The key to the Rangers winning a best-of-five series

A Rangers best-of-five history

The Rangers made the playoffs each season of the best-of-five format and they had a petty solid 5-2 record.  Not only that, in three of those five series victories the opposition had home ice advantage, as Carolina will in the coming series.

1980 – The Rangers beat the Atlanta Flames in four games after winning the first game 2-1 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

1981 – The Los Angeles Kings had home ice advantage, but dropped the opener to the Blueshirts and lost the series in four games.

1982 – This is one of the rarities.  The Rangers lost the first game, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden, but came charging back to win the next three and eliminate the Philadelphia Flyers.

1983 – The Rangers swept the Flyers in three after opening the series on the road.

1984 – This was a heartbreaker.  The Islanders beat the Rangers in five games with the series clincher a 3-2 loss on an overtime goal by Ken Morrow.

1985 – The Flyers got their revenge over the Rangers, sweeping the series in three games.

1986 – The Rangers got right back at the Flyers, winning the series in five games.  After the Blueshirts opened with a road win, the teams exchanged victories with the final game going to New York.

Things to think about

There has been a lot of discussion already about the goaltending situation.  Some folks are citing Henrik Lundqvist‘s record this season and throughout his career against the Hurricanes.  Knowing how important the first game is, the decision on who the starting goalie will be cannot be any sentimental decision, it’s too important.

Home ice is not that crucial in a short series.  The fact is the Rangers won both games in Raleigh this season  and there is a sizable contingent of Blueshirts fans in the PNC arena when they play there.

First time postseason jitters are an issue. The simple fact is that of the 11 of the 22 players on he Rangers’ roster have not played in an NHL postseason.  Meanwhile, the Hurricanes played three full playoff rounds last season against very tough competition in the Capitals, Islanders and Bruins.

Considering the importance of that first game, veterans like Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast and Marc Staal will have an even more important role in settling down the young Rangers.

We are still at least a month away from the resumption of NHL hockey, but now that we know the format, it’s time to start looking at ahead.  The lopsided importance of a first game win was an interesting fact to uncover.

Writers note: In an earlier version of this story, we stated that 50 of 56 series were won by teams that won the first game.  The correct total is 49 and the story has been amended.