New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist Locks Up Vezina Trophy with Rout of Bruins

The New York Rangers are the best team in the NHL, and their 3-0 demolition of the Boston Bruins on the road Tuesday night was led by another fantastic performance from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has become a serious Hart Trophy candidate.

Lundqvist, who in my mind is an absolute lock for the Vezina Trophy, posted another shutout against the Bruins at TD Garden, a building he dominates in. No player has had more shutouts than Lundqvist since the 2007-08 season.

It's safe to say that if these two teams meet in the playoffs, the Rangers and Lundqvist will have no fear stepping onto the Boston ice.

Not even Lundqvist knows why he rarely loses in Boston, but he definitely feeds off the energy and physicality the games between these two teams often have.

"I don’t know," said Lundqvist on why he has so much success in Boston. "I just like this building, nice people I guess. I don’t know…I like the types of games when both teams are battling a lot in front of the net. I’m a goalie that likes to battle, myself. So, I kind of feed from the game and from the players."

Lundqvist was absolutely phenomenal on the night and made some great saves in the second period to preserve a two-goal lead when the Bruins were really putting some intense offensive zone pressure on the Rangers.

As the game wore on, you began to think it was going to take an unbelievable display of skill or some incredible luck to get the puck past Lundqvist.

"He was not going to let a puck in. You could sense that," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella postgame. "It was a game where we need that because we were sloppy. He was absolutely fantastic. Hank [Henrik Lundqvist] was the big reason why we won tonight."

The Bruins had their chances, including a breakaway in the third period, but Lundqvist was sharp for the full 60 minutes on Tuesday.

"He’s a great goaltender. He plays deep in his net, but he’s sharp and very quick," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. "You saw that we had an empty net, I thought we had a goal, and he stuck the glove out and made the big save. I think that was on [Tyler] Seguin. I’ve always said he’s a good goaltender, and just because he doesn’t play for you doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve these compliments.

One of the most impressive parts of Lundqvist is his consistency. He very rarely plays poorly in consecutive games, and this reliability he has is the reason New York has a chance to win just about every game they play. This season, Lundqvist has had very few bad games, so few that's it's hard to remember many of them.

"I think he just had one," said Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi when asked if he remembers Lundqvist having an off night."No. Like I said, Marty [Biron] has come in to give him some rest. They’ve both been just phenomenal for us all year."

With Biron playing well, the Rangers have the luxury of resting Lundqvist more than they've been able to the past few seasons, which will make him well rested for the playoffs.

The Rangers have been fighting just to get into the playoffs the past few seasons, meaning Lundqvist has had to play a ton of games, often times more than what is preferred. With Biron performing well as a backup, fatigue should not be an issue for the Rangers in the postseason.

New York is perfectly built for the playoffs. They have strong goaltending, talented defensemen, tough, skilled forwards, and a head coach who has his players buying into his system, one that's working brilliantly. 

It would be a travesty if Lundqvist isn't awarded the Vezina Trophy this season, and surprisingly he's never won the award. He's first in the NHL in save percentage and second in GAA. His 27 wins rank fourth in the league as well.

But more importantly. Lundqvist should certainly be considered as a legitimate MVP candidate, because despite the success Biron has had in net, Lundqvist is the primary reason the Rangers are the best team in hockey.

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Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. All quotes obtained first hand.