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nypost.com

During the Alain Vigneault era, the Rangers have had a tendency to get off to slow starts to the regular season. In fairness, it really isn’t his fault, per say. For the start of the 2013-2014 season, AV had to completely undo five years of John Tortorella’s collapse and cycle system. The transition to the uptempo, transition-focused system the Rangers employ today was hardly seamless. Combine that with a difficult road trip during MSG renovations and we had a recipe for serious growing pains. As a result, the Rangers limped to a 3-8 start to the season, and had many questioning if the coaching change was the right decision, after all.

In hindsight, we know that movie ended just fine, with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. As difficult as that was to endure as fans, with that acclimation period out of the way, the 2014-2015 season would have a much smoother start, no? Fast forward a year, following a summer of significant roster turnover and the Rangers were starting at a 5-6 record through their first 11 games. Hardly the ledge-sitting situation from the year before, but far from the expectations set for the Eastern Conference Champions. Ultimately, the Rangers had a very successful year, coming one period away from back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances. It does now make the fanbase a little nervous about what to expect for the start of this year…

Taking a quick look at the early season schedule, the Rangers drew the distinction of being the defending champion Blackhawk’s opponent for their home opener. Tough draw for their first game, but for just the second time in four years (lockout excluded), the Rangers will play more games at home during the first month of the season than on the road. Once the Hawk’s game in done, the Blueshirts trade a home and home with Columbus, and follow that up with four of their next five games at the Garden. Granted, the road game requires a trip to the Bell Centre, but it is a very different start to the year than we have seen in a while. In fact, only Derek Stepan, Henrik Lundqvist, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal were Rangers the last time the team played more than four games at MSG in October.

Does this mean the Rangers are guaranteed to start better than in years past? Of course not. Who knows what additional factors beyond schedule, roster turnover and systems acclimation goes into an individual groups ability to get on the horse quickly? As fans, we hope the team can get back into the swing of things and not have us reaching for the scotch bottle every time we look at the standings before the holidays. However, this season seems to be much more conducive a solid or better start to the season than in year’s past. The boys just have to run with it.

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