The Rangers failed to establish much momentum in the game, as the Capitals scored the first goal of the game in the 1st period, the first 1st period goal of the series. The Capitals scored one more goal in the 2nd and one more in the 3rd to seal their victory and advance them to the next round of the playoffs. As for the Rangers... their season is over.
Give the Capitals a lot of credit though. They didn't pay attention to anything that happened during the regular season between these two teams, and played their game excellently. Had the Capitals had a more experienced goaltending corps, they would be my pick to head all the way to the Finals.
But as for the Rangers, while I am disappointed, a lot of positive things came out of this season. The Rangers found secondary scoring, something they've needed for such a long time in players like rookie Derek Stepan, and Brian Boyle. Fixtures in this lineup have grown into their own and have become major threats like Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. The defensive powerhouses in Marc Staal and Dan Girardi are now being revered around the league for their fine defensive work. And above all, the Rangers have found an identity as a team.
For many years, the Rangers have gone out and ruined each team that seemed to get a bit of chemistry under their belt. This season, no mercenaries were brought in, no washed up veterans, and the Rangers managed to survive just fine without them, which in turn allowed their young players to blossom at a young age. Now, under coach John Tortorella, the Rangers have developed this tough, gritty, hard-working, grinding team that plays tough hockey in order to win, and thats the first identity this team has had in a while, and it works.
This playoff series was good for the youth of the Rangers. They got to experience playoff hockey at such a young age against some of the greatest players in the world. This series taught these players so many lessons that they will be able to hold onto for the rest of their careers, and use it to better themselves. Remember the Blackhawks two years ago? The Blackhawks did not make it into the playoffs for five straight years before that year, and they went all the way to the Conference Finals that year. The next year, they came back and won the Cup. The experience of playing in the playoffs is something so valuable because it shows the players what they need to be in order to be the best.
This season overall was fairly positive for the Ranger, despite their shortcomings in the playoffs. I am proud as a fan for the determination this team showed from Day 1 and look forward to seeing their future as Rangers.
As for the Clinic, I will not lie, it might slow down during the off-season. For the fact that mainly there isn't a whole lot of news that goes on every day in the hockey world during the summer. However, I will continue to post content through the playoffs like my predictions and recap and my thoughts on things just to keep myself, and hopefully my readers, entertained for the length of the off-season. But, you can be sure the Clinic will be back once hockey beings to pick up again, ready to blog the entire next season.
I began this blog in late November. Since then, I've had 1,021 views on my blog from many different countries around the world. That enough for me is an achievement. I love blogging for this team, no matter how much they stress me out, and I look forward to the next season. I'd like to thank everyone who views my blog, and I would like to thank the Rangers for allowing me to put my time into something I love to do. For that, I salute all of you!
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