Pain - A Necessary Evil That Opens Door of Potential for Blueshirts

The New York Rangers fought, scratched and clawed their way into the NHL Playoffs this season, and it was not easy. It was an 82-game “grind” in the purest sense of the word. One that involved the Boys in Blue putting their bodies on the line on a nightly basis, with a defensive style that can best be described as painful. They had the 6th most man games lost to injury in the NHL, and towards the end of the season, John Tortorella was even questioned as to whether or not, this was the smartest strategy to employ, in order to secure victories.

The Head Coach balked at that mere notion that he should even think about changing the team’s style of play. This was the way the team played, this was who they were, and it wasn’t going to change. And in the end, it paid off with a post season berth.

As Brandon Prust put it after a game back in late January when asked if he was going to play after blocking a shot off his foot, “It’s just pain.”

That has been the mentality for this Blueshirts team this year. They are not the most talented group in the world, and they know it. The players themselves agreed early in the season that if they were going to be successful, this was how they would have to do it. They are not favored to win this opening round Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Washington Capitals, which begins tonight at that the Verizon Center, and rightfully so. And if they do get through this series, they will be underdogs in the next round as well. But that is what this team does. They beat teams they shouldn’t beat. They win games no one expects them to win. And if any team is primed for a Cinderella run, it is the New York Rangers. They have that defense first mentality, they have a world class goaltender, and they believe in themselves. And they are willing to make the sacrifice with their arms, with their legs, with their ribs, and yes…even with their faces, in order to block a 99 mph slap shot from the point that is heading towards the net that Henrik Lundqvist can’t see, because he is being screened.

It’s just pain.

And if the Rangers are going to play deep into the post season this year, they will have to do it in the exact same fashion that got them here: By pouring molasses all over the ice, by fore checking, by taking the body, by fearlessly throwing their own in front of pucks, and by riding the coat tails of the King. And they will have to do all of this without the player most associated with this lunch pail, blue collar group, their captain in the making, Ryan Callahan.

It’s just pain.

But let’s also not be deceived here. If the Rangers are going to win this series, not only are they going to have to shut the Capitals down, they’re going to have to score. And that means Marian Gaborik, the man the Rangers are paying a lot of money to score a lot of goals, is going to have to shake off the cobwebs, and do just that. No small task considering Gaborik had no goals in the last 8 games of the regular season, and was benched in numerous 3rd periods by Tortorella. This cannot happen. He needs to put pucks on net, and he needs to finish. It’s just that simple.

The Rangers had no problem scoring goals in the season series against the Caps, outscoring Washington 18-6, and winning 3 of the 4 meetings, 2 of them by the scores of 7-0, and 6-0…the latter of those beat downs coming just 6 weeks ago. They also held superstar scorer, Alexander Ovechkin to zero goals and just 2 assists in the four meetings between the teams this season.

This will not be an easy series. It will be nasty, back and forth, will probably go at least 6 games, and possibly a seventh. The Capitals have been upset the last few seasons by lower seeds, have lost the last 3 of the last 4 Games 7’s in their building, and clearly have something to prove. Keep in mind also that the Rangers themselves took the Caps to a seventh game just two seasons ago, and blew a 3-1 series lead. That defeat is still fresh in their minds.

Breaking it down:

Offense: Edge to the Capitals

Defense: Edge to the Rangers

Goalies: Edge to the Rangers

Special Teams:

Power play – Edge to the Capitals
Penalty Kill – Edge to the Rangers

Coaching: Even

The potential for an upset against the top seed in the Eastern Conference is there, and waiting for the Blueshirts. And if they can get through this series, it will fill them with a lot of confidence. They already have tons of it. Brandon Dubinsky said the other day, "I think we're right there as far as Washington is concerned. We're a confident team and our group is not just happy to be in the first round.” Brandon Prust echoed those sentiments by stating, “We're not just satisfied with getting in. We want to make a move. The Stanley Cup isn't far off in our minds. It'll be a lot of work but it's attainable."

The potential is there, and the confidence is as well. But if the Rangers are going to do this, they will most likely have to endure a lot of pain in the process.

Nothing new for this team.

As Prust said, back in January:

It’s just pain.