Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
You have to feel for Henrik Lundqvist. He has accomplished so much in his time as a Ranger. Winningest goalie in franchise history. Franchise leader in shutouts. Two-time Olympic medalist for Sweden (Gold and Silver). Vezina trophy winner in 2012. Stanley Cup Final runner-up.
But there is something that has to be eating at him. No matter how hard he tries, Lundqvist just can’t solve the riddle. That riddle is the New York Rangers, a team that was supposed to compete this season for the division. However, they are going in the opposite direction. Sitting at 6-6-2, the Rangers are not out of it yet. However, if they continue to lose the way they did last weekend (a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday), then things could go south real quick.
Perhaps, their season may have gone down the drain if it were not for the effort of Lundqvist. Despite being outscored most nights, his saves have been highlight-worthy. He constantly keeps the Rangers in a game. But constantly his team lets him down. You have to think that Lundqvist is reaching his boiling point. One day, reports will surface that Lundqvist yelled behind closed doors at his teammates and started pointing fingers.
Actually, a little frustration had peeped from Lundqvist on Sunday night. The first sign came during a stoppage in play. As the announcers were talking, you could hear in the background someone dropping a very loud F-bomb in the background. Rangers fans in unison took to the twitter-verse and agreed with the netminder. The second time was after a players-only meeting following their Sunday loss. Jim Cerny of blueshirtsunited.com sent out tweet yesterday:
#NYR close dressing room for team chat after the game..thenStaalcalls loss “awakeup call” & Henriksays “it’s our 2nd or 3rd wakeup call” — Jim Cerny(@JimCerny) November 10, 2014
The frustration is mounting for Lundqvist. But what factors could be leading to his frustration you ask? Let’s take a guess: