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New York Rangers: Five takeaways from the Stanley Cup Playoffs (so far)

By Steve Paulus

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is congratulated by his teammates after Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Tampa Bay 7-3 to win the series 4-0. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is congratulated by his teammates after Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Tampa Bay 7-3 to win the series 4-0. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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ST. LOUIS, MO – APRIL 20: Blues players are congratulated by their teammates as hats rain down from spectators in celebration of St. Louis Blues leftwing Jaden Schwartz‘s (17) hat trick goal during a first round Stanley Cup Playoffs game between the Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues, on April 20, 2019, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – APRIL 20: Blues players are congratulated by their teammates as hats rain down from spectators in celebration of St. Louis Blues leftwing Jaden Schwartz‘s (17) hat trick goal during a first round Stanley Cup Playoffs game between the Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues, on April 20, 2019, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

#2 – Finishing strong is important

The five teams that have won their First Round series all finished the season on hot streaks.  Columbus went 11-4-1 in their last 15 games and 7-1 in their last eight.  The Islanders went 11-6-0  in their last 17 games and finished 4-1 in their last five.   The Blues lost only one game in regulation in their last 12 (9-1-2) and were 4-1 in their last five.  Dallas lost only two games in regulation in their last 17 and were 30101 in their final five.  Finally, Colorado finished 8-1-2 in their last 11 games with a 3-1-1 record in their last five games.

This is a lesson the Rangers should heed as they get  back into the playoff picture.  Let’s not forget 2014.  The Rangers finished the season with the 12th best record among the 16 teams that qualified for the post-season.  They went 12-5-2 in their last 17 games going into the playoffs and lost only one in their last five games in regulation.  And we all know what happened to that Ranger team.

While early season success is great, it’s how you finish that matters. It was encouraging to see that David Quinn understands that and he knew the importance of their late season victories over St. Louis and Pittsburgh and their comeback against Columbus.

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