What Makes Lundqvist, Lundqvist

This is the first of hopefully many posts on the Rangers, the NHL or really anything that piques my interest in the world of hockey. 

There is no better place to begin than with Henrik Lundqvist.  His greatness is obvious at this point but I've always been curious about what makes a goalie, in this case Lundqvist, the amazing puckstopper that he is.  I grew up playing goalie in ice hockey and still hold the position close to my heart.  Because of that I find myself critiquing and analyzing each team's goalie when I attend games.  I've been to many games over the past few years during college and law school and have seen many goalies play up close.  To me, Henrik seems to do a number of things that few other goalies do. 

Before I say what those things are, I should mention I was at MSG last night and in typical Rangers fashion they won 3-0.  Whether it was the ineptitude of the Jets offense or the brilliance of Henrik (last night it was a good amount of both) I found myself particularly pulled in by Lundqvist's play last night.

Back to my main point.  Lundqvist moves and reacts only when necessary to make a save.  There are no excess movements and there is no overplaying shooters.  If you watch as an opponent has the puck at the point or along the boards Lundqvist isnt entirely in the "goalie stance" that they teach goalies from a young age.  He stands up, sometimes nearly upright, to get the greatest view of the shooter. 

I have three ideas as to why this tactic works so well and gives Lundqvist an advantage over most other goalies.  The first is his vision of the ice.  Goalies who crouch and attempt to see "through" players are at a distinct disadvantage.  Think about it.  Attempting to see through and around a bunch of 6'3 220 pound hockey players in full equiptment can often be a recipe for disaster.  Teams that are successfull create screens and traffic in front of the net.   To combat this, a goalies vision and ability to see the ice is key.  It enables goalies to see shots leave the sticks of opponents and thereby get a better view of the trajectory of the puck.  By standing tall Henrik can see over many of the screens rather than needing to look around them or through them and can keep his angle rather than moving his body and losing the net. 

The second idea as to why Lundqvist is as successful as he is is where he plays in the crease.  It's no secret that Lundqvist plays deep in his crease, incredibly deep under NHL standards.  Young goalies used to be taught to challenge shooters and to take away the angle of a shooter.  As more young goalies began to emulate the innovative butterfly style made popular by Patrick Roy in the mid to late 80's butterfly goalies have become the norm and the standup style is pretty much extinct.  The butterfly syle has allowed goalies to play deeper in the net.  Nevertheless, I cannot remember a goalie who played or plays quite as deep in the net as Lundqvist (according to Lundqvist and his goalie coach he plays somewhat of a hybrid style between butterfly and standup). In a game of inches where a little tip can be the difference between a shot hitting the post and going in, an extra split-second can make a huge difference.  By playing deep in his crease, Lundqvist has that extra moment to react to shots and deflections that can make all the difference between a good goalie and an elite one.

The final reason Lundqvist stands above the rest of the goalies in the NHL is his quickness and ability to limit his movements on the ice.  Many goalies, even in the NHL, seem to have less than stellar control of their bodies when they make saves.  Anders Lindback, the backup goalie for Nashville, comes to mind.  Even Marty Biron, the Rangers backup goalie who has arguably been the best backup in the league this year can be seen out of position with his body facing the net after some commotion around the crease.  Lundqvist though, is the epitome of motion-conservation.  His saves often look the same because everything is uniform with him.  He goes through the same motions during TV timeouts.  He looks at times statuesque in his stance.  He can do all of this because of his quickness and balance.  Lundqvist is so quick and compact in making saves that he can do things other goalies can't.  And while this type of brilliance isn't easy to pick out because of its "less movement is more" characteristic it enables Lundqvist to dominate opposing teams and continue to do what is most important for Rangers fans, win.