Rangers' First Round Opponent: Who Will They Play & Who Do You Most/Least Want Them to Play?

[josh]

Correction - They went to the playoffs the season after, lost to the Sens. 
 

maybe not. I can’t remember 

[VegasRanger]

I think we are in Pittsburgh's head, especially after Shesty waved them off the ice.  I have a feeling they are gonna try too hard to beat the Rangers and fall apart early in the series.  The important game is the first.  Trash them bad and they will be done.

[Mike]

I don’t care who they play, I want the Rangers to have home ice all the way. Fla won’t make the conf finals giving up 6 goals a fuckin game, so they can suck my dick. If playoff Shesterkin resembles regular season Shesterkin …. see you in the finals, bitches. 

[Dunny]

Conference Finals. 

 

I think match up well against everyone in East except Carolina. Carolina plays heavy, and can skate. That looks to me like the Rangers kryptonite. They're better equipped for that than last two years, but I don't think our horses can handle that over a series.

[Phil]

18 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Conference Finals. 

 

I think match up well against everyone in East except Carolina. Carolina plays heavy, and can skate. That looks to me like the Rangers kryptonite. They're better equipped for that than last two years, but I don't think our horses can handle that over a series.

I also don’t think they can beat Calgary for the same reason. They're not quite there yet. 

[Sod16]

With Carolina losing to the Islanders, they are now up 2, even in games played, and a first place finish for the Rangers is an increasing possibility.  The reward: probably Tampa instead of Pittsburgh.  Ugh.  If Tampa gets back into third and Boston drops back, that isn't much better, as Boston is playing better than Pittsburgh.  Let's give Georgiev plenty of action.

[Cr00zng]

8 hours ago, Sod16 said:

With Carolina losing to the Islanders, they are now up 2, even in games played, and a first place finish for the Rangers is an increasing possibility.  The reward: probably Tampa instead of Pittsburgh.  Ugh.  If Tampa gets back into third and Boston drops back, that isn't much better, as Boston is playing better than Pittsburgh.  Let's give Georgiev plenty of action.

 

Regardless where they end up at the end of the season, they will be in the playoff. Who they will get, it doesn't really matter either, at least based on the regular season results.

 

Regular season record against:

 

Boston: 2-0 (one game remains @Boston)

Caroline: 1-1 (2 games remain @MSG)

Pittsburgh: 3-1

Tampa: 3-0

Washington: 1-1 (one game remains @MSG)

 

That's 10-3 records against possible opponents in the playoff at this point of the season, with four games remaining against these teams. Even with a .500 record in these games, they'll end up with 12-5 record against them. Yes, playoffs are different, the speed, lack of experience, etc., but will it matter that much?

 

Why everyone prefer Pittsburgh, when the Rangers have a better record against Tampa and possibly against Boston? They may end up with 3-1 record against the 'Canes, same as Pittsburgh. The Rangers achieved these records, even when most of the media and some fans deemed the Rangers not good enough to be here. And yet, here they are. Now, they are in the playoff and again, they are not good enough, not much chance against this or that team, won't advance far, etc. Fuck that...

 

I believe that they are just as good as the other teams in the playoff and have as much of a chance as others to reach to the final. LGR!!!!

 

 

[RichieNextel305]

16 hours ago, josh said:

Didn’t the rangers sweep the pens in the regular season the last time they went to the playoffs (and lost to the pens) ?

No, Pittsburgh had our number that year. They beat us a few times down the stretch. 

[RichieNextel305]

11 hours ago, Phil said:

I also don’t think they can beat Calgary for the same reason. They're not quite there yet. 

Agreed.

 

I’ve said it a few times that while everyone is drooling over Colorado and Florida, the 2 teams to keep an eye on are Carolina and Calgary because of their style of play.

 

It’s a catch-22, because that style is playoff style, but playing it all year long could lead to fatigue and injury. But, those are the two teams I personally would expect to emerge from each conference if I was putting money on it.

[RichieNextel305]

13 hours ago, VegasRanger said:

I think we are in Pittsburgh's head, especially after Shesty waved them off the ice.  I have a feeling they are gonna try too hard to beat the Rangers and fall apart early in the series.  The important game is the first.  Trash them bad and they will be done.

Yep, agreed.

 

They started a brawl and refused to leave the ice barking at a team that has beaten them now in a variety of ways. A blow out, a shut down, and a clamp down on their home ice following them being blown out by us. What you saw at the end of the game the other night was the height of frustration.

 

Again, things can change come playoff time. But the Rangers hardly have that team an inch across 4 games. I like our chances to emerge from that series.

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

Caps win in regulation vs Pens, now only 4p behind them with 2 games in hand.

 

I  want Pens over Caps. I think we beat both, but Penguins looks just lost atm. Lost 6 out of the last 8 and Rangers have dominated them the last few games. Not afraid of Caps either, but I feel they have a slightly better roster, they’re just as experienced as the Pens and they’ve been good against Rangers last few years.

[BrooksBurner]

If Carolina loses tomorrow, the Rangers will be tied with them for 1st in the Metro for the head to head matchup on Tuesday. Carolina will technically still be in 1st due to an extra regulation win (and a cushion in ROW also).

[Phil]

49, baby!

[BrooksBurner]

I want 1st in the Metro. Fuck Tampa.

[Valriera]

This team is equal or better against anyone in the playoffs simply because our team is good enough and our goalie is the best in the conference by far. 

[Blue Heaven]

Might want to add the Caps to poll since they are in striking distance to the Pens.  Caps have a rough schedule though.  

[Blue Heaven]

Ovechkin with an EN with 1.7 seconds left.  

[-ERIK-]

Don't wish for anyone, whoever we get we get

But I wouldn't be so happy to draw Tampa,back to back cups, tons of experience ,seems they can turn it on when they want.Battle tested team like that versus a pretty young team like us could be tough.

[LindG1000]

13 hours ago, br-avery said:

Don't wish for anyone, whoever we get we get

But I wouldn't be so happy to draw Tampa,back to back cups, tons of experience ,seems they can turn it on when they want.Battle tested team like that versus a pretty young team like us could be tough.

 

I'm so conflicted on this since Tampa hasn't beaten an Eastern Conference playoff team in a single game since December 9, and I've watched quite a bit of them. They look like a team that's played way more hockey than everyone else these last few years. I'm not going to ask for them - they're the only team in the East who could really match us in goal - but I do not think they're looking like a team ready to make a third straight run.  

[Ozzy]

I used to get caught up in this, but I've learned one thing for sure:

 

The playoffs are a whole different animal, and what you see currently on the ice isn't always what you get.  Some of these slumping teams may be sleeping dogs.  I'm going with hitting what's pitched.  Whomever we get....we get.

 

If we get Tampa, fine

If we get the Caps, fine...I have no preference.  All I know is that we're gonna give it our best shot. 

 

May the chips fall where they may!   ...But We're back in the show, baby!!!

[RichieNextel305]

2 hours ago, G1000 said:

 

I'm so conflicted on this since Tampa hasn't beaten an Eastern Conference playoff team in a single game since December 9, and I've watched quite a bit of them. They look like a team that's played way more hockey than everyone else these last few years. I'm not going to ask for them - they're the only team in the East who could really match us in goal - but I do not think they're looking like a team ready to make a third straight run.  

I absolutely agree.

 

That being said, the only issue is that they, like us, have a goaltender completely capable of dragging a team on its back. If Tampa continues to play as they have, which has not been wonderful of late, Vasy can’t drag them to a Cup. But could he get them out of a Round or even 2?

 

Do we want to find out?

 

I would not be terrified against Tampa. That being said, I much prefer Pittsburgh or Washington to them. Hell, I’m being honest, I think I prefer Boston to them too. 

[RangersIn7]

32 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

I absolutely agree.

 

That being said, the only issue is that they, like us, have a goaltender completely capable of dragging a team on its back. If Tampa continues to play as they have, which has not been wonderful of late, Vasy can’t drag them to a Cup. But could he get them out of a Round or even 2?

 

Do we want to find out?

 

I would not be terrified against Tampa. That being said, I much prefer Pittsburgh or Washington to them. Hell, I’m being honest, I think I prefer Boston to them too. 

There’s a lot of red flags there with Tampa. No denying. As illustrated, haven’t beaten a good quality EC team in months. Depth group isn’t quite as great as it’s been. Numbers are a bit down for some of them as well.

But still super dangerous team. Dynamite goalie who can absolutely steal a series. High-end players at top of lineup that are all great. Still a top-10 team offensively. Still a dangerous PP if they get hot and clicking. 
And lots of experience and a history of elevating their play in the postseason.

Not a team that I think anyone is really rushing to line up and play against. 
 

They do look though like all those extra, really tough playoff games are catching up. And they are a few guys there in big roles that are getting older and have a lot of miles on them. 
 

While I’ll agree that they don’t really look like they’re poised to win another Cup or even have another deep run, it’s entirely possible that if they’re healthy enough, they can certainly beat anyone early on and win a round. 

[NEKRanger]

At this point everything is so crazy that the Rangers might finish first and the Penguins might drop to a wild card so we still might get NYR-PIT in the first round that way.

[jsm7302]

1 minute ago, NEKRanger said:

At this point everything is so crazy that the Rangers might finish first and the Penguins might drop to a wild card so we still might get NYR-PIT in the first round that way.

Don't discount the fact that Sid, Malkin and Letang have been there before and know how to make this happen. Not to mention the desperation knowing this may be one of the last kicks at the can. A desperate Sidney Crosby is not who I want to see in the playoffs.

[-ERIK-]

3 hours ago, G1000 said:

 

I'm so conflicted on this since Tampa hasn't beaten an Eastern Conference playoff team in a single game since December 9, and I've watched quite a bit of them. They look like a team that's played way more hockey than everyone else these last few years. I'm not going to ask for them - they're the only team in the East who could really match us in goal - but I do not think they're looking like a team ready to make a third straight run.  

All the games over the past few runs could definitely be catching up with them but they are still a team that has pedigree and might be hard to put down. And they have a goaltender that could potentially match Shesty and  just had a Conn Smythe last year. Do I Think we could beat them, absolutely,but I feel we could be in for a real battle.