Blog Archives
An analytic look at the New York Rangers
Bobby Bevilacqua
Rick Nash has been criticized this year, but he’s doing everything right. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
“The eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s advice to the young Luke Skywalker holds value in many walks of life, but it fits perfectly when it comes to the sport of hockey. Every year, more sports and more people are starting to turn to sabermetrics and analytics to get a deeper understanding of their team or sport.
Analytics is slowly starting to catch on in hockey. It can be confusing at first, but it really helps get a look at possession, creating offensive possession, and even things like “puck luck.” You can also predict regression from players and team, and more effectively evaluate a player’s performance. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers cruise past Capitals to the top of the Metro; Hayes and Lindberg impress
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
This game was billed as a low scoring, physical and heated battle between two bitter rivals, but it didn’t really turn out that way.
The edginess was there, but the Rangers (8-2-2) seemed to effortlessly cruise past the Washington Capitals (8-3-0), ending the Caps’ four game road winning streak and extending the Rangers personal win streak to three games.
The Rangers came away with a 5-2 victory in an entertaining and tense contest, with five different goal scorers helping them claim sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers make changes before Metropolitan clash with red-hot Capitals
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
For the first time since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the New York Rangers (7-2-2) will battle Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (8-2-0), in search of their eighth win in the past nine games.
This is the first of five games between these two teams, bitter rivals that have seen a lot of each other over the past five years, meeting in the playoffs yet again last season. In one of the greatest goaltending battles the NHL postseason has ever seen, the Rangers came away with the series win after seven one goal games.
The Capitals will be out for revenge, looking to climb to the top of the Metropolitan Division and stake their claim as one of the best teams in the East. Looking at their roster, the Caps should be considered a top team. Read the rest of this entry
Keith Yandle, Kevin Klein solidifying a struggling defensive corps
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With a group consisting of Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, I don’t think anyone expected Kevin Klein and Keith Yandle to be the best defensemen on both sides of the puck through 11 games.
I will gladly eat my words when it comes to Kevin Klein. Along with a good amount of other writers, I was pretty convinced that Klein had a fluke offensive season, and although he was solid defensively, he was a third pair defensemen at best. Gorton would be able to easily replace him and they should ship him out while his value is highest.
Well it turns out that Kevin Klein is shaping up to be a $2.9 million top pairing defenseman that has been the most reliable in his own zone, as well as being the best at driving possession. Who would have guessed it? Read the rest of this entry
Zuccarello nets first career hat trick in win over Maple Leafs
Alexandra Russo
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Might as well call it a “Mats-trick.”
Led by the 5-foot-7 Norwegian, the Rangers battled hard and came away with a 2-1 win, their second straight victory and Toronto’s fifth straight loss.
In his return, after a six day break, Henrik Lundqvist improved his record to 5-2-2 last night as the Rangers gained two more points to keep them at the top of the Metropolitan Division standings. They are now 7-2-2 (16 points) in their first eleven starts this season.
Alain Vigneault decided to reunite some trusted line combinations by switching centers Brassard and Stepan. Vigneault also mentioned that while Zuccarello has gotten off to his best start ever, he expects more from him. These small critiques were made in the hopes of better offense, although the Rangers haven’t seemed to have a problem with that as of late. Read the rest of this entry
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