The New York Rangers don’t believe in the Presidents’ Trophy Curse
Presidents’ Trophy curse? The New York Rangers aren’t too fazed.
They know there’s the added pressure that comes with trying to live up to the hype of being the NHL’s “best” team. This is a group that has had pressure before and has grown to understand how they quantify it. They proved that with a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday, a game that never looked to be in doubt.
One player who understands the stakes as much as anyone is Artemi Panarin. He was part of the Columbus Blue Jackets team that swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019 after the Bolts finished one of the best regular seasons in NHL history.
“We’re not thinking who finished first or who finished last, who is in the wild card, and who is not,” Panarin said.
Many have pegged the Rangers to go the distance, which rarely happens for teams that finish first in the regular season standings. But so far, so good for the Blueshirts, a team with promise for years without any tangible success.
“I think last year there was a lot of noise surrounding the deadline. Then again this year – we’re coming in with a bad taste in our mouth after a first-round exit,” Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey said earlier in the week. “Any team you’re on, the goal is to win the Stanley Cup. I think all 16 teams think they have a chance at that. We’re just going to take it one day at a time. We believe in ourselves, there are going to be some highs and lows.”
Game 1 was certainly one of those highs for Vesey and his linemates, who chipped in for two of the Rangers’ four goals. It didn’t have the ideal start that the Rangers were hoping for, but fan favorite Matt Rempe made up for an early penalty to score the game’s opening goal. That helped set the tone, preventing the Caps from finding any consistency.
The opening 20 minutes of this contest was essentially a special teams duel that neither could take advantage of. The Rangers power play struggled against the Capitals in the regular season, scoring on only one of 12 attempts throughout four games. On Sunday afternoon, those struggles continued as their man-advantage went 0-for-2.
“Throughout the playoffs, you need all four lines,” Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow said. “If we can chip in a goal or two, obviously, that’s huge for the team, so it’s a good way to start. We just need to keep it going.”
The Rangers have been guilty of relying on their man advantage to boost them in games, but this wasn’t the case in Game 1. They scored three times at 5-on-5 in a 2:06 span during the second period, putting the game out of reach for the Caps.
“A day I’ll always remember; it was awesome,” Rempe said about scoring in his playoff debut, with his mom in attendance for the first time.
#NYR Matt Rempe was asked by @MollieeWalkerr if having his Mom in the building gave him extra juice.
“I always got juice”, he said with a big smile.
He had Dinner with his Mom last night (not the Cheesecake Factory).
“It was some Italian spot, it was pretty cool. I’m not…
Panarin led all skaters with seven shots on goal, giving the fanbase some hope after an ugly playoff run last year. Panarin, alongside linemates Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, has scored many pretty goals this season. But being able to convert off of a physical forecheck from Lafreniere is the exact type of play you’d like to see from them in the critical moments.
It’s rare to talk about a Ranger victory and not mention Igor Shesterkin, but the team did an incredible job defending in front of him. They smothered the Capitals in the third period, but Washington truly struggled to generate all night. Alex Ovechkin, the most dangerous goal-scorer of this generation, wasn’t able to register a shot on goal, which makes Shesterkin’s life a little easier.
As a collective, the Rangers put on a defensive masterclass while getting key contributions from their bottom-six forwards. That’s the recipe for success in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But it’s still early days, and there’s no room for taking naps along the way. But with the way it started, the Rangers have quite a bit to be pleased about.
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