ST. LOUIS — If the Rangers honestly believe they still are Stanley Cup contenders, then that belief lies in the bedrock of goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
For the second game in a row, he was not only the best player on the ice, but he was one of the few Rangers who actually showed up. It was his 35-save performance that enabled an improbable 2-1 win over the Blues at Scottrade Center on Thursday night and allowed a second straight sloppy team performance to be spun into a positive.
“I think I can feel the pressure is added. It’s coming. We’re getting closer and closer, tight in the standings — I need to make the most of every game here,” a jubilant Lundqvist said. “You can’t take anything for granted. So I’m trying to prepare like it’s the playoffs right now.”
Well, it’s not the playoffs yet, but the Rangers (35-20-6) and their front office are readying for the most important juncture of the regular season. As Monday’s trade deadline looms, general manager Jeff Gorton has to assess where his team is and what he can do to improve it to allow this group of players one more run at that elusive Stanley Cup.
What has become clear is that the organization believes in the core of this team, and even if this is going to be the final run together, it’s going to be entered in full gallop. Coach Alain Vigneault said before the game that he believes they should get “another kick at the can” and reiterated it after so many of those core players performed below acceptability.
“Our core group has been together a long time. They’ve had some good runs, but ultimately, our goal is to win the Cup,” Vigneault said of the team that has been to three of the past four conference finals. “I believe that this group deserves one more kick at the can here to get it done. They [have] experience, and they want to win. We have to give them that chance.”
Lundqvist was the only thing that gave them a chance against the Blues (35-19-9), who pushed the Rangers around — as per usual — and just couldn’t take advantage of a plethora of terrific scoring chances.
Early in the third period, captain Ryan McDonagh, playing in his first game back after a two-game absence due to jaw and neck issues, turned the puck over at his offensive blue line and allowed a breakaway for Blues forward Scottie Upshall. Lundqvist made a terrific split-leg stop, and going back the other way, Oscar Lindberg set up Chris Kreider for a one-timer that beat Jake Allen to make it 2-1, which proved to be the deciding goal.
“That’s a big-time save. It’s a game-changer,” said Kreider, whose game had deteriorated, and he started the third having been bumped down out of the top six. “If you want to pull games out like that, you need him to make those saves. And he does that on a consistent basis. We probably take it for granted at a certain point. But, yeah, he saved the game.”
Just before that, Lundqvist had stopped Dmitrij Jaskin from right in front after an awful turnover from J.T. Miller. In the second period, Lundqvist added to his highlight reel with a save on Kyle Brodziak in front and a flashy glove save on Colton Parayko. He couldn’t stop Troy Brower from getting a power-play goal off his body at 14:23, which tied it 1-1 and negated Tanner Glass’ deflection goal in the first.
“At the end of the day, we won the game,” Kreider said. “Better lucky than good.”
Now Gorton has to figure out how to change the roster to be more complete, and Vigneault has to figure out how to make the style of play more sustainable. But what they don’t need to figure out is their goaltending.
“We definitely needed a solid game from [Lundqvist] and relied on him a little bit too much,” McDonagh said. “But he likes that challenge every night, and he expects a lot out of himself. It’s great to see him playing the way he’s capable of.”