MSG, NY – It was a great run by the Knicks, but they ran out of healthy bodies. There’s not much else to say. The Yankees are on a tear right now, but I’m not ready to pivot to baseball. So let’s stick with the Rangers and their memorable win that put them in the Eastern Conference Finals. I’ve grabbed a few Rocky IV quotes to get us fired up. LGR!
Darkest Before the Dawn
The best sports moments come when things look hopeless. Two great examples are the ‘86 Mets coming back from down three in the 9th and the ‘94 Rangers coming back from 2-0 in an elimination Game 6 vs the Devils seemingly impenetrable neutral zone trap and legendary goalie. Rangers fans forgot that on Thursday, as roughly 87.3 percent of them (according to the MtM Social Media Analytics Department) gave up after the second period in Game 6 and 99.8 percent of those people also assumed the Rangers would go on to lose Game 7. But then came the third period and some Chris Kreider thunder.
Momentum Shift
You just need one big play to change the momentum and make the other team nervous. In Rocky 4, our hero was getting pummeled in the first two rounds but then caught Drago with a combo and cut the big Russian.
The Russian’s cut, and it’s a bad cut, and now it’s Rocky Balboa coming after Ivan Drago!
For the ‘94 Rangers, a lot of people forget that Alexei Kovalev scored the goal that turned the tide in Game 6 vs the Devils. The Rangers were down 2-0 late in the second and things were looking grim. Kovalev’s slapper with less than two minutes left in the period set the stage for Messier’s legendary hat trick in the third.
For the current Rangers, that moment in Round 2 game about half way through the third period in Game 6. The Hurricanes dominated the first two periods and the Rangers were not showing much life. But there was time left. Get a greasy one and see what happens.
But the third wasn’t looking great at the start either as the Canes had several grade A chances. But they nailed iron twice and Igor made a few huge point blank saves.
Then Mika picked up a loose puck and took it around the net on a harmless looking play, and tried to bank it in off the goalie Anderson. It failed, but Chris Kreider beat Anderson to the puck and somehow backhand poked it just over the goalie’s skate and in. It was a bad goal and you could feel the building start to panic and the Rangers start to buzz.
He’s worried! You cut him! You hurt him! You see? You see? He’s not a machine, he’s a man!
A few minutes later Carolina captain Jordan Staal was called for a soft penalty on Mika with about nine minutes left. The refs had missed a clear delay of game penalty of the Canes moments before, so we are fine with the soft call.
Power Play Comes Through
The Rangers power play had gone dormant after starting the series hot. But the unit came through when they needed it most, with a patented Kreider deflection of a Panarin wrister. Tie game.
All your strength, all your power, all your love. Everything you’ve got. Right now!
Hatty Time
But the Rangers weren’t done and were not settling for overtime. After a long shift in the offensive zone, Ryan Lindgren of all people took one around the net and slid it across the blue paint to Kreider. He buried it for the natural hat trick and topped off a performance that will go down in Rangers lore. He had two other grade A chances in the period. The man was flying. And he might have had the flu…
Kreider took them from a two goal deficit to a one goal lead in about nine minutes. But they still had over four minutes to kill.
You’re gonna do it.
Joyous Celebration
Igor made one last phenomenal save on Svechnicov in the slot when Will Cuylle vacated the middle on a d-zone faceoff. Yikes, I’m not sure why the rook was on in crunch time. But Igor was there, and then Barclay Goodrow’s empty netter set off a joyous celebration on the Rangers’ bench that was reminiscent of the celebration after the Messier empty netter in the guarantee game.
What a win. Half Way Home.
Moving On
The Rangers draw another tough one against the Florida Panthers, a deep and rugged squad that made a surprise run to the finals last season. The Rangers’ reliance on the power play and goaltending, combined with uninspiring 5-on-5 play, is not a sustainable formula, say the oddsmakers. The Rangers are significant underdogs again.
F the oddsmakers. Let’s go Rangers.
Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward.
