OUT FOR MORE
Rangers want to roll into playoffs
STANDING IN the way of the Ottawa Senators’ playoff hopes are all of the Presidents’ men.
The Rangers (52-21-7, 111 points) have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, so their priority Thursday night at the Garden is to stay healthy. But they also would like to extend their five-game winning streak through Saturday afternoon’s season finale at Washington and carry the momentum into the postseason next week.
The ninth-place Senators (4126-13, 95 points) are trying to catch the Eastern Conference teams who have yet to clinch a playoff spot: the Bruins, Penguins, Red Wings and incredibly, the gagging Islanders.
That puts Ottawa, a potential first-round Ranger opponent, in the position many critics believed would belong to the Blueshirts following a seemingly underwhelming offseason.
“Going into this season, most of the hockey community put us fighting for a playoff spot,” Alain Vigneault reminded everyone on Tuesday night, when he clinched his third Presidents’ Trophy, the first two with the 2011 and 2012 Vancouver Canucks. “We finished first in the league, and I think that says a lot about our group and our younger players coming in and fitting in.”
Unquestionably, the Rangers’ best offseason move was the signing of rookie center Kevin Hayes in August. Hayes, a former first-rounder of the Blackhawks who never signed in Chicago, turns 23 on May 8 and has exceeded even his own expectations in his first season.
He has 16 goals and 27 assists, including a goal and two assists in Tuesday’s 4-2 win in Newark.
“It’s worked out better than I thought, honestly,” Hayes said Monday at the Garden. “I was confident coming into training camp. I told myself that I would make the team and get a look. I believed in myself. But I didn’t expect it to work out like this. It’s worked out well.”
As for how the Rangers will proceed, Vigneault can continue to rest starters as he did with forward Mats Zuccarello (body soreness) on Tuesday night. Defensemen Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, and forwards Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Rick Nash, are the leading candidates to take at least one game off.
James Sheppard can spell a different forward in each match. Injured defenseman Kevin Klein (broken left arm) may return either Thursday night or Saturday afternoon. And the Rangers have three of their four post-trade deadline, non-emergency recalls remaining to use on AHL fill-ins.
The salary cap will not prevent an AHL call-up at this juncture.
Henrik Lundqvist, meanwhile, will start the Rangers’ final two games in net. It’s important Lundqvist plays Saturday, too, otherwise he would go a full week without playing in a game.
Game 1 of the Rangers’ firstround series will be next Thursday at the Garden. Game 2 will be Saturday or Sunday, perhaps in the afternoon, although a date and time are yet to be determined, pending the opponent.
The NHL’s postseason opens on Wednesday, but the Rangers can’t drop the puck until Thursday because the Knicks play their home finale on Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons.
Thankfully, that will conclude the Knicks’ charade of a season so the best pro sports team in New York can chase its championship with no distractions.