Blog Archives
Postgame thoughts; Enforcers are pointless and the NHL needs to crack down on goons
Bobby Bevilacqua
This article was initially written for The Setonian, Seton Hall’s student newspaper. Please check out their website HERE and their sports section HERE.
Photo courtesy of Amy Irvin/The Hockey Writers.
Last night in the New York Rangers’ preseason game against the Flyers, perpetual goon Radko Gudas was at it again, this time targeting 23 year old rookie Jimmy Vesey with a blatant and deliberate hit from behind, resulting in a brawl and a game misconduct for Gudas.
The hit was extremely dangerous, driving Vesey’s head into the boards while he was in a vulnerable position. And the six-foot, 204 pound Gudas never stopped skating, hitting Vesey right in the numbers and sending him temporarily to the locker room. While Vesey turned to the boards, he was trying to play the puck and Gudas had plenty of time to avoid making contact. But he didn’t. He even adjusted his own angle to make the hit. Here’s the hit;
Gudas hit on Vesey pic.twitter.com/vWzHesVSKa
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 3, 2016
Rangers lines for tonight in Philly; Lundqvist makes preseason debut
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following the team’s first preseason loss, Alain Vigneault and the Rangers will take on the Philadelphia Flyers for game four of the preseason schedule. Here’s how they’ll line up;
Jimmy Vesey-Derek Stepan-Rick Nash
Brandon Pirri-Kevin Hayes-Pavel Buchnevich
JT Miller-Marek Hrivik-Robin Kovacs Read the rest of this entry
Fixing the Pirri Problem; How to best use the new breakout Ranger
Bobby Bevilacqua
Brandon Pirri needs to get into the lineup one way or another, but which option is the best? Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
When the Rangers signed Brandon Pirri, my first thought was that there had to be a trade in the team’s future. Pirri is a goal scoring threat and an underutilized top-nine talent, so they needed to make space for him.
The Rangers had already signed Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich, filled out their bottom six, and re-signed Chris Kreider and JT Miller. I was thrilled with the signing because I had been watching Pirri since his 22 goal 2014-25 season, but I was just a bit confused.
It’s baffling that Brandon Pirri hasn’t secured a regular roster spot anywhere because he’s been scoring at an elite rate in the NHL for a while now. He’s scoring at a right of 1.31 goals per 60 minutes, which is higher than Evgeni Malkin, John Tavares, James Neal, Brad Marchand and Zach Parise over the last three years. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Lineup for tonight’s game against the Devils
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers have announced their official lineups for tonight’s preseason game against the New Jersey Devils;
Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-JT Miller
Jimmy Vesey-Philip McRae-Nicklas Jensen
Michael Grabner-Nathan Gerbe-Jesper Fast
Ryan Gropp-Maxim Lapierre-Chris Brown Read the rest of this entry
Rangers preseason continues with game against the Devils; Vesey to start
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a win in the first preseason contest against the Islanders, the Rangers host the Devils tonight at Madison Square Garden as the team continues to look at players fighting for roster spot and their roles in the regular season.
The Rangers announced the lines and defensive pairings the other day, and the top line is the most intriguing. Jimmy Vesey will make his first appearance with the team on the left wing. Kevin Hayes will center that line, and Rick Nash will play on the right. Read the rest of this entry
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