Now that the initial sting of watching their surprising playoff run come to an end has (slightly) worn off, the Rangers are looking ahead to a brighter future.
Armed with a young core that includes one of the best goalies in the league in Igor Shesterkin, who is now more than battle tested with his phenomenal performance in the Eastern Conference Final, the Blueshirts are confident that the league hasn’t seen the last of them among the last teams standing.
“I definitely think we have the group,” Adam Fox said. “We were two games away from making the Cup Final. It’s little bounces here or there. The margin of error is so small, you win once game and your season is still going, you lose one bounce and your season is over.”
There indeed were some painful bounces that sealed New York’s fate. What if Shesterkin is able to glove that late sparkling save in game six, and it doesn’t bounce out of his glove, off of Steven Stamkos’ body, and into the net? Does game six go to overtime? Could New York force a game seven at The Garden and eventually make it to the Stanley Cup Final?
Those are all hypotheticals, but then again, so is the idea that the Rangers will certainly be back, and soon. Yes, they have the core and the talent, and now have the experience, but as top teams like the Panthers quickly learned, making a deep run in the playoffs is a hard task, but one that New York was able to accomplish, and one the team believes can happen again.
“We showed a lot,” Fox said. “We proved we could play with just about any team in this league. I definitely think we have the group to do it here.
“You hope this the building block to bigger things in the future.”
The Blueshirts were oh-so close to reaching a peak they hadn’t seen in nearly a decade, and nearly took down the two-time defending champs. Now, after battling with a proven winner, the Rangers are confident they know what it takes to get over the hump next time.
“Two more wins. We were right there,” K’Andre Miller said. “I don't think it's gonna take all that much more. We had some really good moments and we have some tings to work on. Just taking that into the summer, everyone’s gonna be preparing for another run to the playoffs next year. It’s gonna be fun.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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