MONTREAL Mark Messier made no victory guarantees yesterday afternoon neither concerning today’s critical Game 3 nor regarding the Rangers’ first-round series with the Montreal Canadiens in general.
But the look was back. And the edge with it. Every spring, at some point during the playoffs, the Rangers’ captain loses his sense of humor, stops suffering fools lightly and shifts into a mode that isn’t adequately described by the term “all business.
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This spring, that point arrived yesterday. And while even Messier admitted it was a bit earlier than he expected to have to make his annual metamorphosis, it was unmistakable that he had.
From his presence in a practice for the first time in three weeks to his curt replies to reporters’ questions to the ‘Don’t mess with me” glint in his eye, Messier made it clear that the Rangers won’t be conceding this series after having lost Games 1 and 2 at home.
“From my experience, there’s always a time in every playoffs, whether it’s in the third round or the Finals, when you’ve got to look down the barrel of the gun and pull the trigger,” Messier said.
“I think that time has come a little earlier for us than we expected.
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It has come because of Montreal center Vincent Damphousse, who personally snatched Games 1 and 2 in the Garden with his opportunistic counterattacking and two goals in each game.
And it has come because of the Rangers’ inability to translate their territorial dominance and relatively uninterrupted role as the aggressors into advantages on the scoreboard.
But just as surely it has come because the Rangers’ leader hasn’t been anywhere close to his normal self. In Game 1, he was virtually paralyzed playing in his first game in 12 days with torn muscle and cartilage in his left rib cage. In Game 2, he was significantly more involved, but hardly back to the intimidating offensive presence that can prevent counterattacks simply by being on the ice.
Yesterday, there was more snap in his wrist shot and more jump in his step. Given the nature of the injury, he probably will never approach 100% no matter how long the Rangers last in the playoffs. But you get the idea he plans on at least having an impact this afternoon, when nothing less than the entire Rangers’ season and maybe his last realistic hope at leading a Cup run hangs in the balance.
It was pointed out to Messier that even when he was at full strength, the Rangers couldn’t win in Montreal.
The numbers 0-7-1 and 1-20-3 were brought up for the 1,940th time, referring to the Rangers’ current winless streak in Montreal and their mind-boggling record in their last 24 visits, including playoffs.
“Well, none of us were here in ’79 so we couldn’t do much about that one,” Messier said.
“It’s just a constant set of hurdles that you have to overcome if you want to be a champion.
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“We’ve obviously been faced with one a little earlier than we probably expected. But it’s just a never-ending battle with things to overcome if you want to go on and win four series and become Stanley Cup champions.
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For now, the Rangers would just settle for being the winners of Game 3 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
