The biggest jinx since the Oil Painting. (Photo credit: Ted Starkey)

On Monday– many, many hours before the Capitals and Rangers took the ice for Game Five– the New York Rangers sent out an email encouraging its fans to buy tickets for the Eastern Conference Finals. But they left out one tiny little detail: they haven’t made the finals yet.

While we understand the need to sell tickets, this overdone graphic — which shows half the team doing a stick salute in Narnia or something, is pompous and ludicrous. The New York Rangers have lost their last two playoff series against the Capitals. You’d think they’d know better.

Someone in the Capitals organization should print this out, pin it on the team’s bulletin board. Put it in the filing cabinet under eggs, counted, not yet hatched. This is taunting the hockey gods of the highest order.

Monday, after the Rangers won in overtime, streamers fell from the ceiling of Madison Square Garden, which has been their customary celebration after victories. The exploding fireworks were so loud that Pierre McGuire and Marc Staal’s post-game interview was marginally more incoherent than it would have been anyway.

It reminds us. Schoolyard bullies are the loud kids. They gloat because they are insecure. They are insecure because they are weak.

I’m going out on a limb, but I’m gonna do without Photoshop or special effects. Caps in Seven.

Rangers fans should buy their tickets for Saturday’s game now. They should get to say goodbye to their team in person.

Photo via @thenyrangers.

Bourque Scores, Bears Win. Hershey only 2 more victories away from returning to the AHL Finals. (Photos by Kyle M.)

For Game 2 of the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Hershey Bears were in front of a sold-out and enthusiastic Saturday Night crowd of 10,726 and they did not disappoint. Chris Bourque tallied the game’s first goal with a slapshot from the right faceoff dot. The Monarchs’ Gabe Gauthier would then score back to back goals to make it 2-1. It would stay that way until the 3rd period when Hershey’s Steve Pinizzotto would score his second goal in two games and send it into overtime. That’s when the miniature-sized Chris Bourque would take in a pass from Keith Aucoin on a 2 on 1 and score short-side at 10:28 of the first OT giving Hershey their 5th playoff OT win of the year. Bourque’s (6g 12a) clutch second goal of the night also tied him for first place in the AHL Playoff Scoring Race with teammate Alexandre Giroux (10g 8a). Both have 18 points a piece and are now 1 point ahead of the Texas Stars’ Jamie Benn (who none of us have ever heard of).

Hershey now has a record of 10-1 in the playoffs and have won all 5 games that have gone into OT. The Bears will now travel to Manchester, New Hampshire and try to take a 3-0 series lead Monday.

Take a look at the rest of Kyle’s incredible photos from the game after the jump.

Here’s a photo of the first faceoff of Game 2 at the Giant Center.

Manchester Goaltender Jonathan Bernier whacks Alexandre Giroux in front of the net.

Michal Neuvirth makes one of his 31 saves on the night.

Chris Bourque’s OT Game Winner went in as the net came off its moorings behind Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier, but it was determined that the net had been pushed off by Manchester defenders, allowing the goal to stand.