To me games 5,6,7 of the Pittsburgh series was the best goaltending I've ever seen. By the end of the 3rd period of game 7, the penguins resigned themselves to defeat.
They knew they were going to lose.
You want to talk highlights, are you kidding me? I would start with excluding games from the back. Just kidding, but only barely. But yes, I agree, those were games where Hank really didn't take "no" for an answer. There are so many series during the years - and seasons - where Lundqvist carried the teams with significant authority, that is basically underrated in the recognition in the NHL at this point. He has carried this franchise on his back so many years. Then some schmuck claims he's not worthy of a cup. We have Devils fans claiming Hank is worthy of a cup, but we have Rangers fans who claim he doesn't. Outliers in extreme, right? Now, Rangers fans claiming he's the plague has always been a yearly occassion, but rivals from all over the division saying he's worthy of a Cup? Not happening. That's true praise.
The consistent world class performances and the few nights he was not up to it... the ratio has been insanely good. Every goalie talks of bad seasons, in plural. Lundqvist has consistently talked of bad months. Sure, he had some nightmare seasons, coached by Vigneault, lol. The guy that chased both Luongo and Schneider away from Vancouver. Hank handled it fairly well, compared to us fans watching the defensive zone turn into a kindergarden, counting seasons. Can I claim PTSD from that?
Now, Hank's unquestionably, in my mind - from both stats, advanced stats and the eye test - the best goalie of this era, based on consistency and overall performance. He has never accepted defeat in a single season, even when things looked like crap, several times. And he's still going in his late 30s. Something tells me he will have more longevity than you might think, because he's not a bulked up goalie like most others with hip problems. He's a hard worker with world class talent, keeping his own weight really low. That's a good concept for a work horse goalie.
Why doesn't Hank have more Vezinas or other trophies? Because the teams were always inferior, by margin. It was never really close, but he made it close. That's why he was - and still in his older years is - so good. Basically every top goalie has been injured by hip or knee problems. Hank has been injured from his own defensemen, in the throat and neck.
We are about to summarize his career up and he basically prolonged a Rangers rebuild for his entire career, pretty much all by himself - and almost carried them there. That's pretty good as a career for a powerhouse franchise, mostly covered with crap teams.