The Rangers and the playoffs: Go for it
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?
Look at their record.
At 23-21-4, the Rangers sit 10 points out of a playoff spot, but they have played the fewest games (48) of any of the seven teams that have are currently in the hunt for the two wildcard spots in the east. If you are a glass half-full fan, then you see the Rangers as only six points out of a playoff spot.
Now take a closer look at the standings and it reveals a rather interesting story. The Rangers have 20 regulation wins. Only nine teams in the entire Eastern playoff hunt have as many as 20 regulation wins as we get to the All-Star break. The Islanders are currently holding down the third playoff spot with only 19 regulation wins. Montreal is the weakest from the wildcard group with only 15 regulation wins.
The teams in the wildcard hunt with 20 plus regulation wins include Toronto, Columbus, Carolina and the Rangers. With the exception of the Blueshirts all were playoff teams last year.
Not only are regulation wins the first tie-breaker should teams be tied for a playoff spot, but it is the true indicator of how well a team is actually playing. In that scenario, the Rangers are certainly in the playoff hunt and should approach the rest of the season accordingly. The playoffs are not a pipe dream.
Points gained while participating in the overtime spectacles during the regular season are clearly valuable, but they can also be an indication of weakness. Teams that make hay by collecting overtime wins are living a delicate existence. There is a lot of luck that goes into three-on-three and certainly more goes into a shootout. Things can go south pretty quickly for a team should the bounces not go your way in overtime.
The Rangers are not flirting with Lady Luck as much as several other teams. That makes them a legit playoff contender. But the question remains, can they get there? Here’s how.
Long live the King
Whatever your thoughts are about Henrik Lundqvist and the three-headed goalie monster currently in play, the King will be here for as long as he wants to be here. The Ranger organization is well aware of that, and knowing that they have played the season perfectly to this point, setting up the King for another chance to claim his throne or step aside gracefully.
The first half of the season saw the Rangers playing well enough to be in the playoff hunt. The team also banked some high quality wins against some of the elite teams in the league. This had to be encouraging to team leadership, so why not set the team up to be in the best position possible to make a playoff push during the second half of the season.
That would mean a well rested Hank.
Look at the way the schedule sets up for the team. A nine-day layoff just before they really need to make the tough decisions. Management had to see this break as the tipping point. If the team was in contention at the halfway point, that nine-day rest period could really be used as a springboard toward the playoffs. How? By giving Lundqvist a minimal workload so he is as fresh as possible for the playoff push.
This little sabbatical would also give the team a chance to showcase Georgiev and get more than just a passing look at Igor Shesterkin. But this whole three goalie thing is less about Georgie and Shesterkin than it is about Hank and setting him up to be the King once again.
Hank has a history of coming out of the gate fast and fading as the season went on. So why not just re-set, and essentially start his season over at the end of January and allow him to be at his best for the playoff run.
If heavy lies the crown, then that too answers so many questions for the team. It may even answer some questions for Henrik himself.
Lundqvist has barely played in over a month, he’s primed and ready to go. The Rangers will give him this last chance to carry the team to the playoffs. He deserves the chance, and the outcome will bring with it a clearer vision for next season.
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