overrated rangers win meaningless presidents trophy

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

NEWARK, N.J. -- Rookie forward Kevin Hayes had a goal and two assists to help the New York Rangers clinch the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Ryan McDonagh, James Sheppard and Carl Hagelin scored for the Rangers (52-21-7), who have won five straight. Cam Talbot made 18 saves for his 21st win.

"Winning the Presidents' Trophy is not an easy thing to do; just look at the teams right now fighting to get into the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "It's a challenging thing, and I think for our group it's just one step in the direction that we're looking to get to. I'm very proud of our group, but we all know that we're going to be judged by what we do in the playoffs, so this is a first step.

"Now we need to get ready for the next one."

It is the third time the Rangers have won the Presidents' Trophy for having the most points in the NHL (1991-92 and 1993-94). The Rangers reached 52 wins for the second time; the other was 1993-94 (52 wins, 112 points), when they won the Stanley Cup.

"It's a great accomplishment," McDonagh said. "Like any team, we had to handle adversity, injuries and ups and downs. To say we won the regular season is a huge confidence boost and a huge reassurance what this team is capable of doing. We just needed to trust in the system and have everyone play their roles. When we come ready and prepared, we can do good things."

The Rangers have won nine of the past 10 road games (9-1-0) and have at least one point in 10 of the past 11 (9-1-1). They lead the NHL in road wins (27), road points (56) and road point percentage (.692). The Rangers have two regular-season games remaining, at home against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and at the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Vigneault is the second NHL coach to win the Presidents' Trophy three times, having done it twice with the Vancouver Canucks. Scotty Bowman won it four times.

Patrik Elias and Steve Bernier scored for the Devils (32-35-13); Cory Schneider made 36 saves. The Devils, who played their final home game, play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and Florida Panthers on Saturday.

The Rangers defeated the Devils four times, sweeping the season series for the first time since 1993-94 (6-0-0). New York outscored New Jersey 17-7.

"There's certain teams that you may struggle against or you don't have success against, but when it's [the Rangers] it makes it worse," Schneider said.

Talbot went 16-4-3 with a 2.16 goals-against average, two shutouts and a .929 save percentage while Henrik Lundqvist was sidelined by a vascular injury, keeping the Rangers in the hunt for the best record in the League.

"It meant a lot to me [playing in this game] to be honest," Talbot said. "To go out there and be able to able to play in the Presidents' Trophy-clinching game was a big moment for myself. The boys came out and battled for a full 60 minutes and it was probably it was one of our more complete games of the year. It was a great team effort and team win."

Hayes said of Talbot, "It was awesome, he's been fantastic. When [Lundqvist] went down no one was nervous. Entering the playoffs we have two great goalies, so it's pretty nice."

Lundqvist has played five games (4-1-0) and has a 2.00 GAA and .937 save percentage in four straight wins since returning. Vigneault said Lundqvist would start the final two games.

The Rangers took a 3-1 lead in the third period when Sheppard fought off a check by Adam Larsson and scored off a deflection at the right post at 10:41.

New York is 149-1-9 in its past 159 games when starting the third period with a lead.

Bernier scored when he banked a shot at the right post off Derick Brassard and Talbot to pull the Devils within 3-2 at 11:32.

Hagelin scored into an empty net, off a pass from Hayes, with 1:48 remaining.

"It's been an impressive year," Hayes said. "Ever since Day One it was always a who's-up-next mentality. We've had some injuries and had some key guys step up this season. It just shows we have a deep team that was successful from start to finish."

The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the first period, when they outshot the Devils 19-4. McDonagh scored a power-play goal on a shot from the point through a screen provided by Rick Nash and Hayes to make it 2-0 at 14:32. The goal came seven seconds after Jacob Josefson was penalized for hooking.

"We'll approach our remaining two games the same way we approach every game, with good habits," McDonagh said. "We're competitors all the way. The games may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but you want to be playing well and feeling good about yourself before a long playoff run."

Elias made it 2-1 when he scored a power-play goal from the slot at 17:44 of the first period. Josefson barely missed tying the game less than a minute later but Talbot made the save.

Hayes gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead when he took advantage of a turnover in the Devils end. Carl Hagelin stole the puck from Gelinas, and Hayes scored his 16th of the season from the right side of the net at 13:45. It was the first goal for Hayes in five games.

"He's just a well-rounded player with a good attitude, that's the best thing," McDonagh said of Hayes. "For a young guy, you want to come to the rink understanding that there's going to be criticism, there's going to be ups and downs, but you can't feel upset or frustrated about your game. He really doesn't show it and tries to play positive. He plays with a good attitude and never really complains."

Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello was not in the lineup and is day-to-day with body soreness, Vigneault said. Zuccarello was replaced by Sheppard, who skated on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tanner Glass.

---

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

:lol:

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

Congrats , you better enjoy it, because its the only trophy you will win this year

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

It's another step in the right direction for the franchise, so I'm happy.

Beats a decade of mediocrity and being buried in multiple albatross contracts (Gonez, Redden, etc) and watching Torts shitty system.

Playoffs are a crap shoot, hoping for the best.

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

It's another step in the right direction for the franchise, so I'm happy.

Beats a decade of mediocrity and being buried in multiple albatross contracts (Gonez, Redden, etc) and watching Torts shitty system.

Playoffs are a crap shoot, hoping for the best.

the east belongs to pitt

crosby will hoist lord stanleys cup

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

It's another step in the right direction for the franchise, so I'm happy.

Beats a decade of mediocrity and being buried in multiple albatross contracts (Gonez, Redden, etc) and watching Torts shitty system.

Playoffs are a crap shoot, hoping for the best.

the east belongs to pitt

crosby will hoist lord stanleys cup

:happyno

East is loaded though, much better than the West this year.

Kings won't even get in. :shocker

[gatrnation1]

When the Lightning lift the cup I will celebrate and laugh at your crying.

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

It's another step in the right direction for the franchise, so I'm happy.

Beats a decade of mediocrity and being buried in multiple albatross contracts (Gonez, Redden, etc) and watching Torts shitty system.

Playoffs are a crap shoot, hoping for the best.

the east belongs to pitt

crosby will hoist lord stanleys cup

:happyno

East is loaded though, much better than the West this year.

Kings won't even get in. :shocker

yea fuck mike bitchards and the kings

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

When did the topic become 'choking'?

The topic is 'overrrated', and the President's Trophy winner aka the best team in the NHL can't be called overrated on April 10th of any season.

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

When did the topic become 'choking'?

The topic is 'overrrated', and the President's Trophy winner aka the best team in the NHL can't be called overrated on April 10th of any season.

sorry but if a team has the best record but doesnt win the cup they were obviously overrated

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

No pressure :lol:

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

When did the topic become 'choking'?

The topic is 'overrrated', and the President's Trophy winner aka the best team in the NHL can't be called overrated on April 10th of any season.

sorry but if a team has the best record but doesnt win the cup they were obviously overrated

Clearly you're new to the NHL. Feel free to check how many #1 seeds have won the Cup in the last decade or two.

This ain't March Sadness.

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

When did the topic become 'choking'?

The topic is 'overrrated', and the President's Trophy winner aka the best team in the NHL can't be called overrated on April 10th of any season.

sorry but if a team has the best record but doesnt win the cup they were obviously overrated

Clearly you're new to the NHL. Feel free to check how many #1 seeds have won the Cup in the last decade or two.

This ain't March Sadness.

i believe this is because the teams that often have the best record were near the top or at the top most of the year and kind of coast into the post season, whereas teams who fight for those last few spots are in a scrap just to get in the playoffs so they are already in playoff-mode

the good thing for the rangers is that they werent up top all year, they just now go there, so they probably wont fall into that same rut that often haunts the presidents trophy winner

i watch as much or more playoff hockey as you bro, in the playoffs where games are actually televised in my non-hockey part of the country, my tv is always glued to the NHL even if my team isnt on

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

When did the topic become 'choking'?

The topic is 'overrrated', and the President's Trophy winner aka the best team in the NHL can't be called overrated on April 10th of any season.

sorry but if a team has the best record but doesnt win the cup they were obviously overrated

Clearly you're new to the NHL. Feel free to check how many #1 seeds have won the Cup in the last decade or two.

This ain't March Sadness.

i believe this is because the teams that often have the best record were near the top or at the top most of the year and kind of coast into the post season, whereas teams who fight for those last few spots are in a scrap just to get in the playoffs so they are already in playoff-mode

the good thing for the rangers is that they werent up top all year, they just now go there, so they probably wont fall into that same rut that often haunts the presidents trophy winner

i watch as much or more playoff hockey as you bro, in the playoffs where games are actually televised in my non-hockey part of the country, my tv is always glued to the NHL even if my team isnt on

Agreed, case and point look at the Isles. They led the Metro all year and the wheels have fallen off.

Still, MTL has led their division all year and they look pretty solid. Don't want to see those fux at all.

[MIAMIDOMINATION]

Kings lost to Flames, they're out. :biglol

Also to note, the team with the best record in the league can't be overrated. :justsayin

sure they can, teams that win the presidents trophy choke all of the time, didnt the kings just win the cup as an 8th seed?

When did the topic become 'choking'?

The topic is 'overrrated', and the President's Trophy winner aka the best team in the NHL can't be called overrated on April 10th of any season.

sorry but if a team has the best record but doesnt win the cup they were obviously overrated

Clearly you're new to the NHL. Feel free to check how many #1 seeds have won the Cup in the last decade or two.

This ain't March Sadness.

i believe this is because the teams that often have the best record were near the top or at the top most of the year and kind of coast into the post season, whereas teams who fight for those last few spots are in a scrap just to get in the playoffs so they are already in playoff-mode

the good thing for the rangers is that they werent up top all year, they just now go there, so they probably wont fall into that same rut that often haunts the presidents trophy winner

i watch as much or more playoff hockey as you bro, in the playoffs where games are actually televised in my non-hockey part of the country, my tv is always glued to the NHL even if my team isnt on

Agreed, case and point look at the Isles. They led the Metro all year and the wheels have fallen off.

Still, MTL has led their division all year and they look pretty solid. Don't want to see those fux at all.

goaltending is the xfactor

if you have a great goalie you dont play by the same rules as everyone else , but.... as we know from luango in vancouver or hasek in buffalo

a great goalie isnt going to win a cup on his own, the canadiens will need more than just price to win this cup

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

a great goalie isnt going to win a cup on his own, the canadiens will need more than just price to win this cup

Yeah, and they're loaded. Fuckin Habs :finger