Wednesday, October 15, 2008

History Was Almost Made Tonight In New York

Going into tonight's home game with the Buffalo Sabres, the 2008/09 edition of New York Rangers were attempting to start their season 6-0 for the first time ever! They'd beaten the Lightning twice, by identical 2-1 scores in Europe, followed by a 4-2 win over Chicago, a 4-3 squeaker over the Flyers and a 4-1 continuation of their recent dominance (from last year) over the Devils... all in the course of winning their first 5 games of the year. They were also perfect on the penalty kill, having gone 21-for-21 (I think) in that scenario.

With Buffalo's 2nd period power play goal, that latter flawless start came to a screeching halt, and it also erased the Rangers' 1-0 lead at the time. The Sabres would go on to win the game 3-1 (and start 3-0 themselves), ending one of the best kickoff streaks in the Blueshirts' long history (tying the team record, but not setting a new high water mark, unfortunately).

Now, if you'd asked me before the season started whether I'd be thrilled with a 5-1 record after the first 6 games, I'd have quickly responded with, "Hell yes!" And so I am. But it's also the sort of streak that you just hate to see end, because the longer it goes on, the more you start to believe to believe your team may never lose. And that's a very nice dream indeed.

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