Henrik Lundqvist feeling hopeless and embarrassed after Rangers' elimination.

Last night had to be one of the lowest points in Henrik Lundqvist's elite career.

The New York Rangers saw their season come to an unceremonious end after Saturday's 6-3 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It marked the first time the Rangers have been bounced out of the postseason in the first round since 2011.

The all-world goaltender only managed to finish two of the club's five opening round games after suffering an injury in Game 1 and being pulled in Games 4 and 5.

"In the second period, it was a feeling of embarrassment to give up that many goals," Lundqvist said, according to the New York Post's Brett Cyrgalis. "But also a sense of hopelessness. I think we played a team that was smarter, better, and (had) better goaltending."

Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault knows the performance wasn't good enough.

"We all wanted and expected more," Vigneault told reporters after the game.

Captain Ryan McDonagh felt the same way.

"They played better, and simply put, they executed better in all facets of the game - power play, penalty kill, and five-on-five," McDonagh said. "We didn't play well enough. They were a lot better throughout the series, made us pay for our mistakes - and we made way too many. It's tough to grasp right now. We didn't play up to our potential."

Lundqvist, who annually is the Rangers' best player, wasn't in top form this postseason, and he knows it.

"You need to be extremely confident as a goalie to stop those types of shots," Lundqvist said, referring to the Penguins' high-percentage scoring chances in the series. "These last two games I wasn't strong enough to do that.
"The last two I have to be better. But also the way we played, the way we give up chances, it's going to be tough to win games," he added.

This postseason was uncharacteristic of "The King", who posted a .867 save percentage over the team's five playoff games.

While it is clear that Lundqvist is shouldering a large part of the blame for the early exit, in truth the rest of the team did very little to help him defensively.

The Blueshirts have a lot of questions entering the summer, starting with Lundqvist who turned 34 this March. 

Signed through 2019-20, if Lundqvist doesn't win a Stanley Cup he may go down as the best player to never achieve hockey's ultimate goal.

That would be a downright shame.

[pub]