Mike Keenan, who coached the Rangers to the 1994 Stanley Cup title, will give Post readers his insights and opinions periodically during these finals. The coach also will be appearing on MSG Network as an analyst beginning Sunday night. As told to Steve Serby.
Henrik Lundqvist is the reason the Rangers are in the Stanley Cup finals. And Henrik Lundqvist is the reason why the Stanley Cup will be coming back to New York and the Garden.
Lundqvist can win this series on his own. You need strong defensive play, you need timely scoring, you need special teams, which have worked well for the Rangers in the playoffs, but Lundqvist is the key.
I expect to see the best goaltending exhibition he has ever put on in his life. I have that much confidence in him — his leadership skills, his technical skills, his competitive skills, and he’s completely, as has the rest of the group, capable of doing whatever it takes to win.
Then I look at some of the experienced players. Martin St. Louis has inspired the group emotionally, through some of his own personal hardships, but certainly, he’s captured the room in the sense that he’s the emotional ingredient they perhaps didn’t have at the same level prior to his arrival. Not to say that Ryan Callahan didn’t have it, but St. Louis is on a mission.
St. Louis and Brad Richards have won the Cup, and that’s going to be critical because there’s going to be breaking points in every game, and in the evolution of the series itself, they will need guidance and confidence from the leadership group in the locker room.
Chris Kreider is a kid that’s come out of nowhere and continues to get better. Speed is a very, very important part of Stanley Cup championship, and Kreider brings a great deal of speed, he’s got size, he does get to the net.
Derek Stepan’s played well, Mats Zuccarello has scored some timely goals for them. They have a big centerman in Brian Boyle — he will be a big factor in this series because of his size and strength down the middle.
Rick Nash has got a skill set where he can be a game-breaker, and I’m sure that he’s up to that task. Nash has to be a big contributor here, not necessarily always scoring, but he has to create offensive opportunities that might result in somebody else getting a scoring chance or getting some goals. He’s a big, strong, determined winger, much like the wingers the Kings possess.
And belief can take the Rangers the distance, because that’s exactly what you need, you need a sense of mission. And they’re on a mission now, just as the Kings are. Our Stanley Cup team in ’94 had that same sense of mission, and it came right from the top players, from Mark Messier and Adam Graves, and I can start naming most of them now. There has to be that sense and confidence and the feeling that they’re capable of elevating their play.
Wayne Gretzky has said that there’s four stages in an NHL season — the preseason, the season, the first three rounds in the playoffs, and the fourth is the finals, and that brings on a whole different dimension in terms of what the requirements are to succeed and to win, and to deal with the pressures and the expectations that both of these cities will have.
I coached against Alain Vigneault in Calgary a lot — don’t underscore his presentation. He’s a pit bull. And he’s a competitor. And it may not look like it, but his teams play like it. His demeanor on the bench isn’t as overt or demonstrative maybe as some others. Sutter’s pretty calming as well in terms of his presentation.
Alain’s going to make some adjustments on the bench and on the fly in Games 1 and 2 and find a way to neutralize as best he can the advantage the home team has with the last changes.
I haven’t been in the Los Angeles building recently, but I’ve been in the Garden, and I know the feeling that we had even 20 years ago … hockey is a game of momentum, and if you can get that momentum on your side and sustain it, during the course of the game, particularly when you’re at home. It can be daunting for the opposition.
The Rangers have accomplished more than they probably expected to when they started the playoff run. Secondly, they’ve found a chemistry amongst the group that will ignite their passion for the game and their energy for the game and their excitement for the game, and their emotional level that they can invest in each other. They have a skill set that’s capable of winning each and every game, or any game.
And their goaltender is the absolute foundation that they should believe in, because he gives them a chance to win every single night.
Los Angeles has a great deal of championship experience in the core group. You look at the size and strength of their team, but that starts with the centermen, they’re really strong and deep down center, they’ve got some flexibility to move some of the centermen to wings if they want to shorten their bench. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast, they’re deep … and they’ve got a superstar defenseman, much like Brian Leetch for us when we won the Cup, in Drew Doughty. He commands respect of everyone that plays against him, and their goaltender Jonathan Quick is outstanding.
It won’t be enough.
I’m rooting for the Rangers, of course.
The King over Kings.
Rangers in 7.
Just like 1994.