Finally, the inevitable has happened. The Montreal Canadiens have clinched the Atlantic Division, making them the New York Rangers first round opponent.
- New York Rangers (47-26-6, 100 pts)
- Washington Capitals (52-18-8, 112 pts)
- NHL, Wednesday, Apr. 5, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
- Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
You ready? I’m ready. All of Rangerstown is ready. Therefore, you better be ready.
It’s now official. The New York Rangers will take on the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This means the Blueshirts are in the fortunate position the Islanders were a season ago in moving on over to the Atlantic side of the bracket. Should they beat the Habs in a seven-game series, they’ll take on the Atlantic winner from the seeds No. 2 and 3 matchup.
It really isn’t a bad place to be considering the monsters that reside in the Metropolitan.
Now that everything’s locked in, maintenance becomes the top priority. According to Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello will all sit and rest while his team takes on the Washington Capitals in D.C. on Wednesday night.
Vigneault says McDonagh, Nash, Zuccarello and Fast all out tomorrow, dealing with "bumps and bruises." All will be ready for playoffs. #NYR
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) April 4, 2017
As soon as word that the NHL won’t be sending its players to the 2018 Olympics, reaction came fast and furious. Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News had the latest from Henrik Lundqvist who relayed his “disappointment” in the no-go.
ESNY’s Chris Wengert destroys Gary Bettman and the NHL for its Olympic decision.
Josh Hartnett of CBS New York has a story about how Alain Vigneault is looking to unlock some of Brendan Smith‘s offensive potential.
Joe Fortunato of Blueshirt Banter previews the Rangers-Habs playoff series from a quick, first glance.
AV with #NYR injury updates before the team heads to Washington to take on the Capitals Wednesday night. pic.twitter.com/OA0wTtD4Ze
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 4, 2017
.@MikaZibanejad talks about his excitement on getting back into the postseason with #NYR. pic.twitter.com/FdzovnvQgD
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 4, 2017
“It’s a big week for us to work on everything that’s been helping us so far throughout the year." – @HLundqvist30 after #NYR practice. pic.twitter.com/krSDsU7Zev
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 4, 2017
