New York Rangers Daily: Cheers for Martin St. Louis; Matthew Tkachuk ‘itching’ for Panthers return
So, Wednesday I wrote a column stating why the New York Rangers and their fans should be really pissed off they didn’t make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. I reiterated and built on those thoughts during the latest Rink Rap podcast.
And though I absolutely still feel that way, Thursday should instead be about feeling good for a really good guy, one who’s a former Ranger. Marty St. Louis.
I get it. You probably don’t have it in you to feel happy for the team that slipped past your Rangers to finish in the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Montreal Canadiens officially clinched that final playoff berth Wednesday night in Game 82 of their regular-season schedule, a 4-2 win at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Like it or not, the Canadiens are a pretty cool story this season. In the midst of a rebuild, they started 5-10-2 and even as late as the 4 Nations Tournament in February, the Canadiens had roughly a two-percent chance of making the playoff for the first time in four years.
But they believed and they battled, eventually going on a six-game winning streak — the Rangers, remember, didn’t win more then two games in a row after Nov. 14-19 — to pass the Rangers and hold off the Columbus Blue Jackets. It wasn’t always pretty. They stumbled down the final week, which can happen with such a young tea still figuring things out.
But St. Louis, an overachiever who won the Stanley Cup as a player with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and landed in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018, was the one who held it all together, and provided belief that the players bought into.
And good for him.
Marty was a Blueshirt for less than two seasons. He played 93 regular-season games and 44 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the end of his career following the Ryan Callahan trade in 2014. Not many players formed such a close bond with a new fan base quicker than St. Louis in the spring of 2014.
There was the warm fan reception, the passing of his dear mother, the first-round comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the tear-filled Mother’s Day goal, the Game 5 OT winner against the Canadiens in the conference Final and the 2014 Stanley Cup Final loss in five games to the Los Angeles Kings.
He’ll always be a Tampa Bay Lightning great. But he’s a beloved Ranger too. And today should be a feel-good today for all who love and respect the man, the player and the coach. Like I do.
Felicitations monsieur Martin St. Louis.
LISTEN HERE to the audio version of the Rink Rap podcast
New York Rangers news
Coach Peter Laviolette said that the Rangers “need to choose the right road” and come out with a strong effort in their season finale against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The final Rangers team awards were handed out Wednesday, with Artemi Panarin nabbing a pair, including MVP, and Sam Carrick selected as the Players’ Player award winner.
Calvin de Haan cleared the air regarding recent comments he made about the Rangers, per the New York Post.
NHL news and rumors
Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk is “itching so badly” to return to the lineup, and said that he should be back for the start of the first-round series against the Lightning.
TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that “it’s very possible” Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen will miss the entire first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as he recovers from February knee surgery.
Some more potential bad news for the Stars: forward Jason Robertson sustained a lower-body injury in their season finale against the Nashville Predators and reportedly left the arena with a brace on his knee.
The NHL announced the first games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been scheduled for Saturday, when the Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues at 6 p.m. ET and the Colorado Avalanche visit the Dallas Stars at 8:30 p.m. ET. The full first-round playoff schedule will be released Thiursday.
Kris Letang, who’s suffered two strokes during his NHL career, had minor heart surgery and will need 4-6 weeks to recover.
With the postseason set to start, the Winnipeg Jets took care of some offseason business early, signing forward Alex Iafallo to a three-year, $11 million contract.
Nic Dowd signed a two-year contract worth $6 million with the Washington Capitals.
Frank Seravalli reported that University of Denver coach David Carle is atop the Chicago Balckhawks wish list to become their new coach this offseason.
The Toronto Maple Leafs expect injured defenseman Jake McCabe to be ready for Game 1 of their series against the Ottawa Senators. However, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson “may not be ready for that first game.”
Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann is having surgery Monday for an undisclosed issue.
Montreal’s Lane Hutson picked up his 60th assist to tie Larry Murphy’s 44-year-old record for most assists by a rookie defenseman in NHL history.
Dougie Hamilton returned after an 18-game injury absence, but the New Jersey Devils lost 5-2 to the Detroit Red Wings.
Connor Hellebuyck won his franchise-record 47th game to help lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 overtime victory against the Anaheim Ducks. Hellebuyck also claimed the Jennings Trophy for being the goalie on the team that allowed the fewest goals in the NHL for the second straight season.
Connor McDavid picked up an assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 3-0 win against the San Jose Sharks to become the fourth player in NHL history to record eight 100-point seasons. He tied Marcel Dionne for third place on that list behind Wayne Gretzky (15 times) and Mario Lemieux (10 times).
Watch Mark Scheifele scored the OT winner for the Jets.
The Vancouver Canucks closed out their disappointing season with a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, who got injured center Jack Eichel back from injury.
