New York Rangers need to go back to trusted playbook for Game 6

There’s already a tried and tested blueprint for the New York Rangers to trust ahead of tonight’s Game Six against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.

It is do-or-die time yet again for the Rangers who face a win-or-go-home situation for the fourth time this postseason, which is more than any other team.

While they have had to dig themselves out of gaping hole after gaping hole having not yet led at any point so far during these Stanley Cup Playoffs, the good news is that the Rangers are used to these kind of situations.

They’ve become the masters of clawing their way back from the brink of oblivion, they’ve mastered the art of rising from the dead and they’ve become used to having ice in their veins with the pressure really on and all the chips pushed into the middle of the table.

In other words; the Rangers are now somewhat built for games like tonight and they need to draw on the playbook they have written themselves in order to stave off elimination and force a Game Seven in Carolina on Monday.

That playbook is pretty simple too. As was the case earlier in this series with the Blueshirts facing a 2-0 hole, they used an electric Madison Square Garden to their advantage as well as the invaluable experience they’ve been able to bank this postseason.

‘The Jungle’ as Chris Kreider has coined it will have a big role to play once again tonight, and the Hurricanes are a different team on the road compared to when they are on home ice, so the Rangers need again to make home ice advantage count.

Jumping out early and giving MSG something to really get behind will be key but, should the Rangers absorb the first blow or two of the evening, they will know what to do.

Time and time again this team has looked down and out, with any slice of hope seemingly launched out of the window. However, time and time again this team has hauled itself off the canvas, dusted themselves off, rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

They’ve had to face adversity head on so many times already this postseason that reducing deficit appears to be woven into the very DNA of this team, and that experience and knowhow should be the biggest reason to be confident heading into tonight’s tilt.

It’s simple, really. The Rangers have been here before, they’ve had to fight for their lives on a nightly basis since Round One and if they can stay true to what has got them to this point and keep the grit, the character and the heart that has kept them alive time and time again, then they should be able to cheat death at least one more time and extend their playoff adventure for at least another couple of days.