[Critch]

2033/34 Stanley Cup Finals - New York Rangers
New York Rangers are similar to the Chicago team we played in the last round, not much playoff action, plenty of years of draft picks to build a roster. They're a couple of years further down the cycle though, they made the playoffs last year and some of their players have developed to be superstars: LW Tyler Van Caeyzeele (5.0 stars, 41 goals this season), C Chase Harrington (4.5 stars, 43 assists in 70 games). They still have D Adam Fox too, their 36 year old captain still rated 4.0. They also have former Husky C Nikita Zozulia, looks like he's just coming back from a long term injury though, he'll be on their 4th line.

Before the start of game 1 there's some bad news for Anchorage when Urho Matilla decides he's not interested in returning to Anchorage when his contract expires. I'd gone with the idea of "just sign him then work out how to get the salaryl to fit next year", but no interest.

Game 1 - New York Rangers 7 Anchorage Huskies 4
No Henry Mews, but Jiri Mendl is close enough he can be risked. And he will be risked, Steve Peters has been a pretty awful replacement. He may have not let us down last year, but he's been out of his depth this. In the first period the NY Rangers stars I mentioned combine for a goal to get them on their way, Tyler Van Caeyzeele scores with an assist from Chase Harrington. 16:16 it's 2-0, New York score on a 5-on-3 power play. Second period gets worse, two NY Rangers goals in the first minute, one of them by former Husky Nikita Zozulia. Kaden Pitre pulls one back but yet another power play for the NY Rangers and it's 5-1 after two. It's not over though, not quite yet, and Anchorage rush back into it with three goals in the first 6 minutes of the third, Oskar Vuollet followed by Peter Hrovatin then Jeff Martin. Game on. Then game off again in 13:50 Jonathan Blais makes it 6-4 then Maxim Masse add an empty net goal.

Game 2 - New York Rangers 2 Anchorage Huskies 1 Overtime
Mews still out, Mendl playing but not 100%, now Lucas Karmiris is playing injured too. No affects early though and Lucas Karmiris (who has signed an extension and will be back next year) puts Anchorage 1-0 up in the first. NY Rangers level in the second period, Reese Hamilton after 6:38 and that's the end of the scoring for regulation time and we go to overtime. Connor Bewick (it seems like in the future all US/Canadian players are called Connor or Dylan. Or Tyler.) scores for the Rags and they're 2-1 up in the series. A good day for the goaltenders, NY Rangers Wilhelm Eriksson saves 33 of 34 shots, Evan Maillet 38 of 40. Goaltender is one place Anchorage should have an advantage, Eriksson isnt very good and their other choice is an Anchorage reject, Ryan Grout. Grout was their main starter in the regular season but no starts in the playoff for the former Juneau Grolar.

Game 3 - Anchorage Huskies 1 New York Rangers 7
From now on we'll just assume Mews is out til he comes back, probably next season. This one goes badly quickly, NY Rangers score twice in the first period, a power play goal to get them underway. Kaden Pitre brings Anchorage back into it briefly in the second period but we're 4-1 down by the end of the second. More injuries to the defense, Weston Knox has a serious knee injury and NY Rangers score three more in the third and they're one game away from a sweep.

Game 4 - Anchorage Huskies 2 New York Rangers 1
Weston Knox's injury will take a couple of months to recover from, he's got strained knee ligaments, but we get the option to pump him full of pain killers, strap up his knee and shove him on ice anyway so he plays. He's a UFA after this series so the risk of him worsening his injury is a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I do drop him to third pairing to minimize his time on ice though, his regular partner is Mews so he's not playing with his regular partner anyway, no chemistry to lose by shaking things up. We're going to take it one game at a time, the lads will give 110% effort and see how it goes. First Period is tense and scoreless although Anchorage outshoot them 12-6. 8:20 into the second period Justin Solovey makes it 1-0 to New York, but 16:39 Jeff Martin ties it up with an unassisted goal. Into the third period and NY Rangers are pushing to wrap up the series, they get a chance with a 5 minute boarding major. Anchorage's Nicholas Mouldenhauer takes the penalty, he'll probably be getting a suspension for it too, but Anchorage kill the five minutes shorthanded and we're still tied at 1-1. Anchorage now have a couple of power plays, but still no scoring. Anchorage finally take the lead with 2 minutes remaining, Jiri Mendl with the goal, and we're heading back to Anchorage still kind of alive. Although Knox made it through the game ok, he's not very good. Apparently knees are important for skating, who knew.

Game 5 - New York Rangers 0 Anchorage Huskies 6
As predicted Nicholas Mouldenhauer gets a suspension for his boarding major in the last game, he'll miss two games so he'll be ok for game seven, if it happens. In more happy Anchorage news, Henry Mews is back. He's a bit banged up but he's ready to play. Mews is back in, but we decide to sit Weston Knox, he's too injured to risk so Matthew Paranych is in to replace him. He's another UFA when this series finishes. There's quite a lot of them in the Anchorage line up. Kaden Pitre start the scoring for Anchorage at 10:46, then Henry Mews shows what we've been missing with two goals in a minute, 18:43 and 19:30. We're 3-0 up after the first period. Urho Matilla scores then Henry Mews finishes off his hattrick on his return make it 5-0 at the end of the second, David Prudek adds another in the third and we're back in the series, 3-2 down and heading to New York. My claim that NY Rangers have weak goaltending finally comes true, Wilhelm Eriksson concedes six goals on 25 shots.

Game 6 - Anchorage Huskies 2 New York Rangers 4
And the comeback is over. Anchorage fly into the game, outshoot New York 15-3 in the first but the previously disparaged NY goaltender Eriksson stops all 15 and New York score on one of their three shots, their super star pairing of Chase Harrington and Tyler Van Caeyzeele teaming up, Harrington with the goal, Van Caeyzeele with the assist. Things swing back to Anchorage in the second, Jiri Mendl makes it 1-1 then Jordan Gavin puts Anchorage ahead at 7:34. It only lasts a minute until Van Caeyzeele and Harrington pair up again, this time it's Van Caeyzeele with the goal. Aging captain Adam Fox gets a secondary assist on this one. It's 2-2 going into the third, but New York's second line strikes, Zach Benson puts them 3-2 up at 9:00. Gavin Brindley scores an empty net goal as time expires and it's 4-2 to the Rangers, the Stanley Cup is heading to New York. The fans cheerfully stream out into the streets to destroy things, as is the tradition.

So the comeback was not to be, back-to-back Stanley Cup finals isnt too bad though even if we lost one.

Anchorage head into the offseason with a rebuild to come. Urho Matilla wont negotiate so he's gone, Weston Knox wants 7mil so he's gone, Paul Mayer wants 9mil so he's gone, Evan Maillet wants 6 mil so he's gone, Matthew Paranych wants 3.5mil so he's gone, Rick Claybomb wants 4mil so he's gone. It's a veritable clear out. A bit of success and everybody wants to be paid like they're a superstar.

At least Jordan Gavin, Kaden Pitre and Lucas Karmiris all re-sign, once I'd got that three their new contracts there wasnt much salary space for the rest. They're the heart of the team, along with Mews and Hemming, we'll be churning them out every year til they crumble.