Lord Stanley Eludes The Rangers

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http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/1/20/full/145.gifWhen the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup Championship in 1994, it marked the end of the long suffering for their organization as their last prior title to that was secured in 1940. The Rangers are an Original Six club and they are also one of the most iconic teams in the National Hockey League. But twenty-one years later after hoisting the Stanley Cup, the Rangers are still searching for another opportunity.

The past four seasons have seen the Rangers become one of the top teams in the National Hockey League as they have enjoyed some deep runs in the postseason. In 2012, the Rangers made their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1997, but there they would meet an old nemesis in the New Jersey Devils who proved to be too much for the Blueshirts to overcome. Last year the Rangers made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since winning it all in 1994. But there the Rangers met a Los Angeles Kings squad that was a team of destiny and they succumb to them in five games. This season was the second one for the Rangers under head coach Alain Vigneault and they felt that this was going to be their year.

After a slow start to the season, the Rangers caught fire down the stretch of the regular season and they earned the Presidents’ Trophy for just the third time in franchise history. And in order for the Rangers to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive year, they knew that they were going to have to go through some of the game’s best scorers. In the first round of the playoffs, it was all hands of deck defensively for the Rangers as they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins and their center Sidney Crosby. But the Rangers were up for the challenge as they got past the Penguins in five games. In the second round, the Rangers had to overcome a 3-1 deficit in their series with the Washington Capitals and their star left winger Alex Ovechkin, but the Blueshirts would prevail in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Finals. the Rangers knew that they would have to contend with Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos. But unlike the Pens and Caps as far as Crosby and Ovechkin respectively, Stamkos had plenty of help around him which meant that the Rangers defense could not completely zero in on him as the Lightning and Blueshirts counter punched in a grueling seven-game series.

http://dqmt5fo24ucpe.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/30041312/handshakes-FB.jpgMadison Square Garden in New York City has proven to be tough on Rangers opponents in Game 7 situations, but when the Lightning won their this past Friday night, it marked the third time in the series that Tampa Bay was victorious at the famous venue. And with that the Lightning added to the angst of the Rangers.

The Rangers pride themselves as a mentally tough hockey team. But toughness alone couldn’t get it done in this series as the Lightning have incredible team speed which was tough for the Rangers all series long. And just as New York torched Tampa Bay for 7 goals in Game 6, they were shutout by Lightning goalie Ben Bishop in Game 7. As always the Rangers rely on goalie Henrik Lundqvist to bail them out of any situation and even he cannot do it all as he is not a goal scorer. But aside from losing Game 7, the Rangers lost something else which is time.

http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Henrik+Lundqvist+New+York+Rangers+v+Washington+Gr79VO72eUvl.jpg

Henrik Lundqvist

The Rangers still have a solid core on their club which is led by Lundqvist, but in the world of sports you can never take something for granted as title windows can close rather quickly. With the NHL’s salary cap expected to climb next season, New York is in good shape as they have their key players under contract being that Rangers general manager Glen Sather has done a good job in managing the team’s payroll while giving them flexibility going forward. But unfortunately for the Rangers and the folks at MSG, the off-season got started a little quicker than they anticipated.

Source: Hockey-reference.com

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