Blog Archives
Rangers take on the Canucks as road trip continues; Nieves expected to make NHL debut
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a grind-it-out type of win over the Oilers with just 17 skaters being used, the Rangers (12-4-0) continue their road trip in western Canada as they take on the Vancouver Canucks (6-9-1) in their search for a three game win streak.
The Rangers have been red hot lately, winning 11 of their last 14 games (11-3-0), including seven of their last eight games. Michael Grabner’s two goals against Edmonton gave him 10 on the season, and Dan Girardi netted his third of the season. Antti Raanta made 38 saves in a spectacular performance to improve to 4-0-0.
The Rangers only loss in their last eight games came at the hands of the Canucks, who beat the Rangers, 5-3, at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 8. Pavel Buchnevich had three points (1-2-3) while Rick Nash scored his 400th goal as a Ranger and Mika Zibanejad scored in the dying minutes. Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist, and Loui Eriksson scored his first goal of the season. Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves in the win. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers head to Rogers Place for the first time against Edmonton
Bobby Bevilacqua
Following a 4-1 win over Calgary to begin their road trip, the Rangers (11-4-0) will finish off their back-to-back series tonight against the Edmonton Oilers (9-5-1) when they head to the new Rogers Place for the first time.
The Rangers offense was back to normal again despite only managing 28 shots on goal, scoring four against Brian Elliot and the Flames and getting an outstanding performance from Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 35 shots. Michael Grabner, Derek Stepan, Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich scored for New York, and 10 players recorded a point.
The Oilers have lost their last two games, one goal defeats against the Penguins and the Stars, but still sit atop the Pacific Division with 19 points. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Practice Report; Skjei earns high praise and AV shuffles up the whole lineup
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers practiced in New York yesterday ahead of their first extended road trip, beginning with a trip through Canada to play the Flames, Oilers and Canucks before heading back to the states to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Alain Vigneault and his team have played 10 of their first 14 games at Madison Square Garden, with four brief one game road trips in between the homestands. The Rangers have been a good home team in recent years, with their 74 wins being tied for second in the NHL.
“It’s a good challenge for us,” Henrik Lundqvist told reporters on Thursday. “We haven’t traveled much. We’ve played a lot of home games, which has been a good test. Now, I think it’s going to be a good test to go out on the road here and face some desperate teams.” Read the rest of this entry
Rangers battle Vancouver for sixth straight win; Skjei becoming the complete package
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After another five goal game, the Rangers (10-3-0) will aim to make it six consecutive wins tonight when they take on the Vancouver Canucks (4-8-1) at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers are coming off of a 5-2 beat down of the Winnipeg Jets, marking the team’s fifth straight win and their fifth straight game scoring at least five goals. With goal scoring from all over the team and pretty good goaltending as of late, Alain Vigneault and his squad are climbing up the NHL standings.
The Vancouver Canucks are trending in the exact opposite direction. They’ve lost their last nine games after starting the season 4-0-0 and are really struggling right now. The Canucks lost last night against the Islanders and need to turn things around, fast. Read the rest of this entry
Michael Grabner – Unlikely Scoring Sensation for the NYR
Luanne Duncan
For those who didn’t see, I posted a brief recap of last night’s game against Winnipeg. You can read that HERE.
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
If NY Ranger fans and analysts were asked at the start of this season, who would be leading the NYR in goal scoring after 13 games, who would be the top pick? Mats Zuccarello? Chris Kreider? Maybe one of the new kids – Jimmy Vesey or Pavel Buchnevich? Wrong, wrong and wrong. The answer is the surprise pick-up of the year, #40, Michael Grabner. The NYR acquired the 29 year old Austrian native from Toronto on July 1st to little fanfare. Grabner fetched a 2 year, $3.3M contract which is turning out to be the deal of the century for what this guy is now producing.
Most fans, if they even recognized the name at all, remember Grabner from playing five years with the NY Islanders. In 2010-2011, his first and best season with the rival franchise, he garnered 34 goals and 18 assists in 76 games. In September 2015 he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 80 games there, he scored a paltry 9 goals and 9 assists. It was no surprise he was not able to contribute significantly to the offensively challenged team ranked near the bottom of the league in goal scoring. However, with the way Grabs is currently playing for the Rangers, he is set to blow his best season stats out of the rink. Read the rest of this entry
therangerzone.com 