Bantering Points: 4/25/17

With two more days off before Game 1 begins between the Rangers and Senators, there's not much to talk about. For that reason, I'll use this little intro to let you know that today marks six months of my time on staff, writing these Bantering Points and other little tidbits. I know it isn't much compared to the work Joe and Mike and the rest of the staff does, but I hope everyone has enjoyed these sections when they're at work on a weekday morning and they need to goof off for a little bit for actually doing stuff. So thanks for reading my pieces, and hopefully you'll keep reading them as time goes on. Anyway, here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

• Brett Cyrgalis thinks that the Rangers finally breaking their power play drought was their biggest breakthrough against Montreal (NY Post)
• Justin Tasch discusses how Ottawa Senators' defenseman Erik Karlsson is the biggest hurdle between the Rangers and another trip to the Eastern Conference Finals (NY Daily News)
• Mark Herrmann argues that the Senators will present a different type of challenge than the Canadiens did in the first round (Newsday)
• Neil Best reflects on the playoff history between the Rangers and Senators (Newsday)
• Ian Mendes argues that the upcoming playoff series should not be a referendum on the Derick Brassard trade (TSN)
• Dave Shapiro previews the systems Alain Vigneault and Guy Boucher will deploy as they square off in the Atlantic Division Finals (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Shapiro also named three keys for the Rangers to advance to the Conference Finals (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Alexandra Russo lists the top five moments from New York's first round victory over Montreal (Blue Line Station)
• Timothy Haggerty highlights how the line of J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, and Mats Zuccarello have become one of the team's most reliable units (Blue Line Station)
• Amanda Borges caught up with Justin Hartley to chat about his recent experience at Madison Square Garden, and more (Video via Official Team Site)/

Around the NHL:

• Garth Snow struck again yesterday afternoon, as the New York Islanders general manager handed defenseman Dennis Seidenberg a one year, $1.25 Million extension (Sportsnet)
• The Hockey News staff debates which first round upset was the most shocking (The Hockey News)
• James O'Brien reports that Anaheim Ducks' forward Andrew Cogliano, Carolina Hurricanes' forward Derek Ryan, and Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson have been named finalists for the Bill Masterton trophy (NBC Sports)
• loserpoints utilizes the Goals Above Replacement metric to analyze injury impact (Hockey Graphs)
• Josh Cooper hears that San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton played through a torn ACL and MCL en route to the Sharks' first round exit (Puck Daddy)/