Rangers Can Start Thinking Cup

The New York Rangers recent surge in the past few weeks have allowed players and fans alike to start dreaming big. In the Eastern Conference in which they play in, there has been much parity and not one single team has come out to take a tight grasp on a lead. The Pittsburgh Penguins for example, made a huge splash at the trading deadline, acquiring Marian Hossa from Atlanta but still haven't come away as the front runner in the conference despite the fact that they have the most points in the East going into Friday. The Rangers though, have reeled off eight wins in their past 11 games and have also recorded at least one point in all of those games dating back to February 9th. Since that defeat of of the Flyers, the Rangers have been the hottest team in the conference and currently sit in sole possession of 6th place and remain in striking distance of overtaking a few more teams on their way to closing out the season. With a surge like this, the Rangers can use this as momentum going into the playoffs to be the favorite in the East and possibly emerge as the conference's representative in the Stanley Cup Finals. So why do I think the Rangers can possibly think that they can bring the Stanley Cup back home to New York this spring? Well for one reason, there offense is finally clicking after about two months of futility, their power play and penalty kill is solid as of the moment and that their prized free agents of Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury, are finally playing comfortably. Those acquisitions were key in the off season and they should provide intangibles and experience to a Rangers roster that appears ready for a long post-season run.