Stanley Cup Playoffs 2013 – Day 31

Day-31 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

INKTIME  on RINKTIME Observations and Random thoughts by Chris Madsen:

I HATE TO SAY “I TOLD YOU SO”…BUT, I TOLD YOU SO:  Every Wednesday night in South Orange County, California, I lace ’em up with several of my long-standing friends for what has become a pretty competitive game of pick-up hockey.   But many times the banter inside the locker room gets even more competitive as we have guys that grew up in Original-6 hockey towns like Detroit, New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago.  You know, deep-rooted affinity for their respective clubs.   And considering that all six teams qualified for the Post-Season this year…well…you can imagine how “spirited” the conversations have been over the last 4-1/2 weeks!

Anyway, a week ago Wednesday, one Red Wing enthusiast peered over his shoulder at me while he was exiting the locker room and said, “A little nervous, are we?”…knowing full well that my fanaticism for the Blackhawks dates back to a time when I was just starting to walk–and his Wings were on the verge of taking what many would consider an insurmountable 3-games-to-1 series lead.

“Nervous? Why should I be nervous?” I replied.  “Besides, last I heard, it takes 4-games to win a series.”

Now you are probably wondering, “Would he be writing about this exchange if the Blachakws had lost in Overtime?”

Yes…but from a completely different angle.

But considering Detroit didn’t win, the moral of this long-winded story is that Playoff hockey is unpredictable…take nothing for granted, because nothing is over–till it’s over…and man, did my post-game plate of fried calamari taste extra sweet last night!

Oh, and pass the cocktail sauce, please!

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IT’S UP TO YOU…NEW YORK…NEEEEW  YOOOORK!

A topic we brought-up for conversation earlier this week has played out in New York.  With a year remaining on his contract,  John Tortorella was relieved of his duties by the Rangers.

Tortorella’s fate may have been sealed when star Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (who BTW is entering the final year of his contract and the Rangers wish to sign him long term) publicly said this about his club’s season: “It is a step back.  We were in the conference finals last year, we had high expectations on ourselves this year. It didn’t go our way, so yeah it is a step back. It’s tough to make it there, though. You can’t just expect it to happen.”

Tortorella saw things differently:  “I know the surrounding feeling here is that it was a negative season, a disappointing season. I don’t buy it and I won’t.  There are some good things that happened. I don’t think we took a step backward. I think
this is a sideways step in our lineup and how things worked out.”

So who’s available out there to coach one of the most beloved teams in professional sports, while under the bright lights and scrutiny of the top media market in the land?  Two names immediately come to mind…Lindy Ruff–who I believe has the resume’ and approach to get stars Rick Nash and Brad Richards (if, they are going to keep him around) back on the same page…or…Ron Wilson–who could certainly handled the media in NY, while connecting with players young and old.

But tell me–WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE NEXT HEAD COACH OF THE RANGERS?  Share your thoughts in the COMMENTS box below.

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OH HONEY, PLEASE TELL ME WE DON’T HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED FOR SATURDAY NIGHT???!!!: Here are your Conference Finals days, times and outlets…ENJOY!  UNTIL THE NEXT TIME WE LACE ‘EM UP AND HIT THE ICE!

–Chris Madsen

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2013 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SERIES M TIME (ET) #1 vs. #4 Networks/Results
SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013 8 p.m. BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH NBC, CBC, RDS
MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2013 8 p.m. BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH NBCSN, CBC, RDS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 8 p.m. PITTSBURGH at BOSTON NBCSN, CBC, RDS
FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2013 8 p.m. PITTSBURGH at BOSTON NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013 8 p.m. BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013 TBD PITTSBURGH at BOSTON NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013 TBD BOSTON AT PITTSBURGH NBCSN, CBC, RDS
2013 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SERIES N TIME (ET) #1 vs. #5 Networks/Results
SATURDAY, June 1, 2013 5 p.m. LOS ANGELES at Chicago NBCSN, TSN, RDS
SUNDAY, JUne 2, 2013 8 p.m. LOS ANGELES at Chicago NBCSN, TSN, RDS
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013 9 p.m. Chicago at LOS ANGELES NBCSN, TSN, RDS
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013 9 p.m. Chicago at LOS ANGELES NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013 8 p.m. LOS ANGELES at Chicago NBC, CBC, RDS
*MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 9 p.m. Chicago at LOS ANGELES NBCSN, CBC, RDS
*WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013 TBD LOS ANGELES at Chicago NBCSN, CBC, RDS

Chris Madsen