New York Rangers have a chance and that’s all that counts

So, you’re saying there’s a chance for the New York Rangers?

To borrow from the great film Dumb & Dumber, the New York Rangers certainly have a chance to continue sprinkling some magic in 2019-20.

Unless you were hiding under a rock on Tuesday you would no doubt have seen the NHL reveal their Return To Play plan.

In a nutshell, 24 teams will return at some point this summer with 16 teams contesting a best-of-five qualifying round with a berth in the 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs at stake.

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The Rangers, despite still being in a rebuild, will be one of those teams and it will be the Carolina Hurricanes standing in their way of punching their postseason ticket.

While the Return To Play plan is flawed and is fairer to  some teams than others, we live in uncertain times and there was never going to be a perfect solution.

The NHL deserves credit for coming up with a creative and as reasonable as possible a way to crown a Stanley Cup Champion in 2019-20.

And, let’s be honest, it could be worse if you look at the ugly and unflattering war of words being raged between the MLB and its players right now.

Anyway, for the Rangers, all that matters is they still have a chance to go to the dance and extend what has already been an unforgettable season.

Rewind back to last summer and, despite a blockbuster off-season that brought the star-studded arrivals of Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko, there was still a sense that the Blueshirts were taking tentative steps forward.

But, in a year that saw Panarin cement his status as an elite talent, Mika Zibanejad take a giant leap forward, the emergence of a stud defensive pairing and the arrival of the future heir to the throne, the Rangers proved that the rebuild was old news.

They learned from their mistakes and began to play as a real cohesive unit down the stretch, grinding out wins in the ilk of a polished contender.

The Rangers also developed a lethal killer instinct and a relentless never-say-die attitude, as so perfectly demonstrated in that wild 6-5 overtime win over the Washington Capitals on March. 5.

That could be the moment you pinpoint as the night this talented and young group came of age.

And there is no doubt that they are ready to showcase their skills and talents on a bigger stage.

They will now get the chance to do so in a best-of-five against Carolina, who have already lost the mental battle after voting no to the 24-team Playoff format.

It won’t bother the Rangers who will be looking to make the most of their opportunity to try and secure a long-awaited return to the postseason.

Of course, it is important to temper expectations and not get too carried away but, as they say, as long as you are in the dance you have a chance.

For Head Coach David Quinn and the front office, however, any Playoff experience, no matter how short this year, will be invaluable in the further maturation of this roster as it is currently constituted.

The likes of Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Kakko and even stars in the ilk of Panarin and Zibanejad will benefit hugely from a tantalizing taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and that should only make this group more hungry and more motivated going forward.

It is also going to be special for those of us who bleed blue, red and white and live and die with the New York Rangers.

The Blueshirts fans are among the most passionate sports fans out there, in my opinion anyway, and we crave success.

We have all bought into the rebuild and the overhaul of this roster, and we have all fallen in full bloom love with Zibanejad, Panarin, Kakko, Fox and Shesterkin.

We’ve remained loyal through the rough spells and we’ve been filled with a new sense of euphoric hope this year after seeing the potential of the team that General Manager Jeff Gorton has put together.

The long-term future of the New York Rangers is incredibly bright but all the focus will now be on a five-game series at some point this summer and the chance for some more magical nights in the rich history of this storied franchise.

And that’s why we are so invested as fans.