Henrik Lundqvist further cements his legacy on this day in hockey history

Henrik Lundqvist was busy doing Henrik Lundqvist things on this day in 2017.

It is Hump Day so what better time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some recent NHL history?! And former New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is the focus of our attention today.

We’re beginning to get a flurry of news in relation to the start of the 2020-21 NHL season, which is very good news indeed, and we may have some actual hockey to talk about sooner rather than later.

But, in the meantime, let’s take a trip down memory lane and see what took place at Madison Square Garden just under three years ago today…

The King Rules Supreme

Henrik Lundqvist is now a member of the Washington Capitals having been bought out by the New York Rangers prior to Free Agency opening, a move that perhaps best sums up a crazy 2020 from a sporting perspective.

However, even if Lundqvist were to finally get his hands on the Stanley Cup with the Caps, he’ll enter the Hockey Hall of Fame as a New York Ranger and he’ll forever be remembered in the rich annals of hockey history for his heroics and impact in The Big Apple.

And, on this day in 2017, Lundqvist took another giant step towards establishing his legacy as one of the best to have ever put on the pads in both New York and in the National Hockey League.

In what was a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils for the Rangers on Dec. 9, 2017, Lundqvist earned his 419th NHL career win, which was impressive enough but even more impressive when you consider that the future Hall of Famer passed the great Tony Esposito (418) for the second-most wins by a goalie with one NHL franchise in NHL history.

It placed Lundqvist just behind Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur who recorded 688 of his NHL record 691 wins for the Devils.

It was another golden moment in the illustrious career of Henrik Lundqvist, who currently sits sixth on the NHL’s All-Time List for wins with 459, within touching distance of both Ed Belfour and Roberto Luongo in fourth and third respectively.

Of course, there appears to still be something left in the tank and Lundqvist will look to put the crowning moment on a stellar career by finally getting his hands on the greatest prize in all of sports, although it will be rather strange to see The King lift the Stanley Cup above his head in a Capitals jersey.

Anyway, we digress.

It was a memorable moment for those inside Madison Square Garden that night and, for those interested, Jimmy Vesey, Jesper Fast, Mats Zuccarello (2) and Kevin Hayes lit the lamp for the New York Rangers in that milestone win for Henrik Lundqvist.

Notable Mentions

Let’s quickly look at two other important moments that took place on this day in history…

Dec. 9, 1986 – It was quite the day for LA Kings rookie Luc Robitaille, who recorded his first career NHL hat trick in a 7-2 win against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Robitaille scored once in the second period and twice in the third, while he would go on to finish with 84 points (45 G, 39 A) in 79 regular season games in his rookie year.

Robitaille would of course go on to enter the Hall of Fame after winning the Stanley Cup in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings, being named an eight-time All-Star and putting up 1,394 points (668 G, 726 A) in 1,431 career NHL games.

Dec. 9, 2018 – What a day for Elias Pettersson. The young phenom was quickly making quite the name for himself in the NHL at this point and he proved why with one hell of an outing.

In a 6-1 win for the Vancouver Canucks against the St. Louis Blues, Pettersson recorded the second five-point game of his young career with four assists and one goal in a convincing win for the Canucks.

Three of Pettersson’s assists came on Brock Boeser‘s second NHL hat trick, and Pettersson would go on to finish his rookie year with the Calder Memorial Trophy after recording 66 points (28 G, 38 A) in 71 regular season games.