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The New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers will play what is known as a “pivotal” game on Thursday, May 30, considering the conference finals are evened at 2-2 entering Game 5.
The Rangers will host Florida at Madison Square Garden in New York and a victory on their home arena will give the Blueshirts two chances to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014.
Former player Sean Avery, via @NYRFanatic, shared a video on X hours before puck-drop of Game 5 trying to rally the Rangers and their fans with New York coming off a Game 4 overtime loss where tensions were high.
“Alright, here we go, Ranger Nation,” Avery said. “To all you fellow Blueshirts out there who bleed blue, let’s go Rangers! Here it is, alright? New York tough! New York tough! They say no quit in New York. We’re (expletive) New Yorkers—how about some swagger?
“Madison Square Garden, I was at Game 2, the best fans in (expletive) hockey. We’re going to win this series because we’re New Yorkers, alright?”
Avery mentioned many cultural and historical references that helped build the gritty perception of New York and their inhabitants.
He referenced a few catastrophes to try and convince fans (and Rangers players) of how a hockey game against the Panthers is nothing compared to what they’ve gone through in life.
“9/11, Hurricane Sandy, whatever it is, they throw it at us, and we get through it. We’ve been in the war, we’ve been in the trenches, ok? These guys are going to be fine,” Avery said.
Sean Avery Is Getting New York Pumped Up
After introducing his rallying message speaking about New York, what the city has endured, and the unique atmosphere of Madison Square Garden, Avery first mentioned a few Rangers players.
“Igor (Shesterkin) is pissed off. Don’t (expletive) talk (expletive) about Blake Wheeler. It’s a team effort, it’s a team (expletive) effort!” Avery said.
“We have the best fans in the NHL. We’re New Yorkers. We have swagger. We’re (expletive) cooler than everyone else. We’ve got grit. We live on the streets. The dirty (expletive) rats? They’re our friends, not our foes.” So, the Florida Panthers don’t understand the mentality. They don’t (expletive) get that we were born in the darkness. The New York Rangers will dig deep and do what needs to be done, alright?”
After doing that, Avery perhaps hit the nail on the head with his final statement. The former center named a couple of “big boys,” as he labeled them, that have struggled against the Panthers.
“We’re going to get some big games out of the big boys. Mika (Zibanejad) and Artemi (Panarin), welcome to the Big Show. Let’s go Rangers!”
Those two superstars, along with left winger Chris Kreider, have yet to find their footing in the conference finals having scored no goals against Florida.
Struggling Kreider, Zibanejad & Panarin Must Improve
With Filip Chytil and Jimmy Vesey out, the Rangers welcomed back Blake Wheeler in Game 4 after he last played on February 15. He joined Matt Rempe and Kaapo Kakko in the lineup.
Wheeler, however, had a sour comeback as he committed an overtime penalty on Aleksander Barkov that led to Florida’s game-winning goal less than 15 seconds later.
That’s not what should worry the Rangers, though. The main problem for New York during the conference finals, even though they’re tied at two wins apiece with the Panthers, is the lack of production by the trio of Zibanejad, Panarin, and Kreider.
Those three players combined for a monster 114-goal, 267-point regular-season production in 2024. They were the main catalysts for New York winning the Presidents’ Trophy award as the best regular-season team.
The playoffs, and the series against Florida in particular, have been an entirely different story.
Panarin has 3 assists in four games, all of them racked up in a single game (Game 3). Kreider and Zibanejad have been even worse, with no points at all against Florida. Panarin last scored a goal in Game 3 of the second-round series, Kreider in Game 6 of that series, and Zibanejad in Game 1 against Carolina.
The Rangers hold home-ice advantage with two of the next three games (Game 7 only if necessary) scheduled to be played in New York, starting with Game 5 on May 30.
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