Category Archives: In the Crease
Rangers fall to the Flyers, but the team is starting to fall into place
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers lost 2-0 last night against the Flyers, but it was the kind of game where you win nine out of ten times with that kind of effort.
There’s really no such thing as a “feel good loss” because in the end, the Rangers got no points, but it wasn’t the kind of loss that concerns you. The Rangers got 34 shots on goal and hit the post multiple times but couldn’t get anything past Steve Mason. He played extremely well and stole the game away for the Flyers.
Unfortunately, the Rangers were undone late in the game by a power play goal from Wayne Simmonds and a weird deflection that was put in by Michael Grabner and credited to Jakub Voracek. Both goals were results of broken plays and a breakdown in front of the net. Read the rest of this entry
My Thoughts and the Rangers’ outlook after a catastrophic loss to the Dallas Stars
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
1. There is nothing positive that should be taken from this game. This cannot be viewed as a look at the Rangers’ resiliency or battling through adversity and nearly completing a comeback. There should be no positive light shed on this game, and it needs to be treated as it was – a disaster.
The Rangers were manhandled by the Stars for 40 minutes, and they looked absolutely lost on the ice. They were outshot 27-15 and surrendered seven goals. Henrik Lundqvist was not at his best but there were consistent defensive issues from the defensemen and the forwards, which did not help at all. The Rangers woke up for the third period and the Stars went into a defensive shell, which explains the 25-4 shot advantage from New York in those 20 minutes. Winning one period but looking pathetic for the other two does not warrant any praise. Treating this game as anything other than a failure would be to ignore the many, many problems that this team has.
2. To emphasize, this team has many, many problems. There needs to be a change, or many changes, but not at forward. It’s not a coincidence that the scoring has gone up with the return of Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. This is the best, most complete forward group that the Rangers have had in quite some time and it’s a group of forwards that could win a Stanley Cup. Read the rest of this entry
Is it time to be worried about Henrik Lundqvist’s performances?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
For the last 12 seasons, no matter what the rest of the Rangers team looked like, you always knew that you could rely on one thing; great goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist on a very consistent basis. But for a lot of games this season, that unfortunately hasn’t been the case for the King.
Against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, Lundqvist entered the game in the second period for Antti Raant, who left with an unspecified injury. Raanta stopped all 10 shots he faced. Lundqvist allowed five goals on 22 shots, including three goals in a span of 63 seconds. This happened with the Rangers holding a 3-2 lead, and effectively ended the game and killed whatever momentum the Rangers had.
The meltdown last night meant that Henrik Lundqvist now has an 18-11-1 record with a 2.72 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He’s finished with a GAA over 2.40 just twice in his career and has posted a save percentage below .920 just three times, all early on in his career. The numbers he has now are shocking considering his consistently good numbers throughout his career. Read the rest of this entry
Trading Grabner before the expansion draft might be necessary
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Out of all of the new additions the Rangers added to their team this offseason, Michael Grabner has blown expectations out of the water. Along with defenseman Nick Holden, these two have helped provide offense and consistent two-way play on cheap, cap-friendly contracts.
When Grabner was signed to a two-year deal, it seemed like he would wind up being a fourth line player who is great at killing penalties and could chip in with some offense. The stories about how he scored 34 goals in his rookie season, 20 goals another year and then 16 goals in the 2012-13 lockout season popped up, as did the ones about how he was fast but couldn’t score on breakaways or finish his chances.
Fast forward to today, and Michael Grabner leads the team with 19 goals after being awarded a hat trick in the Jan. 7 win over the Blue Jackets. That was his second hat trick of the year, and he now has more goals than Evgeni Malkin, Joe Pavelski, Connor McDavid, James Neal, Phil Kessel and more. Read the rest of this entry
Halfway there: Evaluating the Rangers at the midpoint of the season
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
We’re officially halfway through the Rangers season, and it’s been a pretty good start despite some injuries, rough stretches and a lot of new players for Alain Vigneault to figure out and utilize properly.
With a 27-13-1 record along with practically same defensive unit as last season, the Rangers have probably exceeded most people’s expectations. Their 55 points are tied with the Penguins for second in the division, as well as being tied for the second most points in the entire league (Pittsburgh has played three fewer games). The Blue Jackets sit in first in the division and the league thanks to their incredible 16 game win streak that stretched from late November into January.
Given the situation with all of the forward injuries, the first half of the season has been a big success. There have been some issues and rough patches, like with just about every team, but it’s hard not to come away with more positives than negatives. Read the rest of this entry
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