New Yorkers confident ahead of Game 3 against Sens
To hear New Yorkers tell it, their Rangers didn't have such a bad trip to Canada's capital — one that saw them fall behind 2-0 in the series against the Ottawa Senators.
Standing under the shade of an awning in a midtown Manhattan storefront, Joe Pattison said he wasn't impressed by the Senators' double-overtime performance on Saturday.
"They got a couple of easy goals," he explained.
Pattison calls himself a life-long Rangers fan. His bright blue windbreaker and matching cap, he says, are only part of the total ensemble he will wear on game day.
Not only does the 60-something New York superfan wear blue, he seems to have watched the first two games of the series through blue-coloured glasses.
"The ice over there was very wet the first two games. The puck was bouncing here and there," he continued.
"I mean, they had both games!"
'Luck of the puck'
At a shoeshine cart on the sidewalk outside of Gary Bettman's office — the NHL's 6th Avenue headquarters — Don Ward had similar confidence in his team.
"It's not that they played bad, it's just the luck of the puck. We're down. Now you're gonna see their A game," explained Ward.
Ward said he wasn't worried, describing the series as typical of a second round playoff series.
"You eliminate the crappy teams, the teams that just squeaked into the playoffs. Now you have quality teams. Anybody can win this," he said.
Ward would only concede in a limited, mathematical sense, the New York Rangers had reason to be nervous about the Senators.
"They're up 2-0. Percentage-wise, yes. As a fan? Hell no."
Desperation time
In Manhattan's garment district, Ivon Dominguez, a more modest Rangers fan, confessed he had been nervous after Ottawa defeated the Boston Bruins in the first round.
"It was known coming into the series that Ottawa could score, was the more difficult of the two teams (the Rangers) could have drawn," he said.
The Rangers, a strong team on the road all year, were expected to win the two games in Ottawa. Instead, they returned to the Big Apple empty-handed.
The fact New York must put its shaky home record up against a confident Senators team had him nervous.
"If they lose this one it's really in Ottawa's favour. It's like a desperation, make-or-break game," Dominguez said.
The puck drops for Game 3 just after 7 p.m. ET. on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
