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Puempel hat trick, four power play goals give Rangers a win over the Coyotes
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers (25-12-1) came into Arizona to face the lowly Coyotes (11-20-5), but it was an extremely close game in Glendale, one that took four power play goals and a hat trick from Matt Puempel to secure a 6-3 victory.
Puempel scored all three goals on the power play, becoming just the third Ranger to score a power play hat trick since 1986. Marc Messier (3/22/92) and Mike Gartner (1/31/94) were the other two. It was also his first career hat trick.
This was a mixed bag for the Rangers. They did a lot of things right. The offensive effort was strong, with the Rangers generating a lot of quality chances and shots, the power play running at full efficiency, and all four lines playing well in both zones. But they allowed the Coyotes to hang around and chip away at their lead until they tied the game at three. The defensive effort wasn’t all that great either. Realistically, this should have been an easy win, but the way they played at times made it difficult on themselves. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers resilient in comeback win over Ottawa; Holden and Stepan score twice
Alexandra Russo
Following two consecutive losses prior to the Christmas break, the New York Rangers rebounded with an impressive, come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night.
The Ottawa Senators came out flying, as they scored on their first two shots on goal of the game. Just 2:02 seconds in, Borowiecki ripped a shot past Raanta, who was playing because came down with the flu. Raanta was screened by four players in front and didn’t see the puck as it flew past him. Just a minute and three seconds later, Smith notched his eighth of the season from Karlsson and Stone. Smith picked up a pass in front and put it behind Raanta with no one covering him.
A while later, Marc Staal and Kyle Turris both committed minor penalties, so the teams played a brief four on four. It was during this time that Nick Holden gave his team some life on a sharp-angle shot from right circle that beat Mike Condon above his shoulder, slicing the lead in half. McDonagh and Hayes had the assists on the goal, which was Holden’s fifth of the season. Read the rest of this entry
Nick Holden becoming an important, steady force on defense
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
It seems like the biggest complaints regarding the Rangers tend to be about the defense, at least in recent years. Whether it’s the contracts, poor play or possession or something else, there tends to be an issue that is touched upon.
At the beginning of the year, all of the negativity was focused on Nick Holden. To some extent, it was deserved because Holden looked pretty shaky. Vigneault was playing him on his off side while he adapted to a new system and a new team. His possession numbers were bad and he didn’t look like the steady player that Patrick Roy lauded.
But lately, Holden has become one of the team’s most consistent and reliable defenseman for quite a stretch now. This doesn’t mean that he hasn’t had his lapses or issues at all, but those mistakes have been few and far between. Read the rest of this entry
The Rangers’ brutal possession is a problem, and it starts on defense
Bobby Bevilacqua
Dan Girardi had one of the worst games of his career in last night’s game against the Sabres. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Last nights loss against the Buffalo Sabres was yet another brutal game, continuing a stretch of poor play in recent weeks that is very telling about the true nature of the New York Rangers team.
The performance last night was poor in many aspects. Henrik Lundqvist played his worst game in years. Many of the forwards were lackluster, having little to no impact on the game. The defensive coverage was atrocious at times, with a few players especially standing out.
But a huge problem this team has is their corsi, or their possession numbers. I know a lot of people write off analytics and won’t acknowledge it as a way to evaluate a team, but it truly helps in this situation. Corsi and possession are literally just tracking shot attempts. If a certain player or the whole team is getting buried and shelled with shots, chances are they are not playing well. It just quantifies what you’re seeing on the ice. Read the rest of this entry
Quick Hits Recap: Rangers down the Hurricanes for a much needed win
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Despite a pretty rough first 40 minutes, the Rangers (16-7-1) managed to shake off their slow start and score three unanswered goals to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes for the 12th straight time at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers struggled to get much of anything going for the first two periods, managing just 12 shots on goal and giving up two goals to former Ranger Viktor Stalberg in the first period. But if there’s one thing this team has been able to do this season, and that’s capitalize on their chances and come back from early holes.
The first Stalberg goal came after Nick Holden made a weird play, kicking the puck right to the crease after blocking a shot, and it went right to Stalberg. Holden then missed his block and seemed to screen Lundqvist, which led to the goal. The second was a truly awful play by Kevin Klein, who lost the puck and essentially gave it to Jay McClement. He passed it to Stalberg as Rick Nash tripped and fell into Lundqvist. Easy finish for Stalberg. Read the rest of this entry
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