For the Rangers players who were on the team a year ago, the majority of the locker room is taken up by that team, and the pain has yet to fully subside.
And it’s not. Not until this month, next month, and maybe he has more in June.
The Rangers defied expectations and were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs far too quickly when they lost a 2-0 series lead to the Devils in the first round last spring, losing in seven games.
The exorcism of these demons begins Sunday afternoon at the Garden, with the Rangers playing Game 1 against a Washington Capitals team that will be sent to make another run to the playoffs.
“Obviously it’s hard to go home early and that’s to be expected of you,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “Throughout the season, you’re always thinking, ‘How can I be more prepared for this moment?’ We’ve spent the year working to get back to this point and prove we can do it. Ta. ”
In the playoffs.
Coming off a 30-year Stanley Cup drought, everyone involved with the Rangers is hoping for some 1994 vibes this spring.
The Rangers did everything they could in the regular season, accumulating 114 points and 55 wins, entering the postseason as winners of the Presidents Trophy, both franchise records. This earned them home ice as long as they survived this postseason.
The question on the ice here is the pressure of the President’s Trophy and how the Rangers will deal with it. From their standpoint, they scored 135 points (the most of any team to win the Presidents Trophy since its inception in 1985-86) and were better than last year’s Bruins, who were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. I hope you can handle it well. Florida Panthers.
The pressure for the presidential trophy is real. Winning doesn’t guarantee success in the playoffs. Of the 37 championship teams, only eight won the Stanley Cup, and three others lost in the finals.
The last team to win the Presidents Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season was the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. The last team to win the Presidents Trophy and advance beyond the first two rounds of the playoffs was the Rangers in 2014-15, when they lost in the conference finals.
The Capitals made it to the playoffs in the 11th hour thanks to winning four of their last five games. Despite being in rebuilding mode, their roster still features past champions, including one of the best snipers of all time, Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals, who have split four games with the Rangers this season, are also a dangerous opponent because they have nothing to lose.
That’s why Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said after Friday’s practice that a top-seeded team “has to try to deal with” the pressure that comes with playing the lowest seed.
“There are going to be times in the series when things don’t go well, but we have to remember what we’ve done and what led to our success and believe in ourselves and have faith in what we’ve done. Yes,” Zibanejad said.
There are many reasons to believe the Rangers will make it happen, starting with the fact that they are a better, more talented and deeper team than Washington.
But beyond that obvious fact, the way Rangers players worked all the way through the regular season to win the Presidents Trophy should be a sign that momentum will continue in this playoff series.
“They were playing frantic hockey on him.” [of the regular season] We were able to win some big games,” Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren said of the Capitals. “But we were also fighting for everything until the last game. We were trying to play the best hockey possible, so every point mattered to us. It definitely helps. must.”
It should.
The same goes for coach Peter Laviolette, who made a difference in his first year with the team. Laviolette did a great job of keeping his players motivated and hungry long after they had a chance to qualify for the playoffs and make the postseason.
“Every team that plays, us, them, everyone, is talented,” Laviolette said. “I’ve seen the top teams win, I’ve seen the last teams win too. You’ve got to play well when the puck drops.”
Laviolette said “not for a second” did he talk to his players about last season’s early playoff exit. “It’s not for me to talk about because it happened last year,” he said.
He prefers to rely on what he’s done so far this season, which has been the best regular season in the league.
“I think that gives you a little bit of confidence, but at the end of the day, it’s not something you should rely on,” Laviolette said. “You have to rely on the work you put in and make sure that work is consistent with the game plan when the puck drops in Game 1.”
