2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Rangers Sweep Flyers and Clinch Eastern Conference

In August, who would have ever thought that the New York Rangers would be standing atop the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference come April? Not many, but that is the case as the Rangers are the 2011-12 Atlantic Division champions and they will enter the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs as the No. 1 seed.

More importantly, the New York Rangers completed a season sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers and gained a huge edge for any potential postseason matchup. It is all but determined that the Flyers will square off with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. This year the Flyers have played well against the Penguins and there is an equal chance of them eliminating the Penguins as there is getting eliminated by Pittsburgh.

With the Washington Capitals or Buffalo Sabres as the No. 8 seed, there is no reason why the Rangers can't advance to the second stage in five games or less. If it comes to the point that the Rangers square off with the Flyers in Round 2, the Rangers will have an ultimate advantage and could therefore dispatch of the Flyers to advance to the conference final.

For all the flaws that detractors have pointed out, the Rangers have had no problem dispatching a offensively superior team like the Flyers all year long and they had no problem drastically outscoring them. In the six meetings this year, the Broadway Blueshirts battered the Broad Street Bullies by a tally of 24-11. Yet some still feel that the Rangers offense is something that takes them out of the Cup conversation. 

The last time the Rangers won 50 or more games, they won the Stanley Cup. The last time the team won a Presidents’ Trophy, they won the Stanley Cup. You can argue that the Rangers have some flaws and there wouldn’t be any disagreement because flaws do exist.

However, with the roster as it currently is constructed, you can’t say that a team with 51 wins and the best record in the NHL doesn’t have a legitimate shot at winning it all. As the Rangers finish their season, they will be tested. This isn’t dumb luck, nor is it a fluke. The Rangers are for real and they are ready to prove it in the postseason.

It is time that the Rangers are taken seriously. With Henrik Lundqvist playing the best hockey in his career, Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards in sync, Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin and various others stepping up and a stellar blue line with Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh leading the charge, this team has the pieces to be successful.

The season only gets harder from here but the Rangers' consistency, team-first game plan and their proficiency at home and on the road will greatly benefit them during the long haul of the playoffs. The Rangers own the league's second-best away record with a line of 24-11-5 so playing in an opposing building won't shake their confidence.

Yes, there is a history with No. 1 seeds failing in the playoffs, however, the Rangers have blown off any sense of entitlement when it comes to their record all year long.

During John Tortorella's televised postgame press conference he stated, 

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“The biggest thing is our consistency. That’s where I think our team has really grown, in not getting into too many valleys. We had one in March here. Really about the only one that we had all year long. And it’s a credit to them, and I know you guys (the media) piss and moan when I say it, but it’s a day to day thing for our team here. I think our guys have really bought into that, of just coming to work each day and trying to be the best they can be.”

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Are the Rangers the favorite? No, but this is the Stanley Cup playoffs where anything can happen. The team has momentum, the veteran leadership that has gone through the long haul and the talent to pull it off. Like the NHL's newest ad campaign suggests, why do we watch? We watch because it's the cup and it will be fun to watch how far this young team can go.

Tom Urtz is a New York Rangers Columnist.

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