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New York Rangers Fans and the 2015 Stanley Cup Final

By Jessica Joy Curtin

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With the New York Rangers out of the running for the Stanley Cup, who do you cheer for in the Final? The Tampa Bay Lightning or the Chicago Blackhawks?

So the New York Rangers didn’t quite change the ending according to plan; what the heck are we going to do now?

Well here’s a few options.

1) Root for the Tampa Bay Lightning  Wishing all the best for the team that knocked yours out? Definitely a classy thing to do.

The Tampa Bay Lightning took the Broadway Blueshirts through a rough seven games before bringing home the Eastern Conference title. The matchup was a close one – both teams had a similar style and both were a couple of the best in the league – and it made for an interesting roller coaster of a series.

New York Rangers
New York Rangers /

New York Rangers

So although the Rangers didn’t quite make it to the Final, there’s some comfort knowing they lost to a very worthy opponent.

And the Bolts got to the Final fair and square. There’s no reason to hold a grudge about them being there over the Rangers than any other team, despite how hard that may be.

Of course, there are a couple former Rangers from last year now on Tampa Bay’s side. Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman will be heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. Did they know it would come down to facing their former team in the race for the Cup? No. You can’t blame them for knocking out the Rangers any more than you can blame them for wanting to win the Stanley Cup.

So assuming you’re a Rangers fan, and you’re inclined to root for the Lightning, then by all means do so without any shame in that.

2) Hope the Chicago Blackhawks Sweep the Bolts With all of what I just wrote about Tampa, sometimes it heals the emotional wounds to just keep cheering against them.

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There’s no shame in that either.

And that’s all I have say about that.

3) Just enjoy the dang game  If the Rangers aren’t in it to win it, might as well put away the oxygen masks for the next several games and enjoy some hockey for a change. Rangers fans shouldn’t be stressing out over what happens in the next couple of weeks.

The Blueshirt faithful have been put through torturous one-goal games, emotionally dragged through not one but TWO seven-game series and, like the Rascal Flatts song goes, “what hurts the most was being so close.” So I’m sure we’ve already had enough stress in our lives than to worry about who wins the Cup if it ain’t New York.

While there are many other reasons to root for one team or the other, or neither, these are but a few from my standpoint as a Rangers fan. But why do you root for who you want to win the Cup? Leave a comment or vote in the poll below.

Next: Why Rangers Fans Should Be Hopeful for Next Year

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