Torts predicts 'best game' for Lundqvist May, 24, 2012 May 24 4:37 PM ET The closest thing to a guarantee from the Rangers heading into a do-or-die Game 6 against the Devils on Friday? Coach John Tortorella’s prediction about his star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist’s impending performance: “He’ll play his best game tomorrow night,” Tortorella proclaimed. A later line of questioning prompted Tortorella to say he thinks alternate captain Brad Richards will have his best game as well, although there was no couching when it came to the team’s resident Vezina and Hart Trophy finalist. Coming off a pair of losses in which he gave up a combined seven goals, Lundqvist has a calm, confident air. He’s trying not to think too much about the pressure. ... Continue reading →

A look back: Messier's Guarantee May, 24, 2012 May 24 1:30 PM ET AP Photo/Mark Lennihan Mark Messier, joined by other members of the team, holds the Stanley Cup during the team's victory parade in New York Friday, June 17, 1994. It was 18 years ago that Rangers captain Mark Messier made his iconic Game 6 guarantee -- a statement that dominated the back pages and set the stage for a magical 1994 Stanley Cup run. With the Blueshirts facing elimination against the Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday, which player, if any, is feeling confident today? For a look back at that watershed moment, read an archived copy of the story here. ESPNNewYork.comKatie Strang covers the Rangers, Islanders and ... Continue reading →

Commentary Devils put dent in Rangers, Lundqvist N.J. was able to give the Blueshirts a dose of their own medicine in Game 5 win NEW YORK -- The sight of the New Jersey Devils swaggering into Madison Square Garden on Wednesday and shoving the New York Rangers to the brink of missing the Stanley Cup finals rather than allowing them to claw one win away from moving on wasn't as shocking as the way it happened.This was like seeing Secretariat caught in the homestretch of the Belmont. This was like seeing someone barge into the Louvre and draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa, then cackle all the way home.Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist -- the man the Rangers like to tout as the MVP of the ... Continue reading →

AP Photo/Julio CortezStephen Gionta scored his third goal of the playoffs.NEW YORK -- Stephen Gionta spent most of the season in the AHL -- just as he has throughout his career. Now, the 28-year-old is playing a prominent role on a New Jersey Devils squad that finds itself just one win away from the Stanley Cup finals. Gionta scored in the first three minutes of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night, and later set up Ryan Carter's winning marker with 4:24 left. The Devils vaulted past the Rangers 5-3 to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series. "I can't really explain it in words," said Gionta, who didn't even know if he'd make the postseason roster after scoring in his ... Continue reading →

NEW YORK -- In the moment after New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur bobbled a routine dump-in and the puck eventually ended up behind him in the Devils' net, tying Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals at 3-all, was there anyone in the world who didn't think this would end with a New York Rangers victory?Certainly the sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd, whose response to the goal just 17 seconds into the third period sent the decibel level into the stratosphere, believed the final result was inevitable.The Rangers, who at one point trailed 3-0 midway through the first period, might have believed they would win, as well.But somewhere in that frenzy of belief was enough disbelief among the New Jersey Devils to deny what appeared ... Continue reading →

Commentary Do you believe in more miracles? Game 5 loss could be sign that magic is running out for gutsy Rangers Updated: May 24, 2012, 2:16 AM ET By Katie Strang | ESPNNewYork.com NEW YORK -- It would be wrong to question the New York Rangers' heart, because of what they have accomplished throughout this season on sometimes that alone. But after Wednesday night's 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils, how many more miraculous moments does this team have left?The Rangers have poured out every ounce of will to secure some of the most stunning victories of the postseason: an epic, triple-overtime thriller in Washington on May 2 and, two games later, Brad Richards' seminal game-tying goal with 7.6 seconds left in another OT ... Continue reading →