The Rangers, the N.H.L.’s best team in the regular season, enter Friday’s Game 5 of their second-round series against the Washington Capitals trailing by three games to one. But the Rangers have been in this position many times in the past three seasons and have excelled when on the brink.
They are 11-3 when facing elimination since the 2011-12 season, reaching the Eastern Conference finals once and the Stanley Cup finals once. They have not lost a home game when facing elimination since 2007.
“The core has past experience in dealing with this situation,” Coach Alain Vigneault said Thursday.