The New York Rangers completed their twentieth game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon, when they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0, at Madison Square Garden. That means we have officially reached the end of the first quarter for 2011-12, and at 12-5-3 and 6th overall in the Eastern Conference, the Broadway Blueshirts deserve some credit for the success they’ve had to this point. New York is among the East's elites, and they should be recognized as so.
I feel like after every win there are more and more people making excuses for why the Rangers were the better team in that particular game. For example, on Friday I had people telling me that a 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals was nothing to get excited over since the Caps are a struggling team right now. Not for nothing, but the Capitals started the season off 7-0-0 and on paper, are one of the most talented clubs in the National Hockey League. All of this is not erased just because Washington has lost their last two games.
The Capitals have much more star power than the Rangers, so you know going it that it's never going to be an easy contest to play in, especially at the Verizon Center. But the Rangers played exceptionally well on Friday, pressuring the Caps in the offensive zone and playing them perfectly on defense as well. Yet we shouldn't get excited because Ovechkin is struggling and the team can't seem to get wins as of late?
And then there's the win over Philadelphia, which a whole boatload of people were very quick to shoot down. Oh, how unfortunate it is that the Flyers were down two of their better forwards as well as defenseman Chris Pronger. News flash; every team goes through injuries and has to fight through them. Hell, the Rangers have been without their best defenseman all season long but you don't hear them complaining or losing because of it.
If the Rangers were in first place right now, half the fan base would be making excuses as to why they've reached such high placement. It's ridiculous, especially considering that the team's own fans are reluctant to give them the credit that they deserve.
Go look at the Eastern Conference standings, and pay attention to the "games played" column. Wow, look at that - the Rangers are only 5 points behind the first place Penguins even though they've played FOUR less games. The Rangers have played fewer games than any team in the East, as a matter of fact, and at least three less than everyone above them, save for the Bruins, who have played 22 so far.
The fact that New York is able to keep up with the best in the East, despite the other teams having a large advantage in games played, is admirable. But I guess we shouldn't be proud because, after all, Pronger didn't play on Saturday.
I’m not saying that the Rangers are Stanley Cup contenders, because we all know they are far from reaching those credentials. However, they deserve a little more credit for their play through twenty games than they’ve received, especially since they had all odds working against them early on with a rough travel schedule to begin the season.
As the Larry Brooks article I shared with you yesterday stated, the Rangers found their identity in the past two wins over the Capitals and Flyers, and now it’s time to look forward to the ultimate test on Tuesday when they faceoff with the Pittsburgh Penguins at MSG.
If they can climb that mountain, then no hill is too steep for the New York Rangers, and no excuse can overshadow the success this team is having playing grind-it-out hockey.
Be proud of your team. They deserve it.
* In spirit of the Winter Classic, I designed a new vintage-looking banner and background for the blog, which I’m sure you’ve noticed (unless you are extremely oblivious to change). I received a ton of positive feedback on Twitter when I sneak-peeked it late last night, so I may just keep it for the rest of the season.
I decided to officially launch it today since the Rangers will also be revealing their Winter Classic sweaters this afternoon at 4 p.m. eastern time. Be sure to check back here then, as the jersey will be posted up on the blog as soon as it is unveiled.
By the way, I made a matching iPhone wallpaper to go with the blog's new look if anyone is interested in using it. You can find that here. If you do use it, tweet me a picture of it on your phone and I will retweet it.
* The Minnesota Wild held a very touching tribute to the late Derek Boogaard last night at the Xcel Energy Center. Within the tribute video, current Rangers Marian Gaborik, Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust all spoke about their former teammate. You can watch that by clicking here.
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