NHL Playoffs 2012: Playoff Primer for the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers had an amazing regular season, going 51-24-7, earning 109 points and the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

However, the playoffs are a completely different animal. How will the Blueshirts stack up against other contenders?

Ottawa will be a tough first-round opponent and, if the Rangers want to win the Stanley Cup, they will need to come out hard in round one. 

With that in mind, lets take a look at the New York Rangers piece by piece.

Offense

The New York Rangers offense is above average at best.

Outside of top sniper Marian Gaborik and elite playmaker Brad Richards, consistent offense is hard to come by.

Tier 1

• Marian Gaborik—41 goals, 35 assists, 76 points.

• Brad Richards —25 goals, 41 assists, 66 points.

This is the top echelon for scoring when it comes to the Rangers.

The Blueshirts do not yet have a true No. 1 left winger. Carl Hagelin has fit in nicely with the pair, but he's a first-year player and isn't quite up to par offensively when compared to "Gabo-Rich."

Key Stat: In the month of March, "Gabo-Rich" compiled a total of 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists)

Tier 2

• Ryan Callahan—29 goals, 25 assists, 54 points.

• Derek Stepan—17 goals, 34 assists, 51 points.

• Carl Hagelin—14 goals, 28 assists, 38 points.

Ryan Callahan had a solid first year as the team's new captain and injuries prevented him from reaching the 30-goal and 60-point plateau. Callahan was a key performer on the power play and scored a team-high 13 power play goals.

Derek Stepan increased his point production from last year, but is still showing some hesitancy shooting the puck. Stepan has a great wrist shot and really has the potential to become a 25-40-65 player next season if he continues to grow.

Carl Hagelin did a lot of good things in the short amount of time with the Rangers.

Hagelin had 38 points in 64 games while seeing limited ice time and virtually no power play time. Hagelin's speed, however, made him a good fixture on the Rangers' top line down the stretch of the regular season.

Key Stat: Both Stepan and Callahan increased their point production from the 2010-11 season.

Defense

Primarily, the New York Rangers are a defensive-minded team, featuring well-rounded shutdown defenders who also can add offense when needed.

No. 1 Pairing

• Ryan McDonagh—seven goals, 25 assists, 32 points, 182 blocked shots and a plus-25 rating.

• Dan Girardi—five goals, 24 assists, 29 points, 185 blocked shots and a plus-13 rating.

Ryan McDonagh has flourished into a top-pairing defenseman.

This is only his first full season with the Rangers as McDonagh joined the team after spending time with the Connecticut Whale of the AHL for part of the 2010-11 season. The young defenseman has great offensive instincts, willingly sacrifices his body and can shutdown an opponent's star player when needed.

Dan Girardi really emerged as a top defenseman in the NHL this season.

There was a lot of uncertainty early on when the Rangers discovered they would be without Marc Staal due to post-concussion symptoms, but Girardi answered the bell and was named an All-Star for his hard work.

Key Stat: Both Girardi and McDonagh were top 10 for blocking shots in the entire NHL.

No. 2 Pairing

• Michael Del Zotto—10 goals, 31 assists, 41 points and a plus-20 rating.

• Anton Stralman—two goals, 16 assists, 18 points and a plus-nine rating.

Anton Stralman was a free-agent signing and was thought to be a temporary fix while the Rangers had some injuries on their blueline. However, he has fit in quite nicely and has worked well with Del Zotto.

Ideally, he's a third-pairing defender, but Stralman has come a long way.

Michael Del Zotto had a great bounce back year. He looked more confident and had his swagger back. He was a vital offensive defenseman in the regular season, especially on the power play.

Key Stat: On the power play, Stralman and Del Zotto generated 18 points of offense.

No. 3 Pairing

• Marc Staal—two goals, three assists, five points and a minus-seven in 46 games played.

• Stu Bickel—zero goals, nine assists, nine points and a plus-nine.

This pairing will be the wild card for the Rangers.

Slowly but surely, Staal is getting his game back and he could be a big boost for the Rangers in the playoffs.

Stu Bickel has been a solid defender and drops the gloves when necessary. 

Overall, the Rangers have a really solid defense, but the third pairing has question marks attached to it.

Power Play

The New York Rangers are not a strong team when it comes to the man advantage. It's an area that, if successful in the postseason, could really be a difference maker.

NHL Stats

• 15.7 percent efficiency rating (23rd in NHL).

• 44 total power play goals.

Top Performers

• Brad Richards—seven power play goals, 17 power play assists, 24 power play points.

• Marian Gaborik—10 power play goals, 11 power play assists, 21 power play points.

• Ryan Callahan—13 power play goals, 4 power play assists, 17 power play points.

• Derek Stepan—four power play goals, 12 power play assists, 16 power play points.

• Michael Del Zotto—one power play goal, 13 power play assists, 14 power play points. 

The Rangers have some players who can contribute on the man advantage. However, too much passing and not enough shooting is what has caused fans to jokingly refer to the power play as "passing practice."

While having a successful power play isn't a necessity, it would make things easier for the team in the playoff run.

Penalty Kill

As a defense-first team, the New York Rangers strengths include the penalty kill. The team was one of the NHL's best when shorthanded.

NHL Stats

• 86.2 efficiency rating ( No. 5 overall).

• 36 power play goals allowed ( No. 3 overall).

• 8 shorthanded goals ( No. 8 overall).

The Rangers are led by Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Derek Stepan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Brandon Prust and Carl Hagelin serving on the team's top-two units.

These players are great at blocking shots, sacrificing the body and doing everything they possibly can to clear the puck.

Goaltending

This area is the Rangers' greatest strength.

Henrik Lundqvist is the best goaltender in the NHL—write it down. 

This season for the Rangers, Lundqvist posted a career-best number in wins (39), save percentage (.930) and goals against average (1.97) while only appearing in 62 games.

With these amazing numbers, his previous nominations and his ability to take the Rangers from eighth in the East to first over the course of one season will all but guarantee Lundqvist his first Vezina Trophy.

The Rangers will go as far as Lundqvist takes them and, odds are, he will take them far given the successes of this year.

Tom Urtz Jr. is an NHL Featured Columnist.

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