The Rangers Get Their First Round Report Card: Excellence All-Around

Unlike the Toronto Maple Leafs, who've lost their best player, Auston Matthews, the New York Rangers escaped the first-round Washington test with no notable injuries.

The sweep of the Capitals defines the sum total of New York's effort in one word -- excellence.

As for the individuals, a report card is in order for the winners. 

Rating each and every Ranger is a Promethean task that not even Prometheus would have attempted alone after stealing fire from Mount Olympus.

With that in mind, I've engaged long-time Rangers-watcher -- and prolific "Inside The Rink"  website contributor  Patrick Hoffman -- to be my Prometheus facsimile. So, here goes: (The grades -- by positions -- range from A to F, as in failure -- as in Washington Capitals.

How could it not be an A with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage? Also, Iggy won all four games -- doing what he had to do with consummate style and grace.

The Magnificent M deserved a C for his season. But when the real campaign began, he awakened like Rip Van Winkle. Mika led his team with seven points (1-6). His team-high 12 shots on goal say enough about this all-situation center.

Comrade Clutch is my Up-To-Now Rangers playoff MVP. Three red lights and three helpers are just a few assets. The Pittsburgher won 71.2 percent of draws and was a power play threat on the best PP in the playoffs.

For a guy who drew a Maven's F for the regular season, Goody is showing his playoff pedigree via double-Cup Tampa Bay. Three points (1-2) on a lower line was good enough, but his super shorthander made Goodrow very Goodrow!

Too bad we can't revoke that trade. Too bad his zero-point total didn't equal his turnovers. Sorry, but three shots on goal over four games = The Square Root of The Kraken!

Last year's nightmare turned into this spring's sweet dream.

The Breadman made many sales in Rangerville with two-game winners, 11 shots on goal, and one memorable body check. To put it mildly, he was totally engaged.

You have to love this permanent Ranger, adore his power play perfection, and go ga-ga over his net-front presence. Kreider's two goals and an assist were all coach Peter Laviolette needed out of Chris' nine shots.

This vagabond big-leaguer finally found a real NHL home in The Big Apple, where V-For-Victory has never been better. Slim Jim fits neatly on the effervescent Fourth Line with Goody Goodrow and the Landmark, himself, Matt Rempe.

The rookie earned his NHL spurs via grit and gumption. He extended these assets with savvy, sock, and drives to the net like he was on the fast line of the Thruway to Albany.

Moving up from "almost invisible" to "almost-star" is no easy task, but the large fellow did it. Finishing the series with four assists, Big Al created scoring chances. grit-ed his way into dirty areas and forechecked like a ferret.

Frankly, The Maven was this close to giving up on Jumpin' Jack, but he redeemed himself and looked just fine alongside King Kreider and Magnificent Mika. Two goals and two assists ain't bad, especially the "Roofer" goal.

It's been a long haul for this fine Finn to find himself but progress has been made. Double K even got himself a playoff goal -- YAY! -- delivered eight shots -- YAY! -- and controlled the puck with smart plays. YAY!

 Marauding Matt not only scored the series-opening goal but used his body to advantage. His large presence ensured that the Blueshirts would not be intimidated in any way, and they were not

He still needs to do a better job of controlling his body when he hits so that he does not take a penalty. He was in the box three times in the first round. That's something that the Rangers cannot have moving forward.

In and out of Norris contention during the season, Sly Foxy finally focused in time like a Brian Leetch impersonator. Logging an average of 21:46 minutes, he excelled on the power play, picked up assists, and was every bit a threat, if not an orchestrator of one.

Mister Underrated Consistency played perfectly to his image. He duplicated his solid regular season while driving the Caps crazy with

shutdown tactics that turned Alex Ovechkin into a butterfly. Physically immense, he blocked shots galore and made the Caps' offense look like a turnover bakery.

Never an All-Star, the captain still managed to play a steady game and collect a pair of helpers. Averaging close to 20 minutes, his plus-minus rating of plus-2 was on the right side of a competent defense

This diamond-in-the-rough may need a bit more polish but not too much. Smart with the puck, he was poke check effective with a stick that appears an inch short of a flagpole. A shorthanded goal in Game Two was a spirit booster.

Put it this way, Gus almost never hurts. When he skates through four games and collects two assists -- not to mention four shots on goal --

that's like money in Lavvy's bank; only not a whole lot of cash.

This fella needs work. When Schneider is good, he's very good, but over a quartet of playoff contests, he was less-than-impressive. A minus-two and a dozen penalty minutes tell me he'd better pick up his game in the next round. And if you want more reason why; I'll put it this way -- Zac Jones!