Capitals-Rangers Playoff Preview

In 2009, these two sides met in the first round of the playoffs, and it appeared the Rangers would pull off the upset over Ovechkin and the Capitals. Jumping to a 3-1 series lead, excitement was buzzing in NY as the Rangers were destined to make a playoff run. However, the series would go 7 games and see the Rangers choke big time under the pressure.

This time, there is no pressure on the Rangers and all the pressure in the world on the Capitals. The Rangers, who sneaked into the playoffs on the last day, are simply just happy to make the playoffs. Washington, coming off a stunning defeat in the first round of the playoffs in 2010 to Montreal, desperately needs to escape the first round this year. Another first round exit would likely see the dismissal of Coach Boudreau and possibly the dismantling of the team they have built around star Alex Ovechkin.

Despite being the 8 seed, the Rangers do have one glaring advantage: goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist is a playoff proven All-Star goalie who has the ability to carry the team on his back. In goal for Washington, rookie goaltender Michael Neuvirth will get his first playoff action, but will certainly be on a short leash, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Semyon Varlamov finish the series in goal.

The Capitals do have an advantage in star power/scoring. Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin all have the same or more points than the Rangers' leading point scorer, Brandon Dubinsky. Injuries to Ryan Callahan will greatly hurt the Rangers' scoring, and they must instead rely on the veteran support of Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik to carry the weight.

In the end though, can anyone see the Capitals losing to the 8-seed two years in a row? The Rangers will battle, and play them hard, but in the end, even this Rangers fan can't see the Capitals losing. Im taking the Capitals in 7, but who knows, maybe the Rangers will pull the upset. NHL playoff time!

Rangers Fans Become Lightning Fans

After an impressive 5-2 victory of the Devils, the Rangers dodged the first of two bullets. Now the Rangers and their fans would have to calmly wait and listen for the results of the Lightning-Hurricanes game, as it wasn’t even shown locally on TV.

Rangers fans would be pleased to hear the news.

After the first period, the score was 3-0 to the visiting Lightning, a team who was only playing for playoff seeding, and had already clinched at worst a 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Rangers fans couldn’t believe their good fortune, but also could definitely share some sympathy with the Canes, having seen the Rangers perform poorly in key situations throughout the years.

The Lightning would jump out to a 4-0 lead, but Carolina would battle back to make it 4-2. Suddenly there was a sense of panic for the Rangers. The Hurricanes would get a Powerplay with under 4 minutes to play, pulling their goalie as well, resulting on a 6 v. 4. The Hurricanes had numerous chances, including hitting the post, but eventually the puck would be cleared, and Simon Gagne would add an empty netter to secure the game for the Lightning, who would go on to win 6-2.

The Rangers return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009, and are set to face the team that defeated them then, the Washington Capitals.

Rangers Blow Control of Their Own Destiny; Hurricanes Stay Red Hot

A home game to Atlanta with huge playoff implications resting on the result; It seemed like a win would certainly occur for the Rangers. But that would be too easy for Rangers fans, right?

The Rangers would fail to score throughout the game, and would lose 3-0 to a Thrashers team already eliminated from possible postseason considerations. This would leave the Rangers still two points ahead of the Hurricanes, but Carolina still had a game in hand, against Atlanta, the next night.

Atlanta would travel home to play the Hurricanes Friday, and once again Atlanta would do the Rangers no favors, as Carolina defeated the Thrashers 6-1.

Heading into the final day of the season, the Hurricanes now control their own destiny, needing a win against the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning to guarantee a playoff berth. The Canes can also clinch a berth with a Rangers loss against their rivals, the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers will play at 12:30, and with a win will have to wait it out at 7pm for the Canes and Lightning to drop the puck.

Going against the Rangers is the hot streak of Carolina.The Canes have gone 5-0-1 in the past six games, and will host Tampa. Rangers fans are not feeling very confident about this. Will it be another late season heartbreak for the Rangers?

Gotta love the NHL, always comes down to the last day of the season.

Rangers Defeat the Bruins, but not Without a Huge Loss

Hours after an inspired comeback victory over the Boston Bruins, the Rangers received devastating news as forward Ryan Callahan was out for the season with a broken leg. Callahan suffered the injury attempting to block the shot of Zdeno Chara. If you havent seen Chara’s shot,
Callahan, an Assistant Captain, will be missed dearly by the Rangers. Despite missing 19 games, Callahan still is second on the team in goals and points. He is also known for his feisty play, and is 12th in the league in hits, despite his small size at 5 foot 10 and 190 pounds.

With two games to go, the Rangers remain 2 points ahead of Carolina, but cannot afford to lose, as Carolina holds the tiebreaker with the Rangers due to more regulation wins.

Eerie Similarity to Shootout Last Year; This Time Different Result

Last season, the Rangers entered the final game of the regular season against the Philadelphia Flyers in a winner-take-all situation. The winner would make the playoffs, the loser would miss the postseason. The game came down to a shootout, and in the end, Claude Giroux would score the lone goal for the Flyers, and send the Philly to the playoffs.

Rangers fans would be made sick as they saw the Flyers complete 3 upsets, making it all the way to the finals, in the playoff spot New York could’ve had with that shootout win.

1 year later, the stakes were slightly different, with 3 games still to play and Philadelphia already locked into the playoffs, but the intensity was still there. “Oh yeah, it did enter my mind, and I had a little flashback there waiting for the shootout” said Lundqvist.
This shootout would be a completely different story.

Lundqvist would stop the first two Philadelphia shooters, including Giroux, his nemesis from the previous season. The drama was ended quickly as both Eric Christensen and Wojtek Wolski would both score for NY, giving the Rangers the much needed two points.

Come From Behind Win Against Flyers Could Be the Boost the Rangers Needed

How would the Rangers respond to an embarassing loss to lowly Islanders? It wouldn’t come easy, but the Rangers would go on to defeat the Flyers 3-2 in a shootout.

The Rangers appeared to be heading into the 2nd period down 1-0, but Ranger defenseman Bryan McCabe would fire one from the point, crossing the goal line with .7 seconds to go in the period. The Rangers would take the lead on a Ruslan Fedotenko goal, and would later give up the lead when former Ranger Nikolai Zherdev beat Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game at two. The game would remain tied through OT and would head to a shootout.

The victory from the Rangers leaves them in control of their own destiny, meaning if they win out against Boston, Atlanta, and New Jersey, the Rangers will return to the postseason. It is imperative to win out, because Carolina and Buffalo, fighting for the last remaining playoff spots, are on fire of late, and appear to be waiting for the Rangers to slip up some more.

Must-Win Against Rival Islanders Falls Well Short

There is always a danger to playing teams who have nothing to play for. The New York Islanders came into the game on March 31 against the Rangers already having been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. However, it was the Rangers who came out looking like they could care less about the game.

Rangers' coach John Tortorella warned his team that the rival Islanders would be playing loose and would look to spoil the Rangers playoffs hopes. He was certainly correct.

The first period ended at 0-0, and the scoring was broke when Rangers forward Vinny Prospal, who missed much of the season due to injury, was able to beat goalie Al Montoya for a goal.

And then the sky fell.

The Islanders would please the home-town fans, scoring 6 unanswered to leave the Rangers scratching their heads and with a defeat. Losing is tough, but especially to a rival that is not playoff caliber.

The Rangers have lost two in a row, losing to the Sabres 1-0 in the previous game. The Rangers have now scored 5 goals in 5 games, and are clearly in need of some offense.

Playoff hopes have become a little more bleak for the Blueshirts, as they are now tied for 7th with the Sabres, and are 3 points ahead of the Hurricanes. However, both of those teams have played one less game. Unfortunately for the Rangers, with 4 games to play, their next two games are against Eastern Conference giants, the Flyers and Bruins. The road ahead will be tough