2011-12 a Major Success for Rangers Regardless of Postseason Outcome

The New York Rangers will not begin their 2012 postseason campaign until Thursday when they host the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden for game one of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Typically, not until after a team is eliminated, or never eliminated for one lucky club, from the playoffs is when one would assess their season as a whole. For the 2011-12 New York Rangers, however, their success can be analyzed before their quest for the Stanley Cup even begins, and that’s a testament to how much progress they’ve actually made as a franchise in just a year’s span.  Regardless of what happens beyond April 12, this has been one special year for the Broadway Blueshirts.  No one, and I repeat, no one had the New York Rangers finishing the season atop the Eastern Conference and second in the entire National Hockey League with a 51-27-7 record and 109 points. If they tell you otherwise, they are bluffing majorly I guarantee you. As per usual, the Rangers were anticipated to j...