Game 7s and the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are no strangers to Game Sevens having played 15 of them in their storied history.  The good news is they are on the plus side, winning nine while losing six.

They are also tied for the most consecutive Game Seven wins with six from 2012 to 2015.  That streak ended when the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Blueshirts in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015.

The Rangers have gone to a seventh game only once versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning in 2014, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to do it and  Ranger fans hope that history will repeat itself tonight.

The Rangers have victimized the Capitals the most times, winning three of four Game Sevens against them.  They are undefeated in two seven game series against the Devils.

Their other Game Seven wins have come against the Penguins, Flyers, Senators and their most memorable win, against the Canucks in 1994 in the Stanley Cup Final.

Their Game Seven losses have come at the hands of the Flyers, Bruins, Capitals, Red Wings, Black Hawks and Lightning.

The Rangers lost in the 1939 Semi-Finals to the Boston Bruins in what was the longest Game Seven in NHL history, lasting eight minutes into the third overtime.  That was surpassed in 1987 by the Islanders and Capitals epic quadruple overtime classic.

The two times the Rangers went to seven games in the Stanley Cup Final were in 1950 when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings and of course, in 1994.

There’s also this.

On the negative side, the Penguins have played in 17 Game Sevens and are 10-7 all-time and have won all six that they have played on the road.

Tonight’s game will be the 186th Game Seven in NHL playoff history, to be followed by the 187th when Dallas takes on Calgary.

This season there will be five Game Sevens already in the First Round and the higher seed has won in two of the three that have been concluded already.  The Rangers hope to make that three of four.

The good news is the last two times they were down 3-1 in a series, they rebounded to win in seven games. It’s time for the Blueshirts to extend that streak.