Blog Archives
How should Alain Vigneault utilize Dan Girardi? Or should he?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Last night in my recap of the Rangers’ win over the Arizona Coyotes, I wrote that it was a mixed bag of performances from some of the players. Guys like Matt Puempel, Nick Holden and Kevin Hayes had fantastic games, but in reality, the Rangers let one of the worst teams in the league stick around and almost win.
Part of that had to do with the defensive effort. There were some bad bounces, like on Anthony Duclair’s goal, but there was also just bad coverage and decision making throughout the night.
In the Rangers’ win over the Ottawa Senators, Dan Girardi had one of his worst games of the season. This came after Alain Vigneault said that starting him on the top pairing was a “no doubt” decision because of the two player’s “history together” and because Girardi is effective when he’s “making his reads” and “moving his feet.” But he was way out of position on the first Ottawa goal, had countless turnovers, and struggled with his passing. Read the rest of this entry
Nick Holden becoming an important, steady force on defense
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
It seems like the biggest complaints regarding the Rangers tend to be about the defense, at least in recent years. Whether it’s the contracts, poor play or possession or something else, there tends to be an issue that is touched upon.
At the beginning of the year, all of the negativity was focused on Nick Holden. To some extent, it was deserved because Holden looked pretty shaky. Vigneault was playing him on his off side while he adapted to a new system and a new team. His possession numbers were bad and he didn’t look like the steady player that Patrick Roy lauded.
But lately, Holden has become one of the team’s most consistent and reliable defenseman for quite a stretch now. This doesn’t mean that he hasn’t had his lapses or issues at all, but those mistakes have been few and far between. Read the rest of this entry
The Rangers’ brutal possession is a problem, and it starts on defense
Bobby Bevilacqua
Dan Girardi had one of the worst games of his career in last night’s game against the Sabres. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Last nights loss against the Buffalo Sabres was yet another brutal game, continuing a stretch of poor play in recent weeks that is very telling about the true nature of the New York Rangers team.
The performance last night was poor in many aspects. Henrik Lundqvist played his worst game in years. Many of the forwards were lackluster, having little to no impact on the game. The defensive coverage was atrocious at times, with a few players especially standing out.
But a huge problem this team has is their corsi, or their possession numbers. I know a lot of people write off analytics and won’t acknowledge it as a way to evaluate a team, but it truly helps in this situation. Corsi and possession are literally just tracking shot attempts. If a certain player or the whole team is getting buried and shelled with shots, chances are they are not playing well. It just quantifies what you’re seeing on the ice. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers back on home ice as they battle the Senators; Brassard comes back to MSG
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (15-6-1) were lucky to escape Philly with a win, but they’ll look to start another win streak tonight when they take on the Ottawa Senators (13-7-1) to kick off a brief two game home stand.
The Rangers were badly outshot, 42-23, in their win over the Flyers, and were able to secure a win thanks to an exceptional goaltending performance from Henrik Lundqvist. Goals from Derek Stepan, Matt Puempel and Kevin Hayes were enough for Hank to steal a victory.
The Senators also won their last game, giving them three straight wins to put them in second place in their division. Dion Phaneuf and Kyle Turris both found the back of the net and Craig Anderson made 30 saves to pick up a win over Carolina. Read the rest of this entry
Zibanejad injury sets Kevin Hayes up for a breakout season
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
When Mika Zibanejad went down in overtime against the Florida Panthers, you knew it was bad.
Thankfully, the Rangers’ offseason acquisition only suffered a broken fibula, sidelining him for the next six to eight weeks. I say only because with the way he went into the boards, it could easily have been a shattered ankle, torn tendon or a messed up knee.
I like to think that I’m a bit of an optimist, so there was a bit of a silver lining to his injury. The first was that it’s a clean break, which is better when it comes to healing. The other positive out of this awful injury is the fact that Kevin Hayes will get a huge opportunity to grow and develop in a top six role. Read the rest of this entry
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