ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the last few weeks, the questions for the Rangers regarding the Stanley Cup playoffs have included not “if,” but “when.”
On this California trip, the answers have crystalized. The “checkmark,” as Alain Vigneault is fond of saying, next to the team name in the NHL standings that denotes clinching a berth, is so close that the players can taste it.
Consider: Entering Sunday’s game against the Ducks, the second of a back-to-back set after the 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, the Rangers were on the cusp of reaching the postseason tournament for the seventh consecutive season and 11th in their last 12.