Rangers confronting this grim reality for first time in 14 seasons

WASHINGTON — This was 20 years ago. The Rangers, one point short of being eliminated from playoff contention one year after having gone to the conference finals and four years after having won the Stanley Cup, had dragged an 0-7-1 winless streak into Chicago on April 5, 1998.

The Blueshirts won that day, 2-1 in overtime on a goal from Daniel Goneau. But the club nevertheless was eliminated by virtue of the Senators’ 1-0 victory over the Sabres. But Mike Richter, perhaps consumed by the match or simply in a state of denial, did not realize that the end had come.

“Slim hope is better than no hope,” the goaltender said when asked for his reaction to the elimination in the season after the Rangers ushered free agent Mark Messier out the door.

Richter was interrupted and gently informed that the last bit of hope had, in fact, been extinguished.

“Oh,” he said, now deflated. “It’s a shame no matter what.”

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There was no such unawareness of the Rangers’ plight Wednesday, the day after they officially were eliminated from the chase by virtue of the Devils’ victory on Tuesday night. It not only knocked the Rangers out, it meant Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals was the team’s first game as a non-playoff participant since the final match of the 2003-04 season, also at Washington.

And it meant Henrik Lundqvist played for the first time in his 17-year pro career, including four years in Sweden, with his team having been eliminated. The only other playoff miss of his career came in 2009-10, when the Rangers were eliminated with a Game 82 shootout defeat in Philadelphia that ended with Brian Boucher stopping Olli Jokinen.

“As much as you want to believe, you have to be realistic too,” said Lundqvist, who made 30 saves against the Caps, but gave up goals on two of the last three shots he faced. “The last two weeks have been tough. But the big challenge was when we made the decision to make changes.

“That was a new experience for me. I’ve always been used to us going for it and trying to win. So that was an inner conflict I had to deal with.”

The Rangers were projected as a bubble team entering the season and that’s what they were entering the All-Star break, when the decision was reached at the organization’s highest levels to pull back, tear down the structure around Lundqvist, and rebuild.

The Rangers fell out of a playoff spot with a Jan. 23 defeat at Anaheim and never clawed their way back into the mix, not even for a day. The Post reported the organizational decision on Jan. 26. When the club then went into a fetal position and lost its first four games after the break to fall to 4-11 following the Winter Classic, management made its decision public on Feb. 9 through a press conference and a letter to season-ticket holders.

Hence, the trades of impending free agents Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and Nick Holden. Thus the trade of Ryan McDonagh (with J.T. Miller). All gone and all for prospects, young NHLers and draft picks. The Rangers did win three straight on their Western Canadian swing immediately after the purge — with Lundqvist making 50 saves apiece in the first two games — but could not sustain what would have been an improbable charge.

“Everyone in the organization wants to win,” Alain Vigneault, whose job behind the bench is in jeopardy after his first playoff miss since 2007 with the Canucks, said prior to the match. “But a tough decision was made and you have to respect it.
“Even though people said we were in a bubble team going in, I don’t believe that. I believe [if not for the decision to rebuild] we would have made it.”

Lundqvist pointed to the midseason injuries suffered by Chris Kreider, Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal, Pavel Buchnevich and McDonagh as determinative in the club’s plight. The fact is, however, the Rangers had been a house of cards all season, saved from collapse only by the King’s extraordinary, Hart-like 10 week-run from November into mid-January.

The Rangers might have hung around the periphery of the chase without a reconstruction, but they never inspired confidence they could be a serious Cup challenger. Thus, the decision to start again. Hence, the end of the commendable and entertaining run that began with Lundqvist and Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06 and officially came to an end with six games remaining in 2017-18.

“There will be time to reflect on the plan and what’s ahead, but we’re all on board with this,” said Lundqvist, who first told The Post on Feb. 2 he would be in for the rebuilding. “This is not the time. Now, it’s time to play. That’s my job.”