May 13, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; New York Rangers players celebrate after their game against the Washington Capitals in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center. The Rangers won 5-0 and won the series 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

After an incredible win in Washington last night, the Rangers have met their second round opponent; the Boston Bruins. For the first time since 1973, these two will be battling it out for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

It doesn’t get any better than this. 2 very physical original six teams pitted against each other in a playoff series. This second round will be filled with blood, sweat, and tears. The Bruins will be looking to spoil the party for the Blueshirts, but here are 5 keys to a New York Rangers series victory:

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

1. Henrik Lundqvist:

For the second straight year, Lundqvist is once again in the running for the Vezina Trophy. He will be going up against Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus) and Antti Niemi (San Jose). All three goaltenders had stellar seasons.

Just think about it. If the Rangers did not have Lundqvist, they probably would not be in the second round right now. Henrik gives them a chance to win every night. Facing elimination for two straight games, Hank backed it up with 2 straight shutouts of the Washington Capitals. So he has definitely proven that he can come through in the clutch. Which is a characteristic you need out of a Stanley Cup winning goaltender (cough cough).

By the Numbers: 

• Lundqvist posted a 24-16-3 record, a .926 save percentage, and a 2.05 goals against average in the regular season.
• In 30 career starts against Boston, Henrik is 21-7 with a 1.67 GAA, a .943 save percentage, and 6 shutouts.

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

2. Rick Nash

I soon figured out that it is not always the top guys who carry you through the playoffs. Sometimes your bottom 6 has to chip in, and that is exactly what they got. Arron Asham and Taylor Pyatt both tallied goals in last night’s contest that turned out to be very confidence boosting.

Asham’s snipe got them started, then Pyatt scored a dirty goal off the rebound after sitting in front of the net. It’s nice to get production from your bottom 6, but shortly after, you look back at your top forwards for offense.

In the 7 game series against Washington, Nash only totaled 2 points. 1 assist in Game 3, and another assist in last night’s Game 7. Let’s face it, Nash was brought in to New York to produce in the playoffs. To me, he looks a bit tentative. He has been struggling to find open ice and he has had very little time with the puck.

Boston is going to be no different. With the defensive depth that the Bruins have, it is going to be even harder for Nash to find open ice and score some goals. But, that’s what separates the good from the elite. Nash is a good player, but is he an ELITE player?

Only time will tell. Boston is going to give him little breathing room. His destiny is in his hands. Only he himself has the power to control it.

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

3. Defense

It must be said that this Ranger team possibly has one of the best defensive cores in the entire league. Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi have evolved into arguably the best shutdown pair in the NHL.

We saw it in the series against Washington. Alex Ovechkin was said to be the difference maker. After heating up towards the end of the season, the Caps’ captain finished with 32 goals. He was held to 1 in the opening round of the postseason which came back in Game 1. After that, many of Ovechkin’s shots were either blocked, went wide, or were saved by Lundqvist.

This season, we saw the defensive line tighten even more. After a blockbuster trade involving Marian Gaborik, the Rangers acquired John Moore, a former first round pick  from Columbus. At 22 years young, Moore is turning into a huge positive for the team. He has the skating abilities of McDonagh and has a rocket of a shot. What boggles me is that the 22 year old defenseman sees very little powerplay time. A defenseman as good as he is should be seeing those crucial minutes. He could easily take over Brad Richards‘ spot, who has been invisible for the past couple of weeks now and has now even been demoted to the teams 4th line.

As always, the defense along with Henrik Lundqvist will have to carry this team against Boston. Although they gained more offensive depth after acquiring Derick Brassard and Derek Dorsett, the Rangers are still built around their defense and as they say, defense wins championships.

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

4. Special Teams

Many times in a playoff series the deciding factor is special teams. Penalty killing and power plays most of the time sway momentum and can change the series for good or worse.

As they have showed many times in the past, the Rangers’ penalty kill seems to be getting better and better with each opportunity. That can probably be attributed to the fact that they have the best goaltender in the net. Throw a little McDonagh and Girardi and you have yourself one of the most successful penalty kills in the league.

Coming into Round 1, the Capitals were red-hot. Ovechkin was playing out of his mind, Holtby was warming up, and not to mention their power play was one of the most dangerous in the league, ranked first in the league during the regular season.

However, the defensive-studded Rangers somehow managed to shutdown the Caps man advantage. The Capitals only converted 3 times out of 16 chances in the series.

For the Rangers to win the series against the Bruins, their penalty kill has to be as equally successful. Boston probably has the best roster up and down the lineup. They have a plethora of offensive weapons, and not to mention Zdeno Chara blasting 100 mph slapshots from the blue line.

But hopefully it will be business as usual for the Rangers. In one of the last games of the season a few years back, Ryan Callahan broke his ankle blocking Chara’s shot. Ranger fans DO NOT want a repeat of that as Callahan is one of the most hard-working and dedicated players in the league.

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

5. Experience

After the incredible run to the ECF last year, this team is now battle-tested. They have been here before. They know what it takes to win a Cup. I believe that this is their year. If Lundqvist can play like he did last postseason but even a little bit better, he will finally get his taste of the Stanley Cup Finals. However, before the Rangers can drink champagne, they will have to go through formidable opponents like the Boston Bruins (obviously), Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, and if they get to the Cup final they may have to go up against Chicago, San Jose, or even Los Angeles who are defending their place on the NHL throne.

The anxiety attacks aren’t over yet. This Rangers-Bruins series will be extremely physical, exciting, and stressful. So be sure to have plenty of beverages and Xanax on hand. It’s going to be a bumpy ride to our final destination.

As always, thanks for reading us here at Blue Line Station. Be sure to follow me on twiter @a_graz24. Also like our facebook page here! I am always willing to talk anything Rangers and NHL related! Also make sure to leave a comment below using the variety of sign-in methods. 

AG 

May 8, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers center Derek Stepan (21) handles the puck against the Washington Capitals during the first period in game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers entered Game 4 with that feeling of swagger about them. Coming off a huge 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 3, they knew that a win would be needed in the fourth game if they wanted to have a good feeling of confidence heading back to the craziness that is Verizon Center.

Madison Square Garden never fails to disappoint in the playoffs and Game 3 was no exception. As fans piled into their seats to watch their beloved Rangers, they were hoping that a win for the home team would be the outcome of Game 4.

1st period:

The Garden was rocking as the puck dropped to begin Game 4 between the Rangers and Caps. John Tortorella must have done something in the locker room before the game because it looked like someone shot the Rangers out of a cannon. Their forecheck was relentless, they were physical, working the puck down low, and more importantly keeping tabs on Ovechkin who only has 1 goal in this series and that came back in Game 1. You felt something was bound to happen. The crowd was into it and the Rangers kept pouring it on. After the puck was dumped into the zone, it slowly rolled toward the goal line and Braden Holtby came out to play it. As he went to clear it up ice Taylor Pyatt made a beautiful play and batted down the puck and now the Rangers were staring at an empty net. Brad Richards potted it home and the Rangers struck first and were leading 1-0. One thing I noticed especially about this period was that the Rangers played much better 5 on 5 which was their achilles heel during the last game. The Rangers penalty kill was perfect as they killed off both of the Caps powerplays. Towards the end of the period, Stepan was skating down the left side with the puck as he was creamed by Ovechkin and Erat. They both served penalties as Ovechkin was called for charging and Erat was called for hooking. Erat was injured on the play and had to leave the game. The Rangers failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 but still had 26 seconds of time left to work with in the 2nd period. The buzzer sounded and the Rangers were holding a 1-0 lead.

2nd period:

The period began with still 26 seconds of time left over for a 5 on 3 powerplay for the Rangers. They failed to cash in and the game remained 1-0. 10 minutes of play went by in the period and I felt that the Rangers were still the better team. They were sustaining pressure and working the Caps’ defense hard below the goal line. After Erskine took a roughing penalty on Callahan, the Blueshirts would once again get another powerplay opportunity. This one was really squandered as the Caps had more chances than the Rangers. But, Brassard picked up the Rangers and made a beautiful cross-ice pass to Carl Hagelin who blew a shot past Holtby to make it 2-0 for the home team. Then, the tide started to shift. The Capitals were starting to get more pressure and there was that sense that something bad was about to happen. Well, sure enough, Joel Ward was carrying the puck and as Michael Del Zotto lost an edge, Ward made a beautiful play and played it across to Mathieu Perrault who tapped it home to cut the lead in half. Then, the Capitals started to gain momentum and with about 40 seconds to play in the period the Rangers got pinned in their own zone. Troy Brouwer took the puck into the slot and rifled home a nice backhand shot to tie the game at 2. The Garden got completely silent. I’m sure Henrik Lundqvist wants that second goal back. The period ended with a scrum in front of Lundqvist and the Rangers would start the 3rd with a powerplay. It was another do or die period that would ultimately determine the series.

3rd period:

The Rangers were once again in the same position they were in during Game 3. Entering the third period with the series on the line. If the Rangers lost this game, they would be down 3-1 in the series heading back to Washington. The Blueshirts were once again shot out of a cannon for this period, as they cashed in on their powerplay chance and took a 3-2 lead. Then, shortly after, a beautiful tic-tac-toe play between Callahan, Stepan and Hagelin generated the fourth goal on the night for the Rangers. They regained their 2 goal lead and they tallied 4 goals in 2 straight games.

But, the Capitals once again showed grit and determination as they would not go down without a fight. Karl Alzner took a quick wrister from the point which may have been partially deflected off of Perrault, but the goal was credited to Alzner. It was 4-3 Rangers with about 13 minutes to play. From here on, the Rangers played hard, physical minutes as they shut down Ovechkin for the second straight game. The buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted, and we now have a series on our hands. The Rangers have tied the series at 2 and it is a best of 3 as it switches back to Washington for Game 5.

Final Thoughts:

• In my opinion, this was the best game the Rangers have played so far in this series. Although they had some dry spells and defensive lapses, they still played a solid 60 minute game. Their forecheck was relentless, their penalty kill was once again perfect and Ovechkin was shut down.
• Derick Brassard followed up his Game 3 performance with another stellar performance. Notching 2 assists on the night. It looks as if Brassard is fitting in nicely with the Rangers and he has stepped up his game tremendously.
• Overall, the Rangers played a full 60 minutes and that is all that counts at the end of the day. They will head back to Washington with the series tied at 2. Which is better than being in a 3-0 or 3-1 hole, which at one point was looking like a dreaded possibility.
• Henrik Lundqvist again made timely saves and helped the Rangers to victory. Which seems like a daily thing now. It seems as if his mind is set on one ultimate goal: the Stanley Cup.

My personal 3 stars of the game:
3. Carl Hagelin
2. Anton Stralman
1. Derick Brassard

As always, thanks for reading us here at Blue Line Station. Be sure to follow me on twitter @a_graz24. I am always willing to discuss hockey and anything Rangers! Also be sure to leave a comment below using a variety of sign-in methods.