The Garden Faithful: A show about the New York Rangers The Athletic

On this episode of the Garden Faithful, Arthur Staple and Steve Valiquette celebrate New York Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist being announced as one of the 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, Hank's place as the best Rangers goalie of all time, and the surprising additions and misses for the class of 23. The guys discuss why Peter Laviolette is the right choice to coach the Rangers, what his coaching staff will look like and what the new bench boss has planned to guide the blue shirts to the Stanley Cup. 


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Arthur, Vally, and Producer Chris put a wrap on an immensely disappointing Rangers season, which ended with a 4-0 Game 7 loss to the New Jersey Devils Monday night, and discuss why the team wasn’t able to make changes throughout the series, wasting a great overall performance by Igor Shesterkin, a potential coaching change, players that could be traded in the offseason, and much more.

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Arthur and Vally discuss the Rangers losing Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden after taking a commanding 2-0 lead over the Devils to start the series, what happened to turn things completely around, and what needs to happen to bounce back, Mika Zibanejad struggling to get inside the Devils defense, the power play all of a sudden not being able to score after going 4-for-7 over the first 2 games, the very solid play of Igor Shesterkin in goal, with Devils rookie netminder Akira Schmid playing well on the other end, and more.

And, to wrap up the show, Producer Chris joins the guys to answer the questions: are the Rangers done? And, will the series go to 7 games?

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Arthur and Vally break down the Rangers taking a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Devils, outscoring New Jersey 10-2 in the process, and discuss what the Blueshirts have done so well so far, Chris Kreider finding his rhythm on the power play, Adam Fox showing once again how money he is in the playoffs, Vladimir Tarasenko getting the Rangers on the board in both games, Patrick Kane having his “Showtime” moment in Game 2, and more.

Plus, to close things out, Producer Chris joins the guys to discuss whether the Rangers can complete the sweep at MSG, starting with a huge Game 3 on Saturday night. 

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Arthur and Vally break down the first round playoff matchup between the Rangers and Devils and discuss what will be the main factor if the Rangers win the series, what will have gone wrong if the Rangers lose the series, what the Blueshirts’ power play will need to do to be successful, the X factor for each team, and more.

Plus, to close things out, Producer Chris joins the show and the guys make their predictions for the Battle of the Hudson, as well as the rest of the first round matchups around the league. 

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First, Arthur and MSG Networks analyst and Clear Sight Analytics CEO Steve Valiquette discuss Ryan Lindgren winning the Steven McDonald Extra Effort award last night, and taking a puck off the face blocking a shot in overtime, the Rangers’ playoff fate still undecided with just one game to go at MSG on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jacob Trouba winning the second annual Rod Gilbert Mr. Ranger award, Mika Zibanejad as the frontrunner for team MVP, and Vally breaks down a potential first round matchup against the New Jersey Devils. 

Plus, to close things out, Producer Chris joins the show and the guys pick which team they’d rather see the Blueshirts play in the first round: the New Jersey Devils or the Carolina Hurricanes. 

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