New York Rangers: Top five moments of the 2016-2017 season

Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
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Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2016-2017 season was a tumultuous one for the New York Rangers. There are many moments that made this year a lot of fun.

The New York Rangers fell short of the ultimate goal once again this postseason. However, the year had many great moments that made up a great run.

From the regular season to the playoffs, there was no shortage of excitement for the Rangers. Between opening night, the second round of the playoffs, and everything in between, there were a lot of great moments that we will remember from this season.

Without further adieu, here are the top five moments of the regular season and playoffs.

#5: Rangers Win Home Opener 5-3 against the New York Islanders

Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

The Rangers winning their home opener was one of the best moments of the season. They did it against their cross town rivals the New York Islanders; a team they have struggled against in the past.

The Rangers have struggled against the New York Islanders in the past. Last season, they didn’t win a single game against the Islanders.

The win propelled the Rangers into the season the way they wanted to. They scored plenty of goals and did enough defensively to get the job done.

At the end of the day, is there anything sweeter than beating the Islanders? Why yes there is, beating them on opening night to make the Rangers 1-0-0, and the Islanders 0-1-0.

#4: Mats Zuccarello wins the Steven McDonald Award

Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

Zuccarello was awarded the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award before the final home game of the regular season. It was especially meaningful this year, as Steven McDonald passed away and was unable to hand out the award himself for the first time since its inception.

The award is given out before the final home game every year to the player who goes above and beyond the call of duty on and off the ice.

This year’s ceremony had high expectations and it was truly, beautifully done. It was comforting to see McDonald’s family on the ice receiving a standing ovation from the Garden faithful.

Mats Zuccarello was an excellent man for this year’s award as he truly encapsulates everything the award stands for, and he really helped make the moment special.

#3: Derek Stepan’s Bench Tirade on December 27th vs. Ottawa

Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports /

December was a month of ups and downs for the Rangers. There were stretches where they looked like they were ready to compete for a Stanley Cup. Then there were stretches like the one that led up to December 27th’s game against the Ottawa Senators.

The Rangers had dropped their previous two games by a score of 7-2 and 7-4, with the latter of the two coming at home against the Minnesota Wild.

The Senators were in town and quickly went up by two goals. That’s when Derek Stepan went to the bench and began to scream at his teammates in an attempt to wake them up.

Whatever Stepan did must have worked for both his teammates and himself. The Rangers fired back to win the game 4-3, with two goals coming from Stepan himself.

The Rangers would close out 2016 with two more wins after this game. This moment stood out as one where the Rangers really overcame their midseason drought. Stepan established himself as a real leader here and it would show from there on out.

#2: Michael Grabner Hat Trick Against the Blue Jackets

Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports /

This was one of the most wild Rangers games of the regular season. The Rangers were down 4-1 but managed to crawl back to win 5-4.

The moment comes courtesy of number 40, Michael Grabner.

Grabner recorded his second hat trick of the season, doing so by scoring all of the goals during the comeback.

Grabner scored a lot of goals for the Rangers this year. However it was these goals against the Blue Jackets that stand out amongst the others.

The final goal of the hat trick came with just 15 seconds left to give the Rangers the lead and avoid overtime. The dramatic essence of the goal made it the best moment of the regular season.

#1: Stepan Seals the First Round Against Montreal

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

The first round series against the Montreal Canadiens was hard fought for the Rangers in every game. It all paid off in game six when Derek Stepan sealed the deal with the near full-ice empty netter to put the Rangers up two.

This wasn’t any old empty net goal. Stepan gained control of the puck and lofted it down ice towards the empty net. Maybe it was the stipulations of the puck going in, but it seemingly took years to get to the goal.

Once it finally reached the goal, the Rangers had essentially punched their ticket into the second round of the playoffs.

Next: Five Offseason Story Lines for the Rangers

Any playoff win is an instant classic. However, playoff series clincher wins always stand out as extra special ones. This Stepan goal sealed the only Rangers playoff series win and it will stand out as the fondest memory of the 2016-2017 New York Rangers season.

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