Henrik Lundqvist took the ice last night for the 1000th time in his NHL career (playoff games included). By the time the game ended, the King's crown still shone, untarnished.
The 37-year-old keeper, in the penultimate year of his contract, saved 41 of 43 shots that the Hurricanes launched at his net. The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, then held on to their Swedish stalwart for dear life the rest of the way. Lundqvist was the only reasonable choice for first star of the game.
On a night when Mika Zibanejad returned to the lineup after a month-long absence, it was his fellow countryman who stole the show. In his 872 regular season game, Henrik picked up his 456th victory. As is often the case these days, the young defensive corps is still having trouble limiting shots on goal, so Hank had to work for it.
In a career highlighted by a Vezina Trophy, a part of a run of 10 seasons when he finished no lower than 6th in the Vezina voting, the future Hall of Famer still hopes to win a Cup with the Rangers. Whether that happens in the next two years remains to be seen, but it's safe to say that Hank made Rangers hockey competitive and watchable for the last 15 years all by himself.
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