Written by; Francisco Pinho
The World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Rangers hockey team had the ice set and ready for the beginning of the Eastern Conference Champions which they haven’t made since 2015. The New York Rangers played a spectacular season, ending as the second best in the Metropolitan Division, ending with a regular season record of 52 wins, 24 losses, and 6 Overtime Loses all for a combined 110 points in 82 games played. The post season began as of May 2, 2022 for the 16 teams who made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The quest for the Stanley Cup is as exciting as any moment in sports history, it's the same feeling for the Super Bowl, World Series, World Cup and so much more. Everything on the line, everyone coming together as a team, exceeding limits to hoist the Cup over the players of the winning team and hearing the cheers of the roaring fans awaiting the award of a lifetime.
The New York Rangers have been in a rebuild phase throughout the years, “They spent valuable time in the off seasons the past couple of years getting valuable players ranging from forwards, to Coaches, to General Managers and exciting first and second round draft picks, they added a lot of depth and made a young team filled with some veterans as well to have a good hockey season” said Francisco Pinho Jr. of Mineola, New York. The New York Rangers have had troubles the past three seasons making playoff appearances and consistently falling short, causing stress and anger from the fans. The New York Rangers continued to rebuild up to this current moment in time, where a lot of fans not only Ranger fans but fans around the National Hockey League are in shock and awe of what this young New York Rangers Hockey team have been accomplishing during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The New York Rangers started round one against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best of 7 games series, the normal NHL Playoff gig, falling 3-1 in the series with little to no hope of coming back. The New York Rangers did the unexpected, they trailed 3-1 in the series facing elimination and came back to winning a thrilling game 7 back at home in front of the fans in Overtime to advance to the second round of the NHL Playoffs.
The New York Rangers shocked not only the home fans but also the Pittsburgh Penguin home base as well. The season on the line, the Rangers completed what was to be thought as the impossible. They started the Second Round of the NHL Playoffs against the number one Metropolitan seed, the Carolina Hurricanes. Coming into this round the Carolina Hurricanes had it all. They had the forecheck, they had the defense, they had the penalty kill, the unbeatable and stellar record of 4-0 at home to begin this series. The New York Rangers fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in games 1 and 2 played at PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes, making the series 2-0, improving their home record in the playoffs to 6-0 and leaving the New York Rangers yet again in a tough spot. “The New York Rangers need to stop giving up leads throughout the playoff series, they need to play more aggressive, shoot more on net, play the opposing team at their own game” said Ryan McCarthy of Massapequa Park, New York, another long time Ranger fan. The New York Rangers did just that, trailing 2-0 coming back home to Madison Square Garden where they defeated Carolina in both games 3 and 4, tying the series up at 2-2 heading back to PNC Arena for game 5. The Carolina Hurricanes won game 5 and went up 3-2 in the series, also extending their home record in the playoffs to 7-0 giving the Rangers a familiar position they were in before, facing elimination once again. Game 6 was brought back home to Madison Square Garden where the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 and forced a Game 7. The toughest test for the New York Rangers, having to defeat the 7-0 undefeated at home ice, Carolina Hurricanes.
The impossible slowly came around the corner, the New York Rangers once again overcame the battle and made a statement to the National Hockey League. The New York Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 and crushed the undefeated record of the first seed in the Metropolitan Division and got themselves a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is the biggest moment, since 2014 and 2015, The New York Rangers last back to back runs. In 2014 the New York Rangers made a Stanley Cup Final Appearance and lost the series 4-1, they came back a year later in 2015 and went all the way to the Eastern Conference finals where they lost to the exact same team they are playing now. The Eastern Conference Finals began on June 1, 2022 and the New York Rangers began the series with another statement to the league after winning 6-2 against who is arguably the best goalie in the National Hockey League Andrei Vasilevskiy and the two time defending Stanley Cup Champions currently going for a three peat which are the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Our chances continue to grow, we are making it happen and this team has so much potential and so much momentum currently, I think if they continue this play they can beat the Tampa Bay Lightning and go to the Stanley Cup Final” said longtime Ranger fan, Cole Lechlider of Bellmore, New York.
Do the New York Rangers have what it takes to go all the way? They have faced elimination twice this post season and have overcome what seemed to be an end to their season, they have forced themselves into the Eastern Conference Finals one last step before appearing in the Stanley Cup. They have one of the youngest teams in the NHL, they are hungry for the Cup, the question is will they beat the two time defending champions, and have enough gas to make it through the finals? The series is being televised on National Television every other night, starting on June 3, 2022 at 8pm tune in and watch the New York Rangers try extending the series to a 2-0 lead at the World's Most Famous Arena, what Ranger fans call “The Jungle” or better known as Madison Square Garden. Coming from another lifelong Rangers fan being myself, it is do or die time and this team has got what it takes. Three words, Let’s Go Rangers!
