Last night's double whammy of game 7 action featured the culmination of a slow, methodical breakdown (Rangers) and a sudden turnaround (Devils) sending both teams packing for the summer.
The Rangers played a strong opening 40 minutes, scoring the game's first goal and limiting the Capitals to just 11 shots. In the third period, the Rangers appeared to lose steam and Sergei Fedorov (yeah, he's still alive) delivered the knockout punch in the form of a short-side Kovalev-like snipe over "King" Henrik Lundqvist's shoulder.
So yes, the Rangers blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in their franchise history. It will leave a mark for awhile. The only saving grace for tormented Rangers fans is there aren't many who believed the Rangers were good enough to get by opponents like the Bruins or Penguins. They were only good enough to get deep in the postseason, riding the coattails of their stud goalie.
Now begins an offseason with questions and very few answers. Big contracts remain on the books, but John Tortorella's coaching should rejuvenate this franchise for next season.
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For the Devils, this was obviously a series they should have won as they held the lead in the series several times. Last night's 52-second meltdown has left Devils fans stunned. It's not a familiar feeling to fans of this very successful franchise. The look on Marty Brodeur's face after Eric Staal's game winning goal certainly confirmed that.
By the way, who knew that shootout specialist Jussi Jokinen would play such a big role in this series. After scoring the infamous game-winning goal with 0.2 seconds left earlier in the series, Jokinen tied the game with 80 seconds left, one-timing a beautiful pass by Joni Pitkanen.
The next 48 hours are critical for Devils fans. They will be wondering how this happened for a long time, but the reality of the situation will settle in once the numb feeling wears off.
Believe me, I know the numb feeling. I was at game 6 in Philadelphia when the Penguins erased a 3 goal deficit in front of a hostile Flyers crowd and ended the series after scoring their 5th straight goal.
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It wouldn't be a meltdown without the San Jose Sharks though. After all the media coverage heading into the playoffs about this season being "the one" for this talented Sharks team, where do they go from here? Bruins management is looking pretty smart right now. It was four years ago they decided to trade Thornton when they collectively agreed that he was not the right type of leader for their hockey team. Big Joe has all the talent and physical ability you could ask for in a team captain, but for whatever reason, his teams fail to move past the first two rounds of the playoffs. It's a mystery. I cannot figure out the Sharks - a team with all the tools to make a Cup run over the past 4-5 seasons. They remind me of the Flyers, with better regular seasons and no goalie controversies.
We'll preview the second round tomorrow.
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