Blog Archives
The Rangers can’t afford to mortgage the future to win now
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Glen Sather and the Rangers have a history of making big moves at the trade deadline. Last year they went out and acquired Keith Yandle from Arizona. The year before that, they traded for future hall of famer Martin St. Louis, shipping out captain Ryan Callahan in the process. In 2013 they traded Marian Gaborik to Columbus for Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and John Moore.
This year, Jeff Gorton is in control, and he will determine what happens at the trade deadline. We’re not sure if he’ll pull the trigger on a big trade, or if he’ll remain relatively quiet, make a few adjustments and see what this team can do.
One of the rumors that have been flying around, whether it holds validity or not is up to you, is the fact that the Ranger shave been linked to Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd. A 60 point scorer last season, Ladd is one of the better power forwards in this league. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers look for important rebound game without Klein and Nash
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Just about everything that could have went wrong, went wrong for the Rangers (27-18-5) on Tuesday night. They lost an important interdivision battle against the Devils, lost Kevin Klein indefinitely to a fractured thumb, and are just two points away from being out of the playoffs entirely.
After that, it was announced that Rick Nash’s bone bruise hasn’t really healed, and he’ll miss tonight’s game as well. In the wake of the injuries to Klein and the continued absence of Nash, the team decided to call up Jayson Megna again as opposed to a defenseman. That tells me two things;
- They have faith in Dylan McIlrath to play in Klein’s role, and they should
- Nash’s injury is probably more serious than initially thought, or AV wants to shake up the lineup to try and slap some sense into this team.
Rangers Update: Klein suffers fractured thumb, Nash still sidelined; How this effects the Rangers defense
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers suffered another serious blow to their team, as it was announced that Kevin Klein had suffered a fractured thumb and will be sidelined indefinitely.
Now Klein has not had the same offensive success as he had last season, but he’s really helped solidify the top pairing when playing with Ryan McDonagh. For the most part, he’s played consistently solid defense with solid possession numbers, and along with Keith Yandle, Klein has been one of the best defenseman this year. And now he’s gone.
This is bad. I don’t know if you realize how much of an effect this will have, but it’s bad. On one hand, it’s wonderful that Dylan McIlrath will be an everyday player. He totally deserves it and he will do well. But it’s terrible that it comes at the expense of Klein. Read the rest of this entry
Thrilling third period leads to a big Rangers win; Brassard tallies five points
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Well, that was exciting.
After a lackluster performance against the Senators on Sunday afternoon, the Rangers (27-16-5) came back with a much better effort and a fantastic offensive performance, downing the Buffalo Sabres (19-26-4) by a final score of 6-3 in the last game for the Blueshirts before the All-Star Break.
After some tight checking, competitive hockey in the first two periods, everything opened up in the third period, where a combined six goals were scored, four of them coming in a span of less than five minutes. Read the rest of this entry
The Problem with the Process
John Dundon
Photo courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images.
The Blueshirts started out the year strong but wound up limping past the half way mark of the season sporting a modest 26-16-5 record. One cannot but help wonder what the main underlying cause is for the team’s decline in play could possibly be. Not because they are hard-pressed to find issues, which have been plentiful and even overwhelming thus far through the 2015-2016 campaign.
It’s surprising though given the fact that right around this time last season, the Rangers took off. They dominated the league, even in the wake of losing Henrik Lundqvist for an extended period due to a freakish neck injury. Cam Talbot had replaced and even duplicated the edge that Lundqvist gave the Rangers night in and out. The Rangers finished the season on a tear and made a trip to game 7 of the conference final, where injuries eventually caught up to them in a humbling 2-0 loss on home ice. While the decline may be a surprise to some it didn’t sneak up on people who have looked at and made a point of the organizations failures, especially dating back to the offseason after that heartbreaking 4-1 Stanley Cup Final defeat. Read the rest of this entry
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