What Went Wrong: Out of Gas and Out of Tricks

It is amazing how far the New York Rangers have come in just a short time. The 2020 bubble was very disappointing for the Rangers; they were part of the expanded playoffs that year, but not only were they defeated in the Qualifying Round, they were the only team to be swept in the best-of-five series. However, there was a silver lining. Losing the Qualifying Round allowed them to join the other seven eliminated teams in the lottery for the #1 pick, which the Rangers ended up winning to draft Alexis Lafreniere.

While the shortened 2020-21 season saw the Rangers out of the playoffs altogether, this season saw them hire Gerard Gallant (yes, that Gerard Gallant) as their head coach, and the Rangers exploded big time! 52-24-6, 110 points, 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division. The road through the Metropolitan portion of the playoffs was a bumpy one; they fell behind 3-1 in the Division Semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, including losing a triple OT thriller at home in Game One. However, the Rangers came back and won three straight, capped off by Artemi Panarin's GWG in OT of Game Seven. The Division Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes was dominated by home ice, but even then, the Rangers managed to prevail. After winning Game Six at home, the Rangers dominated the Canes in Game Seven on the road, placing them in the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in seven years.

It was in the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning that the Rangers had their first series lead in these playoffs, as they won the first two games of the series. They ended up dropping Games Three and Four in Tampa, but they would return home for Game Five, with the belief that the Rangers would take the series back. But that's where the "What Went Wrong" came in: the Rangers completely fizzled. After scoring first in Game Five, the Rangers stopped playing; allowing the Lightning to not only tie it up, but win it late--just like they did in Game Three of the series. Game Six was even more lethargic; they put absolutely no pressure on Andrei Vasilevskiy, and they couldn't stop Steven Stamkos from taking over offensively.

Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider showed out in the 2022 playoffs, each scoring 10 goals in the Rangers' long run. For Kreider, his overall 16 points was more than he had in the 2014 playoffs (which saw the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Final), and his 10 goals increased his career playoff goal total to 34, which tied him with the late, great Rod Gilbert for the most in franchise history. As for Zibanejad, he finished with 24 points, while Adam Fox was close behind with 23 (5 G/18 A); they were the only Rangers to rack up a point per game. Artemi Panarin also had 16 points, though six of his were goals, including his aforementioned OT winner in Game 7 against the Penguins.

The group that gained quite a lot of attention from fans and viewers was the "Kid Line," which consisted of Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil. Lafreniere and Chytil each had nine points, but in the case of the latter, seven of them were goals, and he had his share of multi-goal games in this year's playoffs. Kakko had only five points, and he was out for Game Six--his presence was definitely missed.

I have to talk about Igor Shesterkin, and the way he has made all sorts of waves this season. In the regular season, Shesterkin went 36-13-4, with a .935 SV%, a 2.07 GAA, and six shutouts. Because of those amazing numbers, not only is Shesterkin up for the Vezina (along with Vasilevskiy and Jacob Markstrom), but he is also up for the Hart as well (along with Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid). In the playoffs, Shesterkin went 10-9 with a .929 SV% and a GAA of 2.59; still continuing to be the force he was in the regular season. With a goaltender like Shesterkin, the Rangers should definitely contend for years to come.

Elsewhere, the Rangers definitely have a lot of offensive depth to go with the goaltending, so with all of those factors, the Rangers should continue to be a juggernaut in the Eastern Conference. They might be the team who replaces the Lightning atop the East should they fall off their perch. For now, the Rangers will revel in the fact that they got this far, and they will definitely spend the offseason doing everything they can to make sure they get to that next level.

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