"It was definitely a nice ceremony," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "There's a lot of emotions I think for a lot of guys watching that."
It wasn't over yet.
The Rangers played another tribute video in McDonald's honor during the first television timeout. Graves was joined in giving testimonials to McDonald and what he meant to the city and the Rangers by McDonagh, Lundqvist, Girardi, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan and former Rangers goalie Mike Richter.
Zuccarello is a two-time winner of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. Lundqvist won it once. Graves won it a record five times.
"He truly inspires us to be the best we can be because he represents the best in humanity," Graves said during the video.
McDonald's family was again shown on the scoreboard and, as Patti Ann waved to the crowd and embraced Conor, the fans gave a standing ovation and some started chanting McDonald's name.
"It was an emotional moment," Stepan said. "It's something that you don't forget either. It was a really cool moment."
Prior to the game, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault recalled the first time McDonald left an indelible mark on him.
"My first real moment with him was prior to the first time that I was coaching that he went to speak on the ice," Vigneault said. "I don't know if you remember, but he talked to our players, he talked to the fans and then he talked to me about going above and beyond. That sort of became our slogan in the playoffs, going above and beyond. That year in particular we went to the Stanley Cup Final.
"Our thoughts right now are with him and his family."