Blog Archives
Aaron Ekblad should win the Calder Trophy; Kevin Hayes impressive in his first season
Bobby Bevilacqua
Aaron Ekblad has had a tremendous season with the surprising Florida Panthers team, and should take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season. Photo courtesy of Elliot J. Schechter/Getty Images.
Sorry Filip Forsberg, what you have done in Nashville has been tremendous, but Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers deserves to take home the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s most outstanding rookie.
Anytime you watch a Florida Panthers game and see Ekblad skating on the first defensive pairing, it’s easy to understand why Dale Tallon, the General Manager of the Panthers, drafted him with the first overall pick in last year’s draft. Read the rest of this entry
Keith Yandle makes the Rangers a more explosive and dangerous team
Bobby Bevilacqua
Adding Keith Yandle to an already strong Rangers team makes them even better, and adds more diversity to the attack. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
On Sunday, March 1st, Glen Sather, the New York Rangers General Manager, pulled off yet another blockbuster trade, acquiring Keith Yandle, one of the league’s best offensive defenseman, from the Arizona Coyotes, and sending John Moore, Anthony Duclair, a first and a second round pick in the process. The Coyotes will also pay for half of Yandle’s salary through next season, making his cap hit a modest $2.625 million.
While that is a high price to pay, the Rangers managed to get a highly skilled player without losing anything off of their current roster, keeping the chemistry intact while adding an elite talent on the back end, giving the Rangers one of the best three defensive pairings in the league.
In 560 career games, the 28 year old Yandle has scored 65 goals along with 246 assists, a grand total of 311 points. Three times in his career he has scored 10 or more goals (career high of 12 in 2009-10), and he has eclipsed the 50 point mark twice including an 11 goal, 48 assist season in the 2010-11 season. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers fall in overtime to Red Wings in a defensive and goalie showdown
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers dropped an extremely competitive game to the Red Wings, losing in overtime but gaining a point in the standings. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Whenever the Rangers (39-17-7) and the Red Wings (36-15-11) face off, they always tend to be very close and exciting games. That was the case tonight, as both teams dueled all the way to overtime, with the Red Wings eventually coming away with a 2-1 victory.
The Rangers earned a point in the game, which ties them with the Islanders in points, but puts the Blueshirts in first place. The Rangers have two games in hand on the Isles, and they play tomorrow night.
While both teams had their fair share of chances, defense and goaltending was the name of the game. Despite the very tight checking, the Rangers managed to get 40 shots on goal, with Detroit firing 31 shots at Cam Talbot. After the game, the Rangers players said that they didn’t get enough traffic in front of Howard to jump on second and third opportunities. Read the rest of this entry
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
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