NEW YORK (AP) - As he has done often in his career, Henrik Lundqvist was at his best when New York needed it most.
This time, it also led to a major career milestone.
Lundqvist made 17 of his 32 saves in the third period to reach 400 career wins and the Rangers extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
“I’m just really proud and thankful for that opportunity,” Lundqvist said. “This organization means so much to me, and they’ve given me this opportunity to play a lot of hockey.”
The crowd chanted his name in the closing moments and he raised both arms in the air once the final horn went off.
“I’m going to tell you that last couple minutes you hear the crowd, you get goosebumps,” he said.
Lundqvist is the 12th goaltender in NHL history with at least 400 wins and the first European-born goaltender to reach the mark.
Lundqvist also is the third goaltender to get 400 wins with one franchise. The others are Martin Brodeur (Devils) and Tony Esposito (Blackhawks).
Lundqvist is 8-1 in his past nine appearances.
“His preparation and focus is up there with the top players I’ve coached,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “He wants to do well and he wants this team to do well. I’m happy he got this done here tonight.”
Defenseman Kevin Klein had two goals and Rick Nash had the go-ahead score for the Rangers, who swept their season-long four-game homestand and have won eight of 10 overall. Kevin Hayes added an empty-net goal to clinch it.
“It was timely goals,” Klein said. “It was nice to chip in and contribute to that special win for Hank.”
Gabriel Landeskog and John Mitchell scored and Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for Colorado, which has the fewest wins in the NHL with 15.
“The Rangers are a really good team and they outplayed us in the first, then in the second we got it going and outplayed them and then in the third we had to put it away, but unfortunately we didn’t get that done,” Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla said.
“We threw a lot at them, but in the third, we didn’t have that same jump and tenacity that we had in the second period that everyone was going with.”
After the Rangers trailed 2-1 through two periods, Klein took a pass from Jesper Fast and ripped a slap shot at 2:50 of the third for his second of the game and third of the season to tie it.
“It was a really nice play by Quickie (Fast) to find me there,” Klein said. “I was moving to my left, and that’s a good shooting position for myself.”
The Rangers kept up the pressure and Pickard made an outstanding glove save on Chris Kreider’s shot at 4:09. The play was reviewed to see if the puck crossed the goal line.
Nash then deflected Derek Stepan’s shot past Pickard for his 16th of season at 5:36.
Tied 1-1 after the first period, Colorado applied the early pressure in the second and took a 2-1 lead. Mitchell skated from behind the Rangers net and took a shot that was blocked. He recovered the puck and wristed another shot that beat Lundqvist five-hole for his second of the season at 3:01.
Lundqvist made a strong glove save on Francois Beauchemin’s shot from the point with less than two minutes left in the second to keep it 2-1.
The Rangers opened the scoring early in the first period. Oscar Lindberg took a faceoff in the Colorado zone and kicked the puck back to Brady Skjei, who passed to Klein. His slap shot went through the legs of Pickard at 2:26.
The Avalanche tied it with 15.2 seconds left in the period. Nathan MacKinnon skated into the Rangers zone and sent a pass to Landeskog, who sent a slap shot past Lundqvist for his 11th of the season.
NOTES: There was a moment of silence before the game for Mike Ilitch, the Detroit Red Wings and Tigers owner who died Friday at 87. The Red Wings won four Stanley Cups while he was the owner. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. … Rangers D Dan Girardi missed his second consecutive game with a foot injury. He was hurt blocking a shot in Tuesday’s win over Anaheim. … The Rangers are 19-5-0 against the Western Conference this season.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Colorado heads to Brooklyn to face the New York Islanders on Sunday night in the second game of a five-game road trip.
Rangers: New York travels to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Monday night.
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