Blog Archives

Rangers sign Daniel Paille to two-way deal; How this affects the lineup

Bobby Bevilacqua

daniel paille

Photo courtesy of Steve Babineau/Getty Images.

This afternoon, Ryan Kennedy announced that the Rangers had signed veteran winger Daniel Paille to a contract. It was later reported by Sean Hartnett that the deal was a one year, two way deal valued at $575,000 in the NHL and $110,000 in the AHL.

Paille has been in the AHL this season with the Rockford Ice Hogs after spending the last six seasons with the Boston Bruins. He was drafted 20th overall by the Buffalo Sabres, and has appeared in 570 NHL games, scoring 85 goals and 172 points in that span. Last season he had six goals and seven assists in 71 games.

He also won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins back in 2011, scoring three goals with three assists and only four penalty minutes as the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks. Read the rest of this entry

Vigneault finally used Yandle properly, and the Rangers were a better team because of it

Bobby Bevilacqua

keith yandle full body 12-6

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

 

When the Rangers fell apart against the Capitals on Sunday, a lot went wrong. The defensive coverage was bad, there were guys open in front of the net, the penalty kill was poor, and there were turnovers. I could go on and on. Needless to say, it was a bad performance from a Rangers team that had been playing much better, even in their losses.

Heading into yesterday’s game, I expected the Rangers to win against a pretty bad Vancouver team that was missing their best player (Henrik Sedin) and because they’ve been alternating wins and losses for a few weeks now. And although they ran into a red-hot Ryan Miller, who stood on his head all night long, they managed to get a win.

If you just looked at the box core, you wouldn’t realize that this was total and utter domination by the Rangers. At even strength, the Rangers led in shot attempts by a massive margin, finishing as a +35 on the night (70-35). They had 36 scoring chances and 17 high danger scoring chances. And they had 49 shots on goal, which isn’t including the six times that they hit the post in the game. If it wasn’t for Ryan Miller, and if they had a bit more luck, this could have easily been a 5+ goal night for New York. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers win overtime thriller against Vancouver; Stepan and Zuccarello break goal droughts

Bobby Bevilacqua

Rangers celebrate a goal 1-19

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

What started out as a very frustrating night turned into elation for the Rangers (25-16-5) when JT Miller gave the Rangers a 3-2 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks (19-17-11).

It was truly amazing that the Rangers didn’t score a lot more goals. They finished with 49 shots on goal, hit the goal post or crossbar six times, and faced Ryan Miller, who brought his A-game. But despite the frustrating sequence of events for the first 50 minutes or so, the Rangers battled back and earned the two points.

This was easily the team’s best offensive performance of the season, and you could argue that it was one of their better defensive performances too. The Rangers had 49 shots on goal, even more scoring chances that were blocked or went wide, and they only allowed 20 shots on goal for Lundqvist. They truly deserved the win and got it. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers look to continue home ice success against the Canucks

Bobby Bevilacqua

rangers vs canucks 2-19

Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

Home sweet home.

That’s what the Rangers (24-16-5) must be thinking after another unsuccessful road trip, going 1-2-0 and failing to win back-to-back games yet again. While the road trips have not been successful, they’ve been much better on home ice, which is where they will face the Vancouver Canucks (19-17-10) for the final time this season.

The Ranger’s 5-2 loss in the nation’s capital gave them a record of 2-9-2 in their last 13 road games, but they’ve been really good at home despite their mediocre play since early December. In the last seven games, at MSG, the Blueshirts are 5-1-1. Going back even further, they’re 15-4-1 in their last 20 home games. Needless to say, being back at MSG is a good thing for a struggling Rangers team. Read the rest of this entry

Rangers look for consecutive wins when they take on the Islanders; Girardi a game time decision

Bobby Bevilacqua

rangers vs islanders faceoff 12-2

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The last time the Rangers (23-14-5) won two games in a row, the Rangers had won their 16th game of the season in just 21 games, sitting atop the Metropolitan Division and amongst the league leaders in points.

Flash forward almost two months, and the story is completely different. While they have been playing better lately, with a 4-2-1 record in the last seven games against some tough competition, they’re just 7-11-3 in the last 21 games.

So tonight’s matchup against the Islanders (23-15-5) presents an opportunity to not only gain ground in the division, since both teams are tied with 51 points, but also for the Rangers to get their first win streak going in over seven weeks. Read the rest of this entry