20 Minutes to Change the Ending

By Ryan Lafex

On a warm muggy May night in New York City, it was all about the ice in Madison Square Garden. It was game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Where the Tampa Bay Lightning who were forced back to NY for game 7 by the New York Rangers looked to stay alive in the 2015 NHL post season. The Rangers have shown all postseason long that they are resilient and can come back from anything. It was nothing new for the broadway blue shirts they have come back before when down in a series, including being down 3-1 to Washington just in the past series, and that same 3-1 deficit last year to Sidney and the Penguins forcing game 7s in both those series to win it and move on. The Rangers this time around expect nothing different and neither do we the fans. The Rangers trailed in this series with the Bolts 2-1, and then 3-2. Now the Rangers did take game one from the Lightning to take a early lead in the series but that would prove to be the only series lead they would have against Tampa..
All that was standing in the way from returning back to the finals and opening game one in the garden Monday was 60 minutes and playing good strong Rangers hockey like we've all came to love and watch since October. The Rangers coming off a huge win in game 6 discharging the Bolts in a 7-3 rout in Tampa, were looking to ride high on the emotions of the win and come back and take the series in front of the Garden Faithful and clinch the East for a 2nd straight campaign. With Zuccarello out and Mac D playing with a broken foot, the Rangers would have to continue to play hockey with they're team no where near 100%. The stage was set for a memorable night in NY, Friday night, Prime time. The biggest stage in the world. Madison Square Garden. A NHL Eastern Conference Final Game 7. King Henrik perfect in Game 7 at home. The Rangers, the Presidents trophy team taking on the highest scoring team this postseason. The ice was clean, the garden faithful was loud, waiving they're rally towels ready for this moment to be here, the moment we as all ranger fans have waited since that long night last June in the Staples Center losing in the Finals to the Kings. The moment after the national anthem is played and we all know what's next, the teams skate to center ice with the referee and then mayhem ensues.
Game time. 60 minutes from destiny. Here we go. Puck drop, Brassard wins the draw. JT Miller makes huge hits on Stralman and Paquette. Former Ranger Ryan Callahan counters with a hit on Rick Nash, and Tampa players Johnson and Carle add to the hit parade. Tanner Glass counters with a hit on former Blue shirt Brian Boyle, when suddenly the first shot made in the game 2:35 seconds in the first came from Jesper Fast by a tip in but was quickly stopped by Bolts Net minder Ben Bishop. Another three minutes of hitting and puck jostling go by before the next shot was made. Tampa this time from Ryan Callahan on the backhand, but was foiled by Lundqvist. A few more shots and hits traded between the teams and they both head to the dressing room locked and zero. The Lightning out shot the Rangers 9-5 in the first period, and neither team drew a penalty in a clean fast paced opening 20 minutes.
Ice is clean, Teams rested up, fans back to they're seats. We're ready for the next 20 minutes of action. Tampa takes the face off but 18 seconds in its Staal with the first shot of the 2nd, quickly thwarted by Bishop on a slap shot from about 15 ft away. Shots and hits traded by teams for a few more minutes until Rick Nash draws a penalty after getting hooked by Brenden Morrow. The crowd starts to buzz as the Rangers go on the Power play. Rangers only get one shot off during the man advantage. But quickly go back on the man up, after Tampa couldn't execute the line change correctly and got served for too many men of the ice. This was going to be it right here, 2nd period 2nd time on the power play, something's got to give now. Maybe a floater, a tip and deflection something has to go in for the Rangers, am I right? I guess I was wrong. Just one more shot in during the Power play from the captain. More shots, more hits, more extra curricula’s after the whistle. Emotions are running high now as both teams head back to the locker room once again knotted at 0-0.
20 minutes. 20 minutes to change the ending. 20 minutes to leave it all on the ice. 20
minutes to play for the Prince of Wales trophy, and 20 minutes to get back to the finals to play for a chance to hold Lord Stanley's Cup. New York City was ready, the Garden was ready, Rangers nation was ready. It was our time again, we were all ready for it. That one moment that would solidify this team as one of the greatest Clubs in franchise history. Here we go. 3rd period. It's our time, Tampa wins the draw, Rangers get two quick hits in and a Carl Hagelin gets a slap shot in on Bishop, but threw aside by the Tampa goaltender. Then it happened, it was going to eventually, just not the way we wanted it too. The first goal 41:54 in to the game, 1:54 into the 3rd. The first goal. Scored by Tampa player Alex Killorn on a backhand that was sent in front of Lundqvist in a shoot and hope kind of play, that squirted through Lundqvist’s five hole to give the bolts a 1-0 lead in game 7. As disgusting a feeling as it was, the Rangers had 18:06 left in the game to get one goal to tie or two too win. Which doesn't seem like that big of a task, but the Rangers had already been shut out once by Tampa’s Bishop and also he already has a Game 7 shut out in these playoffs against a team who's been to a few playoff games before (24 straight seasons) the Detroit Red Wings. Minute by minute passes, hits, shots, blocked shots, face offs keep going on. It's like they're going through the motions now, just at a very high level. The Rangers sense of urgency is there and the Bolts keep playing just beyond the Rangers reach. Half the Rangers shots are being blocked out front and only the ones few and far in between are finding Bishop, when he finally knocks them down and away before they cross that little red line that we want to see that puck cross, and scream and cheer and sing our favorite song during hockey season. And then, once again it happened. With 8:43 left in the 3rd lightning strikes twice. On a snap shot from Ondrej Palat, assisted by Johnson and Bishop. 2-0 Tampa. Now the urgency is a critical level. It's now or never for the Broadway Blue Shirts, a little over eight minutes to score two goals to tie it up, and at least send it to overtime or set a tee time on the links for the upcoming weeks.. Face off Rangers take it, get a shot off, saved by Bishop, face off win, shot away by Tampa. The Rangers gave away the puck 3 times in the final five minutes and only won half of the draws in that time frame. The Rangers never got a shot off until the final second at 19:59 when Kreider fired the puck from the Rangers end into Bishop to end the game. The clock hits zero. You could have heard a pin drop in the garden.
The Lightning exit the bench to celebrate with Bishop and the rest of the team on the ice in front of the goal that Bishop faced 22 shots on and never let one though. The Rangers players exit the bench dejected, saddened, disappointed, everything you could use to describe every negative emotion could be used to for our team Friday night after it was all said and done. The Rangers and their fans knew this was supposed to be our year, 11 years was too long for another championship and Cup title. We were the best during the regular season. We had it all: home ice, come back wins, come back series wins, blow out wins, hard fought one goal games, we took out the two best players in the league, Ovechkin from Washington and before that Sid the kid in Pittsburgh. It was destiny, Cup or bust. It was all for the taking. Just so close, and yet so far 20 minutes, 1200 seconds, if those moments that just seem to fly by could have played out different, we may be sewing on finals patches to our jerseys now. We could be planning viewing parties, and still not shaving our playoff beards. We could be talking about how Lundqvist is still perfect at home in game 7, how our coach has got us to 2 straight finals. But all those could be’s are now should have been.
As a fan when does it hit us? When the final horn sounds? when you watch the other team celebrate? For me it's when the teams hit the hand shake line. That final moment before your team leaves the ice until October. That's when I realize it's finally over and our dreams of a Stanley Cup Championship are dashed and packed away until the fall. Some fans will move on to other sports, baseball, golf, the NBA playoffs, others will stay with the NHL to watch the Final. I will stay and watch the finals only cause I love hockey and it's the Final. I would love to see Tampa win the Cup, because if the Rangers are going to get eliminated, they need to be taken out by the best and also I want the cup back east. . On the other side I would like to see Chicago win it strictly cause it's a original six team taking Lord Stanley's Cup back home. So other than that I just want a good ole hockey final and wouldn't mind it going to game 7. My prediction is Chicago in 6 with Toews or Kane as the MVP.
The Rangers season will go down as a failure in many fans eyes, and rightfully so. We had such high hopes going in. Nash was contending for the leading goal scorer, even our back up goalie came in and put on a clinic, when our king went went out on injury for an extended time. Injuries plagued us. People were stepping up. We owned the west coast on our road trips out there. We were winning on the road, and at home. We beat teams we weren't supposed to and dominated teams we were supposed too. We closed the coliseum for the Islanders, we scored 5 goals in the 3rd period against Minnesota to come back and win a thriller. We did everything we were supposed to and even more. I, as many other fans fell in love with these Rangers, like we do every year, and sadly they once again broke our hearts. But come October, we will renew our relationship, maybe a little gun shy at first. But when the puck drops next fall, we will be ready. Ready to cheer, eager to see our NY Rangers get on that ice and take out what's ever in they're way. Ready to live and die by what our Rangers do. Ready for another chance to fall in love again and hoping maybe, just maybe they won't end the season with another loss and a broken heart for our family, the Ranger Faithful.