Rangers' playoff experience can help, but it's about here and now
The Rangers' Adam Fox celebrates his game-winning goal against the Hurricanes during the third period of an NHL game in Raleigh, N.C., last month. Credit: AP/Karl B DeBlaker
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — A few days ago, Rangers defenseman Adam Fox was talking about how much better off the Rangers are this season after going through a postseason run to the Eastern Conference final last year.
“I think experience always helps,’’ Fox said. “Maybe our naivete helped us last year in a sense of, I think our backs were against the wall, and we just played like we had nothing to lose.
“This year we come in with a little more expectation, so there’s that pressure, in a sense,’’ he said. “But I think that experience lets us know that we’ve been down in those series; we’ve played long overtime games; we’ve won on the road. We’ve had Game 7s. So I think all that just kind of helps you and maybe calms your nerves going into this year.’’
This playoff year starts Tuesday when the Rangers visit Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for Game 1 of their first-round series against the Devils. Having played three rounds in the playoffs last spring, the Rangers have the edge as far as playoff experience goes against the Devils, who haven’t played in the postseason since 2018.
Which may be why the Rangers seemed so calm Monday after their final practice before the postseason begins.
“You get a little bit more experience and you kind of know what to expect — the pace of the game, you know, the physicality and everything,’’ forward Alexis Lafreniere said. “So it’s good to have that little bit of experience.’’
Not that Lafreniere was about to suggest that the Rangers’ experience gives them a huge advantage.
“It doesn’t really matter,’’ he said. “At the end of the day, they drop the puck, Game 1, and the best team wins.’’
Coach Gerard Gallant insisted the Rangers’ playoff experience and the Devils’ inexperience do not matter.
“What did I say last year?’’ he said. “Do you remember? When Pittsburgh had more experience? It means nothing. And I truly believe that. It’s [about] who’s ready to play for the next two weeks. I really believe that.’’
When the Rangers emerged from their franchise rebuild a year ago, they entered the playoffs for the first time in five years — not counting their three-game cameo in the bubble postseason in Toronto in 2020. Their opponents, the Pittsburgh Penguins of Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin, were in the playoffs for the 16th straight season, with two Stanley Cup wins on their resume during that time.
The Rangers fell behind 3-1 in the series but rallied to win three straight, capturing Game 7 in overtime. They went on to win one more round, beating Carolina in another seven-game set to advance to the Eastern Conference final.
Gallant was asked if that run has raised the expectations for the Rangers this season.
“I don’t worry about any of that,’’ he said. “I’m worried about getting ready for Game 1 tomorrow night . . . I know we’re playing a team that I see is pretty competitive. And the series can go either way. They’re a really good hockey team. I think we’re a really good hockey team. We match up really well, from what I see. So I don’t worry about all the experience and expectations. My job is to get our team to play the best we can and hopefully we’ll win.
“We expect to go and win the Stanley Cup,’’ he said. “I think everybody in that room believes we can win a Stanley Cup. I think everybody in that room [also] knows we could lose in the first round if we don’t play our best hockey. So it’s a battle.’’
Notes & quotes: The Rangers traveled to New Jersey after practice and Gallant said the team will treat traveling for this cross-river series as it would any other series. “We’re at playoff time [and] you want the guys together,’’ he said. “We’re playing this the same way as if we were playing in Carolina. No different.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
