Henrik Lundqvist continues to dominate when facing 30+ shots
At least when the Rangers give up that many shots, he’s there.
Henrik Lundqvist is a good goalie.
I know, stop the presses, right?
Here, let’s put it this way: in his latest outing, Lundqvist faced 32 shots from the Washington Capitals. He stopped 31 of them. It was the 11th time in a row he’s won a game in which he’s faced over 30 shots, with save percentages over that time period ranging from .892 (the only time he fell below .900) to .977.
As it would turn out, that’s really not all that common. Via the Elias Sports Bureau:
Over the last 40 years only two other NHL goaltenders have won 11 or more consecutive games in one season in which they faced 30 or more shots on goal. Sergei Bobrovsky had a 13-win streak for the Blue Jackets earlier this season (Oct. 28–Jan. 21) and Semyon Varlamov won 11 straight for Colorado in 2013–14.
Well, perhaps more common as of late - but still, this does place Lundqvist in a pretty rare grouping.
Now, it’s not as though you want the Rangers to be giving up that many shots game in and game out - though they’ve done it in half their games this season, 29 of 58 - but it’s good to know that when that happens, at least Lundqvist will be there to bail his team out.
And it’s also kind of cool to know that if he can do it three more times in a row - assuming the Rangers allow that many more shots against him - he’ll be setting a new record.
Knock on wood, of course.
