Williams: Booing Bettman a tradition like no other

Ever since Adam Graves slashed Mario Lemieux and broke a bone in his hand during the 1992 Stanley Cup Playoffs, cheering against the New York Rangers has never been difficult.

That’s one reason why I was hoping the Los Angeles Kings would have swept the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final. But thanks to a monster performance by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and the defensemen in front of him, the Rangers staved off elimination with a 2-1 win in Game 4 on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

Tonight, the Kings, who hold a 3-1 series lead, have a great shot at ending the hockey season at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The atmosphere won’t be the same.

Imagine if the Kings had pulled off the sweep and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had to present the Cup to Dustin Brown before a hostile New York crowd. It would not have been pretty.

Booing Bettman has become a Stanley Cup tradition. The only real exception came two years ago when the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils for their first Stanley Cup. LA fans were so giddy about snapping their 0-for-43 skid that they didn’t care about booing.

Bettman isn’t supposed to root for anyone, but deep down I’m sure he feels that if the Kings are going to win the Cup, it might as well be in front of their hometown fans.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Penguins fans watch in disbelief. Last month, the Pens had the Rangers down 3-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, then lost three straight games. It was the fifth straight season that the Pens were ousted from the playoffs by a lower seed since they won the Cup in 2009.

Lundqvist deserves the bulk of the credit — he found a way to shut down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin when it counted the most.

The Penguins’ flop — which has become a postseason tradition for a team that has high expectations — cost general manager Ray Shero and eventually head coach Dan Bylsma their jobs.

Shero had been on thin ice since he traded for Jarome Iginla (then Calgary Flames captain), Brenden Morrow (then Dallas Stars captain), Douglas Murray (San Jose Sharks) and Jussi Jokinen (Florida Panthers) at the 2013 trade deadline.

Shero gambled that by adding such veteran talent to the NHL’s then-best team that the Pens would roll to another championship. The plan failed. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pens were swept by the Bruins who shut down Crosby and Malkin.

What have we learned? Crosby and Malkin are as talented as any NHL scorers in regular season. But when the heat is turned up during best-of-seven playoff series, Crosby and Malkin more often than not disappoint. Look how well the unheralded Columbus Blue Jackets did in scaring the Pens during their first-round series.

Jim Rutherford, once a Penguins goalie and now Shero’s replacement, has a tough road ahead, starting with naming Bylsma’s replacement.

Because the Pens have committed so much in long-term contracts to Crosby, Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang, salary cap dollars are very tight. Defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen are unrestricted free agents and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has one season remaining on his contract.

It’s hard to imagine that Pens fans will get the chance any time soon of booing Bettman on ice.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on twitter at @Williams_Vindy.