The best professional athlete in New York heard his name chanted again Sunday at Madison Square Garden, though he had by his standards an average game. Henrik Lundqvist saw 26 shots from the Washington Capitals and stopped 24 of them. There were no breathtaking saves, no moments in which Lundqvist flashed such grace and athleticism that you wondered if he were more than human. He played well. The Rangers won again. Ho-hum.

For five games, the phenomenon that is Jeremy Lin has breathed life back into the Knicks. Once bound...