The playoffs are often a lonely place for Lundy, will Monday night be another lonely night for the Rangers puck stopper? (Credits: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America) |
As the seconds ticked on and the shots kept raining down on the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist, I realized I was watching something I've seen over and over again in the last few years. It was a classic Lundy game, 27 tough saves, a magnificent shutout brewing and yet still in the last five minutes of the game he was stopping the kind of shots that make Rangers fans hearts skip a beat. There was no need for this to be a game and yet the Rangers still only led by one goal, a scene we've seen all too often. Aside from last year, most of Lundy's dominant playoff performances go to naught because of the Rangers inability to find the twine; will this year be a repeat?
Lundqvist and the blueshirts have struggled to really take any sort of foothold in this series. They're 0-3 in the Verizon Center and had to hold on for dear life in Games 3, 4 and most recently in Game 6 just to get here. Offensively, their big boy combo of Richards and Nash have yielded a meager two points: one goal, one assist. They've been led by an unheralded hero in Derick Brassard and a exciting, but not yet refined speedster in Carl Hagelin. The Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh blue line has been the only pairing that's really been solid. Overall the Rangers haven't been that great and yet they're still here staring at the proverbial "anything can happen" Game 7.
As I said before though, it's kind of like we're watching the same movie over again here. Lundqvist putting on an absolute show in front of a deafening Garden crowd forcing what should be a magical Game 7, before throwing up a heartbreaking dud a night or two later. In the '09 quarterfinals New York grabbed a stunning 3-1 lead against the #2-seeded Capitals, before blowing it in three straight games by a combined score of 10-5. Lundy had a shutout in Game 2 and stopped 38 shots in Game 4. They blew an early 1-0 lead in Game 7, losing 2-1. Before that in the '07 semis, King Henrik was putting together one of the greatest series ever until 7.7 seconds remaining in a pivotal Game 5. He posted 38 saves in a Game 3, 2-1 victory, he then had 29 saves in another 2-1 win in Game 4. In one of the most impressive goaltending performances I had ever watched, Lundqvist posted 35 magical saves and almost completed a shutout before Chris Drury buried a tying goal with 7.7 seconds left. Maxim Afinogenov finished the job in OT. As the team's fans would say these days, "Classic F'ing Rangers."
So will it be a classic Rangers dud on Monday night, Lundy standing on his head while Nash and Richards play hide and seek? Or will it be a new chapter in the Lundqvist-era where the Rangers actually step up, take the momentum they gained from their superstar goaltender and head on to the semis?
We'll know tomorrow night, but I'll tell you what, if Tortorella's directing another Hollywood blockbuster bust, the Rangers brass might have to re-think this big-mouthed boss.
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