When an athlete reaches the latter stages of a Hall of Fame career, the company he keeps on various statistical lists is always impressive.
Rangers backup goalie Jonathan Quick surpassed franchise legend Henrik Lundqvist for 17th on the NHL’s career shutout list with his 65th in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over the Flames at the Garden.
Next up is Islanders head coach Patrick Roy with 66.
“It was something we were talking about on the bench the whole third period, it was competing hard for Quickie, to help him there,” Mike Sullivan said. “I was told at the end of the game that he just passed Hank. That’s a remarkable accomplishment in this game.
“It just speaks volumes for how good of a goaltender he’s been for so long. His competitive spirit I think is inspiring, the way he goes about his business every day, watching his work ethic. I just think he has such a great influence on our group. So when he has the ability to get a shutout like this, I know his teammates were thrilled for him, and we were every bit as thrilled for him.”
The 40-year-old Quick has the most shutouts ever for any American-born goalie, 20 more than Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets.
The two-time Stanley Cup winner also ranks 12th all-time with 409 wins. But only five of those victories have come in 22 appearances (5-15-2) this season.
“Any time you’re mentioned with Hank‘s name with anything, it’s special,” Quick said about passing Lundqvist. “I know what he means to this city and this organization, what he’s done for goaltenders everywhere, with a lot of young guys looking up to him.
“So just being in the same conversation with him with anything, with any stat or anything like that, it’s humbling.”
Mika Zibanejad recorded his 800th career point Tuesday night, and he is closing in on another milestone — his 1,000th NHL game — at 993 entering Thursday’s visit to Winnipeg.
“It feels surreal,” the 32-year-old Zibanejad said. “I think when I was starting to play hockey, I don’t know if that’s what I was dreaming about.
“Coming into the NHL, I don’t know if it’s been a number or a milestone I’ve allowed myself to dream of or even thought about, honestly … It’s obviously fun, but I’m hoping I have a lot of good hockey left to play.”
