OTTAWA — It’s funny how when a team is an underdog, the players and coaches never hesitate to bring it up, and when a team is a favorite, they brush it off as if it means nothing.
At least, that’s the way the Rangers are approaching this flip-of-the-script, going from slight underdogs in their first-round series with the Canadiens, which they won in six games, to a relatively heavy favorite against the Senators in the second round, which starts with Game 1 on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Reminded how often he said the Canadiens were “highly favored,” coach Alain Vigneault balked after Tuesday’s practice in Westchester, the final tune-up before the Rangers left for Canada’s capital.