I don’t always agree with him on his philosophy, personnel decisions and commentary. For better or worse, he’s gotten the Rangers to buy in. Last year’s team was a spitting image of Tort. They grinded out the first two rounds after posting the East’s best record. Eventually, they ran out of gas in the Conference Finals. That btw was our franchise’s first Final Four appearance since ’97.

A year later, they’re in a tough spot against the Bruins. Being in an 0-2 predicament is tough enough. They won four of the last five to eliminate the Caps in the first round. In that series, they exorcised a lot of demons, including winning a deciding Game 7 on the road against a team that owned them. Our offense stepped up. You heard me right. In three of their four wins, the Blueshirts scored three-or-better. That featured consecutive 4-3 decisions sweeping Games 3 and 4 to even the series. They’ll need to summon a similar effort starting tonight.

Nothing this team ever does is easy. Why should it be? While true they’re facing a better opponent, they’re more than capable of coming back against Boston. Nobody’s talking about the weak defense we’ve seen. The focus as usual is either on our hopeless power play or Tortorella’s silly commentary on Carl Hagelin being taken out of context. NBC stinks. You’d think Pierre McGuire would come up with better questions. Between that and Mike Milbury’s shenanigans, it’s fairly obvious who NBC favors.

I get it. The Rangers aren’t fun to watch. They don’t play an exciting style that captivates audiences. Tortorella doesn’t make friends with anyone. We’re universally hated for these reasons. That’s fine. I don’t want anyone playing the whole NBC caters to us crap. That’s garbage. They only care about RATING$. Even during the second round, you have to hear constant banter about the Penguins. Sidney Crosby is the best player in the sport. How about finding something else to discuss during this series. It’s New York versus Boston. A compelling match-up even if neither coach wins style points.

I could do without all the nonsense. Let’s just play hockey tonight. No team has ever rallied from a 2-0 deficit in consecutive series. The Rangers can make playoff history. It’s not what any Ranger fan hoped for. If you bleed blue and are at MSG, do everyone else a favor. Let your voices be heard. Our team needs you more than ever. They also better deliver a clutch performance. It’s time to hit back.