Blog Archives
Lundqvist leads Rangers to a win past the Flyers; Hayes records 100th career point
Bobby Bevilacqua
Matt Puempel gets hi fives from teammates after scoring in his Ranger debut. Photo courtesy of Led Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images.
The Rangers (15-6-1) got back in the win column in a thrilling victory over the Flyers (9-10-3), mainly due to a fantastic performance from Henrik Lundqvist, who made 40 saves in this game.
Alain Vigneault’s squad did a better job of scoring today than they did against the Penguins, but the Flyers still managed 42 shots on goal, which was 19 more than the Rangers had. Realistically, Lundqvist stole this game away because the Rangers could have easily lost this game.
It’s slowly becoming the norm where the Rangers get outshot and post pretty dismal possession numbers, but still come away with a win. They’ll win either because they score a lot of goals with an unsustainable shooting percentage, or the goalie performs extremely well. Over the course of a whole season, that is not what you want, because there will be regression. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers down Boston for fourth straight win; Buchnevich scores first NHL goal
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Jim Rogash/Getty Images.
Okay, bad puns aside, now time for the real lede.
It took him seven games, but Pavel Buchnevich scored his first NHL goal as the Rangers (9-3-0) defeated the Bruins (6-5-0), scoring another five goals and winning their fourth straight game.
Pavel Buchnevich helped put the game out of the reach with a power play goal, sniping it past Tuukka Rask for his first ever goal in the NHL. The Rangers overcame a slow start and what was otherwise not a great game with that explosive offense. Read the rest of this entry
The Rangers might not need to make a big trade for a defenseman anymore
Bobby Bevilacqua
Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh has been a big part of the team’s good defensive play so far. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Through much of last season and this offseason, the narrative on many Rangers blogs and some beat writers was that the Rangers needed to shake up the defense. They lost Keith Yandle, saw Marc Staal and Dan Girardi regress last year, and didn’t have many in-house options to pick up the slack.
Although it’s been only 11 games, it seems like the Rangers may be in a good situation right now, and won’t have to worry about making a blockbuster trade for anyone right now. If things continue to go well, maybe not even this year.
Through 11 games, the Rangers have allowed just 25 goals and have a +20 differential all while working their way towards an 8-3-0 record. That’s a pretty impressive start for a team that looked to be heading towards a rebuild after the playoff loss to the Penguins last May. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers aim for third straight win against Bruins; Kreider maybe more than day-to-day
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
After a two day break following two weekend wins, the Rangers (4-2-0) will aim to extend their win streak to three games when they take on the Boston Bruins (3-3-0) tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers are dealing with a few early injury bugs, forcing them to insert Oscar Lindberg into the lineup ahead of time and place Pavel Buchnevich on IR. Alain Vigneault said that leading scorer Chris Kreider was having “a tough time moving” and that his neck spasms might keep him out longer than day-to-day. Buchnevich is on IR for the time being but has been practicing in a non-contact jersey, so he may be ready for Friday.
The Bruins had a few of their own injuries, having to make two call-ups in net for their game last night against the Wild. Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre both played in Boston’s 5-0 loss. Tuukka Rask may have tweaked his hamstring and Anton Khudobin is out for about three weeks so it’ll probably be those two again tonight. Read the rest of this entry
Addressing the state of the Rangers defense and new trade rumors
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The topic of discussion for the Rangers seems to consistently be about the defense and how the current group of guys is seemingly not enough to win the Stanley Cup. Aging veterans and a lack of a true puck-moving defenseman have made things hard on the Rangers.
On Sunday, Dan Girardi made his return to the lineup against the Coyotes and wound up scoring the game winner on a bullet of a shot from the point. As a result on him returning, Adam Clendening was scratched. There’s been a lot of bad blood on Twitter between bloggers and fans about criticizing Girardi, so I’d like to clarify my stance.
I don’t think Girardi is awful and I don’t think he’s worthy of a healthy scratch. But I do think that he has to stay on the third pairing with sheltered minutes. He’s certainly capable in that role, but simply cannot fulfill the duties of a top pairing defensemen getting big minutes anymore. It comes with age and that’s expected. Also, nobody that criticizes wants him to do bad or is happy to see him struggle. It’s just more frustrating to see him struggle in a role that he shouldn’t be placed in, which isn’t his fault. Read the rest of this entry
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