The New York Knicks aren't just the only team making the Big Apple happy. The New York Rangers are also providing excitement for the city, and they just added another reason for residents of Gotham to party, with Adam Fox and company successfully clinching a berth in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs by taking down the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
With the Rangers becoming the first team this season to clinch a postseason spot, they are now a step closer to achieving what only seven other franchises in the history of the league have accomplished (via the Official account of the National Hockey League Communications Department).
“The@NYRangers and their quest to become the eighth franchise in NHL history to win at least five Stanley Cups has officially begun. Will they do so on the 30th anniversary of their last championship?”
New York keeps on rolling with latest win vs Flyers
The Rangers kept their win streak alive and extended it to three games with yet another escape act, this time at the expense of Philadelphia, via a score of 6-5. The Flyers scored the first two goals of Tuesday night's meeting with New York but the Rangers fought back, finding the back of the net three consecutive times before Philadelphia's Travis Konecny tied it all up at 3-3 with a little under seven minutes into the third period.
The Rangers recaptured the lead with a shorthanded goal by Vincent Trocheck off of an assist from Mika Zibanejad, but Owen Tippett leveled things up for the Flyers' fourth goal of the contest. Alexis Lafreniere and Tyson Foerste traded goals, leading to overtime.
Fox made sure Rangers fans in attendance would go home happy after such a long night by finding the back of the net in overtime, with the help of Trocheck and Artemi Panarin.
New York still in precarious spot atop the Metropolitan division
New York's win over the Flyers came just days after the Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers via shootout, 4-3, at home last Saturday. Before that, the Rangers tamed the Boston Bruins in a 5-2 victory on the road on Mar. 21.
Even though they have already guaranteed themselves action beyond the 2023-24 NHL regular season, the Rangers still have plenty to play for. For one, they are still just a few points (three as of Tuesday night) ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes atop the Metropolitan division. At the very least, the Rangers have control of their fate in terms of where they would end up by the end of the regular season.
The Ranger can keep the good times rolling on Thursday in a high-profile showdown against another Stanley Cup contender in the form of the Colorado Avalanche in Mile High City.
The last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup
If the Rangers go on a tear in the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup, it would be the perfect way for the franchise to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the incredible and memorable run Mark Messier and company made back in the 1993-94 season. The Rangers defeated the Pavel Bure-led Vancouver Canucks in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Of course, part of that New York run was the legendary “guarantee” of Messier in the Eastern Conference Final where he led the Rangers to a series win over the New Jersey Devils in seven games.
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