New York
Rangers

Rangers Team Report

Updated: May 29, 2012 06:22 EST

Two previous series extended to seven games and two multi-goal comebacks in their final two games proved to be too much for the Rangers in the end.

The Rangers' season ended without their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals since their last championship season in 1994, with Devils rookie Adam Henrique's scramble goal 63 seconds into overtime sending the Rangers, who had overcome a two-goal first-period hole, to a crushing 3-2 loss in Newark.

"It's hard. It felt like so many things happened during the year made it feel like it was something special, like they were signs that something good was coming, something exciting," said Henrik Lundqvist, who played so much better in these playoffs than his 10-10 final record would indicate. "I'm going to sit down and try to learn something from this. It's shocking, it's always shocking, it doesn't matter how it ends.

"When it's over, it's an empty feeling, it's weird, it's all over. I'm probably going to be pretty tired for a couple of weeks. It's shocking when it's over, and it's really disappointing."

Under fiery coach John Tortorella, the Rangers captured the Eastern Conference title in the regular season with a penchant for blocking shots and clutch moments. But nothing came easy for them in the playoffs, including a pair of seven-game series victories in the first two rounds against No. 8 Ottawa and No. 7 Washington.

"I love our jam. I love our (guts). I really like what we have here," Tortorella said after his team was eliminated Friday. "I don't think it will be the same. There's always changes. But what they have -- what our group has developed in their identity, their mindset, I think showed tonight. Again, we don't get it done, but I just like the way they handle themselves."

Still, slow starts to games quickly became a common theme for the Rangers, particularly in the conference finals against the relentless rival Devils. Lundqvist allowed five combined goals in the first periods of the final two losses in Game 5 and Game 6. The Rangers stormed back to tie each time, but they wound up losing each of them in dramatic fashion, including a crazy scramble in front of Lundqvist that left him and others face down on the ice after Henrique buried the game-winner Friday night.

"Unfortunately, overtime, this is what happens," Lundqvist said. "A big scramble, a weird bounce, you just hope it won't be us. It's just such a terrible feeling when it's over, all the work you put in the last couple of months, the last eight months even, it hurts.

"You wish you did it differently, but you just have to learn something from it. It's going to take me a while to get over it."

--RW Marian Gaborik accounted for the lone goal for the Rangers' top line -- with Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin -- in the six-game series loss to the Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. And Gaborik's goal was a weird bank shot from the behind the net following a blunder by Devils goalie Martin Brodeur in Game 5.

"It was a great run, but every experienced guy and young guy can learn a lesson from this," Gaborik said. "Every chance we get, we have to take advantage of it and we didn't do that in this series."

--RW Mats Zuccarello told reporters Thursday he'd be available to play in Game 6 against the Devils for the first time since suffering a broken wrist March 23. But John Tortorella, whose team got winger Brandon Dubinsky back from injury in the previous game, made no changes to his forward corps.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's a nothing play, but those plays are huge at that point of the game. I didn't even see it (go in), I just heard the crowd. It's a terrible feeling, and you don't want to feel it again." -- D Ryan McDonagh, after Adam Henrique's overtime goal eliminated the Rangers in a 3-2 loss Friday to New Jersey in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

PLAYER NOTES:

--G Henrik Lundqvist finished with a 10-10 record despite stellar play throughout the playoffs, which ended with a 3-2 overtime loss Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. Lundqvist had three shutouts and ranks second in the NHL this postseason with a 1.82 goals-against average.

--RW Ryan Callahan scored for the third time in the Rangers' final four games after netting just one goal in his previous 12 appearances. The captain finished tied with Brad Richards for the team lead with six goals in 20 games.

--D Ryan McDonagh had two assists over a team-high 28:23 of ice time, giving him three points in four games.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--D Michael Sauer (concussion) was out indefinitely with a concussion suffered Dec. 5.

GOALTENDERS:

--Henrik Lundqvist

--Martin Biron

DEFENSE PAIRINGS:

--Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi

--Marc Staal, Anton Stralman

--Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger

FIRST LINE:

--LW Carl Hagelin, C Brad Richards, RW Chris Kreider

SECOND LINE:

--LW Brandon Dubinsky, C Artem Anisimov, RW Ryan Callahan

THIRD LINE:

--LW Ruslan Fedotenko, C Derek Stepan, RW Marian Gaborik

FOURTH LINE:

--LW Mike Rupp, C Brian Boyle, RW Brandon Prust