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

[BrooksBurner]

On 4/9/2022 at 6:19 PM, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

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.

 

On 4/10/2022 at 4:04 PM, Blue Heaven said:

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

Yeah. Caps 3 points back and 2 games in hand. They are hot and Pittsburgh has essentially folded. It certainly looks like Caps have a decent chance of overtaking them for 3rd. Pitts might fall all the way to 8 seed. We shall see. The Caps remaining schedule is very difficult.

Edited April 18, 2022 by rmc51

[Long live the King]

Boston has a pretty tough schedule too.  New dream scenario....

 

Rangers win divison.  Pitt drops to WC1.

 

Rangers then have home ice in second round after Wash and Car beat each other up. 

[Sod16]

2 minutes ago, Long live the King said:

Boston has a pretty tough schedule too.  New dream scenario....

 

Rangers win divison.  Pitt drops to WC1.

 

Rangers then have home ice in second round after Wash and Car beat each other up. 

 

Right.  And this makes it impossible to know who to root for this week!

[Long live the King]

2 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

 

Right.  And this makes it impossible to know who to root for this week!

 

Nah, it's easy.

 

Rooting for Wash wins.  Car, Pitt, and Bos losses, with Pitt winning the head to head with Bos.

[BrooksBurner]

It would be pretty ironic if the drastically Tom Wilson-reformed Rangers face...Tom Wilson...in round 1.

[Phil]

10 hours ago, rmc51 said:

It would be pretty ironic if the drastically Tom Wilson-reformed Rangers face...Tom Wilson...in round 1.

Would kinda love to see it?

[siddious]

10 hours ago, rmc51 said:

It would be pretty ironic if the drastically Tom Wilson-reformed Rangers face...Tom Wilson...in round 1.

eh.. it hasnt even been a thing during the regular season. I think that ship has sailed.

 

WIth that said I dont care if its pittsburgh or washington I think the Rangers can beat both.

[Sharpshooter]

The Eastern Conference is so deep and competitive, you can really go either way with these matchups. The Rangers could very well represent the East in the Stanley Cup Final, or they could very easily get eliminated in the first round. I think it's that tight. I'm still kind of skeptical if the Rangers' style can be conducive to winning consistently in the postseason, but they have shored up defensively and Shesterkin can help them beat anybody.

[RichieNextel305]

13 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

The Eastern Conference is so deep and competitive, you can really go either way with these matchups. The Rangers could very well represent the East in the Stanley Cup Final, or they could very easily get eliminated in the first round. I think it's that tight. I'm still kind of skeptical if the Rangers' style can be conducive to winning consistently in the postseason, but they have shored up defensively and Shesterkin can help them beat anybody.

I said it earlier in another thread, but the Rangers are on the verge of having the best regular season in their franchise history, thus topping the team that won the Presidents Trophy in 2015. And even with that, not only may they not win their division this year, they may finish with the 3rd or even 4th most points in the East.

 

Just disgusting how good the top 8 teams in the conference have been this year. Can’t remember seeing it like this ever. You’re going to have 4 really good teams go home in Round 1.

[Sharpshooter]

Yeah, I can't remember the last time in the East was this good in one year. What was a President's Trophy run in 2015 has now been reduced to winning just to keep pace and try and win the division. lol

[SaveByRichter35]

I feel like it is usually the West that is this stout at the top.  Its nice to see the momentum swing back East and to actually be among that top group instead of being dominated by it.

[BrooksBurner]

1 minute ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

I feel like it is usually the West that is this stout at the top.  Its nice to see the momentum swing back East and to actually be among that top group instead of being dominated by it.

At the same time it would have been nice to have all these things happen when the East wasn’t going to be an absolute bloodbath. The Rangers getting eliminated in the first round or winning the Cup…neither result would surprise me.

[Sharpshooter]

Yeah, the West isn't as stout as it was in year's past, but I think any team coming out of the East is going to have major trouble with Calgary or Colorado.

[Ozzy]

2 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

Yeah, the West isn't as stout as it was in year's past, but I think any team coming out of the East is going to have major trouble with Calgary or Colorado.

 

I think Colorado can be had this year again.  Their goaltending just doesn't seem to be the most consistent.  Calgary is the team I'm thinking may rise above this year, and take the West. 

[Sharpshooter]

1 minute ago, Ozzy said:

 

I think Colorado can be had this year again.  Their goaltending just doesn't seem to be the most consistent.  Calgary is the team I'm thinking may rise above this year, and take the West. 

Right. Yeah, I meant to say Kuemper really doesn't exude confidence for the postseason, but he's played well enough I think, and that team is just loaded. Calgary's playstyle might be better for a deeper postseason run than Colorado. I could totally see it. I still think whoever comes out of the East is going to have a really hard time with either of those teams.

[SaveByRichter35]

42 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

At the same time it would have been nice to have all these things happen when the East wasn’t going to be an absolute bloodbath. The Rangers getting eliminated in the first round or winning the Cup…neither result would surprise me.

Yea its crazy how much of a roll of the dice it could be

[RangersIn7]

1 hour ago, rmc51 said:

At the same time it would have been nice to have all these things happen when the East wasn’t going to be an absolute bloodbath. The Rangers getting eliminated in the first round or winning the Cup…neither result would surprise me.

Yeah

I could pretty much see just about anyone bearing just about anyone. 

[RichieNextel305]

Colorado almost has that Washington-Ovechkin-prime stigma, where the team is flashy, lots of talent but a little thin in net. And come playoff time, that was always a headache for them. 
 

Still young, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this team went bananas, went 16-3 and won the Cup easily. But, I also wouldn’t be 100% stunned seeing them sent home early if they run into a team that can grind them out.

[fletch]

Analysis from nhl.com article

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/over-the-boards-dan-rosen-mailbag-april-20/c-333183410

 

'The Rangers can make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if goalie Igor Shesterkin plays the way he has throughout the regular season. Shesterkin has offered no reason to believe he won't, but his NHL playoff experience is limited...'

 

'New York has improved defensively since adding forwards Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21, which filled holes in the lineup and slotted players in better spots...'

 

'New York will run into trouble against teams like Carolina, Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins because know how to lock it down in playoff hockey, create low-event games.'

[Go Blue]

22 minutes ago, fletch said:

Analysis from nhl.com article

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/over-the-boards-dan-rosen-mailbag-april-20/c-333183410

 

'The Rangers can make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if goalie Igor Shesterkin plays the way he has throughout the regular season. Shesterkin has offered no reason to believe he won't, but his NHL playoff experience is limited...'

 

'New York has improved defensively since adding forwards Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21, which filled holes in the lineup and slotted players in better spots...'

 

'New York will run into trouble against teams like Carolina, Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins because know how to lock it down in playoff hockey, create low-event games.'

The Rangers have greatly improved their even strength goals dif 

 

the SOG against is way down too

[fletch]

2 hours ago, fletch said:

Analysis from nhl.com article

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/over-the-boards-dan-rosen-mailbag-april-20/c-333183410

 

'The Rangers can make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if goalie Igor Shesterkin plays the way he has throughout the regular season. Shesterkin has offered no reason to believe he won't, but his NHL playoff experience is limited...'

 

'New York has improved defensively since adding forwards Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21, which filled holes in the lineup and slotted players in better spots...'

 

'New York will run into trouble against teams like Carolina, Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins because know how to lock it down in playoff hockey, create low-event games.'

 

1 hour ago, Go Blue said:

The Rangers have greatly improved their even strength goals dif 

 

the SOG against is way down too

 

Yup, also mentioned in article, but I didn't want to quote too much.  Article credited acquisitions as well as 'inferior opponents' excepting Penguins 3 times

Edited April 20, 2022 by fletch

[Dr. Jimmy]

On 4/11/2022 at 12:25 PM, RangersIn7 said:

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. 

I agree with all of this, however they (and God willing, the Rangers) will still have to play the Panthers at some point.  THAT'S the team that worries me the most.....

[Go Blue]

I know there aren’t any teams taking us for granted

 

should be fun no matter how it pans out

[Keirik]

I stick by my original statement. Bring it because this team sure has all year. The entire East should fear us. 

[Pete]

It's really as simple as there are three or four teams that are either better than us or just have our number, but we have Shesterkin.