Bluenote13
Believe In Henke
He is a defacto Captain of this team, people forget that he's the senior guy on this club, he's a leader.
Player Discussion All-encompassing goaltending megathread
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He is a defacto Captain of this team, people forget that he's the senior guy on this club, he's a leader.
Hank took responsibility for that as well in his post game comments.
"it is my responsibilty to bring confidence to this group"
Revel
Dark Sky Enthusiast
Lol. Are you even serious anymore? It doesn't matter how he said it...of course he called them out. I happen to think Hank is correct in his comments on the D...but question whether or not it was his place to say it.
Revel
Dark Sky Enthusiast
Yes he did. What are you doing...gaslighting me? Give me a break.
I am sorry you feel that way. There is a simple solution, stop posting **** that isn't true.
Glen Sathers Cigar
Sather 4 Ever
Also extremely loud cheer when it was announced that Hellberg was in net.
They were jeering Hank the entire second period like they did with Bishop earlier in the year. Bronx cheer every single time he touched the puck.
Disgusting from the fan base IMO. You could see how mad Vally was about it in the 2nd intermission.
Considering I think 100% of Hank's problems are mental right now, I don't see how his own fanbase ruthlessly mocking him at MSG is going to help anything.
Exactly why it has to start with him playing on the road. Less pressure.
Crease
Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
- Jul 12, 2004
- 24,106
- 25,577
Listening to Lundqvist's presser again. He made it clear he is lacking in confidence and asked the team to play with more structure and keep the shots to the outside so he can gain some momentum.
The goals--is the defense? Is it Lundqvist? It's probably both.
Lundqvist's struggles--is it mental? Is it physical? Again, it's probably both.
From the soundbytes it sounds like Lundqvist is putting in the work. It's time for Gorton and AV to put in theirs. Shore up the defense. Tighten up the play. C'mon, let's go. It's almost February.
The goals--is the defense? Is it Lundqvist? It's probably both.
Lundqvist's struggles--is it mental? Is it physical? Again, it's probably both.
From the soundbytes it sounds like Lundqvist is putting in the work. It's time for Gorton and AV to put in theirs. Shore up the defense. Tighten up the play. C'mon, let's go. It's almost February.
FoxysExpensiveNYDigs
Boo Nieves Truther
Either take the heat and respond with better play, earning your enormous salary or GTFO at this point. Don't want to be ruthlessly mocked? Don't play like ****. That simple.
Literally two weeks ago today in Philadelphia he was excellent. It's not a physical issue. It's mental.
Glen Sathers Cigar
Sather 4 Ever
No, I don't accept this. Henrik has earned more leeway from the fanbase than this.
He was elite for 11 straight season. He's struggling now big time. The team is still in a playoff spot and doing okay, so it's not like the season is torpedoed.
Fans should be cheering him on, not jeering him. He's earned it.
Crease
Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
- Jul 12, 2004
- 24,106
- 25,577
Aging players turn back the clock with some frequency. I don't understand why you're so adamant it's strictly mental. You're not him. Unless you are, that's cool too (can I get your autograph?) Why can't you be content in just saying you think it's mental or you hope it's mental.
It's not that simple. We have all been on Lundqvist and the Rangers journey to success. Does he deserve to get mocked? Probably not. It's his first bad year in a 12-year career. He was primarily responsible for bringing playoff hockey back to Madison Square Garden. Some of the younger fans might not remember what it was like before Lundqvist, but to see your team fail to make the playoffs seven consecutive years were hard to watch.
But he will get jeered by the fan base for having one bad year? How many bad years has Nash had in his career? What about Redden, Drury, and Gomez who we signed to enormous contracts when they came here? Gaborik was great, but he had bad years with the team too. All of these players were star players, earning $6-8M, who had bad years with the team, but received a fraction of the criticism that this man has in a single year (with the possible exception of Redden). How many bad years have Staal and Girardi had? They're not making peanuts.
He is the primary reason the Rangers have been in the hunt. You can't have that Stanley Cup run, or multiple conference finals runs without Henrik Lundqvist and what he brought to the table. He will go down as the greatest Rangers goaltender in history, and that alone makes me want to see him retire as a Ranger, win his 400th game as a Ranger, and most of all, win as a Ranger.
He was the Rangers MVP for seven consecutive years. He put the team back on the map. Some of the younger fans at the Garden wouldn't even know playoff hockey without the guy. Sure, he wasn't the only reason, but he was the biggest reason. In his peak, he was the best in the world. It showed with his playoff resume.
He is having one bad year, and he is being ripped apart. I feel like fans can't put that in perspective. Everyone is so caught in the moment, that they forget how much this guy has done to turn around what was a terrible franchise.
JimmyG89
Registered User
- May 1, 2010
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You must have been one of the thousands Bronx cheering him last night. It's undeserved. For someone who took this team on his back for YEARS on end. He took teams with no business making it into the postseason. He was literally the reason they were the #1 seed in 2012.
Why doesn't anyone do it to Girardi who has been **** for years on end? They did it to Redden and he made the same type of money Girardi does. Why not boo him whenever he touches the puck after making a bad play in a game? If Hank doesn't deserve the ability to pick his game up without being mocked, nobody does. End of discussion. This shouldn't even be a topic to discuss, it should be known.
I think it's a combination of both. He clearly still has the tools, however, to be a great goaltender. He has displayed in numerous times with some great games this year. However, at 34... turning 35, it's only natural to slow down a little bit physically too. That said, I don't think it's to the degree that people might be suggesting.
offdacrossbar
misfit fanboy
his numbers the last 5 games are scary. like i mean bad goalie scary.
.840
4.4
2-3
hes been bad since before mid last season. so its been over 1 year now. this isnt something recent really. its been over 2 seasons now.
a gradual, slow decline in his play.
this defense hasn't been good but hank hasn't been able to make the simple routine saves. thats the issue. he isnt making saves lesser goalies make all the time and hes not making the big saves were used to seeing him make.
hate to say it again, but im not so sure we lose that game with raanta in net. pretty sure we win.
.840
4.4
2-3
hes been bad since before mid last season. so its been over 1 year now. this isnt something recent really. its been over 2 seasons now.
a gradual, slow decline in his play.
this defense hasn't been good but hank hasn't been able to make the simple routine saves. thats the issue. he isnt making saves lesser goalies make all the time and hes not making the big saves were used to seeing him make.
hate to say it again, but im not so sure we lose that game with raanta in net. pretty sure we win.
- Jul 20, 2005
- 4,890
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And what did he do in literally the next game? After his confidence boosting and mind clearing win in Philly he gave up 4 goals against the CBJ including one from 60 feet in the first 90 seconds.
Frankly even giving consideration to the "its all mental!" argument is generous.
His footwork and lateral movement look slow. His glove looks slow. His brain when tracking the puck looks slow. In short, Hank looks slow.
Which shouldn't be a huge surprise. He's about to turn 35. A slowdown was always inevitable, no matter how much we love and idolize Hank.
That is not true. He had 1 month that was bad last season. Was he the best in the league? nope. But he was not the awful declining dumpster fire some of you guys pointing him out to be and he ended the season with 920 in SV%.
Edit: If you take into account the advance stats from last season, he was actually best in the league.
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- Jul 20, 2005
- 4,890
- 2,253
Glen Sathers Cigar
Sather 4 Ever
ODC, Now you're extending his poor play not only to last season, but 2014-15 as well? Jesus christ, there'e enough true things to complain about with his game this season, you don't need to be a revisionist to make your point.
30-13-3 2.25 .923 in 2014-15
As much as some of you are eager to write Hank off and act like this has been going on for a while, it hasn't. That's revisionist history.
Even last year, he was largely fine. He had bad games, sure like any goalie would. However, he looked like himself and was perfectly fine all season. It was completely apparent that the defense was the real problem last season, Hank wasn't the issue. This season it's more evenly split.
Most noticeably, he hasn't looked like himself.
He most definitely hasn't looked like this for over 2 years and implying that is just a flat out wrong.
30-13-3 2.25 .923 in 2014-15
As much as some of you are eager to write Hank off and act like this has been going on for a while, it hasn't. That's revisionist history.
Even last year, he was largely fine. He had bad games, sure like any goalie would. However, he looked like himself and was perfectly fine all season. It was completely apparent that the defense was the real problem last season, Hank wasn't the issue. This season it's more evenly split.
Most noticeably, he hasn't looked like himself.
He most definitely hasn't looked like this for over 2 years and implying that is just a flat out wrong.
No kidding.
You have a couple of people saying he's been bad for a long time now (dating back to 2010-2011 apparently, LMAO).
JimmyG89
Registered User
- May 1, 2010
- 9,555
- 7,842
So explain November with a .925 and December with a .915 save percentages? He also had a .922 last January and a .934 last Febraury. This rapid decline seems more like an inconsistent player who used to be the model of consistency. 2 months good, 2 months bad.
Seems more like a confidence thing or mental thing. He can still make the saves, just isn't doing it.
I have said it numerous times. Critic his crappy play this season all you want and rightfully so but like GSC pointed out, trying to change history to fit your agenda is what is derailing this discussion big time.
And if am to be labeled as a Hank fanboy by the likes of bmoak then so be it. If wanting to weed out the misdirection and some outright lies so we can have a constructive discussion is being a fanboy then i truly wish we all were fanboys.
And if am to be labeled as a Hank fanboy by the likes of bmoak then so be it. If wanting to weed out the misdirection and some outright lies so we can have a constructive discussion is being a fanboy then i truly wish we all were fanboys.
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