Stan Fischler On Rangers Cup Chances It's called "The Unseen Hand." Plain and simple. It's all about crazy luck coming from -- well, The Maven doesn't exactly know where -- somewhere in the ether. But tonight, I DO know where. "The Unseen Hand" will be located somewhere in the 18,006 seats that fill The World's Most Famous Arena. The Garden's vocalists -- all 18,006 of them -- can win the Canes opener for their beloved Blueshirts. Fan Power rules on Seventh Avenue. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2MjE3OTczMjE4NjgxOTU1/usatsi_23082685.jpg] Make that Fan Power, as well as another version of "The Unseen Hand," only this one comes directly from the National Hockey League. When some puck sage of long, long ago -- not me, folks -- coined the term "Home Ice Advantage," he wasn't talking about a gin-and-tonic. "Home Ice Advantage" is the prize you get from Gary Bettman for winning The Presidents' Trophy, and believe me, it is meaningful. It was evident last night during the Leafs-Bruins seventh-game classic. "Home Ice Advantage" won that overtime game for Boston. Not to mention "The Unseen Hand" that enabled David Pastnak to magically receive the best board's-bounce in The Maven's playoff memory. There was absolutely no way anyone -- especially Hampus "Special Delivery" Lindholm -- could have created such an exquisitely perfect carom except, perhaps, on a blackboard. Had Hall of Fame coach Dick Irvin seen that unreal Bruins play, he would have said, "The 'Unseen Hand' made it possible." (Dick would know since he was the hockey guy who made up "The Unseen Hand" designation.) But for Sir Peter Laviolette's sextet, "The Unseen Hand" substitutes include having a Game Seven at home -- like the victorious Bruins -- AND the energetic "push" from the New York fans. Or, as my buddy Glenn "Chico" Resch told me, "The Garden fans can make the difference." Let's face it: all hockey fans are special in one way or another, but Rangers fans are extra special. Very. Actually, it took the late Devils' owner, Dr. John McMullen, to explain why. "When I bought the team and moved the Devils to East Rutherford, I expected all the Rangers fans who lived in New Jersey to switch and now root for the State's first major league team," Doc Mac explained. "But it didn't happen the way I thought. And then, I figured it out, it was all about the genes. It's in the blood. Rooting for the Rangers was passed on from one generation to another." The genes did it. Did it then and do it now. Or, to put it another way, the Blueshirts franchise dates back to1926. Imagine how many families have genetically passed on their passion from one generation to the next. Resch is right. Rangers fans may not be "The Unseen Hand," but collectively, they sure will be "The Heard Voice." TOP STORIES
