Rangers confident for postseason after strong finish

[Fuhgeddaboudit]

"All of a sudden you start feeling good," left wing Carl Hagelin said Tuesday, two days before the Rangers open the playoffs at Verizon Center against the Washington Capitals. "Most guys got into a rhythm. Before it was maybe three or four guys that played well, but we never had a full team effort. All of a sudden a lot of guys started feeling good about their game and this is what happens."

 

The Rangers went 10-3-1 and averaged 3.64 goals per game in April; they went 16-15-3 and averaged 2.26 goals per game through the end of March.

 

"We felt we were in the fight that we're going to be in as we start Thursday for the past month, trying to crawl in here," coach John Tortorella said. "I think our players have handled a number of different situations on a flat line -- not getting too high, not getting too low, handling momentum [swings] in games, finding ways to win. They're all things that are going to be needed in the playoffs."

 

"I don't think we had the middle of our lineup straightened out to where we got away with playing some minutes in a game but couldn't sustain through a 60-minute game the way we wanted to play," Tortorella said. "At the deadline it helped. I think bringing [Zuccarello] in has helped. I think it solidified our team and we've kind of grown since then."

 
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=668572
 
Awesome words about Zuccs. Really loved him last year, and thankfully he's back. Small fella who knows how to play well with the big guys. Also the acquisitions from Columbus really helped. Losing Gaborik brought a spark it seems like.

 

[Phil The Thrill]

Gaborik seems like the kind of guy you don't want in your dressing room and around your team, as talented as he is.

 

[Fuhgeddaboudit]

It almost seemed like he wasn't that great in the locker room, I don't know. Doesn't make him a bad guy but I just can't get my foot on it.