Blog Archives
A look to the past: Camille Henry
Pat Rice
Camille Henry.
The period from mid-1940’s through the mid-1960’s were lean years for the Rangers. They made the playoffs six times during a 24 year span, from 1942-43 to 1965-66. Subtract the three-year span from 1955-56 to 1957-58 and the Rangers missed the playoffs eighteen times out of twenty-one seasons.
One bright spot was the play of winger Camille Henry. He was a tiny, slippery player known as Camille the Eel, who avoided being hit by bigger players. He stood approximately 5-8, 145, but played larger than his size. He played with a good motor, had a good wrist shot, excelled on the power play, and specialized at deflecting pucks in front of the net – he just knew where to be. Most of all, he was a big fan favorite, playing all or parts of twelve seasons. Read the rest of this entry
Chris Kreider’s OT winner gives Rangers the win; Lundqvist makes 36 saves
Alexandra Russo
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The New York Rangers played a hard-fought game against the Buffalo Sabres on the road and skated off victoriously with a well-deserved 2-1 overtime win.
After giving up three of the first four shots on goal, the Rangers started to look alive. They had a great scoring chance when the net was left open on one side, but they weren’t able to put it home. Nash had a two on one and almost a breakaway on a shift that included some beautiful moves in the Sabres’ zone. Nash was arguably the best player of the first twenty minutes and one of the best throughout the rest of the game.
Halfway thought the first period of play, the Sabres pushed the pace and tried shots from all angles. Their best one was when Evader Kane made a move on the Rangers’ defense and came down on a brief two on one. The pass to Gionta made it through, but Lundqvist stuck out his pad for a blocker save. The puck then flew in the air and couldn’t be batted down into the net, trickling just wide. Read the rest of this entry
Why is Kevin Klein still playing, but more importantly, why isn’t Adam Clendening?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
To say that Kevin Klein’s season has been a disaster is an understatement.
Last night was another awful game for the veteran defender, continuing his shocking regression from the last two seasons. Sure he scored a goal, his first of the season, but Klein is not here for his slap shot. The defensive part of his game this season has been a mess, and that’s what’s really important.
Poor puck management on the blue line is a continued problem 50 games into the season, and there’s really been no effort to try and change things up to improve transitions, breakout, and puck management. The same problems pop up every game and they are the main reason for why the Rangers have come up short in their losses. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers kick off second half against the Blue Jackets; Staal and Fast expected to play
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
- New York Rangers (31-17-1, 63 PTS) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (32-12-4, 68 PTS)
- The Rangers were shutout in their last game against the Flyers. New York played an outstanding game despite not getting any goals, and they had the majority of the chances and had the two points stolen away by Steve Mason, who made 34 saves. There’s no such thing as a “feel good” loss, but this is about as close as you can get to one of them.
- The Blue Jackets lost their last game against the Nashville Predators, 4-3, and have lost two straight games. Columbus had an incredible 16 game win streak earlier in the season, and since that was snapped, they’ve been about a .500 team. However, they still have the second most points in the league and have played well in their recent losses.
THE MATCHUP
- This is the third of five meetings between the Rangers and the Blue Jackets and the first of two at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers, playing their 50th game tonight, won the last meeting on Jan. 7, erasing a three goal deficit and getting a four point night from Michael Grabner, including a hat trick. The teams have split the first two games of the series so far.
- The Rangers have won eight of the last nine games against Columbus, dating back to Jan. 16, 2015, going 8-1-0 over that time span.
- The Rangers sit just five points behind the Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division standings, so this game has important implications for playoff seeding.
Rangers should use the second half to audition Ryan Graves
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Chris Rutsch/Hartford Wolf Pack.
It’s no secret that for a large portion of the season, the defense has been the biggest issue for the Rangers. Sure, it’s been better over the last week or two, but the defensive deficiencies and inability to make three balanced pairings has been the biggest source of problems so far.
To recap: Dan Girardi hasn’t been much better than last season, Kevin Klein has been far worse than last season, and the other players haven’t been spectacular either. Ryan McDonagh has done his best to carry this team, but has had some bad games and is often dragged down when partnered with Girardi and Klein. Holden has been a steadying force, Staal is okay and Skjei has had an encouraging rookie season with the expected rookie mistakes and growing pains.
Regardless of what you think about the defensive corps, which also includes Adam Clendening, the bottom line is that they haven’t been able to get the job done on a consistent basis and have cost the Rangers more games than they’ve won. With Marc Staal out, the Rangers have been able to test out Clendening and while we’ve seen some good things from him, he’s not the solution to their problems. Read the rest of this entry
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