Blog Archives

Tonight is a make-or-break game for the Rangers and for AV as big changes loom  

Bobby Bevilacqua

av and ruff

Rangers head coachAlain Vigneault (left), could be replaced by assistant coach Lindy Ruff (right) if things go awry in tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Following a loss to the Canadiens in which the Rangers (3-7-2) were thoroughly outplayed and saw their comeback, the Blueshirts look to rebound on a brief stop at home to play the Vegas Golden Knights (8-2-0) for the first time ever.

This has sparked trade rumors, articles from beat reporters about tonight potentially being Alain Vigneault’s last game as head coach of the Rangers if things go wrong, and more following the game, especially if the result and the team’s play is similar to their last game against Montreal.

Last night also saw some of the Rangers highest members of their management attend the Ottawa-Canadiens game, including president Glen Sather and assistant general manager Jim Schoenfeld. It’s very rare for a team to send people as senior staff like them to one game, so something big might be in the works. Read the rest of this entry

Hank Blanks Habs as Ranger D gets an A!

Marc Weissman

NYRvsMTL1008

What a difference a night makes, eh? Just 24 hours after getting absolutely shelled by the Maple Leafs for 5 goals against in the 1st period alone, the rejuvenated Rangers and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist shook it off and turned in a big-time performance, shutting out the visiting Montreal Canadiens, 2-0, in front of a raucous October crowd at Madison Square Garden Sunday night. Lundqvist made 34 saves, several of the spectacular variety, to post his first shutout of the season and a Ranger-record 62nd blanking of his storied NHL career on Broadway. 2nd year D-man Brady Skjei came away with the fortuitous game-winner when his sharp angle pass intended for Michael Grabner caromed off Habs goaltender Carey Price and defenseman Shea Weber late in the first period to give the Blueshirts a lead they never relinquished. Meanwhile, $5.4M man Mika Zibanejad – now 2nd in the NHL in goals (4) and 1st in PPGs (3) – continued his amped-up play as the team’s new #1 center by snapping home a beautiful behind-the-net pass from sophomore linemate Pavel Buchnevich to seal the win in the 3rd period. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers set to open the season: Lines, outlook, predictions and more

Bobby Bevilacqua

Rangers celebrating a goal

 Following another season of a disappointing playoff exit, an offseason full of questions and speculation, the New York Rangers are back for the 2017-18 season with a re-tooled roster and Stanley Cup aspirations to boot.

To start, I want to address my long absence from blogging. I hit a wall last year, overwhelmed with balancing school work to end my senior year of college and writing lot of the articles myself, I unfortunately lost motivation to keep it going. In doing so, I didn’t deliver what my readers wanted and fail in that aspect to cover a really exciting and important offseason for the New York Rangers.

Because of my work schedule and the time’s that I work, which is largely late nights until 2 or 4 AM sometimes, I won’t be able to cover and recap each individual game like I have in the past. But I do want to continue to write about the Rangers and cover what I can, and I hope my readers will come back and support the site again. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers kick off brief road trip in Arizona; Lundqvist expected to serve as backup

Bobby Bevilacqua

rangers vs coyotes 11-7.jpg

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

 

 

The Rangers (24-12-1) came out of the Christmas break with a huge come-from-behind win over the Ottawa Senators, and look to keep on rolling as they take on the Arizona Coyotes (11-19-5) in Glendale, AZ.

This marks a matchup between one of the league’s best teams, and one of the league’s worst. The Coyotes have fewest wins and the second fewest points, struggling with injuries and an extremely young roster. The Rangers have also had to deal with a pretty significant amount of injuries among the forwards, but their depth and talent has kept them afloat.

This two-game road trip for the Rangers has them facing the Coyotes and the Avalanche, the two worst teams in the league. After that they take on the Sabres and the Flyers, so this presents a big opportunity for them to pick up some points they’ll need down the line. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers fall in the shootout to Florida; Zibanejad out 6-8 weeks

Alexandra Russo

rangers-vs-panthers-11-20

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

 

The New York Rangers started the game a little late, but for a great reason. The Rangerstown family honored Sam Rosen pending his well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame on Monday, as they stated that this would be one of those moments that would truly “last a lifetime.”

In their first game back at the Garden after finishing up a road trip, which they went 3-1-0 on, the Blueshirts walked away with a point in their first overtime game of the season. Coming into the game, they were the only NHL team to not play an overtime game yet. In a hard fought matchup, they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Florida Panthers Sunday night in the shootout.

But the real loss came in the overtime period when Mika Zibanejad went down awkwardly into the boards. His foot jammed against the boards and you saw his ankle bend the wrong way. He was helped off of the ice, putting no weight on his leg. Alain Vigneault announced after the game that he broke his fibula and will be out for the next 6-8 weeks. He has 15 points (5-10-15) in the team’s 19 games. Read the rest of this entry