Though he has been far from his 2012 Vezina Trophy-winning self, the loss of Henrik Lundqvist for the already sputtering New York Rangers could prove to be dire, and reports out of the Rangers practice in Greenburgh indicate that Lundqvist will not practice for the second straight day while dealing with what the team is calling a "minor issue."
Lundqvist, who the Rangers are hoping to lockup to a long-term deal before he hits free agency at the end of the season, hasn't looked as sharp as he has in the past when he helped the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012 and then to the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Lundqvist, who has put his contract talks behind him for now, took Monday's practice off for what the team described as a "maintenance day," but the Swedish native not practicing for the second day in a row due to an issue is certainly raising many eyebrows.
The team has listed Lundqvist, 31, as day-to-day.
The Rangers (2-5-0, four points) are off to a shaky start as they've played seven games of their nine-game season-opening road trip as Madison Square Garden undergoes its final phase of renovations, and find themselves just two points above the Philadelphia Flyers (1-7-0, 2 points) in the cellar of the newly formed Metropolitan Division, and are 10 points behind the division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins (7-2-0, 14 points). The Rangers have two more road games on this trip, Thursday in Philadelphia and Saturday against the Red Wings in Detroit before the team finally comes home Oct. 28 to host the Montreal Canadiens.
The Rangers official Twitter account acknowledged Lundqvist's absence while saying that he is at the MSG practice facility with the team, just isn't partaking in any drills today.
#NYR on ice for morning skate.. @HLundqvist30 dealing with "minor issue" not taking part though he is at MSG Training Center
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 22, 2013
The Rangers are tied with the Flyers for the least amount of team goals in the entire league (11) while the 29 goals they've let up are the third-most in the NHL thus far this season and the team's goals-against per game ratio of 4.14 is the worst in the league.
The Rangers are ahead of just the Flyers and Buffalo Sabres (1-8-1, 3 points) for the least amount of points in the conference, and it's been due to their lack of goal-scoring ability and the amount of goals the Blueshirts have given up this season. The Rangers handed the New Jersey Devils their first win of the season 4-0 on Saturday in their last game.
Lundqvist, normally the backbone of the team that is notorious for scoring very few goals, hasn't been able to bail out his teammates thus far this season, as he's posted a 2-4-0 record through six starts while allowing 20 goals and posting a goals-against average of 3.45 with an .890 save percentage.
Still, the Rangers are hopeful Lundqvist can turn his season around and the team will feed off of it, but if the injury proves to be more than just minor the team could be in trouble and have to look to unproven young backup goalie Cam Talbot.
If it proves to be a long-term ailment, Lundqvist will be the latest casualty on a team that has already been without top-six forwards Rick Nash (concussion) Ryan Callahan (broken thumb) and Carl Hagelin (shoulder surgery).
Lundqvist has been anything but The King in the crease thus far this season, but the Rangers need him if they have any hope of getting out of the doldrums of the Eastern Conference.
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