Rangers Set To Exorcise The “Ghosts of Montreal”
The Ghosts of Montreal (rocketsportsmedia)
The waiting is over! New York was in unfamiliar territory this week, as they had to wait and see who they would face in the ECF. Montreal prevailed over Boston and the Blueshirts are at the Bell Centre today.
Face-off is scheduled for 1pm, and you can expect both teams will be ready to go. Heck, we’ve been writing like crazy over here at FTR Magazine to prepare everyone for this series:
FULLTILT BREAKDOWN: RANGERS VS. CANADIENS
PRACTICE BUZZ: NYR & MTL PREP FOR GAME 1
If you’ve read all the articles above, you are well prepared for this Battle of the East. Game 1 should answer a few questions right off the bat too.
- Will Henrik’s regular season struggles in Montreal carry over?
- Will Montreal have a game 1 letdown after an emotional game 7 vs. Boston?
- Will Marty St. Louis carry the team offensively in his hometown?
- Will the Rangers be able to contain PK Subban and Vanek?
- Will Rick Nash finally cash in on all those chances?
Those are today’s main story lines, some of them will carry on all series. The biggest of the 5 are Lundqvist and Nash.
Yesterday, Henrik was asked about his struggles at the Bell Centre, to which he laughingly replied, “I won my first game there, so I know I can do it.” Hank was referencing his first ever game in Montreal early in his career. For Nash, he wants to score, but reminded reporters this about the team trying to win the Cup.
The Rangers and Canadiens are set to go. The fans in Montreal are ready to explode. The Ranger Faithful are ready for this as well. Be prepared to witness the pomp and circumstance surrounding a Montreal Canadiens playoff home game.
Having been there many times, I can tell you the ghosts you hear so much about are real. But this isn’t like the movie Poltergeist and you don’t have to “stay away from the light!” The ghosts are really the the fans on the ice. Their electricity and presence will be felt by every Ranger and they will need to stare it down and beat them too.
Adam Graves said in the aftermath of winning it all in 1994, “If it isn’t hard, it isn’t worth achieving.” 8 more wins Rangers, take them!
FULLTILT FORECAST
Marty St. Louis will lead the Rangers offensively and Henrik Lundqvist will exorcise his Montreal Demons to a 4-2 victory. Give Rick Nash the empty netter.
#NYR #Canadiens official schedule: Gm1 tomorrow, Gm2 Monday, Gm3 Thursday, Gm4 Sunday, Gm5 Tuesday (27th), Gm6 Thurs (29th), Gm7 Sat (31st)
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) May 17, 2014
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