No Rangers player is looking forward to leaving the regular season behind for the playoffs more than Brandon Dubinsky, who scored 10 goals after getting 24 last year and 20 the year before that.
“It’s been a nightmare of a year for me,” Dubinsky admitted following yesterday’s practice. “That being said, the guys around me picked me up and put us in position to get home ice and win the conference, so that gives me extra motivation to make an impact.
“And if I do, we can be really dangerous.”
Dubinsky will enter Thursday’s Game 1 of the opening round against the Senators at the Garden with 15 points (7-8) in 22 playoff matches. He was arguably the team’s best forward in last year’s opening-round five-game loss to the Capitals with two goals, including the Game 3 winner at 18:21 of the third off a power move to the net.
“The playoffs are sort of tailored to how I play,” said Dubinsky, who as a rookie centered Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka in the 2008 opening round victory over the Devils. “They’re hard, physical and gritty, and the goals aren’t pretty like they are during the regular season — they’re ugly.”
* The Rangers’ six-man defense unit has a combined experience of 59 playoff games — Dan Girardi 32, Marc Staal 22, Ryan McDonagh five, with Michael Del Zotto, Anton Stralman and Stu Bickel about to make their respective debuts.
* Ryan Callahan missed practice to attend to a personal matter while Marian Gaborik was sidelined with the flu. Tortorella said he had no concerns about either player. … The Rangers still had not signed Boston College junior Chris Kreider to a contract as of last night, but all indications are the winger will join the club before the series begins.