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Looking to Get in front of the Eight Ball

by Patrick Hoffman on 03/16/10 at 09:23 AM ET
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Thanks to a Boston Bruins loss to the New Jersey Devils last night, the New York Rangers have a chance to crack the top eight in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Montreal Canadiens tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The Blueshirts are coming off a huge victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon, a victory that showed that they can be a smart and disciplined hockey club. Whether that carries into tonight’s tilt with the Habs’ will be the test for the Rangers, a test that they must pass if they want to take over the eighth spot in the Conference.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Habs are playing some of their best hockey as they have won five in a row and are 7-3 in their last 10. The Canadiens sit in the seventh spot in the eastern Conference with 76 points, just six points behind the Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres.

In his game preview on NewYorkRangers.com, good friend of the blog Jim Cerny talks about how the Blueshirts need to kepp up the positive momentum as they head down the stretch:

If, as Lundqvist suggested, each contest down the stretch is like the seventh and deciding game of a playoff series for the Rangers, then the club has certainly passed the test of playing with the requisite amount of desperation in each of the previous two.

Last Friday in Atlanta, the Rangers distanced themselves from the Thrashers in the standings with a 5-2 road victory. And on Sunday afternoon at The Garden, the Rangers played one of their most complete defensive games in knocking off the Flyers 3-1.

Now the Rangers need to continue the positive momentum moving forward into this evening’s tough contest against the red-hot Canadiens.

Cerny also talks about how Chris Drury’s solid impact on the team since returning from the Olympics and how he is excelling in the roles head coach John Tortorella has put him in:

Drury has been one of the key catalysts for the Rangers in their previous two victories. He has recorded four assists—two in each game—and has played a prime role since being inserted into the top power play unit alongside Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal. Three of Drury’s points in the past two games have come on the power play.

This is a big game folks and everyone in the lineup from Lundqvist on out needs to his part to help the team pick up two crucial points and move on to the next game.

What are your thoughts on tonight’s game?

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 Tags: Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers,

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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 RLD Hockey, Rangers Tribune, and TheGoodPoint.com.

Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick’s musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, 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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