MONTREAL — For too long, prosperity and the Rangers have been about as compatible as John Tortorella and the media.
Before Monday night’s 3-1 victory over the Canadiens in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals at the Bell Centre, giving them a 2-0 series lead, the Rangers had lost an NHL-record 13 consecutive games while leading a playoff series.
So if you’re wondering why the Rangers have not reached a Stanley Cup final since 1994, if the above statistic is not Exhibit A, it’s pretty damn close.
Now is the time for them to exorcise those complacency demons, to seize the moment, to lay the hammer down at home, make the next two games at Madison Square Garden the last two games of this series so they can rest up for the winner of Kings-Blackhawks and make a proper run at bringing the Stanley Cup back to New York for the first time in 20 years and second in 74.
In an effort to ensure that happens, there have been some measures taking place quietly behind the scenes. Namely, veterans on the roster such as Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis — the two Rangers who have felt the euphoria of lifting the chalice and tasting the intoxicating fruits flowing from the Cup in victory — have delivered wisdom to their teammates who have not experienced those life-altering moments.
“When I was in Tampa and Marty also, we didn’t really have a clue what we were doing,’’ Richards said Tuesday morning at the team hotel before the team flew home. “We were first time through it and we were learning from the older people, asking them all the questions. I think that’s a lot easier when you’re younger, because now you know all the things that can happen.’’
All the things that can go wrong. The things that keep some teams — like the Rangers — from even reaching a Stanley Cup final for 20 years.
“It’s fun to gather the group and talk about things,’’ Richards said, now sounding like an elder statesman. “This group has come together so much and they ask a lot of questions. They make fun of us a lot, too. But it’s fun to try to help out that way.’’
The message coming from Richards and St. Louis has been pretty simple and to the point.
“These opportunities, they don’t come too often,’’ Richards said. “We’ve been in the conference final twice in three years and that’s very rare. You look at teams around league that you think are going to have chances to win Cups every year and it just doesn’t happen.
“I haven’t been back to a final since ’04. I try to hammer that stuff home, that when you get in these situations you give yourself three or four weeks of everything you’ve got, because it might not come back for a long time. You might not have a group that comes together like this for a long time. This might never happen again.
“That’s the message. These are great opportunities and great moments that we get to do and you never want to sit back after it’s over and say, ‘Wow, what was I thinking there? Why didn’t I give more or put more into that? That was so much fun.’ ’’
Brian Boyle, speaking on ESPN Radio’s “The Michael Kay Show,” said, “We need to keep our foot on the gas.’’
Boyle recalled a players-only meeting that took place after the Rangers lost Game 4 to the Penguins to fall behind 3-1 with their season on the brink before they rattled off five consecutive wins.
Boyle said Richards, St. Louis and Henrik Lundqvist all spoke to the team and the message was about “seeing it happen’’ and “believing in ourselves individually and as a team.’’
“That’s something that’s impressive with our group, that we have the leadership, the guys that have been through a lot in their career, playoff runs, Stanley Cups,’’ Boyle said. “It wasn’t the best situation to be in by any means, but we stuck together. I’ve been down 3-1 before, but this was a different feeling being down 3-1.
“There was a lot of disgust with how we played. I’ve never seen a team that was so upset the next day about one game. That wasn’t the team that we thought we were. We were angry at ourselves, and we knew we had more.’’
If they’ve got six more wins in them this Rangers team will be immortalized in New York. Doing that, though, will take the Rangers dancing with their devil: Prosperity.