Thoughts From A Longtime Rangers Fan Part II

I let my father post an article before the playoffs began and the Rangers subsequently won their First Round series against the Penguins. Since I am superstitious, I allowed him to write another article for all of you so that we can continue the good mojo going on here. Enjoy.

In most any other year I would be fairly content if we lost Game 7 tonight after the way the bounces have gone in this round and the way we have fought back to get to a Game 7 in the first place.

But this year is different, we have shown all season when we need a win we find a way to do it. I wrote an article earlier for you all where I said "someone has to take away what we believe is rightfully ours" this year. I still believe that. I have been very fortunate in my life having attended somewhere around 1,000 hockey games and have experienced more than my share of unbelievable moments. But it has been 21 years since the best feeling of all.

I believe the players on this team want that feeling and experience it even more than we do as hard as it is to believe. My son has written many times about how this team actually loves playing together and cares as much as we do which is a very rare thing in sports today. They are a special group and they want this badly.

I'm not going to make any predictions about the outcome of the game but I can tell you I know they will not lose due to lack of effort or lack of heart and that in itself means a lot to me. The team was put in a very difficult situation being down 3-1 in the series and has responded. But winning three in a row usually needs more than just good play, it also needs a bit of puck luck. We haven't had much of that but maybe just maybe pure talent will win in the end.

The other factor that will come into play tonight will be the crowd support they will get. The playoffs produce an energy that is far different that during the regular season. There is a background noise and an energetic vibration that makes you feel like The Garden is a living breathing being. As nervous as I am about the outcome of the game I can't wait to step inside and feel that once again. You never get tired of it and it becomes part of the fabric of each playoff run you are fortunate to experience. I can still remember it 21 years later from the 1994 Stanley Cup victory. We will be there rooting our hearts out along with everyone else in attendance and if they can pull this off it will create another memory that will stay with everyone there forever.

Let s go Rangers, this season doesn't deserve to end tonight.

Change the ending!!! Rewrite it and make it your own!