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Following win over Ducks, Rangers continue Cali road trip against Kings
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Despite getting dominated in possession and getting worked over by the Ducks, the Rangers (40-23-7) picked up their 40th win of the season with a tightly contested 2-1 win, with Kevin Klein recording his first career two goal game. Now they continue their road trip on the west coast against the Pacific Division leading Kings.
Against Anaheim, the Rangers did not play their best game. They played a resolute style of defensive play, but the same problems that have plagued them recently continued to affect the game. Turnovers and careless play, poor transition, and more. You know the script. In fact, it took 19:30 for the Rangers to have a successful carry into the Ducks zone. That’s not good. The team as a whole was a -18 in corsi for, with Dan Girardi (-14) and Tanner Glass (-13) finishing worse in individual possession. Only three players finished positive in corsi for.
But they found a way to win. That seems to be the script for the season. The Rangers play alright, go dormant for a few stretches, and get bailed out at times by goaltending or lucky bounces, or simply outscoring the opponent. Needless to say, it’s an unsustainable type of hockey that probably won’t be a winning style of hockey in the playoffs.
Things don’t get easier as they take on the Los Angeles Kings for the second time this season. The Rangers lost in frustrating fashion to the Kings at Madison Square Garden on February 12th, falling in overtime after Anze Kopitar scored with 29.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan each picked up a goal and an assist, and Viktor Stalberg also found the back of the net. The Rangers have earned a point in their last three trips to the Staples Center (2-0-1).
Jonathan Quick is the expected starter for the Kings, looking to build on an already strong season. Quick posted a shutout in his last start, stopping all 32 shots he faced. He’s 35-17-4 with a 2.14 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Tyler Toffoli is en route to the best season of his career, posting a career high in goals (26) and leading the team in that category. He’s a point shy of equaling his career high total of 48 points. Nine of his goals are on the power play, four have been game winners, and he’s scored in two straight games.
Milan Lucic has been playing excellent hockey as of late, enjoying a strong first season out in California. Known for his aggressive game and physical brand of hockey, Lucic is feared for his scoring ability just as much as his ability to lay a huge hit. Lucic is riding a seven game point streak (3-6-9) and has 45 points (17-28-45) in 68 games. He’s also a tremendous possession forward, owning a 59.15 Corsi for percentage. Watch out for him.
After getting the night off, Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net for the Rangers. Hank has lost his last three starts, allowing three or more goals in all of the games. However, he’s been excellent against the Kings recently, with a 1.01 GAA and .966 SV% in his last two appearances.
Like the Ducks, the Kings play a physical brand of hockey due their large group of forwards. So like last night, Alain Vigneault will use his fourth line extensively. Tanner Glass, Dominic Moore and Viktor Stalberg all played over 11 minutes, with Glass getting the primary assist on the game tying goal. Glass actually has three points in the last nine games (2-1-3), which is half of his point total from last season. Hopefully this line combination does well and works tonight.
Keith Yandle is the only Rangers defenseman with 40 points this season, scoring five goals and tallying 35 assists this season. He has a point in eight of the last 12 games against the Kings, with 13 points (3-10-13) in that span. In 40 career games against the Kings, he has 25 points (5-20-25).
The Rangers and the Kings will faceoff at the Staples Center at 10:30 PM. The game will be broadcasted on MSG.
EXPECTED LINES
Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast
JT Miller-Eric Staal-Kevin Hayes
Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Viktor Stalberg
Ryan McDonagh-Kevin Klein
Keith Yandle-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Henrik Lundqvist
Pregame Notes: Rangers vs Penguins, Game 69
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
- It was announced yesterday that Evgeni Malkin would miss today’s game and will be out for the next 6-8 weeks. Malkin sustained an upper body injury on Friday after a collision in their game against the Blue Jackets.
- Derick Brassard will re-join the Rangers lineup after missing yesterday’s game in Detroit with the flu. He will take the place of Tanner Glass, who sustained an upper body injury in yesterday’s game.
- Goalie matchup; Henrik Lundqvist (31-17-5, .923 SV%, 2.32 GAA) vs Marc Andre-Fleury (28-16-6, .922 SV%, 2.34 GAA). Lundqvist is coming off of a fantastic 40 save performance in an overtime loss against the Red Wings. Fleury made 25 saves and allowed two goals in the win over Columbus, which was the 350th win of his career.
- This is the third matchup between the Rangers and Penguins this season, and the first between these two teams at MSG since Carl Hagelin scored the overtime game-winner in Game 5 back in April. Lundqvist shut out the Penguins back on February 10th in a 3-0 Rangers win, and the Penguins got their revenge with a 4-1 win just 10 games ago. Nine different Rangers have a point in the two games against the Penguins.
- Sidney Crosby is heating up again, currently riding a seven game point streak where he has scored 11 points (3-8-11). He’ll skate on a line with Chris Kunitz (13-20-33) and Patric Hornqvist (17-26-43).
- Crosby leads the Penguins in goals (28), points (67), and is tied with Kris Letang in assists (39).
- The Rangers have picked up a point in 10 of the last 12 games against the Penguins dating back to April 3, 2013 (7-2-3). They’ve also picked up a point in six of the last seven games against Pittsburgh (5-1-1).
- Eric Staal skated with Rick Nash for the first time and that line had some good shifts. Staal has had success against the Penguins in his career, with 46 points (19-27-46) in 47 games. He’s recorded a point in 10 of the last 16 games against Pittsburgh, with 16 points (6-10-16) in those games.
- Rick Nash has also been good against the Penguins in his career, tallying 19 points (11-8-19) in 22 games. He has a point in each of the last four games against Pittsburgh (4-3-7).
- The Rangers have won 13 straight games following a regulation loss or an overtime loss dating back to December 22nd against the Ducks.
- The Rangers have a point in 14 of their last 17 games on home ice (12-3-2), as well as 12 of their last 14 games (10-2-2). The Blueshirts have a 22-6-2 record in the last 30 home games, and rank third in the league in wins (23) and points (49) this season.
- The Rangers have an 8-4-1 record in the second game of a back-to-back sets this season. New York has an 18-5-2 record in the second game of their last 25 back-to-back sets. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Rangers are 27-11-2 in those same circumstances.
- The Rangers and Penguins will faceoff at Madison Square Garden at 12:30 PM
EXPECTED LINEUP
JT Miller-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Kevin Hayes
Rick Nash-Eric Staal-Viktor Stalberg
Oscar Lindberg-Dominic Moore-Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Keith Yandle-Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist
The Return of the King; Lundqvist back in net as Rangers battle Red Wings
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After missing the last three games with neck spasms, Henrik Lundqvist is ready to take back his spot in the crease as the Rangers (39-22-6) take on the Detroit Red Wings (33-23-11) at the Joe Louis Arena in an Original Six matchup.
Likely joining Lundqvist will be Rick Nash, who has been out of the lineup since January 22nd with a bone bruise. He’s been skating and practicing this week and should be good to go for today’s game. In the likely event that Nash does play, he’ll skate with Eric Staal on the third line, marking the first time they’ll be playing together on the Rangers.
With the good news also comes some bad news. Center Derick Brassard is a question mark for today’s game due to the flu. He’s doubtful, and Kevin Hayes would slide to center if he doesn’t play.
The Rangers are coming off of a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, with goals from Brassard, Zuccarello and Jesper Fast. However, they played pretty poor down the stretch and to start the game. The Rangers were outshot 36-26 and Raanta bailed out the team. They’ve split the last four games (2-2-0) but have won seven of the last 10 games.
This is the second of three meetings between the Rangers and Red Wings this season, and the first in Detroit. Back on February 21st, Henrik Lundqvist and the Blueshirts outdueled Jimmy Howard and Detroit in a 1-0 overtime win at the Garden, with Kevin Klein scoring the only goal of the game. Hank had 22 saves and Howard made 29 saves, benefitting from a disallowed goal from Kevin Hayes. Three of the last four games have been decided in overtime, and eight of the last nine games have been decided by one goal.
The Red Wings won their last game on Thursday against the Jets, but they had lost their last three games before that, getting outscored 14-6. The Red Wings are in a fight for their playoff lives, holding just a two point lead over the Philadelphia Flyers for the last playoff spot. Every game is crucial and the Red Wings need all the points they could get.
The 19 year-old rookie Dylan Larkin started out his season producing and hasn’t stopped, sitting in second place on the team in scoring with 40 points. He scored a goal on Thursday, giving him 20 for the season. He’s the first Red Wings rookie to reach that mark since current Captain Henrik Zetterberg did so 13 seasons ago. He’s a great skater and an offensive catalyst, and the Rangers will need to keep an eye out for him.
Detroit has another talented young player on their team named Andreas Athanasiou, a rookie taken in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL draft. Athanasiou hasn’t been up in the NHL for that long but his presence has been felt. He’s an incredible skater with blistering speed that can catch you off guard and enough skill to put one past the netminder, scoring three goals in the last five games.
For the Rangers, Rick Nash’s return will be a huge boost to the lineup. Alain Vigneault had him skating on a line with Eric Staal and Viktor Stalberg, creating a big line with speed and skill. Doing so will create matchup problems for opposing teams, because they’d have to figure out how to stop the two 300 goal scorers in Nash and Staal while also stopping the lines centered by Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard/Kevin Hayes. It’s probably be a game or two before Nash is back to his usual self, but pairing him with Staal and Stalberg puts him in a position to succeed.
It looks like Derick Brassard will be unavailable, which gives Kevin Hayes a big opportunity. Hayes has been stuck on the fourth line for the past few games, but he would be centering Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast today. He’s shown some signs of a resurgence before being thrown onto the fourth line, and he’ll get another chance to produce in the top-six today.
The Rangers and the Red Wings will faceoff at the Joe Louis Arena at 2 PM. The game will be broadcasted on MSG Network.
EXPECTED LINES
JT Miller-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Kevin Hayes-Jesper Fast
Rick Nash-Eric Staal-Viktor Stalberg
Oscar Lindberg-Dominic Moore-Tanner Glass
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Keith Yandle-Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist
Rangers battling injuries as they take on Eichel and the Sabres
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Following a tough loss at home to the Islanders, the Rangers (38-22-6) will look to try and add points to their second place lead when they battle the Buffalo Sabres (27-31-9) at the First Niagara Center without their full lineup intact.
After the defeat at the hands of the Islanders, the Rangers lead in the Metropolitan fell to just three points. If they want to rebound with a win tonight, they’ll need to play a much more complete game than they did on Sunday. The Rangers didn’t show up for the first 10 minutes of the game and gave up three quick goals, and their late game comeback wasn’t enough.
The Rangers have lost two out of their last three games after winning five of six games, and the Islanders and the Penguins are now creeping up in the standings. On top of that, they’ll be playing tonight’s game without four of their key players. Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash are getting closer to returning but remain out, plus Dylan McIlrath and Marc Staal did not make the trip to Buffalo. The Rangers recalled Brady Skjei from Hartford on an emergency basis. Read the rest of this entry
Alain Vigneault criticism and properly re-assembling the Rangers lines
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After last night’s loss to the Islanders, Alain Vigneault was getting A LOT of criticism, from both fans and even some pointed questions from reporters. His team didn’t show up at the puck drop, played terrible defense and weren’t prepared for one of the biggest games of the season yet.
There was criticism about his usage of JT Miller, about why Stepan took the faceoff, and just about anything else people felt like complaining about.
JT Miller didn’t play because he wasn’t that good last night, plain and simple. Everyone is insisting he gets top line minutes because of the streak he went on, scoring practically a goal a game for a span of 12 or 13 contests. But he hasn’t scored 13 games now, and hasn’t been nearly as effective or dangerous as he was back in January.
therangerzone.com 