For the first time in a long time, New York is the undisputed center of the hockey universe.
All three local teams are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, with the Rangers and Devils facing each other in the first round and the Islanders going against the Hurricanes.
To mark the occasion and preview both series, The Post spoke with one of MSG’s analysts for each respective team in a roundtable format: Joe Micheletti (Rangers), Butch Goring (Islanders) and Ken Daneyko (Devils).
All three will be doing color commentary during the first round, with MSG carrying most games, along with expanded pregame and postgame coverage.
Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity:
Joe Micheletti: “First of all, they’ve got a goaltender [Igor Shesterkin] that I think is looking more in the last month like he did last year.
“Not meaning that the previous six months or five months weren’t good, because he had another good season. But he has this ability to elevate his game to a level that few others can.
So that’s one reason. I think that with the experience that they went through a year ago, especially they had so many players that hadn’t played in the playoffs before … I think that is valuable experience and will help them in this year’s playoffs.
“And then the players that they added. I just think that when you add [Patrick] Kane and [Vladimir] Tarasenko, players that have won championships before and they understand what it takes and the grind, you add that to Barclay Goodrow, who had been there before, that only helps the entire group. … And the other thing is, I like their team. They’re a talented team.
“They’ve proven throughout the year that they can win in different ways. I like the group and I think that they’ve got as good a chance as anyone.”
Butch Goring: “This is, I think, a very confident group in their abilities. It’s a team that for the most part has been together quite a while.
“They’ve had a couple of good runs and I think they understand what playoff hockey is all about. They know they’re not gonna win 6-5, that’s not their game, they’re gonna lull you to sleep and try to win 2-1.
Want to catch a game? The Rangers schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
“When you look at their goaltending, with [Ilya] Sorokin and [Semyon] Varlamov, that gives you a lot of confidence they can get that done.”
Ken Daneyko: “The regular season they had, it’s kind of impressive. They ended up breaking a lot of team and individual records during the regular season, which blows us all away. … I know the playoffs is a whole new animal.
“It’s, wipe the slate clean and all that, they’ve got some inexperience playoff-wise, but again, management brings in the [Ondrej] Palats and the Erik Haulas, the Brendan Smiths, Timo Meiers, guys who have had some playoff experience, they certainly are gonna have to help some of these younger guys navigate through this. But they’ve got a puncher’s chance like anyone else.”
Micheletti: “I just think that the Rangers’ X factor is the [Alexis] Lafreniere, [Filip] Chytil, Kaapo Kakko line, because to me, I don’t look at them as a third line.
“I just think that, if you want to classify them as a third line, then you ask the question; Is there a better third line in the league than those three? And I don’t think so. They’re young, they’re hungry, they’re confident. They learned a lot last year and they’ll want to win.”
Goring: “The X factor is the power play, that’s the easiest thing in the world. They’ve had a rough year with the power play. … There’s just no doubt about it, it’s been a disaster for them.
“It would be the thing to get them over the hump, for me.”
Daneyko: “The Jack Hughes coming-out party. It started last year, but to show that he’s a bona fide star and a guy that can change a game quickly, a game-changer type player.
“Certainly that gives you some excitement and regardless of him not having any playoff experience, all of the good ones and great players I’ve seen … have had that competitive edge.
“They want the ball in their hands in crunch time and I don’t see it any different. … And then just their team speed. They are one of the fastest teams in transition in the league. Can they get to that quickly in the playoffs?”
Want to catch a game? The Islanders schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
Micheletti: “I don’t know if I go in with a cause for concern. What ends up happening is that, in a seven-game series — and I think that’s the way you have to look at each one of these, you have to plan for the series going seven games — can you make the adjustments you need to make during the series, because there will be adjustments?
“And whether that’s the way you’re defending, whether you’re asking someone to do something that they don’t necessarily play a certain way, those are all things that teams have to adjust for during the playoffs.”
Goring: “I think there are times where they don’t seem to have that energy. The Islanders are a team that really thrives on, I call it their emotional energy. They keep coming at you, coming at you and we’ve seen times through the year where that disappears from their game.
“So they can’t afford to do that against anybody. It’s just not their style. … We saw it the other night, the emotional energy right from the opening faceoff and just continued their dominance. If they play like that, they give themselves a chance.”
Daneyko: “You’re always cautious, but cautiously optimistic. That’s the way I looked at it as a player or wanting these guys to have success from the outside looking in. The inexperience, can they take their game to another level where you have to, come playoff time?
“That’s where I bring in the Palats and guys who have been clutch — he’s been as clutch as any player I know. It’s only one guy but the Haulas and different guys, and the coaching staff in general has done a terrific job of making adjustments and understanding, these guys have been through it. … And you’ve gotta be able to execute to that now when the ice shrinks a little bit, as they say, come playoff time.”