Admit it, you didn't think a comeback was possible. Now tell yourself it's OK to admit when you're wrong.
For the first time in the history of the franchise, the New York Rangers overcame a series deficit of 3-1 to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
After the Rangers scored twice in overtime to beat the Penguins in Game 1, the series spiraled out of control in favor of Pittsburgh. The Penguins rattled off three straight wins in dominating fashion, outscoring the Rangers 9-2 in those games and posting shutouts in Games 2 and 3. The Rangers power play unit was something like 0-for-the-century, Rick Nash still hadn't scored (and still hasn't). It was bad. Really bad.
The Rangers looked dead. Hell, I even thought the season was over based on what I witnessed in those three losses and so did many others. It even led to Ken Campbell of THN to declaring them dead and suggesting the front office blows the team up (Mr. Campbell faced a severe amount of backlash from Ranger fans on Twitter Tuesday night).
But one thing you can never hang your hat on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: declaring a team dead. Just in the opening round of this season's Playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings overcame a 3-0 deficit to the San Jose Sharks and won the series 4-3.
After the Game 4 loss, the Rangers held a closed-door meeting before the team addressed the media. We don't know exactly what was said, but Joe Micheletti said on WFAN on Tuesday that it was led by Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, who know what it takes to win a Stanley Cup.
On the following day, St. Louis' mother unfortunately passed away. Perhaps the team used that as a rallying point (after Game 7, Brian Boyle told NBCSN's Pierre McGuire that it brought the team closer). At any rate, the Rangers came out with their hair on fire in Game 5 matching their series total in goals scored to that point with a 5-1 beatdown of the Penguins (and actually scored not once, but twice, on the power play). They followed that up with close victories in Games 6 and 7 to complete the comeback.
The team MVP by far and away throughout the comeback was Henrik Lundqvist who held the star-loaded Penguins to just one goal per game in the final three games of the series, including stopping 35 of 36 shots in the deciding Game 7.
This Game 7 victory was easily my favorite moment as a Ranger fan in the last 20 years. Now, the Rangers haven't had exactly a lot of success since winning their first Stanley Cup in 54 years in 1994. In fact, my favorite night as a Ranger fan up to this point since that magical Cup run was Game 5 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Washington Capitals when Richards tied the game with 6.6 seconds left and Marc Staal winning it in overtime.
To rattle off three straight wins against that Penguins team after looking so, so terrible in three straight losses could not have been predicted by the most optimistic of optimists. I'm still trying to fathom how this team was able to turn on the switch and do what they did. Again, the franchise had never come back from a series when trailing 3-1.
As to who I wish the Rangers face in the Eastern Conference Final (can't believe I'm saying that)....it's difficult to say. They'll be facing a team that's been through the ringer just like they have as the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins face off in a deciding Game 7 of their own tonight. The Bruins ousted the Rangers in five games last season in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and are 3-0-0 against New York this season. The Canadiens are 2-1-0 against the Rangers this season and beat them on the final day of the season winning 1-0 in overtime and seemingly own the Rangers at the Bell Centre.
I don't want to eat my words, so I'll take whoever comes out on top in tonight's Game 7 in Boston. The Rangers are playing with house money and are half way home to a Stanley Cup. They'll start on the road regardless this weekend. LGR.
*Rangers photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images
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UPDATE - 5/14/14 @ 12:00 PM - new, exclusive video of the Penguins collapse:
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