#Rangers aren’t concerned with lack of playoff pedigree

For more than half of the Rangers roster, the restart tournament will be their first NHL playoff experience. But for every single player in the league, the restart tournament will be unlike any experience anyone’s ever had.

That’s what makes this modified 24-team expanded playoffs so unique: It’s an even playing field. A team like the Rangers, whose majority hasn’t played in a single playoff game, can confidently aim to “win the whole thing.” It’s anybody’s Stanley Cup.

“Going into this type of situation that no one has prepared for, I think [experience] will play less of a factor,” veteran defenseman Marc Staal said on a Zoom call this week. “Especially early on, especially in these play-in rounds, it’s going to be four, five games in five or six days. The team that’s confident, playing well, playing hard and getting some bounces will win.”

The most experienced Ranger, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, has appeared in 128 playoff games — but it’s yet to be seen if he’ll get the chance to play in another. Staal (104) and Chris Kreider (77) round out the short list of Rangers who have played in more than 50 playoff games.

Even team point leaders Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin haven’t had substantial playoff experience, with Zibanejad having just 28 postseason games under his belt while Panarin has 27.

It’s no secret that the Rangers have had one of the youngest teams in the league this season. They’re projected to have the second-youngest squad of the 24 teams heading into the restart tournament, according to Cap Friendly, behind only the Blue Jackets.

But it’s the same Rangers team that went 12-7-1 in the last month and a half of play, including a 9-1 stretch in February. Though Staal said he could see playoff experience coming into play deeper into the tournament, he believes that no one truly knows what expect.

“The fact that we’re not going to have any fans,” Staal said with a laugh. “That we’re playing against a team and it’s not at their rink or ours. It’s going to be strange for sure. Don’t really know what to expect, but our preparation now is to just trying to get as sharp as we can until the puck drops and then you figure it out as you go.”

Before the Rangers roster was expanded for training camp 2.0, there were 11 players who had never played in the postseason. Now that the roster has expanded to 34 players — which includes Micheal Haley, who is on injured reserve, and K’Andre Miller, who can’t participate in games — there are 20 players without playoff experience vying for spots.

Defenseman Adam Fox, one of three true rookies on the team, believes that playing without fans and at a neutral site puts every team in the same boat. However, the 22-year-old Fox still sees an opportunity to learn from veterans with playoff experience.

“Obviously no one has played in a bubble with no fans during a play-in tournament into a playoffs, so it’s definitely unique for everyone,” he said on a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday. “But at the same time, especially guys on our team, we’re a pretty young team, it still is the playoffs and there’s still going to be a different type of intensity. I think guys with experience definitely could help guys like me during this.

“It’s a little more of an even playing field when there’s no fans and you’re in a bubble there.”