Dave & Aziz Nekouker at NJ.com remind us..."...before we get ahead of ourselves, we must remember that this is a rivalry series. That means neither team is going to roll over entirely because there's just too much animosity between these clubs to do so (unless you're the tired, Jagr-less Rangers two seasons ago). All the Blueshirts have done is given themselves a nice start. They still need to win a lot of games just to get out of the first round."
...anyone who thinks this going to be an easy series because the Rangers won Game one is going to be very disappointed. Remember, the game was tied until 7 minutes into the third period. Everyone before the game was predicting six or seven games. Someone had to win Game one and just because it was the Rangers doesn't mean its going to be a sweep.
Rick Carpiniello at The Rangers Report reinforces my thoughts here...
"Now, before everybody gets way ahead of themselves and starts booking rooms for the nextseries, take a step back.
Game 1 often, very often, goes to the visiting lower-seeded team, and very often doesn’tmean much.
Yes, stats say that 71 percent of all Game 1 winners since 1994 (when the Eastern/Western conference playoff format was put in place) have gone on to win the series. But stats also say that 71 percent of Game 2 winners since 1987, when all rounds went to best-of-seven, have gone on to win the series.
Now, if it gets to 2-0 … that’s happened 280 times in best-of-seven series, and only 37 times has the team down 0-2 come back to win, or 13.2 percent."
...while its always nice to win the first game of the series, to me the biggest games (besides the obvious Game 7) are Games 2 & 4. Carp's stats tell you why Game 2 is important and, as far as Game 4, a team is either looking for a sweep or its 2-1. Making that game crucial.
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