Rangers Playoff Push: What Can We Realistically Expect?

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are getting closer with every NHL game, so it's time we asked: What can we seriously expect from the Rangers one month from now?

A month ago, they were going nowhere but down. They were still in the post-season picture, as they remained in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but they were suffering a bad slump.

It was their longest downturn in decades. They went from the top of their division to the bottom of the group, and eventually dropped out of the coveted seeded spots.

But today, they own sixth place in the conference and they are on their way up, not down.

Can they finish better than sixth? The Philadelphia Flyers are ahead of them, but the men from New York just had a huge victory over their old rival.

In a home-and-home series with back-to-back games last weekend, it was a split decision, but the Rangers outscored the Flyers in total, five to four.

The Rangers' turnaround at the trade deadline has been well-documented. Everybody who follows the team knows they fired their player-friendly coach, Tom Renney, and hired the fiery John Tortorella, and then they traded for Nik Antropov and Derek Morris to obtain more size and scoring ability up-front and a quarterback on the blueline.

"After adding Nik Antropov, Derek Morris and Sean Avery, the Rangers could beat anyone in the first round," The Washington Post has claimed.

And one can't forget the last factor that turned the team into a Cinderella: Sean Avery rejoining the team. No need to be a hockey fan to know about that.

The Rangers were a talent-rich team playing lackluster hockey. They were called "vanilla" or even "comatose." They needed a spark.

With Avery, Antropov, Morris, and Tortorella added, the Rangers immediately went on a three-game wining streak. Currently, the Rangers' vehicle is picking up speed, its engine newly furnished with fresh sparkplugs.

Antropov and Avery have both scored at a goal-a-game pace for three games. That was expected from Big Nik, but an unexpected bonus from Avery.

This New York club has won two in a row (again), three out of four, and five out of seven of their last games under the new regime.  The Rangers have scored 30 goals and had 19 scored against them in their last ten games and have a 6-3-1 record.

With 12 games to go, they are getting stronger each time out. The dead have been resurrected, and the newcomers are definitely making a difference.

The revamped squad beat such powers as the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and Boston Bruins, as well as the less-than-impressive New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche.

Goal-tending hasn't been an issue at all this season with Henrik Lundqvist in front of the net. He just set an NHL record by winning at least 30 games each year for four consecutive seasons from his first year in the NHL.

The Rangers have, however, struggled at scoring at times. But they've always had players capable of putting the puck in; it was just a matter of them getting hot again, and now they have. Plus, they've added options, so there are several go-to-it guys when it comes to getting goals.

Going into the post-season, I think the Rangers will face stiff competition no matter who they play. They beat Boston and Philadelphia recently, and both are potential first-round partners.

The Penguins, Capitals, and Devils have all yet to see the "new" Rangers, but considering New York beat New Jersey in last year's Playoffs, the Penguins are gelling too late, and the Capitals are tailing off, I feel good about their chances against any of these squads.

The list of big names is daunting: the Penguins have Crosby and Malkin, the Capitals have Ovechkin, and the Devils have Brodeur.

What does New York have? The Avery Effect. Plus Lundqvist, Antropov, Zherdev, Gomez, Drury, and a lot of guys you don't typically want to "wake up."

Too bad for you; they've already awakened.

The Bruins have 10 players with 10-plus goals, eight guys over 15, and four over 20.

Well, the Rangers have six shooters over 15 and three over 20.

With the playoffs coming next month, what can we realistically expect from the Rangers?

They have 12 games remaining on the regular campaign docket, and face the Sabres, Senators, Wild, Thrashers, Penguins, Devils, Hurricanes, Bruins, Canadiens, and Flyers twice.

Nobody expects the Rangers to win all those games (except maybe Sean Avery). But out of a possible 24 points, say they lose a couple or a few, pick up 18 or 20, and finish the season with 100 points.

I expect them to finish in fifth or sixth place.

The Rangers are re-energized and on a roll. Will it take them past the first round? Will they be the Cinderella team this season?

TSN's panel of experts, which includes James Duthie, Bob McKenzie, Mike Milbury, and Darren Pang, recently weighed in with their predictions. They agreed the Canadiens would win over Boston, the Penguins will beat the Senators, and that the Capitals can beat the Flyers.

Only Pang selected the Devils to get the edge. Three out of four went with the Rangers.