NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 25: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers stops a shot in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden on January 25, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Even though his New York Rangers were being outplayed, goalie Henrik Lundqvist (pictured) was going to make sure they came out with the W.
The St. Louis Blues outshot the Rangers 36-23, but the 33 year old Swede stopped 35 shots and preserved a grind-it-out 2-1 victory for New York.
Rangers defenseman Marc Staal told the New York Daily News, “When Hank’s playing like that, we feel like we can beat anyone. That’s why he’s our best player, and on nights like this, you get a win where maybe you shouldn’t have.”
In the process Lundqvist passed Mike Richter for most regular season saves in franchise history, he finished the game with 17,404 saves. He also became the third goalie in NHL history to have at least 30 wins in 10 different seasons, joining Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur, who is now the Blue’s assistant GM. Lundqvist is the first goalie to accomplish the feat in his first 11 pro seasons.
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“Growing up, those guys were guys I was watching and now I’m up there with wins,” Lundqvist said. “To me, it’s just a sign of I’ve been given a chance for a lot of years. I’ve been lucky to play with a lot of good players and been able to have a competitive team every year.”
The Rangers got their first goal when Tanner Glass got his second goal of the season off a deflection of Dan Girardi‘s shot with 6:46 remaining in the first period. Left winger Chris Kreider broke the tie in the third period with his 12th goal of the season on a wrist shot off an assist from Oscar Lindberg with 15:42 remaining.
The Blues tied the game with a power play goal in the second. Lundqvist stopped a shot from Paul Stastny, but Troy Brouwer was able to put in the rebound for his 12th goal.
The Rangers (35-20-6, 76 points) now sit third in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind the Florida Panthers. They will stay on the road and travel to Dallas to take on the Stars (38-16-6, 82 points) tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. ET. Despite the loss, the Blues (35-19-9, 79 points) remain in third place in the Western Conference and remain in striking distance of Dallas (82 points) and Chicago (81 points). Their next game is tomorrow afternoon at 3pm ET, in Nashville against the Predators (30-21-11, 71 points).
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