Today’s the day.

This afternoon - 3 p.m. to be exact – the New York Rangers will experience something that hasn’t happened since May 25, 1997.

Playoff hockey.

Back then, Bill Clinton was president, DVD players were just being introduced, the Knicks were good, Star Wars wasn’t ruined, one could only access the Internet through dial-up and the word I-Pod was thought to be the title of a new science fiction movie.

Yes, it’s been nine long years for the Rangers, and when the puck drops at the Meadowlands, New York will see if it was worth the wait.

With a five game swoon, which saw them lose the division and then a flu epidemic that had six top players sitting out of practice on Thursday, not many are giving the Blueshirts much of a chance against the New Jersey Devils, who are the hottest team in hockey.

These are the Rangers, though, that were thought to be lucky if they finished 10th in the conference at the beginning of the season, but with a revitalized headliner, smart coach and budding star goaltender, they surprised everyone. Now New York has to see if they have more magic in its bag of tricks.

Let’s look more closely.

Forwards

The scoring will be centered around Jaromir Jagr and for good reason. After breaking Ranger records for scoring this season, the Czech star will be called upon again to carry the bulk of the goals on his back. He will be shadowed by Jay Pandolfo and Colin White, but great players always rise to the occasion.

The key for the Rangers will be getting scoring from secondary players like Petr Prucha and Petr Sykora. The top trio will be fine, but if the Devils shut down the secondary line, then the Blueshirts will need to hope the defense and goaltending comes through in a big way.

Defense

When Glen Sather acquired Sandis Ozolinsh at the deadline, it looked like a great move and a final piece to the puzzle. He added scoring and made the power play more lethal, but his high risk passes cost the Rangers, by giving the puck away at the wrong time.

If the former Duck defenseman was the only problem, then the Blueshirts would be fine, but it seemed Ozo’s bad habits rubbed off on the rest of the blueliners.

Before the Olympic break the defense was the Rangers strong point. They didn’t have the best players, but the were the united unit. Coach Tom Renney got his defensemen like Marik Malik and Michael Rozsival to block shots and do the simple things that help a team win. They need to get back to that. Also, Darius Kasparaitis needs to be a force in the series and if his groin is not healthy, the Blueshirts may have a problem.

Goaltending

It was a storybook season for Henrik Lundqvist until a hip flexor injury sidelined him on April 3. If the man they call The King can shake off the rust and return to his top form, the Rangers just may surprise people. Since he only played once in April, the rookie should be well rested and because he has shown he can rise to the occasion, Lundqvist is the best hope for the Rangers to advance.

Special Teams

This has been the staple of the team for most of the season. If the referees follow the league mandate and call the game like they should, the Rangers have a chance. But if they are kept out of the box and cannot go on the power play, well it may be a short series and long summer in New York.

Coaching

With all due respect to Jagr and Lundqvist, Renney may actually be the team MVP. Thought of as a failure because of his time in Vancouver, the coach came into his own this season and washed away any thought of past bad management. His team was prepared to play and took advantage of the new NHL quicker than the competition. Now Renney will be in his first playoff game and it will be interesting to see if he can adjust to the postseason. Smart money says he does.

Prediction

Everyone is picking the Devils and not giving the Rangers much of a chance. But this will be a hard fought series between two flawed teams, which are well coached and rely on top goaltending, few mistakes, good defense and top line scoring. Though all the signs point to a New Jersey victory, the gut says….

Rangers in Seven