Rangers time will come soon

Tampa, Florida – When it’s over – after the lightning Finally he survived Rangers in Match 6 on Saturday night At the Amalie Arena to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in a row and the teams were engaging in the traditional post-game handshake in the middle of the ice – Tampa Bay coach John Cooper reached the end of the streak and met Rangers coach Gerard Gallant. They had an extended hug.

“You will be sitting in this seat very soon,” was the gist of the message Cooper sent to Gallant, who he trained with and is a close friend.

“This is a Ranger team,” said modest Cooper after the game. “Gerard Gallant will not be sitting here for long in the future.”

Cooper continued to credit the Rangers for their competitiveness in the series, despite the fact that they had been clearly gassed in the last two competitions. Saturday was their 20 playoffs in the last 40 nights.

It’s hard when you go at seven [games against Pittsburgh]you go seven [games against Carolina] and go six [against Tampa Bay] …that was their 20th supplement game in 40 days,” Cooper said. “It’s hard to play 20 regular season games in 40 days, let alone play-offs. And to get them as far as they can go, I’m amazed at what they’ve done, let alone what we’ve done.

“Qualifiers sometimes can be a war of attrition, and I think in the end the layoffs helped us. It wasn’t early, but layoffs and layoffs didn’t hurt them and a long streak. These matches 2-1, 3-2, they are all very tight matches. They gave us All their ‘.

Cuper was so impressed with Rangers after the series, that he seemed like a coach expecting to see them delve into the playoffs again next season.

“When you have core they have, the players are up front and some defenders they have, and then you get the goalkeeper [Igor Shesterkin]It’s a good recipe.

Cooper continued, “He is led by what I consider one of the best coaches in the world in Gerard Gallant. So, I told Gerrard that one day, I hope he will be here one day when I’m still training.”