Kane, Tarasenko Back in Playoff Form Have Rangers Looking Dangerous at the Right Time

There's something to be said about what playoff experience means come playoff time.

You want players who have been through the attrition that is Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was that specific thing that drove the New York Rangers' aim at the trade deadline, and it's one of the main reasons why they have a 2-0 series over the rival New Jersey Devils.

It wasn't something New York necessarily lacked. After all, the Rangers made the Eastern Conference Final last season and brought back the bulk of its core. But if you add more playoff experience and high-end skill to a team with Stanley Cup expectations, there's a good chance you'll have a recipe for success.

New York's two major trade-deadline acquisitions this season were Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. When the Rangers brought them on board, though, there was some thought that these were desperate moves to add big-name players for the bright lights of Broadway. No team in the NHL loves marquee names quite like New York does, and those two players were the biggest names out there.

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Those arguments had some merit, too. The Rangers weren't lacking for offense, and both Tarasenko and Kane were in the middle of the least productive seasons of their careers. Kane was struggling through a reported hip injury, while Tarasenko had already asked out of St. Louis previously and already had one eye on the exit door in a contract year.

Each has their particular set of skills—Tarasenko has the incredible shot and Kane can create plays out of nothing—but those skills weren't quite as sharp this season.

You wouldn't know it based on how they performed in Game 2. In fact, both have caught fire since the start of the postseason.

Tarasenko's second-period goal got the Rangers on the board and tied the game. It was a classic, wired wrist shot out of the blue through traffic that eluded Vitek Vanecek. It's the sort of shot we saw from Tarasenko throughout his career in St. Louis, and now he's doing it for the Blueshirts instead of the Blues.

It's why the Rangers were happy to spend a 2023 first- and fourth-round pick and gave up two players to get him. Players with elite skill, even those who might not be as good as they used to be, can still bring it.

Kane was the more controversial addition for the Rangers, but he made GM Chris Drury look like a genius in Game 2. The 34-year-old, three-time Stanley Cup champion piled up three points in the Rangers' 5-1 win. He set up both of Chris Kreider's second-period goals and scored on an incredible individual effort early in the third period in which he picked Jesper Bratt's pocket twice and slow-played a backhand past Vanecek.

Kane was only ever going to leave Chicago to play for the Rangers, but for the longest time, it didn't seem like it was going to happen. While waiting on Kane, the Rangers pivoted and landed Tarasenko. That Kane ultimately landed in Manhattan anyway was a supreme bonus.

What's more, bringing Kane and Tarasenko in has helped give their other star players a lift.

Opposing teams have to be aware of Kane and Tarasenko on the ice, which means players like Chris Kreider get some extra breathing room to exploit opposing defenses, especially on the power play. Kreider has four goals in the first two games of the playoffs, scoring twice in each of the 5-1 wins in Newark. Kreider's power-forward play is specially made to excel in the playoffs, and he's thriving around the Devils' net.

Adam Fox is one of the NHL's best defensemen, and he's exceeded even his own lofty standards over the first two games against New Jersey. Fox had four assists in Game 1 and two more in Game 2, including both of Tarasenko's goals in the series.

The Devils have been wound tighter than a drum in this series, and now that it's headed across the river to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4, the nerves they showed at home aren't likely to improve. It's this kind of scenario that made the Rangers eager to add veterans like Tarasenko and Kane. Their presence on the roster should serve to reduce the stress on the Rangers' young players like Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniére, and Filip Chytil. New York can go roll out four lines and have a scoring threat that most teams that can only dream of it.

Veterans who have won the Stanley Cup take all the heat because they've been there before. Their experience is invaluable in helping younger players learn and adapt to the rigors of the postseason.

It's only two games into the playoffs, but the Rangers have one of the NHL's best teams on the ropes, and much of the credit for that belongs to the superstars they acquired. There's still a long road ahead, but if Tarasenko and Kane can be counted for these kinds of performances throughout the playoffs, the rest of the Eastern Conference could be in big trouble.