In honor of Henrik Lundqvist’s thirty-sixth birthday today, I decided to write this article on the career of New York Rangers goaltender and future Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist.
Henrik Lundqvist was born in Are, Sweden, on March 2, 1982. After being passed up by the Dallas Stars, who selected his twin brother in the third round, Henrik Lundqvist was finally selected by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Lundqvist did not start immediately for the Rangers. Instead, he played from 2000 to 2005 with Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League. He played 180 games for the Frolunda Indians. In those games, he only allowed 1.96 goals a game, and he had a .927 save percentage. Lundqvist won two Swedish League Championships and led his team to four straight playoff appearances.
Lundqvist had a good rookie season with the Rangers. He finished his first NHL season with 30 wins, breaking the previous record of 29 for a win by a Ranger rookie goaltender. Lundqvist posted a .922 save percentage in his rookie year, which was the fourth best in the league. He also had the fifth best goals against average with 2.24. Henrik Lundqvist was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s best goaltender for that season. The Rangers made the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the first round by the New Jersey Devils. Also, Lundqvist, alongside Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, was named to the NHL All Rookie Team.
In his second season, the New York Rangers again made the playoffs. The Rangers played the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round. Henrik Lundqvist allowed no goals in game three, and the Rangers won 7-0. This was the first playoff shutout in Rangers history since 1997. The Rangers would go on to sweep the Thrashers. Lundqvist was nominated once again for the Vezina Trophy.
In 2009, Lundqvist was selected to his first All Star Game. Lundqvist became the first goaltender to win 30 games in each of his first five seasons in 2010. He was selected to the All Star game again in 2011. In 2012, Lundqvist posted his 40th career shutout and became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 30 games in each of his first seven seasons. Also in 2012, Lundqvist was awarded the Vezina Trophy.
Lundqvist became the winningest goaltender in Rangers history in 2014 when he won his 302nd game in a game against the Ottawa Senators. In the 2014 NHL playoffs with 2-1 defeat of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lundqvist broke an NHL record as he won a fifth straight game seven of a playoff series. Lundqvist and the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 1-0 shutout of the Montreal Canadiens. The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Rangers in game five to win the Stanley Cup. Led by Lundqvist, the Rangers returned to the playoffs in 2015 with the best regular season record in the NHL.
Henrik Lundqvist became the first goaltender in NHL history to win at least 20 games in 13 consecutive seasons in 2017. On Thursday, February 28, 2018, Lundqvist made 50 saves in a 6-5 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks. Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers currently are on a streak of seven straight playoff appearances.
Lundqvist holds several Rangers and NHL records. Henrik Lundqvist is the only goaltender in NHL history to win 30 games in each of his first seven seasons, and he is the only goaltender to have won at least 30 games in every full season that he has played. He holds the record for most consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins. He also holds the record for most career shootout saves in NHL history. Lundqvist has the most shutouts and playoff wins in Rangers history. He is the New York Rangers all-time leader in combined regular season and playoff shutouts and holds the Rangers record for most wins by a goaltender. Also, Lundqvist was the fastest goaltender in the NHL to reach 400 wins, and he is currently in 8th place for all-time career wins by a goaltender.
In a addition to his many records and outstanding play in the NHL, Lundqvist has also played in international tournaments for Sweden. In 2002, He led Team Sweden to its first ever gold medal in Inline Hockey at the IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships. In 2003 and 2004, He won silver medals with Sweden at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. Lundqvist has been on Sweden’s Olympic team twice, winning gold in 2006 and silver in 2014. He holds the Winter Olympics record for consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. (172 minutes and 34 seconds) After the Rangers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs last year, Lundqvist joined his identical twin brother, Joel Lundqvist, at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. Lundqvist stopped all four shootout shots against Canada in the finals winning gold for Sweden. He had .946 save percentage and a 1.31 goals against average during the tournament.
Lundqvist is clearly one of the best goaltenders to ever play hockey and will undoubtedly be inducted into the Hall of Fame after he retires.
Happy Birthday King Henrik Lundqvist !!!
photo by Clyde
