You know those New York Rangers’ losses that you can’t erase from your memory? Today we’re going to discuss the most painful of the bunch.
New York Rangers fans know the moment well.The clock ticks down and you watch helplessly as your Blueshirts, who are not winning the game, slowly and painfully approach a certain death.
Sadness, anger, and despair take over your body as 00.00 looms in the near future.
Mike “Doc” Emrick’s voice approaches the higher end of his register, Lundqvist is pulled, and last ditch attempts fail.
And then it happens.
The buzzer sounds and the opponents celebrate. Gloves fly, helmets are thrown, and handshake lines are formed.
And there you are.
You sink into your seat, or perhaps slump over on the floor, and the feel the pain coarse through your body.
Those who don’t know you well enough might ignorantly utter the phrase “Well, they’ll get’em next year”, while the more educated sit silently.
But it’s that tangible pain that stays with you for hours, days, weeks, or in the worst of cases, years.
If New York Rangers fans know anything, it’s the feeling of pain. For as many great memories as the Rangers’ organization has provided their fan base with, the pain is immeasurable.
Today we’re going to talk about some of those moments folks; we’re going to let it all out.
Once it’s over, make sure to drop a line with the most painful Rangers’ moment you have experienced- we want to hear from you.
Bring on the pain.
5. April 11th, 2010 Shootout Loss To Philadelphia
The New York Rangers had been flirting with playoff success for a few years following the dark ages of Blueshirt history (1998-2004).
The good guys had not only made it to the playoffs four years in a row from 2005-2009 but they even advanced to the second round twice.
New York fans were starting to feel impatient, like an unsatisfied date on prom night.
That 2009-10 season brought with it lofty goals and brand new head coach, John Tortorella.
But fans would quickly learn that the rebuilding process takes time, and the Rangers found themselves battling the Philadelphia Flyers in the final game of the season for a playoff berth.
The game would ultimately be decided in the most dramatic fashion, a shootout, after the game couldn’t be decided through overtime and a 1-1 tie.
With the Flyers up in the shootout, the final attempt would be decided on the blade of former Rangers forward, Olli Jokinen.
The attempt was easily once of the worst shootout attempts Rangers’ fans have witnessed, especially for one that would decided the Rangers’ fate.
It would be Jokinen’s last game in a Rangers’ uniform.
4. 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 6
Will someone please tell me what Dan Girardi was doing on this play? Go ahead, try to explain it to me, I’ll wait.
The 2012-11 season was the first time in almost 15 years that the Rangers and their fans had enjoyed a deep playoff run.
There was also that Brad Richards Game 5 goal that he scored with 6.6 seconds left to push the game into overtime. Marc Staal would go on to score the game winner (remember when he did things like that, way back when).
The 2012 playoffs would bring surprises to the Rangers faithful in the form of Chris Kreider, a rookie whose production would prove valuable, especially against the New Jersey Devils.
Ah, the New Jersey Devils.
The two teams would battle in a 1994 Eastern Conference Finals rematch that had the papers screaming “Cold War”.
The Rangers would eventually face elimination in Game 6 of the series, a game that would once again be decided in overtime.
And a very short overtime it was as a scramble in front of Henrik Lundqvist would lead to a Adam Henrique goal.
Not only did the Prudential Center go nuts, but Mike Emrick sounded as if he was once again a New Jersey broadcaster.
Everything about that loss was brutal.
3. 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, Game 5
SCORE!!! THE STANLEY CUP!!! MARTINEZ!!!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Yes, the worst.
You may be surprised that this game is not higher on the list, but you have to remember that there were little to no expectations that the Rangers would make a deep playoff run in 2014.
The Rangers had just traded away their captain, Ryan Callahan, for an aging Martin St. Louis who had only scored one goal in 19 regular season games.
Most fans were just hoping for the Blueshirts to make it out of the first round, much less make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Yet there they were, facing the Los Angeles Kings in an East Coast, West Coast showdown.
It was an amazing time in New York City.
For the first time since 1994 all of the radio stations and talk shows were devoting their time to everything that was New York Rangers hockey.
People were wearing Rangers jerseys in 90 degree weather folks who had never watched a hockey game in their lives were talking about the Rangers.
The buzz was palatable.
Outside of Game 3, which was basically a 3-0 LA blowout, each game was a nail bitter.
The Rangers eventually faced elimination in Game 5, which was the third game in the series to be decided in overtime and the second to go to double overtime.
The rebound that Hank kicked out to Alec Martinez seemed to move in slow motion, as most fans knew the game was over as soon as they saw the puck find Martinez’s stick.
2014 was an amazing journey, but that goal will be burned into our collective memory for quite some time.
2. 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, Game 2
The “experts” were all saying the Blueshirts didn’t have a shot at winning the Cup, yet the New York Rangers were up 4-2 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Rangers looked fantastic throughout the first two periods of the game. While LA held the physical edge, they were having trouble containing the speed of the Rangers.
As the third period began, things were looking pretty good for the Rangers.
With Hank in net and a strong defensive game, the Rangers were 20 minutes away from gaining home ice advantage in the series.
But less than two minutes into the third, it happened.
Dwight King basically fell on top on Henrik Lundqvist as he deflected a Matt Greene point shot into the net.
That’s just awful.
A New York Rangers win in Game 2 would have completely changed that series.
While I’m certainly biased, I believe that the Rangers would have pushed the series to seven games if the referees made the right call on the play.
And that is why this is one of the most painful losses, not just of the decade, but in New York Rangers’ history.
Once that King goal was scored every New York fan knew that LA would eventually come back to win the game.
To add insult to injury, the NHL eventually admitted that goal interference should have indeed been called on the play.
1. 2015 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 7
Up until this game, the New York Rangers had been cash money in elimination games, especially Game 7’s.
It was a a match-up between the Rangers and the Rangers-South (Tampa Bay Lightning).
Old friends (Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, and Anton Stralman) were now hoping to bump the Rangers out of the playoffs.
The series itself had become wildly unpredictable. Two of the seven games were decided by a one goal margin while the rest were basically blowouts.
If you’re someone who believes that momentum is a myth, this series would back up your claim.
The Rangers entered Game 7 having just beat up on Tampa Bay by a score of 7-3 in Game 6.
The Rangers had the “momentum”, Madison Square Garden was rockin’, and the Rangers hadn’t lost a Game 7 in years.
But what came next was simply mind boggling.
The Rangers looked awful. The team came out flat and never picked up the pace.
In fact, the Rangers never really had a true scoring chance all evening and when it was all over, the Lightning would beat the Blueshirts by a score of 2-0 at MSG.
No one could figure out what happened that evening. For a team that had won the President’s Trophy just weeks earlier this result was shocking.
So what say you? What were the most painful losses of the past decade?
Easily Game 7 of the Conference Finals last year... everyday i wake up finding myself regretting the moment. It was our year... we were suppose to win the Cup...