Considering we’re a Rangers fan centered platform here, this will surely be a fun one to discuss. Up next on Elimination Evals, our hated rivals on Long Island, the New York Islanders. Strangely enough, there was a good portion of the fanbase actually rooting for the Islanders to at the very least, make it a series as to prolong the journey for our potential next round opponent. Alas, they didn’t do Rangers fans many favors in that regard. Despite the longest overtime we’ve had in a first round that surprisingly hasn’t had many long nights, the Islanders didn’t give the Hurricanes a run for th ..read more

The Round 1 Series against the Capitals felt good, no it felt great. There was a big sigh of relief knowing the Rangers took care of business against a team that was definitively the worse team. While the Rangers showed signs and long stretches where they showcased their offensive power, they were far from perfect, specifically on defense and the numbers reflect both sides. Let's start with showcasing the basic breakdown of the performance. They won 4 thanks to the power play, and there's nothing wrong with that as it's wise to build a team that has a very capable power play. After all, each t ..read more

Here are today's news and links: Rangers News: Dave Blezow breaks down why even after a Presidents' Trophy-winning regular season followed by a one-sided sweep of Washington, the Blueshirts stand as betting underdogs in the second round against Carolina (NY Post) Mollie Walker notes that for all the familiar faces the Rangers and Hurricanes will remember from their 2022 playoff encounter, there are plenty of new faces as well to keep things interesting (NY Post) Justin Tasch examines the possibility of a series defeat against the New York being the final nail in the coffin for Rod Brind'Amour ..read more

Next up on the Elimination Eval series comes out of the battle of Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning. I want to start this one off with a very similar question I had for the Washington Capitals; Is this the end of an era? Arguably one of the biggest stories to come out of this season’s training camp surrounded the future of the team’s longest tenured player. With their postseason coming to a quicker than desired end, the attention will surely shift back to those conversations as the Lightning have a lot to think about going into the off-season.   The Lightning took the hockey world by ..read more

..read more

As the Rangers now have their eyes set on their next opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, a familiar face is rotating into the lineup within practice. Chytil just took a shift with Trocheck and Laf. Maybe Panarin is going to be a healthy scratch? ? — Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) May 1, 2024 Not entirely new or newsworthy, but Chytil has been fully practicing with the team since early April. As the Rangers progress in the postseason, the question on whether he will or will not return will only continue to burn brighter and brighter. While he has cycled in with certain lines on the Range ..read more

Good morning all, Just a quick update I have teased the past few weeks that I can finally comment on. I am pleased to announce we have brought on Ethan Haas of Project 94 to join our writing staff. Ethan is a data scientist by trade, and has a unique, self-built, analytical tool that he has created for numerous sports (hockey included) and he will be using his skills and his tools to bring a more data-centric focus to the site. Some of these stories will obviously focus on the Rangers, some will focus on other teams as well. In addition, there will be opportunities for collaboration between s ..read more

..read more

Here are today's news and links: Rangers News: Larry Brooks examines the work New York's front office, both in the form of current general manager Chris Drury and his two predecessors, has done to turn the team into the contender it has become (NY Post) Mollie Walker heard from Peter Laviolette about the pros and cons of earning an extended rest following a quick playoff series victory vs an extended series with less time away from the ice from one series to the next (NY Post) Colin Stephenson notes that even though Kaapo Kakko didn't put together as strong of a regular season performance as a ..read more

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of year again. For first time readers, welcome to my yearly Elimination Eval series that I'm excited to bring to Blueshirt Banter! In these evaluations, I breakdown how each team's playoff run went, whether or not it was a success and what could come next as a result. It rarely works out where the first one of the season is a result of the Rangers success but nevertheless, let’s talk about the Washington Capitals.  The end of an era or on the brink of greatness, the Capitals are certainly in a once in a lifetime situation. While on an organizational le ..read more