Tough odds
Rangers coach says ‘anything is possible’ in series against London
KITCHENER — The odds aren’t good.
Only four teams in the history of the Ontario Hockey League have rallied to win a playoff series when trailing 3-0.
And that’s the challenge facing the Kitchener Rangers in their western conference quarter-final against the London Knights.
“Anything is possible,” said Rangers head coach Troy Smith. “You drop the puck and there are a million possibilities on the ice.” Smith has reason to believe. In 2010, he was an assistant coach with the Rangers when he watched the unthinkable happen right before his eyes.
The underdog Blueshirts had Windsor on the ropes in the west final when the Spits strung together four wins to take the series in Game 7 on home ice.
“When I think back to their approach, you could tell that they were just worried about the task at hand,” said Smith. “That’s the way we have to approach this. We just have to worry about the next shift and play hard.” Inspiration is out there. The Rangers need only look to last year’s Peterborough Petes, a team that also trailed 3-0 but came back to beat Kingston in seven games.
Ottawa did it too, winning four straight to take out Oshawa in 1988.
And Windsor is a member of the two-time club with miraculous comebacks over the Soo in 2005 and that fateful year against the Rangers.
Looking back, Smith recalls how the Spits never gave up.
“You could just tell that they stuck together,” he said. “That’s the most important thing right now — that we stick together.
“I think our guys are a very tight group. They want to do well for each other. My expectation is that they’re going to work hard for each other.”
For Kitchener, the comeback trail starts Thursday in Game 4 at the Aud.
They’ll need to make some adjustments to turn the series around.
Goalie Jake Paterson needs to rebound from his worst outing of the season, one that saw him allow nine goals in a 10-6 loss in Game 3.
The Rangers also have to limit Mitch Marner’s damage. The Knights centre has seven goals and five assists in three games and is a constant threat on the ice.
“We just have to shut that guy down,” said Kitchener forward David Miller.
Right now for the Rangers, it’s about having faith in the guy sitting next to you on the bench. It’s about keeping it simple. It’s about taking it one shift, pass and play at a time.
“It’s about believing in each other,” said Smith.
Do that, and seemingly impossible things can happen.
Smith has seen it before.