Blog Archives
5 Keys to a New York Rangers Stanley Cup Championship
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
It’s that time of year again. The records are wiped, every team is equal ground, and 16 teams begin their quest for the greatest trophy in professional sports.
And for the sixth consecutive season, the Rangers are a part of that quest, looking to capture their first championship since 1994. They’ve come close in recent years, reaching the Eastern Conference Championship in three of the last four seasons and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2014.
Despite playing 44 playoff games since 2014, the most in the entire league, Alain Vigneault and his team are ready to make another run at the title. The team is loaded with experience, all the way from their veterans down to their youth. Everyone has big game experience which prepares them well for the high pressure situations. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers close out the regular season with a home win over Detroit
Bobby Bevilacqua
Dan Boyle celebrates after scoring his 10th goal of the season in the first period. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Despite already having their ticket punched to the postseason, the Rangers (46-27-9) came out strong and won their last game of the regular season, escaping some late drama and taking down the Detroit Red Wings (41-30-11) by a final score of 3-2.
The Rangers could have knocked the Red Wings out of a playoff spot, but luckily for Detroit, the Boston Bruins were blown out by the Senators, 6-1, in their last game of the season. That means that the Red Wings clinch a playoff berth for the 25th consecutive season, and the Flyers need two points to get back into the playoffs.
Despite a lackluster record on the road, the Rangers finished the season with a 27-10-4 record at MSG, and secured a point in 19 of the last 25 home games. Unfortunately, they will not have home ice advantage in the playoffs, but that record is still encouraging heading into the postseason. They also finished with 101 points, marking the first time since the 1971-72 season and the 1972-73 season that they have earned 100 points in back-to-back seasons. Read the rest of this entry
Injuries to key defensemen give Marc Staal a chance to save his Rangers legacy
John Dundon
Photo courtesy of Bridget Samuels/Flickr
Six days ago we were preparing the narrative in support of the Rangers’ chances at making a Stanley cup run: they were injury free. It was a potential advantage, especially with just about all of the playoff teams in the Eastern Conference playoff mix dealing with key injuries.
Pittsburgh recently learned Marc-Andre Fleury was going to be sidelined with a concussion. Fleury joins Evgeni Malkin and Olli Maatta as question marks for the high flying Pens with just one game remaining in their regular season. The Islanders’ Travis Hamonic is out with a lower body injury, and could miss the start of the playoffs and beyond. Their goaltending situation is an injury riddled mess, although Thomas Greiss nearly blanked the Rangers last night. The Lightning lost their leading goal scorer and captain Steven Stamkos to a freakish blood clot issue. The Rangers? Just bumps, bruises and fatigue. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers swept in season series verses Islanders (but who cares)
John Dundon
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers won this installment of “epic tank battle” in a slowed down version of NYI-NYR. The Isles took this one by a final score of 4-1. Oh no… what ever will we do?
This makes the Rangers path to the first wild card spot markedly clearer, which is good! Losing to the Islanders sucks, but in this case we could care less. The regular season hasn’t mattered in two years. This team is going to be judged by performances in May and June, not April.
The Rangers had a good first period and controlled play for the most part. There was not a noticeable lack of effort. Although I suspect they missed some open corners of twine intentionally, but that’s just me. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers battle the Islanders in important matchup for playoff seeding
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With two games remaining in the season, the Rangers (45-26-9) face an interesting conundrum in tonight’s matchup against the Islanders (44-26-9); Win and try to catch the Penguins? Or worry more about generating a consistent offensive game plan and be content for a wild card spot?
Obviously, no NHL team is going to intentionally lose, that’s foolish. But the Rangers are in a situation where they may be better off with a loss. Winning would pull them closer to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are arguably the league’s hottest team, but they’re without Marc-Andre Fleury. A loss would drop them closer to the first Wild Card spot, where they might have an easier route against teams like the Penguins and Bruins/Red Wings.
Either way, tonight is a big matchup between two rivals and a big matchup when it comes to playoff seeding. The Rangers have not won a single game against the Islanders, who are currently without Jaroslav Halak. Read the rest of this entry
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