The Pittsburgh Penguins score a lot of goals. They finished third in the league in that category, behind only Dallas and Washington.
The New York Rangers give up a lot of shot attempts at even strength. They finished seventh worst in the league in that category, as per War-on-Ice, and not one of the six teams worse than them in that category made the playoffs.
Henrik Lundqvist, well, this is where he makes a difference for the Rangers, posting a .920 save percentage during the season.
And in a series against the Penguins, with Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel and Kris Letang, etc., Lundqvist will need to continue to provide stellar goaltending if New York is to advance.
(Check out the PHT staff predictions for the opening round. Not exactly flattering for the Rangers.)
“It’s always exciting to measure yourself against top players in the league and Pittsburgh has been a team over the last few years that has had a really strong team,” said Lundqvist, as per Sportsnet.
“They play a fast game, so for a team and especially for a goalie it’s always a lot of action, mentally and physically, technically you just have to prepare for that.”
According to reports, Lundqvist wasn’t feeling well and had to leave Monday’s practice. He returned to skate on Tuesday, with Game 1 of that series scheduled for Wednesday.
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