As “House of the Dragon” premiered on HBO last week, the Game of Thrones fans were re-introduced to a saga of people trying to seek claim to the Iron Throne. Recently, the news around Montreal goaltender Carey Price and his injured knee prompted many pundits to wonder if the NHL’s 2015 MVP would not play again. There are few that doubt the great career that Price has racked up with his outstanding performance in the 2007 World Junior Tournament and his 2014 Gold Medal at the Sochi Olympics, but the press’ moniker given to the Canadien netminder as “the Best Goalie in the NHL during his time” has come with challenge from a few markets - namely in New York. Now, can you argue Price for the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto? This writer thinks he certainly has a case. To the “best goalie in his time”, I’ll argue one name, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.
For starters, both of these goalies accomplished so much in their NHL careers that this article would be as long as War and Peace trying list them all. Both goalies are well regarded in their Original Six record books and that’s saying something given that Lundqvist and Price have played on teams that have a shared goaltending history from Gump Worsley to Jacques Plante. One place BOTH men shine is their charity work; Henrik with Garden of Dreams and Carey Price with that memorable moment at the NHL Awards. Both have won Olympic Gold; for Henrik it was as a fresh faced NHL rookie in Torino, Italy and for Price, it was as a seasoned vet behind a STACKED Canadian roster against the Blueshirts’ goalie in Sochi, Russia. Price can sport a World Juniors Gold Medal in one of the finest tournament performances since its inception posting a 0.961 save %. Lundqvist? He doesn’t have one of those, but their careers both began in the NHL are MUCH different.
Henrik Lundqvist’s career began in 2005 in the second game of the season following the 2004-05 NHL Lockout. The Swedish goaltender lost in overtime to the New Jersey Devils, but it began a career that would last 887 games (7th all time in New York Rangers history). In that season, the former 7th round pick began to turn heads. He posted a 30-12-9 record with a 0.922 Save % and a 2.24 GAA. Not bad for a team picked by many writers to finish DEAD LAST in the Atlantic Division in 2006. From 2006-2015, Lundqvist finished 6th or better in EVERY Vezina trophy voting. More on the “better” in a moment, but he led the league in shutouts TWICE (2008 with 10 and 2011 with 11) and wins in the 48 game shortened season with 24.
When Price entered the league in 2007, it came with fanfare and a little bit of a problem. 2003’s final round draft pick Jaroslav Halak and Cristobal Huet were vying for the Canadiens’ net and he wasn’t giving up the crease willingly. Price played a total of 134 games his first 3 seasons (as opposed to Lundqvist’s 195). His numbers suffered because of this. Price’s GAA rolled between 2.56 to 2.83 to 2.77 in his first three years with only 4 shutouts to Lundqvist’s 17 in his first 3 seasons. But, once Price got the majority of starts in his 3rd year, the numbers greatly improved as well. Price won a league leading 38 games in 2010-11 season with a 2.35 GAA and 0.923 Save % to boot. It was the first of two times the Canadiens’ goalie would lead the NHL in wins (again more on that in a moment). However, Price would encounter trouble in 2013 with a 0.905 Save% and a 2.59 GAA on his second overall in the East for the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs would fall to the rival Ottawa Senators in the playoffs as the Boston Bruins would dispatch of the Lundqvist-led New York Rangers, putting these two men on a collision course in 2014.
As each goalie exercised the demons of their teams, as Lundqvist beat the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time in team history and Price staved off the President’s Trophy winning Boston Bruins, Lundqvist would face Price in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals; only three months after each led their teams to the Gold medal game in Sochi. Only problem was that this match-up wouldn’t last long. With the New York Rangers leading 2-0 in Game 1, forward Chris Kreider fell into Price and injured his knee after being tripped by Canadiens’ defenseman Alexis Emelin. Debate rages to this day on whether or not it was “accidentally on purpose” that a forward on a breakaway would try to injure a goalie, but Price was knocked out for the series and Lundqvist led his Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1994. Three years later, Lundqvist’s fourth place in the Metropolitan Division Rangers would face the Price’s Atlantic Division winning Canadiens. THIS ONE, lived up to expectations. Beginning with Lundqvist's 2-0 shutout in the Game 1 duel between the two goalies and each goalie showing why they were world class. Lundqvist’s Rangers would survive a Game 5 OT winner by Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello scoring twice to win the series in 6. One person you can commend for the series was Lundqvist as he posted a 0.947 save % and a 1.70 GAA in the six games. One person you couldn’t blame was Price as he posted a 0.933 save % and a 1.82 GAA - and he only gave up ONE more goal than Henrik.
Though the Stanley Cup avoided both of these men, Lundqvist in 2014 and Price in 2021, it certainly wasn't their fault as they each won a game in their Finals appearance. Lundqvist's Rangers fell three overtime goals short against the 2014 Cup Champ LA Kings and Price's Canadiens were outmatched against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning at the end of their Cinderella run in 2021. The numbers reflect it. Price only managed a 0.888 save % and a 3.20 GAA in the series, but he was at his best when facing elimination. In Games 4 and 5, Price stopped all but 3 shots of the 61 shots he faced. In 2014, Lundqvist's numbers were better even if the ending was similar. Lundqvist had a 0.923 save % and a modest 2.46 GAA in the series, but in Games 4 and 5 he stopped 88 of 92 shots (including 48 in the Game 5 Double OT marathon).
Enough of the accolades on these men. Let's get down to the nitty gritty; their numbers. During Price's career, in seasons with played 40 games or more, he has posted a 0.920 or higher save % FIVE TIMES and posted a GAA under 2.50 SEVEN TIMES. He led the league in wins TWICE in 2011 (38) and 2015 (44). He led the league in Goals Against Average and Save % ONCE in his 2015 Vezina Trophy winning season. Price also won the MVP in 2015 over Alex Ovechkin and John Tavares, where Price earned an amazing 139 1st place votes. Lundqvist had a 0.920 or better save % EIGHT TIMES and a GAA under 2.50 his first 11 seasons of his career. Lundqvist led the league in wins only in the shortened 2013 season, but led the league in shutouts TWICE in 2008 (10) and 2011 in (11). Lundqvist won a minimum of 30 games for 12 seasons, but never surpassed 40 (even in his Vezina trophy year of 2012). While Price dealt with injury, aside from 2015, Henrik did not. In 2012, Henrik was a Hart Finalist, but lost out to Evgeni Malkin on the Crosby-less Penguins and a 60 goal scoring Steven Stamkos.
Now to their best seasons. The 2015 Vezina / Hart trophy season for Price is considered the gold standard for goaltending since the lockout of 2005. In that season Price recorded 44-16-6, 1.96 GAA with a 0.933 Save %. No question those numbers are outstanding. In 2012, Lundqvist posted a 39-18-5 record with a 0.930 Save % and a 1.97 GAA. Those numbers are pretty much comparable to Price's "gold standard". Now, there's advanced metrics that could be used here, but the "old-fashioned" numbers are pretty close. Other TEAM numbers in those season can make it clear how important these men were to their teams. The 2012 Rangers were 11th in GF/G with 2.71 and 3rd in GA/G with 2.22. That's a (+ 0.49) advantage for the NY Rangers. In 2015, the Montreal Canadiens were 20th in GF/G with 2.61 and 1st overall with a 2.24 GA/G. Had it not been for Price or Lundqvist, it could have been worse.
So what is this article all about? It's not a hit piece on Carey Price, who is by all accounts a great man and not just a great goalie, but to elevate Henrik Lundqvist into the "Price level". For many, they don't need this comparison. They watched each goalie for every game, but a complete dismissal of one over the other is not correct. Solid arguments can be made for each goalie and while not slamming the other. While many seat Price on the Throne of Goaltenders up North, "King Henrik" Lundqvist of the New York Rangers is worthy of sitting on it.
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