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Rangers face off against St. Louis at MSG; McIlrath and Allen make season debut
Bobby Bevilacqua
When the Rangers (5-4-1) take the ice tonight at 7 PM against the St. Louis Blues (6-3-1), four of the defenseman in the starting lineup for New York will be guys that did not play when these two teams first faced off in the season opener.
Recent callups Connor Allen and Dylan McIlrath will both be in the starting lineup tonight, following the injuries to Ryan McDonagh and Kevil Klein.
Connor Allen will be making his season debut tonight against the Blues tonight, and could either play with Mike Kostka or Dylan McIlrath. Allen is a capable two-way defender who can move the puck and play solid defense.
The two are not linemates in Hartford, but were teammates last season and roommates for training camp this year.
Allen nearly made the team out of camp last season, and played in three games for the Rangers, where he looked comfortable and moved well with the puck. In eight games in Hartford, he has scored twice and picked up three assists with a minus-one rating. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers stick with same forward lines for tonight’s matchup against Carolina
Bobby Bevilacqua
After a game where the Rangers’ offense was clicking but defensive play let them down, the Rangers will keep the forward lines the same as they look to end a three game skid tonight against division foes the Carolina Hurricanes.
Matt Hunwick will be reinserted into the Rangers’ lineup for tonight’s game, paired with Marc Staal.
The only change will come on defense, where Matt Hunwick will replace Michael Kostka of defense. Kostka struggled in his first game of the season, with two costly turnovers that led to Islanders’ goals.
Hunwick put in solid minutes in his two games this season, and currently has no points and a -1 rating. Hunwick was skating with Marc Stall in practice.
The Hurricanes will also be looking for a win, after starting their season 0-2-1 (1 pt). However, Carolina is already dealing with a lot of injuries.
Jordan Staal is recovering from a broken bone in his right leg that he suffered in a preseason game. Brother and Captain Eric Staal is listed as day-today with an upper body injury. Jeff Skinner, who scored a career high 33 goals last season, is likely not to play with concussion issues. Defenseman Andrej Sekera is also out with an upper body injury, and is listed as day-to-day. Read the rest of this entry
Rick Nash’s effort wasted in late loss to the Islanders
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers’ defense struggled in front of Lundqvist, and ultimately led to a dissapointing defeat at the Garden. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a loss to Toronto, the Rangers were again defeated at home by their rivals, the Islanders, by a score of 6-3, mainly due to a short span in the third period where the Rangers’ defense just fell apart.
Rick Nash stayed hot, scoring another 2 goals to bring his total to 6 in just four games. However, there was just a handful of players that had good efforts tonight.
The Rangers came out on fire, and the game started out extremely fast and physical. The Rangers drew a penalty less than a minute into the game after Kevin Klein was hit knee to knee. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Shake Up Lineup for Rivalry Matchup Against Islanders
Bobby Bevilacqua
After a rough loss in the home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Rangers, still looking to establish chemistry with a lot of new players, will have a much different looking lineup as they take on the Islanders at 7 PM.
The Rangers look to rebound tonight in their second consecutive game at Madison Square Garden.
On Sunday, Matt Hunwick was on the third defensive pair with John Moore. Kevin Hayes made his Rangers debut and centered the third line. Mats Zuccarello was scratched due to a sore shoulder, and JT Miller played on the fourth line on the right wing.
Rangers lose big at home; Rick Nash scores again
Bobby Bevilacqua
Henrik Lundqvist and his defense had a rough night, giving up 6 goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Just a day after losing by three to the Blue Jackets, the Rangers dropped their home opener by a score of 6-3 in a pretty ugly game for the Blueshirts.
Before the game, Mats Zuccarello was a last minute scratch. Zuccarello did injure his shoulder in last night’s game against the Blue Jackets. He was removed from tonight’s lineup after skating in warmups, and is listed as day to day with an undisclosed injury, but it is likely his shoulder.
This meant Kevin Hayes would make his Rangers debut, and the lines were changed up as a result. Kevin Hayes finished with -2 rating, and had a great scoring opportunity stopped by the pad of Leafs’ goalie James Reimer. Hayes was pretty quiet, but we’ll have to see more of him before making a decision on his play. Read the rest of this entry
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