BY SAM HITCHCOCK
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
COMMENTARY
The Rangers escaped Armageddon, but not without a few lasting scars. Washington made the improbable possible when they upset the heavily favored reigning Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, relishing their underdog role and lowered expectations. The Capitals were lambasted all season for underachieving, and the Rangers were praised all season for overachieving. Yet here we are with opponents who have a recent playoff history, with a role reversal in that this time the Rangers are the favorites and the Capitals are the underdogs.
So what did Round 1 tell us? The Rangers struggle with opponents who are speedy, that’s agreed. But they also have trouble with teams who try to out-lunchpail the bluecollar Broadway Blueshirts. Chris Neil brought that grittiness centerstage, and the Rangers nearly lost the series because of it.
A week ago I was fully prepared to write a Rangers-Devils playoff preview, and imagining ways that New Jersey could tip the upset. The Devils had matched up well with the Rangers all season, and as I was envisioning it and playing it out in my mind, it would be a closer series than people anticipated simply because the Devils do not sit idle while the Rangers try to dictate their style. This means banging bodies in the offensive zone and crashing the net; forcing turnovers in the neutral zone or defensive zone (sometimes through blocked shots) and utilizing their defensemen in the transition game; playing beneath the goal line, and attacking loose pucks and pushing them on net.
