SUNRISE, Fla. — It was not about 2022 when the Rangers took the ice Saturday hoping to fend off elimination, and for that matter, it was not about 2023, either.
But it surely was about this core of players, most of whom had experienced each of those seasons, the previous of which ended right here in Game 6 of the conference final and the latter that ended long before this stage.
The experience of staving off elimination on five different occasions in that initial joyride to the ultimate 4, then, definitely didn’t hurt for the Rangers to have of their back pockets.
“Of course,” Braden Schneider said Saturday morning. “Knowing we will come out on the opposite side and going through that, knowing what it seems like, I feel it helps a ton. I feel we gotta be sure we all know what to do, we understand how it feels, we gotta be sure we’re bringing out best and we’re pushing the pace tonight.”
Remember, for a moment, where the Rangers were in Game 5 of the primary round that 2021-22 season against Pittsburgh, facing a 3-1 series deficit over which Igor Shesterkin had been pulled from consecutive games on the road.
Imagine how different the narrative surrounding this core could be had the Blueshirts not gathered themselves up off the mat and won three games in a row to defeat the Penguins on Artemi Panarin’s additional time winner.
For that matter, imagine how different it could be if not for the following series, through which the Rangers went down 3-2 to Carolina before outscoring the Hurricanes 11-4 over the following two games.
There have been moments in each of those series where the Rangers appeared done.
That moment got here after Game 5 of this one, when the Garden cleared out after a 3-2 loss to the Panthers through which the house team got here out a bit of too flat within the third period and will not break a 1-1 tie in its favor.
That is different, for more reasons than anyone cares to count.
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The group has been through more, has higher expectations to take care of and elements of its future are uncertain after this season. It’s about now, not what got here before.
The Rangers, nevertheless, know methods to weather these storms.
“I feel [it helps] a bit of bit,” Ryan Lindgren said. “Obviously, each series, each game is different. We’ve had our backs against the wall before. Take it one game at a time and do whatever you possibly can to get that win.”
