New York Rangers: 8 Reasons the Blueshirts Are Stanley Cup Threats

The New York Rangers are giving their fans much to cheer about this year, and their competitors much to fear. 

They hold the first place spot in the Atlantic Division, as well as in the entire Eastern Conference with an impressive record of 33-15-5.

The Rangers are also in second place in the league overall with 71 points.

The Detroit Red Wings are currently three points ahead with 74 points.  The Red Wings, however, have played three more games than the Rangers at this juncture in the season.

This level of excellence doesn't just happen by accident.

Of course, there are many ingredients needed to create the recipe of Stanley Cup success.

These eight reasons here will definitely highlight why.

King Henrik

Henrik Lundqvist has always been a great goaltender, but he has been exceptionally phenomenal this year and is a major contributing factor, if not the main reason why the New York Rangers are experiencing such great success.

The Blueshirts have allowed the least amount of goals against in the league (103).  The only team that comes close to them are the St. Louis Blues with 106 GA.

Out of those 103 GA, Lundqvist has allowed only 71 goals in 39 games played in net.  That gives him a 1.80 goals-against average.

Lundqvist's save percentage is .939, tying him for first place in the league with St. Louis Blues netminder Brian Elliott.  However, Lundqvist has played in 15 more games than Elliott.

Henrik also is tied for the league lead in shutouts with six.  You can also throw in the added ammunition of being extremely dependable during shootouts.

When Lundqvist is in the zone, almost nothing can get by him, and he is clearly in the zone this season, so the sky is the limit with this Swede.

Coach Tortorella has insisted upon resting Lundqvist more this year, which has made his play fresher and will continue to do so through the remainder of the season and beyond.

It doesn't hurt to have a strong backup goaltender in Martin Biron to allow this to work out.

Penalty Kill

The New York Rangers have been able to depend on their penalty kill this year, which is key, because they have been short-handed 171 times.

They are currently in fifth place in the league on the penalty kill with a percentage of 87.1.

What they lack on their power play they seem to somewhat make up for with their penalty-killing unit.

Henrik Lundqvist once again plays a pivotal role in this equation because of his innate ability to keep his team in the game.

Two other key factors are Brandon Prust and Brian Boyle.  What Prust lacks in goal scoring he more than makes up for in penalty killing.  And Boyle has proved himself to be just as tenacious on the PK.

Shot Blocking

While the Rangers' penalty-killing units are very strong, their ability to block shots is a major contributing factor to their likelihood of making it to the Stanley Cup.

Dan Girardi is pretty much Lundqvist's right hand man and gained notoriety while his teammate and linemate Marc Staal was out with a concussion this season.  Girardi is fourth in the league in blocked shots with 126.

Overall, the defensive efforts and willingness to sacrifice the body to block shots—not just by Girardi, but by the entire team—has really aided in their success this season. 

This is also a double-edged sword because continuing to put themselves in the line of fire may get them to the Stanley Cup, but it also increases the chances of injuries from doing so.

Depth

The New York Rangers organization has the depth to reach out to their farm system, the Connecticut Whale, in the case of injury or conditional training.

This has already proven to be a good resource under the direction of coach Ken Gernander and general manager Jim Schoenfeld.

Out of this farm system we have seen Stu Bickel, Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell, to name a few.  And look how instrumental they have turned out to be.

Having the depth this year has given Coach Tortorella the luxury of being able to circulate all four lines throughout the game instead of riding his top horses into exhaustion, as was the case in seasons past.

Teamwork

This mangled and beaten up Broadway hat symbolizes more then just any old fedora to this team; it is a shining example of their camaraderie and teamwork.

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The Broadway Hat, introduced by Brad Richards during the Rangers' trip to Europe in 2011, is given to the MVP of the Rangers following every win, as determined among the Rangers players.

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In addition, you can tell how much this 2011-2012 Rangers team enjoys playing for and supporting one another.  

They trust and respect their captain, Ryan Callahan, and their coaching staff, led by head coach John Tortorella, who all demand nothing but the best from their team.

There hasn't been as lethal a combination of a Rangers organization since the 1993-1994 Stanley Cup champs. 

The Big Guns Believe in Them

New York Rangers owner Jim Dolan doesn't normally show his face around the hockey arena, but he made a rare appearance in the Rangers' locker room after the Winter Classic to express his pride in the team.

He also commended his general manager Glen Sather a few weeks later, stating,

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"I'm particularly proud of Mr. [Glen] Sather because all the way back to 2004 when things weren't going so well and we had a lot of free agents here and we decided to basically re-do the strategy, Glen and I made a pact. I gave him something, which I won't reveal today, but I gave him something to seal the pact. I said, 'You can't give it back to me until we win the Stanley Cup.' And I think we're pretty close to getting that thing back."

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Dolan, who hasn't addressed the Rangers media since the 2005-2006 season, even openly admits to recognizing the amazing team that has been created to bring about this incredible year.

If he has actually taken the time to notice his hockey team this year, then it definitely proves that the Rangers are a true contender for Lord Stanley's highest honor. 

Their Toughness

The Rangers have proven themselves a force to be reckoned with this season.  

They have a number of big guns on their roster, like Mike Rupp and Brandon Prust, who have shown time and again that they are always up for a good fight, sometimes even at the same time, as was the case Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils. 

The Blueshirts actually lead the league in fighting majors with 44.  

Prust is tied for second place in the league with 14 fights, Rupp has nine, Stu Bickel has six and even Dubinsky has three.

Not only do they obviously not turn down a fight, but the Rangers team overall has been known to hit and to hit hard.

Ryan Callahan is fourth in the league in hits with 265, Brandon Dubinsky is seventh with 251 and Dan Girardi is 15th with 207.

This further exemplifies them as a threat, because they may be unassuming, but they do not by any means back down.

Their Ability to Bounce Back After a Rough Loss

One thing that seems to be a recurring theme with the New York Rangers as of late is their ability to bounce back after a loss.

The Blueshirts haven't lost more than three games in a row since their rough start of the season in Europe.

Since they returned to the United States, they haven't lost more than two games in a row. And since December 17th, they haven't even had a two-game losing streak.

This Rangers team has been so consistent in their play so far this season that they come out and play even stronger and smarter after a tough loss.

Their durability and tenacity not to let a loss deter their focus has been essential to their continued success in the league and will make them a stubborn opponent come the postseason.