When his team needed him most, Ryan Callahan played his best.
For the Rangers’ captain, holding his head high will not be a problem this summer, which starts today after his team lost to the Devils, 3-2, in overtime last night at Prudential Center in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“We battled all year,” Callahan said as the Battle of the Hudson ended with the Devils headed to the Stanley Cup finals against the Kings. “We fought back in this game, we had some chances in the third and then all of sudden you’re done. It’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Callahan scored his second goal in as many games, tying the game 2-2 in the second period. After getting down 2-0 in the first period, Callahan’s score gave life to a team that opened the game sans heartbeat.
Earlier in the series, Callahan used the adjective “greasy” to describe the kind of goal he needed – as in, “I want to try to get to the front of the net a little more, maybe get a greasy one.”
“This is a tough time of year to be struggling offensively,” he had said, “but I have to stay with it and keep going.”
With the Rangers down 2-1 and just starting to garner some momentum, Callahan nudged his way to the right circle and stood solid with his back to the net. After the faceoff was won by Brandon Dubinsky, the puck went back to defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who tossed it cross ice to Dan Girardi.
Girardi moved in and took a rising wrist shot. Callahan pivoted and lifted his right skate, the puck deflecting off his leg and sneaking past Martin Brodeur’s outstretched glove, just inside the right post.
“I felt like we were all over them in the second,” Callahan said. “We had some chances to put it away in the third and Marty made some big saves on us.”
Before Game 5, a 5-3 win by the Devils that gave them a 3-2 series lead, Callahan had not scored an even-strength goal with an opposing goalie in net since the first game of the playoffs, a stretch of 18 games.
He got one in that game on a deflection off his left skate, the type of goal that is more a triumph of determination than skill.
“He’s still a guy that hasn’t played a whole hell of a lot of playoff hockey, but the last couple of games, I think he knew how important it was to ratchet it up,” said coach John Tortorella, who has relied heavily on Callahan’s leadership within the locker room all season.
“He had some struggles through the playoffs,” Tortorella continued. “He’s a little bit banged up. But the will that he showed, I thought that was very important. As a leader of the club, I really thought he had a will about his game, and it was important.”
Now it’s important for next season, but the Rangers certainly have no need to look for another captain.