The biggest step forward the Rangers have made from the early season to now is in their mental strength, most notably their ability to absorb a bad break and put it behind them.
Because it’s likely this scenario would have ended a lot differently had it happened in October. Instead, these December Blueshirts were able to weather a strange early goal and still earn a 5-1 win over the Hurricanes on Friday night at the Garden.
To say it was empty-net abated might not be enough, as the Rangers held a 2-1 lead with a little more than two minutes remaining in regulation. But then Michael Grabner scored a fifth and sixth empty-net goals of the season to finish off his hat trick, fourth-liner Paul Carey added a power-play goal in the final minute, and suddenly it looked a lot better than it really was.
And still, it went back to just 56 seconds into the game when Henrik Lundqvist allowed a Justin Williams knuckle-puck off the right wall to sneak by him and inside the far post. Lundqvist, mind you, had been pulled from Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the Panthers after allowing three goals on six shots, and this 1-0 deficit could have easily snowballed. Instead, Lundqvist stopped all of the other 32 shots he faced, and that one moment became a blip on the radar.
“Hank showed some real mental strength,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “To start off the game that way, giving up a goal after being pulled last game, obviously that must have been very challenging for him. But he responded real well, got real focused and shut them down the rest of the game.”
The Rangers (14-10-2) also responded by staying tight in front of the net and sweeping away most of the loose pucks. That included captain Ryan McDonagh, who returned after a four-game absence because of an abdominal strain, but did not include first-line center Mika Zibanejad, who remained out for a second game with a delayed onset of concussion symptoms.
So goes the carousel of injuries, but excuses are suddenly few and far between for a team that has won five of its past six, nine of its past 10 at home, and 11 of 13 overall.
“I think we’re a more confident group now,” said Lundqvist, who has made 14 straight starts. “I feel better about my game. I think as a group we feel better.How you handle tough moments is obviously a sign of strength.”
Lundqvist’s biggest test came after his team grabbed a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal from David Desharnais that was gifted by Carolina goalie Scott Darling, and a 4-on-4 redirection from Grabner, both within the first 1:52 of the second period. But Kevin Shattenkirk was called for a suspect penalty while Jeff Skinner was on a breakaway, awarding the Hurricanes talented forward a penalty shot at 3:20 of the third.
Lundqvist easily got his left pad on Skinner’s penalty shot, and the Rangers kept going.
“In my opinion that was not a penalty shot,” Vigneault said after a game that was riddled with questionable calls from referees Tim Peel and Pierre Lambert. “But it was a great save.”
It stayed like that until Carolina coach Bill Peters pulled Darling for the extra attacker with an offensive-zone faceoff and 2:22 remaining — and that’s when Grabner struck. His penchant for empty-net goals is almost comical, but his 13 on the season are a big reason the Rangers have been able to produce offense throughout their lineup.
And it could have been different for all of them had Lundqvist not recovered from that early goal. But he did, a sign of growth for himself and the team.
“It was the toughest shot to read of all the shots I faced, but obviously you look stupid out there when you give it up,” Lundqvist said. “But that’s what calmed me down in that situation. Nothing you can do right now except move on.”