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The Rangers and the playoffs: Go for it

By Curtis Jetter

Artemi Panarin #10, Marc Staal #18, Brett Howden #21, Ryan Strome #16 and Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers celebrate after a goal during the game against the Edmonton Oilers on December 31, 2019, at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Artemi Panarin #10, Marc Staal #18, Brett Howden #21, Ryan Strome #16 and Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers celebrate after a goal during the game against the Edmonton Oilers on December 31, 2019, at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 16: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers high-fives teammates after scoring the game-winning goal during the third period against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – JANUARY 16: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers high-fives teammates after scoring the game-winning goal during the third period against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The New York Rangers enter a nine-day hiatus from competitive hockey today.  The long layoff will be torture for Rangers fans who will have nothing better to do than contemplate and argue about what direction the team should go once they are back in action on January 31.

What are the New York Rangers right now?  Are they a team on the cusp of breaking a two-year playoff drought? Are they a team that still needs to shed some veteran talent at the trade deadline in order to complete the rebuild? Or are they simply spinning their wheels?

It really all depends on your perspective as a fan, and what you think is best for the team. As fans, nothing we say, do, think or feel will have any effect on Jeff Gorton and John Davidson as they contemplate the next move for the organization.  It is after all, up to them, and let’s face it, in all honesty, that is a good thing.

But as fans, we all come to this website to discuss what we think, how we feel, and what we as individuals want to see the organization do.  As such, here is one fan’s opinion on why the Rangers should push for the playoffs.

The Rangers are oh sooooo close.

This is fun.  Watching Rangers games this season provides better entertainment value than anything on Netflix, Hulu or HBO.  With very few exceptions each game has been at least interesting to watch for one reason or another. Even if you stuck it out to the end of the Islander game last night, you were at least rewarded with a glimmer of hope.

But nothing would be more entertaining than watching the Rangers in a playoff series. The playoffs would also be a great big stepping-stone in the right direction for this team.

It doesn’t matter that a first round match-up would most likely be against the Capitals, Bruins or Lightning.  It doesn’t matter that the series may only last four or five games.  What matters is the value the experience of playing in the cauldron of playoff hockey would bring.

Filip Chytil, Brett Howden, Kaapo Kakko, and two-thirds of the defensive unit, would all benefit from even the slightest amount of playoff experience. It would essentially end the rebuild and start the Rangers on the path to a Stanley Cup.

But are the playoffs a real possibility at this point?

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