Blog Archives
Rangers take on desperate Senators team in last regular season game at MSG
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers will salute the crowd for the final time this regular season as they prepare to battle in the playoffs. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After clinching the Presidents’ Trophy on Thursday night, the Rangers (52-21-7) are back at Madison Square Garden for the last regular season home game, where they are set to take on the Ottawa Senators (41-26-13), a team still clinging onto their playoff hopes, and coming into tonight’s game with a must-win attitude.
Tonight will be a special night for both the players and the fans, as they get to cheer for their team, watch a special presentation before the game, and hopefully send them off to the playoffs on a positive note. This is just the third time in franchise history that the Rangers have won the Presidents’ Trophy, and the first time that they have done so since the 1993-94 season.
The Rangers have already tied the franchise record for wins in a season (52) set in the 199-3-94 season, and are just one point shy of tying their record for points in a season (112). Eclipsing both of those records would truly cap off an amazing regular season. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers drop second straight against Capitals; Hayes and Brassard both score
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers fell short yet again, losing a handle of things in the third period due to turnovers and sloppy play. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
For the first time since January 29th, the Rangers (47-21-7) dropped their second straight game in regulation, losing by a final score of 5-2 to the Washington Capitals (41-25-10), giving the Rangers losses in three of their last four games.
The day started out with some surprising news, learning that Matt Hunwick was a late scratch due to an upper body injury sustained in yesterday’s game against the Bruins. As a result, Chris Summers was an emergency call up, and played in his first game as a Ranger. Summers was acquired in the trade that sent Keith Yandle to the Rangers.
Despite the score, the Rangers played better than it indicates, at least for the first half of the game, consistently out-chancing the Capitals, but they were undone by a few bad mistakes and sloppy play in their own end. The Capitals capitalized on the few quality chances that they had, and made the Rangers pay. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers looking for better performance against Capitals; Talbot in net
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers will be hoping for a better performance today when they take on the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden, trying to build off of a poor performance in Boston. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a poor showing yesterday afternoon, the Rangers (47-20-7) will be looking to sharpen and solidify their game when they take on the Washington Capitals (40-25-10) back at Madison Square Garden continuing their march towards a potential President’s trophy and home ice advantage.
Both teams are coming off of losses on Saturday as well. The Rangers gave up four straight goals in Henrik Lundqvist’s debut, playing very poor defensively before tightening up and scoring two goals in the final 25 minutes. The Capitals got off to a similar start, pulling starting goaltender Braden Holtby after three goals in the first period before rallying to a 4-3 defeat.
This is the third of four games between these two teams, with New York coming away with wins in the first two meetings. The Rangers edged a 4-2 victory at MSG on December 23rd, with Rick Nash scoring his first hat trick as a Ranger, and Lundqvist making 30 saves. Just 18 days ago, the Blue Shirts won 3-1 down in D.C., as the Rangers third line got things going, with goals from JT Miller and Carl Hagelin, while Martin St. Louis iced the game late. Cam Talbot picked up a win, finishing with 28 saves on 29 shots. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers disappointing in Boston in Henrik Lundqvist’s return
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers were unable to come away with a win in Henrik Lundqvist’s return, plagued from the start due to turnovers and poor play. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers (47-20-7) were not sharp today, dropping their last game of the season against the Boston Bruins (37-25-13) by a final score of 4-2, with a downright embarrassing effort in front of Henrik Lundqvist at times, who was making his first start in 25 games since a vascular injury.
Boston is fighting for their playoff lives, and played like it, playing hard from the start, and really controlling play for the first 35 minutes of the game. They threw pucks at Lundqvist, got a bit of luck and some help from the Rangers defense.
Henrik Lundqvist did not have the return he was hoping four, although he was practically left out to dry from the start. Lundqvist allowed four goals on 30 shots, although one was very controversial. Another two were off of turnovers, and another slipped through his legs. He looked a bit uncomfortable in the first period, leaving rebounds and struggling a bit, but settled in nicely after that. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers set to take on struggling Bruins team with Henrik Lundqvist back in net
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers will be looking to continue their march to the playoffs and towards the President’s trophy, but for the first time in nearly two months, they get to do that with Henrik Lundqvist back in net. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a nice rebound win against the hottest team in the NHL, the Ottawa Senators, on Thursday, the Rangers (47-19-7) will now take on arguably the coldest team in the NHL when they matchup against the Boston Bruins (36-25-13), a team that has lost their last six games.
This is the third and final matchup between these two teams this season, with the home team winning each of the first two games in this series. The Bruins shut out the Rangers 3-0 at TD Garden on January 15th, and the Rangers grinded out a 3-2 win at MSG. Cam Talbot was in net for both of those games, making 18 saves in the 3-2 win. Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, and Derek Stepan all scored in that game.
The Bruins are coming off of a devastating 3-2 overtime loss on Thursday against the Ducks, blowing a 2-1 lead with less than a minute to go. That gave them their sixth straight loss, and Boston is still fighting for their playoff lives. They are tied in the Senators with points, but Ottawa has one game in hand. Don’t count out Florida either, as they trail by just three points, and play the Bruins two more times this season. Needless to say, this is a crucial game for the Bruins. Read the rest of this entry
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