Rangers sweep Thrashers
As I mentioned earlier, I’m cheering for the NY Rangers to win in the East (although that would seem unlikely). I was very happy to hear that they beat the Thrashers last night, 4-2, to sweep the series and become the first team to advance into the second round.
Brendan Shanahan scored a goal last night (his third of the series and 56th playoff goal in his career).
“You can’t really ask for a better series from the guys,” said forward Brendan Shanahan, who tied it at 2 in the second period. “We are happy the way we played the series, but at the same time we are keeping our head on our shoulders.”
Sixth-seeded New York earned its first home playoff victory since 1997 on Tuesday upon returning to Madison Square Garden after taking the first two games in Atlanta. It was the Rangers’ first sweep since the opening round of the 1994 playoffs - the year they last won the Stanley Cup.
The NY Daily News has a nice article about Shanahan and the impact he has had on the team this year:
There were nights Brendan Shanahan would sit home and wonder if he’d ever play hockey again because of the pain from his concussion. There were nights during his rehab when he would sit in suites at the Garden, wishing he could be out on the ice instead of dealing with the vertigo and dizzy spells from the head injury he suffered in a scary mid-February collision with the Flyers’ Mike Knuble.
But last night made it all worth it.
…
Moments like that are also why the former Red Wing called the Rangers on the first night of free agency last year and asked if they were interested in his services. The Rangers jumped at the opportunity, and days later they signed the 20-year veteran to a one-year, $4 million deal.
“I came here to play in games like this and be in important moments and hopefully to provide clutch goals,” Shanahan said.
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