Just three weeks ago, Chris Kreider was suiting up for Boston College. Yet, Kreider, the Rangers’ first round pick, traded in his diploma for a hockey stick and scored the decisive goal to propel the Rangers to a 3-2 win in Game 6. Brad Richards and Derek Stepan also netted huge goals for the Rangers as they overcame an early 1-0 deficit. The officiating was pretty bad and the Senators had a little luck on their side with their second goal, but none of that matters now.

This series will come down to Game 7 and Game 7 alone. Luckily for the Rangers, the game will be played in the World’s Most Famous Arena. Forget about the Senators winning two of three in NYC. This is Game 7 and all bets are off. The Rangers success starts and ends with the play of Henrik Lundqvist. Outside of Game 4, Lundqvist has been brilliant between the pipes and he’ll need to bring his A-Game again in Game 7. If the Rangers play with intensity and passion like they did in Game 6, Game 7 will be an easy win. 

Expect the fans to blow the roof off of MSG and for the Rangers to play off of their emotion. It’s clear that one Ranger in particular, Mr. Carl Hagelin, played with emotion and determination tonight. Hagelin was the fastest man on the ice and the Rangers are a completely different team with him out there. The Rangers need him to take his intensity to the next level as they look to advance to Round 2. 

Ranger Fans: Enjoy this one tonight, but it’s clearly back to business on Thursday. 

History favors teams that have taken 3-2 series leads. And history hasn’t been kind to the Rangers. Since 1994, teams trailing three games to two have rallied to win their series less than 20 percent of the time. In addition, the Rangers have only overcome 3-2 series odds just once in seventeen (!!) tries. However, hockey fans saw first hand that the Boston Bruins (who were down 3-2 in their series), rallied for a huge road playoff win to force a Game 7 back in Boston. The Rangers will try to unlock their inner Bear and force this thing back to MSG.

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The Ottawa Senators have yet to obtain a lead during regulation. Yet, with the series tied at 2-2, a lead in the third period may prove to be the decisive blow that swings this series in their favor.

While the Rangers have lost their last seven overtime playoff games, this team plays extremely well at Madison Square Graden. The Rangers were 27-12-2 at MSG during the regular season, second best in the East. The Rangers have scored only nine goals in the first four games, so more offense will be needed in Game 5. Coach Tortorella has altered the first two lines, having Marian Gaborik skate with Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov while having Brad Richards skate with Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. The trio of Richards-Callahan-Dubinsky, who scored 71 goals this season, could ignite the offensive output for the Rangers.

Luckily for the Rangers, Daniel Alfredsson will not travel to New York for Game 5. Alfredsson missed Games 3 and 4 after suffering an injury a devastating blow from Carl Hagelin in Game 2.  

For the Rangers, success starts and ends with goalie, Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist must deliver a huge performance to keep his team in the game. Lundqvist gave up the decisive overtime goal in Game 4, a shot that many believe he should have stopped.

With the series knotted at two, there’s no doubt that the Garden will rocking tonight. The Rangers must play off the crowd and an early lead could be huge to allievate any concerns from Game 4. Game 4 was a bad loss for the Rangers and the loss effectively killed their momentum. A win tonight will put them firmly back into the driver’s seat.

Prediction: Rangers win, 2-0

In pivotal playoff games, teams look for their super starts to step up and answer the call. Luckily for the Rangers, their best player was on top of his game in Game 3. Henrik Lundqvist led the Ranger defensive effort as they shut out the Senators, 1-0. Brian Boyle scored the decisive goal in the third period, but Lundqvist’s spirited play was the difference. His 39 saves were his most this post-season. 

After the NHL unfairly suspended Carl Hagelin for the three games, his Ranger team mates responded with emotional, captivating play. The Rangers will have the opportunity to give themselves a commanding 3-1 series lead on Wednesday night. Same teams, same place. 

Around 2:30pm yesterday afternoon I was offered a ticket to last night’s Rangers game. It took me about half a second to accept the invitation and forget about any other plans I had for the evening. Here’s some advice, if you have the chance to attend a  playoff hockey game (any playoff hockey game), I suggest you go. Especially if that game is at Madison Square Garden.

The building was electric last night. You would expect any home crowd to be raucous during the playoffs, especially in a Game One scenario, but this felt a bit different. There is the underlying belief amongst the Blueshirt faithful that we are about to witness something special, something we haven’t seen for 18 years.

The fans are excited to see how far this team can go. The atmosphere at the Garden last night reflected that. The fans are going to do their part to ensure the home-ice advantage. And if the Rangers continue to play at a high level, they will be hard to beat.

The Rangers are a dominant team in this league. I’ve talked about it all season, but now, its the playoffs. The regular season is irrelevant. All that matters is what happens during the next 10 weeks.

Can the Rangers make their Stanley Cup dreams come true? 15 more wins to go.

I’ll be brutally honest–I don’t know anything about hockey. I don’t pretend to know anything, either. Plus, I often defer to Mike, Joe, and the guest writers for the site’s hockey info. But when Mike Francesa is talking hockey and flirts with has Henrik Lundqvist on Mike’s On, I have to get up to speed. 

Ranger-Themed Subway in NYC

Going into this post-season, I couldn’t name more than four current players. (Apparently, Eric Lindros hasn’t been in the league for a few years.)

Anyway, after doing some research and subsequently deciding to play in a playoff pool, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have officially grabbed my attention. Sure, you can say that the Yankees had an off-night and I didn’t have much to watch, but I learned that playoff hockey is pretty sweet. Aside from the Ranger blowout (I’ll get to it), the other two games I watched went into sudden death overtime. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat, watching the Blues and Sharks battle it out and seeing the Bruins make quick work of the hapless, overrated Capitals. What would make this post-season even better is seeing another New York team bring home a championship. The Rangers took that first step tonight.

I don’t have to write much of a back story about the Rangers. You can read that stuff here and here, but the Rangers are clearly the toast of the town right now. Expectations are huge for this team after finishing first in the Eastern Conference. Lundqvist took the first step in shedding his playoff demons by saving 30 of 32 shots. The Rangers moved the puck pretty well for 2.5 periods before getting a little sloppy at the end, but a 4-2 win is a 4-2 win. Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, and Brad Richards all found the back of the net, so any and all playoff jitters should be gone. 

On the surface, momentum in hockey seems to be predicated by emotion and strong goalie play. The Rangers were successful in both aspects and will look to build on that in Game 2.

P.S. Big ups to the Garden crowd tonight. Place was BUMPIN’.

Tomorrow night, the puck will drop at 7:oo PM to kick off the opening game of Senators-Rangers.  It’s Game 1, at Madison Square Garden.  When was the last time someone was able to say that previous sentence?  You’d have to go 11 years back to 2001, when EITHER the Knicks or Rangers finished the season as a top-half seed, and hosted a Game 1 (sorry, the Liberty don’t count).

Obviously, the first thought that jumps out when seeing that stat is, “Wow, this building hasn’t seen many good teams recently.”  And it’s true.  Since 2001, the Knicks have made the playoffs only twice (as a 6th seed and 7th seed) and were swept both times.  The Rangers have been a little better, making the playoffs 5 times in that span.  But they’ve only escaped the first round twice, and both times were ousted in the subsequent round.  So to recap, 19 combined seasons, 7 total playoff appearances…2 playoff series wins.

Which brings us to this year’s Rangers.  51 wins, 24 losses, 7 overtime losses — good for the #1 seed in the East, and second best in the entire league.  It’s the first time they’ve finished first in the East since they won it all in ’94.  They’re not your typical #1 seed, though — they finished with a +39 goal differential for the season, which was good for only 6th in the league.  They don’t regularly blow teams out, and they can’t win by coasting on talent alone.  Rather, they’re a well coached unit that has to go all out every shift, and then rely on arguably the league’s best goalie to cover up their flaws (most namely, lack of team speed and a weak power play).

Of course, with a top finish in the East comes a new world of pressure.  Unlike previous years, a “good try” and early exit is not going to cut it.  We’ll soon find out if this year’s memorable regular season will translate into playoff euphoria or disappointment.  The real season starts tomorrow, at the Garden.

Another great guest posting from Dave Thomas. Enjoy.

Will the Rangers Choke or Send the Sens Packing?

While the New York Rangers were not able to secure the President’s Trophy and the overall top seed in this year’s NHL playoffs (Vancouver), they are the frontrunners in the Eastern Conference.

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On his 27th birthday, captain Ryan Callahan scored the OT winner to lift the Rangers over the Detroit Red Wings. The goal was his 27th of the season and a very important one for the Rangers as they jockey for playoff position with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A few weeks ago it seemed a forgone conclusion that the Rangers would win the Atlantic Division and own the Eastern Conference’s top seed come playoff time. However, the Penguins are surging (12-0-1 in last 13 games) and have tightened both races.

The Rangers became complacent in late February and early March, going 4-4-2 during a stretch that included a 3-game losing streak. Now, with the Penguins creeping up behind them,  the Rangers have stepped up their game and are playing better hockey, winning four of their last six.

The Rangers last two victories were big ones. Defeating the Devils and the Red Wings are a sign that the Rangers are back on track. With only nine games left, they need to stay poised in order to maintain first place and carry momentum in the playoffs.

The NHL trade deadline came and went without a big splash from the Rangers. Rick Nash remains in Columbus and the Rangers’ roster remains intact. This is good news for the Rangers.  They keep their current chemistry and hopefully stay on their current roll.

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