SUNRISE, Fla. — The team that ended every practice with a hug ended its season watching the opposition embrace each other.
These Rangers, most of whose core was here before this season, were particularly close. All teams are, but this one drew from it like a well.
It seeped into their mentality and everything they did on the ice.
The season-ending 2-1 loss to the Panthers on Saturday night in Game 6 of the conference finals – one round shy of their goal – was even more crushing because of it.
“We feel like family here,” Mika Zibanejad said, speaking quietly in the locker room after the match ended. “I think we’ve been working since the start of training camp. A lot of guys have been here before and the new guys that have come in have been amazing. It’s just that everyone wants to see the next guy succeed and everyone is fighting for the same thing, towards the same goal. I love this team and I love the guys on this team.
“It obviously makes losing a lot harder.”
These Rangers have grown as a team with relatively minimal changes to the core group.
Losing to Tampa at this point two seasons ago hurt a lot, but there weren’t expectations attached to this team like there were this season.
Rangers could rightly view this run positively, as a joyride in which they arrived on the big stage.
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This year, it’s hard to imagine there will be any happy laments afterward.
The Rangers were the better team in the regular season and never found a way to consistently generate offense against a Florida team that played a relentless, aggressive, physical style and closed down space at every turn.
And unlike two years ago, the group isn’t young enough for almost all the important elements to be back next season.
Ryan Lindgren, Kaapo Kakko and Braden Schneider will be in restricted free agency.
Jack Roslovic, Alex Wennberg, Blake Wheeler and Erik Gustafsson will be unrestricted; Igor Shesterkin and Alexis Lafrenière will be among those eligible for an extension on July 1. Difficult decisions will have to be made within this group.
“It’s the most interesting part of any season,” Adam Fox said. “I think there are so many guys that have come in and helped, just because you know in professional sports, not everyone and the teams change, but I think the culture that we’ve built here , the camaraderie that we had is something that – you’re going to have some turnover – I think the foundation is there.
“It’s a shame to think that this year is over. I think what we have built is solid.
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