Of the most recent games for the New York Rangers, the pair Keith Yandle and Dylan McIlrath have been leading the team in tandem, even being cited as the best in the club's history entirely. Subsequently starting as a unit since November 27, it's unfortunate both skaters couldn't hold the team to a longer winning streak during that same month.
The Rangers lost earlier in the month, ending a nine-game winning streak, and were two points behind the Dallas Stars for the most points in the entire NHL, with the Rangers having a game in hand over them. As is the case for great teams and statistics both back up the team's claim to being the best.
The team had been utterly dominant in their nine-game win streak, too. They've won close games and dominated teams during their reign, and the team has been doing all the right things to beat every opponent. In fact, they've only lost two games in regulation all season, with the last being a 3-0 loss to the Canadiens back on Oct. 15. That is more than a calendar month since they played a game and didn't earn at least one point.
The Canadiens started the season on an incredible run, winning their first nine games and marking one of the best winning streaks to start a season in NHL history. But since the loss of reigning-Hart Trophy winner Carey Price, they have been a team struggling to be part of the elite as they were just a few weeks ago.
They were still winning, though close as it may have seemed. The game that proved that the Canadiens are not the best team anymore was the 6-1 beat down they got from the Colorado Avalanche.
Continuing in the most dominant ways possible, the Rangers have seemed to beat teams easily. They seemingly toyed with the Blues in a 6-3 win and they didn't even give the Hurricanes a chance to get in front, shutting them out 3-0. The offense was super efficient, blistering the Capitals with five different goal scorers in a 5-2 win.
I don't mean to knock the Stars, but it's difficult to believe they are truly the best team in the NHL. They are explosive, having had three of the top five point scorers in the NHL, and they continue to beat good teams. But they have two of the most inconsistent goalies in the NHL in Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen, and defensively have some players who do not ellicit confidence from the fans. They just don't seem deep enough, and have yet to get deep into their schedule against the very tough Central Division.
The Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist, the only goalie that can match Price, an offense with goal scorers up and down, and a defense that offers star power. There's no team that boasts the depth and talent of the Rangers. They've proved it through their nine-game winning streak, and will continue to prove that as they should be very close to the President's Trophy. If I were a betting man, they'd be my bet to not only win that, but the Stanley Cup as well.
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