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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
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 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 bounce back with gutsy win over the Penguins; Miller and Hayes rise to the occasion
Bobby Bevilacqua
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
Rangers sweep Canada trip with 7-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks
Bobby Bevilacqua
Despite playing their third game in four nights and getting shelled in the first period, the Rangers (13-4-0) managed to come out of Vancouver with a 7-2 win thanks to an incredible offensive outburst from the team.
The Rangers got two goals apiece from JT Miller and Kevin Hayes, plus a three point night from Mats Zuccarello with a goal and two assists. Brandon Pirri (GWG) and Nick Holden also found the back of the net, while Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Klein and Jesper Fast each recorded two assists. Henrik Lundqvist was spectacular, making 36 saves to pick up his ninth win of the season.
For a box score, click here. Keep reading for my recap and thoughts on the game; Read the rest of this entry
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