These Rangers are missing an all-important magic trait from last season
Join Post Sports+ for exciting member-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.By the time the 2024 playoffs began, the Rangers had already constructed their reputation — their 114-point, Presidents’ Trophy-winning one — around what happened when they weren’t winning games, and it didn’t take long for that to appear in the playoffs.They snatched Game 2 of the second round from the Hurricanes after trailing by a goal in the third.
They did the same in Game 3 after trailing by one after 20 minutes.And then in Game 6, behind by two and staring down the potential for a do-or-die finale, Chris Kreider erupted for a third-period hat trick to propel the comeback that ended the series.The Blueshirts kept finding ways to add cardiac and resilient and never-say-die as labels that could get attached to the front of their name, with the 28 comeback wins in 2023-24 after trailing by a goal setting a team record.
On 14 occasions, they erased a deficit of at least one goal in the third period and escaped with a win, and six times, they erased a deficit when trailing by two goals at any point in the game.Without that trait, and without the innate ability to produce some wizardry when needed most, the Rangers likely don’t end up atop the NHL standings.And with five games remaining one year later, that has become abundantly clear.
The Rangers — one year after the 28 come-from-behind victories, as well as two and three years after their 21 and 27, respectively — have collected just 15 comebacks, and they haven’t won a game when trailing by two goals all season.Another example unfolded Monday night, when they allowed three Lightning goals across two minutes late in the first period and never came close to recovering.The Blueshirts, on the brink of elimination six points behind the Canadiens for the final wild-card spot entering Tuesday night, lost their comeback gene, never recovered it and are situ...