Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will be sidelined two to three weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Saturday morning.
Lundqvist did not play _ or back up Antti Raanta _ in the 4-3 loss to Carolina on Thursday, and head coach Alain Vigneault had said the Swedish netminder felt something in the 5-2 defeat of the Panthers on Tuesday. Brandon Halverson was summoned from Greenville to back up Raanta, and Saturday Magnus Hellberg was called up from Hartford as Raanta's backup.
Given the timetable, Lundqvist, who watched the morning skate from behind the glass in Carolina and was stretching and walking without pain afterward, should be ready for the start of the playoffs.
The Lightning visit Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Lundqvist, 35, a 12-year veteran, is 30-17-2, with a 2.65 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. He had missed just one scheduled start, on Dec. 27 in Ottawa, because of the flu. Raanta is 13-6, 2.32, .922.
The next six Rangers games are comprised of three back-to-back series: It's possible that Hellberg, 25, will make his first NHL start in that stretch. He has appeared in three NHL games, one with Nashville and two with the Rangers, who have 88 points with 14 games to play and are currently in the first-wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, 13 points ahead of the Islanders and 14 up on the Maple Leafs.
