via New York Rangers tweets,

AV on @ARaanta31: "Antti is definitely playing well and deserves to play tonight and that’s what we’re doing.”

More AV: "[Henrik's] like all our players, a team-first attitude & right now there’s no doubt Antti’s playing well and deserves to play."

Lundqvist last started a game on December 6th.

added 11:55am, via Steve Zipay tweets,

A diplomatic Lundqvist today: "If he (Raanta) hadn't played that well and I'm still sitting here, that would be hard to accept.'

Lundqvist: "It's about what's best for the team right now, it's not about me."

Lundqvist on departure: "I have always had, in the past, I've had opportunities to play in ups and downs, I just play & get into a nice ..."

Lundqvist: "...flow. It's a little different now, you play a couple and sit out, it's a different approach. But there's no excuses..."