NotTheRock Musings

Well, holy hell, those were two amazing playoff games at Madison Square Garden. While the two home games against Atlanta two weeks ago were fun, they weren't nearly as suspensful or "playoff hockeylike" as these past two against Buffalo.

The Rangers had come in against Atlanta up 2-0 and simply dominated their two home games, sweeping the Thrashers and making us fans deliriously happy with a playoff winner to cheer for. Then, of course, our beloved Rangers drew the top-seeded, tops-in-the-NHL Buffalo Sabres in the second round by virtue of being the lowest seed left and we all felt, well, it was a good season.

I'm not suggesting Rangers fans gave up -- never! But we're also a realistic bunch and we know that last year was a huge leap forward with a terrible finish (being swept by the Devils). And then this year was another step forward in making the playoffs again and then advancing. Losing to the best team in the NHL wouldn't be the worst thing and we'd still be proud of our boys.

But what's funny is that the Rangers themselves didn't seem to be just happy to be in the second round. They wanted to win. They played a tough first two periods in Game 1 before getting sloppy and losing to a team they aren't fast enough to play a fast style with. Then in Game 2, they let 2-1 in the third before allowing two late goals to let one slip away. They must have believe they should have won that game (and they should have) because they came home ready to outhustle and outplay Buffalo. They had 46 shots in the double-OT game on Sunday to make the series 2-1, Buffalo, and then they controlled the play for most of last night's 2-1 win as well.

Now, suddenly, it's 2-2 and it's almost difficult to believe. We're not used to the Rangers handling adversity this well. And as I said, nobody could blame them if they lost to the Sabres who, when you watch them, you can't help saying, "Wow, this team is good."

But the Rangers clearly have a game plan and it's working. They're playing physical with the less-brutish Sabres, they're not letting them get set up on offense, and they're playing good defense and not letting the Sabres rush up and down the ice. Sure, it means you almost have to play Devils-style hockey (score a goal and hope for a shutout by your goalie) but they seem to have determined that this is the only way to win this series. And do you know what? We're all starting to believe it can happen.

Last night, the Rangers managed to take a 2-0 lead with about 12 minutes to go in the third period an we went bananas. A 2-0 lead with as well as Lundqvist is playing in net? We felt a lot better than the tenuous 1-0 lead. Well, we hadn't even stopped celebrating when, 33 seconds later, Buffalo broke through for a goal to make it 2-1. And then they kept the pressure on and several times nearly tied it up.

The most notable time is evidenced in the picture above, when Henrik Lundqvist had to make an amazing stop on Daniel Briere with less than twenty seconds left in the game. The play went to review because the Sabres thought it went in and the officials weren't sure. The review went on for quite some time, with all of us remaining on our feet as we had been for the final two minutes of this incredibly suspenseful game. As the review dragged on, more and more people began calling friends who were watching on TV. My sister texted me and said it looked like a goal. We heard the same thing from others. We began to think that it was a tie game and we could be looking at another long overtime.

Then, suddenly, the Rangers caught a break. The replays showed the puck almost crossing the line but there was no camera angle that actually showed the puck completely over the line. The screen capture below is what was looked at the most, I think.


You can see the black smudge that is the puck right on the goal line and right against Lundqvist's right pad. That pad continued sliding out from the net and so, for that reason, I think it's possible the puck was never completely over the line. Either way, the officials saw they did not have conclusive evidence to overturn the no-goal call on the ice and gave the signal that it was indeed, no goal.

And the place, once again, went ballistic. I haven't cheered for hockey like that in many, many years. I said to my dad that the whole last ten minutes of the game felt like the Finals in 1994, as the Rangers desperately tried to hold off a furious attack.

So now, as I said, the series is 2-2 and it's now a best-of-three series with Game 5 Friday in Buffalo, Game 6 Sunday back at the Garden and Game 7, if necessary, next Tuesday night in Buffalo.

I did actually say that I thought this would be the case after four games, although I thought each team would split at home while instead each team has held serve at home. This, of course, doesn't bode well for the Rangers since they'll now have to win at least one in Buffalo and then win another home game, too. But it's not nearly as daunting as being in that 0-2 hole to start the series was.

And another interesting thing to me was simply how downtrodden the Sabres sounded after both Games 3 and 4. Admittedly, those are tough games to lose, one in OT and the other on a disputed goal (both 2-1, nailbiters). However, if you're that team you need to look at it as having been so close it could have gone either way. The Rangers coaching staff seems to get the Rangers to believe they can win no matter what the odds are and this is evident in how the team plays and how focused they clearly are. The Sabres just sounded defeated in the locker room after both games and even their coach, Lindy Ruff, has repeatedly said things about how they "have to get [their] feet moving," and things of that nature. It almost sounds like he isn't sure what to do. All season long, the Sabres have rolled four lines successfully, yet in last night's game Ruff changed that and only had three lines going for much of the game. Does this shift in approach impact fatigue? Does it show some minor panic on the Sabres part?

Anytime you lose consecutive games in the playoffs you have to panic at least a little bit since there's so little time to have slumps, but you really shouldn't let your team, fans and, most importantly, the opposition, see that panic. And I think the Sabres are beginning to wonder why their dynamic offensive team is having so much trouble. And maybe Henrik Lunqvist and his stellar play is starting to get into their heads a little bit.

Buffalo is a disciplined team and, unlike Atlanta, isn't letting the Rangers physical play goad them into penalties or stupid mistakes. They appear focused as well but, as I said, a little more nervous than they were when they were up 2-0. If you want to get all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, you have to be able to overcome this kind of pressure. The Sabres, if they want to advance, need to stop acting and sounding like they're losing this series. They lost in the Eastern Conference Finals last year and felt they got a raw deal and were actually the better team. Many agreed that they were but that it just didn't happen for them. In this series, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that they're the better team once again -- but right now they're showing signs of being mortal.

Stan Fischler said on the Rangers post-game last night that he fully expects the Rangers to win this series now. Some of the other guys were kind of surprised at how confident Fischler now was in the Rangers and he said he thinks he sees it in how both teams are playing and that he thinks it won't matter who has home-ice. That's mighty bold and even I am not willing to go that far.

However, I've said enough for now. Game 5 is Friday and if they can pull out a win in Buffalo, they'll be back home on Sunday playing to move on to the Conference Finals. Just knowing it's a possibility is awesome.

I love hockey.

Labels: me taking sports way too seriously, NHL, playoffs, Rangers