TORONTO — One of Mika Zibanejad’s first big moments in a Rangers sweater began with nearly taking Henrik Lundqvist out of a 2017 playoff game.
During warm-ups inside a rowdy Bell Centre ahead of Game 5 of the Blueshirts’ first-round playoff series against the Canadiens, Zibanejad accidentally shot a puck off of Lundqvist’s head.
“I was so scared,” the Rangers’ longtime No. 1 center told The Post while sitting at his locker Sunday morning, the day before Lundqvist was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“He kind of limped out of the net and went around. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what the hell did I do?’ ”
The King, of course, shook it off and ultimately made 34 saves to help propel the Rangers to overtime, where Zibanejad scored the game-winner off a feed from Chris Kreider.
Lundqvist let out an emphatic double fist pump into the air as he skated over to celebrate with Zibanejad and the rest of his teammates.
After the Rangers celebrated forcing an elimination game, which they capitalized on two nights later, Zibanejad had only one thing left to do.
“I went up to him after the game and I was like, ‘I’m so sorry,’” Zibanejad said with a smile. “He goes, ‘I don’t care. You can hit my head any time you want, as long as we win.’ ”
That is how most of Lundqvist’s Rangers teammates remember him: A fierce competitor who would’ve done or endured anything and everything to win.
That lives on in the Rangers’ history book, in which Lundqvist is listed as the all-time leader in wins with 459 and shutouts with 64.
There has always been a deep admiration for Lundqvist’s work ethic from those who practiced with him on a day-to-day basis.
The calming effect he had on the rest of the lineup — that knew Lundqvist could “save your ass” as one player put it — was remarkable.
“You could tell, just from playing against him, how competitive he was,” said Zibanejad, who played for the Senators in the first five seasons of his NHL career. “Unbelievable goalie, Hall of Fame goalie. But with the personality and as a person, equally as great. Just for me, it was cool to have him in practice, just in terms of how he made me better in practice. How he wanted me to score more because it annoyed him.
“He was like that with a lot of guys. I think chirping him — once I got a little more comfortable with him — it was easy to kind of fire back at him. It became a thing in practice.”
The end of Lundqvist’s career in New York was tough to watch unfold for his fans and teammates alike.
It was clear the Rangers were ready for the Igor Shesterkin era to begin and the club opted to carry three goalies, which relegated Lundqvist to sporadic starts. The Rangers ultimately bought out the final year of his contract.
No one knew it at the time, but his last game for the Rangers on Aug. 3, 2020 inside an empty Scotiabank Arena during the bubble playoffs proved to be his last NHL start.
“Like a professional,” Kreider said of how he saw Lundqvist handle getting phased out. “Obviously, it was a difficult time for a lot of us as individuals and us as a whole. We weren’t winning a whole lot of hockey games, kind of in that downswing, right? He had a great attitude, great mindset. He’s a true professional, incredibly classy, very consistent with who he is.”
Lundqvist may not have gotten the farewell tour he deserved — or the Stanley Cup he yearned for.
Up until doctors advised him not to play anymore, however, Lundqvist continued to compete because that’s who he is to his core.
There’s only one place worthy of housing such legacies, and that’s on Yonge Street in Toronto.
That’s where Lundqvist has been immortalized, among hockey’s greatest minds and competitors.
“We almost got a chance to work together, it didn’t quite work out in Washington,” Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said, referencing how Lundqvist signed with the Capitals and never got to play due to his heart condition. “Certainly, first and foremost, I’m happy to see he’s healthy and doing well. He was a fierce competitor, boy. I mean he was an elite goaltender and a fierce competitor for many years.
“You knew that when you came into [Madison Square Garden] that you were going to need traffic and screens and volume, quality, all of it, because he was one of the best.”
