Blog Archives
McDonagh back as the Rangers take on Chicago; Boyle and Staal still questionable
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
In the last game for the Rangers, the fists were flying early on as the Rangers looked to stand up for their downed captain. After that, Derick Brassard tied his career high of 19 goals, and Derek Stepan found the back of the net twice, including scoring his 100th career NHL goal. Henrik Lundqvist was superb when he had to be, and came within 10 seconds of a shutout.
The Rangers have played some pretty good teams in the past few weeks, but this is the first time they’ll be going up against one of the league’s elite teams since they played the Capitals on January 17th. After a slow start, Chicago has surged into second place in the Central Division, and third in the NHL with 79 points. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Practice Report: McDonagh ready to play, Boyle out with the flu, defense in question for tomorrow
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After missing the last four games, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh skated today at practice in a contact jersey and announced that he feels good to go for tomorrow night’s nationally televised games against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Everything that I’ve seen so far, he looks fine,” Vigneault told Jim Cerny of Blueshirts United after practice. “So we’ll see how he responds. Today was his first contact day. If he’s alright tomorrow come optional tomorrow morning, there’s a good chance I’ll put him in the lineup tomorrow night.”
Ryan McDonagh was playing some of his best hockey of the season prior to the concussion he received in the games against the Flyers 10 days ago. McDonagh recorded nine points (2-7-9) in 13 games prior to the injury. He was also beginning to regain his form as a shutdown an excellent two-way, shutdown defenseman. His skating ability, smart decision making with the puck and leadership will be greatly appreciated back on the ice. Read the rest of this entry
No love lost for Valentine’s Day rematch between the Rangers and Flyers
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
It may be Valentine’s Day, but there will be no love or affection shown on the ice when the Rangers (38-16-6) take on the Philadelphia Flyers (24-20-10) as they rematch back at Madison Square Garden in what is likely to be a physical, high intensity contest.
The games between these two rival clubs always have another level of intensity to them, but it will be even higher tonight following Wayne Simmonds giving Ryan McDonagh a concussion following a sucker punch to the face. Simmonds received a match penalty and Ryan McDonagh remains out of the lineup.
The Rangers lost in their last game on Friday, surrendering a late goal to the Los Angeles Kings and falling in overtime. The Blueshirts trailed 2-0 after 12 minutes, and wound up scoring three straight goals, and then making it 4-3 late. Viktor Stalberg, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes all scored. Read the rest of this entry
Raanta starts in net for the first time in a month as the Ranger battle the Kings
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Wednesday night’s game against the Penguins marked the fourth straight win for the Rangers, their longest win streak since they won nine games in a row back in October and November. Playing without Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh has forced them to face the adversity and rise to the challenge, which they’ve done admirably.
This is the first of two matchups between these two teams and the only one that will take place at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers will travel to Los Angeles on March 16th for a game at the Staples Center. Last season, the teams split the season series, with the road team coming away with a 4-2 win both times. Read the rest of this entry
McDonagh and Nash OUT as the Rangers rematch the New Jersey Devils
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The Rangers (29-18-5) have an opportunity to put together a nice stretch of games, as they play host to the rival New Jersey Devils (26-20-7) for the second game between these teams in the past week.
After a rough start to the winter, the Rangers have finally started to play better and get the wins they need to stay afloat in a tight Metropolitan Division. Their come-from-behind victory on Saturday came following a dominant comeback win over the Minnesota Wild. It was just the second time since late November that the team has won two games in a row. They haven’t won three straight since their nine game win streak came to an end on November 15th.
The Rangers success couldn’t have come at a better time, since they will playing at Madison Square Garden for five of the next six games. They’ve already won 19 home games, tied for second in the NHL, and they’re 6-0-1 in their last seven games at the Garden. They’ve lost just once in regulation there since December 6th. Read the rest of this entry
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