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Five reasons Rangers clinched playoff berth

Friday, 03.27.2015 / 3:00 AM / Expert Picks

By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer

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Five reasons Rangers clinched playoff berth
The New York Rangers are the first team to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it's possible the best is yet to come for them.

The New York Rangers became the first team to clinch a berth in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs with their 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. The Rangers have 101 points and 43 regulation/overtime wins to lead the Presidents' Trophy race.

It's also possible the best is yet to come for the Rangers because starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist is expected to return to the lineup this coming weekend, either Saturday at the Boston Bruins or Sunday at home against the Washington Capitals.

The New York Rangers are the first team to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it's possible the best is yet to come for them. (Photo: Michael Martin/NHLI, Getty Images)

Lundqvist hasn't played since Feb. 2, but the Rangers are 18-4-4 without him, which is why they are in the hunt for their first Presidents' Trophy since the 1993-94 season, when they last won the Stanley Cup.

Here are five reasons the Rangers clinched their fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs:

1. Speed and fast starts

Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said the Rangers were the fastest team he saw this season. He'd know, considering the Ducks could not catch up to the Rangers in their two games and wound up losing both by a combined 11-3.

New York has a mobile defense made even faster with the addition of Keith Yandle on March 1. The Rangers have two of the fastest skaters in the NHL in forwards Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider. Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller and Derick Brassard are no slouches in the speed department either.

The Rangers' speed, particularly when they are breaking out of their zone, is their greatest asset. They're at their best they play fast, which means utilizing quick passes to get out of the defensive zone and winning races into the offensive zone to be first on pucks. They counter quickly and attack aggressively.

The Rangers' speed allows them to jump on teams early in games. They have scored the first goal in 45 games this season; only the New York Islanders, another fast team, have more first goals (46). The Rangers are 36-6-3 when scoring first.

New York is tied with the Dallas Stars for most goals in the first period with 71.

2. Red-hot Rick

Until his recent scoring slump, Nash was neck and neck with Alex Ovechkin in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. He was as close to a sure thing as the Rangers had.

Rick Nash
Left Wing - NYR
GOALS: 39 | ASST: 25 | PTS: 64
SOG: 276 | +/-: 27
Nash has 39 goals, a number he's been stuck on for the past eight games. That means he scored 39 goals in his first 64 games. The Rangers rode his production earlier this season, particularly with St. Louis and Zuccarello going through separate scoring slumps.

The best part about Nash's game this season is that he is scoring in so many ways, mainly because he is getting inside the defense and getting to the net. Nash hasn't been this aggressive in getting to the scoring areas since he arrived in New York in time for the 2012-13 season.

Nash hasn't relied on an overpowering shot or the power play to score his goals this season because he doesn't have an overpowering shot and he has only five goals on the power play. Instead, he's finding ways to score through his anticipation.

"When you play against him it makes you nervous because his anticipation allows him to get those odd-man rushes and scoring opportunities," St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If you're careless or cavalier with the puck he makes you pay. He's the poster child for checking for chances. That's what he does. His checking is really dialed up and he's getting a ton of scoring chances because of it."

3. Talbot takeover

The Rangers' season could have gone sideways in early February, when it was announced that Lundqvist would be out of the lineup an indefinite period of time with a vascular injury, the result of getting hit in the throat by a shot in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 31.

Cam Talbot
Goalie - NYR
RECORD: 20-8-4
GAA: 2.16 | SVP: .928
Cam Talbot, never before a No. 1 goalie, had to assume that role with Lundqvist out. He handled the job well, going 16-4-3 with a .929 save percentage and two shutouts.

Talbot had his struggles early, but they were masked by the Rangers' high-powered offense. Talbot had a .909 save percentage in his first 13 starts as the No. 1, but the Rangers went 9-2-2 because they averaged 3.61 goals in those games.

Talbot has improved dramatically since. He has a .953 save percentage in his past 10 starts; the Rangers are 7-2-1. New York has scored 25 goals in those 10 games, including a combined 12 in wins against the Ducks and Senators.

Lundqvist is expected back this weekend, but Talbot has played a big role in the Rangers' bid for the Presidents' Trophy.

4. Hello Hayes

Buying out Brad Richards and not re-signing Brian Boyle left the Rangers thin at center besides Brassard, Derek Stepan and Dominic Moore. But those decisions also opened the door for Hayes to make a name for himself as a rookie in New York.

Kevin Hayes
Right Wing - NYR
GOALS: 14 | ASST: 24 | PTS: 38
SOG: 95 | +/-: 16
He has done that in a position that he didn't even play last season at Boston College, and in the process Hayes has helped turn what looked like one of the weaker aspects of the Rangers' roster into a strength by holding strong as the No. 3 center for the balance of the season.

Hayes signed with the Rangers in the offseason after choosing not to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, who selected him in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft. He had 65 points in 40 games as a right wing at Boston College last season, but the Rangers needed him at center at the start of the season, especially with Stepan sidelined with a leg injury.

He started slowly with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) through his first 43 games, but Hayes said it was because he focusing on the defensive principles of his game. As he got comfortable, he started to push the pace and look to make more plays. His production followed.

Hayes has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in his past 27 games, giving him 38 points in 70 games this season.

5. AV is A-OK

The Rangers take their cues well from coach Alain Vigneault, who rarely shows his emotions and has maintained a level of consistency with the forward lines this season that has fostered chemistry and trust.

Vigneault found three scoring lines (Nash-Brassard-Zuccarello, Kreider- Derek Stepan-St. Louis, Hagelin-Hayes-Miller) and a fourth line, led by Dominic Moore, that could check the opponents best forwards while still being a threat offensively.

But perhaps the best way to judge Vigneault this season is how he has managed the Rangers' younger players and the production and improved play he has gotten from them.

Hayes is an example of that. Vigneault trusted him early, never wavered, and Hayes is rewarding him with consistent play on a game-to-game basis.

Miller is also an example of a player who has benefitted from Vigneault's patience and trust. He has gone from Vigneault's doghouse to being the player who earned the promotion into a top-six forward role when St. Louis was forced out of the lineup with an injury.

Miller has blossomed under Vigneault into a 200-foot player who is looking to make plays on the offensive end and using his big body to play a physical game.

Jesper Fast is playing a stronger overall game and is more of a threat to score now than he was earlier in the season. Fast is even a threat when he's playing on the fourth line.

Vigneault also never wavered in his faith in Talbot. It didn't even look like Lundqvist's injury bothered Vigneault because of his faith in Talbot. Vigneault kept praising Talbot, kept his confidence in the goalie, and obviously that has been rewarded too.

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