After falling down the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0, the New York Rangers staged one of the largest comebacks of the season on Thursday night, defeating them 5-3 and winning the series 4-2 in the process. The Broadway Blueshirts will now play either the Florida Panthers or the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final.
Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk talk about the Rangers’ thrilling victory over the Hurricanes and how they might fare against one of their possible opponents in the next round on Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE.
Frank Seravalli: Their team is excellent. They compete, and if you were to compare the Rangers and the Florida Panthers and determine who has the advantage, I believe the Rangers have the superior skill set, but Sergei Bobrovsky has been a terrific goalie as well. The Panthers are bigger and more physical, though.
However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves: the Rangers squad is a formidable opponent. After winning the Presidents’ Trophy, many questioned whether they had a serious chance of winning the Stanley Cup. However, they have a gripping late-game quality that makes them difficult to watch, and they will pose a threat to any team in the Eastern Conference they play.
Tyler Yaremchuk: As I watched the third period of last night’s game, the cheers in the pub got louder. “Hurricanes up 3-0; we’re getting a seventh game,” I said to myself. Many were ecstatic to see the Rangers pull off an incredible comeback, anchored by Chris Kreider’s rare natural hat trick of his fifth, sixth, and seventh postseason goals, which came just nine minutes apart. While Kreider was clutch, the Rangers have moved on.
When I said Thursday would be a “steal it or nothing” kind of day, I was wrong. When you said that I ought to have given the Rangers more credit, you were right. That was the offensive that put on the most pressure throughout the third quarter.
Teams led by Peter Laviolette have postseason success. They have a tiny amount of the enchantment he can conjure, so there’s something to that.
The entire portion and the remainder of the show are available to view here.
