Playoff Time, 2021
2021-06-16
This year, one of New York teams will get to a second round, that's a given. After a dissapointing first round exits, both teams in New York look to impress this year.
The Rangers lost to the Lightning 2-4 and Isles lost to Blue Jackets 3-4 so both teams have something to prove.
This is EHE's 7th season. Rangers have made the playoffs 4 times and had lost in the firstround 3 out of those 4 times.
2015: Finished 12th in Conference
2016: 3-4 vs Penguins
2017: 2-4 vs Hurricanes
2018: Finished 9th in Conference
2019: 4-1 Penguins
2020: 2-4 Lightning
PAIN.
And when expansion was brought up recently, one of the main reasons why Martin Auzins didn't throw his hat in the ring was that he has been building for so long in New York and hasn't won anything.
"In my 6.5 years here I think this year we have built the best squad we had here in the EHE. All the boys are hungry in the locker room"
For the third time in as many seasons, the New York Rangers are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The New York Islanders may serve as their toughest first-round opponent during that span.
"But don't you worry, we will give the Islanders all they can handle."
Beyond Perfection? It's hard to ignore what Patrick Kane has done this year. He has been a major part of the success Rangers have had this year. 109 point campaign has broken all Rangers records in EHE and he will look to carry all that into playoffs but don't you worry, The Rangers boast more offensive punch beyond Kane.
Season Series Was Not Kind to the Rangers
While players spent their final regular-season press conferences saying things like, “the regular season really doesn’t matter” or “the playoffs are a different animal,” I want to remind you that the regular season is not worthless. However, this regular-season series didn’t do the Rangers any favours.
The Rangers struggled mightily against the Islanders, and the numbers are ugly at best. Rangers had a dismal 1-3-0 record against Islanders, and a points percentage of .250. They also had a -5 goal differential and their special teams were 5 percent worse than the Oilers (both the penalty kill and power play).
However, there are ways the Rangers can compete in this series and here are the keys to their success:
1. Keep First line Contained
2. Defense needs to contribute
3. Rinne needs to be better
4. Rangers need to take advantage of depth, matchup game
The Bottom Line
While the Rangers are riding a somewhat of a hot streak into the playoffs, the bottom line is that they don’t match up well against the Islanders and the regular season proved why. Tasking any team with shutting down Mackinnon is hard enough, but asking a team who hasn’t proved they can limit his production or match his skillset to do it now? Time will tell.
WHO YA GOT?
After a very up and down season, in which they could have easily missed the playoffs because teams in Metro division were so tight, the Rangers are going for another shot. Another oppurtunity. It really is the best time. We have heard it many times before, but damn - Let's make the Garden Jump!
Rangers have not disclosed any lineups this year in advance. Rangers will rely heavy on Patrick Kane to bring the thunder and for the defense to hold up which holds extreme talent in Victor Hedman, Seth Jones, Shea Weber and Jaccob Slavin.
But this is playoff time. Anyone can be a hero!
NEW YORK
LET'S GO TO WORK
MAKE THE GARDEN JUMP!
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EHE 2021 PLAYOFF TREE:
