Is Torts Destroying Henrik Lundqvist? Answer Is Yes

You don't think Henrik is not at the top of his game this season? Then read this excellent post: Henrik Lundqvist’s Recent Mental Struggles. It's not Henke, it's Torts.

What has changed this year in Lundqvist’s game? In my opinion, he is still playing the same style, with similar equipment. So the only change left is his “mind.” I believe that Lundqvist’s recent play has also shown a lack of confidence and has resulted in a goalie struggling to believe in himself and his ability to stop the puck.

I read a Swedish interview in which they came to a Rangers practice to talk to Henke after practice. It was embarrassing and completely uncomfortable for them to witness Torts screaming at Henke and lobbing profanities at him. This guy that is arguably one of the very best goalies NHL has, and his coach is treating him like trash. Yeah, that's got to be an easy one to swallow.

As a mental performance coach, I feel Lundqvist’s current poor play appears as a cry out for help. He appears to be confused about what else he can do for the team after taking more than his share of the blame in the losses this season. Tortorella has blamed Lundqvist for not coming up with the big save in multiple games and it has been noted by many of New York’s media that Tortorella expects a shutout from Lundqvist every night.

A shutout every night? Maybe if the rest of the team was perfect you could demand it from the goalie too. Lundqvist had a shutout the first game of the 2010 Olympics with a team he barely practiced with. It took 20 games for him to achieve that with the Rangers this year. Hmmm.....

Henrik is displaying all the symptoms of a goaltender that is being negatively affected by his coach’s rants, including a loss of confidence and a deep fear of making a mistake. This results in him playing on his goal line and through streaky performances.

Great job Torts. Take something damn near unstoppable and destroy it. You're an ass.