Bantering Points: 4/29/24

Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

Highlights: NYR 4, WSH 2 (8:39 video via YouTube)

Game Recap: Just as they did on the way to the Presidents' Trophy, the Rangers relied on strong goaltending out of Igor Shesterkin and excellent special teams, scoring a trio of power play goals to complete the franchise's first sweep since 2007 (CBS Sports)

Larry Brooks writes that New York's opening round sweep was a culmination of the work the team put in throughout the regular season (NY Post)

Mollie Walker discusses Artemiy Panarin's series winning goal and how his performance continues to move him up the all-time playoff leaderboards among undrafted players (NY Post)

Walker also credited Mika Zibanejad for his contributions to the series, including his team leading seven points (NY Post)

Colin Stephenson points to Peter Laviolette's ability to keep his team focused on the next game in front of them at all times (Newsday)

Stephenson also relays word from Laviolette about the Blueshirts' strong special teams performance thus far (Newsday)

Vincent Mercogliano offers his takeaways from New York's Game 4 victory to advance to the divisional finals (LoHud)

Peter Baugh and Michael Ru$$o break down how the Ranger$ fini$hed off the $weep of their divi$ional rival Capital$ who were ju$t happy to be in the playoff$ (The Athletic)

Around the NHL:

Toronto Marlies' forward Kyle Clifford went after Boko Imama of the Bellville Senators in the handshake line after the Senators dispatched the Marlies from the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs (Sportsnet)

The Vancouver Canucks rallied from down 3-1 with less than three minutes to go to force overtime and escape with a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead heading back to Vancouver (TSN)

After a trio of high scoring contests to open the series, the Edmonton Oilers earned a 1-0 Game 4 victory to take a 3-1 lead in their series against the Los Angeles Kings as the action shifts back to Edmonton (ESPN)