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Rangers head to the desert to take on the Coyotes; Yandle makes first return to Glendale
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
UPDATE: Vigneault announced that Antti Raanta will start in net, Rick Nash will miss second consecutive game, and Dan Boyle is in for Dylan McIlrath.
Following a 2-1 win in Colorado last night, the Rangers (9-2-2) play the second half of yet another back-to-back fixture, heading to Glendale to take on the Arizona Coyotes (6-5-1) for the second and final time this season.
The Rangers came away with a 2-1 victory over the Avalanche yesterday, securing their fourth straight win and giving them points in each of their last eight games (6-0-2). Derek Stepan and Oscar Lindberg scored 21 seconds apart and Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves.
New York also came away with a victory the last time these two teams faced off, a 4-1 win at Madison Square Garden. Arizona defenseman Klas Dahlbeck scored the first goal, but the Blueshirts fired back with four unanswered goals, including two in the third period from Kevin Hayes and former Coyote Keith Yandle. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers rally for four goals to take down the Coyotes: Rick Nash scores 700th point
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (5-2-1) were able to move past an early Coyotes (3-3-1) goal and rally for four straight goals, giving New York their second straight home victory.
Despite a very slow start to the game, consisting of the Coyotes clogging the ice and trying to limit everything the Rangers were trying to do. For the first half of the game, it tended to work, with Arizona shutting down all of the Rangers offensive moves.
This was also the first time that the Rangers and Coyotes had played since the teams swapped Anthony Duclair and Keith Yandle, one of the blockbuster trades at last year’s deadlines. Yandle fared better in this game, scoring his first goal of the season. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers take on Duclair and Coyotes at MSG; Stepan a game time decision
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers will look to build off their 4-0 win this Monday as they take on the Coyotes. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (4-2-1) take on the surprisingly strong Arizona Coyotes (3-2-1) for the first time the Keith Yandle trade last year, setting the scene for a battle with some ties on either side. Yandle will face off against the only other team he’s known, a team he played with for eight years, while former Rangers draft pick and last year’s Lars Erik Sjoberg Award winner, Anthony Duclair suits up for Arizona.
The Coyotes have been competitive in all of the six games that they’ve played so far, winning their first three games before losing three straight, including Tuesday’s overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. However, they’re averaging three goals a game, and have taken down the Kings, the Penguins and the Ducks. Read the rest of this entry
Despite Rangers’ postseason defeat, Yandle trade was worth the price
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers made a gamble when they acquired Keith Yandle, but it paid off, as Sather was able to acquire an elite defenseman in his prime. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Glen Sather, the president and general manager of the New York Rangers, has a knack for making big deals at the trade deadline in an effort to make his team more versatile and balanced. He’s not afraid to take a calculated risk in an effort to obtain these players, trading draft picks and prospects.
On March 1st, Sather sent John Moore, top-prospect Anthony Duclair, a first round pick in either 2016 or 2017, and a second round pick in this year’s draft for Keith Yandle and career AHL defenseman Chris Summers.
Duclair was one of the Rangers best prospects, putting up massive numbers with his QMJHL team, the Quebec Remparts, and playing with the Rangers for 18 games, tallying one goal with six assists. He looked at home with the Rangers, playing pretty well when he was in the NHL.
While it’s obviously not optimal that the Rangers have traded away their first round draft picks (the last first round draft pick for New York was in 2012, Brady Skjei), Sather said that it helps when they sign players like Kevin Hayes, who was in the midst of a 17 goal, 45 point season. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers rematch Predators at the Garden with their newest acquisitions
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers are back at the Garden, looking to take down the Nashville Predators before heading out on a tough road trip. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a hectic trade deadline, the Rangers (38-17-6) are back at Madison Square Garden for one game, where they will take on the Nashville Predators (41-15-7), currently the best team in the NHL when it comes to points.
Both teams have re-tooled their lineup since the last time that they met, a 3-2 Nashville win on February 7th. In that game, Rick Nash (PP Goal) and Ryan McDonagh found the back of the net, and Derick Brassard assisted on both goals. Nashville got goals from Shea Weber, Roman Josi, and Mike Ribeiro, as well as 30 saves from Pekka Rinne.
Rinne has been one of the best goalies in the league this season, and he has some impressive numbers to back that up. Rinne has 35 wins, a 2.07 GAA, and a .928 save percentage, second to Montreal’s Carey Price in all of those categories. The Rangers will need to work hard to get pucks past Rinne. Read the rest of this entry
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