GDHQNHL15_2pg-New York Rangers 2

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features a solid blend of veteran and rising force and size and speed. McDonagh can carry the puck and isn’t afraid to shoot, while Girardi is more of a steady defensiveminded blue liner. Adding Boyle was a sound move, despite his age. A two-year deal is reasonable for him, since it doesn’t expose the Rangers too much, and he should provide stability and experience, along with Marc Staal, who has good size and the ability to stand tall against enemy forwards. He’s not going to score a lot, but at 6-4, 207 pounds, he’s perfect for the job. Although the club’s decision to re-sign John Moore wasn’t met with a lot of fanfare around the league, it was an important move for New York, which needed to bolster its defensive depth. The 23-year old has good size (6-3, 202) and is a big hitter, as evidenced by the shot he took at Montreal’s Dale Weise in the conference finals last year, a blow that earned a two-game suspension. He’ll be paired with Kevin Klein, who didn’t see a lot of time last year (30 games), but who was solid when he did get onto the ice. Goaltending There may be some goalies who are better than Lundqvist in a given year, but when it comes to sustained excellence, there is none better. He has notched at least 30 wins during every full season he has spent in the league and registered an impressive 24 in the truncated 2012-13 campaign. Although he wasn’t impenetrable during last year’s playoffs, Lundqvist still posted a strong 2.14 goals-against average and won 13 games. Lundqvist is technically sound and makes it tough for opposing teams, because he rarely gives up soft goals. That’s a difficult situation for rivals, because they can’t count on too many off nights from him. Backup Cam Talbot is pretty good himself. He had a penurious 1.64 GAA last year and pitched three shutouts in just 19 games started. His save percentage of .941 was outstanding. Talbot gives the Rangers quite a sense of comfort when Lundqvist gets some rest. Power Play After registering the seventh-worst power play success rate in 2012-13, the Rangers took a big step forward, converting 18.2 percent of their tries. A big reason was that head coach Alain Vigneault devoted an assistant to the special teams unit, and that helped New York build chemistry and success. Of course, there will have to be some shifting this year. Brad Richards, one of the top forces of the group last year, is gone, as is Benoit Pouliot, who scored seven times when the Rangers were a man up last year. But adding Dan Boyle is huge. He scored six of his 12 goals on the power play last year in San Jose and has a big shot and the cool confidence to run the power play from the blue line. Stepan is a strong pivot on the man advantage, and Brassard showed himself to be valuable last year in terms of goals scored (seven) and his steady passing, which allowed the Rangers to move the puck better than they have in the past. Kreider had six power play goals last year and should get a chance to do more damage, with Richards and Pouliot gone. Penalty Kill Even though New York lost solid penalty-killing center Brian Boyle, Ryan McDonagh Jared Silber/NHL/Getty Images the unit should still be strong, in part because of its commitment to do being aggressive when a man down. Too many times in 2012-13, New York sat back and allowed rivals to control the action. That didn’t happen last year, and the team improved by more than four percent. One of the keys to the group is center Dominic Moore, who doesn’t score a lot, but who does play solid defense and can help prevent opponents from getting comfortable on the power play. Expect the Rangers to be solid in this area again in 2014-15, because even without Boyle, they will continue to push rivals when a man down, something that creates discomfort and torpedoes power play success. Prediction The Rangers will be one of the Metropolitan’s best, and it’s entirely possible they will reach the semis of the Eastern Conference. But anything more than that could be asking too much. New York sustained some losses that will hurt, and though it did make a couple solid additions, it appears that replicating last year’s success will be too difficult. Scoreboard 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 PLAYOFF FINISH Cup Finals Conf SF Conf Finals Conf QF DNQ REGULAR SEASON 45-31-6 26-8-4 51-24-7 44-33-5 38-33-11 POINT TOTAL 96 56 109 93 87 SHOOTOUT RECORD 4-3 4-4 4-5 9-3 3-4 GOALS SCORED 218 130 226 233 222 GOALS ALLOWED 193 112 187 198 218 POWER PLAY % 18.18 15.69 15.71 16.90 18.27 PENALTY KILL % 85.34 81.08 86.15 83.66 84.28


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