Now that the Rangers have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup final, they look out west for the next opponent and they do have an open rooting interest.
The Blueshirts pulled off a 1-0 win over the Canadiens in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night at the Garden, advancing to their first Cup final in 20 years. So now as the Kings and Blackhawks ready to play Game 6 of their own conference final on Friday night in Los Angeles, the hope for the Rangers is that those two teams play as many games as possible.
With the Kings up in the series, 3-2, that would mean the Blackhawks win on Friday to force a Game 7, to be played Sunday night back in Chicago.
“Obviously, the more games they play, the better,” Marc Staal said. “It’ll be nice to sit and watch.”
The Stanley Cup final is set to start on Wednesday no matter how many games that series goes. The Rangers will also start on the road no matter who wins, as they finished the season with fewer points than both of those teams.
“It’s going to be good for us to get a couple of days to recharge,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. “I think, mentally, too, to let it sink in a little bit and enjoy it for a day or two. Then you start preparing for the next challenge.”
The Kings finished the regular season with 100 points, while the Blackhawks had 107. They are the two teams that have won the Cup in the past two seasons, L.A. taking home their first as a franchise two seasons ago, and Chicago winning it last season.
“We’re going to play against a really good team,” Lundqvist said. “It’s about, for us, in the room to remind each other that this is such a special moment that you have to grab it.”
Rangers defenseman John Moore served the first game of this two-game suspension, meaning he will be out for Game 1 of the Cup final.
He was replaced by Raphael Diaz, who got into his third game this postseason, notching two shots on goal over 11:35 of ice time, 2:05 of it on the power play.
The Canadiens played without former Ranger Dale Weise, who was hurt on Moore’s blindside headshot in Game 5, the hit that got Moore suspended.
Montreal coach Michel Therrien said Weise was not concussed, but one industry source told The Post a major reason that suspension came down was because Weise had been identified before the hearing as having a concussion.
Rangers forward Dan Carcillo is scheduled to have his in-person meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday morning in New York City to appeal his 10-game suspension.
Carcillo was disciplined for physical abuse of an official in Game 3, meaning if the full suspension is upheld, he will not be eligible to play in the Cup final even if it goes seven games.