Blog Archives
Rangers start road trip against surging Red Wings; Dan Boyle playing 1000th career game
Bobby Bevilacqua
Derick Brassard scored the overtime winner for New York back on November 5th, and will look to help lead the team past the Red Wings again. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers (39-17-6) will start a five game road trip tonight against another Original Six team, and one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, when they take on the Detroit Red Wings (35-15-11) for the third and final time this season.
The Red Wings won 3-2 back on December 6th in Detroit, with goals coming from Kevin Hayes and Rick Nash. The Rangers topped the Red Wings in overtime on November 5th, with goals from Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Lee Stempniak, and the overtime winner from Derick Brassard.
Cam Talbot was in net for the loss in Detroit, making 31 saves on 34 shots. He’s coming off of a very strong performance against the Predators, where he picked up his 13th win of the season, improving his record to 9-2-2 as a starter. Talbot will be making his sixth consecutive start. Read the rest of this entry
Signing Mats Zuccarello, at the right price, was the right move for the Rangers
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers made the right decision in re-signing Mats Zuccarello, keeping the Norwegian in NYC for the next four seasons. Photo courtesy of Paul J. Bereswill/NY Post.
On March 2nd during a press conference, Glen Sather formally announced the finalization of a four year contract extension with Norwegian winger Mats Zuccarello worth $18 million (4.5 AAV), and including a no trade clause in the first year of the deal. Rangers GM Glen Sather remarked on how much he liked and respected Zuccarello.
“I like everything about him – his tenacity, his hard work, his seeing the ice, the way he plays, the chemistry he brings to our team and the way he is in the dressing room,” said Sather. “He’s been a perfect player for us.”
Quite high praise from Sather. But Zuccarello truly deserves it. Last season, he was the Rangers leading scorer, with 19 goals and 40 assists, helping the team get into the playoffs. While he will not match that production this year, he is still having a solid year, and is a key reason that guys like Rick Nash and Derick Brassard are having tremendous success. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers win statement game over Predators; Zuccarello strong after extension
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers took down the top team in the NHL, dominating most facets of the game in a 4-1 victory. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
In the Rangers (39-17-6) first game since acquiring Keith Yandle and re-signing Mats Zuccarello to a four year deal, the re-energized Rangers shut down the best team in the NHL, handing the Nashville Predators (41-16-7) their third straight loss by a final score of 4-1.
With the win, the Rangers leap-frogged the Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division, tied with 82 points, but the Rangers have two games in hand. New York is 9-1-1 in their last 11 games, 21-5-5 at home since October 16th, and 28-7-2 since December 8th.
This was one of the most impressive showings of the season, with New York really muffling the Predators scoring ability, keeping the puck to the outside, and really controlling play for almost the entire game. It especially showed when the Predators pulled Rinne at the 16:00 mark of the final period, and barely got any shots on goal. The defensive effort was outstanding. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers rematch Predators at the Garden with their newest acquisitions
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers are back at the Garden, looking to take down the Nashville Predators before heading out on a tough road trip. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a hectic trade deadline, the Rangers (38-17-6) are back at Madison Square Garden for one game, where they will take on the Nashville Predators (41-15-7), currently the best team in the NHL when it comes to points.
Both teams have re-tooled their lineup since the last time that they met, a 3-2 Nashville win on February 7th. In that game, Rick Nash (PP Goal) and Ryan McDonagh found the back of the net, and Derick Brassard assisted on both goals. Nashville got goals from Shea Weber, Roman Josi, and Mike Ribeiro, as well as 30 saves from Pekka Rinne.
Rinne has been one of the best goalies in the league this season, and he has some impressive numbers to back that up. Rinne has 35 wins, a 2.07 GAA, and a .928 save percentage, second to Montreal’s Carey Price in all of those categories. The Rangers will need to work hard to get pucks past Rinne. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers re-sign Zuccarello, trade Lee Stempniak, and acquire James Sheppard
Bobby Bevilacqua
Mats Zuccarello will be a Ranger for the next four years, with the Rangers locking up one of their key playmaking wingers. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers extremely bust trade deadline day seems to have come to an end, with Glen Sather locking down Mats Zuccarello for the next four years, and making some minor adjustments to the rest of the lineup.
The biggest news, outside of the Keith Yandle trade earlier, was the extension of Mats Zuccarello to a four year, $18 million deal, paying him an average of $4.5 million a year.
Although Zuccarello, is not producing like he was last season, he has been playing very well lately, bringing his point total to 35 (12-23-35) this season. Zuccarello has built tremendous chemistry with Derick Brassard, and is one of the best playmakers on the team, with great vision and a knack for finding the open man. Read the rest of this entry
therangerzone.com 