Category Archives: In the Crease
Capitals vs. Islanders: Who would you rather face?
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers are waiting for the winner of the Capitals-Islanders series to emerge, with Game 7 coming on Monday. Who would they fare better against? Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With their win on Friday, the Rangers became just the second team to clinch a berth in the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the first team in the eastern conference to do so. Every other team in the East is still battling it out while the Rangers get some precious time off to heal and relax.
The Ottawa Senators are attempting to complete a comeback against the Montreal Canadiens, down 3-2 but with the series heading back to Ottawa. The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in a surprising 3-2 hole to Detroit with the series going to the Joe Louis Arena for Game 6.
But the series that Rangers fans care about the most is the Washington Capitals against the New York Islanders. The Rangers will take on the winner of that series, which is still being played. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers need to keep aggressive mindset if they want to win
Bobby Bevilacqua
If the Rangers want to get back to the Finals, they’ll need to come out every night with the “hunters'” mentality, and playing aggressively every night. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
“The hunter becomes the hunted.”
It’s a common expression used in literature, film, and in everyday life that is used to describe the tables being turned, representing the little guy rallying to defeat his aggressor.
But one may not think of it in terms of the NHL playoffs, let alone the New York Rangers. But as the series against the Penguins progresses, this saying keeps showing signs of validity.
Coming into the playoffs, the Rangers were viewed as favorites to get back to the Stanley Cup Final following last year’s run, backed up by the fact that they had the league’s best record, capturing the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time since 1994.
Being “the hunted” is a situation that the Rangers have not been in all that often. In years past, the Blueshirts have embraced the underdog role in the postseason, a role they thrived in last season. Being the favorites to win it all brings a lot of pressure, and it’s uncharted territory for most of the players on this team. Read the rest of this entry
6 Keys to the Rangers taking down the Pittsburgh Penguins
Bobby Bevilacqua
If the Rangers want to celebrate a series win, here’s what they need to do to take down the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With the home ice advantage, many people are expecting the President’s Trophy winning Rangers to come away with an easy series win over Pittsburgh. But like Sidney Crosby said, it doesn’t matter how a team gets in. Once they’re in the playoffs, anything can happen.
For the first time in a while, the Penguins are coming into the playoffs as underdogs. If they embrace that mentality, using the lower amount of pressure to motive them, and Crosby and Malkin can explode offensively, it will be an interesting series.
But with a ton of injuries on the backend, not a lot of depth scoring, and question marks coming into game one, there is a big opportunity for the Rangers to pounce on a fragile Penguins team and advance to the second round.
This is what the Rangers need to in order to do defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins. Read the rest of this entry
What is wrong with the Rangers’ power play?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Ryan McDonagh and Keith Yandle combined for a power play goal in last night’s game, but what do they need to do to improve the Rangers’ numbers on the man advantage? Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Last night, the Rangers defeated the Devils 4-2 to clinch the President’s Trophy for the first time in 21 years, performing pretty well overall. They practically shut down the Devils at even strength, had 40 shots on goal, and were very solid defensively.
But despite that performance, there was one blemish in the game; the power play. The Rangers had multiple opportunities to bury the Devils early, with four separate power play opportunities in the second period alone, and a 1:27 five-on-three opportunity in the first period. Despite having seven power play opportunities, the Rangers managed to score just once.
After a string of success on the man advantage, the Rangers have fallen all the way to 21st in the NHL on the power play, sitting at just a 16.8% conversion rate.They have scored just three goals in their last 53 opportunities on the man advantage, despite having quality chances, good shooting lanes, and some bad luck when it comes to hot goalies and hitting the crossbar. Read the rest of this entry
Alain Vigneault deserves to win the Coach of the Year award
Bobby Bevilacqua
Alain Vigneault has done a tremendous job as head coach of the Rangers this season, overcoming tons of obstacles to pilot the Rangers to a potential 50+ win season. Photo courtesy of John Minchillo/Canadian Press.
For most of the season, the Rangers have been overlooked as one of the elite teams in the NHL. Despite having one of the best records, including that impressive three month streak of success, they were overlooked, with teams like the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, and even the Los Angeles Kings ranked amongst the strongest teams in the league.
With that in mind, Alain Vigneault has also been overlooked for the Jack Adams award, given to the best coach for that season. With everything that Vigneault has done for the Rangers, he deserves to take home the award come season’s end.
Vigneault’s biggest disadvantage is the fact that the Coach of the Year award generally goes to the team with the biggest turnaround. The Rangers came into the season expecting to return to the playoffs, and have a solid season. When you look at the current frontrunners, they are coaching teams like the Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, and the Vancouver Canucks. Read the rest of this entry
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