from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

A year ago, we knew exactly who and what those guys were when the playoffs began. They were Black-and-Blueshirts and they were Bluebloods who for the most part had been nurtured within the organization and had coalesced to earn top seed in the East.

Now, though, as the first round of this year’s tournament opens here tonight against the Caps, there is an essential question about the Rangers, and it is the one that Butch and Sundance asked one another: “Who are those guys?”

The core was split, first over the summer in the trade for Rick Nash, and then again at the trade deadline with the trade of Marian Gaborik. Fourteen players made their Rangers’ debuts this season, albeit some in cameo roles. Seven guys expected to play tonight did not participate in last year’s trip to the conference finals.

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