Goal Line Report
Entries with the tag: Buffalo+Sabres
Two Out Of Four Ain’t Bad
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/22/09 at 09:45 PM ET
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Going into this weekend, all the New York Rangers were focused on was their game. They weren’t focused on who was in front of them, behind them or looking a few games down the road. The team was focused on the here and now.
Their intense focus certainly showed last night at the Garden as the team beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3. Tonight’s game, against the Ottawa Senators, on the other hand, ended in a 2-1 loss, which means that the team remains in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.
While four points would have been great, the team should be satisfied with their play this weekend. They put pucks to the net, used their speed well, did a great job killing penalties (now first in the league) and were competitive in both games. Some other notes from the weekend:
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Eastern+Conference, Jim+Schoenfeld, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Ryan+Callahan, Wade+Redden,
Four Big Points on the line this weekend and some Ranger Notes
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/19/09 at 10:50 PM ET
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With the Eastern Conference standings changing every day, every game from here on out means something for the New York Rangers.
This would especially be true for the two games they have this weekend at home against the Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators. In actuality, the Blueshirts should be able to come away with four points but since the Sabres are still battling for a playoff spot and the Senators are playing better hockey under their new coach, four points are certainly not guaranteed.
The good news? The Rangers are finding ways to win, getting their offense into high gear and looking like a team that deserves to be in the playoffs.
Other notes:
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Marc+Staal, New+York+Rangers, Nik+Antropov, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Ryan+Callahan, Scott+Gomez, Sean+Avery,
Big Two Points
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/18/09 at 10:10 AM ET
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Last night’s game was the kind of game that the New York Rangers may have lost under Tom Renney. However, it was a much different outcome for the Blueshirts under new guy John Tortorella, who overcame some bad bounces and bad goals allowed to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout at the Bell Centre.
Yes, I know that the team needs to continue to learn how to win games in regulation but let’s face it - they need all the points they can get and last night’s two points put them in sixth place in the ever-increasing tight Eastern Conference.
Nik Antropov continues to show the Blueshirts that he was worth getting at the deadline as he added another goal in regulation while also putting one in in the skills competition. He’s a big guy who has soft hands and a powerful wrist shot and is still working towards being a more consistent player with each passing game.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chris+Drury, Colorado+Avalanche, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Nik+Antropov, Tom+Renney,
Avery Gets It Done
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/15/09 at 08:30 PM ET
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NBC promoted this afternoon’s game as “Sean Avery’s New York Rangers” against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was only fitting that Avery and the Blueshirts went out beat the Flyers by a score of 4-1, with Avery scoring two goals, getting into a couple of scrums and causing the Flyers to focus on him rather than on playing the game.
What’s more is that the Rangers actually scored three power play goals and once again peppered the Flyers net with 39 shots on goal and this time, were rewarded for it.
The win puts the Blueshirts in a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with the Montreal Canadiens, a team they will take on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, a place that has been a nightmare of sorts for the team the past couple of visits.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Montreal+Canadiens, NBC, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers, Sean+Avery,
A New Season
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/20/09 at 10:45 AM ET
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When the New York Rangers beat the New York Islanders on Wednesday night, Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist said it was a good start to the new season.
It’s a good thing that the Blueshirts are looking at this as a new season since more than halfway through this 2008-09 campaign, a season that has been mired with a lack of scoring, a lack of finish, a terrible power play and overall, inconsistency.
This weekend, the team looks to continue its perfect new season with games against the Buffalo Sabres (tomorrow night in Buffalo) and Toronto Maple Leafs (Sunday night at the Garden). To pick up four points, the team will need to do the following:
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Scott+Gomez, Stephen+Valiquette, Toronto+Maple+Leafs, Wade+Redden,
A King and an Ace
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/14/09 at 12:30 PM ET
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When Mike Richter suffered a concussion early in the 2002-03 season, the New York Rangers knew they were in trouble. Sure, they had youngster Dan Blackburn as a capable backup but nothing close to an elite netminder who could handle everyday life in the National Hockey League.
It would be that way for the rest of the season as the Blueshirts became a revolving door for goaltenders such as Blackburn, Mike Dunham and Jussi Markannen. However, when the lockout ended and play resumed in 2005-06, there was a new masked man in town that would change the culture of the Rangers to this day forward.
His name is Henrik Lundqvist, a Swedish goaltender that was drafted 205th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Lundqvist enjoyed much success in Sweden with Frolunda, especially in the season prior to coming to the NHL when he was 33-8-3 with six shutouts and a stellar 1.79 goals against average.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Chris+Drury, Dan+Blackburn, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jaromir+Jagr, Jussi+Markkanen, Mike+Dunham, Mike+Richter, New+Jersey+Devils, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Scott+Gomez,
Look at the Bright Side
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/19/09 at 02:35 PM ET
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Yes, yesterday afternoon’s 3-0 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly stings but look on the bright side: the New York Rangers picked up points in four of their five road games, including wins against the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and the talented Chicago Blackhawks.
The trip saw Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist return to form, especially his statistics: 23 wins, a 2.54 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts. These numbers certainly show why he is attending this year’s NHL All-Star game in Montreal.
The team’s recent road trip also saw Chris Drury come alive as well as the continued strong play of Ryan Callahan and Nigle Dawes. Hopefully, these three will continue to play well because they are the only ones that are performing consistently on an offensive level in the past couple of weeks.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Buffalo+Sabres, Chicago+Blackhawks, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, Madison+square+Garden, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, NHL+All-Star+Game, Nigel+Dawes, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan,
Don’t Give It Away
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/13/09 at 02:05 PM ET
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The New York Rangers have won two of their last four games (had a 2-1 OT loss to the Buffalo Sabres and 6-3 spanking at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens) and look to continue their strong defensive play and timely goal scoring when they take on the New York Islanders tonight at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
After head coach Scott Gordon explained to the media that he wants to play his youngsters more, it’s easy to think that the Rangers may skate all over the Isles tonight and come up with two points. However folks, remember that this is the Blueshirts and that they’ve lost games like this to the Isles before.
As such, Rangers’ head coach Tom Renney is keeping the same lineup he used on Saturday night in the team’s 2-0 shutout victory over the Ottawa Senators. This means that Aaron Voros and Dan Fritsche will once again be scratches.
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Tags: Aaron+Voros, Andrew+Gross, Blue+Notes, Buffalo+Sabres, Dan+Fritsche, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, New+York+Rangers+web+site, Rangers+Rants, Rangers+Report, Sam+Weinman, Scott+Gordon, Scotty+Hockey, SNY+Rangers+Blog, Steve+Zipay, Tom+Renney,
Will He Actually Play and other Ranger Musings
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/10/09 at 04:30 PM ET
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As Sam Weinman reported in his blog, the New York Rangers have called up defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti in the event that defenseman Michal Rozsival cannot play tonight after suffering a facial injury in last night’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
The question that both Weinman and I are wondering is what does this say about Corey Potter? Potter played with the Blueshirts a few weeks ago and did just fine and yet, when the team is in a bind like they could be tonight, they potentially look to Sanguinetti. Yes, Sanguinetti is an all star in the AHL and leading the Hartford Wolf Pack with 20 points in 39 games, but is he ready to step in against a potentially potent offense in the Ottawa Senators?
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Tags: Bobby+Sanguinetti, Buffalo+Sabres, Corey+Potter, Hartford+Wolf+Pack, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jim+Cerny, Michal+Rozsival, New+York+Rangers, Nigel+Dawes, Ottawa+Senators, Rangers+Report, Ryan+Miller, Sam+Weinman, Stephen+Valiquette, Tom+Renney,
Time to Step Up
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/08/09 at 09:15 PM ET
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As I’m sure all of you New York Ranger fans are aware of, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was named to the Eastern Conference All Star team. He’s been a Vezina Trophy finalist in each of his three seasons in the National Hockey League so it’s nice that he finally got recognized by the league as one of the game’s elite netminders.
With that being said, if NHL management based their selections on the last two months, Lundqvist would not be on the team. Much like he did in 2006-07 and last season, Lundqvist is having trouble finding consistency. Just take a look at this week, for example. On Monday night, he stymies the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-0 shutout and last night, he allows five goals in a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The team’s beat reporters went about as far to say that Lundqvist was one of the main reasons why the team lost last night. I’m sure most of you would agree.
This weekend, the team takes on the Buffalo Sabres (Friday night, 7:30 p.m., at the HSBC Arena) and the Ottawa Senators (Saturday night, 7 p.m., at Scotiabank Place). These are four points that the Rangers should be able to get so hopefully, Henrik will be on top of his game in the tilt he starts (assuming that backup goaltender Stephen Valiquette will start one of the two) because as Henrik goes, so do the Blueshirts.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Eastern+Conference+All+Star+Team, Henrik+Lundqvist, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Stephen+Valiquette,
