Blog Archives
Ranking the Rangers—The Top 12
John Dundon
This is the final part of a three-article series ranking the best performers on the Rangers this season. If you want to read the earlier parts of the series, click here for part one, and click here for part two.
Without further ado, let’s get to the top 12.
BONUS: The Fans
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Blueshirt faithful.
Although the crowds at Madison Square Garden lacked the volume they’ve displayed in the past, the Rangers had the second highest winning percentage on home ice this season. They came in behind the President’s Trophy winning Washington Capitals—an accomplishment that we, the fans, should take solace in. Read the rest of this entry
Mailbag – Offseason predictions, the potential of trading Lundqvist, and a lack of heart?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Welcome back to another mailbag article, where I answer reader questions and give my honest opinion on the topic. With the Rangers being knocked out of the playoffs much earlier than usual, I might be doing more of these to fill the gap between now and the start of the season.
Check on Facebook and Twitter for an announcement for the next edition, and ask me questions about anything Rangers or NHL.
With that in mind, let’s get started!
What are your predictions for Staal, Girardi and Nash in 2016? Will they be kept and will they improve? Or will they be dealt and if so, what do you see coming in return? – Kevin Kelly
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Rangers season comes to a close with 6-3 thrashing in Pittsburgh
Alexandra Russo
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Alain Vigneault said before the game that his team has been there before, and they’ve been successful by staying in the moment. Unfortunately, that success didn’t carry over to this season, as they lost this game, this series, and their season, by the final score of 6-3.
One of the things the Rangers said they needed is the strong presence and scoring of Rick Nash, and he opened up the scoring for his team 1:01 into Game 5. Brady Skjei made a fast pass to Dan Girardi, who took a shot from the point. That got deflected by Nash in front for the early Rangers’ lead.
But the Blueshirts didn’t stop there. They proceeded to harass Murray and were able to get quite a few quality opportunities. Specifically, they had an odd-man rush where Nash made a great pass to Girardi in front of the net, but Murray made a good save to prevent a bigger lead. Read the rest of this entry
Calling Eric Staal; Where have you been?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Eric Staal was acquired at the trade deadline to be a playoff hero, but so far against the Penguins, he’s been a playoff zero.
Staal, 31, was traded to the Rangers for two second round picks and highly touted Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela. The Hurricanes captain had been having a bit of a down season, scoring just 33 points (10-23-33) in 63 games with Carolina. His underlying numbers looked fantastic though, owning a career high Corsi For percentage, and it seemed like his scoring troubles were due to a lack of talent on the Hurricanes.
When he got to the Rangers, things didn’t improve all that much. He collected just six points (3-3-6) in 20 games, scoring in just four of them. Staal spent almost all of his time on the third line with Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers bring series to MSG for Game 3; McDonagh a maybe for tonight
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
After splitting the first two games of the series, the Rangers are back on home ice for the first time in the playoffs, looking to pull ahead of the Penguins in Game Three.
The first two games of the series were played in an electric atmosphere at the CONSOL Energy Center. They finally solved Jeff Zatkoff, scoring four goals in 8:01 and skating away with a 4-2 win and tying the series at one game apiece.
But now, the Rangers are back at Madison Square Garden, where they took advantage of home ice and posted a record of 27-10-4 in the regular season. Despite that, Pittsburgh has won 15 of the last 24 games they’ve played at MSG, regular season and playoffs included. It’ll take another complete effort from New York tonight if they want a win. Read the rest of this entry
therangerzone.com 