May 14 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) picks up the puck lost by center Brian Boyle (22) as he falls with New Jersey Devils right wing Dainius Zubrus (8) during the second period in game one in the Eastern Conference finals of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Ryan Mcdonagh has been an absolute beast this Rangers post season. His pairing with Dan Giarardi has been stellar, shutting down the likes of Jason Spezza, Alexander Ovechkin, and now they are onto Ilya Kovalchuk. That pairing has been rock solid all post season, and there’s no reason why they can’t continue to be.

But this begs the question. Is Ryan Mcdonagh the best defenseman on the Rangers? I think he will be if he already isn’t. Mcdonagh is 22 years old and has progressed a lot more than Marc Staal did by the time he was 22. There’s no reason to think Mcdonagh doesn’t have a ceiling bigger than Staal’s. Staal is still maybe better defensively in the defensive zone than Mcdonagh, but I think Mcdonagh is better all around of the two.

Mcdonagh is faster than Staal and has a better offensive skill set, even though his point totals and goals don’t reflect that. I think Mcdonagh can be a 50 point player in this league once he completely settles in, because after all this was only his first full season in the league.

Is Mcdonagh the best defenseman the Rangers have?

I think he’s the best all-around defenseman they have. Within a couple years though I think he’ll be the best defenseman they have in all situations. Right now Mcdonagh is very good, and I think all Rangers fans will enjoy watching him become a perennial all-star because that’s what I think he’ll become.

Feb 11, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella looks on from the bench awaiting the resulting penalties against the Philadelphia Flyers during the 3rd period at the Wells Fargo Center. The Rangers beat the Flyers, 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Szagola-US PRESSWIRE

I really have to sit back and laugh at all these people writing about how the Rangers and their shot blocking is “ruining” hockey. Apparently blocking shots is being like a trapping team. Blocking shots makes the game boring according to some.

First off, where are most of these articles coming from? They’re coming from writers who’s teams have already been eliminated from the playoffs, so they are a little bit sad. Boo hoo. Just because their team was eliminated doesn’t mean it’s a crying shame that other teams have moved on in the playoffs right?

After they’ve finished crying these writers are saying that it’s very boring to watch these low scoring hockey games. Maybe I’m biased because I have a dog in the fight (with the Rangers still in the playoffs) but how is watching a one goal game boring at any point? Did these people not watch the Flyers and Penguins series, where every game was basically pond hockey? It was laughable to watch that many goals go in.

Big deal if people find this style of hockey the Rangers play boring. Bottom line is it works and if the Rangers win the cup this year or next I wouldn’t be shocked to see other teams implement a similar system. After all this is a copy cat league, and anything that is proven to work will be used on other teams.