New York Rangers: Evaluating the Eastern Conference Playoff Teams

Now that the New York Rangers have officially clinched the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there is no need for fans to worry about the team not making the postseason. While it has looked like the Blueshirts will likely draw the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, with end of season drama you can never be sure.

Here is a look at the playoff-bound Eastern Conference teams in light of what moves they made at the trade deadline.   We’ll start with tonight’s opponent and the team that has been one of the top teams for the last two seasons, the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have been on top of the Metropolitan Division for most of the season and most would agree that they have looked like the most complete team in the division even with their recent struggles. The Hurricanes boast an offense led by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov that can explode at any given time, and defensively, they play an aggressive style and it is difficult for teams to enter their zone with ease. Carolina has been the premier team in the Metro.

Rangers’ head to head vs Carolina: 1-1-0.

January 21 at Carolina: 6-3 Hurricanes. The Rangers were outmatched from the start, fell behind 3-0. They went behind 5-1 and quickly made the game 5-3, but could not match Carolina’s firepower.

March 20 at Carolina. 2-0 Rangers. This was the best performance of the season by Alexandar Georgiev, who had 44 saves and a shutout on the night. New York looked up to par, but without Georgiev’s heroics this game might have gone a bit differently.

The Rangers have two more games against Carolina, which will tell a lot.

Deadline acquisitions: Max Domi, F from Columbus.

Carolina’s biggest strength: There are so many. Offensively, they lie within the top 10 in goals per game, shots per game, power play goals and power play percentage. Defensively, they are currently first in the league in goals allowed per game and have the best penalty kill at 88.21%. Additionally, Frederik Andersen is the top competitor for Igor Shesterkin for the Vezina Trophy; his numbers are almost as good.

Carolina’s biggest weakness: If you catch them at the right time, then you can beat them. There are some nights that Carolina shows up and is absolutely unbeatable, but on the other hand they can show up and look lackluster and teams take advantage of this.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Throughout the back half of this season, this has been the most likely round 1 matchup for the Rangers. While this can change, if the season ended today this would be New York’s match-up.

Rangers’ head to head vs Pittsburgh: 3-1-0.

February 26 at Pittsburgh: 1-0 Penguins. Long story short: Tristan Jarry stood on his head and the Rangers forgot how to play offense for two periods.

March 25 at the Garden: 5-1 Rangers. New York came out FLYING, scoring three goals in the first five minutes. They stayed dominant the entire night.

March 29 at Pittsburgh: 3-2 Rangers. After falling down 1-0, the Rangers reeled off three straight goals and despite Pittsburgh’s comeback efforts, New York pulled out a win.

April 7 at the Garden: 3-0 Rangers. Pittsburgh could not do anything offensively and New York dominated the game. This was Igor Shesterkin’s fourth shutout of the season.

Deadline acquisitions: F Rikard Rakell from Anaheim.

Pittsburgh’s biggest strength: While they are good offensively, it has to be their penalty kill, which is currently third in the league with a percentage of 85.71. In all four meetings this season, the Rangers have had a hard time scoring on the power play, only scoring once in four match-ups when Chris Kreider scored the eventual game winning goal on March 29. Also, they have the experience; nobody wants to play Crosby and Malkin in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh’s biggest weakness: It might be playoff Tristan Jarry, but Pittsburgh can take a little bit, even a few games, to wake up offensively. There are times where they cannot get anything going and struggle to keep the puck in opponents’ zones, especially when Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin are not on the ice.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals have been an up and down team this season, but have been hot lately. They are currently threatening Pittsburgh for third in the Metro.

Rangers’ head to head vs Washington: 1-1-0

October 13 at Washington: 5-1 Capitals. Opening night. Awful performance. Don’t want to talk about it.

February 24 at the Garden. 4-1 Rangers. Great performance. Would love to talk about it. Igor Shesterkin almost had a shutout, but then Alexander Ovechkin had to ruin it.

The Rangers play the Caps one more time in the season finale.

Deadline acquisitions: F Marcus Johansson from Seattle.

Washington’s biggest strength: The Great #8. We know how good Ovechkin is on the playoffs, whether it is even strength or when he sets up on the left circle for the power play. If New York and Washington somehow match up, and Washington gets the man advantage, watch out.

Washington’s biggest weakness: Goaltending. Whether it’s Ilya Samsonov or Vitek Vanecek, can either be trusted in the postseason? Last year says no.

Now, the Atlantic Division teams.

Florida Panthers

Florida is currently at the top of the Eastern Conference with 108 points, and they only improved with the addition of Claude Giroux.

Rangers’ head to head vs Florida: 2-1-0

November 8 at the Garden: 4-3 Rangers. New York jumped out to a 4-0 lead, then held on due to the heroics of Shesterkin.

December 29 at Florida: 4-3 Panthers. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead into the third period then gave the game to Florida.

February 1 at the Garden: 5-2 Rangers. Complete dominance from New York. This was when the Rangers looked like a true contender.

Deadline acquisitions: F Claude Giroux and D Robert Hagg from Philadelphia, D Ben Chiarot from Montreal.

Florida’s biggest strength: Florida has one of the top offenses in the league. The Panthers overwhelmingly lead the league in goals per game at 4.15, and they look unstoppable on the offensive front. They also lead the league in shots per game and boast a top ten power play.

Florida’s biggest weakness: Their penalty kill ranks among the bottom half of the league. Florida has struggled all year when down a man. The Rangers’ power play should be able to take advantage of the Panthers’ kill in a potential playoff match-up.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Even though the Rangers swept the season series with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, everyone knows how good this Tampa Bay team is and can be, even when they are playing poorly. Nobody wants to play the Lightning in the playoffs. But, the general public would love an Igor Shesterkin-Andrei Vasilevskiy match-up.

Rangers’ head to head vs Tampa Bay: 3-0-0.

December 31 at Tampa Bay: 4-3 Rangers in a shootout. New York was able to hang with Tampa Bay, who had the tons of offensive chances. But, Igor Shesterkin came up big. New York was able to win in a shootout thanks to Mika Zibanejad.

January 2 at the Garden: 4-0 Rangers. Pure dominance from the Blueshirts in the first period then it became more of an even game. But, again, Shesterkin was Shesterkin. Tampa Bay could not break him.

March 19 at Tampa Bay: 2-1 Rangers. This was a playoff atmosphere game with neither team giving much. It took a goal from Mika Zibanejad  with 16 seconds left to win the game.

Deadline acquisitions: F Brandon Hagel from Chicago, F Nick Paul from Ottawa, F Riley Nash from Arizona.

Tampa Bay’s biggest strength: Experience. Two. Straight. Stanley. Cups.

Tampa Bay’s biggest weakness: Like Carolina, it is consistency. The Lightning boast one of the top offenses in the league, but they have recently dropped to around 10th overall in in power play ranking and goals per game. When they are on offensively, they’re almost impossible to stop. But, then there’s the latter.

Boston Bruins

Boston has been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the All-Star break, and they have gotten back to a point where they are racing with Atlantic Division teams for seeding. While they have dealt with some drama, including the brief return of Tukka Rask, Boston has righted the ship and look formidable.

Rangers’ head to head vs Boston: 2-0-0

November 26 at Boston: 5-2 Rangers. While they were outshot 17-3 in the first, New York still managed to come out of the period with a 1-1 tie. The Rangers were the better team in the next two periods and came out of TD Garden with a convincing win.

February 15 at the Garden: 2-1 Rangers in a shootout. The memorable thing from this game was Shesterkin having to come out of the game for 40 seconds due to the league’s concussion protocols, then returning in the shootout and putting New York on his back.

The Rangers will play the Bruins in Boston one more time this season.

Deadline A\acquisitions: D Hampus Lindholm and D Kodie Curran from Anaheim, D Josh Brown from Florida.

Boston’s biggest strength: They are strong defensively and are currently fourth in the league in goals allowed per game and third in shots allowed per game. It is hard for teams to penetrate the zone on the Bruins. And let’s not forget the Bergeron-Pastrnak-Marchand line, still one of the best in the NHL.

Boston’s biggest weakness: Boston fails to capitalize on prime opportunities. Their 8.7% shooting percentage is third worst in the league, above only Philadelphia and Los Angeles. The Bruins will need to capitalize in order to go far in the playoffs. Additionally, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark are both inexperienced come playoff time.

Wrapping up

Whoever the Rangers match up with in the playoffs, they will face a different skill set offensively, defensively and in net. Every team has its own strength and weakness, and New York has been good this season when recognizing and taking advantage of them.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are only a few weeks away. Brace yourselves as we learn more about these teams, including the Blueshirts.