SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The waiting is always the hardest part.
In the case of Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi — whose defensive-zone turnover in overtime Wednesday night at Staples Center handed Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals to the Kings in the form of a 3-2 victory — his wait is particularly agonizing because the teams don’t meet again until Saturday.
That means Girardi will have had a full two days to marinate on his mistake before getting the chance to redeem himself in Game 2.
Understand this: Girardi did not lose the game for the Rangers. There were a dozen other plays that, had they been executed, could have given the Rangers a 1-0 series lead. But because of when his mistake occurred, the spotlight burns most brightly on it.
In baseball, players boot ground balls or drop fly balls to allow the winning run to score.
In football, quarterbacks throw interceptions and running backs fumble to lose games, and defensive players blow assignments and give up game-winning touchdowns.
In basketball, players miss free throws in the waning seconds with their team trailing by a point.
Professional sports, where the stakes are high and the pressure can be excruciating, is a fraternity in that way.
Athletes from other sports who saw the Girardi gaffe on the TV highlights could immediately relate to the sickening feeling he surely experienced and to the mental toughness it takes to put the bad play behind him.
“In baseball for us … you get a chance to redeem yourself the next day or the next at-bat, whatever the case might be,’’ Mets third baseman David Wright told The Post’s Mike Puma on Thursday. “I’m sure in that aspect of it, it’s more difficult in other sports because you have to wait a time period to play again.’’
Wright said one of the keys for him is not allowing himself to be consumed by the negative moment after he’s left the ballpark.
“I’ve gotten better, but still I’m guilty of this sometimes, of bringing it home with me,’’ he said. “But you try to tell yourself just to leave it at the ballpark. Once you take a shower, get dressed and leave, it’s done with and you’ve got to start worrying about tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’’ for Girardi is Saturday, after two long days to think — or forget — about that errant pass.
“You want to make the right play at the right time, especially when the stakes are high,’’
Yankees closer David Robertson told The Post’s Dan Martin. “This game can beat you up, and I’m sure hockey is no different. Whatever you’re playing, no matter what happened the game before, you put it out of your mind. That day is completely over with. That’s what you have to do.’’
Former Jets offensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Damien Woody said he understands Girardi’s angst as much as anyone, because in football players have to wait a week for the next game in most circumstances.
“When you make a mistake like that you want to immediately go out and rectify the situation, but you don’t get that opportunity right away,’’ Woody told The Post. “In football, that means you’ve got a whole week to field questions and relive it over and over watching the tape. You just can’t do anything about it until that time comes again in a game. Waiting to do that is really one of the worst feelings as a professional athlete that you can go through.’’
Woody said players “have got to have amnesia.’’
“I always looked at it like this: As bad as that situation was, there’s nothing I can do about it now,’’ Woody said. “I can’t go back and change it. Fortunately for [Girardi], he has another opportunity to go out and help his team win.’’
Girardi, who was the victim of both a bouncing puck and his teammates aggressively fleeing the defensive zone waiting on a pass up ice, probably deserved better than he got.
Ryan McDonagh, Girardi’s partner, was one of those players who left the defensive zone too quickly, and he knows exactly how his teammate feels. On Thursday, he recalled a two-minute delay of game penalty he was called for in overtime in the Rangers’ Game 2 playoff loss against the Capitals last year.
“They scored,’’ McDonagh said of Washington’s game-winning goal that came on the ensuing power play for a 1-0 win.
“You’ve got to have a short-term memory, you know?” Girardi said after the game Wednesday. “It was a tough play. There’s nothing I can do about it right now.”
Except wait.