rangers report: playoffs edition....

thanks to barry beck, whose biggest non-sexual fantasies have been realized with the rangers making the postseason for the first time in a long time. barry's done incredible work all season and no one loves the rangers more than him.



After a disappointing finish to the regular season with five straight losses the rangers fell out of first place in the Atlantic Division and from the third seed in the East to the sixth seed on the last night of the season. Brutal. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hudson, the Devils finished off the season with 11 straight wins and will face the Rangers in the opening round of the 2006 NHL Playoffs.

The end of the season was surely a disappointment for the Blueshirts but this maybe the best scenario for the team that entered the 05-06 campaign with lowly expectations. As documented on these pages, the Rangers turned a lot of heads throughout the league this year and created a lot of excitement for their dedicated fans and the Garden. The team made the playoffs for the first time in eight years. From the emergence of rookie goaltender Henrik Lundqist, the exciting play from Rookie Petr Prucha, Dazzling play of MVP candidate Jagr, and fantastic effort and work effort that the third and fourth line exuded every night the Ranger organization can be proud of their season. However, this team seemed to thrive as the underdog all year.

As the playoffs open tomorrow afternoon in the swamp the Rangers once again find themselves in the role of underdog and almost no one expects them to beat the Devils in the best of seven opening round of the Playoffs. The Devils seem to be peaking at the right time while the Rangers limp into the playoffs with several injuries. Several members of the Rangers sat out of yesterday's practice with the flu. Can it get any worse for the blueshirts?

With GM turned coach Lou Lamarillo behind the bench the Devils will attempt to shutdown the Rangers top line of Jagr - Nylander - Straka by matching up a great defensive line that also can score including Jay Pandalfo who will shadow Jagr all series - John Madden who has a lot of playoff experience - and Jamie Langenbrunner. The Devils will also rely on the play of future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur to backstop them to their first win against the Rangers in the playoffs ever. The Deivls scoring threat includes Gionta, Gomez and Ellias all of whom are top players in the league and the Rangers will have to lay the lumber on these cocksmokers early and often. The Rangers will need to get scoring from their second, third lines and play a more physical style to compete with the Devils. The defense will need to play much more soundly than they have in the last several games of the regular season. Look for Kasparitus to play a very physical series and try to draw some blood. Lundquist, who has been out for the past three weeks with a hip flexor, will need to stand on his head all series to keep the Rangers in each game.

Look for a tight series and hopefully the Rangers can use the underdog role to their advantage. Lots of Rangers fans will turn out for the games in NJ. This could also really demoralize the Devils and play into the hands of Tom Renney and his boys. Let's all be rooting for the Rangers. After all, no one wants to see another pathetic scene of a Stanley Cup victory celebration in the Meadowlands parking lot.

Needless to say, the NHL would be better served to have the Rangers advance.

This reporter will be at the swamp for game #2 and we should plan on a kof/woogies extravaganza on Wednesday the 26th for game 3 @ MSG. NHL Playoff Fever - Catch it.