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Rangers head to Philly for Black Friday showdown against the Flyers

Bobby Bevilacqua

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Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Before starting the preview, I hope all of my readers had a fantastic Thanksgiving yesterday. I’m thankful for every single one of you that reads my articles, leaves comments, and supports me and my website. Thank you so much!

Following an ugly loss at the hands of the Penguins on Wednesday, the Rangers (14-6-1) head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers (9-9-3) at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time this season.

New York was shelled in their last game, a 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh that saw the Rangers get outshot 38-17, with Rick Nash scoring the only goal. The Flyers are also coming off of a loss, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road. Today begins a three game home stand for Philadelphia, as well as a stretch of seven of their next nine games at home. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers muster just 17 shots on goal in embarrassing loss to the Penguins

Bobby Bevilacqua

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This was a disgrace.

Playing their fourth game in six nights, the Rangers (14-6-1) dropped their third game in four contests as the Penguins (12-5-3) cruised to a dominating 6-1 victory, outshooting New York 38-17 in a completely one-sided contest.

Sometimes teams get fatigued, but this was a whole new level of bad for the Rangers. There was a point in which the Penguins outshot the Rangers 19-0 over a span of nearly 20 minutes. While the Penguins completely dominated possession and had countless scoring chances, the Rangers did almost nothing for the last 40 minutes. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers host the Penguins and attempt to sweep the home-and-home series

Bobby Bevilacqua

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Photo courtesy of Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images.

After scoring five unanswered goals in a fantastic comeback win in Pittsburgh, the Rangers (14-5-1) now get to host their Metropolitan Division rivals at Madison Square Garden, looking to beat the Penguins (11-5-3) for the second consecutive game.

The Rangers surrendered two goals to rookie Jake Guentzel in the first period, with the first goal coming on his first NHL shift and his first NHL shot. However, the last 40 minutes were very impressive from the Rangers, seeing them do a better job defensively while scoring five unanswered goals from five different players.

Now the two teams faceoff for the second of five matches this season, and the first of three at Madison Square Garden. Kevin Hayes led the Rangers with a goal and an assist on Monday, Ryan McDonagh picked up a pair of assists, and Michael Grabner scored his 12th goal of the season, tied for the league lead. Read the rest of this entry

Zibanejad injury sets Kevin Hayes up for a breakout season

Bobby Bevilacqua

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Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

When Mika Zibanejad went down in overtime against the Florida Panthers, you knew it was bad.

Thankfully, the Rangers’ offseason acquisition only suffered a broken fibula, sidelining him for the next six to eight weeks. I say only because with the way he went into the boards, it could easily have been a shattered ankle, torn tendon or a messed up knee.

I like to think that I’m a bit of an optimist, so there was a bit of a silver lining to his injury. The first was that it’s a clean break, which is better when it comes to healing. The other positive out of this awful injury is the fact that Kevin Hayes will get a huge opportunity to grow and develop in a top six role. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers bounce back with gutsy win over the Penguins; Miller and Hayes rise to the occasion

Bobby Bevilacqua

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Photo courtesy of Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

After their first two game losing streak, the Rangers (14-5-1) took down the Pittsburgh Penguins (11-5-3) on the road, scoring five unanswered goals and coming out of the PPG Paints Arena with a 5-2 win.

Antti Raanta started in net, his first start of his career against the Penguins, and secured his fifth win of the season with a solid 29 save effort. He remains undefeated with a 5-0-0 record with a 2.05 GAA and a .938 save percentage.

In the team’s first game without Mika Zibanejad, out for the next 6-8 weeks with a broken fibula, the depth of the Rangers shone through. Kevin Hayes and JT Miller, both playing on the top line, stepped up big time, with each of them scoring a goal. Michael Grabner scored his team best 12th goal of the season, at even strength yet again. Read the rest of this entry