Lundqvist healthy, skating again following MCL sprain

Henrik Lundqvist was instrumental in Team Sweden's gold-medal victory at this year's World Championship in May - and he paid the price for it.

The New York Rangers netminder suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his left knee over the course of the 10-game tournament, but the former Vezina winner says he's feeling healthy again.

"I've been skating a few times now and I feel good," Lundqvist told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com on Thursday. "Obviously, I have some work ahead of me, but it's a similar feeling. … When you step on the ice, that's the time for me when I really ramp it up and increase the workload, and I enjoy that."

He added, "You need a few weeks to feel comfortable, but that's just part of the process. It's been like that almost every year. You just take it step by step."

Over his 12 seasons in the NHL, Lundqvist's managed to play in 70 or more games only four times as multiple knee injuries have hampered an otherwise Hall of Fame-caliber career.

Last season was more of the same for Lundqvist and the Rangers: another injury-riddled season that ended without a Stanley Cup parade.

"The highs were as high as any other year. The lows were a little too low," he said. "But I also had a lot of stretches where I felt like I was right there, I was playing the way I can play and should play and need to play. But, obviously, when you're a starting goalie, you can't have too many bumps because then that will affect the overall feeling, the overall rating, I think.

" ... But it's part of the game and also I'm excited to get to know the new guys and see what they can bring and hopefully help us take it to the next level here."

The Rangers haven't won a Cup since 1994. If they hope to end the drought, they will need a healthy Lundqvist to have a bounce-back season.