Boxes checked. First in the Metropolitan Division, check. First in the Eastern Conference, check. Presidents' Trophy, check. The Rangers capped the best regular season in their franchise’s history - at least record wise - with a convincing 4-0 win over the Senators on Monday. New York has no idea who they will play, at the eighth seed in the East has yet to be determined, but we do know that for as long as the Blueshirts are in the postseason, Games 1 and 2 and 6 and 7, if needed, will be at MSG.
A few thoughts:
1) Record - we can argue all we want if this team is the franchise’s best team, to me it isn’t, but the record belies that fact. The Rangers finished the regular season with team records for points (114) and wins (55). They won the Presidents' Trophy for the fourth time (1991-92, 1993-94 and 2014-15), joining the Detroit Red Wings (six) and Boston Bruins (four) as the only teams to win it at least four times. New York(55-23-4) won five of their last seven games and also went 26-7-1 in their last 34 games. The January swoon was put behind the team with a rousing close to the season.
They answered every challenge thrown their way. Even when they had their swoon, they found a way to pick up their play and maintain possession of first place in the division etc. A good portion of the credit goes to coach Peter Laviolette who set forward a path of effort and competitiveness that was required and has permeated the organization, locker room, practices and game action. He raised the bar with the team buying in 100%, showing a spirit vastly lacking under Gerard Gallant.
2) Lineup - the lineup we saw the last two games is the probably lineup we saw Game 1, which is projected to be Sunday at 3pm. Filip Chytil, who practiced the last few days, is a possibility, though I have a feeling we don’t see him to begin the round. I could be wrong and you can’t rely on using one part of the fourth line for just six minutes a game throughout the playoffs that said, I am glad Matt Rempe didn’t take any of the bait and just skated away when challenged at all last night. I wonder if Brennan Othmann gets a call up to be a Black Ace, just in case the need arises, joining Jonny Brodzinski.
The blue line has been better with K’Andre Miller skating with Braden Schneider and Jacob Trouba alongside Erik Gustafsson. The latter duo had an improved performance compared to how they looked Saturday and it’s a pairing that should remain as a unit so that Miller and Schneider play together. Zac Jones and Chad Ruhwedel are both probable to start the postseason as two of the Black Aces.
3) Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Jack Roslovic - that line has been an effective unit the last two games. The strong effort we saw Saturday was taken to another level yesterday. Their performance was the best we have seen trio, even going back to how they looked initially.
Roslovic gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 5:55 of the first period, scoring on a 2-on-1 with Kreider (39 goals and career-high 36 helpers) with the odd-man rush CK20 created by forcing the Senators into a turnover at the defensive blue line, aided by Zib initially.
As Vince Mercogliano noted, that line out-shot the Sens by a 7-4 margin and generated four high-danger scoring chances. If this unit can play effectively like this and use their speed and creatively, especially as seen by Kreider on this goal and Adam Fox’s short handed tally, his 17th of the season, the Rangers become even more dangerous to face in the playoffs.
4) Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere - what more can we say about Bread and also Larry. Panarin just missed hitting the 50-goal mark (wish I was wrong when I said the post he hit on the empty-net Sunday against Montreal cost him the mark). He scored #49 on a sweet deflection on the power play. Panarin sure put everything he had into hitting that mark, finishing the contest Monday with 18 shot attempts. He ended the regular season with a 13-game point streak (11 goals, 15 assists) to finish with 120 points, second most in franchise history behind Jaromir Jagr. Personally, if you look at what he meant to this team, he should be a Hart Trophy finalist, no question.
Remember when Lafrenière was a question coming into the season? Laf made the most of the chance given him by Laviolette and meshed beautifully with Panarin and Vincent Trocheck (career-high 77 points). He made it to 4-0 at 13:00 on a one-timer off the rush from the bottom of the right face-off circle. Panarin started the rush down the left side and fed Gustafsson in the middle, who found Lafreniere in the circle. Unselfish play by Bread and nice dish to Laf for the goal by Gus. Lafrenière ended the season with 28 goals and 29 assists, setting career-highs by far in each category.
5) Igor Shesterkin closed the regular season on high note. - The 28-year-old finished with a 36-17-2 record (the third straight season he posted at least 36 wins) and .913 save percentage. Igor’s save percentage doesn’t look that impressive until you look at see that he entered the all-star break with an uncharacteristic .899 SV%. Shesterkin playing at the top of his game, like he did starting in Game 6 in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, is the X factor for the Rangers. If he is elite, this team can make a very long run.
6) First round opponent: as Mercogliano noted, New York’s first-round opponent remains up in the air, although the Washington Capitals took an important step toward locking up the Eastern Conference's final wild card with a 2-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday. They could clinch with a win in their regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, setting up the first New York vs. Washington playoff matchup since 2015, when the Rangers rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit to win in seven games.
A Caps' loss Tuesday would open the door for either the Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, who rallied from 4-1 down Monday to defeat the Canadiens in overtime thanks to Lucas Raymond or Pittsburgh Penguins, who blitzed the Predators early with 21 shots in the first en route to a 4-2 win, to get in. Detroit plays Montreal again tonight while Pittsburgh faces the Islanders, who clinched Monday and have nothing left to play for, on Wednesday.
We get to breathe, reflect and relax the next few days. Spring is in the air, meaning it’s playoff hockey time. Gear up as the battle is almost underway.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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