Obviously, the Rangers won tonight. Zach is there right now; he'll have the floor when he returns.
Real quick, though, you have to give the Rangers credit, even if you hate their guts. And even if you hate their guts (like me), you wanted to see this series go as long as possible. This was supposed to be a great series, but it has barely even been a good one. I'd love to see that changed, and the only way to accomplish that is to play more games.
Anyway. As I watched the Rangers tonight, I couldn't help but marvel at their effort while simultaneously wondering if they'd be able to sustain that effort for three more games. Then I looked at the schedule... and you know what? Maybe it is possible. And in a league that's often accused of copying the NBA, the Rangers' ace in the hole very well could be the ridiculous TV-sensitive stretched-out schedule.
Think about it. NBC has Game 5 on Sunday afternoon, which isn't that much better than playing Saturday night, but at least affords the Rangers another night of rest. That's followed by a potential Game 6 at home. Not exactly the situation you'd love to have. But imagine a red-hot Ranger team coming home to a rabid crowd on the verge of tying the series up. How do you bet against them? If they can pull off Games 5 and 6, they'd have three days to rest up before next Thursday's Game 7.
All of this, of course, assumes the Rangers don't fold in Pittsburgh on Sunday, which is always a possibility. But let's not think about that. Let's hope these Rangers can make this a memorable series after all.
EDIT: Game 7 is on Wednesday, not Thursday. My mistake. Still, getting to Game 7 would pretty much erase the Rangers' fatigue. They'd have all the momentum in the world and the Penguins would be reeling. Remember the "Dead Men Walking" Yankees in 2004 as they mailed in Game 7?
Real quick, though, you have to give the Rangers credit, even if you hate their guts. And even if you hate their guts (like me), you wanted to see this series go as long as possible. This was supposed to be a great series, but it has barely even been a good one. I'd love to see that changed, and the only way to accomplish that is to play more games.
Anyway. As I watched the Rangers tonight, I couldn't help but marvel at their effort while simultaneously wondering if they'd be able to sustain that effort for three more games. Then I looked at the schedule... and you know what? Maybe it is possible. And in a league that's often accused of copying the NBA, the Rangers' ace in the hole very well could be the ridiculous TV-sensitive stretched-out schedule.
Think about it. NBC has Game 5 on Sunday afternoon, which isn't that much better than playing Saturday night, but at least affords the Rangers another night of rest. That's followed by a potential Game 6 at home. Not exactly the situation you'd love to have. But imagine a red-hot Ranger team coming home to a rabid crowd on the verge of tying the series up. How do you bet against them? If they can pull off Games 5 and 6, they'd have three days to rest up before next Thursday's Game 7.
All of this, of course, assumes the Rangers don't fold in Pittsburgh on Sunday, which is always a possibility. But let's not think about that. Let's hope these Rangers can make this a memorable series after all.
EDIT: Game 7 is on Wednesday, not Thursday. My mistake. Still, getting to Game 7 would pretty much erase the Rangers' fatigue. They'd have all the momentum in the world and the Penguins would be reeling. Remember the "Dead Men Walking" Yankees in 2004 as they mailed in Game 7?
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