Blog Archives
The Rangers might not need to make a big trade for a defenseman anymore
Bobby Bevilacqua
Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh has been a big part of the team’s good defensive play so far. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Through much of last season and this offseason, the narrative on many Rangers blogs and some beat writers was that the Rangers needed to shake up the defense. They lost Keith Yandle, saw Marc Staal and Dan Girardi regress last year, and didn’t have many in-house options to pick up the slack.
Although it’s been only 11 games, it seems like the Rangers may be in a good situation right now, and won’t have to worry about making a blockbuster trade for anyone right now. If things continue to go well, maybe not even this year.
Through 11 games, the Rangers have allowed just 25 goals and have a +20 differential all while working their way towards an 8-3-0 record. That’s a pretty impressive start for a team that looked to be heading towards a rebuild after the playoff loss to the Penguins last May. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers welcome Talbot and McDavid to MSG to close out homestand
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers (7-3-0) will look to sweep their three game homestand tonight when they take on the surprisingly good Edmonton Oilers (7-2-1) for the first time this season.
The Rangers have won the first two games of this homestand by a combined score of 11-1, recording the first shutout of the season Tuesday night against the Blues thanks to Henrik Lundqvist’s 35 save performance.
This is the first matchup between the Rangers and the Oilers this season, and the only one at Madison Square Garden. The teams split the season series last year, with the home team winning each game. The Rangers scored at least four goals in each of the games and a total of nine. Rick Nash led the team with five points (2-3-5) while Mats Zuccarello tallied a pair of goals and assists. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers trounce Blues thanks to Jimmy Vesey and Henrik Lundqvist
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (7-3-0) continued their three game homestand against the Blues, and surprisingly cruised past the St. Louis Blues (5-3-2), seeing their offense explode for another five goals in a shutout victory.
Henrik Lundqvist recorded his first shutout of the season and the 60th of his career, stopping 35 shots in the process. Dan Girardi opened up the scoring with his second goal of the year, and that was followed by goals from Jimmy Vesey, Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes.
Since these recaps are getting super long due to the Rangers scoring a ton, I’m going to recap all of the goals first, then head into opinions and observations.
Here’s the recap; Read the rest of this entry
Rangers aim for third straight win against Bruins; Kreider maybe more than day-to-day
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
After a two day break following two weekend wins, the Rangers (4-2-0) will aim to extend their win streak to three games when they take on the Boston Bruins (3-3-0) tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers are dealing with a few early injury bugs, forcing them to insert Oscar Lindberg into the lineup ahead of time and place Pavel Buchnevich on IR. Alain Vigneault said that leading scorer Chris Kreider was having “a tough time moving” and that his neck spasms might keep him out longer than day-to-day. Buchnevich is on IR for the time being but has been practicing in a non-contact jersey, so he may be ready for Friday.
The Bruins had a few of their own injuries, having to make two call-ups in net for their game last night against the Wild. Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre both played in Boston’s 5-0 loss. Tuukka Rask may have tweaked his hamstring and Anton Khudobin is out for about three weeks so it’ll probably be those two again tonight. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers finish back-to-back series with Coyotes at the Garden
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers (3-2-0) don’t have much time to revel in their comeback victory over the Capitals, as they are back at Madison Square Garden tonight to battle the Arizona Coyotes (1-3-0) on Hockey Fights Cancer night.
A goal from Brandon Pirri and two from Jimmy Vesey gave the Rangers a second period lead over the Capitals, and Henrik Lundqvist did the rest with a strong 26 save effort for his second win of the season. Zibanejad picked up one assist, as did Ryan McDonagh to give him four points in five games.
The Coyotes last played against the New York Islanders, falling 3-2 in regulation. Brad Richardson scored his second goal of the season, and Radim Vrbata scored his first of the season since coming back to the Coyotes. Louie Domingue made 28 saves. Read the rest of this entry
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