It's Hard To Argue Against The Rangers As 2015 Stanley Cup Favorites

6104/13/2015 8:45 PM

What a regular season. Best in team history. After a sluggish 7-7-4 start, the Blueshirts dominated the league at a 46-15-3 clip en route to clinching their first Presidents’ Trophy since ’93-’94 – and we’re all aware of what followed back then. This year’s squad is different though. More homegrown, more experienced playing together. Stretches without key players like Lundqvist, McDonagh, Klein, Stepan, etc. have cost the Rangers zilch. If anything, they’ve become even more confident. Highlighted by an incredible couple months out of Cam Talbot, the “next man up” mentality couldn’t have been exemplified any better. Regardless of who was in or out, Vigneault’s team found themselves near the top of the league in scoring, PK & every defensive/goaltending metric to go along with home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Fueled by last year’s “close but no cigar” finish in LA, the Rangers are primed to take that last step into hockey glory.
There are certainly more top-heavy teams in the dance, but it’s hard to match how well-rounded & deep these Blueshirts are at every position. Led by their star-power triumvirate of Nash/McDonagh/Lundqvist, if there are holes in this roster they’re microscopic. I’m trying to objectively find reason for any doubt whatsoever – but I can’t.

Rick Nash, voted team MVP & “Players’ Player”, leads the way as the clear-cut most dangerous offensive threat. He cooled off for a bit last month but has started to pick it up again. The spotlight will be all over him, especially after potting a career-high 42 goals, to erase memories of his lackluster playoff history. If he hits another rut though, the Rangers are more potently balanced than last year. Had JT Miller played a full season, their top 9 forwards would all have at least 15 goals. The Rangers can’t put together an all-star line like the Ducks, Hawks or Pens can – but guys like Stepan, Brassard & Kreider are young, above-average top-sixers who haven’t even peaked yet. Zuccarello has been on a point-per-game pace since February & Miller has taken full advantage of a Marty St. Louis injury to prove why he was a first-round selection in 2011. 8 points in 12 games including a pair of GWG’s & the primary on a third have AV playing him with all the confidence in the world. That leaves Marty with Hayes/Hags on a third line that’s just not fair. Hagelin’s speed alone makes him one of the league’s best bottom-six forwards, Marty is a HOFer & Kevin Hayes is a play-making stud. Not only does he lead the Blueshirts in scoring since the All-Star break (top-10 overall in points-per-60), but despite 3rd line minutes he led the NHL (with Seguin & Getzlaf) in 5×5 primary assists. Dom Moore & Jesper Fast are top PK guys on one of the league’s best units, helping make up a responsible 4th line despite being flanked by Tanner Glass. If AV decides to roll with James Sheppard (an actual hockey player) over Glass, they’ll be even better. Between Nash & Glass are a perfect blend of interchangeable two-way forwards littered with some size, plenty of speed, creativity & fire opponents can’t match.
With Kevin Klein’s expected return for Game 1, you’re gonna have a hard time convincing me there’s a better 6-man defensive rotation. Captain McDonagh is heating up just in time to duplicate his offensive explosion that coincided with last year’s 3-1 comeback over the Pens & catapulted them through the East. The deadline deal for Keith Yandle may not have helped the power play, but there’s no denying his ability to transition from defense to offense. Girardi’s physicality & shot-blocking knack along with Staal’s length & stick work sometimes come at a cost, but they’re both quality defenders overall. Dan Boyle’s been a disappointment on the stat sheet, but he’s surprisingly been one of the league’s best in scoring chance differential when he’s on the ice. The only thing that’s gotten this group in trouble at times are turnovers – but when they’re careful with the puck, they’re not only impenetrable but can light the lamp the other way.
Perhaps the biggest advantage the Rangers have is between the pipes. Cam Talbot was amazing when he stepped in for Hank, but Lundqvist has put up all-time postseason numbers despite not having his name on the Cup. With Quick & Rask watching playoff coverage from home, he may be the best of the bunch. Dubnyk & Hammond (who the Rangers have recently beaten) are on great runs but unproven on the big stage. Price had an outstanding regular season, but up until a year ago was an annual playoff bust. Holtby was excellent as well, but it’s asking a lot for him to dominate the April-June grind after leading the league in games played. Rinne’s in a similar spot, plus his play has dropped significantly since the calendar flipped to 2015. The established cream of the playoff crop is a tier of two – Crawford & the King – and I’ll take the well-rested Lundqvist fueled by the hunger of being oh-so-close last year any day.
As for the Penguins in the opening round…

After crushing their souls while erasing a 3-1 series deficit last May, the Rangers whipped the soft-as-baby-shit Pens over the majority of 4 regular season games. The only W Pitt could muster was in a shootout after a review reversed what was a game-winning Boyle finish. Since being pushed to the brink of elimination, the Blueshirts are 6-0-1 by a combined 26-11 score. Last time they met, Fleury was chased. The world’s supposed best player in Sidney Crosby has tallied a mere 2 points over this span & his team as a whole was on an 0-4-1 April tailspin before the fortune of having Buffalo on the schedule saved their playoff lives. The NHL postseason is wild – anything can happen – but there’s no logical reason to think the Penguins can all of a sudden flip the script against the league’s best team who has owned them in recent history. Especially without Letang, Ehrhoff & Maatta on the back end. They may put on a brave face with the media over the next couple days but, once the reality of squaring off with the Rangers set in, the collective Penguins mindset was probably something like this:

Rangers in 5 just to make the home crowd happy, but that’s only the beginning. With a team even stronger than last year’s Eastern Conference champs, 2015 is Cup-or-bust & I couldn’t be more confident. VIVA LA BLUESHIRTS!!