Entering their first round series versus the Flyers, the Rangers had one distinct advantage. It wasn’t in net. It was superior depth. In eliminating their old Patrick rival, they did it by getting strong support. Everyone chipped in.

Astonishingly, they overcame no points from Ryan McDonagh and no goals from Rick Nash. Something that can’t be repeated when the second round begins tomorrow night against the Penguins. All season, Alain Vigneault preached rolling four lines. That gave his team an edge in the seven-game ouster of the Flyers. No Ranger scored more than two goals. Similar to their regular season success, they boasted balance. Eight different players had two goals. That ranged from Martin St. Louis, Mats Zuccarello and Brad Richards to unsung heroes Dominic Moore and Daniel Carcillo.

It wasn’t limited to goal production. In two appearances, J.T. Miller registered two assists. Jesper Fast also recorded a helper in the first two games. Every button Vigneault pushed worked. His wisest move was reinserting Carcillo for Game 7. The gritty agitator did in his former team scoring the Rangers’ first goal on a brilliant feed from Zuccarello. Similar to the season when Glen Sather acquired him from the Kings, he was an x-factor. Carcillo has been an effective player who brings energy. On a team that isn’t known for physicality, he’s brought a similar element that Sean Avery did. As long as he stays disciplined, I’d play him.

Brian Boyle also stepped up. When the playoffs start, he becomes a different player. Sure. He’s not going to blow you away with his skating or shot selection. But another former King who’s been an integral part of the Rangers success is someone they can always count on. From his diligent penalty killing and checking, Boyle has been a good soldier. Ever since Vigneault teamed him with Moore and Derek Dorsett, the fourth line has been vital. The chemistry they have is good enough for Vigneault to trust them. There’s never been any hesitation to send them out 5 on 5 against a scoring line. It’s no shock that Boyle contributed a goal and two assists with 22 hits and a message sending scrap against Adam Hall in Game 6.

The Rangers were lead in scoring by Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis. Both had six points (2-4-6). Five players had four points including Benoit Pouliot, Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin, Zuccarello and Nash. Derick Brassard had two assists including a beautiful set up for Pouliot’s clincher. He’ll need better production next round.

Dan Girardi paced the blueline with three points. They didn’t get much offense from the back end with McDonagh struggling. However, the quartet of McDonagh, Girardi, Marc Staal and Anton Stralman were instrumental in their 2-1 Game 7 series clincher. The edge they played with was something the Flyers lacked on a weaker back end. Having two top defensive pairs who can be counted on to log big minutes is the Rangers’ biggest edge. With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, James Neal and Jussi Jokinen on the horizon, that’ll get tested.

Another Sather pick up Kevin Klein quietly flew under the radar. The defensive defenseman was acquired from Nashville for Michael Del Zotto. While he’s not flashy, Klein is a solid stay at home D who gets the job done. Against the Flyers, he finished plus-five and contributed an assist last night. He and partner John Moore didn’t receive much ice-time in the third. But they didn’t make any glaring mistakes. Exactly what you want out of a third pair.

When assessing their chances, the Rangers are a deeper team than 2012. Of course, that one under now fired ex-Canucks coach John Tortorella grinded their way to seven-game victories over Ottawa and Washington. They’re still what Vigneault’s roster are being measured against. Facing the Pens is a big challenge. Crosby had the same amount of goals as Nash in their series win over the Blue Jackets. He’s due. Malkin snapped out of it with a hat trick in the clincher.

While it’s easy to focus on the Pens’ talent edge, the Rangers boast a strong skating team with superb depth. We still don’t know if Chris Kreider will return. That they were able to overcome his loss to defeat the Flyers speaks volumes. If this were the last couple of Springs, that wouldn’t have been the case. Thanks to a strong season from Sather, Vigneault has better options. At some point, they’ll probably need Kreider. The overall depth is nothing to sniff at.