Gforce11

I went to MSG and Ticketmaster but I am getting conflicting info. When are they going on sale? Where is the best place to buy em? Never been to a playoff game...so I am looking forward to it. Oh and btw, is it even worth it for me to hope that I can get Rangers playoff tickets...? Thanks.

Thought I'd get started early...

It would be and I am afraid we will lose. Devils are the one team I don't want to meet in the playoffs and as you said atleast not in the first round. Of all the potential playoff teams in the east, I think Rangers have least experience...no?

Smiles return to Rangers faithful For the first time since the 1996-97 NHL campaign, the New York Rangers will be among the 16 teams in the postseason quest for Lord Stanley's Cup. That adds up to seven consecutive seasons of failure and disappointment — almost as long as it's been since there's been a good Kevin Costner film, eh? — for the team, the organization and, of course, the Blueshirts faithful. Living in New York, commuting daily under Madison Square Garden and working around the game for much of that time, it is easy to be aware of the emotions that ran through the Rangers fan base during the lean times — not to mention the harassment that comes with living around Islanders and Devils fans. For the duration of the 1994 playoffs, when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1940, the excitement was palpable all throughout the area, no matter where you looked. The Broadway Blues evoked a fever pitch of hockey passion. A sign held up by a fan after the Rangers' Cup-clinching victory over Vancouver summed things up: "Now I can die in peace." While that feeling surely kept people going for the first few years of post-Cup failure, I highly doubt those sentiments held up through the team's seventh failed attempt to enter hockey's second season. As Rangers season-ticker holder Rich Fogarty put it, "My 11-year-old son, born on the day of the Rangers' Broadway parade in 1994, can't remember the Rangers last playoff appearance. For my seven-year-old, there have been no playoff games to forget." (Side note: As Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Devils went to overtime, Fogarty made a promise among friends and family, saying if a Rangers player won the game and sent New York to the Cup finals, his first-born son would carry the name of the man responsible. Stephane [Matteau] became his son's middle name just a few short weeks later). Fast-forward to January, 2004. After years of attempting to collect every high-priced malcontent in the NHL, with mostly disastrous results, the Rangers appeared to add another to the list by acquiring Jaromir Jagr from the Washington Capitals for spare parts. Arguably the best player in hockey for the past several years, there was no doubt that Jagr was talented enough to help turn this team around. What was in doubt was his all-around game and work ethic at both ends of the ice. Would Jagr turn it around with the Rangers? Or would he become another Bobby Holik, another Theo Fleury? Things proved different in New York. The new, no-clutching, no-grabbing and no-hooking rules changes proved an advantage for Jagr and his style of play. Additionally the infusion of several fellow Czechs into the lineup has seemed to have given him a level of comfort and enjoyment on the ice that wasn't there in the past. Just over a month after Jagr was acquired, Tom Renney was named the Rangers' interim head coach. The club made the title permanent not long after the 2004 NHL draft. Renney's mantra directed the Rangers to take care of business in their own zone first, something new for the team. Once his players bought into his system, good things began to happen. The results can be clearly seen, as the team has been up there with the best when it comes to defense and overall goals allowed. Together, these two men led the turnaround that has brought unexpected success. But as much as Jagr's skill and Renney's coaching led the way, there's another occurrence that has played just as big a role: The salary cap. In the past, an unlimited payroll meant acquiring high-priced talent, regardless of how they fit into the team's lineup. The results continued to prove that a high payroll does not necessarily equal high success. Things had to change. So, for the first time in a long time, the Rangers went through a major overhaul, one initiated when GM Glen Sather put the "for sale" sign on much of the organization's high-priced, but under-achieving talent at the 2004 trade deadline. Come the 2005-06 preseason, the names on the back of many jerseys were almost unrecognizable. But that was then and this is now. Names like Dominic Moore, Petr Prucha, Ryan Hollweg, Michal Rozsival and Henrik Lundqvist are not just recognizable, they are showing up on fans' jerseys in and around the arena. This is no longer a team of big names and high salaries. The Garden has found goal-scorers, forecheckers, goaltenders, offensive and defensive defensemen, role players. They now have the roster of a well-balanced team. This team has proven that hockey is back in Manhattan in a very big way, and their fans are right there beside them. Extreme Rangers fan Sal Gulino adds, "It's the winning combination of young talent and the powerhouse, Jagr, which has made this season possible. Not even my newborn son could keep me away from the playoffs." It's been a long wait for a lot of people in the Big Apple. Now, they finally get a chance to hold out hope for a good run at hockey's silver chalice. As time rolls on and seasons develop, desires change and expectations can grow quickly. Only time will tell what fate is in store for the Rangers, but one thing is for sure — they have made their fans extremely happy all season long and they will be heading into the playoffs with a ton of support behind them. Link

Liking this Immonen kid... 53 for Jags...at last.... Flyers lost.

Rangers happy to re-join postseason party NEW YORK (AP) - Jaromir Jagr was right. The New York Rangers are a playoff team. The odds-on choice to be the NHL MVP shook off the doubters and said so at the start of training camp in September. Then he went out and made it happen. His record-setting season is going to stretch longer into April as the Rangers march into the postseason for the first time since 1997. "I was 90 percent sure we were going to make it," Jagr said after the Rangers locked up a spot Tuesday with a shootout win over Philadelphia. "I'm glad. I got what I expected. I would be very upset if we didn't make it." For seven seasons, the Rangers were the NHL's face of mismanagement and overspending. It was because of them that many smaller-market clubs claimed they couldn't compete in the same league. Last year's lockout produced the salary cap that leveled the financial playing field for all 30 teams. Truth is, it was New York that was noncompetitive. Payrolls that climbed into the $70-million range failed to produce anything close to a winner. Success couldn't be bought, at least not by anyone in charge at Madison Square Garden. "Sometimes it's too much and it's not good," Jagr said. "I felt like there were too many superstars on one team." New York snapped the longest-running playoff drought in the league and has a three-point lead over Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division with seven games left - including one head-to-head matchup. The Rangers aren't satisfied with just making the playoffs. "I feel really reluctant to talk too much about it because this is only the first step in what we are trying to do and what we are trying to accomplish," general manager Glen Sather said. "There are more goals to achieve and there is a bigger picture ahead of us." The lockout is ultimately what helped the Rangers produce a young, energetic team that clicked right away with a road win at Philadelphia on opening night. Jagr was the established force, and the offense was complemented by fellow Czechs Martin Straka and Martin Rucinsky. Throw in veteran forward Michael Nylander and rookie Petr Prucha - who has 29 goals - and the Rangers had the makings of a potent offense, especially with new rules implemented to open up the game. "Nobody believed we could do any damage in this league and I think that worked to our advantage," Jagr said. The biggest addition was rookie goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who showed New York he could be a big-time player months before leading Sweden to the Olympic gold medal. Lundqvist wrested the No. 1 starting job away from Kevin Weekes and won over the home crowd. He is the first Rangers rookie to win 30 games. "The chemistry on the team is great, and so far it's been fun for everybody here," Jagr said. He saw it come together quickly and boldly predicted a playoff appearance for a team other pegged for last in the league. "I don't think you ever go into a season admitting anything to anyone that you're going to win the Stanley Cup, you're not going to make the playoffs or you are going to make the playoffs," Sather said. "I knew that they were going to be a good team as soon as we had them together in training camp." For years, the Rangers brought in big name after big name: Pavel Bure, Theo Fleury, Eric Lindros and Alex Kovalev. All had All-Star backgrounds and their best days mostly behind them. Jagr was an outsider when Sather plucked him out of Washington, where the five-time NHL scoring champion never got comfortable after starring with Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh. The move was made as a last gasp try to make the 2004 playoffs, but that flawed team never had a chance. Sather couldn't spark the team as coach and gave up that title so he could strip away the veterans and cut down the payroll. The Rangers never seemed willing to try to sell a rebuilding phase to its fan but now they had the salary cap as an excuse. "We kind of rolled the dice on this philosophy," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. Jagr has bought into Renney's system of total accountability and has responded with his best season in years. He has already broken the team record for points in a season (115) and tied the team mark for goals (52). With an 'A' on his sweater, Jagr has taken over the on and off-ice leadership from Mark Messier, who retired before this season. He has carried New York to its first postseason berth season Messier and Wayne Gretzky teamed up nine years ago for an unlikely trip to the Eastern Conference finals. That run ended in Philadelphia in the same arena that gave this Rangers team its early boost. "It took so much for us to be here," Weekes said. "We pretty much stripped away whatever was here before that wasn't positive, we held onto whatever was here before that was positive and we put the two together." Linksaurus

PLAYOFFSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why Jagr deserves to be NHL's MVP Robert Picarello / Special to FOXSports.com Posted: 1 day ago The New York Rangers have been a rags-to-riches story this year, most of which can be attributed to the play of Jaromir Jagr. Heading into play Saturday, Jagr led the league in goals (52) and points (114) and was the odds-on favorite to win the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP. If Jags wins the award, it will mark the second time in his career that he has been the NHL's most valuable player. In 1999, Jagr won as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Earlier this season, former Rangers' captain Mark Messier called Jaromir Jagr "the best player in the world." (Jim McIsaac / Getty Images) Jagr was also chasing his sixth Art Ross Trophy, given to the player who leads the league in scoring at the end of the regular season. If he takes home that hardware, the Rangers' leading scorer would move into a second-place tie with Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe. Only "The Great One," Wayne Gretzky garnered more scoring titles than Lemieux and Howe, finishing with 10 in his Hall of Fame career. After hearing the whispers before the 2005-06 season started that the Rangers were going to be one of the league's bottom-feeders once again, Jagr was determined to prove all the naysayers wrong. "Whatever the media says is fine with us. We are the guys who are going to prove it on the ice," Jagr said. "It's going to be fun and interesting this year. Hopefully we can continue to play the whole year like this." Well, Jagr has not only proved the critics wrong, he has almost singlehandedly led the Rangers back the postseason for the first time since 1997. He has also rewritten the Rangers' record books along the way. First, Jagr topped Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle's 34-year-old single-season points total by collecting 114 — and counting — this season. Secondly, he tied the Rangers' single-season goal mark by potting an NHL-leading 52 goals in his first 74 games, matching the record total set by Adam Graves in 1993-94. Jagr ranks second all-time for points and goals among players born in Europe. In addition, Jagr ranks first in NHL scoring since 1990-91, second in NHL goals since 1990-91 and second in NHL assists since 1990-91. "He's a big strong man. I don't know how you defend him outside of taking a penalty," Rangers head coach Tom Renney said. "Quite honestly, when his feet are moving and he's got the puck there may not be anybody better. Jags has an incredible set of hands. He can certainly fire the puck and he can do it off balance and those types of things, which makes him very valuable to our hockey club." The only player who may give Jagr a run for his money for the Hart in the season's last few weeks is San Jose's Joe Thornton. The former Bruin has been the sparkplug that ignited the Sharks back into playoff contention when the team looked like it was dead in the water in early December. Thornton leads the league in assists and has set a career high in points, surpassing his old total of 101 set with Boston back in the 2002-03 season. Since coming over to San Jose in a trade on Nov. 30, the former Bruins' captain is the NHL's leading scorer with 73 points (16 goals, 57 assists) in 48 games, a per-game average of 1.52. While those numbers are impressive, I'm afraid I'll have to say it ain't so to Joe when it comes to the Hart. Jagr has carried the Rangers all year. He helped turn around a franchise that only won 27 games and finished with a mere 69 points when the NHL last had a season. New York also finished 13th in the Eastern Conference in the 2003-04 campaign. Not so this year. With only eight games remaining on the docket, the Rangers were battling the Philadelphia Flyers for first place in the Atlantic Division — a true Jags-to-riches story. Rest of the article here

Saw this on TV. Didn't think they had any shot winning this thing. Rangers looked tired, out of focus and not as sharp. See what happens when you play the Islanders the day before.... . We need these days off. Here comes the final push! Division title puhlease!!!

Horrible loss. Rangers looked really good at sometimes and really bad at other times. We can't move the big brutes in front of Lundqvist...and every goal he gave up he was screened. Thats something we have to work on. Sandis Ozolinsh is pissing me off...I've never seen a guy give up so many turnovers in the defensive zone. That goal killed us. How do you make that pass with their leading scorer right there?? Was he this bad in Colorado?? :brooding:

I have a major hard-on for some playoff tickets...does that answer your question?

Finally....A win! Beautiful goal by Jagr.

bad breaks, hot goaltenders, crappy penalties, sometimes it happens. Hopefully not too long though...

NHL Original Six Series: NY Rangers - Stanley Cup Champions 1994 Product Description Will be released April 18th, 2006 This 15-disc "Complete Game" Collector's set celebrates the last New York Rangers team to win the Stanley Cup, in 1994. The set includes all 7 games from the Western Conference Finals vs. the New Jersey Devils, in which Mark Messier solidified his legend with the Game 6 "Guarantee" and forced a defining Game 7. It also includes all 7 games from the Stanley Cup Finals vs. the Vancouver Canucks. As a bonus, the 1994 Stanley Cup Champions Highlight Program, which tells the story of the entire season, is included. OH YEAH!!!! At last. Link to Walmart.com Link to Amazon.com

Well we really didn't give up anything so I am very happy about that. Second, it adds a good solid point at the blue line for PP which we have been missing all year and he can partner with Darius for a nice 1-2 punch.

The last two losses, it was the opposing team that scored first. Doesn't look good.

Link to video :worshippy:

Link to video with Aerosmith music :yikes:

Well atleast the Flyers lost. I give credit to the Devils, they checked very well and made the Jagr a non factor. Hopefully we bounce back on Monday...

If this game taught me anything, it is that we need a nice big bruiser guy in the lineup.

Rangers win 6-1....Rawr!!! 5 PPG, wow.

no kidding...

I knew it, I knew it and he came up big in the end too...some sharp saves. As good as Finland was playing they were about due for a loss.