TORONTO — Henrik Lundqvist’s eyes are on the prize of course, that being the World Cup of Hockey championship for which he and Team Sweden will continue to compete in Sunday’s semifinal match against Team Europe.
But the goaltender, who arguably was the No. 1 star of the round-robin portion of the tournament off his stunning work against Finland and Team North America after missing the opener against Russia while down with the flu, also is looking ahead.
“This is where my focus is, but at the same time I’m getting really excited about the season and about getting back to New York,” The King told The Post following Tre Kroner’s practice on Friday. “I was thinking about it the other day, how training camp is beginning and the guys are there and how it’s going to be great to be back with them.
“This is the longest time I’ve been away from New York since I came over for the first year,” said Lundqvist, who arrived for the 2005-06 season and is Broadway’s longest-running show on ice. “I left a little earlier for Sweden than I normally do after the season and now, with this tournament, it’s been a while.
“I’m going to be super excited to be back. I really miss that place.”
He misses Manhattan, the borough of millions of windows, and with all of them allegedly having already closed on the 34-year-old and the Rangers. Thanks for playing.
“The window closed on me? On us? Oh, I don’t think so,” Lundqvist said in a bemused tone. “I don’t see it that way at all.
“We might have a different look, but the mindset of our organization is always going to be to give the Rangers the best possible chance to compete at the highest level and to win. Personally, I feel really good about this season. The window hasn’t closed on anything.”
But before he and the Rangers can mount up for another try at the Stanley Cup, Lundqvist and Team Sweden will try to add this World Cup championship to their 2006 Turin Olympics gold-medal victory.
“I know people back home are excited about this tournament because the best players are here, and it’s been great to be a part of this,” Lundqvist said. “It’s not the Olympics, though. It’s not. It’s not even fair to compare it.
“But for me personally and for us as players, it’s a great challenge because you’re playing against the best, you get to measure yourself and find out where you’re at. If we are able to win it, I’m sure it’s going to be very big at home and it’s going to be a great honor for us.
“We came here to represent our country but we also came here to win.”
It’s not the Olympics, but NHL players may not participate in either the 2018 South Korea Games or the 2022 Games in Beijing. The World Cup, unique hybrid as it is with the inclusion of both the Under-24 Team North America and the amalgamated Team Europe, could represent the pinnacle of international hockey competition for the next decade. It could become what the Canada Cup and World Cup once were before NHL players first participated in the Olympics in 1998.
“I think this has been a good restart,” Lundqvist said of this event’s first installment since 2004. “And I think if they keep it going with some continuity, this tournament can become something much bigger than it is right now.”
Lundqvist will enter Sunday afternoon’s semifinal with a .953 save percentage after having stopped 45 of 49 shots in Wednesday’s showcase 4-3 overtime loss to the North American kids, during which he faced four breakaways — two from Connor McDavid and two from Johnny Gaudreau, thank you very much — plus four two-on-ones and another half-dozen, point-blank, slam-dunk opportunities.
“This new generation, it’s not only the way they move the puck at top speed with so much skill, it’s the imagination they have to solve situations under pressure that makes them unique,” Lundqvist said. “I have to say that that game was quite a challenge.
“But now we have another challenge. Europe is a very good team. Very disciplined,” he said. “We’re going to have to be at our best.”
So Sunday, Europe. Then, with a victory, a shot at the World.
And after that, New York, New York.
It’s all in a King’s life.