Rangers still up 3-1, but they would be wise to put Hurricanes away while they can
Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers makes a save during the second period against the Hurricanes in Game 2 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
All stories about the Rangers and Knicks these days must reference 1994. It’s a rule. So let’s begin with that.
The last time the Rangers started the playoffs with seven consecutive victories, they lost their eighth game, recovered quickly and later won the 1994 Stanley Cup.
That is a potentially good omen for them as they try to advance the same way on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 of their second-round series against the Hurricanes.
But a closer look at the events of 30 years ago reveals another way of looking at this: That there is a good chance it will not be easy.
On May 9, 1994, the Rangers did win Game 5 over the Capitals, but the clincher was a 4-3 battle not secured until a goal by Brian Leetch at 16:32 of the third period.
Even Leetch, who went on to become the first American-born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, had a checkered night. The defenseman was on the ice for all three Washington goals.
All of which is a long way of saying that though the Rangers remain in firm control against Carolina, they would be wise to put this away while they can.
Hockey is difficult enough to predict to begin with. But with an opponent at the skill level of the Hurricanes, nothing can be left to chance.
In the first round against the Islanders, the Hurricanes won more than their share of games that could have gone either way.
In this round, they have lost more than their share of such games.
Then came Carolina’s season-saving 4-3 victory in Game 4, after which coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “I thought they played a great game, actually.”
By “they,” he meant the Rangers, not his own victorious team.
“I thought of the four we’ve played, it might have been our least effective game,” Brind’Amour said. “But like I say, hockey is weird sometimes.”
Remember, entering the series, the Hurricanes were favored among both analytics experts and oddsmakers, and they now are 1-1-2 in regulation time.
So let’s assume the next three potential games are more or less coin flips. That still means long odds against Carolina, but far from impossible ones.
There is a reason coming back from 3-0 series deficits is more common in the NHL (four times) than in MLB (once) and the NBA (never).
Hockey is weird sometimes.
If the Hurricanes find a way to win on Monday night, things are going to get way too interesting for the Rangers for Game 6 in Raleigh.
The flip side of the above is that the Rangers seem well-suited to shrugging off a loss and regrouping, given their blend of talent, poise and experience, plus one of the league’s most seasoned coaches in Peter Laviolette.
Oh, and their superstar goalie, Igor Shesterkin.
“I think going back home, we’re going to have a pretty rambunctious crowd,” captain Jacob Trouba said after Game 4. “It’s going to be a fun game to play.”
Adam Fox said: “They’re not going to go down easy and just give us that fourth win . . . I’m pretty confident in how we’ll respond.”
Brady Skjei’s game-winning power-play goal on Saturday was a downer for the Rangers and their fans. But that made Carolina 1-for-17 on power plays in the series, so this hardly is time for panic on that or any other front.
Given the Rangers’ firepower and star power, a collapse would be shocking. But stuff happens.
Ten years after the events of 1994, an experienced, reigning American League pennant-winning Yankees team went up 3-0 against the Red Sox in the ALCS.
It’s not only hockey that is weird. It’s life.
Unsolicited advice to the Rangers: Win Monday.
Notes & quotes: Before leaving Raleigh on Sunday morning, Laviolette told NHL.com that forward Filip Chytil is feeling better and might be available for Game 5. Laviolette said Chytil had improved by Saturday night and Sunday morning. Chytil missed Game 4 with an illness after playing in Game 3 in his return from a presumed concussion he suffered on Nov. 2.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
