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Lundqvist motivated by falling just short of finals

Lundqvist

The bar has been raised for the New York Rangers, and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist couldn’t be happier.

“I just like the feeling to expect, to expect more out of everybody on the team,” Lundqvist told the NHL.com. “When I got here some years ago I think a lot of people were hoping and were not really sure, but with this year, I hope we continue building, and that’s to expect more out of everybody, to want to be a top team. To be that you have to push yourself hard, because it’s not just going to happen.

“Everybody had a fun year, but we need to come back and try to be even better because we came up short.”

Although the Rangers’ roster could still use some work over the summer, there’s certainly plenty of reasons for them to be optimistic after making it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. Lundqvist posted two shutouts in their final series against the New Jersey Devils, but they ultimately lost in six games.

“I can only speak for myself; it motivates me a lot to work on my game and come back, try to be even better,” Lundqvist said. “Just to get a taste of it, it’s exciting, but at the same time we didn’t reach the ultimate goal, we didn’t get to where we want to be. But to get a taste of it, I think it’s good for the future.”

It’s hard to see Lundqvist getting much better. He’s already a Vezina Trophy nominee. If anything the Rangers need to do more offensively.

Getting another star forward like Rich Nash would be an appealing solution, but Mark Messier thinks that the key is to add depth. Either way, they’re building on a superb foundation in Lundqvist.