Henrik Lundqvist

[we want cup]

I don't think he watches many other goalies in the league except for Cam Talbot.

Lundqvist's positioning is his greatest asset as a goalie. Ends up flailing and on his stomach? Yeah, that's Jonathan Quick, who yesterday made an easy save on a backhand into a "paint me like one of your French girls" move. It worked, but Lundqvist could have just as easily stopped the shot by staying square to the BACKHAND shot.

Yeah, Quick is a master of making routine saves look incredible because he isn't very sound positionally (a.k.a. the Tim Thomas effect).

Lundqvist, on the other hand, makes difficult saves look easy because he's always in the right place, so he rarely needs to make big, sprawling saves.

 

[OnlyTruth]

Yeah, Quick is a master of making routine saves look incredible because he isn't very sound positionally (a.k.a. the Tim Thomas effect).

Lundqvist, on the other hand, makes difficult saves look easy because he's always in the right place, so he rarely needs to make big, sprawling saves.

Yeah, Quick sucks. That's why he has two Cups and schooled us on how to be a real goalie in the finals last season.

 

[JohnC]

Yeah, Quick sucks. That's why he has two Cups and schooled us on how to be a real goalie in the finals last season.

That's not what he said

Just give up already bro it's old and tired

 

[haveandare]

Yeah, Quick sucks. That's why he has two Cups and schooled us on how to be a real goalie in the finals last season.

Please explain this.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Yeah, Quick sucks. That's why he has two Cups and schooled us on how to be a real goalie in the finals last season.

This is just not accurate.

 

[Doctyl]

For an uberclutch playoff god, Quick's numbers are good, but Hank's are borderline godly when his back is against the wall. The only situations where Quick out performs Lundqvist is when he can close out a series.

How about the modern-day clutchmaster, Jonathan Quick:

Situation | GP | W | L | Actual SV% | Expected SV% | S+/30
All Games|76|45|31|0.923|0.913|+0.30
Can Eliminate|18|10|8|0.923|0.913|+0.27
Can be Eliminated|12|9|3|0.937|0.913|+0.70
Mutual Elimination|4|4|0|0.940|0.912|+0.85

(Unlike the above table, these results form do not form a partition. Mutual Elimination games are included in all three "elimination" categories)

Quick (and the Kings) does seem to raise his game when the possibility of cleaning out his locker the following day is a reality. When they have the edge? Not as much.

Here are Jonathan's mutual-elimination games (they will likely look familiar):

Game | Result | Score | Shots | Exp Saves | Actual Saves
5/28/2013 vs. San Jose|W|2-1|26|24.1|25
4/30/2014 at San Jose|W|5-1|40|36.7|39
5/16/2014 at Anaheim|W|6-2|27|24.3|25
6/1/2014 at Chicago|W|5-4 OT|41|37.1|37

Last but not least (for tonight), Henrik Lundqvist just might be the "king" of helping his team get back into series:

Situation | GP | W | L | Actual SV% | Expected SV% | S+/30
All Games|92|43|48|0.926|0.909|+0.49
Can Eliminate|14|8|5|0.912|0.909|+0.08
Can be Eliminated|20|12|8|0.958|0.910|+1.44
Mutual Elimination|6|5|1|0.965|0.908|+1.71

(Unlike the above table, these results form do not form a partition. Mutual Elimination games are included in all three "elimination" categories)

(Yes, Lundqvist's overall save percentage from my logs does not match his career totals either).

When the Rangers are down, Lundqvist appears to not be out - the "can be eliminated" results are borderline statistically significant; he goes from +0.49 G+/30 (all playoff games) to +1.44 G+/30 (in games where Lundqvist can be eliminated).

This includes the +1.71 G+/30 in mutual elimination games, listed here:

Game | Result | Score | Shots | Exp Saves | Actual Saves
4/28/2009 at Washington|L|1-2|24|21.8|22
4/26/2012 vs. Ottawa|W|2-1|27|24.7|26
5/12/2012 vs. Washington|W|2-1|23|20.9|22
5/13/2013 at Washington|W|5-0|35|31.6|35
4/30/2014 vs. Philadelphia|W|2-1|27|24.6|26
5/13/2014 at Pittsburgh|W|2-1|36|32.7|35

 

[Richter Scale]

For an uberclutch playoff god, Quick's numbers are good, but Hank's are borderline godly when his back is against the wall. The only situations where Quick out performs Lundqvist is when he can close out a series.

It's generally ideal not to have your back against the wall in the first place. It isn't exactly great for playoff success (read: deep playoff runs) that Hank under performs in those games that could help to close out a series earlier.

Also, missing from those charts are a separate row for exclusively non-elimination games. Would be curious to see that.

And why is Hank's "Expected Sv %" lower than Quick's?

--

Disclaimer: Yes, yes, I know, team game, etc.

 

[Siddi]

I don't think he watches many other goalies in the league except for Cam Talbot.

I dont think he watches many hockey games at all.

 

[Ail]

I dont think he watches many hockey games at all.

I don't think he has eyes.

 

[jskramer83]

Not sure where all this sound positioning talk is coming from. Since coming into the league Lundqvist's biggest knock was that he plays too deep in the net. Still to this day he will be the first to admit he does, but he has the physical gifts to make up for this.

It is a big reason why he was a 7th round pick, and is considered a marvel in net today. Not many goalies can overcome this like him due to Lundqvist's incredible reflexes.

here is an interview with hank to back this up

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203358704577235384059033396

 

[OnlyTruth]

Not sure where all this sound positioning talk is coming from. Since coming into the league Lundqvist's biggest knock was that he plays too deep in the net. Still to this day he will be the first to admit he does, but he has the physical gifts to make up for this.

If you read my post carefully you will see that I wasn't referring to his initial positioning. I was pointing out what often happens after the first shot.

 

[GordonGecko]

Hank plays best under maximum pressure, that's the very definition of an ideal playoffs player

 

[TheTakedown]

Hank plays best under maximum pressure, that's the very definition of an ideal playoffs player

most of our players do, actually

 

[Levitate]

Not sure where all this sound positioning talk is coming from. Since coming into the league Lundqvist's biggest knock was that he plays too deep in the net. Still to this day he will be the first to admit he does, but he has the physical gifts to make up for this.

It is a big reason why he was a 7th round pick, and is considered a marvel in net today. Not many goalies can overcome this like him due to Lundqvist's incredible reflexes.

here is an interview with hank to back this up

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203358704577235384059033396

It's not a knock on him exactly, it's just a comment on his style of play. Some people don't like the play deep in your net style but it's something Allaire coached into him when he came to the NHL. It's a deliberate decision to play like that and he still has to have incredible positioning to make it work.

It has nothing to do with him being a 7th round pick. Before he played in the NHL he played a much more aggressive style, further out from the net. Talking like him playing deep is a fault that he's overcoming is wildly misunderstanding what is going on.

Heck you can even watch Talbot play and he doesn't come as far out as a lot of goalies in the league, which is a result of Allaire's coaching.

e: from way back in Lundqvist's rookie season:

Regardless, Allaire has clearly influenced Lundqvist this season. Lundqvist said he lined up deeper in the net to reduce his movements and give himself more time to react.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/sports/hockey/28rangers.html?_r=0

You can also find posts on this very board from years ago where people like Ola who watched him play in Sweden say that he used to play a much more aggressive game positioning wise.

 

[GordonGecko]

most of our players do, actually

Nash is a problem until he shows otherwise

 

[Doctyl]

In Sweden wouldnt Hank often go on adventures way out of the net? I thought Allaire changed his game here.

 

[indexgnome]

In Sweden wouldnt Hank often go on adventures way out of the net? I thought Allaire changed his game here.

I'm not sure I would call it adventures but yes. At least as far I can remember he was a lot less reliable in his positioning back in sweden before you stole him from us

 

[jskramer83]

It's not a knock on him exactly, it's just a comment on his style of play. Some people don't like the play deep in your net style but it's something Allaire coached into him when he came to the NHL. It's a deliberate decision to play like that and he still has to have incredible positioning to make it work.

It has nothing to do with him being a 7th round pick. Before he played in the NHL he played a much more aggressive style, further out from the net. Talking like him playing deep is a fault that he's overcoming is wildly misunderstanding what is going on.

Heck you can even watch Talbot play and he doesn't come as far out as a lot of goalies in the league, which is a result of Allaire's coaching.

e: from way back in Lundqvist's rookie season:



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/sports/hockey/28rangers.html?_r=0

You can also find posts on this very board from years ago where people like Ola who watched him play in Sweden say that he used to play a much more aggressive game positioning wise.

It's definitely not a knock on him, and maybe i'm wrong as my memory isn't what it used to be but always remember him playing far back in the net. At least in the NHL, never watched him much in Sweden.

Just saw a lot of people early on in this thread stating Lundqvist's strength is his position, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. His strength is his Reflexes, which makes up for his positioning.

 

[OnlyTruth]

Just saw a lot of people early on in this thread stating Lundqvist's strength is his position, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. His strength is his Reflexes, which makes up for his positioning.

Are u saying that he doesnt know how to play and only his reflexes makes him so good? Even I don't think that he doesn't know how to play. What you have posted here is a bit extreem IMO.

 

[Doctyl]

Just saw a lot of people early on in this thread stating Lundqvist's strength is his position, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. His strength is his Reflexes, which makes up for his positioning.

Uh no he's great at both. How often can you find goals where Hank is out of position? Playing deep in the net is not out of position. He is a very very good positional goalie and has elite reflexes.

 

[Sirius Vivace]

I'm not sure I would call it adventures but yes. At least as far I can remember he was a lot less reliable in his positioning back in sweden before you stole him from us

Thank You for Lundqvist.

Welcome to the boards.

 

[Marcus AKA Kluivert]

I like to say that if you are forced to make an acrobatic save you only had to make it because you wern´t in the right position in the first place (obviously not true in ALL cases but still). Being in the right position is Henriks´ biggest strenght and is the one strenght I value higher than any other when it comes to playing the goaltender position (which is why I think Cam has a very bright future ahead of him in the NHL also).

 

[Levitate]

It's definitely not a knock on him, and maybe i'm wrong as my memory isn't what it used to be but always remember him playing far back in the net. At least in the NHL, never watched him much in Sweden.

Just saw a lot of people early on in this thread stating Lundqvist's strength is his position, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. His strength is his Reflexes, which makes up for his positioning.

Yeah they started immediately teaching him to play deeper as soon as he came over. Rangers hired Allaire in 2004, Lundqvist came over the next year

I would say you also have it a bit backwards...he's able to play deeper (and gain the benefits of doing so) because of his reflexes, rather than his reflexes making up for him playing deeper.

Also, his positioning in terms of staying square to the shooter and being in position to make a save is excellent, which is what people are mainly talking about

 

[The Gloaming]

Yeah they started immediately teaching him to play deeper as soon as he came over. Rangers hired Allaire in 2004, Lundqvist came over the next year

I would say you also have it a bit backwards...he's able to play deeper (and gain the benefits of doing so) because of his reflexes, rather than his reflexes making up for him playing deeper.

Also, his positioning in terms of staying square to the shooter and being in position to make a save is excellent, which is what people are mainly talking about

This right here. A goalie can be deep in the net compared to others and still have great positioning. Hank rarely makes the first move, and tracks the puck very well. This is also why he's such a good shootout goalie.

 

[Doctyl]

If he didnt get injured I think he would be a Vezina finalist. The rate he was playing at before the injury and how he's playing now just keeps raising his numbers.