New York Rangers host Ottawa Senators in first meeting of Stanley Cup playoffs – NHL Preview
The New York Rangers ended their National Hockey League (NHL) regular season with just two points behind the Vancouver Canucks, who clinched the President’s Trophy title.
However, Rangers still managed to top the Atlantic Division and finished as the best team of the Eastern Conference.
As for Senators, their playoff run was a bit shaky and faced some serious competition from other playoff contenders. However, that is an old story now and they are right here in the playoffs, setting their eyes on the Stanley Cup.
Both teams are going to play their first playoff game on Thursday, April 12, 2012, at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York.
Here is a look at both teams.
Rangers
As mentioned earlier, Rangers did not clinch the President’s Trophy title this season, but they had every chance of doing so.
Rangers lost three of their last four games of the regular season and lost on the opportunity of winning the trophy.
Rangers lost against Boston Bruins (2-1) and won against Philadelphia Flyers (5-3). However, they lost their last two games and the defeats came against Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2) and Washington Capitals (4-1).
Rangers’ captain, Ryan Callahan, thinks that every player has to give his best shot and contribute towards the team’s victories. He was of the view that the team has got success in the season and could get it in the playoffs as well. He said:
"A system is not going to work unless everybody is a part of it and doing it. So far this year everybody has accepted that role of blocking shots, taking the body, that defence-first mentality. We have had success with it."
Senators
Senators’ end to the regular season was also not very encouraging as they lost three games in a row. Thankfully, they did not lose their playoff spot and ended up at eighth position in the Eastern Conference.
Senators got defeats against Carolina Hurricanes (2-1), Boston Bruins (3-1) and New Jersey Devils (4-2).
Senators’ centre, Jason Spezza, however, has said that the team is looking forward to playing against Rangers rather than thinking about the failures in the regular season.
He said:
"We're obviously excited to get back in the playoffs as you can tell. We're just looking forward to getting started. [As for losing the last three games of the regular season], playoffs wipe everything clean. Now it's just looking forward to the first game
and getting the momentum."
Predictions
Rangers and Senators played four games in the regular season and the latter won three of them. However, despite having dominance earlier, Rangers are still favourites to win the game.
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