Blog Archives
Rangers open their 90th season at the Garden against the Islanders; Pirri gets the start
Bobby Bevilacqua

Photo courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images.
After an early exit in the playoffs and a lot of change on the team, the Rangers are finally back in action tonight when they take on the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden.
This marks the first time that the Rangers begin the season at home since 2007, which makes tonight’s game even more exciting.
There’s a chance that the team will have a total of seven players skating for the first time as Rangers, with two players, Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich, making their NHL debuts. The fourth line still has not been announced yet, but there’s a good chance it will be a completely different look. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers battle the Islanders in important matchup for playoff seeding
Bobby Bevilacqua

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With two games remaining in the season, the Rangers (45-26-9) face an interesting conundrum in tonight’s matchup against the Islanders (44-26-9); Win and try to catch the Penguins? Or worry more about generating a consistent offensive game plan and be content for a wild card spot?
Obviously, no NHL team is going to intentionally lose, that’s foolish. But the Rangers are in a situation where they may be better off with a loss. Winning would pull them closer to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are arguably the league’s hottest team, but they’re without Marc-Andre Fleury. A loss would drop them closer to the first Wild Card spot, where they might have an easier route against teams like the Penguins and Bruins/Red Wings.
Either way, tonight is a big matchup between two rivals and a big matchup when it comes to playoff seeding. The Rangers have not won a single game against the Islanders, who are currently without Jaroslav Halak. Read the rest of this entry
Know the foe: New York Islanders
John Dundon

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
“Know the foe” will be a series of posts in which I examine some of the Rangers likely playoff opponents. Up first, who else but the cross town rival New York Islanders.
Starting this playoff matchup preview series wouldn’t feel quite right if it were about any other team. The Rangers are 0-2-1 against the Islanders so far this year. They play again once more in the regular season: April 7 at MSG, the second to last game of the season. Each of the Blueshirts losses to those pesky Isles has been equally frustrating with the pain coming in different ways each time.
On Dec. 2 the two teams met as NBC’s Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup, a game that saw the Islanders win in a shootout, 2-1. Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding, making 37 saves and letting but one puck squeak by him in the shootout. This was a highly anticipated game–the first visit to the Barclays Center for the Rangers. Read the rest of this entry