The Lone Rangers
It's been a season full of celebration so far for the Rangers
It's been several seasons of dominance for the New York Rangers, who have been rebuilt under General Manager Andrew Don. Once a cellar dweller, those days seem so long ago and the Rangers have had plenty of success in recent years. Included in that success is two appearances in the WCHL Cup finals, in Season 11 against the Calgary Flames and again last year against the Colorado Avalanche. Both times though, the Rangers have come up short.
"It's been mixed feelings," said Don. "Initially of course it hurts, getting that close to the Cup and falling short. But after a few days you look back at the season and say 'You know what, we had a great season.' And that's what we have to respect, we did have good seasons those years."
Another good season is unfolding now as well. After a struggle out of the gate at 12-8-3, the Rangers have ripped through the league, pulling way ahead of a pack of Eastern Conference teams who have been amongst the best ever in WCHL history, going 43-5-5 in that span. During those 53 games, The Rangers have had winning streaks of 11 and 13 games and had a streak of 16 straight games with at least one point.
Leading the charge as always is team captain Shane Doan. While never the team leading in scoring, Doan is the team leader is spirirt.
"We've got a great team here for sure," said Doan. "This might be the greatest team yet, and we've had some great teams."
As good as they have been this year, the Rangers haven't been afraid to tinker either. So far this year the club has added forwards Drew Stafford, Chris Higgins, Jamie McGinn and Derek Dorsett, along with defensemen Carl Gunnarsson and Josh Gorges.
Chris Higgins is one of several players added this season to give the Rangers depth for the playoffs.
"We know that the other teams are trying to gear up and we're not going to fall behind," noted Don. "We want to stay ahead of the pace."
Surprisingly, the Rangers haven't locked up top spot in the WCHL yet, as the surprising New Jersey Devils are only five points back. Barring a collapse though, the Rangers will claim the Presidents Trophy in a few more games.
"It's a great prize, but it means nothing if we don't go all the way this year," said centre Anze Kopitar. "We want the claim the WCHL Cup this year, all other trophies mean little at this point.
To do that, the Rangers need only to keep things rolling as they are now. Most players are clicking at 100 per cent and, barring an injury to netminder Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers figure to be the top cup threat heading into the post-season.
As goes 'King' Henrik, so goes the Rangers.
"That also means we'll have a bullseye on our back," said centre Stephen Weiss. "Other teams will be gunning for us so we need to stay sharp and go all out game one to seven of each series."
If teams are lucky enough to get to seven games against the Rangers. If things keep going as they are, the Rangers look good to finally claim top spot in the WCHL when it matters most.
It's been a season full of celebration so far for the Rangers
It's been several seasons of dominance for the New York Rangers, who have been rebuilt under General Manager Andrew Don. Once a cellar dweller, those days seem so long ago and the Rangers have had plenty of success in recent years. Included in that success is two appearances in the WCHL Cup finals, in Season 11 against the Calgary Flames and again last year against the Colorado Avalanche. Both times though, the Rangers have come up short.
"It's been mixed feelings," said Don. "Initially of course it hurts, getting that close to the Cup and falling short. But after a few days you look back at the season and say 'You know what, we had a great season.' And that's what we have to respect, we did have good seasons those years."
Another good season is unfolding now as well. After a struggle out of the gate at 12-8-3, the Rangers have ripped through the league, pulling way ahead of a pack of Eastern Conference teams who have been amongst the best ever in WCHL history, going 43-5-5 in that span. During those 53 games, The Rangers have had winning streaks of 11 and 13 games and had a streak of 16 straight games with at least one point.
Leading the charge as always is team captain Shane Doan. While never the team leading in scoring, Doan is the team leader is spirirt.
"We've got a great team here for sure," said Doan. "This might be the greatest team yet, and we've had some great teams."
As good as they have been this year, the Rangers haven't been afraid to tinker either. So far this year the club has added forwards Drew Stafford, Chris Higgins, Jamie McGinn and Derek Dorsett, along with defensemen Carl Gunnarsson and Josh Gorges.
Chris Higgins is one of several players added this season to give the Rangers depth for the playoffs.
"We know that the other teams are trying to gear up and we're not going to fall behind," noted Don. "We want to stay ahead of the pace."
Surprisingly, the Rangers haven't locked up top spot in the WCHL yet, as the surprising New Jersey Devils are only five points back. Barring a collapse though, the Rangers will claim the Presidents Trophy in a few more games.
"It's a great prize, but it means nothing if we don't go all the way this year," said centre Anze Kopitar. "We want the claim the WCHL Cup this year, all other trophies mean little at this point.
To do that, the Rangers need only to keep things rolling as they are now. Most players are clicking at 100 per cent and, barring an injury to netminder Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers figure to be the top cup threat heading into the post-season.
As goes 'King' Henrik, so goes the Rangers.
"That also means we'll have a bullseye on our back," said centre Stephen Weiss. "Other teams will be gunning for us so we need to stay sharp and go all out game one to seven of each series."
If teams are lucky enough to get to seven games against the Rangers. If things keep going as they are, the Rangers look good to finally claim top spot in the WCHL when it matters most.
