New York Rangers connections: Last men standing

We’re down to the final four in the Stanley Cup Playoffs now and there are a few former New York Rangers left standing.

There are only a handful of ex-New York Rangers players left in the postseason with the Western and Eastern Conference Finals now underway.

We continue our look at New York Rangers connections in the playoffs in the wake of Mats Zuccarello and the Dallas Stars suffering a Game 7 heartbreak…

Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes – Eastern Conference Final (1-0)

The Carolina Hurricanes train was finally brought to a halt on Thursday night when the Boston Bruins exploded into life in the third period to take Game 1 with a 5-2 victory.

Carolina, who has woven one hell of a story this postseason, took a slender 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to goals from Sebastian Aho and Greg McKegg as the Canes moved closer to clinching their seventh straight win in the playoffs.

However, if you give this ultra-talented Boston team an inch they will run with it and that proved to be the case in the final period.

Awarded two power plays in quick succession, the Bruins took full advantage as Marcus Johansson and Patrice Bergeron swung the momentum back in their team’s favor, before Charlie Coyle and Chris Wagner sealed the win.

And it was a former Blueshirt who actually opened the scoring with Steven Kampfer, who was filling in for the suspended Charlie McAvoy, scoring the game’s first goal and his first tally in the Stanley Cup Playoffs off a Johansson dish.

John Moore, another ex-Rangers blueliner, was a scratch for the Bruins who will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Sunday night.

San Jose Sharks v St. Louis Blues – Western Conference Final (0-0)

This series won’t actually start until Saturday but it looks to be another intriguing one to keep an eye on with the Blues continuing their fairy tale resurgence after being in last place in the NHL on January 2.

The Sharks beat out the Colorado Avalanche in seven games and St. Louis inflicted Game 7 heartbreak on Rangers’ favorite Mats Zuccarello and the Dallas Stars after hometown boy Patrick Maroon buried the double overtime winner.

In terms of this Western Conference Final, it is a hard one to call with the Blues carrying all the momentum and able to call upon the impressive rookie Jordan Binnington between the pipes.

The Sharks, on the other hand, boast enough firepower to be able to sink a fleet of battleships and they have three players in the top five NHL point leaders in the Stanley Cup Playoffs – Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Brent Burns who all have 14 points apiece.

In terms of former Rangers involved in this series, there are only two but they can be described as role players at best.

Micheal Haley is scoreless and has a plus/minus rating of -1 in eight postseason appearances with the Sharks, averaging about six minutes per game, while Michael Del Zotto, who skated in 292 games for NYR, has yet to lace up his skates for the Blues this postseason.