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Could Oscar Lindberg be part of a trade for a defenseman?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Yesterday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers saw Matt Puempel make his debut as a Ranger just three days after he was claimed off of waivers. He had no points and a minus-five rating in 13 games with the Senators, but Vigneault gave him an opportunity on the fourth line.
It wound up paying off, as the 23-year-old former first round pick played a pretty good game, skating for 12 minutes and scoring a goal. Puempel described himself as an offensive player (213 points in 195 OHL games) and that he was looking forward to a fresh start. Perhaps that’s just what he needed, as a change of scenery can do wonders for a player.
But Puempel’s insertion into the lineup meant that Oscar Lindberg was the healthy scratch. Lindberg has played mostly out of necessity because of injuries, and has only appeared in nine of the team’s 22 games, recording no goals and one assists. Read the rest of this entry
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 head to Philly for Black Friday showdown against the Flyers
Bobby Bevilacqua
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
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
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
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