New York Rangers Best of 15-16: An Electrifying Comeback
It is easy for anyone to remember their first live hockey game. For me, it was back in November of 1995. I was five years old, and it was mesmerizing to me how big Madison Square Garden was.
My dad took me to the game; it was the New York Rangers vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning. Although I was five, there are a few things I still remember from that night.
The first thing I remember, during warm-ups I was screaming at the players that I wanted the puck, and that was when former Ranger Ulf Samuelsson flipped a puck up to my section. However, the puck would hit my dad in his eye and go in the opposite direction for someone else to pick up.
Security got there fast to make sure he wasn’t hurt; he wasn’t, in fact, all he got was a black eye. For the upcoming holiday season, my dad was referred to as Uncle Puckface. Second, it was a Rangers 5-4 victory; nothing is better than going to a game and having your team win.
There are certain things when going to a sporting event that coincides with each other, for example at a baseball game, what is better than walking out to see the field and smelling the fresh cut grass. For hockey, at least for me, nothing beats walking to your seat and having the smell of the freshly scraped ice pay you a visit. No matter how many games you go to in a season.
My most memorable game of the 2015-16 season has to be the last game I was able to attend. It took place on April 5th, against none other than the Tampa Bay Lightning. My friend Mike had an extra ticket, and who in their right mind would pass on a free Ranger game?
At first, the game the Rangers played was very slow; I guess you could contribute that to the fact that they played the night before in Columbus. Not only were they outshot 21-6 in the first period, but they were also losing 2-0.
The second period started, and it seemed like it was going to be just like the first. The Lightning came out flying, and the Rangers looked to be flat-footed. You could feel the frustration in the Garden as the fans started to get restless. However; the Rangers were able to find their game late in the second and Derek Stepan scored on the powerplay to cut the Lightning’s lead to just one.
When the puck dropped to start the third, it was a complete role reversal. The Rangers looked to be the team that finally found their legs, and just about four minutes into the period Derek Stepan found the back of the net, for his second of the game, to tie the game at two. It would be a career-best as it was his 22nd goal of the season.
Shortly after Stepan’s second goal, Chris Kreider was fed a breakout pass from Marc Staal; Kreider would convert on his opportunity which gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
The Blueshirts would hold off the surging Lightning for the remainder of the third to complete the comeback. The atmosphere at the Garden at the end of the game was completely different than it was at the start of the second.
There is never a more memorable game for a fan than a game you were at to witness your team win. More memorable from that, being at a game where your team completes the comeback to win.