Hope You Had the Time of Your Life

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

I’m starting to feel like Steve Zipay from Newsday with the lyrics I’ve been quoting in my posts (That’s Green Day above if you don’t know).

It’s been a few days since the Rangers’ season ended. They’ve packed up their lockers and headed home, and we’re all left to wait and see how the summer unfolds. Who are the Rangers going to sign? Who are they going to trade? As previously posted by Calvin, I’m sure things are going to get insanely full of speculation before training camp opens.

And even as we wait for July 1, I still remain proud of the 2006-07 Rangers. I couldn’t say that back in February when i thought they were dead. They dug themselves into the hole known as 12th place, and I thought they were never going to come back. How wrong I was, and I’m glad this team proved me wrong. It was like being told you had a month to live and then being cured of your illness.

So before lets take a moment before the off-season insane predictions truly begin to look back at some of the things that made this season so special.

The Sabres Series

Before the series even started, everyone acted like the Sabres had the Divine Right to the Cup. We all said “fuck that.” The Rangers didn’t win the series, but the Rangers scared the crap out of the Sabres. Sabres Coach Lindy Ruff told Tom Renney during the handshake exactly that. I don’t think the Sabres wanted to play the Rangers because of the torture our team could put them through. The Rangers fulfilled that prediction. It was easily the most exciting playoff series so far this year. It is easily the most exciting playoff hockey we Rangers fans have been treated to see in at least a decade. Even in loss, the series was a gift to us.

Sweeping the Thrashers

Many thought the Rangers wouldn’t beat the Thrashers, never mind sweep them. During the drive to the playoffs, most of the teams the Rangers beat were the ones that finished below them in the standings. And they weren’t beating the teams ahead of them in the standings like Atlanta, Ottawa and Pittsburgh. This series made many of us realize what sort of team we had in front of us. From the opening game to the final horn, the Rangers dominated the Thrashers. It was no more apparent than in Game 3 when the Rangers dismantled the Thrashers. This series combined with the Sabres series, in my opinion, gives me a lot of hope for the future for the Rangers.

March 3 Comeback Against the Blues

The comeback, to me, was the turning point of the season for the Rangers. The game itself was much like the season itself. The Rangers shot themselves in the foot early when St. Louis scored two goals. They didn’t do much the rest of the game until the third period when Karl Rachunek and Sean Avery scored to tie the game. Just like the season, it was a different game. We were on our feet standing, cheering like we would be for the final month of the season and into the playoffs. Even though the Rangers played like crap for most of the game, it was the type of game that pulls a team together where they can say “Hey, we can do this.”

The Avery Trade

Every good team has a spark plug in every sport. Looking at this roster, the Rangers were lacking that sort of player. We had a guy who could carry the team on his back in Jagr. We had plenty of leaders. We had a brilliant goaltender. But the Rangers didn’t have that one guy with that type of fire and passion that causes trouble for the other team whether it’s with his mouth, his fists or a goal. Everything changed when Sean Avery rode into town. Fans were split on the trade, but he quickly won us all over. And the wonderful thing is he’s young and a restricted free agent this summer. Avery will be back — mouth and all — next season providing the spark necessary to win.

And does anyone get the rivalries better than Avery?

The March Home-and-Home Against the Islanders

If I had to pick one or two games that were the most entertaining of the entire season, it would be the home-and-home against the Islanders in March. Coming off the comeback win against the Blues, the Rangers swept the series. They threw over 50 shots at DiPietro in the first game, and he was stopping everything. He didn’t stop everything, though, because the Rangers walked away with the win. The second game has a cloud over it because of Chris Simon’s slash on Ryan Hollweg, but, again, it was a hard-fought win for the Rangers. It quite possibly could have been the most entertaining hockey of the entire regular season.

And the home-and-home also confirmed the reasons why the NHL should be marketing its rivalries. We see so often the marketing of Sidney Crosby (and to a lesser extent Alex Ovechkin), which is justified, but why not the rivalries? I so often think the NHL is trying to kill rivalries, but the March Rangers-Islanders series is proof why the NHL should try to save rivalries.

Clinching the Playoffs Against the Habs

I have to admit I never saw the actual clinching game. Like so many nights, I was working. Such is the life of a news reporter. The twisted irony, for me, is that my other favorite team — the New York Mets — clinched the National League East when I was covering a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. What was I covering when the Rangers clinched? A Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

As for the game itself? I don’t even remember what happened, but the Rangers were in the playoffs. That’s all that mattered to me. It ended the most exciting month of Rangers regular season hockey in recent memory and started another chapter for this team.

Rookie Call-Ups

The Hartford Wolf Pack fan in me has to add Ryan Callahan and Daniel Girardi’s entry to the Rangers as a top moment this season. Their performance down the stretch is part of why I have hope. They’re also part of why the Rangers ended where they did. Girardi easily flowed into the line-up and adjusted to the NHL game. I always liked Girardi, but I was shocked how easily he — someone who never was drafted — stepped into the NHL without needing much adjustment time. Callahan’s entry wasn’t necessarily planned. He came to New York to fill in for injuries and the Rangers immediately felt his impact. His first game after being recalled in March, Callahan scored two goals (fittingly also on St. Patrick’s Day). He stayed with the team and earned the right to play through the playoffs too. Together, these players give hope for the future.

(As a side note, there still is no word on the future of the Pack in Hartford. The last Hartford Courant article on the subject is dated May 1, and there has been no news since. And we ticket plan holders have yet to hear any news.)

I wanted to include 10 items on this list, but I was hard pressed to think of moments beyond these. Maybe it’s because before Sean Avery joined the team there were few games or moments that made me happy. Please feel free to add your own top moments through your comments.