{"id":449472,"date":"2024-08-29T12:24:35","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T16:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=449472"},"modified":"2024-08-29T12:24:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T16:24:35","slug":"best-new-york-rangers-playoff-runs-in-recent-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/08\/29\/best-new-york-rangers-playoff-runs-in-recent-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Best New York Rangers Playoff Runs in Recent History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very recent playoff success for the <\/span>Broadway Blueshirts,\u00a0<\/span><\/em>including a long run to the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Eastern Conference Final, serves as a reminder of the Rangers great potential to go all the way. Other New York Rangers playoffs showcase the success of the <\/span>long-time players<\/span><\/a> still on their 2024-25 roster. In light of the continued possibility for them to hoist Lord Stanley’s cup again, moves like the recent addition of a proven playoff performer, <\/span>Reilly Smith<\/span><\/a> are an example of those high expectations. So, here’s a recap of some of the <\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>best playoff performances in recent history. We go back just over ten years, to the 2014 run, and those playoff successes since that time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their Best Recent Run and the 2022 Eastern Conference Final<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Right off the bat, we have a recent 20-game stretch from just two years ago. The New York Rangers recent playoff run in 2022 marked the last time before 2024 that the <\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>made the <\/span>Eastern Conference Final<\/span><\/a>. Their first two series against fellow solid eastern teams were competitive and stretched to seven games. In the <\/span>first round<\/span><\/a>, the Rangers defeated their Metropolitan Division counterpart, the <\/span>Pittsburgh Penguins<\/span><\/a>, 4-3 in the series. The <\/span>second round<\/span><\/a> was similar, with the\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>defeating their East Coast rival the <\/span>Carolina Hurricanes<\/span><\/a> 4-3. This playoff run saw offensive career-best NHL playoff performances in multiple players plus some great highlights. Here’s a recap of a few.<\/span><\/p>\n

Igor Shesterkin<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Towards the end of <\/span>June 2022<\/span><\/a>, netminder <\/span>Igor Shesterkin<\/span><\/a> won the Vezina Trophy for best NHL goaltender. After starting and playing all 20 playoff games that year, Shesterkin notched a .929 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average. He even tallied three assists. In this year’s playoffs, Shesterkin won ten and lost nine of his games. This year’s performance, especially culminating in a Vezina, is one of the many reasons Shesterkin is considered <\/span>to be<\/span> one of the best netminders in <\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>history.<\/span><\/p>\n

New York Rangers Playoffs Offensive Performance Starting with <\/span>Mika Zibanejad<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

In 2022, the <\/span>then<\/span> 29-year-old centreman Mika Zibanejad had the best offensive playoff performance of his NHL career with ten goals and 14 assists totaling 24 points in all 20 playoff games. In <\/span>Game 6<\/span><\/a> of the <\/span>second round<\/span><\/a> against the Hurricanes on May 28, 2022, Zibanejad scored a power play wrister goal to make the score 2-0\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts. <\/span><\/em>It was scored 9:51 into the first period following <\/span>Tyler Motte<\/span><\/a>‘s unassisted goal. The Rangers would win 5-2, never losing the lead in that game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adam Fox<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Defenceman Adam Fox, then just 24 years old, had the best offensive playoff performance of his NHL career <\/span>so far<\/span>. That playoff saw him record five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in all 20 playoff games. <\/span>Fox<\/span><\/a> also notched 37 blocks, his second-most in an NHL playoffs, and 17 hits, his most in an NHL playoffs. A year prior, the New York State native took the James Norris Memorial Trophy. In <\/span>Game 7<\/span><\/a> of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Hurricanes, Fox opened New York’s scoring with a power play snap shot goal 3:40 into the first period. The goal was assisted by <\/span>Alexis Lafreniere<\/span><\/a> and then Rangers centreman <\/span>Andrew Copp<\/span><\/a>. The\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>would end up winning this game 6-2 and would advance to the Eastern Conference Final.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also in this <\/span>game<\/span><\/a>, which took place on May 30, 2022, <\/span>then<\/span> Hurricane <\/span>Vincent Trocheck<\/span><\/a> scored a tip-in power play goal in the third period to open the scoring for Carolina. It was assisted by Canes star forward <\/span>Sebastian Aho<\/span><\/a> and blueliner <\/span>Tony DeAngelo<\/span><\/a>. Of course, Trocheck more recently had the best offensive NHL playoff performance of his career with the <\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>in their deep 2024 playoff run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Kreider<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Left winger <\/span>Chris Kreider<\/span><\/a> was yet another excellent offensive playoff performer in 2022. The then 31-year-old Massachusetts native’s NHL playoff goal-scoring peaked that year with ten in those 20 games. Kreider also picked six apples (assists), <\/span>which is<\/span> second-best in the NHL playoff career. But that, plus his ten goals added up to 16 points to make an offensive NHL playoff career-best for Kreider. On May 5, 2022, during <\/span>Game 2<\/span><\/a> of the 2022 Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round, Kreider scored a tip-in goal in the second period to make the score 3-1 for the <\/span>Blueshirts.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>New York would win this game 5-2.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexis Lafreniere<\/span><\/h3>\n

Quebec native left-winger Alexis Lafreniere notched two goals and seven assists (nine points) in all 20 playoff games in the 2022 New York Rangers playoffs.\u00a0On May 11, 2022, during <\/span>Game Five<\/span><\/a> of the <\/span>Eastern Conference First Round<\/span><\/a> series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lafreniere broke Pittsburgh’s 2-1 lead with a slap shot goal in the second period. The <\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>would ultimately win this game, at Madison Square Garden, 5-3.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Number 2. <\/span>2014 Playoff Run to Stanley Cup Final<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

The 2014 playoffs were a long and fierce 25-game run for the <\/span>Blueshirts.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>It saw seven-game series wins against the <\/span>Philadelphia Flyers<\/span><\/a> (4-3) and the <\/span>Pittsburgh Penguins<\/span><\/a> (4-3). The Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens was a shorter, more decisive 4-2 series <\/span>win<\/span><\/a> for the Rangers.\u00a0With an excellent team that playoffs including legendary goaltender <\/span>Henrik Lundqvist<\/span><\/a>, it is no surprise the\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>ended up taking<\/span> the <\/span>Prince of Wales Trophy<\/span><\/a> that year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Henrik Lundqvist<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

The<\/span> already Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender and future Hall of Famer played the most games in the playoffs of his career in 2014, starting and playing all 25 games.<\/span> With 13 wins, a shutout, and a .927 save percentage, Lundqvist is just one example of what made that year’s team so special.\u00a0This was also the playoffs that Lundqvist notched an assist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan McDonagh<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Then\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>defenceman <\/span>Ryan McDonagh<\/span><\/a> had the best offensive performance in an NHL playoff of his career that year with four goals and 13 assists (17 points) in those 25 games.\u00a0<\/span>In terms of<\/span> defensive numbers<\/span><\/a>, McDonagh also notched 48 blocks and 52 hits in those games.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, however, the\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>would eventually lose to the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in the <\/span>Stanley Cup Final<\/span><\/a> series.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. 2015 Playoff Run to Eastern Conference Final<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Although the series score in the <\/span>Eastern First Round<\/span><\/a> against the Pittsburgh Penguins was not close, 4-1 for the\u00a0<\/span>Blueshirts,\u00a0<\/span><\/em>all five game scores were within one goal of each other. <\/span>In fact,<\/span> all four of the Rangers wins were 2-1. The exception was the Pens winning 4-3 in Game 2. To highlight even more competitiveness, New York won the last two games (Game Four & Five) in overtime. In Game Four, the overtime winner was scored by then-Blueshirts right-winger <\/span>Kevin Hayes.<\/span><\/a> In Game Five, it was scored by then-Blueshirts<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>left-winger <\/span>Carl Hagelin<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rick Nash<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

Now 40 years old, then <\/span>Blueshirts\u00a0<\/span><\/em>left-winger <\/span>Rick Nash<\/span><\/a> had his best offensive NHL playoff performance <\/span>of his career<\/span> in 2015, with 14 points (five goals & nine assists) in 19 playoff games. Nash also took the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 2003-04.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Very recent playoff success for the Broadway Blueshirts,\u00a0including a long run to the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Eastern Conference Final, serves as a reminder of the Rangers great potential to go all the way. Other New York Rangers playoffs showcase the success of the long-time players still on their 2024-25 roster. In light of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5243,"featured_media":440432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4547,4548],"tags":[1529,7214,4035,371],"class_list":["post-449472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rangers","category-hockey","category-nhl","tag-2017-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-2022-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-igor-shesterkin","tag-mika-zibanejad"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}