The game turned back to MSG for game 6, considered a must-win for Ranger’s fans as a return to Washington for Game 7  spelled certain doom. Tortorella was suspended for his game 5 actions and New York came out flat on their home ice. The Caps held a 5-1 lead as early as the 2nd period. The Rangers put forth a lackluster effort and Alex Ovechkin was starting to take over the series. Henrik Lundqvist was no longer the force he was when the Rangers were stealing games. The final score was 5-3, and it was now a 1 game series.

The Rangers had no choice but to play better in game 7, after they were so terrible in the previous 2 contests. The defense tightened up, Lundqvist returned to form and New York outplayed the Caps in the first 2 periods. Suddenly there was a renewed hope as the game was tied 1-1 after 2. Period 3 started and the offense sputtered. The Rangers could only generate 1 shot in the period and finished with 15 for the game. Lundqvist continued to bail out the team until Sergei Federov sped down the ice straight at defenseman Wade Redden. Redden froze, and Federov roofed a hard-wrist shot passed Lundqvist with 4:59 left on the clock. Thats all the Capitals would need against a poor Ranger attack, and the series was over for the Blueshirts.

You can blame Wade Redden for giving Federov an easy path, or John Tortorella for losing his cool, or Sean Avery for disappearing for the majority of the series. There were many factors for the Ranger’s failure in the series. However, the main reason the Rangers were unable to close it out was their inability to score when it mattered most, plain and simple. This was the Rangers problem all season. They did not have a single player in the Top 60 of NHL scoring leaders. Without that, going deep into the playoffs is close to impossible. 

Looking ahead to the 09-10 season, and the Rangers may end up having some of the same problems. New York will have very little cap room to work with, due to some of the questionable signings the past few years. Finding the go-to-scorer they desperately need will be very difficult. GM Glen Sather will be looking at all possible trade options. Some of the underperforming players of the past few years may be on their way out. Scott Gomez and Michal Roszival are a few that come to mind. 

Making the playoffs hasn’t been a problem for New York the past few seasons. Big changes will have to be made though if they want to make it past the 2nd round. The front office has a lot of work ahead of them as it will be a challenge to dig themselves out of the the financial hole they’ve dug themselves into.

Each one of New York’s wins has been by one goal and Kind Henrik has been a game saver, coming up with clutch save after clutch save. In Game 4, the Rangers penalty kill was a big factor and blanked the Caps on all 6 of their oppurtunities. Sean Avery took 2 seperate bonehead penalties in the games final minutes. But with the help of Lundqvist, his teammates and the post, the Rangers willed their way to victory.

New York knew that if they had any chance of winning the series, they would have to outwork the more-talented Capitals and Lundqvist would have to play at a world-class level like everyone knows he’s capable of. With the exception of Game 3, the Rangers have gotten both. One more victory and New York will pull off the upset.

The defense wasn’t perfect, but they played tough enough to hold the powerful Caps to one goal in Game 4. The defensive pairing of Wade Redden and Michal Roszival has been leading the team in ice time and is often on the ice when Alexander Ovechkin is. If you had told me this before the series started, I would have said the Rangers were going to be swept. That has been far from the case and Redden and Roszival are playing their best defensive hockey of the year against the East’s top offensive team.

The likes of Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Fredrik Sjostrom have become the teams identity by just flat out working their asses off and winning key faceoffs and puck battles. If they can continue to play at this high level and players like Scott Gomez and Nikolai Zherdev decide to provide more offense, the Rangers can go deep into this postseason.

The tremendous convention was moved to Suffolk County Community College at Brentwood.

The Capitals won the season series against the Rangers 3 games to 1. However, the Rangers are a much improved team since that time under new coach John Tortorella. An upset for New York is a possibility but it certainly won’t be easy.

The Capitals are a superior offensive team to the Rangers, no question about it. One just needs to look at defensive Mike Green who finished the season with 31 goals and 73 points. Both higher totals than any player on the Rangers roster by a large margin. The Rangers will try to contain leading NHL goal scorer Alex Ovechkin the best they can. Marc Staal has shown that he has the ability to do that and should be successful. Ovechkin isn’t the only weapon and if they become too focused on stopping him than they will become vulnerable to other Washington scorers.

The Washington offense is much too powerful to be stopped entirely. Ovechkin and company should be able to skate circles around the Rangers weaker defenders Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival. New York’s neutral zone defense will be key in the series. If the Washington skaters have too many oppurtunities to set up their offense than things could be over quickly.

The one big advantage the Ranger’s have in this series is Henrik Lundqvist. If the Ranger’s can limit Washington’s offensive oppurtunities than Lundqvist can steal a few games. For the Rangers, scoring on Jose Theodore shouldn’t be much of a problem. They’ll just have to do it on a consistent basis. They are a better offensive team since Tortorella took over but have been forced to take bigger risks, often at the expense of the defense. Finding a balance between the two will be key. Washington can’t be allowed too many odd-man rushes.

The Rangers have been playing well and have momentum going into the series. New York should be able to hang with Washington but in the end the Capital offense will be too much to handle. Trusting Washington to come up with a key goal is much easier than trusting the Ranger’s score when it matters most. New York still lacks a go to scorer.

Prediction: Capitals in 7

Chris Drury scored 2 goals in what may have been the best game of his short Ranger’s career. The captain did what the captain is supposed to do.

If the Rangers hang on to the 8th spot they will be matched up with the top-seeded Bruins in the 1st round. In the 4 previous matchups with Boston, the Rangers have split the series with each game being decided by only a 1-goal margin.

Despite the Ranger’s inconsistencies over the past season, they would be a dangerous opponent for any team should they make the playoffs. They have played the Bruins evenly this year and an upset over the top team in the East is a distinct possibility. The NHL playoffs are completely unpredictable and could provide clean-slate for a team that had a roller-coaster season. All that stands in the way is Philadelphia.

1) San Jose Sharks- Currently tied with Detroit for the top spot. Both have explosive offenses. I’ll go with the team with the better goalie right now and thats Nabokov and San Jose.

2) Detroit Red Wings- You might as well flip a coin for the top 2 spots. Doesn’t matter where the defending champs finish, they’re ready for another deep playoff run.

3) Vancouver Canucks- They sit 3 points behind the sputtering Flames and have 1 game in hand. They’ve been playing better hockey and with Luongo at the top of his game they could pass Calgary.

4) Calgary Flames- Have only gone 3-7  in their last 10 games. Olli Jokinen has provided a spark, but they’ll need more consistent play from goalie Kiprusoff if they wan’t to finish in the top half of the conference.

5) Chicago Blackhawks- There’s no hope in catching Detroit, but Chicago will be pleased that the young Blackhawks will return to the playoffs and most likely hold a 4 or 5 spot.

6) Columbus Blue Jackets- Columbus’ hot play will find them in the playoffs for the first time in the franchises’ history. The 4th spot isn’t even out of reach at this point. Great play from G Steve Mason is a huge reason they’re here.

7) Anaheim Ducks- Thought to be out of it a few weeks ago, a 5 game winning streak has them sitting in the 7th spot. They are still a team with a lot of talent and they’re finally starting to play like it.

8) Minnesota Wild- 6 teams are battling for the final 2 spots. The team with the most talent (Ducks), and the team with the best goalie (Backstrom) will get in.

Projected Playoff Matchups:

(1) San Jose vs. (8) Minnesota

(2) Detroit vs (7) Anaheim

(3) Vancouver vs (6) Columbus

(4) Calgary vs (5) Chicago

Eastern Conference:

1) Boston Bruins- They have stumbled a little in the second half but recently made a big statement by beating the 2nd place Devils 4-1. 5 points currently seperate the 2 and that should be enough for the Bruins to hold on.

2) New Jersey Devils- Brodeur is back and hasn’t missed a beat. He’ll be the difference as the Devils hold off the Capitals and their weak goaltending.

3) Washington Capitals- The top 3 teams in the East are clearly laid out and the Caps belong there. Though they just don’t have the goaltending to leap the Bruins or Devils in the standings.

4) Philadelphia Flyers- They’ll have to hold off the surging Rangers and Penguins, but more games in hand will help them take the 4 spot.

5) Pittsburgh Penguins- The Pens have been a much better team in the month of March then earlier in the season. The continued momentum will propel them to the 5th spot.

6) New York Rangers- They have played significantly better since the arrival of Tortorella and the return of Avery. However, they are still prone to scoring droughts and that will keep them from climbing much higher.

7) Carolina Hurricanes- A huge month of March has them currently sitting at the 5th spot. The fact that they have played more games then any other team and that will knock them down a few spots.

8) Florida Panthers- This spot comes down to Montreal and Florida. There’s a very negative atmosphere in Montreal and I think that will keep them out. The Panthers will sneak in.

Predicted Playoff Matchups

(1) Boston vs. (8) Florida

(2) New Jersey vs. (7) Carolina

(3) Washington vs. (6) New York

(4) Philadelphia vs. (5) Pittsburgh