PHOENIX — You can bet Henrik Lundqvist will be happy for the year 2016 to end.
The Rangers goaltender will miss his second consecutive start Thursday while battling the flu, so the team’s No. 1 netminder might bring the curtain down in Denver on New Year’s Eve against the Avalanche.
Lundqvist, who began feeling ill Monday, practiced Wednesday before the Blueshirts (24-12-1) flew here, but coach Alain Vigneault didn’t like what he saw from the veteran and declared there was a “less than 50-50” chance he would play against the Coyotes (11-19-5), who have lost five straight.