As you can probably guess, the Rangers are the underdogs in their upcoming playoff series. And why shouldn't they be? I mean, they lost their last 5 games, the Devils won their last 11, would you expect anything else?
You know what? WHO CARES? Let them be the underdogs. Haven't they been underestimated all year long? They were picked to finish LAST in the NHL. We have waited for a playoff game since May 25th, 1997. That is 3,254 days come Saturday. Underdogs, overdogs, reservoir dogs, hot dogs, who gives a rat's ass?
Yes, we know how the season ended, but so what? The Devils finished ONE point better than the Rangers. ONE. The Blueshirts came out on top in the season series 4-3-1, and two of the losses were by one goal. In the eight games in which the teams faced off, New Jersey never scored more than 3 goals. Our goaltender, while young and not playoff experienced, has shown he can be as good as theirs on any given night. And don't forget . . . we have one of the greatest players to ever put on a pair of skates. DO NOT underestimate that factor.
Additionally, the Blueshirts will not play even one road game this series, because the Continental Airlines Arena will be packed with fans wearing blue. We are Ranger fans, we travel well and we travel strong.
Listen, I can't sit here and tell you the Rangers will win this series for sure, but I will challenge anyone who says they absolutely cannot. They have a lot going against them - inexperience, fatigue, injuries. But all streaks must come to an end, including 5 games losing streaks, and 11 game winning streaks. The streak of seven seasons without a playoff appearance came to an end, and this team was the one that did it. Let's go Rangers!
The Official Website says that performance in the last ten games of the season does not tend to sustain itself in the playoffs: Since 1990, only one eventual Stanley Cup champion won more than six of its final 10 regular-season games.
Uncle Larry tries his best to motivate the team. Like he did before the season, he tells the guys they have no shot. To his credit, Larry comes up with one of the best lines of the year: Point being, every team is motivated in the playoffs, every team comes with an "A" effort, and the ones that don't become the Islanders.
A theme running through some of the articles is that the Devils will shadow Jaromir Jagr for the entire series. This is the time for Renney to pull out all of the tricks, and it is time for the other guys to step up. We have said it all year long - the third and fourth lines need to put some points up. I know it is a lot to expect, but there is no better time than the present. Colin Stephenson writes that the Shadow knows, or actually Jagr knows the shadow will come.
Steve Zipay: The Rangers appear to embrace the underdog role that worked so well when they were written off in the preseason. "We had a good meeting this morning about going forward," rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. "We talked about the experience we have as a team. We talked about how they are, of course, the favorites in the series. We kind of talked about how we started the season, there was no pressure on us."
Both Andrew Gross and John Dellapina cover the 'underdog' theme, and talked to some players about. I particularly liked this:
The Rangers are underdogs again, darn it. And they won't be talked out of it. "Of course, nobody is going to pick us," Jaromir Jagr said. Then, asked why Rangers fans should believe their heroes have a chance to win, Jagr smiled. "Because they're Ranger fans," he said. "They should believe. Hey, they believed even after those eight years we didn't make the playoffs. I think they believe in us."
Damn right.
Joe McDonald of NY SportsDay worries that the referees won't call penalties like they have during the regular season, and that overlooking the clutching and grabbing will hurt the Blueshirts. Commissioner Gary Bettman is warning referees that if they put their whistles away, they will be watching the games at home. That's a plus for us.
By the way, Joe Mac is giving away a couple of copies of the 1994 Stanley Cup DVD box set. Just send in an email for your chance to win.
In the latest Birdcage, Bird says that he is disappointed with the way the season ended, but is excited and optimistic about the playoffs.
The Wolf Pack have been a little left out around here, but they evened-up their playoff series against Manchester. Martrin Sonnenberg scored the game winner in OT.
Around the league: The draft lottery will be conducted today at noon. The Blues finished with the worst record in the league and hope for the #1 pick. TSN says that American defenseman Erik Johnson is the favorite to be picked first . . . The Flyers have announced that Robert Esche will start in net for the playoffs . . . The NHL set an attendance record this year.
I think Brian Leeds is back from his mountain adventure with Lindsey Lohan's dad, and he'll be back tomorrow. I'll see you Saturday morning.
HDH
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