Ranger Fan Central Column

Could This Be The Path To A Title?
by Justin Lash
April 16, 2008

As I watch the Rangers first-round matchup with the New Jersey Devils, I can’t help but wonder if this is perhaps the way it was supposed to work out. Two years ago, the Rangers thrilled us all by making it back to the playoffs for the first time since the Gretzky years (’97). And then they looked like a different team. Henrik Lunqvist wasn’t seeing the puck, the Rangers weren’t scoring, the defense looked as young as it was and guys like Jaromir Jagr were losing their cool (and, ultimately, throwing out his shoulder trying to punch Scott Gomez in the head at the end of Game 2). The Rangers were trounced in four.

Then last year, New York came to the playoffs with a renewed resolve. The young guys were a year older, they’d soldiered through a really rough midseason patch, they’d added Sean Avery and the team was clicking. The Atlanta Thrashers, an underdog to be sure, were bounced far more easily than anyone could have predicted. The Rangers then took on the superior-talent Buffalo Sabres and, had they gotten a break in Game 5 and Chris Drury doesn’t score a last-second goal, the Rangers are coming home for Game 6 with a 3-2 lead and a legit shot at the conference finals. Instead, they lose heartbreakingly and then drop the decider back in New York. But things were clearly improved.

And now here we are. A team seasoned by a few years of successful play, not being able to sneak up on anyone anymore, and two postseason appearances as a group. Isn’t this what it takes to win a championship? Doesn’t it take playoff heartbreak to strengthen your resolve? Isn’t this what is needed?

Look at some examples…

Those great Oilers teams of the 80s – everyone remembers they were dominant and won five Cups in ’84, ’85, ’87, ’88 and ’90. But they had to GET to the Finals and they had to go through the Islanders of the early ‘80s, who had taken out the Gretzky-led Oilers in the ’83 Finals. It steeled the Oilers resolve, and they returned the favor by ending the Isles success in those ’84 Finals.

The current Red Wings juggernaut – the Red Wings being good seems to be simply an accepted part of the NHL. They haven’t had a sub-90 point season since 1991. And they were clearly on the rise in the mid-90s. But they were upset in the first round in 1994 by the 8th seeded San Jose Sharks. Then they gathered themselves and rolled through the lockout-shortened ’95 season to reach the Finals against the Devils. While everyone was planning a victory parade in Detroit, the Devils slapped them around and took their Cup. This had to be devastating to the Wings. How did they respond? They stormed out and set a record for wins and points in the ’96 season – only to be upended by Colorado in the playoffs. When ’97 came around, the Wings were tested – and irritated – and they plowed to two consecutive Cups. I’m sure it tasted all the sweeter after what they’d been through.

These are just two examples from the world of hockey… the NBA’s Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan had to finally get past the two-time defending champ Detroit

Pistons in 1991 on their way to the title – a Pistons team that had knocked them out several years in a row. The Boston Red Sox of 2004 had to overcome the New York Yankees after losing to them in the 2003 and 1999 American League Championship Series on their way to finally winning a World Series. The Indianapolis Colts of the NFL had to get past their nemesis, the New England Patriots, in the 2006 NFL Playoffs on their way to a Super Bowl. The Patriots had owned the Colts up until that point, especially in the playoffs.

The point is, sports are littered with these instances. The last time the Rangers won the Cup, 1994, they had to overcome several challenging series against longtime foes – the Islanders, Capitals and Devils – in order to reach the Finals. And this was a team that had been among the conference best a number of times in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, only to be unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs by teams like the Penguins (’89, ‘92) or Capitals (’90, ‘91). The 1992 Rangers won 50 games and had 105 points, and appeared to finally be the team to beat, leading the NHL in those categories. But then they got tripped by the 87-point, third-place Penguins, who eventually won the Cup.

The bottom fell out in ’93 as the Rangers then missed the playoffs entirely. But, finally, the pieces came together and their resolve hardened. It could have been the veteran leadership, it could have been luck. But the Rangers went on a mission after years of failure – with those recent few being especially painful – and they achieved their goal – the ’94 Cup.

I’m not suggesting this season is just like any of the aforementioned examples. But winning a title usually is the result of years worth of hard work, coupled with the right mix of age and youth, with a sprinkling of good luck and fortunate bounces along the way. You never know if those “ifs” are going to pan out until it’s all over and you’re standing there, watching your favorite team hoist the Cup.

If things bounce well for the Rangers, is a championship so far-fetched?

Justin Lash is a freelance writer who recently moved to Houston, Texas but still has his Rangers season tickets.