Blog Archives
Rangers look for season series sweep in Carolina; Talbot in net for New York
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers and the Hurricanes will face off for the fifth and final time this season, and the Rangers are looking to sweep the season series. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following Wednesdays 1-0 home ice loss to the Blackhawks, the Rangers (44-18-7) are in Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Hurricanes (26-35-9) for the fifth and final matchup of the season, and the first game of a back-to-back for New York.
While the Rangers have been streaking, fighting for the top spot in the NHL, the Hurricanes have struggled for most of the season, sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division and third to last in the Eastern Conference, and scoring the third fewest goals in the entire league.
With that in mind, Saturday is almost a must-win for the Rangers, presenting an opportunity to earn a huge two points in the standings, and keep them in a fighting chance in the President’s trophy race, and the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Practice Report; Kevin Hayes back to center
Bobby Bevilacqua
Kevin Hayes is back in the center position for tomorrow’s game, as Alain Vigneault believes that it gives the Rangers three lines that can facilitate offense. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following Wednesday’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Alain Vigneault decided to switch up the lines, trying to find something that clicks in the absence of Martin St. Louis.
On Wednesday, James Sheppard played center on the third line alongside Carl Hagelin and JT Miller, while Kevin Hayes moved alongside Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. Rick Nash as reunited with Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider, a line that worked well last season.
“It was very important for me to get a look at Shep in the middle, and we used the last game to do that,” Vigneault explained. “We know he can play all three forward positions which is a big bonus for us; but there’s no doubt that having Kevin in the middle gives us three lines that I believe can play a little more offensive hockey.” Read the rest of this entry
Hockey players are humans too
Bobby Bevilacqua
Hockey players are not just athletes, they’re normal people, and unfortunately fans did not acknowledge that when they turned their back to Tanner Glass. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
For those of you who don’t know, after a lot of the Rangers home games at Madison Square Garden, players will walk out of the front entrance to take pictures with fans and sign autographs. That’s how I met Mats Zuccarello and Mackenzie Skapski, and it can be a great way to interact with the Rangers players.
With that being said, there was a story that came out following Wednesday night’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. After the game, a few of the players decided to come out to interact with the waiting fans, and Tanner Glass was one of them.
Now it seems that Glass has become the Rangers fans’ whipping post, as he gets blamed for most of the goals against and losses, whether or not it is his fault. People expect him to score like Alex Ovechkin, when that is clearly not the type of player that he is, or ever has been. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers blanked at home by the Blackhawks; Talbot sharp in net again
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers came up on the short end of the stick in tonight’s game, falling to Chicago by a final score of 1-0. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (44-18-7) were unable to extend their win streak to six games, falling short to the Chicago Blackhawks (43-21-8) in what felt like a playoff game. The defense was top-notch, as well as the goaltending, and Chicago scored the game’s only goal, coming off the stick of former Ranger Brad Richards.
It was the second time in 10 days that these two teams faced off, and both games finished with a final score of 1-0. These are two of the elite teams in the NHL, and the Blackhawks and Rangers showed that again, battling in an extremely close game tonight.
It was pretty even in both quality scoring chances and shots on goal, although the Blackhawks had a slight edge in that category, edging the Rangers 31-25 in shots. The Rangers were unable to get any pucks past Scott Darling before the whistle blew (we’ll get to that later), and Darling picked up his first career NHL shutout. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers look to extend win streak against Chicago with new lines in place
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers will turn to Kevin Hayes on the second line to pick up the scoring slack in the absence of Martin St. Louis as the team goes for its sixth straight win. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After two days off, the Rangers (44-17-7) are hoping to extend their win streak to six games when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks (42-21-6) for the second time in less than two weeks, with both teams playing quite well as of late.
New York and Chicago last faced off on December 8th in a game that went into overtime scoreless. Derick Brassard scored the game winner on a short-side slap shot, which also happened to be the last goal that he scored. Cam Talbot stopped 29 shots for the shutout.
Chicago did play last night, handing the Islanders their fourth straight loss and coming away with a 4-1 victory. Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa each scored twice, and Corey Crawford stopped 38 shots. Read the rest of this entry
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