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After reaching the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1997 in 2012, the New York Rangers were Stanley Cup favorites for the lockout-shortened 2013 season. However, the Rangers barely squeezed into the 2013 postseason, and fell to the Boston Bruins 1-4 in the Semifinals.

Not exactly the finish the Broadway Blueshirts were counting on after adding star Rick Nash to the roster in the summer of 2012.

The offseason brought dramatic culture changes to the Rangers, with the firing of former head coach John Tortorella and assistant coach Mike Sullivan. The Rangers organization brought in former Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault; and assistant coaches Ulf Samuelsson, Daniel Lacroix, and associate coach Scott Arniel.

In New York City, expectations are high for sports teams and failure is not an option. A New York City sports team is only as good as today's win.

Let's take a look at five members of the Rangers roster that will need to perform—consistently—otherwise they will be on thin ice.