Category Archives: Game Previews
Rangers look for important rebound game without Klein and Nash
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Just about everything that could have went wrong, went wrong for the Rangers (27-18-5) on Tuesday night. They lost an important interdivision battle against the Devils, lost Kevin Klein indefinitely to a fractured thumb, and are just two points away from being out of the playoffs entirely.
After that, it was announced that Rick Nash’s bone bruise hasn’t really healed, and he’ll miss tonight’s game as well. In the wake of the injuries to Klein and the continued absence of Nash, the team decided to call up Jayson Megna again as opposed to a defenseman. That tells me two things;
- They have faith in Dylan McIlrath to play in Klein’s role, and they should
- Nash’s injury is probably more serious than initially thought, or AV wants to shake up the lineup to try and slap some sense into this team.
Rangers look to start the second half strong in a division battle against the Devils
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With the All Star Weekend in the rear view mirror, the Rangers (27-17-5) focus shifts to a battle for the playoffs. Thirty-three games spanning the next 68 days. Fifteen of those will come against Metropolitan Division opponents, including tonight’s matchup against the New Jersey Devils (25-20-5).
At this same point last season, there were six teams in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Rangers, but they had a comfortable eight point playoff cushion. This year, only six teams in the NHL have more points than the Rangers. But in a much more competitive Metropolitan Division, and a tight East, the playoff cushion is just four games.
The Rangers have reason to feel confident though. In the last 10 weeks of last regular season, Alain Vigneault’s squad went 25-7-3 and secured the President’s trophy with their play after March. These last 33 games are incredibly important, especially since many of the games come against Division foes looking to take over the Rangers playoff spot. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers look to make it three straight against the Senators; McDonagh steadily improving
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After winning consecutive game for the first time since November 21-23, the Rangers (26-16-5) will look to continue their win streak in the last game of their road trip against the Ottawa Senators (22-20-6).
This is the last of the three game season series and New York is looking to close out the sweep in today’s matinee. Back on November 14th, the Rangers skated away with a 2-1 shootout win as Dan Boyle scored the deciding goal in the shootout. Chris Kreider scored the only goal for New York. On December 6th, Lundqvist’s 23 saves helped guide the Rangers to a 4-1 victory at Madison Square Garden. Derick Brassard scored twice, and Ryan McDonagh had a goal and two assists. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers look to start a win streak against the Hurricanes; Kreider questionable
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
What would have normally been an unimportant, throwaway game against the Rangers and a Carolina team that’s usually low in the standings actually has some meaning now. In a weak Eastern Conference, the Canes have managed to bring themselves to within three points of a wild card spot, and they’re only five points behind the Rangers, although New York has two games in hand.
Despite the heavy snow and ice storm in Raleigh, the Hurricanes have announced that the game is still going on as scheduled. Don’t expect a big crowd in the stands though, with many Carolina area fans tweeting out that they wouldn’t be able to make the trip to the game. Read the rest of this entry
therangerzone.com 
Rangers need rebound win in matchup against Buffalo; Lunqvist and AV infuriated
Jan 25
Posted by robertbevilacqua95
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
After two very strong and promising performances by the team against Vancouver and the Hurricanes, Vigneault’s squad came out almost entirely flat, barely pressuring Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson and showing a lack of effort. It’s not often that you can criticize the Rangers’ effort, but it wasn’t there last night.
That led Henrik Lundqvist to question his team’s preparation in his postgame interview when questioned about the topic. Read the rest of this entry →
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Tags: Alain Vigneault, Antti Raanta, Buffalo Sabres, Chad Johnson, Chris Kreider, Daniel Paille, Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, Dominic Moore, Henrik Lundqvist, Jack Eichel, Lundqvist Interview, Madison Square Garden, Mats Zuccarello, MSG, New York Rangers, New York Rangers blog, NYR, Rangers, Rangers blog, Rangers vs Sabres, Rick Nash, Ristolainen, Robin Lehner, Ryan O'Reilly, Tanner Glass, Vigneault interview, Vigneault Post game comments