Blog Archives
Must win? Rangers take on soaring San Jose Sharks at the Garden
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers will look to get back on track against the sharks at MSG> Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After just six games into the season, it’s certainly too early to deem a game as “must win.” But with all of the concerns surrounding the team’s performances in their last three games, the Rangers would surely like a feel-good win.
The Rangers (3-2-1) will look to snap their three game losing streak against the San Jose Sharks (4-1-0), who are proving their doubters wrong after five games. Dan Girardi stated that the Rangers “need to stop the bleeding at three [losses],” and a rebound game is needed.
This game comes exactly one year since these two teams last faced off at Madison Square Garden, a game in which the Rangers came away with a 4-0 win. Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis scored four seconds apart, and Kevin Hayes scored the first goal of his NHL career. Henrik Lundqvist picked up his first shutout of the season.
The Sharks couldn’t meet expectations last season, failing to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2003, and just the second time in 17 years. Since the end of last season, they hired a new coach, made some offseason moves, assigned a new captain, and are off to an excellent start to begin the season. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers drop third straight game in overtime to the lowly Devils
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The tough times keep coming for Alain Vigneault and the Blueshirts.
Despite having more possession, more scoring chances, and playing a stronger game overall, the Rangers (3-2-1) lost their third consecutive game, handing the New Jersey Devils their first lead of the season and their first win.
The Rangers dominated the first period, with more shots on goal (9-6), more shot attempts (19-8), and taking the lead just over three minutes into the game. Oscar Lindberg stole the puck in the Rangers defensive zone and carried it up the ice before saucering a pass across the ice to Derek Stepan. Stepan made an excellent deke to open up Schneider before slotting it between his legs for his third goal of the season.
The Rangers wound up controlling the rest of this period. Oscar Lindberg created some excellent chances, connecting on a few more impressive passes, but nobody was finishing their chances. Viktor Stalberg also had a superb period, winning a lot of puck battles and leading the team in possession and hits after 40 minutes. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers aim to end brief skid with new lineup against the Devils
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After two pretty disappointing efforts and the first two losses of the season, the Rangers (3-2-0) will look to end their goalless drought as they return home to take on the New Jersey Devils (0-3-1), who are searching for their first win.
The Rangers left Montreal empty-handed despite an excellent performance from Henrik Lundqvist, mainly due to their inability to sustain pressure as well as the play of the Montreal defenders and Carey Price.
While they’ll now be taking on a winless team in the Devils, the Rangers will still match up against a very good goaltender. Cory Schneider will be in between the pipes for the Devils, making just his third start of the season. Schneider made 34 saves in a shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The Devils have had a lot of trouble scoring goals so far, finding the back of the net just six times in the first four games. Mike Cammalleri is their leading scorer with a goal and two assists, and three players are tied for second with two points, including former Ranger Lee Stempniak. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Practice Report: Vigneault blows up his lines and defensive pairings
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The tinker man Alain Vigneault has made some massive changes prior to the Rangers matchup against the New Jersey Devils this Sunday.
After not scoring a goal for over five consecutive periods, AV decided that a change was needed. He’s right to move some pieces around and try to create some chemistry.
Here were the lines during today’s practice. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers blanked in Montreal as Price and Lundqvist engage in battle
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Everyone predicted it would happen, but it was nonetheless spectacular to watch.
Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price put on a show at the Bell Centre, making spectacular save after spectacular save en route to a 3-0 Montreal win. The Canadiens (5-0-0) has won five straight games to start a season for the first time in franchise history, and the Rangers (3-2-0) have now lost two straight games after winning their first three.
It was a disappointing effort from the Rangers. While Carey Price did make a few spectacular saves, the bigger problem was the fact that they couldn’t sustain any offensive pressure. They mustered just 22 shots on goal despite five power plays. Some of the Rangers biggest stars, namely Rick Nash and Chris Kreider, really didn’t have too much of an impact.
Emerson Etem made his Rangers debut tonight, and he had a few good shifts, but went largely unnoticed. The fourth line was much better without Tanner Glass and Jarret Stoll, and they spent some time on attack as well. However, Etem had only 12 shifts, seven minutes of ice time, and 70% defensive zone shifts. He didn’t have much of a chance to prove anything. Read the rest of this entry
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