This was soon after the Canadiens had been vanquished, before the Rangers knew it would be the Kings standing between them and the Stanley Cup.
In the room, their locker room, the Rangers engaged in a heartfelt discussion about what awaited them, the last leg of their exhilarating run to history.
“We had a good meeting after the game about what the next three weeks means to peoples’ lives,” Brad Richards told The Post. “The main message is, ‘If everything’s good at home, everybody’s healthy, this next three weeks is the most important time of our lives … and what you can do in these next three weeks will change your life. Let’s just realize where you are.”
Richards was one of the speakers. Dominic Moore spoke. Marty St. Louis spoke. Dan Carcillo spoke. And Henrik Lundqvist spoke.
“I think that I was the guy that spoke the most,” King Henrik told The Post. “I think it was more about, ‘Enjoy it for a day or two, but then start focusing on what’s ahead, and this is a rare opportunity.’
“Obviously, a lot of guys, this is the first time … I’ve been here for nine years and this is my first time, so I think it’s important that you don’t take it for granted.
“Coming from Sweden, I was in the semifinal or finals almost every year, and then I come here, and it’s been nine years and now I’m in the first final. So obviously I definitely won’t take it for granted. I know how much it takes to get here. I definitely appreciate this moment, and I’m going to try to [make] the best of it.”
No regrets.
“Best three weeks of your life, and don’t ever look back and say, ‘I wish I would have done something different,’ ” Richards said. “We’re playing for the best trophy in the world, and it’s hard to describe what it does for your career and life if you can win.”
Mats Zuccarello was all ears. They all were.
“Enjoy this,” Zuccarrello told The Post. “This is a chance that’s coming that not everyone gets to do. I mean, there’s a lot of guys who played 15 years in the NHL and never played for a Cup, so
appreciate it. But at the same time, we know it’s going to be really tough, we’re going to play a tough team.”
“It’s going to be tough, but at the same time we just also said, ‘You know what? Keep your confidence.’ Confidence for us is key, and keep believing it, keep seeing it and hopefully it would happen.”
Keep seeing what?
“Keep seeing winning it,” Zuccarello said. “Keep seeing it happen. We have to keep believing it, we have to keep seeing it and we have to keep that confidence if we’re going to play our best.”
Marc Staal: “You got to see yourself be successful in doing it. It was something we talked about when we went down to Pitt 3-1, see yourselves coming back in that series and winning it, and now it’s preparing for this one, everyone in here’s got to believe, and see us going out there and winning games.”
Staal referred to Richards and St. Louis, who won the Cup a decade ago with the Lightning.
“They did it early on and it’s been 10 years since they’ve been back,” Staal said. “I think a lot of guys in this room have played a long time and never gotten an opportunity, so enjoy it, but also know the situation you’re in and the amount of work and dedication. Now the level of your play has to improve.”
Brian Boyle: “Guys that have been there, they’re excited. That’s more or less what they want us to do. We want to just enjoy it. We’re obviously going to give it our all, that goes without saying … we’re going to enjoy it too. You can’t paralyze yourself with too much pressure.”