Henrik Lundqvist OK after taking puck to throat (VIDEO)

Madison Square Garden fell quiet for what seemed like an eternity Saturday night after Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was struck directly in the throat by a shot deflected by Carolina's Jay McClement.

It was at 3:02 of second period when Lundqvist took the inadvertent shot after teammate Ryan McDonagh's stick accidentally lifted Lundqvist's mask while he battled with McClement in front of the net, and the puck slammed into the goalie's windpipe.

"It's hard to breathe for a couple of minutes, got a little light-headed," King Henrik said later. "I had some headaches for the rest of the game. They said that was because I couldn't breathe properly."

hit in the throat can't stop King Henrik from making ridiculous saves: http://t.co/fqfuWHKPhM https://t.co/EhjlEseZcF” @Mikemendolia_17
— Brad Hoffer (@BradHoffer39) February 1, 2015

Backup goalie Cam Talbot started stretching as both concerned benches stood around while Lundqvist stayed down on the ice.

Finally, to cheers of "Henrik, Henrik" Lundqvist got to his knees, slowly stood up and had a sip of water before strapping his helmet back on.

"I was getting ready for the shot, then I just feel a stick under my chin. It pulled up my helmet, so I lost the vision of the puck. I had a bad feeling about it because I could see the puck coming but then I lost track of it," said Lundqvist, who finished the 4-1 victory with 31 saves.