Consider the Rangers to have a conservative confidence, and it’s certainly warranted.
There was no panic in these highly experienced Blueshirts as they prepared for a must-win situation, Game 6 of their second-round series against the Senators on Tuesday night at the Garden. Being down in the best-of-seven contest, 3-2, a win would force a Game 7 in Ottawa on Thursday night — a game they would likely go into feeling pretty darn good about themselves. Lose, and the season ends prematurely with heavy disappointment.
“Is it a pressure situation? Yes,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said after Monday’s practice. “But you try to enjoy that and see it as a great challenge. Right now, you do whatever you can to raise your level and be ready to play [Game 6], to play your best game and see how far it takes you.
“No matter what happens, you want to feel like you left everything out there.”
Lundqvist is the biggest source of historical inspiration for the team, as he has been outstanding while the team has won 15 of its previous 20 elimination games.
In those contests, Lundqvist has posted a 1.74 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage including two shutouts, going back to Game 6 of the 2012 first round against the Senators. Even better, in the past 11 elimination games at the Garden, Lundqvist is 10-1 with 1.05 goals-against average and a .965 save percentage.
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Of course, all of those stats include the Game 7 dud in the 2015 Eastern Conference final, a 2-0 loss to the Lightning that still feels relevant because of the sting it left behind.
“Being in this position before, I think it helps a lot of guys to know what type of mindset we need,” Lundqvist said. “It’s not so much about game plan. It’s going to come down to how you focus and how you manage your thoughts. From there, you have to execute.”
Besides the history, the Rangers also are drawing confidence from the fact that they have led for 179 minutes, 52 seconds of total game time in the first five games against Ottawa, while they have been tied for 136:20 and have trailed for only 13:10. They have scored the first goal in every game, and they put together two of their best performances of the season in the previous two at the Garden, consecutive 4-1 victories in Games 3 and 4 that tied the series.
“It’s just playoff hockey,” said defenseman Dan Girardi, who is second on the organization’s all-time list of postseason games played with 121, behind only Lundqvist’s 127. All of the top five on the list are on this team, including Marc Staal (103), Derek Stepan (96) and Ryan McDonagh (95).
“A bounce here, a bounce there — every game is different,” Girardi said. “I think they’ve been getting some resilient play in their building, and twice they tied it last minute. Just things we have to battle through. Can’t really do much about that right now.”
Even with all that experience, coach Alain Vigneault knows his players are going to be nervous — “If you’re not nervous,” he said, “you’re not human” — but that is why he is leaning on the veterans to lead, both on and off the ice.
“I believe in this group, and we’re going to rely on our experience,” he said. “With experience you can see things evolving a little bit quicker, and you can focus on the right things. You can play with confidence because you’ve been through it before. So very confident that our leadership is going to be ready. They’re going to bring it.”
Vigneault also looked toward his goalie, saying, “We need Hank to be Hank.”
So it is in net and in the past from where the Rangers are drawing confidence. No matter where it’s coming from, they know what’s at stake and what they need to do to keep their season alive.
“You have to make sure you control your thoughts, control your emotions,” Vigneault said. “We’ve got to bring it. Simple as that.”