Net Trapped: In a hilarious moment, Henrik Lundqvist picks up the net after it fell trapping him while Anton Stralman watches. Lundqvist won number 300 and tied Ed Giacomin in shutouts.
Frank Franklin II/AP Photos

Perfection. That can best describe Sunday’s 3-0 Rangers win over the Red Wings. Facing another must win, they scored three times on Jimmy Howard and got a special performance from Henrik Lundqvist. Needing a victory to reach 300, Lundqvist stopped all 30 Detroit shots to not only become the second goalie in franchise history to win 300 joining Mike Richter. But also pitched his 49th shutout tying him with Hall Of Famer Ed Giacomin for the team lead.

”It’s a great feeling to be up there with those guys,” a pleased Lundqvist perfectly stated. ”This organization has been around for so long, so to be up there with them, it’s very special, and I am proud just thinking about it.

”It’s a lot of fun when you think about it, and I started thinking about it after two periods – why not go for the doughnut in this game and reach 300 wins? It was a good challenge for me.”

At 32, Lundqvist will soon be at the top by himself in wins and shutouts. He needs two victories to pass Richter (301) and one shutout to pass Giacomin. Not too shabby for the former 2000 seventh round pick who will become the highest paid goalie beginning next season. He’d struggled lately winning one of his last four starts with a 3.77 GAA. With Alain Vigneault once again going to him, Lundqvist delivered a big performance helping lead the Rangers to a second consecutive win. Making his fifth straight start, he allowed two goals or less for the second game in a row. A trend that must continue.

With 17 games left, the win moved the Blueshirts up to second in the Metro Division a point up on the idle Flyers who lost in overtime at Toronto Saturday night. The 74 points are three more than the Blue Jackets, four better than the Capitals and five clear of the Devils. The loss for the Wings dropped them out of the wild card with 18 games remaining. By virtue of three more regulation and overtime wins (ROW), the Jackets sit eighth. Detroit currently has the longest playoff streak. They’ve qualified for the postseason 22 straight. The Red Wings haven’t missed the playoffs since 1989-90. There’s a chance they could in their first year in the East.

Ironically, the Rangers swept the season series winning all three games against a team that’s owned them historically. It was Lundqvist’s second straight shutout of the Red Wings. He also blanked them on Jan. 16 making 38 saves in a 1-0 win also at MSG. That’s 68 consecutive shots he stopped. Of course, it helps not to see Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. In that one, Mats Zuccarello scored the only goal with 5:58 left in regulation of what was a classic goalie duel between Lundqvist and Howard. This time, our goalie got stronger support including two goals from rookie Chris Kreider. Both his tallies came in the third period from Friday’s hero Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh.

”He’s the best goalie in the world, best around the league, and we’re lucky enough to have him on our team,” Kreider praised of his goalie. ”It’s kind of his style to get a shutout for his 300th win.”

”He’s been the face of the franchise and will continue to be,” Brad Richards said. ”He’s only been in the league eight or nine years, and it seems like 30 or 40 wins each year.”

There’s no doubt Lundqvist is the backbone of a franchise that’s qualified for seven of the last eight postseasons. He’s always been there to cover up for his team’s mistakes. This has been his most challenging year. He’s been inconsistent despite improving to 24-20-4. Usually, he dominates. But in a season that didn’t start well before signing a record extension that’ll pay him an average of $8.5 million through 2020-21, Lundqvist has struggled at times leaving many wondering if maybe giving that kind of money was too much. Especially with understudy Cam Talbot proving so valuable. Make no mistake. If they are to go anywhere this Spring, it’ll fall on the broad shoulders of Lundqvist.

Brian Boyle started the scoring 5:14 into the contest. He cashed in his fifth when the Boston College standout got to a John Moore rebound and beat Howard. Dominic Moore also picked up a helper. Since Glen Sather acquired Dan Carcillo from LA, the fourth line has been a constant. They have contributed the occasional goal while being reliable defensively and supplying strong penalty killing. Boyle has played that role since he got here. Also an ex-King, it doesn’t matter who the coach is. Boyle always gives max effort and hustles. He might not be beloved due to not being able to fight for his size. But the man has been a good Ranger. He wins faceoffs, especially in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill. An unrestricted free agent this summer, he might be worth re-signing. You always need those types.

Leading 1-0 after two, Kreider doubled the margin when he finished off his 15th just 14 seconds into the third. Another BC product who had a big day registering his first multi-goal game since recording a hat trick in a 5-2 home win over Vancouver on Nov. 30. Since a three-point effort on Jan. 21, he entered with only two points over the last dozen. Kreider has been taking some bad penalties. He took another before recovering for two goals in the third five minutes apart. His second of the period came at 5:14 when he took a Stepan dish across and had all day to sweep it past a sliding out of position Howard. Both tallies came from American teammates Stepan and McDonagh.

All that remained was whether Lundqvist would put a stamp on No.300 with his 49th shutout. Detroit fired 12 shots but couldn’t beat him. When the buzzer sounded, Dan Girardi went across the ice and got the puck. That’s what a future captain does.

”He’s one of the best, and he was extra solid today like the Olympics,” said former Swedish teammate Daniel Alfredsson. ”We didn’t execute well at all. We just couldn’t get it done.”

All part of a special day for Hank and the Rangers.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Ryan McDonagh, NYR (2 assists, more dominance from a Norris darkhorse)

2nd Star-Chris Kreider, NYR (2 goals-15, 16)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (30 saves-4th shutout of season-franchise tying 49th ties Giacoming, 300th career win trails Richter by 1)