Henrik Lundqvist of Rangers gets 389th career win

NEW YORK -- New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was inspired by Dominik Hasek when he was a young goalie growing up in Sweden. Now Lundqvist shares a place in the NHL record book with the Hockey Hall of Famer.
Lundqvist tied Hasek for the most wins by a Europe-born goalie in NHL history by making 29 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Each has 389 wins.

"It's special to me," Lundqvist said. "He's a player that's been a lot of inspiration for me growing up. I had posters of him on the wall. I remember watching him, highlights, how he played. He was the first guy I saw play paddle down. I didn't grow up with that style. It was something I watched. I went to practice and said, 'I'm going to try that because I saw Dominik do it.'
"To be up there with him now, it's special for sure. I think he's up there with some of the best, with (Martin) Brodeur and (Patrick) Roy and him. The way they could dominate the game was fun to watch."
Lundqvist said he wouldn't dare put himself in that exclusive club just yet, perhaps because they all won the Stanley Cup multiple times and he doesn't have a championship on his potential Hall of Fame resume.
"It's too early," Lundqvist said. "I need to do a lot more."
Lundqvist, though, did get to 389 wins faster than Hasek, doing it in 709 games compared to Hasek's 735.

But Lundqvist has benefitted from 55 shootout victories. Hasek had six. He played the first 595 games of his NHL career before the shootout was adopted for the 2005-06 season, which is when Lundqvist's career began.
"It's fun to tie his win record, but the stuff he did for so many years, it was impressive," Lundqvist said. "It's hard to kind of relate to yourself. It's a different era how the game is played, but all I can say is he's meant a lot to me. The way I trained for a lot of years, I watched him do a lot of things and it helped me develop my game."
Lundqvist's game is back after a rough patch for two and a half weeks.
He went 3-4-1 with a .902 save percentage from Nov. 18-Dec. 6. Lundqvist then served as the backup to Antti Raanta for a career-high four consecutive games before getting back in last Thursday against the Dallas Stars.
He's been excellent since, with 87 saves on 90 shots in three straight wins against the Stars, Nashville Predators and Devils.

"He's been real good," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's been what we expect him to be."
Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh laughed when he heard words "rough patch" associated with Lundqvist in a question.
"A rough patch for him is very little time," McDonagh said. "[He's] a guy who is constantly aware of where his game is at and constantly finding ways to get himself to play at a high level, which is incredibly hard to do. So for him to have this accomplishment speaks volumes to his effort, his competitiveness, his willing to put in the work in practice and obviously his passion for the game."