Rangers disappointed but confident core can win

TARRYTOWN, NY — There were two prevailing emotions for the New York Rangers as they packed up their lockers on Tuesday: painful disappointment after losing in the Eastern Conference final to the Florida Panthers and unwavering confidence that this group will win a Stanley Cup together.

It was the second trip to the conference final in three seasons, with a seven-game first-round loss to New Jersey last season. Captain Jacob Trouba said the longer runs are more painful endings than an opening-round defeat.

“It hurts more. The closer you get, the more it stings, the more there’s that pit in your stomach,” he said Tuesday at the Rangers’ practice facility. “The belief was there. It wasn’t hope. We weren’t going to the playoffs hoping to compete or be good. There’s a belief that we can win. When you have that belief, it makes it hurt more.”

Coach Peter Laviolette said there was a sense around the organization that the Rangers were going to win their first Stanley Cup since 1994.

“If I’m being honest, I think there was a belief built during the course of the season. Not just with our players, but with the organization and the fan base. We truly believed we were going to win the Stanley Cup,” Laviolette said. “And so with that comes a lot of disappointment. A lot of hurt. We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.”

The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy with the NHL’s best regular-season record, swept the Washington Capitals and eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in six games. But they couldn’t solve the Panthers, who advanced to their second straight Stanley Cup Final, facing the Edmonton Oilers.

“I think everyone is disappointed. Everyone is sad, mad, angry,” center Mika Zibanejad said. “I think that should be the case. I think you should be allowed to feel however you feel. But luckily there’s a next year, there’s a next season.”

New York’s offense sputtered against Florida, scoring two goals or fewer in five of the six games. They scored more than two goals in nine of their previous 10 playoff games before facing Florida.

Multiple players talked about how the Panthers’ aggressive checking made the Rangers play more conservatively on offensive, lest a mistake get quickly turned into a Florida goal. Winger Artemi Panarin, who had one goal and three assists in the conference final, said his team’s offense struggled because it didn’t take enough chances against Florida.

“In my opinion we did not take a little bit extra risk, which you have to do because we have the skills. You kind of got to trust your instincts, which we do not do enough,” he said. “They’re a great team. Hard to play against and I feel we still can beat them.”

That was the prevailing thought among the Rangers: that the conference final was a series of tightly played games, with a one-goal margin of victory in five of the six contests. “I think that conference final was not really a wide margin. It was two very good teams. Muddy hockey. Razor-thin difference, game to game,” forward Chris Kreider said.

He said the Rangers need to get to a place that his college hockey coach called “a no-doubter,” where it doesn’t matter if they aren’t getting penalty calls or bounces. “You put yourself in a position to succeed and win the game. So I think for us it’s, that extra 5-10% improvement in all areas. Be better as individuals and better as a team,'” Kreider said.

One place the Rangers don’t need improvement is with starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who was widely credited as the reason New York pushed the Panthers to six games.

“He was our best player by a significant margin in the playoffs,” said center Vincent Trocheck, who said he sought out Shesterkin after their Game 6 defeat. “If there was one guy that I thought needed to hear that right after the loss, to kind of keep his spirits up, it was him. I just told him he’s our best player. Maybe the best goaltender in the world. He deserved better.”

But even Shesterkin said he could have done more. “I just know I could make another save and that probably we could score after that,” said the goaltender, who declined to discuss a potential contract extension in the offseason. Shesterkin has one year left on a four-year, $22,666,667 contract.

As usual in the playoffs, there were injury revelations for the Rangers. Star defenseman Adam Fox reinjured his knee during the Washington series and that impacted his postseason. Fox had eight assists in 16 games. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren cracked a rib during the Carolina series. While he claimed it didn’t impact him in the playoffs, Trouba said “a kidney bean size chunk of my ankle came off” during the regular season, putting him on the shelf in March.

Now it’s time for the Rangers to heal up, physically and mentally. Trocheck said they have a positive mindset despite the playoff loss.

“I think this is the start of becoming our identity, if that makes sense. This year was we’ve started to mold our identity and the more we continue at what we are doing now, I think it’ll continue to get better,” he said.

Kreider was defiant about talk that the Rangers’ Stanley Cup championship window is closing.

“That’s not something that we consider. We have a lot of key core guys that are very young. We have a really good blend, which I think is really important to have success at the NHL level,” he said. We have an opportunity this summer to get better, come back and build on what we just did.”