Blog Archives
Rangers Practice Report; Skjei earns high praise and AV shuffles up the whole lineup
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers practiced in New York yesterday ahead of their first extended road trip, beginning with a trip through Canada to play the Flames, Oilers and Canucks before heading back to the states to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Alain Vigneault and his team have played 10 of their first 14 games at Madison Square Garden, with four brief one game road trips in between the homestands. The Rangers have been a good home team in recent years, with their 74 wins being tied for second in the NHL.
“It’s a good challenge for us,” Henrik Lundqvist told reporters on Thursday. “We haven’t traveled much. We’ve played a lot of home games, which has been a good test. Now, I think it’s going to be a good test to go out on the road here and face some desperate teams.” Read the rest of this entry
Rangers win fifth straight with five goal effort over Winnipeg
Bobby Bevilacqua
With yet another five goal outburst, the Rangers (10-3-0) won their fifth straight game, beating the Winnipeg Jets (5-7-1) at Madison Square Garden by a final score of 5-2.
This was the fifth consecutive game in which the Rangers have scored five goals, marking the first time since the 1978-79 season that a Rangers team had done that. The 10 wins through 13 games is tied for the best 13 game start to a season, and their plus-26 goal differential over the first 13 games is the best in franchise history.
The Jets’ goal scorers were Patrik Laine, who is tied for the league lead with eight goals, and Mark Scheifele. The Rangers got goals from Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, JT Miller, Jesper Fast, and Pavel Buchnevich. Henrik Lundqvist had a good game, making a few pretty great stops and finishing with 24 saves in his seventh win. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers come back late for win over the Oilers; Hayes with another three points
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (8-3-0) scored another five goals, using a late comeback to take down Cam Talbot and the Edmonton Oilers (7-3-1), and winning 5-3.
The Rangers win meant a sweep of their three game homestand, outscoring opponents 16-4 over the three games. The Oilers put up the best effort, holding the lead or maintaining a tie for 58 minutes of the game.
Kevin Hayes, Michael Grabner, Jesper Fast, Rick Nash and JT Miller were the goalscorers, marking yet another night where the depth shone through and multiple players scored goals. The defense was good enough for the most part and Lundqvist was passable.
Here’s my recap; Read the rest of this entry
Addressing the state of the Rangers defense and new trade rumors
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The topic of discussion for the Rangers seems to consistently be about the defense and how the current group of guys is seemingly not enough to win the Stanley Cup. Aging veterans and a lack of a true puck-moving defenseman have made things hard on the Rangers.
On Sunday, Dan Girardi made his return to the lineup against the Coyotes and wound up scoring the game winner on a bullet of a shot from the point. As a result on him returning, Adam Clendening was scratched. There’s been a lot of bad blood on Twitter between bloggers and fans about criticizing Girardi, so I’d like to clarify my stance.
I don’t think Girardi is awful and I don’t think he’s worthy of a healthy scratch. But I do think that he has to stay on the third pairing with sheltered minutes. He’s certainly capable in that role, but simply cannot fulfill the duties of a top pairing defensemen getting big minutes anymore. It comes with age and that’s expected. Also, nobody that criticizes wants him to do bad or is happy to see him struggle. It’s just more frustrating to see him struggle in a role that he shouldn’t be placed in, which isn’t his fault. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Practice Report: Klein OUT for opener, Vesey and Buchnevich in top six
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After being held out of practice for the last few days, Kevin Klein will miss the season opener tomorrow against the Islanders at Madison Square Garden after an MRI revealed a back strain.
Klein had been experiencing back spasms but fortunately this injury is not too serious. Alain VIgneaut said it’s “day-to-day” and that “he’ll be back soon.”
Klein has scored nine goals and 17 assists in each of the last two seasons while providing a steady defensive presence and surprisingly improving his possession and passing each year. Read the rest of this entry
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