Did someone say over?

April 30, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

“Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

And it ain’t over now. Cause when the goin’ gets tough. The tough get goin’! Who’s with me? Let’s go!”

Bluto: What the fuck happened to the Delta I used to know? Where’s the spirit? Where’s the guts, huh? “Ooh, we’re afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble.” Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I’m not gonna take this. Wormer, he’s a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer… 
 Otter: Dead! Bluto’s right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part.
Bluto: We’re just the guys to do it.
D-Day: Let’s do it.
Bluto: LET’S DO IT!

If you came here looking for a eulogy, try elsewhere! I’m not here to write the final script for the 2007-08 Rangers after another tough loss in Game Three- this time 5-3 to the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

Instead, what you’ll read is why I believe the same team that’s dropped the first three in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi can still comeback. So let’s count the reasons:

1.They have been real close in all three and easily could be up in the series. We’re talking a four goal total difference in the three games.

2.The Pens luck has to run out some time. Let’s face it. They’ve gotten every break. And we’re not talking calls here either but goal posts on one end and bounces which setup goals.

3.Henrik Lundqvist. He wasn’t good last night and has been outplayed by Marc-Andre Fleury. Lundqvist is very capable of elevating his game to that next level. I believe he will.

4.Jaromir Jagr. He’s played very well and once again was a force scoring a tying goal and setting up another. The Ranger captain is very hungry. His couple of tirades at Sidney “The Whiner” Crosby along with his inspired play tells me he’s not ready to pack it in just yet. If the leader of the team is still battling, then this team isn’t beaten.

5.Attack. Attack. Attack. The Rangers have the capability to turn the tables on the Pens by making them play in their end. When they turned it up in the second period last night, Pittsburgh was on its heels and survived a couple of close calls including a Scott Gomez crossbar before Ryan Hollweg’s foolish penalty swung the momentum.

6.Discipline. When they play this team five-on-five, they can win. It’s when they’ve taken penalties that they’ve gotten in trouble. Once again, the Pitt power play won them the game. This team is so much better than that. Stay out of the box and they’ll extend the series.

7.Stack the deck. It goes against everything Tom Renney believes in. So what do we have to go on? See Boston manager Terry Francona circa 2004 when his Red Sox turned the trick smashing the Babe Ruth curse against the hated Yankees. How did he do it? By making every key pitching change and pulling out all the stops to win. He never gave up. Neither should Renney. What that means is he should load up his top three scoring lines and play them as much as possible. Get them out every second shift. Double shift his best players and make it work. Show Michel Therrien that winning the fourth one won’t be easy. 

8.Power it up. It’s no secret that the Ranger power play has failed miserably going 0-for-5 last night and now 0 for the last 14. So throw out all the ideas and just tell the players to get the shots to the net and find the rebounds. Shoot low and get traffic. They’re fully capable despite the shenanigans we’ve seen.

9.Keep shooting. Shots were 39-17. If the Rangers continue firing the puck, good things will happen. Fleury’s not Superman. He nearly cracked in the second period. Make him sweat even more.

10.History. Every 33 years, it says an NHL team rises up from such a big 0-3 hole and comes back to win four straight. Need proof? The 1942 Maple Leafs cameback to defeat the Red Wings 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup. In 1975, the Islanders climbed out of an 0-3 hole to beat those Penguins 4-3 in the Cup quarterfinals. Well, guess what. It’s 2008. Thirty three years later. Karma? It can happen!

So, there you have it. Ten big reasons I am not giving up. Even if enemy fans want to laugh. Well, go ahead. I’m not throwing in the towel! I STILL B-E-L-I-E-V-E!!!!!  

I’m also going to go out on a proverbial limb and guarantee a Game Six. Now it’s up to my boys to make me a prophet. It’s their choice!