The New York Rangers are once again in the familiar position of having their backs up against the wall facing elimination.
In last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Final, they were down 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first-round before roaring back to win in 7 games. They followed that up with another series comeback victory down 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Eventually, they ran out of gas against the Tampa Bay Lightning falling in six games after taking a 2-0 series lead.
Now here they are in the first-round of the 2022-23 playoffs facing elimination against a younger, faster, and hungrier New Jersey Devils team despite winning the first two games by a combined score of 10-2.