New York Rangers Open Game Thread- Rangers Vs Flyers, GAME ONE
Rangers Playoff Hockey is Here!
Holy crap, Game One is finally here. At 7:00 PM tonight the puck drops at Madison Square Garden for Game One of the Rangers and Flyers playoff series. Normally in these game threads I take the time to try and hype the game and get you guys interested in some of the story lines and things to look out for but you don't need any hyping up. It's the playoffs. It's the Flyers. There will be blood. Eh, I'll do a little bit of hyping.
We all know that Ray Emery is net tonight. The Rangers would be crazy to not challenge him with a lot of shots early in the game and test his rebound control. We also know that Ryan McDonagh, the most valuable man on the team that isn't Swedish royalty, is back in the lineup for the Rangers. We already know that Philly is going to play physical and that they will be targeting McDonagh. Here's hoping we don't see any unsportsmanlike horsesh*t from either of the teams in this series. We should also keep an eye on how Derick Brassard looks after suffering a back injury in practice a few days back. We all know how magical Brassard was in the 2013 NHL Playoffs for the Rangers and the team could certainly use some more of that this year.
What more is there to say? It's the playoffs. We wait all year for this. Let's do it.
Mike's Player to Watch: Marty St. Louis
St. Louis sat out the last game of the regular season so that he could go into the 2014 NHL Playoffs focused and fully rested. We all know what the Rangers gave up to acquire Martin St. Louis and we all know the reason he is here; he's here to get this team deep into the playoffs and give this team the offensive jump start it sorely needs. In the regular season St. Louis showed us only tiny (hehe!) bursts of his offensive magic. Now it's time to see it on a consistent basis. Marty will never be the biggest guy on the ice but he'll almost always be the player with the biggest heart, he's the kind of player that steps up during big games and there are no games bigger than playoff games. Look for St. Louis to be a difference maker.
LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!!!!!!
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