In the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it appeared the New York Rangers' championship aspirations were lost. They were down in the series 3-1 to the Metro division leaders, the Pittsburgh Penguins, after losing three straight games, including two at Madison Square Garden. The team was mired in a 0-for-36 power play drought, and had scored just two goals in the combined three games. The Rangers have since won five games in a row and hold a 2-0 series lead on the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals.
According to TiqIQ, Rangers tickets on the primary market are at Stanley Cup Finals type prices for their home games in the Eastern Conference Finals. After a 29.26 percent jump in price since game two Rangers tickets are now the most expensive Conference Finals tickets TiqIQ has ever tracked.
The average price for Game 3 Thursday night is over $1,100. Tickets for the Rangers should only increase from this point. Game 4 at MSG currently has an average price of $977 on the secondary market, but will likely eclipse the $1,000 mark before game time Sunday. These are numbers you might expect in the Stanley Cup Finals, not the Conference Finals. In these two games, the Rangers have already eclipsed the average the New Jersey Devils had in the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2012. That year Devils tickets averaged only $826.99.
In these conference finals, the Canadiens are the next most expensive ticket with an average price of $661.83, almost 40 percent cheaper than Rangers tickets. In the West, the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings haven't even topped the $600 mark.
Prices are only going to go up if the Rangers win two of the next four games and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since winning the Cup in 1994. Some Stanley Cup Finals tickets have made their way to the secondary market and the New York Rangers are on pace to have the most expensive prices since TiqIQ has kept track of data.
The average price for home Stanley Cup Finals games at Madison Square Garden have an average price of $2,176. In 2011, the Vancouver Canucks had a series average of $2,055.84 and are the only team to have an average above $2,000. As the Rangers get closer to clinching a spot in the Finals, prices will continue to go up on the secondary market. There's still a lot of hockey to be played before the Conference Finals are decided, but Rangers fans are already paying Stanley Cup Finals prices on the secondary market it see it.
For more on Stanley Cup playoff ticket prices, check out the TiqIQ blog.