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How Senators lineup will change after Rangers breakthrough

Changes are coming to the Senators’ lineup, after being thoroughly dominated by the Rangers in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series. Ottawa Coach Guy Boucher said he plans to play center Tom Pyatt and defenseman Chris Wideman for the first time in the series in Game 4 on Thursday night. Center Zack Smith — […]

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Two vital ways the captain has steadied the Rangers’ ship

There is the leadership group of the Rangers that you so often hear referenced by the players. But there also is the team leader, and his name is Ryan McDonagh — who, three full years into his captaincy, has grown into and fully embraced the role on and off the ice. “I think every year […]

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This ‘lucky’ hat may have saved the Rangers’ season

Now this is a hat trick! The Rangers, who rallied from a cold March into the NHL’s elite eight, might owe some of their recent good fortune to team owner Jim Dolan’s sense of style — in this case, his penchant for fedoras. Back on March 21, Dolan, who also owns the Knicks, was in […]

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Rangers’ Game 4 question: Defensemen’s playing time

At first, Alain Vigneault was looking for the matchups he wanted when considering which defensemen he was sending over the boards. But then the Rangers’ coach had to deal with a constantly changing Senators lineup, hobbled with injuries to two forwards as Game 3 of the second-round series with the Senators wore on Tuesday night […]

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Don’t tell these Rangers it’s their last shot at Stanley Cup

The playoffs are always about this shift, then the next shift, and then the one after that. Always about this game, then the next game, and then the one after that. Always about now. Always about the small picture. But the small picture is always within a larger picture. Always must be placed in perspective. […]

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Rangers punch Senators in the mouth to even series

It devolved into an ugly mess, frustration boiling over and being met with a stern fist. The Rangers have shown more than just structure and skill during this impressive two-game homestand; they have depth along with an iron backbone. They took it to the Senators for another full 60 minutes, winning Game 4 of this […]

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One gritty Ranger emphatically enforces Vigneault’s message

It was the turn of Tanner Glass, by serendipitous coincidence, to read out the starting lineup to his teammates before the Rangers would take the Garden ice for Thursday’s Game 4 of the conference semifinals against the Senators. “I went ‘At center, Step [Derek Stepan], on left wing, myself’ and the guys all went ‘Ooooh,’” […]

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Banged-up Senators star question mark for Game 5

Ottawa can recover from two straight losses. The Rangers just did. But if superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson is lost, the Senators’ season might be, too. Surrendering their series lead with a 4-1 loss to the Rangers in Game 4 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Senators also saw their best player aggravate an […]

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Rangers’ fourth liners giving top guys ‘room to breathe’

The Rangers have been preaching the importance of depth all season, and Oscar Lindberg is doing what he can to prove it true. The Blueshirts’ fourth-line center scored twice in his team’s 4-1 win over the Senators in Game 4 of their second-round series Thursday night at the Garden, giving Lindberg three goals in the […]

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Rangers’ unsung hero scores vital breakthrough goal

The Rangers’ momentum was long gone. Their dominant performance two days earlier didn’t mean anything anymore. The first period of Game 4 was scoreless, and Madison Square Garden was quiet and curious, anxiously waiting to see how long the battle with the Senators would remain a stalemate. No one knew what was coming next. Certainly, […]

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