The bell was answered by the New York Rangers in Game Five as they showed a bucketload of character to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and stay alive.
After being beat up in an ugly Game Four, a response was needed and the Blueshirts delivered just that in every single sense of the word.
Jacob Trouba knocked the lethal Sidney Crosby out of the game with a hard but clean hit – no matter what Penguins fans may say – Igor Shesterkin battled his way through somewhat of a bounce-back game and the Blueshirts in general took full advantage of a packed MSG that was up for grabs to live to fight another day.
The series now shifts to Pittsburgh where the Penguins will be looking to advance on home ice, while the Rangers will have the opportunity to send a real clear statement about their contender status.
But, before we fully shift our attention to Friday’s crucial matchup, let’s take a look at a few of the big takeaways from Game Five…
You don’t know what you’ve got until its gone
The New York Rangers are well aware of just how crucial Ryan Lindgren is to this team, but maybe even they didn’t realize just how crucial until this week.
Having missed the previous three games prior to Game Five with a lower-body injury, the Blueshirts were exposed on the back-end time and time again without their grizzled defenseman, including giving up a combined total of 14 goals in Games Three and Four.
However, back in the lineup for Wednesday night, Lindgren quickly showed what the Rangers were missing as he provided the jolt of energy his teammates so badly needed.
His return allowed his partner-in-crime, Adam Fox to focus on what he does best in the offensive zone, allowing Lindgren to focus his attention on a Pittsburgh top line that has dominated this series so far.
Lindgren was a physical force and the Rangers just look much more comfortable when the human wrecking ball is on the ice, and his timely return may well just prove to be a huge momentum shifter in this series.
The 24-year-old finished his big night with three shots on goal, two blocked shots, one hit, one takeaway and an empty-netter to seal the win, while logging 19:34 minutes of total ice time, and if he can repeat that in Game Six, then there may well be a Game Seven to look forward to at MSG on Sunday.