Can the Rangers Go the Extra Mile in 2023?

The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't the only team who clinched a playoff spot without even playing. The Florida Panthers' regulation loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday, March 27, 2022, brought the New York Rangers one step closer. They still needed the Buffalo Sabres to lose, and that could come in any fashion. Buffalo's game against the Montréal Canadiens needed extra time, and eventually needed a shootout despite a Habs power play in overtime. It was scoreless entering the Habs' half of the shootout. If Montréal scored, the Rangers are in. Montréal scored. New York celebrates (maybe for the first of two times this season)!

I feel like the Rangers are in the same "movin' on up" process that the Colorado Avalanche were in. If I had to pinpoint a starting point for the Rangers' process, it has to be 2020. The modified playoffs also included a modified draft lottery, with Part 1 ending with the #1 pick going to the yet-to-be-determined defeated team in the Qualifying Round. That's yet another wrinkle I loved about the 2020 playoffs, because as a result of that, the Qualifying Round teams had a choice: either play to win and get a step closer to the Stanley Cup, or possibly "bow out" for an equal 12.5% chance at the #1 pick. The Rangers were swept out of the Qualifying Round, and in Part 2 of the lottery ended up with the Rangers winning the #1 pick, which became Alexis Lafreniere.

Lafreniere's part of the Rangers' "Kid Line" with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, but 2021 saw the Rangers miss the playoffs enirely. This past season saw the Rangers go all out offensively and in net, especially in net; Igor Shesterkin had an absolute dream season that led him to winning the Vezina Trophy, and as for the Rangers overall, the team went on their longest run since 2015, reaching the Eastern Conference Final and looking like they would take out the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they just ran out of gas after winning those first two games.

The Rangers had a deep enough team to go on another run, but even then, they decided to go all in, because that's what New York sports does. On February 9, 2023, the Rangers traded for Vladimir Tarasenko, who had been the subject of trade rumors for about two years. Tarasenko, a Stanley Cup Champion with the St. Louis Blues, didn't waste any time--he scored just a few minutes into his Rangers debut, and in 22 games played with the Rangers, Tarasenko has five goals and nine assists. Tarasenko has been shining on a line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, but even then, the Rangers decided to trade for another Stanley Cup Champion.

Patrick Kane is a New York Ranger. The Chicago Blackhawks had been taking their sweet time letting go of their main centerpiece, despite the fact that the team had been showing no signs of improvement for the last five years. Entering this season, the Hawks had dealt every good piece except for Kane and Jonathan Toews, though Toews' injuries and long COVID have prevented him from being moved. That left Kane, and after winning three Stanley Cups and a pair of Conn Smythes for the Blackhawks, Kane was finally traded to the Rangers. In 12 games, Kane has four goals and four assists with the Rangers, another amazing asset to the team.

The story during the early part of the Rangers' season has been Igor Shesterkin...and how human he's been looking lately. Shesterkin captured his well-earned Vezina last season, but in his first starts of this year, he got lit up quite a bit. He has managed to get that swagger back: 33-12-7, 2.55 GAA, .914 SV%, and two shutouts. Shesterkin has a new backup in the form of veteran netminder Jaroslav Halak, whose amazing performance in the 2010 playoffs still remains as a legendary tale. Halak's numbers: 10-8-5, 2.68 GAA, .905 SV%, and a shutout.

The Rangers are in a dogfight in the Metropolitan Division. It's a foregone conclusion that the Rangers will be cemented in the division's Top 3 with the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils, and there is still plenty of time for them to climb that ladder and take over first place. Regardless of placement, the true test comes in the playoffs. Again, this team was two wins short of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014. The trades have many believing they'll go all the way this year. If they don't, will this be considered a huge disappointment? Could Gerard Gallant be done as head coach? Both are looming questions that the Rangers have to face as they enter this year's playoffs.

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