The New York Rangers looked down, finished for good a few days ago, and their mood reflected that. They still have a long way to go if they’re to complete a historic comeback in the Stanley Cup Final against the L.A. Kings.
The ebb and flow of the daily grind in the post-season can be like that. On Tuesday, the Rangers woke up to find themselves one loss away from being swept in the championship series, even if they easily could’ve won the first two games back in L.A.
WATCH GAME 5: Friday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC
And New York will find itself one loss away from a second-place finish the rest of the way from here.
But a win on Wednesday gave them a little life. They now trail the Kings 3-1 in the series and need the biggest four-game winning streak in franchise history in order to claim the silver chalice.
Daunting. Likely impossible in the end. But the Rangers don’t seem interested in hearing that, as the series shifts back to L.A. on Friday. They have one win, now they’re searching for two. It’s something. It’s a chance.
“The day after being down 3-0 is a tough day. When you think about it, collect your thoughts, go through everything we’ve gone through this year, you know, it started a long time ago,” said Rangers forward Brad Richards to reporters.
“It’s nice to be given another chance. That’s all we wanted to do last night. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we’re still here today.
If you go this long, you just keep fighting somehow, some way. You figure it out as a group to just fight another day. That’s what we’re trying to do.”