Nothing is more thrilling for a New York Rangers fan than an overtime goal in the playoffs.
As the postseason inches closer, I find myself watching New York Rangers’ highlights over and over again. It’s good to say hockey is almost back. But, the videos I seem to watch even in the dog days of summer, are playoff overtime goals.
There is nothing like hearing the fans scream and chant when their team scores or even the intense, enticing silence from the arena like in 2012 when Marian Gaborik scored the triple overtime winner against the Capitals to give the Rangers the series lead.
The past decade of New York Rangers playoff hockey has brought fans on a roller coaster ride. In 2010, a first round loss to the Washington Capitals started the new decade off on a low. Then the Rangers got a taste of the Eastern Conference Finals ultimately losing to their cross-river rivals in the New Jersey Devils in overtime of game six.
In 2014, a magical run found the Rangers playing for the ultimate prize. Despite holding two goal leads in the first two games in Los Angeles, the Rangers lost in Game Five in double overtime to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Rangers have gone to overtime 26 times over the past decade. They won ten times in those games and some of those were the most memorable in franchise history. The feeling of your team winning in overtime is the best feeling in sports.
When your team comes back from a 3-1 series deficit two seasons in a row or goes to the Stanley Cup Final, fans remember the journey it took to get there. Even several years later, we like to rejoice on the overtime goals that brought us unmatched joy.
Let’s start the countdown with the top five overtime goals in the past decade. We will begin with an honorable mention.