Bantering Points: 4/10/17

After a grueling six months of hockey games, the Rangers are back to 0-0 as the regular season has officially ended. With only sixteen teams left standing now, New York can put all of their energy into getting ready for Claude Julien and his merry band of grinders as Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens begins Wednesday night at 7:00 PM EDT. Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

• Highlights: NYR 3, PIT 2 (4:28 Video via NHL.com)
• Game Recap: Magnus Hellberg wins his first NHL start as he throws his hat into the ring to be named Game 1 starter over Henrik Lundqvist (CBS)
• Brett Cyrgalis thinks unless the Rangers want to go one and done for the second season in a row, they need to figure out their identity (NY Post)
• Justin Tasch relays word that Mats Zuccarello won the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (NY Daily News)
• Tom Dianora gives Montreal Canadiens fans a glimpse of the speed bump they'll encounter on the way to the Atlantic Division Finals (The Hockey Writers)
• Scott Charles offers his thoughts on last night's 3-2 win from Madison Square Garden (Blueshirt Bulletin)
• Tom Urtz Jr. presents each player's Game Score from yesterday's victory (Blueshirt Bulletin)
• Josh Khalfin reflects on the team's decision to sign Michael Joly to an AHL contract last summer (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Dave Shapiro previews the Rangers' and Canadiens' systems before the two teams square off on Wednesday night (Blue Seat Blogs)
• John Williams previews the Rangers' and Canadiens' coaches before the two teams square off on Wednesday night (Blue Line Station)
• Brandon Cohen writes an in-depth guide on rationalizing the decision to dress Tanner Glass over Pavel Buchnevich (Blue Line Station)
• Postgame Notes: Despite finishing the season with a career low shooting percentage, Derek Stepan finished with 55+ points for the third time in four seasons (Official Team Site)
• Postgame Interviews: Ryan McDonagh,(1:28) Mats Zuccarello,(3:33) Magnus Hellberg,(1:56) and Alain Vigneault (2:37) (Official Team Site)/

Around the NHL:

• With all eight playoff matchups set, the Sportsnet staff went around the league and previewed all of them (Sportsnet)
• Joey Alfieri reports that Dale Tallon has won the power struggle in Florida, as he has once again been named general manager of the Panthers (NBC Sports)
• Greg Wyshynski notes that Connor McDavid recorded his 100th point of the season last night en route to winning the Art Ross Trophy (Puck Daddy)
• The Dallas Stars have decided not to extend former head coach Lindy Ruff's contract, and will be parting ways with him after four seasons (TSN)/