Playoff Peach-Fuzz: A Critique of the Upcoming New York Rangers Playoff Beards

They serve as a symbol of how far you've come in the world of hockey. Every team is in on it; it's a tradition. The act of growing a playoff beard has been a superstition among hockey fans and players for as long as anyone can remember. To grow the biggest, bushiest, messiest beard you can during the NHL Playoffs in hopes that once you reach the mountain top, you can enjoy the best shave of your life.

Here are some Rangers who show potential to grow some awesome fur in the upcoming playoffs.

Bushy and Rugged


Henrik Lundqvist 

Unless Vogue calls up with another offer for a photo shoot, I hope Hank grows out something for us Rangers fans to enjoy. It would be nice to see the potential for the man in net to grow out a big fluffy one if the Ragers can make a deep run in the playoffs. However, knowing Hank, the superstitious man that he is, if he feels it interferes even slightly in his play, he won't grow one. But as a treat for the fans, I hope we get the chance to witness gloriousness on top of gloriousness that is his face.

Brian Boyle

Not sure how much ice time the big man will get once the Rangers go to the playoffs, but I think the big guys got beard potential. We got a glimpse of what Double B can do with his facial hair in last years playoffs, but hopefully he can have enough time to grow it out so he can, you know, actually intimidate someone on the ice.

Dan Girardi

You don't block shots like Dan Girardi does and not have the hormones to grow an awesome playoff beard. Girardi is the bona-fide playoff beard sleeper. Looking at Danny, you may not think he has the potential to make something work with his beard, but I remember glimpses of an awesome beard back when the Rangers played the Penguins in the second round of the playoffs a few years back, and he can grow one. It will be nice to see a fine patch grow among that chiseled chin of his, too.

Ryan Callahan


A fine captain needs a fine playoff beard. And since we will have Captain Cally at the helm this years playoffs, he must grace us with a beard. Callahan is as rough and tumble as they come, and if is actions were a facial hair, they'd be a Chuck Norris beard. And if you have a problem picturing his beard, imagine how it will look when he skates up to Gary Bettman after hearing the words "Captain Ryan Callahan, come get the Stanley Cup!" *chills*

Brandon Dubinsky


...

...I think the picture speaks for itself.

Should Chris Kreider Be Called Up for the Playoffs?

Recently, many speculations have been made by reporters who are around the New York Rangers of a possibility of start prospect Chris Kreider being called up after he finishes the tournament taking place on the college level. Kreider has had quite a bit of buzz around him ever since he was drafted, and expectations are rising as his performance in his current league is fairly well. However, is bringing in a new face to the Rangers starting in the playoffs really a good idea?

The Rangers don't pour on goals, and that is a fact. Their recent performances have managed to pot a few, but some nights, it isn't enough. Perhaps the Rangers feel they need a shake-up out on offense, but is that really the best idea for Kreider's development?

We have seen it happen in not just hockey, but sports in general, of players who are thrust into the limelight when they are not ready, end up slumping, and get into a rut that lowers their value, sometimes for their entire career. Would bringing in a kid who has never played an NHL game in his life be prepared to handle to the pressure of the NHL playoffs right out of the gate? This blogger's opinion says no.

The New York Rangers Clinch A Playoff Birth

For the first time in three years, the Rangers will not have to sit and wait to see if they will make the playoffs on the dying days of the NHL regular season, for they have clinched the first playoff birth in the Eastern Conference in a win tonight over the Devils.

The Rangers, who have played very turbulent hockey these past few days, reached the 97 point plateau, and are in the playoffs. They currently sit atop the Eastern Conference, but the Penguins, and Flyers are jockeying right behind them with 94 and 92 points.

As stated before, it has been a rough patch of hockey for the Rangers, as they are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. But a victory tonight solidifies them a spot in the postseason, and now they can worry about preparing for that, rather than having to sacrifice their bodies down to the wire and gassing themselves out before they have a chance to relax.

It has been a long road for the Rangers this season. Starting the season with two straight overtime losses in Sweden to the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks before finally getting their first victory over the Vancouver Canucks. This team of Rangers has showed nothing but poise and confidence all season, and I have the utmost support for them going into the playoffs.

As the days go by, the Clinic will start preparing posts for the playoffs, including Dr. Daps' Playoff Predictions for all the teams. It is going to be a very exciting postseason, and we are going to get to watch the Rangers duke it out in their quest for Lord Stanley's Cup.

Why the NHL Should Take Good Notice of the Hagelin-Richards-Gaborik Line

Tonight in Madison Square Garden, the Rangers took on the Carolina Hurricanes and managed to put up four goals on the 'Canes which lead to a win to the score of 4-2. All four goals from the Rangers came from their top forward unit consisting of Carl Hagelin on left-wing, Brad Richards in the middle, and Marian Gaborik on the right. Brad Richards had two goals, and Hagelin and Gaborik split the other two.

Not going off of just one night of performance, but this line has the potential to be the next big threatening line in the NHL. Carl Hagelin is being mentored every single game that he plays with Richards and Gaborik, and is thriving with them. Not only that, but he is fueling the veterans as well. Tonight, Hagelin had two assists on both Brad Richards goals. Gaborik had two assists on one Richards goal, and Hagelin's goal. There is chemistry on this line, and it is obvious.

What is Causing the Rangers' Current Funk

The Rangers have certainely not been playing their best hockey as of lately, as taken notice by their first three consecutive regulation losses over the past three games. While fans are in a tizzy about all of this sudden losing, they players don't seem to be as concerned for their current struggles. Let's analyze this recent slump, shall we?


The last three losses for the Rangers: New Jersey, a teal still fighting to stay out of that eighth place spot. A team that does not want to have to face the defending champs in the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. A desperate team. The Devils severely outworked the Rangers all game and came away with a 4-1 win.


The Ottawa Senators: another team on that playoff bubble, fighting to get a higher seed. With Erik Karlsson who has been phenominal all season, and Jason Spezza who has been holding it down for the Ottawa lineup, they are a good team, and another desperate one at that.


The Chicago Blackhawks: a team that went through some troubles about a month ago where they could not win a game until they exploded against the Rangers and beat them 4-2. Unlike the Eastern Conference, the West is a bit tighter when it comes to lower-tier standings and teams in that Conference need to scratch and claw to get every advantage.

The Rebirth of Marian Gaborik

In 2009, the Rangers signed Wild superstar Marian Gaborik to a free-agent deal, and everyone was very happy and anxious. Happy because this was going to be potentially the first step toward building the team up for a good future, and anxious because of his injury prone history.

In the 2009-10 season, Gaborik reached everyone's expectations by scoring 42 goals and 44 assists for 86 total points on the year. However, the lack of a supporting cast caused the Rangers to narrowly miss the playoffs on the last day of the season to the Flyers.

In 2010, the Rangers signed Alex Frolov, a potential centerman for Gaborik that could propel him to bigger points totals that could jump the Rangers over the playoff hump.  However, Gaborik's injury proneness came up again when he sat out 20 games to start the season, and only tallied 22 goals, his lowest total ever when playing more than 40 games in a season. Gaborik came back mid way through the season, but never got in a groove, and that caused many Rangers fans to think of him as another lost-cause signing made by the Rangers. The Rangers eventually made it to the 2011 playoffs that year, never got out of the first round. Gaborik only had one goal and one assist in the five game series against the Capitals.