It’s safe once again for Henrik Lundqvist to go back to the Garden to watch the Knicks play.
It wasn’t always that way.
After being pulled from nets on Feb. 3 of last season after allowing three goals on 12 shots in 35:04 of a 3-2 loss to the Devils a night after having been photographed with Justin Bieber on celebrity row watching the Knicks play the Mavericks, the King was strongly discouraged, if not specifically prohibited, by coach John Tortorella from returning to watch Carmelo Anthony and his teammates the rest of the way.
But there Lundqvist was on Christmas Day, watching the Knicks beat the Celtics in the NBA season opener.
“Well, we had won four in a row,” a smiling Lundqvist told The Post following yesterday’s morning skate at the Garden that preceded last night’s match against the Islanders.
Now it’s five straight for the Rangers, and primarily because of Lundqvist, who recorded 28 saves in the 3-0 victory over their suburban cousins that represented his third shutout of the season and 38th of his NHL career, just 11 shy of the franchise record owned by Ed Giacomin.
“I think I’ll be able to go back now,” Lundqvist said after it had ended. “I’m glad I didn’t jinx it.”
The Rangers’ legs appeared somewhat heavy and their thought process a bit slow coming off the NHL’s two-day holiday recess. Lundqvist, however, was brilliant, especially during a stretch of 2:41 late in the second period during which he made nine saves, all on shots off flurries from around the net in protecting a 1-0 lead.
“Some of that was luck, but I was battling,” the goaltender said. “The biggest difference for me this year is that I try not to think too much about my technique and how I have to play; it’s more me just competing.”
The Rangers have constructed a seven-game winning streak and now a pair of five-game winning streaks within their first 34 matches through a consistent commitment to competing. Rare indeed is the night the 22-8-4 Blueshirts, who have a one-point lead on the Bruins for the conference lead with Boston holding a game in hand, are outworked.“Obviously we have some skill, but we do the little things to win games,” said Michael Del Zotto, now plus-25 after a night in which he was on for every goal and had assists on each of the Carl Hagelin scores that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead before a Marian Gaborik empty-netter sealed it. “That’s basically the character of our team.”
Del Zotto has been on the ice for 54 of the Blueshirts’ 101 goals. He’s been on for 37 of 75 even-strength goals, 14 of 21 power-play goals and three of five shorthanded goals. It’s an astonishing stat for the third-year pro who is averaging 22:42 per game. He set up Hagelin’s opening goal at 5:14 of the second with a toe-drag move that left Frans Nielsen flummoxed in the left circle.
“You don’t think about it when you’re making the play, it’s just going on instinct,” Del Zotto said. “It’s one of those where you’re going to get an earful from the coaches back on the bench if it doesn’t work out.
“I didn’t, but they warned me to be prepared for that if it doesn’t work out the next time.”
Last night, though, it worked like a charm during a match in which Lundqvist stood as tall as Tyson Chandler and made it safe for himself to watch the Knicks play at the Garden.
NEIL MILLER
AN ICE SAVE: Henrik Lundqvist stones the Islanders’ Josh Bailey during a 28-save shutout in the Rangers’ 3-0 victory last night at the Garden — the streaking Blueshirts’ fifth in a row.
No comments:
Post a Comment