Goal Line Report
The Hockey Network: A Growing Online Hockey Community
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/28/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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When it comes to our favorite sport, everything appears to be online.
There are terrific hockey blogs, terrific hockey news’ web sites, social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook and much, much more.
Part of the much, much more category is The Hockey Network. The Hockey Network is an online community that has a lot to offer fans, players, coaches and anyone and everyone that wants to be or is already involved in the sport.
George Steiner, the owner of The Hockey Network, was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to tell us about this unique online hockey community.
PH: What about online hockey communities disturbed you to the point where you thought you could create a better one out there?
GS: I was looking at online hockey communities, I’m not going to calling any of them out by name, but I was really disappointed for several reasons.
First, if it’s a hockey site, it should look like a hockey site. Come on, put some hockey graphics on it, make it look cool, it’s not that hard!
Second, the site should be easy to use. I hate confusing or overwhelming websites.
And third, you should be able to do everything on one site. It seemed silly that I had to go to one site for high school hockey, another for the NHL, and then another to get directions to a rink. Everyone has lots of different hockey needs, so why not have them all on one site?
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Tags: George+Steiner, The+Hockey+Network,
Rangers Quiet/Ready for Tonight
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/27/12 at 03:53 PM ET
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It appears that the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone for the New York Rangers, with the team having acquired defenseman John Scott from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.
So now, the Blueshirts will go forward with the team they currently have as team general manager Glen Sather and team head coach John Tortorella are showing that they believe in the hockey team they have. Given that the Blueshirts are first in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, it makes sense that team management and its coaching staff believe in this hockey club.
Now, the Blueshirts must focus on their big game tonight (7:30 p.m.) at Madison Square Garden against the New Jersey Devils. With both teams currently in a playoff spot, tonight’s tilt will certainly have a playoff feel to it as the Devils look to further advance in the Eastern Conference standings while the Rangers look to continue to have a firm hold on both the Atlantic Division and the East in general.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Chicago+Blackhawks, Glen+Sather, John+Scott, John+Tortorella, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan,
Rangers out of Nash Running?
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/26/12 at 06:59 PM ET
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From NHL Insider Darren Dreger of TSN via Twitter:
Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger
NYR wasn’t willing to pay price established for Nash prior to today + today CBJ asked for more than they were originally after.#tradecentre
Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Hard to blame NYR for not blowing up team to make Nash trade. For sake of deadline,let’s hope CBJ softens to keep possibility of trade open.
Click here to follow the latest trade deadline thoughts from one of hockey’s best insiders.
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Tags: Darren+Dreger, New+York+Rangers, TSN,
Rangers Look to Regain Focus Tonight against the Sabres
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/25/12 at 10:33 AM ET
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After last night’s 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers need to get back on track with a win tonight against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.
For both teams, it will be a back-to-back situation as the Sabres are coming off a 2-1 shootout win over the Boston Bruins. The Sabres have a lot to play for as they find themselves just five points out of the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference after winning three straight and going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
While the Rangers may be first in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, this game should be important to them as well. Over the last week or so, the team has gotten away from the things that made them successful in the first place and that has really come through in their last four games against the Chicago Blackhawks (4-2 loss), Columbus Blue Jackets (3-2 overtime win), Pittsburgh Penguins (2-0 loss) and Islanders (4-3 shootout loss).
On the other side, the Sabres have been playing some terrific hockey. They are getting great goaltending from Ryan Miller, who now looks like his old self, while also getting a lot of offense from the likes of Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, and Drew Stafford.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Buffalo+Sabres, Chicago+Blackhawks, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Derek+Roy, Drew+Stafford, Jason+Pominville, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Miller, Thomas+Vanek,
Disappointing Shootout Loss to the Islanders
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/24/12 at 10:07 PM ET
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While it may not have been in regulation and while the team got a point, it was essentially another loss for the New York Rangers 4-3 in a shootout to the New York Islanders.
This was simply a game that the Rangers should always have. Yes, the Islanders always bring their best effort against the Rangers but in the grand scheme of things, the Blueshirts need to win these games against the lower seeded New York Islanders.
While Rangers’ netminder Martin Biron was not terrible, he certainly was not great. This is the third straight start in which Biron has allowed three goals or more and is the second straight start in which Biron failed to help get the team two points.
Obviously, there is no real reason to panic given that the team is currently atop both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
Looking at the positives, it was nice to see the Rangers’ power play go 2/5 for tonight. The team got power play goals from Marc Staal and Derek Stepan while Marian Gaboirk got the goal in between.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Derek+Stepan, Evgeni+Nabokov, Marc+Staal, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Biron, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers,
Torn on Rick Nash
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/23/12 at 09:07 AM ET
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If you are a New York Rangers’ fan, than you have obviously been hearing all the talk regarding Columbus Blue Jackets’ sniper Rick Nash becoming a Blueshirt via trade come on or before deadline day.
While there is little doubt that Nash is an offensive threat and can put the puck in the net, I am torn on whether or not the Rangers should make a move for him.
For starters, I am not sure I want to give up the likes of Brandon Dubinsky, Michael Del Zotto, or Chris Kreider. These are all young, terrific players that have grown up on the Rangers’ system and have succeeded in it (Kreider soon will). Are they really worth giving up on for the likes of a Nash?
Secondly, what has Nash accomplished with the Blue Jackets? Yes, the team around him is dreadful but he has only managed to get the team into the playoffs once. Again, I understand that he never had much talent around him but players have had less than him and have still led their team to more than one postseason.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Brandon+Dubinsky, Chris+Kreider, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+York+Rangers, Rick+Nash,
Was This Coming?
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/21/12 at 09:39 PM ET
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This is what many New York Rangers’ fans are probably wondering about after watching the Blueshirts get shutout by the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight by a score of 2-0.
The club’s offense took 27 shots, all of which were turned away with relative ease by Penguins’ netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. The Rangers made it easy for Fleury by shooting directly into him and not getting to the real scoring areas in order to put the puck in the net.
The score could have been much worse if not for the play of Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist turned in another strong performance for his hockey club in turning away 29 of 31 Penguins’ shots. Lundqvist was especially good in the first period in stopping all 11 Penguins’ shots as the Rangers came out flat.
The truth of the matter is that this was more than likely coming for the Rangers. They were terrible against the Chicago Blackhawks last Thursday night, barely beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night and were shutout tonight in Pittsburgh.
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marc-Andre+Fleury, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Adding Nash a Must for the Blueshirts
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/21/12 at 09:14 AM ET
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From Brian Monzo at WFAN.com:
The NHL playoffs are low-scoring battles. There is a very good shot that if the Rangers stick with that they have they may be able to go deep in the playoffs. But, if the price is right, and they can add someone like Rick Nash (27-years-old), they have to make the move.
I am not so sure people around here are familiar with Nash and his work. As much hockey as I watch, I don’t find myself locked in on many Blue Jackets games. But I know one thing, there are very few power forwards like Nash out there.
He was drafted first overall in 2002 and immediately was thrown into the fire. Nash has scored 40 or more goals twice and 30-plus goals four times. Oh yeah — he is 6’4 and 215 lbs.
Nash could be the missing piece, and the physical goal scoring punch going into the playoffs. The one downfall? He is signed through 2018 with a salary cap hit of $7.8 million per season.
Click here for more from Monzo.
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Tags: Brian+Monzo, New+York+Rangers, Rick+Nash, WFAN.com,
A 60-Minute Effort
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/20/12 at 08:39 AM ET
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That is exactly what the New York Rangers put in last night in their 3-2 overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden.
The game may have gone to overtime but this is a game that the Blueshirts controlled from start to finish. The team put pucks to the net, controlled the puck along the boards and looked confident in making plays with the puck in both the offense and defensive zones.
The perfect example of this was the overtime goal scored by Derek Stepan. Michael Del Zotto started it all by rushing the puck up the ice, giving it to Marian Gaborik, getting it back from Gaborik, going to the net, getting a lucky pass back to Gaborik who then fired a pass across to Del Zotto to the left of goaltender Steve Mason and then Del Zotto zipped a pass to the right of Mason to Stepan who fired it home to give the Rangers the victory.
One thing that hurt the Rangers in this hockey game was face-offs. Both Blue Jackets’ goals came off of face-off wins, including the game-tying goal by Rick Nash.
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Tags: Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Derek+Stepan, Marian+Gaborik, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Rick+Nash, Steve+Mason,
Time for Another New Winning Streak
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/19/12 at 04:15 PM ET
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With the New York Rangers having missed a chance to extend their winning streak to five games with a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, the team will look to start a new one from the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight (8:00 p.m.) at Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Jackets, the worst team in the National Hockey League, is coming off a 6-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks last night. They are struggling to score goals, not getting good goaltending and one player may not even be getting along the team’s own fans.
At the other end, the Blueshirts are at the top of the Eastern Conference and seven points behind the league-leading Detroit Red Wings. The team is also 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and have been getting their offense going, playing terrific on the defensive side of the puck and getting Vezina Trophy-like goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist.
For the Rangers, it will be important for them to not take this game lightly. Playing in front of your own fans and against the league’s worst teams might make the Rangers want to get too cute with the puck or try and do too much and when that happen, the Blueshirts usually end up in trouble.
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Detroit+Red+Wings, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers,
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About Goal Line Report
Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla’s Korner, you can also find Patrick’s work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire’s Ultimate Hockey web site.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick’s musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector’s Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
For questions, comments and hip checks, feel free to e-mail Patrick at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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