Rangers Clinch Playoff Birth, New Yorkers Ask “Who Are the Rangers?”

The New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders last night to clinch a playoff birth heading into the last week of the season, baffling many New Yorkers after they found out that hockey was still played in the United States. As seen by the covers of both the New York Post and the New York Daily News, even media outlets aren’t covering the story:

According to sports blog RickyVaughn99, the Rangers clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive year, thanks to two goals by Jaromir Jagr and solid play from “fellow foreign sensation Henrik Lundqvist.”

According to wikipedia:

Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round disc called a puck, into the opponent’s net or goal, using a hockey stick. The dominant version of hockey in a particular region tends to be known simply as hockey, other forms being more fully qualified.

After further research, it was determined by LairdNYC researchers that the Rangers play a form of ice hockey, which (again, according to wikipedia),

is played on a large flat area of ice, using a three inch (76.2 mm) diameter vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is contested between two teams of skaters. The game is played all over North America, Europe and in many other countries around the world to varying extent. It is the most popular sport in Canada and in Finland.

Congratulations to the Rangers and best of luck in the professional hockey league playoffs!