The New York Rangers season is coming down to Game 82 to
determine whether the team will make the playoffs or have the season come up
just short. No, that is not a review of
what happened last year, but what the situation is for the second straight
season as the Rangers take to the ice today against the rival Devils needing a
win to have a chance to make the playoffs.
The difference this time is that the Rangers don’t control their own
destiny as a win for New York alone is not enough to put them into the
postseason. Along with their own win
they need help from the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Lightning have no real
motivation seeing as how they are locked into the fifth seed in the Eastern
Conference playoffs.
The only way the season will be decided during the afternoon
hours is if the Rangers lose in regulation.
A win in for New York would mean that they need Carolina to lose in
either regulation or overtime. A
shootout loss for New York would require a Carolina regulation loss for the
Rangers season to continue.
If they truly do remember the heartbreak of last year in
Philadelphia, then expect a tremendous effort to ensure they do what they can
to avoid it again. The team might have
relinquished the control of the situation overall, but they can still control
what they do on the ice tomorrow. These
are the kinds of games where you truly find out about the character of your
team as a whole and the individuals wearing their sweaters. The final score is what ultimately matters,
but who will rise to the occasion and who will shrink into the background is
just as intriguing a watch as the game goes on.
The Rangers young players have done their part all season long in
helping put the team in this position and now, in Game 82, it is time for the
veterans to lead the way and force Carolina to have to do something Saturday
night.
The time for talk is over and now the Rangers must either
answer the call or sit home and watch until they come back in the fall.
