The Garden was rockinglast night as the Garden Faithful knew that going up 3-1 had to get done last night. The Rangers players played with desperation and commitment, their goalie was stellar, and they came out of Game#4 with a 3-1 lead and are one step away from a chance to win the Stanley Cup! Goals by Derick Brassard, Carl Hagelin, and the overtime winner by Martin St. Louis were enough to send the Ranger fans into a frenzy and starting to focus on the Stanley Cup finals, BUT just like the Rangers in the last series, THIS series is far from over! The Rangers need to enjoy the huge win, but need to refocus and get right back at it in Montreal on Tuesday.
With Derek Stepan out with a broken jaw, that the NHL says was by a a missed call of interference cheapshot from Brandon Prust that earned him a 2 game suspension, the Rangers answered back with a win to prove that they are the better team this series. The arrogant Montreal fans, left the Garden and headed back north with their tails between their legs and Ranger fans letting them know they are only 1 step from a golf season. The Rangers have played very good hockey over the last 3 seasons and made it to the Conference Finals 2 years ago, but this year, with 1 more win they make it "To The Big Show". The Rangers have a HUGE and LOYAL fanbase, but when the Rangers make it to the finals, the city becomes all theirs and it is RANGERSTOWN!!!
The Rangers stayed under control when J.T. Miller was pushed into the goalpost and injured his shoulder in which he never played a shift for the rest of the game. In Game #3 when Stepan got injured, the Rangers reacted by going after the Canadiens and lost their focus but last night the Rangers answered by WINNING the game. This is the playoffs where everything is about the WIN, and not about immediate payback.
Their are rumors that Jeff Gorton is being considered by a few teams as their next General Manager, but hopefully the Rangers will keep him and give him the promotion that he deserves. He helped put the Boston Bruins together and has done a great job with the Rangers as an assistant to Glen Sather. The additions of Martin St. Louis and Kevin Klien have proved to be great additions while the loses of Ranger Captain Ryan Callahan along with two #1 picks and Michael Del Zotto might have seemed to be a bit steep at the time, but a playoff run this deep surely makes it seem brilliant! Martin St. Louis has been the rally point with the death of his mother and the defensive play of Klien has solidified the top 6 in front of Henrik Lundqvist.
The Rangers job is far from done in the Eastern Conference Final, and each game in a Stanley Cup Final will seem like a series onto itself! Tighten your belts Rangers fans because every game is going to be a bumpy ride!!! But it's a ride that 26 NHL team wish they were able to take!!!!
LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!