SUNRISE, Fla. - The parallels to 1994 are impossible to ignore.
Much like the current Rangers, the last New York team to win a championship also fell into a 3-2 series hole in the Eastern Conference Final.
Even if you weren't around to see it, I’m guessing you’ve heard the story.
Mark Messier stole the show by guaranteeing a Game 6 win (sort of), then registering a third-period hat trick to force a dramatic Game 7 against the New Jersey Devils. Mike Richter also came up huge by saving 59 of the 62 shots he faced in the final two games, while Brian Leetch and Alex Kovalev registered three points apiece in those contests to complete the comeback.
With their season on the brink, New York’s stars shined bright and kept the Stanley Cup dream alive for a city that was starved for one.
If the modern-day Blueshirts want to follow that path to the Canyon of Heroes, they’re going to need similar heroics from their top players.
It will be a tall order against a Florida Panthers’ team that’s been downright better than them through five games, most recently in Thursday’s 3-2 Game 5 win.
Game 5 takeaways:Rangers pushed to brink of elimination by Panthers
The main reason the Rangers are still playing is because of the herculean efforts of Igor Shesterkin, who’s been far and away their best player and helped steal overtime wins in Games 2 and 3. But to win two in a row against the ferocious Cats, beginning with Game 6 on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Florida, he’s going to need more support.
Vincent Trocheck has done his part as New York’s most consistent skater throughout these playoffs, while Barclay Goodrow and Alexis Lafrenière have also stepped up with key contributions lately. Even Chris Kreider, who had been shutout through the first four games of the series, awoke from his slumber with a shorthanded goal in Game 5. But there are a handful of others who have been smothered by a Panthers’ team that appears built for these moments.
The following three players have been vital components in a Presidents' Trophy season, but will face an offseason of criticism and questions if they can’t rekindle some of that magic when it matters most.
Adam Fox
Rumors about the former Norris Trophy winner playing through an undisclosed injury have been running rampant, and it’s hard to dispute that something doesn’t seem right.
Fox has never been the quickest skater, but he’s looked slower than usual and been caught flat-footed in a few costly situations. He’s not carrying the puck with his typical flair, either, and has made some questionable decisions to flip hope passes rather than using his feet to let plays develop. And while the 26-year-old has never been the most physical player on the ice, his engagement in puck battles has been noticeably lacking.
There have been flashes, like his spinning pass to setup Lafrenière’s game-tying goal in Game 4, but his savvy playmaking ability has been far too inconsistent. The result is only seven assists through 15 playoff games, with three in five games against Florida.
There’s no chance head coach Peter Laviolette would take his best defenseman out of the lineup at this stage, nor should he. But scaling back on his team-high 23:57 time on ice per game might allow Fox to maximize the shifts he does get.
It’s not the craziest idea to consider dressing Zac Jones as a seventh defensem*n to help ease that burden. That seems more useful than four shifts and 2:43 TOI for Matt Rempe, which is all the rookie forward got in Game 5.
Artemi Panarin
There have been clutch moments for the team’s 2023-24 MVP, with all four of his playoff goals registering as game-winners. That has to count for something.
It should also be noted that Panarin’s 67.36% xGF leads the team in this series, according to Natural Stat Trick, with a 49-26 advantage in scoring chances and 105-83 edge in shot attempts when he’s on the ice at five-on-five. But you could argue a heap of that credit goes to his linemates, Trocheck and Lafrenière, with Panarin a distant third in terms of effectiveness among that trio.
The reality is that the 32-year-old has been far less visible than he was while collecting a career-high 120 points during the regular season. He hasn’t scored since Game 3 of the second round against Carolina, a drought that’s spanned eight games and counting, with only three assists through five ECF contests.
It’s getting harder to dismiss cries that the 6-foot, 175-pounder’s game is built to rack up points in the regular season but doesn’t translate well to the playoffs. When the ice gets tighter and the space to operate shrinks, so does his impact.
When Panarin’s at his best, the puck is on his stick all the time. He’s attacking in transition and dancing along the blue line, looking for shooting lanes or passing options that few others have the vision to identify. But how often have you seen that happen in this series?
Credit Florida for locking him down and limiting those dynamic sequences that seemed to occur nightly throughout the regular season. But it’s also hard to envision the Rangers winning a Cup if their most gifted offensive threat can’t find a way to raise his level.
Mika Zibanejad
Panarin is the Rangers’ best pure point producer, but Zibanejad may be their most important all-around skater.
It falls on No. 93 to take on the toughest matchups on both ends of the ice while playing a pivotal role on both the power play and penalty kill. He’s asked to do a little bit of everything, and when he sputters, so, too, do the Blueshirts.
The underlying numbers have been stark. With Zibanejad on the ice at 5v5 against Florida, New York is being outshot (55-17), out-attempted (128-57) and out-high-danger-chanced (22-8) by alarming margins.
Whether it’s against two-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov, who has hands down been the best center in this series, or the Panthers’ second line that’s built around star Matthew Tkachuk, Zibanejad’s line with Kreider and fill-in-the-blank at right wing has been repeatedly caved in while struggling to generate offensive-zone time.
There were some signs of life in Game 5, with the 31-year-old notching a pair of assists for his first points of the series. But he also failed to record a shot on goal and has yet to produce anything at 5v5.
Zibanejad's status No. 1 center has been cemented, but he's yet to kick down the door into the top tier with the likes of Barkov and some of the very best the NHL has to offer. Much like Panarin, he still must prove he can elevate his game when facing elite competition.
It's a high standard, but championships are reserved for those who can scale the highest mountains in inclement weather.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work atlohud.com/sports/rangers/and follow him on Twitter@vzmercogliano.
