To be honest, it’s taken me a little while to get my head around this, and to put pen to paper. On Saturday afternoon, when the Los Angeles Kings’ Alec Martinez fired the puck past New York’s stellar net minder, Henrik Lundqvist, to win the Stanley Cup and to spark off wild celebrations in Southern California, I was pretty depressed.
After all, the Rangers are not the world’s most successful team – this was their first trip to the Final since they won it all twenty years ago – and this year I’ve followed them like never before, missing only two games all season, and seeing two, albeit disappointing losses, at Madison Square Garden last December.
Shortly after turning off the Kings’ celebrations – congratulations to them, by the way; they’re a powerful franchise, fully deserving of their second Stanley Cup Championship in the past three seasons – I realised that, far from being disappointed, I should be happy and proud of the twenty-eight men who wore the Blueshirts in the eighty-seventh year of New York Ranger participation in the National Hockey League.
After all, these were the same Rangers who looked dead and gone, listless and horribly uncompetitive, down 1-3 to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Their season was on life support, and everything pointed to the Penguins winning the next game, to oust the Rangers. It seemed pretty likely. Then came tragic news of the passing of Martin St Louis’ mother, between Game Five and Six.
What a ride followed for Blueshirts fans. The Rangers won that elimination game in Pittsburgh, St Louis scored the first goal of the Mother’s Day and Henrik Lundqvist, superb in so many games this year, back-stopped a memorable series win, beating Pittsburgh 4-3 after a thrilling Game Seven, touching off all sorts of change at the Penguins organisation, including coach and general manager – you’re welcome, guys!
The Pittsburgh series was a fantastic, gutty comeback, a galvanised team playing for St Louis, a recent addition to the locker room, but obviously a valued member. What a difference from the team who showed up in Game Four of that series, and, more so, from the tentative, uninterested outfit who went a miserable 3-6-0 to start the season.
Nine games in, and New Yorkers were already calling for the head of new coach Alain Vigneault, who promised that his team just needed time to get used to his new system, and that the wins would come. The news wasn’t much better in December, though. The Rangers had a franchise-record nine-game home stand from December 7 to 23, during which they had a record of 3–4–2. It didn’t look much like a season that, ultimately, wouldn’t end until the Stanley Cup Final.
Where the Rangers really picked up was after the Olympics. Vigneault’s system became less foreign, and with understanding of what the coach wants, came wins. Lots of them. Shockingly, beloved captain Ryan Callahan was sent to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, with St Louis coming the other way. The team lost it’s spiritual heart, but gained a fantastic sniper with all-important playoff experience.
Outdoor games at Yankee Stadium – a wild and ultra-memorable Sunday afternoon 7-3 win against cross-river rivals New Jersey that was spearheaded by Rick Nash and a double from Mats Zuccarello, and a tough 2-1 night-time victory over the New York Islanders, thanks to a Daniel Carcillo goal – and big road wins followed, with playoffs creeping ever closer as February became March and April. They made it to second in the Metropolitan Division behind Pittsburgh, beat Philadelphia in Seven Games in the quarter-final round, again thanks to Lundqvist heroics. They don’t call him King Henrik for nothing.
I must admit to being unbiased and actually selecting Pittsburgh and Montreal (and, then, the Kings) to win series’ against the Rangers, but I was happily surprised and pleased to see the opposite happen.
Yes, Montreal’s star goalie, their best player Carey Price, was knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals. Some north of the border suggested that was the difference. No, sir, it was the gritty nature of a team playing for each other, on every line, and was highlighted by the inspirational Dominic Moore’s goal, the difference in the series-deciding Game Six was the fourth line, gritty and strong. Suddenly, my Rangers were Eastern Conference Champions.
The Stanley Cup Final was never going to be easy, no matter whether the Rangers faced the Kings or the Chicago Blackhawks, but, thinking back on the series, now that the pain has somewhat faded, I take heart in the fact that the Rangers were will in Games One and Two, but just didn’t seem to get the breaks and the bounces going their way. Conversely, for LA, getting bounces in their direction was about the theme of the Kings’ run.
Game Three was a different story. The Rangers were beyond bad. Game Four was a nice rebound win, thanks once more to Lundqvist, and some slushy ice in Madison Square Garden – finally, a break the Rangers’ way – but they didn’t play particularly well in victory. Game Five, the double-overtime contest, could have been so much different. Ryan McDonagh hit the post early in the first overtime, but the puck stayed out. I think now about what might have been.
Alas, ultimately, the season ended in disappointment, but it should be – and will likely be, once the sting wears off – remembered as one of major over achievement. Of course, we all wanted to see Hank and the boys hoist Lord Stanley, but they rebounded amazingly from the horrible early months of the season and again during the middle of the Pittsburgh series to give us a memorable few weeks. It obviously didn’t end quite as we’d hoped, but there is plenty of hope for the 2014-15 season, which, really, isn’t too far away!
Hey, at least the Devils and Islanders didn’t even get close to a sniff! See you in a few months, Ranger fans!
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