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Stanley Cup Playoffs - Conference Finals
PHI wins 4-1
May 16	NY Rangers 1, Philadelphia 3
May 18	NY Rangers 5 , Philadelphia 4
May 20	Philadelphia 6 , NY Rangers 3
May 23	Philadelphia 3 , NY Rangers 2
May 25	NY Rangers 2, Philadelphia 4

Update:
A wonderful playoff run was ended as Philadelphia won game 5, 4-2, winning the series 4 games to 1. New York can now only look ahead and enjoy the rest of the summer. The Rangers were thoroughly outplayed by a much more talented and bigger Flyer club that just had too many answers to every question the Rangers threw their way. Lindros showed alot of composure and restraint as the Rangers

Jeff Beukeboom is one of the few Rangers capable of dishing out punishing checks.

attempted to disrupt the big man's game by hitting him every chance they had. Blame it on whatever you want but injuries were definitely a factor in this series. The Rangers were playing without Nicklas Sundstrom, Patrick Flatley, Bill Berg, Alexei Kovalev and were without the services of Alexander Karpovtsev in game 4, who was attending his mother's funeral in Russia. The Rangers played admirably but Richter was not like his former self in the Florida and New Jersey series while Hextall was up the task as he made the big saves when his team needed it. The Rangers will head into the offseason with alot of work to do. Their number one priority would be to resign Mark Messier, who is a free agent. It's hard to think that he will not be wearing a Rangers jersey next year and look for him to finish his career in New York, side-by-side with Wayne Gretzky. Second, numerous Rangers are eligible to become free agents, among them are Doug Lidster, Esa Tikkanen, Russ Courtnall, Glenn Healy and Alexander Karpovtsev to name a few. What moves will GM Neil Smith make this offseason after seeing his team completely outplayed by a much younger and stronger Philly team build on youth? It will be tough deciding who will stay and who will go since the Ferraro twins, Christian Dube, Eric Cairns and Daniel Goneau are certain to make a play for more playing time next year. It will be an interesting offseason for sure...

Stanley Cup Playoffs - 2nd Round
NY wins 4 to 1
May 2	NY Rangers 0,New Jersey 2
May 4	NY Rangers 2, New Jersey 0
May 6	New Jersey 2, NY Rangers 3
May 8	New Jersey 0, NY Rangers 3
May 11	NY Rangers 2, New Jersey 1 (OT)

Update:
It's not Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! but Graves! Graves! Graves! The Rangers didn't need a guarentee from Messier but they advance to the conference finals for the first time since 1994. No one expected the Rangers to knock off the first seed Devils, especially in five games and by winning four straight after getting shutout in the opener. Mike Richter, the series MVP for the Rangers, posted an outrageous .978 save

In a play reminiscent of Game 7 - 1994, Adam Graves' goal at 14:08 of overtime gave the Rangers a 4-1 series win.

percentage to go along with a 0.77 goals against average. Esa Tikkanen also contributed with four goals in the series, seven in the playoffs. Adam Graves hasn't scored much but he made his second goal of the playoffs count. At 14:08 of the first overtime, he beat Martin Broduer with a wraparound goal to send the Rangers into the conference finals. Graves beat Ken Daneyko to the loose puck behind the net and shoveled the puck past Broduer, who was attempting to poke check the puck away, off his right leg and into the net. The Devils played a disciplined and strong defensive game but the Rangers were still able to generate quite a few odd-man rushes which they did not capitalize on. Next up on the board, Philadelphia. Expect a very physical hard fought series that may go to seven games. One thing the Rangers have in their advantage, goaltending, especially if Ron "Swiss Cheese" Hextall is in net. Rangers in seven.
Injuries:
RW Niklas Sundstrom suffered a broken left arm from a slash administered by John MacLean in game three. The loss of Sundstrom, possibly for the rest of the playoffs, won't sit to well with the Rangers. Not only do they lose a dependable two-way forward but the Rangers lack depth and now they must depend on contributions from the likes of Ken Gernander, Chris Ferraro, and David Oliver.

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