Folks, you might as well not even watch the Rangers-Devils series. Haven't you heard? It's over! The Devils won! They're in the second round. How do I know? I read the newspapers, the fan message boards, and the web. "Put it in ink," they say, "Devils in 5."
Balderdash, I say.
Congratulations to the Devils for winning the Atlantic Division and finishing the season on an 11-game winning streak. It's an incredible accomplishment. It's also virtually meaningless.
Easy for me to say, I know, since I was among many who were disappointed that the Rangers failed to lock up the division last week. But recall two weeks ago, when it seemed the Rangers were a virtual lock to win the division and the Devils were sitting in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. Weren't we expecting this matchup anyway?
And has anything really changed?
Yes, you could argue that the Devils wrested home-ice advantage away with their phenomenal season-ending run. But who would really call playing at the unwelcoming Meadowlands home-ice advantage? There will be enough Rangers fans at the Continental Airlines Arena to minimize the effects of the usually frenzied crowds of Devils fans. And of course, home ice advantage is only as good as the team that holds it. It only takes one home loss to completely erase it.
You could also say that the Devils look unbeatable now, with Brian Gionta, Patrik Elias, and Scott Gomez providing lots of scoring, the third and fourth lines providing grit, and a solid, playoff-tested defense. And... uhh.... Brodeur -- I think that's his name -- is pretty good in net, too. But to the fans and hockey pundits I say, get a grip. This is not the 1984 Oilers or the '77 Canadiens we're talking about. This is a team that is riding high and playing extremely well, but is not as good as some will make them out to be.
They have flaws. The Rangers surely have exposed them at times throughout the season, winning four of eight games against the Pitchforkers, but they have been covered up by a run that is equal parts skill and emotion.
But what happens when that emotional bubble bursts? We've seen it in sports a million times.
The pitcher loses the no-hitter in the 9th inning. The batter comes up and -- CRACK! -- over the fence.
The undefeated season ends. The team relaxes, exhales, takes a moment to pat itself on the back, and all of a sudden, the intensity is gone. They can't remember how to win again.
What happens when the Devils lose their first game in four weeks? Will they exhale and let down? Will they start pressing? It's hard to ignore that kind of natural human reaction.
A long winning streak is a big double-edged sword, which the Rangers can easily turn against the Devils by winning Game 1.
As poorly as the Broadway Blues have played, let's keep in mind their defense was almost completely decimiated by injuries and their starting goaltender was out down the stretch. The Rangers also played without two of their top six forwards, and the cumulative effect was that the entire team pressed way, way too hard.
With everyone finally healed (excepting Marty Rucinsky), the Rangers cannot possibly play any worse than they have during the past two weeks. Henrik Lundqvist is back in net. Tom Poti, Darius Kasparaitis and Marek Malik are back on D. Steve Rucchin is expected to play for the first time in nearly three weeks.
And if coach Tom Renney can get his defensemen -- particularly Poti, Fedor Tyutin and Sandis Ozolinsh -- to play a smarter game on the point, a large percentage of the Rangers' recent shortcomings will have repaired themselves.
Of course, they'll still have to figure out a way to get Jaromir Jagr back on track, how to keep him away from Jay Pandolfo and John Madden, and how to get scoring from their second line. And their tendency to take momentum-killing penalties could be very costly.
But for the first time in 10 years, the Rangers have a team willing to be coached and play disciplined hockey. To play... well, like the Devils. If that Rangers team shows up in Game 1, all bets are off.
Comments (13)
Those are some pretty big "if's." What really disappointed me was the Rangers losing that final game to Ottawa - at home - and losing badly. Sure they had injuries to contend with, but when you consider how much was at stake, I couldn't believe that they didn't even come close to redeeming themselves. They were a team that had gotten used to losing, to giving games away, and it showed.
I'll be genuinely surprised if the Rangers manage to 'make a series of it' against the Devils. I don't think there's any question that they need to win at least one of the first two games in order to generate any kind of meaningful self-confidence. We're getting all this talk about 'a new season and a fresh start,' but if you ask me, 'same old same old' is lurking in the wings, just waiting for New York to fall behind by a goal, by two goals.
Mistakes will kill the Rangers in a big hurry, so it's definitely time for them to walk the walk. I'm not saying they can't do it, but the odds have to be against it.
An 11 game winning streak means nothing, that was proved today. Rangers suck
"Say goodnight, Gracie." If only out of basic human decency, let it be over in four games. This is cruel.
It is now April 25th, Devils are up 2-0 in the series. Are we still ridding high Mr. Ranger?
The Rangers are looking more and more like a fancy cardboard wedding cake. All of the good things they accomplished during the regular season are the icing and the decorations - attractive but deceiving. Now, when real substance has to take over, they have none. I don't see how on earth they can be awarded anything, anything of them - players or coach. They keep talking about having to put all the negative experiences, their terrible performances, behind them. Well, waiting for them to win even a single game in these playoffs is something I'd love to be finished with. Mercifully, two more losses will do it.
Mr. Casey,
The Devils might have flaws. Your argument certainly does.
First, you mention that the Rangers have won four of the eight meetings this season. Well, my calculations indicate the Devils have also won the same number of meetings, albeit one came in overtime. Considering these teams finished with a one-point differential, this really should be surprising or an indication of the final outcome.
Well, Ranger fans might have a strong presence throughout the tri-state area. Attending any Islander-Ranger game will certainly reveal that much. Still, the Devils fans' overwhelming presence at a Game 7 cannot be "minimized." Hockey is a sport of emotion and momentum, and a favorable home crowd can certainly energize a team.
Even if Jagr had remained healthy throughout the series, it's simply balderdash (your word) to think the Devils didn't have a chance. Maybe you wrote your piece with red-and-white tinted glasses, but you cannot underestimate goaltender Martin Brodeur (as you did), the Devils' offense (as you did) and a possible emotional letdown from one loss (as you did). Especially because that first loss might never come. At least not in this series.
Even a revitalized defense cannot necessarily overcome all of that.
I suggest the key thing to remember here is that if New Jersey was superior to New York in one thing, it might as well occur in something as meaningless as hockey. (If you can call an 11-game win streak that might have swung the emotional pendulum in the Devils' favor and thus discredited your piece meaningless, I can use the same description for a sport that was non-existent last season.)
Let those folks on the other side of the Hudson enjoy their little run. No one in New York seemed to miss hockey when it was absent last season. Why should we care if it has a presence into May this year? Personally, I would find satisfaction from the sport only if it was eradicated.
Hockey and Jersey. They just seem to fit together.
The Rangers have a better shot at seeing God then beating the Devels. The ony team they would have beaten it the Flyers ,because they are just as bad as the blue shits
One to go. Thank God! My guys now are the Canes, playing with the kind of never-say-die grit the Rangers promised but failed to deliver. Full marks to Jagr for trying, but this team desperately needs their season to be over - for everybody's sake!
Your boys are one game away from being swept! Nice effort in the first MSG playoff game in nine years. Want to retract your blog now?
Done - like dinner. Yes, the Rangers had a much better regular season than generally expected, but when so much was on the line heading into the playoffs, they folded. This team, the way it's structured right now, wasn't up to the challenge of fighting through adversity when the going got tough. And as they kept losing, they kept setting these performance goals for themselves as an obviously struggling but still proud team - and they kept right on failing to achieve them.
Here's hoping Jagr gets healthy again. Otherwise, forget it.
How do you like your Rangers now?
Hey Rangers .....HA HA
ha ha ha....some was wrong. SWEPT. MARTY OWNS THE RANGERS