TAMPA, Fla. — This is Henrik Lundqvist’s moment.
Beaten 12 times on 66 shots over the last two games of the Eastern Conference final, this is when you expect the New York Rangers rock to deliver a big performance.
Lundqvist openly expressed some doubt and concern in the emotional aftermath of a 6-5 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, but was much more composed hours before Game 4.
“Well, 12 goals in two games, of course you’re going to question some things,” he said Friday morning. “But I have a lot of confidence in myself, in the way I play, and the support from the team and the way we play as a team.
“I think we all feel like we can beat this team. Just small corrections that need to be made here, and then we’re right there.”
The series will take on a dramatically different complexion depending on Friday’s result. A win by the Rangers sends them back to Madison Square Garden even at 2-2, while a loss would leave them on the brink of elimination.
Lundqvist has built a career on big victories. He’s already the winningest goalie in Rangers history and is playing in his 12th playoffs series over the last four years alone.
He will likely have to be New York’s biggest answer to the line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, who have shredded opponents throughout these playoffs.
“The challenge against this team is the way they move the puck,” said Lundqvist. “So it’s important for me to be aware of guys without the puck, and backdoor plays, and coming in late … just be more aware of the play.”
The Rangers seemed extremely relaxed heading into Game 4.
The players followed a team dinner on Thursday night by going to a private screening of the “Entourage” movie. Centre Derick Brassard said they had a bunch of laughs.
Tactically, coach Alain Vigneault was encouraging them to tighten up defensively and make life a little easier for Lundqvist.
“They’re a rush team, they like to trade chances,” said Brassard. “That’s something that we haven’t done all year. Maybe we were a little surprised with the way they play. We just have to go back to playing with a lot of structure, play some good defence.
“We just have to be a little smarter.”
The Lightning will have at least one lineup change with defenceman Matt Carle out with an undisclosed injury. He was hurt in a collision with Derek Stepan early in Game 3.
He’ll be replaced by Mark Barberio, who last dressed in the regular-season finale on April 11.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve been itching to play,” said Barberio. “I’m just really excited to get on the ice.”
“This is where you find out if guys are pros or not,” said Tampa coach Jon Cooper. “It’s a game we all love to play, but it’s also in some respects your job. These guys are expected to, when your name is called, to come in and do the best you can and keep yourself in shape.”
Over the years, the Rangers have come to expect the best from Lundqvist more often than not.
With their season potentially hanging in the balance he’s going to have to be much better than he was during the last two games.
“Well I know just being OK or close to OK is not going to be enough at this point,” said Lundqvist. “You’re playing a really good team. I’m not surprised by that. You have to elevate your game, you have to be on top of things to be able to win at this point.
“They’ve been making it pretty tough for us and for me to defend, but like I said we feel confident in this group and we’re close.”