Why you should be thankful you are a Rangers fan
By Steve Paulus
Living the life of a New York Rangers fan can be extremely frustrating. Missing the playoffs is seen as unacceptable and the last two seasons feel like an eternity. Well, Ranger fans, count your blessings.
How good are the New York Rangers? How bad are the New York Rangers? Everyone remembers that awful seven year playoff drought at the turn of the century and we are well on our way to three straight years out of the postseason. How does the Rangers’ record compare to other teams?
The Rangers
We looked at the last 25 years which conveniently includes the last team that won the Stanley Cup in 1994. We compared the overall record for making the playoffs and going deep in the post season. The results are pretty darned good for our heroes.
Over the last 25 years, the Rangers have missed the playoffs ten times. That doesn’t sound like a great number, but of the 26 teams that have been in the NHL that entire time, 16 have missed the playoffs ten times or more. Ten teams have made the playoffs more years than the Blueshirts.
That means the Rangers have made the postseason 15 times in 25 years. Okay, you can say that making the playoffs is not THAT difficult in a league that gets 16 out of 31 teams into the postseason. What really matters is getting deep into the playoffs. How do the Blueshirts compare?
If you eliminate first round playoff defeats, the Rangers have made it into the second round or deeper 11 times in those 15 years. Only three teams have made it past the first round more than the Blueshirts. Detroit (14), Pittsburgh (13) and San Jose (14) are the three teams that have gotten farther into the postseason more than the Blueshirts.
How many times have the Rangers gotten as far as the Conference Finals? They have done it five times. The Red Wings lead the way with eight appearances, followed by the Penguins with seven seasons, and the Flyers, Blackhawks, Devils and Avalanche with six.
That means of the 31 teams in the NHL, the New York Rangers have made more appearances in the Conference Finals or Stanley Cup Finals than 24 other teams.
As for the Holy Grail, the Rangers are one of 14 teams to win the Stanley Cup in the last 25 years. That’s much better than the 17 teams that have not accomplished that feat.
When it comes to the Rangers, it pays to be optimistic and to look at the bright side. In looking at the numbers, the Broadway Blueshirts have been pretty competitive.