Blog Archives
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
Rangers blow late lead in a disappointing loss to the Buffalo Sabres
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers (16-8-1) saw their team fall apart, giving up two late goals and blowing a lead against the Buffalo Sabres (9-9-5), dropping their fifth game in their last eight contests.
Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash and Marc Staal combined to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead after two periods, but it all eventually fell apart. Jack Eichel, in his second game back from injury, scored two big goals, including the game winner.
It was a game the Rangers never really should have won, because they were outmatched for the majority of the game. It was another concerning showing from the Blueshirts, one that has now become a pattern. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers visit Eichel and the Sabres for first time this season
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
New York is coming off of a game where they didn’t play particularly well, but managed to come away with a win anyway. Rick Nash had a spectacular game, with a goal and an assist in a dominant offensive performance, while Jimmy Vesey scored the game winner on the power play to end a scoreless drought. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves in the win.
Buffalo is also coming off of a win, an exciting back-and-forth game against the Ottawa Senators that ended with a 5-4 scoreline. Ryan O’Reilly led the way with two goals and an assists, while Kyle Okposo, Sam Reinhart, and Jack Eichel, in his first game back from injury, had a goal and an assist. 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
Rangers look to rebound against the Hurricanes; Grabner and Miller questionable
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a disappointing effort against the Senators in which the Rangers (15-7-1) could not get anything going offensively, Alain Vigneault and his squad will look to pick up a much needed rebound win over the Carolina Hurricanes (9-8-4) tonight at MSG.
The Rangers are coming off of a shutout loss, while the Hurricanes are coming off of a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers. It’s been a long rebuild process for the Canes, but every year it seems that they’re becoming more and more competitive. They scored three unanswered goals and got 31 saves from Michael Leighton for his first NHL win since 2010.
The Rangers are showing signs of regressing to their 2015-16 form, with defensive issues, little possession and scoring chances and too much reliance on the goaltender. They’ve won just two of their last six games and are dealing with injuries and some other issues. Given that it’s only 23 games into the season, there’s still time to get out of this funk and a win tonight would be big. Read the rest of this entry
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