By Jordan Long
The New York Rangers sit at 44-23-2 with 90 points. They are in the first Wild Card spot, two points behind Columbus for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They will be without goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for two to three weeks because of a hip injury the team announced this past weekend.
Lundqvist is the top goaltender for the New York Rangers. He was having a decent season with an impressive record of 30-17-2 with a .913 save percentage. Lundqvist’s goals against average is 2.65. The team was playing excellent hockey in front of him by skating the puck out of their zone. If a shot was coming towards Lundqvist, the Rangers knew he was going to make the save.
Now that he will be out for a while that gives Antti Raanta the chance to start games. Raanta has appeared in 24 games. His record is 14-6 with a goals against average of 2.25 and a save percentage of .924. The other goaltender who could see playing time is Magnus Hellberg. The Rangers called him up from Hartford. If Raanta struggles in net, Hellberg will have his opportunity to be the starting goaltender until Lundqvist recovers.
The Rangers will most likely make the playoffs. Their play in net with Raanta and Hellberg will determine where they finish in the standings. Once the playoffs start, they should have Lundqvist back and hopefully he is healthy to play. The only way they will advance in the postseason is if Lundqvist plays well in net. Hopefully the Rangers will finish off the year strong without Henrik Lundqvist.
How do you feel the Rangers will do without Henrik Lundqvist?
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