Blog Archives
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
Mailbag Monday: Playoff matchups, consistency from Zuccarello and Nash and more
Bobby Bevilacqua
Welcome back to the first mailbag Monday in a while. With the playoffs approaching and getting closer, lots of questions are floating around in people’s heads about the Rangers, their chances in the playoffs and more.
If you have a question you’d like answered for the next article, leave it in the comments section below, or click the “Contact Me” tab and send an email with your name and question.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
Do you thing we have a chance in the playoffs without Nash scoring goals? – Scott Rosenberg
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
When he’s playing at his best, Rick Nash is clearly the Rangers’ best player. We’ve seen it in the past few games, scoring twice in the past four games. And in the last two games, he attacked the net and got some great chances despite not finding the back of the net. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers aim to get back on track with important game against the Panthers
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
After a disappointing California road trip that exposed many of the team’s flaws, the Rangers (40-24-8) enter the home stretch with just 10 games remaining, playing three of the next four games at MSG. They start tonight against the Florida Panthers (40-23-9), who sit in first place in the Atlantic Division.
In their last game out, Henrik Lundqvist kept his team in the game for a long time despite being completely outplayed. The Sharks totaled 52 shots on goal, two times as many shots as the Rangers had, and scored four times. That put the Rangers at 3-4-2 in the last nine games.
And while the Rangers are significantly cooling down, other teams are starting to heat up. The playoff picture in the Metropolitan is very tight. The Rangers currently sit in third place, tied with the Penguins in games played, wins and points. But Pittsburgh have won six straight games and eight of the last 10. The Blueshirts are three points ahead of the Islanders for the first wild card spot, but the Isles have two games in hand. And the Red Wings trail the Rangers by five points with no games in hand for the last Wild Card spot. Read the rest of this entry
Enough with the optimism, the Rangers are not well prepared for the playoffs
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
For the most part, I may be one of the most optimistic Ranger fans out there. But this season has tested my patience, and yesterday’s pathetic performance against the San Jose Sharks was the tipping point.
The Rangers gave up 52 shots against the Sharks, with 47 of them coming at Henrik Lundqvist in 49 minutes. They had almost no extended periods of pressure or possession. They had half of the amount of shots on goal that the Sharks had, and the team finished as a -21 in Corsi For.
After this game, the Rangers are now 3-5-1 in their last nine games, and their last 10 games won’t be a walk in the park. They still have to take on the Penguins, the Islanders, the Bruins, the Panthers and the Lightning. At the rate they’re playing now, there’s a chance that Pittsburgh and the Islanders, both of which have at least one game in hand, could surpass the Rangers and put them in a wild card spot. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers embarrassed by San Jose in final game of road trip; Time for a reality check
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
After faltering late against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, the Rangers (40-23-8) played one of their worst games of the season, getting completely and utterly dominated by the hottest team in the NHL, the San Jose Sharks (39-25-6). New York closed out the road trip with a 4-1 loss at the SAP Center.
Almost everything about this game was terrible. The puck movement from the defense was awful, with the tangent of Girardi and Staal playing decidedly bad tonight. They allowed 52 shots on net. FIFTY TWO! They only had 26 shots on net. There were potentially two extended offensive zone shifts for the Rangers in the entire game. Only the fourth line finished positive in possession, and the team was collectively a -21 Corsi For. Nothing positive came from this game, and the Rangers limped through this road trip with a 1-1-1 record. Read the rest of this entry
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