Blog Archives
The Case for trading Keith Yandle
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
When the Rangers sent away draft picks and Anthony Duclair to the Arizona Coyotes, they acquired Keith Yandle, one of the most talented offensive defensemen in the entire NHL. The price was high, but he helped the team during their playoff run as well as shouldering heavy minutes while other players were injured.
In the year he’s been here, Yandle has delivered, showing off his elite level skills and driving possession while generating the most amount of offense from the blueline than any other player. Yandle leads the team in assists (31), he’s third on the team in points (35) and first among all defensemen, and he’s tied for second on the team in power play points with 12.
Despite everything that he has shown, and all of the offense he’s provided, Alain Vigneault continues to bury him on the third pairing when all six defensemen are healthy. When Ryan McDonagh was injured and Keith Yandle was on the top pairing, he was regularly getting 22 to 25 minutes of ice-time a night and playing extremely well. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers close out road trip with huge win over Dallas; Lundqvist makes 36 saves
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The road warriors are back in business.
After struggling away from home for much of the season, the Rangers (36-20-6) picked up their fifth road win in the last six games, scoring a late goal to take down the Dallas Stars (38-19-6) and continue their strong play as of late.
The Rangers have climbed up the standings with a 9-2-1 run over their last 12 games, finding ways to win and getting excellent goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist in the process. He made 36 saves, marking the third straight game that he stopped at least 35 shots. After claims that this team was done, lain Vigneault’s squad are not just four points behind the Stars for the second best record in the entire league. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers take on the Stars with trade connections looming
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a resilient win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, the Rangers (35-20-6) will close out their three game road trip against the number one team in the west, the Dallas Stars (38-18-6) with trade rumors linking the two teams ahead of the Monday trade deadline.
Tanner Glass and Chris Kreider each scored a goal and Henrik Lundqvist was phenomenal, making 35 save and picking up his 30th win of the season, making that 10 seasons with at least 30 wins. The Rangers didn’t play all that well, but timely goal scoring and Henrik Lundqvist stole a win away from St. Louis.
The Rangers have now won 11 games in a row following a loss, and they haven’t dropped back-to-back games since December 20th when they lost 7-3 to the Washington Capitals to close out a 3-9-2 stretch. But in the last 11 games, the Rangers are 8-2-1 and as strong as any team lately. Read the rest of this entry
Lundqvist makes history as Rangers take down Blues
Alexandra Russo
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers got Captain Ryan McDonagh and defenseman Marc Staal back in the lineup as they faced off against the St. Louis Blues Thursday night. Henrik Lundqvist picked up his 30th of the season as the Rangers won 2-1.
With the win tonight in a spectacular 35 save performance, Lundqvist became the first goaltender in NHL history to earn at least 30 wins in 10 of his first 11 NHL seasons. The only season he didn’t win 30 games was the lockout shortened 2012-13 season, when 43 games were played and Hank won 24 of them.
Lundqvist is also one of just three goalies in NHL history to win 30 or more games in 10 different seasons, joining elite company with Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. Hank’s even strength save percentage is about .940% this year. Compare that to his 2011-12 season when he won the Vezina – .933%.
Rangers begin tough stretch tonight against St. Louis; McDonagh expected back
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a 5-2 loss that featured one of their worst periods of the entire season, the Rangers (34-20-6) continue their road trip and take on the St. Louis Blues (35-18-9) at the Scottrade Center.
The Blueshirts are in a tough stretch of the season where they will play a majority of the games on the road, and come up against a lot of good, playoff teams. Following tonight’s game, they’ll play the Stars, the Penguins, the Capitals, the Islanders, and other quality teams. On top of that, they continue to struggle on the road, posting a 12-14-3 record in games away from Madison Square Garden.
This is the second and final matchup between these two teams, and the Rangers will be looking to sweep the season series. Back in November, they scored three goals in the first period en route to a 6-3 rout of the Blues. Mats Zucccarello had two goals and an assist, while Derick Brassard and Dan Girardi each had a goal and an assist. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves. Read the rest of this entry
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