Blog Archives

BREAKING: Rangers make final cuts, seemingly set opening night roster

Bobby Bevilacqua

rangers-celebrate-a-goal-zib-kreids-9-27

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

The Rangers have announced what seems to be their final roster cuts this afternoon, trimming the roster down to a total of 24 players; consisting of 14 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies.

Here’s the current roster;

Forwards (14): Pavel Buchnevich, Jesper Fast, Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, Josh Jooris, Chris Kreider, Oscar Lindberg, JT Miller, Rick Nash, Brandon Pirri, Derek Stepan, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello Read the rest of this entry

Rangers take on Isles as final roster decisions are made

Bobby Bevilacqua

marc-staal-defending-9-27

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

The Rangers lost in Philadelphia last night in overtime after coming back from three goals down in the third period. It was a chippy affair with physical play, good defense and also some great periods of offense and scoring.

They play again tonight against the Islanders in Brooklyn. Here are the lineups;

JT Miller-Kevin Hayes-Nicklas Jensen

Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Brandon Pirri Read the rest of this entry

Rangers Lineup for tonight’s game against the Devils

Bobby Bevilacqua

zibanejad-line-preseason-for-anthem-9-27

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

The Rangers have announced their official lineups for tonight’s preseason game against the New Jersey Devils;

Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-JT Miller

Jimmy Vesey-Philip McRae-Nicklas Jensen

Michael Grabner-Nathan Gerbe-Jesper Fast

Ryan Gropp-Maxim Lapierre-Chris Brown Read the rest of this entry

Brady Skjei: What to expect and how to best utilize him

Bobby Bevilacqua

Brady Skjei skating 2-23

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

When the Rangers were deciding whether or not to re-sign Keith Yandle, Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said that the emergence of Brady Skjei factored into whether or not Yandle factored into their future plans.

“You need good players that are coming that don’t make a lot of money,” said Gorton. “Brady [Skjei] looks on the cusp of being an NHL player. I think that will help our decision.”

I could write a whole article about why that logic is flawed and why Skjei shouldn’t have been factored into the decision on re-signing Yandle or not, but I’ll hold back. Instead, just a concise statement on it; While Skjei is an excellent talent and performed well in his brief NHL stint, it’s not fair to expect Skjei to come close to Yandle’s offensive production, since he’s not the same type of player and he’s a rookie, and hampering him with those expectations could put a lot of unnecessary pressure on him. Read the rest of this entry

Brady Skjei a perfect partner for Ryan McDonagh on the blueline

Bobby Bevilacqua

brady skjei full body 12-15

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

Not a lot of good came out of the Rangers’ five game series against the Penguins. With defensive injuries and a slacking team, the Rangers stood no chance against the now Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Despite defensive injuries and problems, Brady Skjei emerged as a strong, consistent defenseman despite minimal NHL experience. In a high pressure situation, Skjei played better than just about every Rangers defenseman in the playoffs.

On top of showing that he could play in the NHL at a high level, Skjei showed something else that was more important – he can play the right side. Read the rest of this entry