Devils vs. Rangers: New York Will Ride Henrik Lundqvist to Stanley Cup Finals

Henrik Lundqvist has been the best player on the New York Rangers through three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, and his play alone gives team the a fantastic opportunity to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1994.

He just completed his second shutout of the series, stopping 36 shots in a 3-0 Game 3 win in New Jersey, despite that the Devils have been the hungrier club overall, out-shooting the Rangers in Games 1 and 3. 

Rangers rookie call-up Chris Kreider has scored in every game of the series, but New York has relied upon blocked shots, and most importantly, stonewall efforts from their Vezina-candidate goaltender to take a 2-1 series lead. 

New Jersey has been a defensive-minded team for years due to having legendary goalie Martin Brodeur between the pipes, and now, the Rangers have adopted a similar style in these playoffs. 

Lundqvist is an elite goaltender and they've intelligently played to win games 2-1 or 3-2 by being more conservative on offense, limiting odd-man rushes and prime scoring chances for the Devils. 

In their most recent and momentum-shifting win, New York's offense was stagnant until captain Ryan Callahan, gritty defenseman Dan Girardi, and the aforementioned Kreider all tallied third-period goals.

But Lundqvist was steady throughout. He faced 11, 15 and 10 shots in each respective period along with six Devils power plays, and was dominant from start to finish.

The Rangers don't need to tweak a thing. 

While New York would love to add more of an initial spark on offense, they know they can fall back on a sound performance from a goalie who's clearly in the zone right now. It might not be flashy, but Lundqvist will be the main reason the Rangers get back to the Stanley Cup Final. 

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