MONTREAL – Antti Raanta wore a finely tailored suit Saturday morning at Bell Centre, joking that Henrik Lundqvist’s fashion sense has convinced his backup to sharpen his style, as well.
The friendly Finnish Raanta, 26, and the intense but personable Swedish Lundqvist, 34, get along. Lundqvist said “because he’s a Fin, we get along really well. When he speaks Finnish, I don’t understand him, but as Scandinavians, our backgrounds and mindsets are pretty similar.”
Really, though, anyone who earns Lundqvist’s respect does it only one way: by working hard.
“The one thing that’s been a common theme is that every (backup) I’ve worked with has worked really hard.