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5 things to know about Rangers

 
Defenseman Dan Boyle was on Tampa Bay's only Stanley Cup team. [AP photo]
Defenseman Dan Boyle was on Tampa Bay's only Stanley Cup team. [AP photo]
Published May 16, 2015

1 The Rangers share a lot of ties with the Lightning. Defenseman Dan Boyle (below right) was on Tampa Bay's 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team. Right wing Marty St. Louis spent 13 years with the Lightning and was the captain before being traded to New York in March 2014 for then-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan. "He's a competitive guy," Lightning center Brian Boyle said of St. Louis, "so we're going to expect his best, obviously." Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman are also former Rangers, and Lightning founder Phil Esposito spent nine seasons with New York, six as a player and three as general manager.

2 Rick Nash (below) is the Rangers' Steven Stamkos. Only two players had more goals during the regular season than Nash (42): Stamkos (43) and the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (53). Nash, a left wing, was also sixth in the league in plus-minus, at plus-29. The six-time All-Star hasn't dominated in the playoffs, recording only two goals and five assists, but his 45 shots on goal are the most of any player left in the postseason.

3 The Rangers are one of the league's six original teams. Their first Stanley Cup came in 1928, their second season. New York has won three more Stanley Cups since but none since Mark Messier (right) led it to the Cup in 1994. The Rangers' recent history is strong, too. This is New York's fifth consecutive playoff run and its third trip to the conference final in the past four years. "For them to be back there again, I think it shows how great of an organization they are," Callahan said.

4 The Rangers have their own "Triplets." Lightning fans know about Tampa Bay's prolific line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. New York's counterpart is what the New York Daily News has dubbed the "Homegrown Line." Center Derek Stepan and wings Jesper Fast (above) and Chris Kreider were drafted by the club and have combined for nine of the Rangers' 24 postseason goals. Stepan scored the winner in overtime of Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Capitals.

5 Expect close games. Dating to last year's Stanley Cup final against the Kings, New York's past 14 playoff games have been decided by one goal. The Rangers have played 10 overtime games in their past two playoffs. They have won all four of their overtime games this postseason.