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BREAKING: Henrik Lundqvist leaves practice…twice
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
UPDATE (3:26): Alain Vigneault stated that Henrik Lundqvist was ill and was not able to complete practice. He didn’t seem concerned and said that he expects Hank to be healthy and ready to practice tomorrow. He also said that Ryan McDonagh definitely would miss the start of the playoffs, and that Girardi, Eric Staal, Zuccarello and Stalberg should be good to go
On Monday afternoon during the Rangers first practice before the playoffs, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist left the ice on two separate occasions and did not return after the second time.
The first time, Lundqvist skated off of the ice and to the locker room, forcing one of the equipment managers to scramble to get changed into goalie equipment. Lundqvist returned to the ice 14 minutes later and practiced for about five minutes. But he wound up going over to head coach Alain Vigneault, speaking to him briefly and leaving the ice for good, being replaced by an equipment manager. (All information from Pat Leonard on Twitter).
This may the worst possible news the Rangers could have received. Henrik Lundqvist has been the biggest reason for the Rangers’ success in recent years, and he’s been the cornerstone of this franchise since 2005. Lundqvist has been phenomenal in the playoffs, especially last season, where he allowed just 20 goals in the first 13 games of the playoffs.
If Henrik Lundqvist is out long term, and this is not confirmed in anyway, then the Rangers shot at winning the Cup this season is significantly impacted. Couple the loss of McDonagh with the potential loss of Lundqvist and the Rangers will have a hard time getting out of the first round.
Antti Raanta would fill in, and thankfully, he’s been stellar to end the season, winning seven of his last eight starts, allowing two goals or less in all seven of those wins. Raanta has shown to be a capable goaltender when called upon, but no Lundqvist would make the Rangers’ lives a lot more difficult.
As far as other news on the Rangers players, Eric Staal, Mats Zuccarello and Viktor Stalberg all skated today and fully participated in the drills. Dan Girardi skated in a contact jersey and Ryan McDonagh skated in a non-contact jersey, but McDonagh left the ice before practice started.
Stay tuned to The Ranger Zone for more updates on the situation.
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
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 rally to beat the Lightning; Lundqvist makes 39 saves
Alexandra Russo
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a playoff clinching 4-2 victory over the Blue Jackets Monday night, the Rangers faced off for the first time at home against Tampa since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The Lightning have been playing without former Ranger, Anton Stralman, Victor Hedman, and top forward Steven Stamkos for a while, and the Rangers played without Ryan McDonagh. He is out indefinitely and will miss the rest of the regular season. In his absence, Brady Skjei and Dylan McIlrath saw ice time. Lindberg also replaced Hayes. They helped their team to an amazing come from behind 3-2 victory.
Tampa started out fast, as only 2:42 into the game, Namestnikov fed an open Andrej Sustr. He was wide in front of the net with absolutely no one on him. This is an example of the poor coverage the Rangers had to start out the game.
Shortly after, Tampa went on the power play. They had the worst power play in the League coming into this matchup, but they were able to convert on Brian Boyle’s deflection. Ondrej Palat took a shot that was saved by McIlrath’s skate. However, Palat got his own rebound, and Boyle’s stick deflected the shot past a misplaced Lundqvist for a two goal lead very early into the period. Read the rest of this entry
Mailbag Monday: Playoff matchups, consistency from Zuccarello and Nash and more
Bobby Bevilacqua
Welcome back to the first mailbag Monday in a while. With the playoffs approaching and getting closer, lots of questions are floating around in people’s heads about the Rangers, their chances in the playoffs and more.
If you have a question you’d like answered for the next article, leave it in the comments section below, or click the “Contact Me” tab and send an email with your name and question.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
Do you thing we have a chance in the playoffs without Nash scoring goals? – Scott Rosenberg
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
When he’s playing at his best, Rick Nash is clearly the Rangers’ best player. We’ve seen it in the past few games, scoring twice in the past four games. And in the last two games, he attacked the net and got some great chances despite not finding the back of the net. Read the rest of this entry
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