Bobby Bevilacqua

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

UPDATE (3:26): Alain Vigneault stated that Henrik Lundqvist was ill and was not able to complete practice. He didn’t seem concerned and said that he expects Hank to be healthy and ready to practice tomorrow. He also said that Ryan McDonagh definitely would miss the start of the playoffs, and that Girardi, Eric Staal, Zuccarello and Stalberg should be good to go

On Monday afternoon during the Rangers first practice before the playoffs, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist left the ice on two separate occasions and did not return after the second time.

The first time, Lundqvist skated off of the ice and to the locker room, forcing one of the equipment managers to scramble to get changed into goalie equipment. Lundqvist returned to the ice 14 minutes later and practiced for about five minutes. But he wound up going over to head coach Alain Vigneault, speaking to him briefly and leaving the ice for good, being replaced by an equipment manager. (All information from Pat Leonard on Twitter).

This may the worst possible news the Rangers could have received. Henrik Lundqvist has been the biggest reason for the Rangers’ success in recent years, and he’s been the cornerstone of this franchise since 2005. Lundqvist has been phenomenal in the playoffs, especially last season, where he allowed just 20 goals in the first 13 games of the playoffs.

If Henrik Lundqvist is out long term, and this is not confirmed in anyway, then the Rangers shot at winning the Cup this season is significantly impacted. Couple the loss of McDonagh with the potential loss of Lundqvist and the Rangers will have a hard time getting out of the first round.

Antti Raanta would fill in, and thankfully, he’s been stellar to end the season, winning seven of his last eight starts, allowing two goals or less in all seven of those wins. Raanta has shown to be a capable goaltender when called upon, but no Lundqvist would make the Rangers’ lives a lot more difficult.

As far as other news on the Rangers players, Eric Staal, Mats Zuccarello and Viktor Stalberg all skated today and fully participated in the drills. Dan Girardi skated in a contact jersey and Ryan McDonagh skated in a non-contact jersey, but McDonagh left the ice before practice started.

Stay tuned to The Ranger Zone for more updates on the situation.