PITTSBURGH — There is this hope that the past begets the future, but it is not something the Rangers are relying on.
Somewhere in the back of their minds, they know the similarities between the 3-1 hole they are in now in the best-of-seven first-round series against the Penguins, and the 3-1 holes they have climbed out of in the previous two postseasons. But as elimination looms with Game 5 at CONSOL Energy Center on Saturday afternoon, the Rangers are doing what they can to narrow the focus.
“So much talk about the past,” said an almost exasperated Henrik Lundqvist after Friday’s practice. “It’s now. It’s about what we do this year, in this series.”
Lundqvist had already heard the questions about the past many times. First, it was about facing the Penguins, whom the Rangers have bounced in each of the previous two playoffs; now, it’s about the 3-1 deficit. He was contrite after Friday’s work, and it’s understandable just hours after the worst performance of his 115 career postseason games — getting yanked 26:04 into Game 4’s disastrous 5-0 loss on Thursday after giving up four goals on 18 shots, hardly all his fault.
“It was a long night,” he said. “It was a morning where you’re reflecting [about] where you are.”
But Lundqvist also was trying to reset. Because more than anyone else on this team, he has responded so well in these situations in the past. He also knows how he did that, and it’s not by looking at the big picture.
“You can’t feel sorry for yourself, you can’t overthink it,” Lundqvist said. “You have to believe that you can do it, and starting with the one game. You have to believe in yourself and your team, and that’s where it starts.”
Yet how much of that belief actually exists in the Rangers’ room is impossible to gauge. They know that the Penguins are a juggernaut. They know they’re getting killed on special teams. They know their defense has been porous, their puck management has been suspect, and their forwards have lost battles in front and on the walls.
But coach Alain Vigneault also knows one other thing, and it’s true.
“To a man in that room,” Vigneault said, “they all know that they can play better than they’ve played so far.”
So how to coax that out of them is on the coach. How to respond to the message is on the players.
There are a lot of the same faces in the locker room from those teams that have done this before. But the core is older, dealing with some nagging injuries, and the supporting cast helped to create a regular season that was defined by inconsistency.
“Different teams,” said Vigneault, who was behind the bench in each of the past two seasons. “You can’t think that because you’ve done it in the past you’re necessarily going to do it. But you can believe a little bit. We’ve been there, we’ve been in those situations. And I think what made it possible was that narrow focus, that staying in the moment. And that’s what we’re going to preach.”
About this time last year, the Rangers came back on a Capitals team that was deeply flawed. Two years ago, it was the Blueshirts galvanizing around the sudden death of Martin St. Louis’ mother.
Now there is no moment to bring them together, except their horrid Game 4 loss.
“At this point, it’s important to get our players to have a short memory and turn the page,” Vigneault said, “and focus on what’s in front of us.”
That could be one game, or it could be the start of another comeback. But it’s a different year, which doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same old story.
“It’s not a good feeling to sit here down 3-1,” Lundqvist said. “It’s not what we were looking for. But now there’s no turning back. There’s no other way around it then focus on [Saturday] and make the most of it. That’s all you can do now.”