Are the Rangers the next New York team to make a title run?
The New York Rangers are in first place in the Eastern Conference. They have had a great season so far but they have to finish. The problem in the NHL is even a top seed can get upset quickly. I believe more then any other sport you can see the lower seeds doing well. In the NHL if your goalie is good and gets hot at the right time you can make a postseason run. In football you get upsets because it is one game. I think in other sports the better team usually can win in a best of five or best of seven series. Do the Rangers have what it takes to be the next champion in New York? It has been a fun season so far and now with football being over I think they will start to get a lot more attention. The people in New York will wonder if they can be the second team in New York to win a title in the same season.
The one good thing that the Rangers do have is a blue collar workman like team. They sacrifice for one another and have a black and blue-shirt identity. They do whatever they have to do to win the game. They sacrifice their bodies and pull for one another. There is no one that worries about individual glory. They are a defensive team that has a great goaltender, they have some guys that can score but they think about playing defense first and blocking shots. They are a fun team to watch and they will outwork just about any team.
I think the Rangers can enjoy a deep run in the postseason but there is a long way to go still. The Rangers have to get through the regular season first. If they are healthy and playing well I would expect a deep run to happen. They have Henrik Lundvist who is one of the top goalies. They have a good defense which is getting better with their starters getting healthy. I think they will start to score more also with the talent they do have on the team. They also have the right attitude which is a credit to the coaching staff.
The game they played tonight is the perfect example of what kind of team they are. They defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime. The game winning goal was scored by Brad Richards who dove and shot the puck in the net. The Rangers played a tough game where the other team was held to only 17 shots on goal but they were able to score three times on Marty Biron who is the backup goalie. The Rangers scored their first power play goal in a long time. They also were down 3-2 at the end of two periods and they fought back to tie the game and eventually win it. Michael Del Zotto made a nice play along the boards while battling Martin St. Louis. He kept the puck alive and Artem Anisimov made a good pass that pulled the goalie out of position and Richards was able to score the game winning goal. They tied the game at three with 9:47 to play. The Rangers are 5-1-1 in their last seven games.
The Rangers are first in the Eastern Conference and one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for best in the NHL. They also have three games in hand over Detroit. The answer to the question of are the Rangers championship caliber?? To me it is yes they are, they have to keep battling and stay away from big injuries and they will be fine. I have no doubt that they will make a deep run, they are talented and they have a bunch of heart, they have gone through a lot this season and stuck together. I think they bonded through the start of the season starting in Europe and the Winter Classic with HBO following them around. We will find out in the next couple of months how good they really are and how good they can be.
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