Sports
Thank you, Knicks, and go, Rangers — keep the magic going!
It’s been a stunning few weeks in New York sports as the Rangers and Knicks kept up simultaneous playoff drives; alas the Nova-Knicks ran out of miracles leaving the Blueshirts to continue the MSG festivities alone.
Rangers’ hero Chris Kreider’s natural hat trick launched them to the NHL Eastern Conference Final in a thrilling Game 6 series-clinching win over the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night.
The 5-3 victory made the Rangers the first team in nine years to advance to the conference final after winning the Presidents’ Trophy (for best regular-season record) — and that last team coincidently was the Rangers.
Another Presidents’ Trophy winner, the ’94 Blueshirts, also ended the franchise’s 54-year Stanley Cup drought; now the Kreider-led squad could cap a 30-year gap.
And perhaps some of the magic that brought the Knicks through a brutal series of injuries to Game 7 against the Pacers will rub off as the Rangers face a hungry pack of Panthers who nearly won the Cup last year.
The two-team run electrified and united the city — just what the doctor ordered for a town divided by crime, protests and politics.
Now it’s up to the Blueshirts to keep the joy going.
It’s Game 1 tonight. Go Rangers! Go New York!