New York Rangers Loss To Boston Bruins Could Cost Them Dearly In April

This afternoon’s game was an important one for the New York Rangers. Not only did the game mark the return of their franchise starting goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, who has been sidelined with a throat injury since early February, but also it was an opportunity for the Rangers to hurt the Boston Bruins‘ playoff chances, as the two teams faced off at 1 P.M. in Boston this Saturday afternoon.

While it was great to see Lundqvist between the pipes once again, this was not a game Lundqvist and Rangers’ fans would like to remember. Now don’t get me wrong. Lundqvist did not play bad at all. He did have some rust but because of a horrible “distinct kicking motion” call on the 1st goal of the game and a lack of defense in front of him, the Bruins went on to defeat the Rangers by a 4-2 final score. For the postgame click on this link.

It may have just been a regular season game, a game in which the Bruins needed more than the Rangers since the Bruins are fighting for a playoff spot and the Rangers are in 1st place in the Metropolitan Division, and currently sitting on top of the entire Eastern Conference, (at the time of this article’s publication) but the end result of this game could affect the Rangers big time in just a few weeks.

What do I mean, you ask?

Well with this win, the Bruins are now in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, (one again at the time of this article’s publication) and if the Rangers end up finishing the regular season in 1st in the Eastern Conference, guess what team would have to face the Bruins in the 1st round of the playoffs?

Yes, that team would be the Rangers.

So next you may ask, why should the Rangers be afraid of an 8th seeded team if they finish 1st in the East?

Well, the Bruins are not your prototypical 8th seed. They’ve had a rough go this season with injuries and bad luck but if they do get into the playoffs, the Bruins have all of the experience and qualities of a team that can go on a postseason run, and it very well could be at the expense of the Rangers in the 1st round, which is set to take place in only a few weeks.

Recent history is not on the Rangers’ side in this matchup, as the Rangers have dropped 2 out of the 3 meetings with the Bruins this season. Both games in Boston were won convincingly by the Bruins, by multiple goals, while the lone game at Madison Square Garden was won by the Rangers by a single goal.

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But we all know the regular season does not mean much once we reach the playoffs, so how about the postseason meetings between these two teams? Well, unfortunately for the Rangers and us fans, the two have met each other 10 times in the playoffs and the Bruins have won 7 out of the 10 postseason matchups, including both times the two teams have met in the Stanley Cup Final. The most recent postseason series between the Rangers and the Bruins came in the 2nd round of the 2013 NHL playoffs, where the top seeded Bruins disposed of the 6th seeded Rangers in 5 games.

So whether you are going by this season or postseason history, if you are a Rangers’ fan, like me, the last thing you want is to see a Rangers/Bruins 1st round matchup. Unfortunately though, because of the Rangers’ inability to get a win against the Bruins in Boston this afternoon, the possibility of this unfavorable 1st round series now has a greater chance of happening.

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New York Rangers Loss To Boston Bruins Could Cost Them Dearly In April

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