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The Problem with the Process
John Dundon
Photo courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images.
The Blueshirts started out the year strong but wound up limping past the half way mark of the season sporting a modest 26-16-5 record. One cannot but help wonder what the main underlying cause is for the team’s decline in play could possibly be. Not because they are hard-pressed to find issues, which have been plentiful and even overwhelming thus far through the 2015-2016 campaign.
It’s surprising though given the fact that right around this time last season, the Rangers took off. They dominated the league, even in the wake of losing Henrik Lundqvist for an extended period due to a freakish neck injury. Cam Talbot had replaced and even duplicated the edge that Lundqvist gave the Rangers night in and out. The Rangers finished the season on a tear and made a trip to game 7 of the conference final, where injuries eventually caught up to them in a humbling 2-0 loss on home ice. While the decline may be a surprise to some it didn’t sneak up on people who have looked at and made a point of the organizations failures, especially dating back to the offseason after that heartbreaking 4-1 Stanley Cup Final defeat. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers weather the storm with a win against the Hurricanes
Alexandra Russo
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Ending the horrible road streak the Rangers (26-16-5) had was their primary focus headed into Friday’s matchup against the Hurricanes. They said to get going on the road they would need to bring their confidence with them. Those words rang true to the Rangers, as they defeated the Hurricanes 4-1.
Carolina came out with a jump to start the game. Despite trailing in shots on goal, they found ways to sustain some pressure.
Though they’re the least penalized team in the NHL, the Hurricanes drew the first penalty. The Rangers didn’t score on the opportunity, despite a few good looks. This is an area that has struggled for this team as of late. 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
Vigneault finally used Yandle properly, and the Rangers were a better team because of it
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
When the Rangers fell apart against the Capitals on Sunday, a lot went wrong. The defensive coverage was bad, there were guys open in front of the net, the penalty kill was poor, and there were turnovers. I could go on and on. Needless to say, it was a bad performance from a Rangers team that had been playing much better, even in their losses.
Heading into yesterday’s game, I expected the Rangers to win against a pretty bad Vancouver team that was missing their best player (Henrik Sedin) and because they’ve been alternating wins and losses for a few weeks now. And although they ran into a red-hot Ryan Miller, who stood on his head all night long, they managed to get a win.
If you just looked at the box core, you wouldn’t realize that this was total and utter domination by the Rangers. At even strength, the Rangers led in shot attempts by a massive margin, finishing as a +35 on the night (70-35). They had 36 scoring chances and 17 high danger scoring chances. And they had 49 shots on goal, which isn’t including the six times that they hit the post in the game. If it wasn’t for Ryan Miller, and if they had a bit more luck, this could have easily been a 5+ goal night for New York. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers win overtime thriller against Vancouver; Stepan and Zuccarello break goal droughts
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
What started out as a very frustrating night turned into elation for the Rangers (25-16-5) when JT Miller gave the Rangers a 3-2 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks (19-17-11).
It was truly amazing that the Rangers didn’t score a lot more goals. They finished with 49 shots on goal, hit the goal post or crossbar six times, and faced Ryan Miller, who brought his A-game. But despite the frustrating sequence of events for the first 50 minutes or so, the Rangers battled back and earned the two points.
This was easily the team’s best offensive performance of the season, and you could argue that it was one of their better defensive performances too. The Rangers had 49 shots on goal, even more scoring chances that were blocked or went wide, and they only allowed 20 shots on goal for Lundqvist. They truly deserved the win and got it. Read the rest of this entry
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