I expect the Stanley Cup finals to come back to the Garden for Game 6.
The biggest reason for the Rangers to believe is Henrik Lundqvist. As experienced as the Kings are, they’re up against a goaltender and maybe a team that has some resilience as well that might be able to take games away from them when they don’t expect it.
When I coached the Flyers in 1986, we played the Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs and we were beaten by John Vanbiesbrouck. We dominated our games, but we could not score on him. He stole a series for them, and that could happen in this series as well with Lundqvist.
I absolutely think Lundqvist has three more games like Game 4 in him. I think he’s learned so much about his game. This isn’t an overnight success, this isn’t something that he’s discovered in one game. He’s demonstrated and illustrated now in every elimination game that he’s on top of his game. He’s got leadership skills. His preparation is second to none. I’m confident he can still play those types of games moving forward. I’ve seen it historically in the past with goalies. I’ve coached seven Vezina Trophy winners, I coached Mike Richter — I’ve seen that type of goaltending, and they can not only make a difference, they can be the difference.
Mike was a very focused goaltender, he played exceptionally well in critical moments. And he was hungry to win, he was competitive to win. And you can’t have anything but that from your goaltender if you expect to win the Stanley Cup.
Rick Nash is starting to show he’s understanding what’s at stake here. He’s had some big-stage performances with the Olympic team in Canada, but he’s never played in the finals in the NHL, and he’s had a limited amount of playoff time. But he illustrated to me that he could make a difference Thursday night.
Young Chris Kreider is so inexperienced, but he can make a difference with his skill set if he can step up and learn in a very quick period of time.
Martin St. Louis knows what it takes, and he has to come back with an A game again like he did in Game 4 and show that leadership. Derek Stepan is learning, like the rest of them. On the back end, I thought Ryan McDonagh was more consistent, and Dan Girardi as well, than they had been previously.
I liked what I saw in Marc Staal. He played with authority, he played physical. He looks like he’s starting to learn what investment is needed here.
Mats Zuccarello played surprisingly well in both games in New York at a level that no one expected.
So there are some aspects of this team that you see growing in front of your eyes, some players that are growing in their games, finding out more about their games, and will continue to do so as long as this series continues.
Another reason the Rangers should believe is they have played well in Los Angeles. They’ve played better on the road than they have at home in the playoffs. They should not feel that they cannot go in there and win a game in Los Angeles.
The Rangers will have to play better consistently throughout 60 minutes. They played pretty well in Game 4 until LA scored their first goal, and then they got on their heels a bit because the momentum changed. They will have to either take the lead and have to be able to push back and defend the lead better than they did, or they will have to find a way to come from behind.
Sometimes you work for your luck, and the fact of the matter was the Rangers got a two-goal lead early in Game 4. That was their luck. They earned that. Yeah, the puck stopped at the goal line a couple of times, but they went out after it, they played assertively, and they got the two-goal lead.
The Stanley Cup finals are the epitome of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. To lose in Game 7 of the finals, which we did in Philadelphia in 1987 to Edmonton, was very painful, because I knew the players had extracted every single ounce of energy they had within themselves. And I’m sure the Vancouver Canucks felt the same way when we raised the Cup after Game 7 here in New York. That trophy is the most difficult trophy to win in the world.
The Rangers can play maybe a little bit looser in Game 5, because they have nothing to lose now in this situation — the odds are completely against them. But they have a goaltender who can win a game for them again. Their team maybe can play better, because they’re not dealing with the expectations of a home crowd.
The Kings knew subconsciously in Game 4 that they still had another chance and another chance and another chance. And the New York Rangers had no further chances. This was a desperation game for them, and the LA Kings will be facing the same type of mentality in the next game where they’re facing a desperate team. To win the fourth game is the most difficult game to win. It’s very hard to extinguish someone, and take that completely away from a group of players.
A series can turn quickly. The Rangers have a long way to go. They should not be worried about any prediction of who will win in 7 because it has to be 7 for the Rangers now. They have to worry about: Can they get it done in Game 5? And historically, I know that the teams that win Game 5 win the championship more often than not.
The Rangers played well enough to win one of those two games in LA. They had to learn some things about locking it down with a two-goal lead. I think they’ve learned that now. They can surprise LA again. They deserved to have won a game there, that’s the reason why I think that they’re ready to win their first game in Los Angeles.
I don’t have to imagine what the atmosphere would be like at the Garden for Game 6. I’ve lived it.