Dan Girardi (24th, 66 hits) and the other is a player no one wants in the lineup, Tanner Glass (31st, 68 hits).

Hits Statistics/SportingCharts.com

	Player	Pos	Team	Hits	Hits Per Game	Hits Per 60 Min
1	Matt Martin	LW	NYI	118	4.72	26.42
2	Cal Clutterbuck	RW	NYI	107	4.46	21.05
3	Tommy Wingels	RW	SJ	99	3.81	13.72
4	Leo Komarov	C	TOR	99	4.30	16.45
5	Brooks Orpik	D	WAS	92	3.83	10.64
6	Chris Neil	RW	OTT	85	3.54	19.69
7	Milan Lucic	LW	BOS	84	3.23	11.53
8	Roman Polak	D	TOR	83	3.95	11.24
9	Nicolas Deslauriers	LW	BUF	83	3.32	18.11
10	Alex Ovechkin	RW	WAS	78	3.25	9.44
11	Lance Bouma	LW	CGY	77	3.08	14.76
12	Robyn Regehr	D	LA	76	3.45	10.73
13	Ryan Reaves	RW	STL	76	3.30	27.64
14	Radko Gudas	D	TB	75	3.41	12.00
15	Alexei Emelin	D	MON	75	3.13	8.57
16	Simon Despres	D	PIT	73	3.17	13.56
17	Dion Phaneuf	D	TOR	71	2.96	7.62
18	Blake Comeau	LW	PIT	71	3.09	12.60
19	Zac Rinaldo	LW	PHI	71	3.09	21.73
20	Derek MacKenzie	C	FLA	70	3.04	13.77
21	Matt Hendricks	LW	EDM	70	3.04	14.48
22	Chris Kunitz	LW	PIT	69	3.00	9.83
23	Dustin Byfuglien	RW	WPG	69	2.76	8.35
24	Dan Girardi	D	NYR	68	2.83	6.85
25	Marcus Foligno	LW	BUF	67	3.53	14.89
26	Troy Brouwer	RW	WAS	67	2.79	9.24
27	Travis Hamonic	D	NYI	66	3.14	8.98
28	Nate Thompson	C	ANH	66	2.54	11.31
29	Brayden McNabb	D	LA	66	2.64	9.52
30	Jan Hejda	D	COL	66	2.64	7.43
31	Tanner Glass	LW	NYR	66	3.14	18.42
32	Devante Smith-Pelly	RW	ANH	64	2.78	10.79
33	Dustin Brown	LW	LA	64	2.56	9.28
34	Nick Foligno	LW	CLS	64	2.78	8.89
35	Mike Weber	D	BUF	64	2.91	10.52
36	Mark Borowiecki	D	OTT	63	3.32	12.81
37	Ryan Kesler	C	ANH	63	2.42	7.33
38	Cody McLeod	LW	COL	62	2.48	15.76
39	Tim Gleason	D	CAR	62	2.82	10.42
40	Andrew Ladd	LW	WPG	62	2.48	7.41
41	Adam Lowry	LW	WPG	60	2.50	12.20
42	Scott Hartnell	LW	CLS	60	2.50	8.22
43	David Backes	C	STL	59	2.57	8.29
44	Matt Beleskey	LW	ANH	58	2.23	8.92
45	Mark Stuart	D	WPG	58	2.32	7.09
46	Evander Kane	LW	WPG	58	3.41	10.39
47	Shea Weber	D	NSH	58	2.42	5.41
48	Jarret Stoll	C	LA	57	2.28	8.51
49	David Clarkson	RW	TOR	57	2.38	9.40
50	Zemgus Girgensons	C	BUF	57	2.28	7.42

Tanner Glass is 2nd on the team in hits but everyone wants him out of the lineup (Getty)

The next Ranger to pop up is Chris Kreider at 95 with 45 hits. So that’s 1 defenseman and 2 Ranger forwards in the top 100. Now stop and realize that forwards get a majority of their hits forechecking in the offensive zone, you know – where Hank isn’t. The next NYR defenseman to appear is Kevin Klein with 42 hits, good for 123rd on the list. 99 spots off of Girardi!

Ryan McDonagh’s return will certainly help in the hit and defense department, but he’s still trying to find his game. Right now, the rest of the Blueshirts need to start taking the body and allow Henrik to see and find pucks more easily.

Henrik can take all the heat he wants, but the Rangers defensemen need to be harder to play against. Yes, the Blueshirt blue-line is built on skating and positioning, which is great against the rush. However, once the puck gets in the zone and the cycle starts, they need to win more board battles and start putting more opposition forwards on their keisters in front of Lundqvist.

Challenge issued defense – step up!

*Even strength save percentage was run eliminating any goaltender that has played less than 10 games.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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