New York Rangers Information
The New York Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, originating in 1926 as an expansion franchise. They were a part of the group of teams referred to as the "Original Six." The Rangers were the first United States NHL franchise to win a Stanley cup. Since then they have been able to win 3 more championships along with one conference championship, and five division championships.
The 2005-2006 New York Rangers surprised critics with a strong regular season performance and a trip to the Playoffs for the first time since 1997. Rangers fans had been miserable for seven years. The joy was short lived in 2006 however as the Rangers were swept by the rival New Jersey Devils. With injuries to several players including Jaromir Jagr the Rangers were over matched by the Devils.
The 2006-2007 Rangers were even better than the 05-06 team. They lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Buffalo Sabres in 7 games. Hoping to add depth to the roster the Rangers signed free agent centers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. This hardly made a difference as they lost again in the Semifinals, this time to the Penguins in 5 games. The 2009 Rangers just squeezed into the post-season with a 43-30-9 record and lost in the quarterfinals to the Washington Capitals in seven-games. After the season, Gomez along with Tom Pyatt and Michael Busto were traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Christopher Higgins, Doug Janik, Ryan McDonough, and Pavel Valentenko.
In the 2010-11 season, the Rangers came in third in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. This current season, the Rangers came back strong. They are first in the Atlantic Division as well as the Eastern Conference, just ahead of the reigning champion Boston Bruins. Led by lead scorer Right Winger Marian Gaborik with 32, the Rangers want to continue their good play into the playoffs and hope to make a strong run at the Stanley Cup.