"Big guns disappeared": Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette weigh in on NY Rangers' playoff elimination

By Anjum Rajonno

Modified Jun 02, 2024 04:01 GMT

Panthers right wing Vladimir Tarasenko seemingly sealed the deal for Florida with his beautiful wrist shot nine minutes into the third period of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Reacting to Tarasenko's goal, former NHL player and popular hockey analyst Paul Bissonnette took to his X account and tweeted:

"Goodnight Rangers. That’s all she wrote."

Paul Bissonnette also reposted NHL analyst Ryan Whitney’s tweet where he expressed his disappointment in the Rangers' performance. He wrote:

“There it is. Team of destiny for the New York Rangers absolutely not. Big guns disappeared. Panarin turnover at the offensive blue line led to that one. If it makes Rangers fans feel better you would have got stomped in the finals. I believed they were gonna do it this year. Nope”

Whitney pointed out that Artemi Panarin's costly turnover at the offensive blue line eventually led to a Panthers' second goal. He remarked that even if the Rangers had advanced, they would have been heavily defeated in the finals.

With the Panthers heading into Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead, Rangers could not afford any more slipups. Sam Bennett gave the home team a first period lead and Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal seemed very much like the last nail in the coffin for NY. Even Artemi Panarin’s last ditch effort with less than two minutes remaining in regulation couldn’t upset the Panthers’ lead, and the game ended 2-1 for Florida.

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Fans react to Paul Bissonnette’s sarcastic post after Rangers get eliminated in Game 6

After the game, Paul Bissonnette shared a photo of himself on X wearing a Rangers jersey. The caption read:

“The greatest day of the year. Not Fugazi’s, but definitely not Stanley Cup Champions. #nyr”

He sarcastically called it the ‘greatest day’ of the year and mentioned that while the Rangers are not entirely ‘Fugazi’, they are far from being championship contenders.

Fans were quick to react to the post on the internet. Following are some of the fan reactions from X/Twitter:

“Happy Rangers Elimination Day Biz!” commented one user.

“Always love the banter biz 🫡 until next year,” wrote one fan.

Some fans wanted Biz to support the Oilers for the next games. They thought Biz brought bad luck to whichever team he supported.

“Now, just wear an Edmonton jersey for the SCF,” quipped one user.

“Dude jinxed yet another team,” wrote another fan.

“I blame you biz,” commented another fan.

The Florida Panthers will play the Stanley Cup Finals against whichever team wins the Western Conference Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars.