Goal Line Report
Next entry: A Waste of Two Points
Previous entry: Why The Blueshirts Will Make The Playoffs
Big Two Points Up For Grabs in Atlanta
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/26/09 at 09:15 AM ET
Comments (0)
On paper, a tilt with the Atlanta Thrashers looks like an easy two points but for the New York Rangers, every game is like a playoff game and as such, should be treated like one.
The team is coming off a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild in a game where they played down to the Wild’s level. They were able to generate an array of scoring chances but once again had some difficulty finding the back of the net and were forced to play a tight defensive game, something fans are all too familiar with thanks to former head coach Tom Renney.
With that being said, good defense at this time of year certainly isn’t a bad thing but to win games, this team still needs to score more goals. Sure, they’ve scored more goals under new head coach John Tortorella but they need to do it on a consistent basis, something they have struggled with all season long.
Tonight is also a chance for the Blueshirts to show that they can be successful on the road, where they only have a 16-16-4 record. With five of the remaining eight games away from the Garden, that record will certainly need to improve and will have to come against teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, and Philadelphia Flyers. These are all playoff teams, making tonight’s match up against a non-playoff team that much more important.
Tonight’s focus should be goals, goals, goals. The Thrashers have allowed the second most amount of goals in the NHL this season and despite that, the Blueshirts were last defeated by them back on Adam Graves night when they lost 2-1 in the shootout.
That was then and this is now. Time to step up and pick up two big points that could go a long way in helping the Blueshirts clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: Adam+Graves, Atlanta+Thrashers, Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, John+Tortorella, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Tom+Renney,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
About Goal Line Report
The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier! I’ll make my opinions known on Eastern Conference news bits (as often as I can), big games, hot and cold players, trades (I don’t make things up) and anything and everything else related to the Eastern Conference that I think is important for hockey fans to know. I will, in every sense of the word, be the beast of the East while also making sure to drop my thoughts on other hockey news items.
I, Patrick Hoffman, have covered the NHL since 2003 and have worked for a variety of hockey media sources including: Stan Fischler, Spector’s Hockey, TheHockeyNews.com, HockeyBuzz.com, McKeen’s Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, XM Home Ice Channel Hockey Blog, HockeyPrimeTime.com, FantasyHockey.com. NY SportsDay, and HokejaVestnesis.com.
For questions, comments or to talk hockey, feel free to send me an e-mail at .