STANLEY CUP FINALS : Pressure Mounts on Collapsing Rangers

One look at the grim expression worn by New York Ranger Coach Mike Keenan and one look at the smiling face of his Vancouver counterpart, Pat Quinn, told the story.

The Rangers sense the Stanley Cup is slipping from their grasp, but they have been almost powerless to stop the Canucks.

Their once-commanding 3-1 series lead has been erased by two convincing Vancouver victories, forcing them into a decisive seventh game Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The Canucks, who won Games 1 and 5 in New York, appear to be cresting just as the Rangers are hitting bottom.

“We’ve become better as the series went on,” Quinn said. “Maybe it’s going to be oneof those games where you just lock horns.

“It’s going to be a game of will on Tuesday. (The series) has brought the maximum pleasure a fan could ever want to see in hockey. There’s been lots of offensive pressure, lots of good hits and two teams that have given really intense performances.”

Did he say intense or tense in referring to the Rangers?

They squandered a chance to end their 54-year Cup famine last Thursday at the Garden with a poor third period that gave the Canucks a breath of hope. They squandered a chance to win it on the road Saturday, when the Canucks outworked them. They’ve been outscored, 10-4, in the last two games, straying from the defense-first style that Keenan called their bread and butter.

“I definitely think they’re feeling the pressure,” Canuck captain Trevor Linden said.

Perhaps, but they say they’re not feeling distracted by speculation about Keenan’s departure. Although on Friday he denied having spoken to the Red Wings about becoming their coach or general manager, reports continue to circulate that he will abandon the last four years of his Ranger contract, perhaps as soon as after Tuesday’s game. Keenan won’t comment further, and his players have too many other things to worry about now.

“It hasn’t even been a topic in the dressing room,” defenseman Kevin Lowe said.

One worry is that the Canucks have spread out their scoring since their defensemen began joining the rush and since Quinn broke up the Greg Adams-Linden-Pavel Bure line. Nine different Canucks have at least one goal, while only seven Rangers have scored and a number are prominently missing from the scoring action.

Adam Graves, a 52-goal scorer during the season, has no goals in the finals; Sergei Nemchinov, Stephane Matteau, Brian Noonan, Esa Tikkanen and Craig MacTavish have also been silent. Mark Messier has only one goal. Brian Leetch, who had eight points in the first four games, has only one assist in the last two games and is minus-five defensively in those games.

“It’s paralysis by analysis,” MacTavish said Sunday in discussing the Rangers’ last two losses. “The funny thing is, everybody’s coming at it from a different angle--1940, the travel, we’re too old. They just can’t accept that we didn’t play good enough.”

Said Tikkanen: “They have a little momentum right now, but we’re looking forward to a new game. We have to forget what has happened in the past. Now, it is the best of one game.”

The Canucks feel they’ve become more organized defensively in the last two games, which has also resulted in better offensive chances.

“I think we’ve done a better job on Brian Leetch than on Mark Messier,” forward Murray Craven said. “Brian Leetch is the offensive catalyst for their teams. The first few games, he was basically free to roam. We weren’t hitting him or containing him.”

Containing their anticipation of Tuesday’s finale is their most difficult job now. “We feel we can go in there and win and spoil their parade and party,” defenseman Jeff Brown said. “We’re very confident and we’ve dealt with adversity well.”

The Rangers overcame adversity in their semifinal series against the Devils when Messier rallied them to a victory in Game 6 and Matteau scored the double-overtime game-winner in Game 7. “That (experience) helps a little bit, and we’re confident we can win this one,” Leetch said. “You have to stay positive. We certainly could be in worse situations.”

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The Canucks practiced Sunday at the Pacific Coliseum and were to leave for New York today.

The Rangers took an early flight to New York Sunday and didn’t skate.

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A Ranger victory would bring the first title to Madison Square Garden since the Knicks’ 1973 NBA championship. It might also be the first half of an historic double.

No city’s NBA and NHL teams have won titles in the same season, although Chicago came close in 1992.

The Bulls won the NBA title that year, but the Blackhawks lost the Stanley Cup finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 1980, the Philadelphia Flyers lost the Stanley Cup to the Islanders and the 76ers lost the NBA finals to the Lakers.