Rangers Road To Redemption Starts Tonight
The New York Rangers have added a couple of shiny new pieces to their trophy case over the past couple seasons. Two years ago it was a surprising Prince of Wales trophy as Eastern Conference champs. Last year, it was the President’s Trophy as the leagues best regular season team before falling a game short of defending their conference crown. As Lundqvist & Co. open their season tonight in Chicago, they’ll be as close as possible to the one trophy that’s eluded this core without the rights to hoist it – but they’ve got 9 months to erase prior shortcomings & make it theirs.
These Blueshirts aren’t getting as much preseason love as last year’s and I’m not sure why. In my opinion, this is the best squad they’ve started with. Everyone is healthy. Outside of Oscar Lindberg kicking off his pro career centering the 3rd line (I’m not counting the random game he played last year), the team is stacked with guys that now have at least a taste of what it’ll take to achieve the ultimate goal. Sure there’s some mileage on a few guys but if not for Boyle & Dom Moore they’d be just about as young as the Bolts. Hank proved in the playoffs he’s still capable of anchoring a champion. Defensively they’re stacked with Yandle fully acclimated & Brady Skjei showing this preseason he’s ready for a call-up if needed. Up front there’s not a single skater in the top 12 whose arrow is pointing downward.
There’s certainly question marks though. Besides the obvious avoiding catastrophic injuries, that third line has a lot to prove with Kevin Hayes getting bumped up to flank Stepan & Kreider in the top six. Can Lindberg be a play-maker? Is the Viktor Stalberg fans saw this preseason the one we’ll watch fill the scoring void left by Marty & Hags, or will he resort back to being the ghost who was bought out by the Preds? And what will JT Miller bring in his first full season? Hard to believe the kid is still only 22 but he’s the “vet” out of this trio as far as the Rangers are concerned with his linemates spending most of 2014-15 in the AHL. If things don’t work out AV can always swap Hayes with either Stalberg or Miller for more offensive balance but obviously he’s banking on the Swedes & JT getting the job done.
This team is skilled, fast, experienced yet young. They’re a close knit core that’s fought together through a couple deep playoff runs. If raising the greatest trophy in sports isn’t motivation enough, there’s a couple guys looking to resurrect their careers & a couple others looking to prove they belong. Oh, and there’s a sure-fire HOF goaltender who this team knows deserves a Cup more than anyone else in the game. The conference has gotten stronger & the Lightning are technically the team to beat, but these New York Rangers are as poised as anyone else in the league to host the 2016 Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony. VIVA LA BLUESHIRTS!!!!!