 <The New York Rangers have always competed for playoff berths, usually the Blueshirts are truly considered a threat to go deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs. After some major personnel moves in the offseason, the new Rangers have set their sights on the playoffs once again. Ranger General Manager Glenn Sather's major roster alterations included walking away from a big money arbitration decision for winger Nikolai Zherdev and clearing salary cap space by dealing the disappointing Scott Gomez for Christopher Higgins. Between those moves and assorted retirements or free agent departures, Sather found himself with plenty of free cap space with which to maneuver. Taking advantage of the newfound space, Sather made a few big moves – most notably bringing in superstar scorer Marian Gaborik from Minnesota, along with other notable acquisitions which included scorers Ales Kotalik and Vaclav Prospal, as well as tough guy Donald Brashear. New York will have a strong lineup of forwards up front, with Chris Drury, Gaborik, Prospal and Kotalik, joining with up-and-coming center Brandon Dubinsky and notorious bad boy Sean Avery, to produce a mixture of toughness and scoring. Fans shouldn't forget about winger Ryan Callahan, who scored 22 goals last year and could have a breakout year. With all the new firepower, the Rangers should improve their scoring this season, and don't underestimate Avery's impact, as he will undoubtedly cause more than a few opponents to find their way to the penalty box while providing New York with additional power play opportunities. On defense, the Blueshirts haven't really made any significant changes, seemingly satisfied to rely on the able duo of Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival. Many believe that Redden is due for a breakout season and Rozsival is a solid two-way player, while youngster Marc Staal should be ready to step into a featured role with Dan Girardi filling a spot as the ultimate defensive defenseman. This group is good, but will really need to step up and play great against some of the serious scorers in their division if they wish to make it to the next level. As an extra bonus for the Rangers, they do have one of the best goalies in hockey, Henrik Lundqvist, who should be able to offset many mistakes while controlling a majority of the team's games. Luckily, fans can expect another great year from one of the best players in the world. The Rangers should be able to offset teams that are heavy on offensive star power through the acquisition of Gaborik, and honestly they should also benefit from a better scoring year from Drury, who never really got on track last year. Find the New York Rangers tickets for the games you want to see, and be there to cheer for the revamped team as they take to the ice at Madison Square Garden.
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