The venue was Madison Square Garden on Mother’s day. Martin
St. Louis’s had been uninspiring since joining the Rangers; in 19 regular
season games he tallied one goal and seven assists. Then the playoffs came and
St. Louis started with a bang with two goals and five points in the first three
games. But then it was back to much of what had become the norm, zero goals and
only one point for the next nine Rangers contests and that wasn’t the worst
that happened to St. Louis. In the meantime his mother had unexpectedly passed away and all of a sudden all those scoreless games didn’t mean so much to St.
Louis.
The Rangers traded their team captain to acquire St. Louis
from the Tampa Bay Lightning. St. Louis had been known for his offensive
prowess and was coming off a year that he led the NHL in points. With their
goaltending situation secured for years to come and a strong defense, the
Rangers knew the only way to the Stanley Cup was to add offense. St. Louis was
supposed to be that last link to Lord Stanley. But he labored through a
difficult adjustment with the Rangers. His pucks couldn’t find the net and
Rangers fans were becoming irritated with his lack of offense.
A strong start to the playoffs for St. Louis gave fans hope
that he was coming out of his funk but the notion was quickly squashed. St.
Louis went through the next eight games with only one point from an assist and
once again fans began voicing their displeasure with St. Louis’s play. St.
Louis couldn’t have been happy about his play either but then in an instant,
suddenly his play seemed to matter very little. After he learned of his
mother’s abrupt death he flew home to Montreal to be with his family and the
Rangers were left to wonder if he would be back for game five facing possible
elimination. Under the circumstances no one would have blamed him for not
playing.
After speaking with his dad and deciding that his mother
would have wanted him to play, St. Louis headed back to Pittsburgh to help his
team take on the Penguins and elimination. They conquered both that day winning
five to one. The Rangers had scored two goals the previous three games in the
series and were showing no urgency on the ice. Then, with the season on the
line and a renewed determination, they destroyed the Penguins in Pittsburgh. St.
Louis didn’t score in the game but his presence in the locker-room meant more
than any point could have for his teammates. He hadn’t been with the team long
but that day his commitment to his team proved he had become a New York Ranger.
Game six was at home on Mother’s Day and St. Louis was
playing just days after his mother’s passing. The MSG crowd started chanting
his name and he promptly replied to the cheers by being in the right place at
the right time. At 3 minutes and 34 seconds into the game a Derek Stepan
blocked shot ricocheted off St. Louis’s leg and bounced into the goal and the
Rangers took a lead they would never relinquish. The Rangers won the game three
to one and once again staved off elimination and sent the series back to
Pittsburgh where they’ve already won twice in the series.
The Rangers are now one win away from making an improbable
comeback a reality. They were down three games to one and were showing no signs
of life. In an unfortunate twist of irony a death in their family may have
given them that breath of life they’ve needed. They’ve rallied around a
teammate that is hurting and are only one win away from reaching the Eastern
Conference Finals and one step closer to the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.
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