Boudreau took much of the heat, as it is rare for the Presidents Trophy winner to go out in the first round.This year the Capitals were looking to shake off the continued postseason disappointment. Jumping off to a quick 2-0 lead in the series, including an overtime win in which Alexander Semin, known for his lack of postseason scoring, was able to put away the winner.
The series then headed to New York where the Rangers were able to pull out a gritty win in Game 3, winning 3-2 on a late Brandon Dubinsky goal. Game 4 was a pivotal game, with New York trying to hold home ice in the series.
Prior to the fourth game, Coach Boudreau appeared to be feeling the heat. He blasted the referees for their soft calls and questioned the toughness of certain Ranger players. When he appeared on a local radio station, he chose to rip Madison Square Garden and the Garden faithful. Excuses appeared to be flying left and right as Boudreau cited: "The locker rooms are horrible. The benches are horrible. There’s no room for anything" He would even go on to say that the Verizon Center fans were much louder than the fans at Madison Square Garden.
Whether you agree with Coach Bruce or not is not the issue. The issue instead is that why would you provoke the fans of another team when you were guaranteed to play at least one more game in their arena, and possibly two. It would be one thing if the Capitals were heading home and wanted to inspire their fans, but come on Bruce, the Caps were playing in NY in two days. Why give the team and its fans bulletin board material???
As you can imagine, the Rangers and their fans were just a little bit ticked off. An incredible second period saw the Rangers jump out to a 3-0 lead with goals by Artem Anisimov, Marian Gaborik, and Brandon Dubinsky. Feeling that a win was in the books, Rangers fans began chanting "Can you hear us" and other word play based off Coach Boudreau's comments prior to the game.
The only problem was that the game was not over. The Caps quickly made it a 3-2 game, and a second goal by Marcus Johansson tied the game at 3. Suddenly there was silence at Madison Square Garden. Now it is harder to condemn fans for supporting their team, as they cannot back it up themselves, but once again, it is unbelievable how people continue to run their mouth well before the result is in hand. Granted that a 3-0 lead at home after two periods should be as concrete as possible, the Rangers made their fans look foolish, and made Coach Boudreau look like a hero. Im not sure what Boudreau said to his team in between the 2nd and 3rd period, but it sure made him look like a hell of a coach.
The Rangers would go on to lose in Double OT on an incredibly flukey goal scored by Jason Chimera in which Marian Gaborik and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist appeared to have a miscommunication. A terrible loss for the Rangers, leaving them trailing 3-1 in the series and headed to Washington.
The lesson here is don't run your mouth unless you can back it up. In Boudreau's case, he got lucky and his team was able to bail him out. He would later retract his comments and apologize for his stupidity. Although he will receive a break from media and fans, his unnecessary risk to try and inspire the opposing team and fans almost bit him in the behind. If it wasn't for a comeback lead by everyone but star Alexander Ovechkin, Boudreau could be looking at a 2-2 series, and a flaming hot seat for a job.
A lesson to Rangers fans, be sure your team is going to win before mocking the opposing team. Although it is the playoffs, and it is unlikely to see a team lay down and admit defeat regardless, why would you want to give the Capitals players added motivation. Clearly they came to play in the third period and the Rangers fans helped the Capitals nearly end the series.
I admit, I was ready to pronounce Boudreau, Ovechkin and the Capitals dead after the second period of Game 4, but instead Im left saying, "Damn Rangers fans, you gave it to the Caps".
We will never know how the game would have ended without the crowd instigation, but the Rangers can now only hope the MSG will even get to see another game, as they fight for their series lives in DC for game 5. The lesson here, dont talk until you are sure you have won, or you are sure you wont have to see your opponent again.
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