New York Rangers: Seven reasons to root for the St. Louis Blues

The teams are set.  It will be the Boston Bruins versus St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Any fan of the New York Rangers worth his or her salt knows that the team to root for is St. Louis.

It’s the last thing a New York Rangers fan would want to see.  The Boston Bruins in the Finals.  When the playoffs started, we had a reason to root for Tampa (first round draft pick).  That went south pretty quickly, so we switched out allegiance to the Dallas Stars for the same reason (first round draft pick).

I’m sure that diehard fans also were rooting for Carolina to defeat the Islanders so we would be spared the ridicule we would get from Islander fans.  Thank you to the Hurricanes for coming through.  Unfortunately, Carolina’s magic run ended leaving the Bruins waiting for their opponent to be determined.

There are several compelling reason to root for the Blues.  Here goes.

#1 It’s Boston

It’s bad enough that the Bruins are going to the Finals for the third time in nine years.  The Rangers have not fared well in the postseason versus Boston.  The B’s have a 30-24 record against the Blueshirts.  They’ve won seven out of ten series against the Rangers.  And to really make it worse, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup Finals twice against New York in 1929 and 1972.

That’s just hockey.   The resounding success recently of the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics (to a lesser degree) has cemented Boston as the city of champions, a title that New York should hold.

So, the biggest reason to root against the Boston Bruins is because they are from Boston.

#2 Complete turnarounds are possible

The St. Louis Blues woke up on January 3, 2019, with the worst record in the NHL.  Now they are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals.  The way that they turned around their season should bring hope to fans of any team that has spent time mired in mediocrity.

The Rangers are a young team and will suffer some bumps in the road as they figure it out.  If they can do that early enough in the season, the idea that a team can go on a run and hit the playoffs on a hot streak will be something that the Rangers can build on.  The Blues are proof positive that it’s how you get into the playoffs that matters.

I hope that every Ranger player and coach is watching the Blues and learning some important lessons.

#3 The Blues and the Rangers have a lot in common

There are a number of similarities between the Blues and the Rangers.  The Blues made the playoffs for six straight season, but fell out of contention and traded away assets at the trade deadline.  In 2017 they swapped Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals for picks and prospects.   In 2018 it was Paul Stastny who was Winnipeg-bound, again for picks and prospects.

The Blues are not a goal scoring machine.  They have only three players with over 20 goals and their leading scorer was Ryan O’Reilly with 77 points.

They are led by a rookie goaltender who replaced the longtime starter, Jake Allen, midway through the season and has been the single biggest reason for the Blues’ success.

The Blues have eight players with two years or less experience in the NHL

#4 Former Rangers are a non-factor

The St. Louis Blues have one former Ranger on their roster and he has been stapled to the press box, not making an appearance in the playoffs.  That would be Michael Del Zotto who was acquired from Anaheim at the deadline.

The Bruins have two former Ranger defensemen in John Moore and Steven Kampfer.  Moore has appeared in five games with a minus four rating.  Steven Kampfer has appeared in two games and he has scored one goal.  He only got to play when Charlie McAvoy was suspended.

So, there is no sentimental reason to root for either team, leaving St. Louis as the obvious choice.

#5 It’s about time for St. Louis

The Blues have never won the Stanley Cup.  After expansion, the NHL in its infinite wisdom put the expansion teams in one division, meaning that an expansion team always made it to the Finals . That team was the St. Louis Blues and they were in the Finals three straight years from 1968 to 1970.  In those three series, they won a total of zero games.  Yes, they were swept four straight by Montreal twice and then Boston.

The Blues have gone 50 years without winning the Stanley Cup, tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the longest current streak. If the Blues can win, it will leave Toronto as the sole record holder and anything that makes an Eastern Conference rival a little crazy is good for the Rangers.

#6 Brad Marchand is on the Bruins

He may be talented, but he’s a pain and he licks opposing players.  That alone is a reason to root against Boston.

The Rangers beat the Blues and the Bruins twice each this season so we hold no grudges, However, as laid out above, there are some good reasons to root for the St. Louis Blues.

The Finals will begin on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27.  Boston will be the home team and will be playing their first game in 11 days.  Let’s hope the rust will be tough to shake off.