The Rangers staved off eliminination with a 5-1 over the Penguins on Friday. The victory had a little of everything: an emotional lift from an unfortunate source, good goaltending, solid special teams, effort and heart. I will touch on them individually below, but putting the win in some context all it did was send the series back to MSG with Pitt having another chance to win it. The key will be to take that what transpired Friday, up the compete quotient another level and really put doubt in the minds of the Penguins' organization.
Five Factors in the Win: 1) Emotional lift from an unfortunate source. Martin St. Louis played through a heavy heart Friday following the passing of his mother, France. It's been well documented that St. Louis played based on the belief that's what his mother would have wanted. Hockey is a big family, that was seen in the pre-game remarks from Dan Bylsma and the effort by Sidney Crosby reaching out to St. Louis pre-game. That family of course exists within the Rangers' locker room. It's trite to say that emotion spurred the Rangers to the win, but that little kick of something and some reason extra to play for I am sure did not hurt that effort in the victory. St. Louis flew back to Montreal but will be in NY for Game 6 along with his father and sister on a Mothers Day that will be the most difficult one he likely has ever experienced. I expect New York to once again rally around St. Louis with the fanbase providing their own level of support. 2) Good goaltending. Lost in the five goals was just how good Henrik Lundqvist was. The Rangers had a seven minutes stretch with no shots, yet Hank refused to falter. When it was 1-0 and 2-1, Lundqvist stood tall between the pipes, of course, that comes as no surprise as Hank is now a .953 save percentage and 1.38 goals-against average in 10 potential elimination games since the start of the 2012 playoffs. One of the keys in this series was for Lundqvist to widely outplay Marc-Andre Fleury. He did so in Game 3 but lost, Friday, he did so again but was finally rewarded by some goal support. 3) Solid special teams. Two goals in three chances for NY while Pitt went 0-for-4, including a 5-on-3, where a goal or two scored could have made the contest more of a nail-biter. It's amazing what happens when you get traffic in front of the net and make life difficult for Fleury. In addition, as I will note with below, effort was a huge component in both PPG. Ironically, New York has more power play goals this series than Pittsburgh, for them to send the series to a Game 7, winning the special teams battle might be key again. 4) Effort. You saw it on the first goal of the game, when Chris Kreider laid out to get the puck back to the point, then got up and in the right position to put the puck past Fleury. You saw on the second goal in the contest by Derick Brassard, where he got in front of the net to put the rebound in the net. On Brassard's second goal, he stuck with the play, and after his initial shot was saved, he was able to put the second one home. On the fourth goal, Zuccarello was able to fight on the boards to keep the puck alive with Ryan McDonagh, who somehow found his game from the first 75 games of the season, blasting a slapshot home. Production wanes from game to game, effort should not. We saw what can happen when the effort quotient is upped. I look for Pitt to do the same Sunday but the Rangers should be bolstered by an MSG crowd that should be alive. 5) Heart. The Rangers played as if their season was on the line, which is why. Also, as noted in the first point, they had an emotional kicker to aid their effort. Sunday should be the same. It could be the last game of the season at MSG. The first key is not to make it the last game of the year period. Then go to Pitt and win Game 7. Heart. It's the willingness to take a hit to move the puck or score a goal. Heart. It's what makes the name on the front of the jersey more than the one of the back. Heart. It's what New Yorkers love to see in their athletes. It's rising over trying circumstances. It's carrying a team or a teammate on your backs when needed. Heart. It can overcome talent when talent doesn't have or use it. Heart. It's what needs to be on display Sunday when We Are All Rangers.
Let's Go Rangers!!!