Three Positives to Take From the Rangers Devils Series
This postseason was not as long as the New York Rangers wanted it to be. There were promises of a run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with all the big-time additions that were made to the roster. All the hoops the Blueshirts’ front office jumped through to bring in Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, and Tyler Motte with the idea of having solid depth to run deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It just never came to fruition. As the series went on, the stars started to disappear, the depth dried up, and the defensive breakdowns became worse. Igor Shesterkin was the only reason that the Rangers had hope in a lot of these games. While Shesterkin remains one of the best players on this roster, if he is the only one to show up like in most games, the Blueshirts are unlikely to progress past their opposition in that round.
New Jersey has been eliminated in round two, and as the saying goes “misery loves company” so let’s talk about that Devils series for the Blueshirts and try to put some silver lining on the disappointing conclusion to a season that held so much promise. As the Blueshirts still lick the wounds they suffered in their defeat to their Hudson River rivals, we get to try and put a positive spin on the series as a whole.
If nothing else, we can safely assume that the New York Rangers would not have fared much better against that relentless Carolina Hurricanes machine so perhaps this season wasn’t entirely as disappointing as we all thought. You can never be definitive, but the way the Hurricanes are playing with contributions from all over the lineup, solid goaltending, and great coaching, the outcome likely doesn’t change in terms of their Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Chris Kreider
There were many players that just did not play well for the Blueshirts in the Stanley Cup playoffs but that can not be said for Chris Kreider. For the bulk of the postseason, the Boxford, Massachusetts native was the entirety of the Ranger offense and he did everything he could to keep the Blueshirts going. You cannot be unhappy with everything Kreider did in the playoffs.
Kreider had 6 goals in seven games and had three helpers to accompany his production. For all the issues that plagued this team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Kreider seemed to breathe life into the roster whenever the team needed him. Whether it was with goals, assists, just creating chances, or even something as simple as forechecking, Kreider seemed to embody the team. As he went, the team went.
Not to mention that this was the postseason where Kreider became the all-time New York Rangers’ goal scorer in the postseason. To take that title for any team is a sign of a truly talented player but to do it for a team like the New York Rangers that has seen so many great players come through the doors of Madison Square Garden is a great testament to what a good Rangers Kreider has been.
Unfortunately, this proved not to be enough for the Blueshirts to get past the New Jersey Devils but he was a large reason that this series went to game seven. Kreider had a shakey start to this regular season but was undoubtedly one of the best Rangers players in the postseason and he needs to get the recognition that deserves when half of the team just did not show up and let the fans down again.
Igor Shesterkin
When we talk about the New York Rangers’ best player, it’s Igor Shesterkin. We can talk about Artemi Panarin, we can talk about Mika Zibanejad, we can talk about Adam Fox, and we can talk about anyone else. It’s Igor Shesterkin. I don’t think that is a controversial opinion. Shesterkin is the New York Rangers’ success. He was excellent in this postseason and he was the only reason this series went to Game Seven.
If the Russian shot-stopper would have done anything more than what he did, he would have been scoring goals. He’s wanted in New Jersey for several counts of Grand Larceny as it is because he was so special for the New York Rangers. If it isn’t for New York’s netminder, this series could have been over really quickly. It’s because of his performances that they were able to get to Game Seven, where Igor stood on his head again.
Igor had a .931 save percentage this postseason. That is cartoony. For every 100 shots against him, he stopped 93 of them. New Jersey was getting 7 goals per 100 shots. That does not begin to put into perspective how good the Blueshirts’ backstop was. According to Natural Stat Trick, he had a .918 save percentage on high-danger chances alone. There are goaltenders that won’t reach .918 at all and he’s doing it from just grade goal-scoring chances.
This was a dark postseason but the sparkling light in the net seems to forever be present. Igor has been one of the best netminders in the NHL for the last two seasons, but to see him back performing at the Vezina-caliber level he was playing at last season and being one of the best goaltenders in the history of the National Hockey League statistically is a strong positive to take from this season.
The Blueshirt faithful
When it comes to fanbases in hockey, the largest one in the United States is that of the New York Rangers. In Canada, hockey is basically a religion so it’s more widely known than it is to locals south of the border but that doesn’t take away from how special this fanbase is for the Blueshirts. Especially when it comes to games at the Garden and games in the local area that the Blueshirts faithful can get to easily.
In the series against the New Jersey Devils, it felt like the first game the majority of the crowd was not there to cheer on the Rangers was game five. In the first two games at the Prudential Center, the traveling Ranger fans were incredibly vocal. Wherever the Rangers’ travels seem to take them, the fanbase had a contingent waiting at the game for the team to arrive and it shows how great the Blueshirt faithful are.
It has been 29 years since the New York Rangers last captured Lord Stanley’s mug and to see this level of support for the team wherever they go is just more proof that this is one of the best fanbases in the sport. Turning the Prudential Center blue, going to Boston or Toronto, and making sure there are fans against the original six teams for the Blueshirts is just pure dedication to this team.
There was not a lot of good to take from this playoff series. I’m trying desperately hard to find the silver lining of this series. Hopefully, next season will see the Blueshirts fare better in the postseason but as for now, it’s tough to not look back on this as a major disappointment. I tried to put a positive spin on what was a majorly disappointing postseason in general but maybe the Rangers can figure it out next year.