The Rangers championship mettle shined in Game 6 against Carolina, proving that perhaps some of our doubts are unfounded this year. After Game 5, a bit of doubt began to creep into the minds of Rangers fans and for good reason. The wounds of playoff collapses past still fresh in the minds of Blueshirt fans everywhere from the prior two postseasons.

I’d almost be curious if you were still human as a Ranger fan if you didn’t have a bit of doubt after the utter gong show that was the 3rd period Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

After sweeping an underwhelming and overmatched Capitals team in the first round, Rangers fans everywhere started believing that this team was different, especially because they showed a killer instinct we haven’t seen from this club in years. Winning the first three against the Canes reinforced that belief that this team was different than those we’ve seen before.

Game 4 they showed fight and heart and just lost to a far more desperate team. No team goes 16-0 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Losses were expected. The Game 5 loss was different because the Rangers just didn’t look like the team we saw all year long. It set off some giant red flags because they showed bad habits from prior Rangers teams that had talent but seemingly not the will to get you through the postseason.

Through the first forty minutes of Game 6 there seemed to be even more doubt, as the Rangers found themselves in a 3-1 hole heading into the third period and looking down the barrel of another Game 7 and one that seemed avoidable a mere 48 hours before.

The one thing that we saw all year long from this Rangers group is that they believe in their system, coach, and each other no matter what situation they found themselves in. It’s why this team led the NHL in come from behind wins this year. Their belief in their system and each other never stops.

Chris Kreider gave a championship level performance the likes of which we haven’t seen since Mark Messier. Being able to shrug off a dismal 100 minutes of prior to come back and close out a great Hurricanes team shows the kind of fight and heart this group has.

There are no easy victories in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and all four wins were hard fought. This club truly has what it takes to win a Stanley Cup and will face another tough test in the Florida Panthers.

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