panoo

John Kreiser | NHL.com columnist
Mar 26, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT

Henrik Lundqvist has gotten hot just when the New York Rangers needed him most.

For the last seven weeks, no goaltender in the NHL has been hotter than Lundqvist, whose superb play has carried the Rangers from outside the top eight in the East to sixth place and all but certain to make the postseason, living up to the sobriquet “King Henrik” that he was given by Madison Square Garden fans during his superb rookie season in 2005-06.

Lundqvist won five starts in a nine-day span from March 17-25, allowing only three goals in the five victories while stopping 132 of 35 shots, carrying the Rangers past a half-dozen rivals and into sixth in the East. He’s 13-3-5 in his last 22 appearances (21 decisions), a stretch in which he has not allowed more than three goals in any game. During that stretch, he has a 1.48 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage, the best figures of any goalie in that span. In his last 38 appearances, he has a 1.73 GAA and a .935 save percentage.

It’s not like Lundqvist has had a lot of offensive support: In their 26 games since Jan. 30, the Rangers have scored more than three goals just five times. Lundqvist has six 2-1 victories this month.

Lundqvist has already surpassed the 30 victories he amassed as a rookie last season. His 33 wins this season include eight in shootouts, where he’s fifth in the NHL with an .829 save percentage. Assuming the Rangers make the playoffs, Lundqvist is the No. 1 reason why.

Five Up -- Our top five fantasy players of the week:

Jonathan Cheechoo -- He won’t repeat as the Rocket Richard Trophy winner, but Cheechoo is hitting his stride just when the San Jose Sharks need him. He had six goals and two assists in three games last week, including a hat trick on Thursday in Atlanta, and is up to 31 goals for the season. He’s 8-4-12 and plus-11 in his last six games.

Milan Michalek -- Being installed on the left side with Cheechoo and Joe Thornton has turned Michalek into an offensive force. He’s 6-10-16 in his last nine games and has four multi-point efforts in his last five. Thornton has been on a tear of his own: He’s 5-17-22 and plus-15 in his last 10 games, and was 1-6-7 in three games last week.

Jaroslav Halak -- The rookie goaltender from Slovakia has helped the Montreal Canadiens bounce back after it looked like they were on their way out of the playoff race in the East. Halak won four games in eight days while allowing just six goals, helping Montreal pull into a three-way tie for the last playoff berth.

Joe Sakic -- Colorado’s captain is leading the Avalanche’s charge at the Calgary Flames for the final playoff berth in the West. He has 13 points in his last six games (7-6-13) and had two goals Sunday night in Vancouver to tie Ray Bourque for ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,579 points and Dino Ciccarelli for 15th on the all-time goal-scoring list with 608.

Roberto Luongo -- Like Lundqvist, Luongo is the biggest reason his team is headed to the playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks’ All-Star is 4-0-2 in his last six games, allowing 11 goals in that span, and is tied with New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur for the league lead with 43 victories.

Five Down --

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