New York Rangers: Midseason State of the Union Address

4 of 4

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 01: Henrik Lundqvist (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Goaltending

The goaltending category has been surprisingly the most consistent of the three this season for the New York Rangers.

That is not to say we underestimated the likes of Lundqvist, but we didn’t expect him to be swimming in the fountain of youth.

So many people thought that Lundqvist’s days of being elite were over as he enters the latter half of his thirties, but I think we can all confidently say that he has been the best Ranger this season.

His All-Star selection was more than deserved as he has been carrying the load this year with 42 games under his belt while sporting a .922 save percentage at 35 years old.

Lundqvist recently became the first goaltender in NHL history to achieve at least 20 wins in 13 straight seasons. This is a player who the Rangers never seem to have to worry about as he is so often regarded as one of the hardest competitors in the game.

The New York Rangers have built teams around him for so many seasons now and always trust him to bring world-class goaltending as they traded away two younger starting options in Cam Talbot and Anti Raanta over the past few years in order to keep him.

More from Empire Writes Back

What is a shame is that Lundqvist is defying time and putting together a season people did not expect of him, but he is now just another season older and the rest of the team has not been able to get it done.

There have been a number of losses this season where Lundqvist has been able to keep the Rangers in tough games but they couldn’t make the extra play in order to change the result.

Ondrej Pavelec has been a fine backup as he has played impressively in the sporadic opportunities he has been given.

Pavelec had a shaky outing in the win against the San Jose Sharks and a tough shift in arguably the Rangers’ worst performance of the season on Jan 13 against the New York Islanders but overall has done his job.

The goaltending situation will stay as is like it always has and I don’t expect there to be any moves regarding trying to improve the situation as it has been the only consistent part of the team this year.

Next: New York Rangers looking at breaking everything down

Personally, I am against the front office tearing the team apart while being one point out of a playoff spot with Lundqvist playing the way he is. The Rangers owe it to him to keep pushing for a cup while he is still around. Wait to rebuild until after he hangs up the skates.

Whether the New York Rangers continue to push for the playoffs, cut their losses and look to the future, or perhaps make a move that could cater to both needs, I think if they can just manage to stay in the game until April, 1-in-16 becomes a heck of a lot better odds than 1-in-31.

Home/New York Rangers