Henrik Lundqvist wins 400th career NHL game



Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers celebrates after getting his 400th NHL win against the Colorado Avalanche at Madison Square Garden on February 11, 2017 in New York City. (Getty Images)



New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist joined an elite group Saturday, picking up his 400th NHL win in a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

The 34-year old Lundqvist became the 12th goaltender in NHL history to reach that mark and the first European born goaltender to do so. He is also the third goaltender to get to 400 wins with one franchise. The others are New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Tony Esposito.

Lundqvist became the fastest NHL goaltender to hit the total, doing so in 727 games. Brodeur, who holds the NHL record with 691 wins, was previously the quickest at 735. Lundqvist improved to 400-242-73 in his career. In the game he stopped 32 of 34 Avalanche shots on goal.

“I’m just really proud and I’m really thankful for that opportunity. This organization means so much to me and they’ve given me this opportunity to play a lot of hockey,” Lundqvist said. “It’s been 12 years where I’ve been getting a lot of starts and I had a lot of good teammates throughout the years and you think back to them right now obviously because they’re part of it as well. I will definitely enjoy this tonight and kind of reflect a little bit before you go back to work tomorrow morning.”

Heading into the third period Saturday at Madison Square Garden, it appeared that it would be an uphill climb for Lundqvist to reach win No. 400. Colorado forward John Mitchell scored at the 3:01 mark of the second to give the Avs a 2-1 lead.