Lundqvist hopes to stay perfect outdoors for Rangers

The moment ranks among the best in the history of NHL outdoor games and the career of New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
The Rangers held a one-goal lead in the third period of the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Philadelphia Flyers when New York defenseman Ryan McDonagh was caught covering the puck in the crease with 19.6 seconds left.

Penalty shot.
The 46,967 fans rose to their feet at Citizens Bank Park to watch Flyers center Danny Briere try to score on the King.
"I just remember thinking that he was going to save it, in that kind of moment where we needed it," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "There really wasn't any doubt in our mind that he was going to do it."
Briere grabbed the puck at about second base and skated into shallow left field. He slowed, spying the five-hole, but Lundqvist stayed patient, not wanting to make the first move. There was a Flyers roar …
And then a Rangers roar when Lundqvist squeezed his pads shut, made the save and pumped his fists. The Rangers won 3-2.

"It was obviously special, something you always remember, especially the way it played out in the end," Lundqvist said. "It was very dramatic, and to do it in front of so many people and the whole atmosphere … Walking off after that game, that was a really cool feeling."
Lundqvist will walk back onto that stage in the 2018 Bridgestone Winter Classic against the Buffalo Sabres at Citi Field on Monday (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).
Win, and he will tie Tony Esposito for eighth place on the NHL's all-time wins list with 423, trailing only Martin Brodeur (691), Patrick Roy (551), Ed Belfour (484), Roberto Luongo (459), Curtis Joseph (454), Terry Sawchuk (447) and Jacques Plante (437).
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Win, and he'll be 4-0-0 outdoors. He also defeated the New Jersey Devils 7-3 and New York Islanders 2-1 in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium. In three outdoor games, he has a 2.00 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
Win, and he'll continue playing at an elite level at age 35.
"He's playing extremely well," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "And like all teams -- we're no different -- we need solid goaltending."
The Rangers started this season 3-7-2. Lundqvist was 2-4-2 with a .900 save percentage through his first nine games. No coincidence.
Then came a 6-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 31, the start of a six-game winning streak for the Rangers and Lundqvist.
Since then, the Rangers have been one of the best teams in the NHL, and Lundqvist has been one of the best goaltenders. Again, no coincidence.

From that point, New York has gone 17-6-3, tied with the Nashville Predators for first in point percentage (.711).
And Lundqvist has gone 15-5-2, tied in wins with Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, behind Braden Holtby of the Capitals (17). Among those who have played at least 20 games in that span, he's third in save percentage (.929) behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (.939) and Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs (.936).
"He's been playing really well since about that time," Staal said. "Just playing very confident. He's competing really hard, and he looks like he's having some fun doing it. We've obviously reaped the rewards of that."
Lundqvist was hard on himself after a 3-2 shootout loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. He allowed a goal to center Frans Nielsen in the shootout, with Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard stopping all three shots he faced.
Slowly, as is his routine, Lundqvist peeled off his equipment, put on a sweatshirt and hat, and took a deep breath.
"It's tough to lose another one in a shootout," said Lundqvist, who lost to the Devils 4-3 in a shootout at Prudential Center on Dec. 21. "It's two in a row for me, so obviously I'll try to be a little bit better."
But he was brilliant much of the game against Detroit, stoning forward Gustav Nyquist on a breakaway, scrambling to his right without a stick to block a shot by forward Tomas Tatar with his body, staying square to stop Nyquist again on a rush chance, robbing forward Andreas Athanasiou by sliding to his right and using his right pad on a bang-bang-blink-you'd-miss-it play.
The Rangers are back in the thick of the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the incredibly competitive Metropolitan Division. With 45 points, they hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, six points behind the first-place Washington Capitals but one ahead of the Islanders, who hold the second wild card, and two ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Now comes the Winter Classic. It's that kind of moment again.
"Hopefully," Lundqvist said, "we can play a really strong game and have another great memory."