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Do Rangers prefer Kings or Blackhawks? AV: ‘Pick your poison’

Montreal Canadiens v New York Rangers - Game Three

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 22: Alain Vigneault, headcoach of the New York Rangers, speaks to the media during a press conference after Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens during the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 22, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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You won’t run into many situations in which an idle playoff team will acknowledge its preferred opponent as the next round approaches. Even so, it seems that much easier to believe the New York Rangers when they seem ambivalent regarding their opponent in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.

As strong as the Rangers have looked during their best moments in their first run to the championship round in 20 years, there’s a good chance most pundits will predict that the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 between the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks will go on to win it all.

Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault certainly didn’t provide any potential bulletin board material to the Bergen Record, deeming it a “pick your poison” situation.

“They’re two different teams,” Derick Brassard said. “Chicago is really high skilled. They transition really well. They have a good D corps. And L.A. is in your face. They work hard. But it doesn’t matter. We never picked our opponent. Every round you’re facing a different team and you’re up for the challenge.”

Whether the Rangers are “rooting” for one team or the other, they admit that they’ll watch tonight’s big contest.

They’ll bring an interesting perspective, too.

“I think it’s 50-50 – as a fan, but also you try to see what they like to do,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “We only played them twice, so we kind of know what to expect, but we’re going to have meetings in the next couple of days to go over what they like to do. But, a big part of me just likes watching the games right now. It’s intense out there. It’s good speed and great players making great plays, good goaltending. So, it’s fun to watch the game.

“So, I’m a fan, but also will try to learn a little bit.”

For what it’s worth, the Rangers fared pretty well in their games against those Western Conference powers:

Jan. 3: 3-2 at Chicago
Feb. 27: 2-1 win vs. Chicago

Oct. 7: 3-1 win at Los Angeles
Nov. 17: 1-0 loss vs. Los Angeles

Obviously a lot of time has passed and the stakes are significantly higher, so they might actually learn more from watching these two teams on June 1 than they would from meetings stretching back several months.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins