Return of the King: Lundqvist eyes return to net

The New York Rangers will soon have franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist back between the pipes, likely to return to action during the Rangers’ upcoming road trip out west.

The long-time New York netminder spoke with the press ahead of Wednesday’s game against cross-town rivals the New York Islanders. Backup Antti Raanta has been confirmed to be the starter tonight, giving Lundqvist a few extra days of maintenance before jumping back into the action.

“I’m excited to get back into things” Lundqvist told reporters, “I think a week ago, I wanted to go out there…but you can’t rush it. I think it’s important to stay patient and it’s helpful to have a goalie coach who knows what to do in those situations so that you don’t rush it.”

The veteran goalie admitted that if it was up to him, he probably would have rushed back before he was fully recovered, “they (coaches and training staff) have a lot of experience with similar injuries, so they know how to set up a perfect game plan”.

“I think the last three, four days I’ve felt real good and pushed myself hard,” said Lundqvist, excited to help his team turn around a cold streak that has seen the team struggle to put up back-to-back wins together.

When asked about the team’s recent slump, Henrik responded, “I think when we’re on and the determination is there, we’re a fast team, a skilled team, and I think when we do play on top of our game we can beat anybody”.

Lundqvist was sidelined with a hip injury in a game on March 9th and is listed as Day-to-Day.

Full interview, right here.