Goal Line Report
Entries with the tag: Carolina+Hurricanes
Rangers Continue to Win
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/02/11 at 09:44 AM ET
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The New York Rangers are starting to show the National Hockey League that for the first time in years, they have some real offensive depth.
The club’s offensive depth really came out last night in their 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. The team had five different goal scorers in Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Ryan McDonagh, Sean Avery and Michael Sauer.
With the win, the Blueshirts improved to 14-5-3 on the season, good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference. Believe it or not, the team is also just three points behind the Eastern Conference and NHL leading Pittsburgh Penguins.
For the Rangers, last night’s game could have easily been a trap game. It could have been one where the team played to the level of their opponent and missed the opportunity to pick up the two needed points.
Luckily, the Rangers reversed the trend and played a solid road game to pick up their fourth straight win. On the other side, it was the Hurricanes’ fifth straight loss and second under new head coach Kirk Muller.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Kirk+Muller, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Biron, Michael+Sauer, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan, Ryan+McDonagh, Sean+Avery, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,
Bring on The Hurricanes
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/01/11 at 10:58 AM ET
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With the way the New York Rangers are playing right now, this is the kind of attitude they should have when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in Raleigh.
Coming into tonight’s tilt, both teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Blueshirts are 8-2 in their last 10 games, have won three straight and are 13-5-3 on the season, good enough for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
At the other end of the spectrum are the Carolina Hurricanes. Having just fired Paul Maurice, Kirk Muller’s Hurricanes are second to last in the East with a 8-14-4 record and are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games.
The Blueshirts are coming off a game in which they beat the NHL’s best team in the Pittsburgh Penguins. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the Blueshirts got strong performances from the likes of Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Carl Hagelin and Henrik Lundqvist.
In all, the Rangers are playing with a ton of confidence and defenseman Michael Sauer said as much to The Record’s Rangers’ beat writer Andrew Gross.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Carl+Hagelin, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Kirk+Muller, Marian+Gaborik, Michael+Sauer, New+York+Rangers, Paul+Maurice, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan,
Rangers Win Barn Burner Over The Penguins
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/30/11 at 09:08 AM ET
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The New York Rangers passed a big test last night at Madison Square Garden by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, by a score of 4-3.
Most importantly, the Rangers’ best players played like they were suppossed to last night. Brad Richards had a goal and two assists, Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Callahan also had a goal and an assist.
The team also got another strong performance out of rookie Carl Hagelin. Hagelin picked up his third NHL point on a great assist on John Mitchell’s goal and also had a team high six shots on goal.
Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist did what he had to do in making 24 saves on 27 shots for his tenth victory of the season. Lundqvist was especially good in the first period making 13 saves on 14 shots.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Carl+Hagelin, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundvqist, John+Mitchell, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan,
Rangers Show Determination in 5-1 Win Over The Hurricanes
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/11/11 at 09:34 PM ET
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This is exactly what the New York Rangers used to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 5-1 at Madison Square Garden tonight.
A determined Rangers’ club came out in the third period and broke a 1-1 tie by scoring four unanswered goals. Defenseman Dan Girardi started it with a power play goal followed by a goal nine seconds later from Brandon Dubinsky (his first of the season) and just shortly after, Ryan Callahan made it 4-1 when he scored on a Hurricanes’ delayed penalty. Then with just under two minutes to go in game, Brad Richards cashed in on a giveaway by Hurricanes’ netminder Cam Ward to seal the team’s sixth straight victory overall and fifth straight win on home ice.
After a slow start to this game, the Rangers put the pressure on the Hurricanes and kept it up for the rest of the hockey game. The team had just 8 shots in the first period but because of their willingness to put pucks to the net, drive to the crease and get in good position, they ended up finishing the game with 40 shots on goal.
Dubinsky had a solid game for the Rangers. He showed confidence with the puck, made some great plays for his linemates and now that he got his first goal of the season, will definitely have less pressure on himself heading into the team’s next game.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Brandon+Dubinsky, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan, Sean+Avery,
Stepan Line Gets it Done in Win Over the Senators
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/10/11 at 12:00 PM ET
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The New York Rangers’ used the offense created by the Derek Stepan line to defeat the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa last night by a score of 3-2.
Derek Stepan picked up a goal and two assists. His other linemates Marian Gaborik had two goals and Artem Anisimov picked-up two assists. In all, the line combined for 7 points and was a threat to score and create offensive opportunities every time they were out on the ice.
Gaborik is on fire. He now has 9 goals and is playing like he did in his first season as a Blueshirt. He is showing tremendous speed, a nose for the net, and of course, a terrific shot.
Stepan is also starting to put together a solid season. He has a tremendous amoutn of patience with the puck, he drives to the net and is also defensively responsible.
Anisimov has also stepped up his play. He has great hands and a lot of offensive skill to offer. He just needs to do so on a consistent basis.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Carolina+Hurricanes, Derek+Stepan, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Biron, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators,
Rangers Look to Extend Win Streak to Five in Ottawa
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/09/11 at 01:40 PM ET
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Back on October 29, the Ottawa Senators came back from a 4-1 defecit to defeat the New York Rangers by a score of 5-4 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden.
Fast forward a few weeks later and the Blueshirts are a much different hockey club. The team is currently on a 4-game winning streak and is playing more responsibly in their own zone and when it comes to discipline.
According to Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants, Henrik Lundqvist will be back between the pipes for the Blueshirts. He will be coming off his 5-3 vicotry over the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday night and will more than likely look to bounce back from his average performance against the Senators back in late October.
Last time these two clubs met, there were some questionable hits. One resulted in the loss of Senators’ captain Daniel Alfredsson as Wolski caught him with his head down.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Carolina+Hurricanes, Daniel+Alfredsson, Henrik+Lundqvist, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Wojtek+Wolski, Xenon+Konopka,
All About Hope Now
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/09/11 at 01:59 PM ET
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The New York Rangers did what they had to do this afternoon in defeating the New Jersey Devils by a score of 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.
With the victory, the Blueshirts finished the regular season with 93 points, putting them up two points over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight and should they lose in regulation time or overtime, the Rangers will clinch the final playoff spot and prepare for a first round matchup with the first place Washington Capitals.
It was great to see hard-working guys like Chris Drury, Brandon Prust, Ryan McDonagh and Vinny Prospal all beat future hall-of-fame netminder Martin Brodeur. For Drury, it was his first goal of the season and a big one at that. He also did well on face-offs and overall, was a positive factor for the Blueshirts this afternoon.
For McDonagh, it was his first career NHL goal. It could not have come at a better time for the Blueshirts as it gave them a 3-2 lead in the second period as well as a game-winning goal for #27.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Brandon+Prust, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chris+Drury, Dan+Bylsma, John+Tortorella, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+McDonagh, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Vinny+Prospal,
Out of Their Hands
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/07/11 at 10:38 PM ET
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That is exactly what it has come to for the New York Rangers after being shutout tonight by the Atlanta Thrashers by a score of 3-0 at Madison Square Garden.
Since it is Thursday night, that means I did not get to watch the game as I had my weekly men’s league hockey game. With that said, it was extremely disappointing to come home and see that the blueshirts lost to a team that is not even fighting for a playoff spot.
With that said, and based on the highlights on NHL on the Fly, it appears that the Thrashers got the better of the scoring chances and that the Rangers were flat. This is somewhat surprising considering the huge effort they delivered on Monday night at the Garden when they defeated the Boston Bruins by a score of 5-3.
Now, prior to the team’s regular season finale against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon, the Rangers will be scoreboard watching tomorrow night. The ninth place Carolina Hurricanes, who are just two points behind the Rangers, take on the Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow night in Atlanta with an opportunity to tie the Rangers in points heading into Saturday. The Hurricanes then close out their season on Saturday night with a home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,
A Tale of Two Games
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/05/11 at 07:00 AM ET
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I was lucky enough to be at last night’s game between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins and let me tell you, it was like watching two different games.
In the “first” game, the Rangers were flat, did not generate many scoring chances, had terrible defensive coverage and trailed 3-0. It could have been more if not for the solid goaltending of Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist.
The second game was the complete opposite. The Blueshirts played with passion, forechecked, threw pucks to the net and cashed in on their scoring opportunities. In this particular game, the Blueshirts outscored the Bruins 5-0.
In the end, it was a 5-3 Rangers’ victory in one of the most exciting games of the season at Madison Square Garden. It was a game in which the team trailed 3-2 with less than four minutes to go, only to score three goals in the final three minutes as Brandon Dubinsky tied the game, Michael Sauer scored the game winner and Derek Stepan sealed it with an empty netter.
Truth be told, may be it was expected that the Blueshirts would come out flat. They played an extremely tough and grueling game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon and were obviously out of synch and tired.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Brandon+Dubinsky, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Derek+Stepan, Henrik+Lundqvist, Michael+Sauer, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Rangers Turn Table on Flyers With 3-2 Shootout Win
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/03/11 at 02:39 PM ET
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Almost a year ago, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Rangers in a shootout, sending their team into the playoffs and the Blueshirts home for the playoffs and off-season.
Today, the New York Rangers turned the tables on the Flyers and defeated the Broadstreet Bullies 3-2 in a shootout, giving them points 88 and 89 on the season. With the two points, the Blueshirts now find themselves in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference with one more point than the Buffalo Sabres and three points more than the Carolina Hurricanes, who play each other this evening at 5:00 p.m.
Rangers’ forwards Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski, two guys who haven’t played great as of late, got the two shootout goals for the Blueshirts and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 32 saves on the afternoon, went two for two in the shootout in picking up his 34th win of the season.
It was a game in which the Blueshirts showed their mettle and played tough, blocked a lot of shots, were smart on the penalty kill and were not afraid to throw the pucks at Flyers’ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. They played a typical road-style hockey game and in doing so, picked up their 24th road win of the season, tying the franchise record they set back in 1994.
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Tags: Boston+Boston+Bruins, Braydon+Coburn, Brian+Boyle, Bryan+McCabe, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Daniel+Carcillo, Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Sergei+Bobrovsky, Wojtek+Wolski,
Pressure On in a Must Win Game
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/03/11 at 09:51 AM ET
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Losing two straight games will do that and the New York Rangers now find themselves in a must win situation in Philadelphia this afternoon against the Flyers.
The ninth place Carolina Hurricanes find themselves just one point behind the Blueshirts after beating the New York Islanders last night and look to be getting hot at the right time. On the other hand, you have the Rangers who are coming off a 6-2 loss at the hands of the New York Islanders and are now heading into two extremely tough games against the Flyers this afternoon and the Boston Bruins tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.
This afternoon’s tilt will have a real playoff feeling and the Rangers will need to treat it as such. The Flyers have not been playing great of late but will be looking to improve their play heading into the first round of the playoffs.
If the Rangers want to have any kind of success this afternoon, one thing they will have to do is get their offense going again. The team has scored three goals in their last three games and have not done enough to generate the kind of offense that is needed to put the puck in the net.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
A Wake Up Call
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/31/11 at 10:00 PM ET
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That is exactly what you can call the game between the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders tonight.
I had men’s league hockey tonight so I did not get to watch much of the game, so it was extremely disappointing to come home and see that the Blueshirts lost 6-2 to a team that is not contending for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. With that said, I am NOT taking anything away from the Islanders because they have come a long way in the last few months and have played some excellent hockey.
Based on reading the game reports, it appears that an Islanders’ 4-goal second period did the team in and put them behind the eight ball for the rest of the hockey game. What is even more concerning is the team’s recent struggles on offense as they only scored two goals tonight, none yesterday in a 1-0 shutout loss to the Buffalo Sabres and one in a 1-0 shutout win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
This is not the time to be struggling to put the puck in the net. The team still has four games left to play and their not exactly easy opponents as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon, the Bruins next Monday night at Madison Square Garden, the Atlanta Thrashers next Thursday night at the Garden (the Rangers SHOULD win that one) and the New Jersey Devils next Saturday afternoon at the Garden.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, BOston+Bruins, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Not Quite The Effort That was Needed
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/31/11 at 07:40 AM ET
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These are the perfect words to describe the play of the New York Rangers in their 1-0 shutout loss to the Buffalo Sabres last night.
The Blueshirts had trouble generating any consistent offense, did not throw enough pucks on Sabres, netminder Jhonas Enroth, who was making the start in place of Ryan Miller, who had an upper buddy injury. Enroth made 23 saves in picking up his first career NHL shutout, and an important one at that.
With the loss, the Rangers dropped down to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference while the Buffalo Sabres moved up to the seventh spot. The Hurricanes, currently ninth in the Conference, are just three points behind the Blueshirts, who are back in action tonight on Long Island for a tilt against the New York Islanders.
One player who did show up for the Blueshirts was Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist made 34 saves and gave everyone a scare late in the second period when he took a puck off the right knee. He would not comment on it too much after the game only to say that he wants to be ready for tomorrow night.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jhonas+Enroth, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Original Six Tilt in Beantown
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/26/11 at 09:12 AM ET
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That is exactly what will be happening at 1 p.m. today as the New York Rangers will take on the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden in Boston.
The Blueshirts are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden while the Bruins are coming off a big 7-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens. One team will be looking to score more goals while the toher will continue to do the things that made them successful in their last game.
As always, this is an extremely important game for the Rangers. Both the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes won last night so the Blueshirts are now just two points up on the eighth place Sabres. With a win this afternoon in Boston, however, the Rangers could end up tied with the Canadiens for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens take on the Washington Capitals tonight.
It will be interesting to see if Rangers’ forward Sean Avery will be in the lineup this afternoon. Based on reports from team beat writers at yesterday’s skate, it appears that there is a good chance that Avery will be back in the lineup. However, nothing was confirmed.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Sean+Avery, Washington+Capitals,
Rangers Blank Panthers in Big Win on Garden Ice
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/22/11 at 08:40 PM ET
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It certainly wasn’t the most exciting hockey game but the New York Rangers did what they needed to do in shutting out the Florida Panthers by a score of at Madsion Square Garden.
The win gives the Blueshirts points 83 and 84, is their fifth straight victory and also marks Henrik Lundqvist’s 10th shutout of the season as well as his 32nd win on the year. All big things happening for the Blueshirts right now and with the way the team is playing, it is certainly well deserved.
The Blueshirts had plenty of scoring chances throughout the game but Panthers’ netminder Tomas Vokoun was up to the task time and time again. That is, until Rangers’ forward Brandon Dubinsky put in a great pass from Ryan Callahan and gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead close to eight minutes into the third period.
The team also got strong performances from the line of Brandon Prust-Brian Boyle-Ruslan Fedotenko as that line peppered Vokoun all night long, forechecked hard, generated scoring chances and play well on both sides of the puck. Marian Gaborik also had another strong night as he had four shots on goal, showed a lot of speed and looked more and more like the Gaborik of last season.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Brandon+Prust, Buffalo+Sabres+and+Montreal+Canadiens, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dan+Boyle, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Ryan+Callahan, Tomas+Vokoun,
Goals A Plenty in Rangers’ 6-3 Win over the Canadiens
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/19/11 at 12:14 PM ET
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This may be hard to believe but the New York Rangers’ have won three straight home games by outscoring their opponents by a 19-6 margin.
The Rangers’ latest victim was the Montreal Canadiens in a 6-3 victory. The team scored five goals in the first period with five different goal scorers in Artem Anisimov, Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, and Brian Boyle. Vinny Prospal scored the team’s sixth and final goal in the third period.
With the win, the Rangers hit the 80-point mark and remain four points up on the eighth place Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes, who had a huge OT win over the New York Islanders last night.
For a team that struggles with offense, they certainly know how to beat up on team’s when given the opportunity to do so. Last night, the team took advantage of a Montreal Canadiens’ team that played the night before against the Tampa Bay Lightning and a somewhat tired Carey Price, who was yanked after allowing the fifth Rangers’ goal. It certainly was not Price’s fault as he had no help out there.
The team also got a strong performance from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who picked up his sixth consecutive 30-win season. With the 30th win, Lundqvist became the first goalie in NHL history to 30 or more games in his first six seasons in the league.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Benoit+Pouliot, Brian+Boyle, Buffalo+Sabres, Carey+Price, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dan+Girardi, Evgeni+Malkin, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Sidney+Crosby, Vinny+Prospal, Washington+Capitals,
Big Win for the Blueshirts
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/15/11 at 10:53 PM ET
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Tonight’s game between the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders was one that the Blueshirts needed to have on home ice.
Mission accomplished. The Blueshirts came out and beat the Islanders by a score of 6-3 and picked up points 77 and 78 on the season.
Believe it or not, the Rangers got three power play goals and a shorthanded goal tonight. Erik Christensen, Bryan McCabe (his first as a Ranger) and Marian Gaborik all connected with the man-advantage while Brandon Prust picked up the shorthanded goal in the first period to give his team a 1-0 lead.
With the win, the Rangers now have sole possession of the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference as the Carolina Hurricanes shutout the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 1-0.
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Tags: Brandon+Prust, Bryan+McCabe, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Rangers Just Need to Win
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/15/11 at 07:00 AM ET
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It sounds simple, right? Especially with the New York Islanders coming to Madison Square Garden tonight, right?
Wrong. The New York Rangers will be facing a much different New York Islanders hockey club tonight, one that has won a lot in the second half of the season and one that does not look like an AHL team anymore.
For the Rangers, the task is simple - just win baby. The team is currently eighth in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. The Buffalo Sabres also have 76 points and the Carolina Hurricanes are ninth in the conference with 72 points. Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, those teams are in action against each other tonight so one of them will definitely be coming away with the all-important two points.
The last time the Rangers were at home, they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a 7-0 score while getting four goals from Ryan Callahan. Tonight, the Blueshirts will be looking for the same kind of offense to get the crowd going and excited about the team’s playoff hopes.
For that to happen though, the Blueshirts will need to be careful against these hungry Islanders. The Islanders have gotten terrific play from the likes of John Tavares, Michael Grabner, Blake Comeau, Matt Moulson and goaltender Al Montoya. Yes, the Montoya that was drafted by the Rangers back in 2004.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Brian+Boyle, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Derek+Stepan, Mats+Zuccarello, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ryan+Callahan, Vaclav+Prospal,
Rangers Pick Up the All-Important Two Points in San Jose
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/13/11 at 10:22 AM ET
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It does not matter how you get them just as long you get them.
That is what the New York Rangers were able to do last night in their 3-2 shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks. It wasn’t pretty but the Blueshirts did not allow two deflection goals against to derail them en route to a victory.
At this point in the season, one point is not good enough for the Blueshirts and they showed that last night in San Jose. The team got goals from from Erik Christensen, Michael Sauer and in the shootout, got the winner from Brandon Dubinsky after Wojtek Wolski extended the shootout by scoring on Sharks’ netminder Antti Niemi in the third round of the skills competition.
The Blueshirts also got a terrific performance from their netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist made 31 saves in 65 minutes and then went and stopped five of six shots in the shootout to pick up his 28th victory of the season.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Michael+Sauer, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, San+Jose+Sharks, Toronto+Maple+Leafs, Wojtek+Wolski,
Rangers Set to Go Shark Hunting
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/12/11 at 09:23 PM ET
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If you’re still up at 10:30 p.m. tonight, I hope you hockey/New York Rangers’ fans will tune into tonight’s game between the Blueshirts and the San Jose Sharks.
After losing to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night and having a few days off, the Blueshirts find themselves in tied for seventh/eighth in the Eastern Conference with the Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately, the Rangers are also just two points up on the ninth place Carolina Hurricanes, making tonight’s tilt with the Sharks even more important.
Over at The Rangers Tribune, Nicholas Montemagno wrote about how he agrees with Rangers’ beat writer Larry Brooks on having team head coach John Tortorella unleash sniper Marian Gaborik. I could not agree more as it is imperative that Gaborik gets his offense going as now is not the time in the season to struggle offensively.
I also agree with head coach Tortorella when he says that it is all about the Henrik Lundqvist show now. Lundqvist needs to bring his A-game the rest of the way if the Rangers want to have any chance of getting into the playoffs. Lundqvist has been quite good over his last few games so hopefully, he will be able to keep it up down the stretch.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Artem+Anisimov, Brandon+Dubinsky, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Marc+Staal, Marian+Gaborik, Mats+Zuccarello, Mike+Sauer, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan, Ryan+McDonagh, San+Jose+Sharks, Vaclav+Prospal,
All The Help They Can Get
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/09/11 at 10:37 AM ET
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This is what the New York Rangers need if the team wants to hold onto one of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference.
Last night, the Blueshirts got some help from the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Penguins were able to defeat the eighth place Buffalo Sabres by a score of 3-1. With the loss, the Sabres sit at 72 points and remain two points behind the Rangers, who are in action tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.
Besides doing themselves a favor and coming up with two points against the Ducks tonight in Anaheim, the Rangers should hope that the ninth place Carolina Hurricanes, just three points behind the Blueshirts in the ninth spot, lose tonight to the Atlanta Thrashers. Given the way things have gone for the Thrashers lately, the best thing the Rangers could do tonight is pick up two points to go up four on the Sabres. If the Hurricanes win tonight, than the Rangers would still be three points up if they manage to beat the Ducks.
It is a lot of scoreboard watching but it is what makes this time of year so exciting for hockey fans. Could you imagine if the Blueshirts in the Western Conference? I am sure that many of you would have had a heart attack by now.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Atlanta+Thrashers, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Stay The Course Against Anaheim
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/08/11 at 06:30 PM ET
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At this point of the NHL season, every single game matters if you are a team that is fighting for one of eight spots in either the Eastern or Western Conference.
This statement should hit home for the New York Rangers. Going into their game tomorrow night with the Anaheim Ducks, the team holds the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference with 74 points. This puts the team just two points in front of the eighth place Buffalo Sabres and three points in front of the ninth place Carolina Hurricanes.
With the Sabres playing tonight and the Hurricanes playing tomorrow night, a lot can change prior to the Rangers’ tilt with the Ducks tomorrow night. With that in mind, the goal should be the same: get two points at all costs.
The Blueshirts clearly played with that attitude on Friday night against the Ottawa Senators and Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Blueshirts went on to outscore the Senators and Flyers by a combined score of 11-1.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Los+Angeles+Kings, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ryan+Callahan,
Rangers Win By Playing Rangers’ hockey
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/06/11 at 03:52 PM ET
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In today’s 7-0 white-washing of the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers won by playing the kind of hockey that made them so successful earlier on in the season.
They forechecked, they hit, they blocked shots, they allowed their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to see the puck, they cleared rebounds and they got timely goal scoring. Normally, this is a good recipe of success for any team in the NHL but for the ost part, this has been a big part of the Rangers’ identity when they have won games this season.
This afternoon’s Ranger of the game was easily Ryan Callahan. Callahan picked up his first career hat trick en route to a 4-goal and 5-point game for the Blueshirts. He drove hard to the net, used his quick release to beat Flyers’ netminder Brian Boucher and with his hard work, managed to crack the 20-goal mark.
The team also got solid performances out of Vaclav Prospal (2 assists), Mats Zuccarello (2 goals), Artem Anisimov (1 goal and 1 assist) and Lundqvist (24) saves, who picked up his league-leading ninth shutout of the season.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Artem+Anisimov, Brian+Boucher, Buffalo+Sabres, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Mats+Zuccarello, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ryan+Callahan, San+Jose+Sharks, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Vaclav+Prospal,
WIN - Nothing Else Matters
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/04/11 at 01:00 PM ET
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This is how the New York Rangers should approach tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators.
After dropping a 3-1 contest to the Minnesota Wild last night at Madison Square Garden, the Blueshirts now find themselves in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, just two points ahead of the ninth place Buffalo Sabres and three points in front of the tenth place Toronto Maple Leafs. With that in mind, the Rangers’ have once again forced themselves to be in a tough situation tonight in Ottawa.
The Senators have nothing to play for. They pretty much know that they are not going to make the playoffs this season and as such, have been playing extremely loose and have become a tough team to play against. The Senators’ victory last night over the Atlanta Thrashers is a perfect example of this.
The Rangers, on the other hand, can feel the pressure mounting as April gets closer and closer. Every single game they play from hear on out is important and the team cannot afford to be giving points away. The team has to go into Ottawa tonight with a “WIN” mentality and except nothing less.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jose+Theodore, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Rangers Set for Minnesota Wild
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/03/11 at 08:33 AM ET
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Once again, the New York Rangers head into tonight’s game with the Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden needing to come away with two points in order to separate themselves from the eighth and ninth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, both of those teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres, play each other tonight so no matter what, someone is going to come away with two points and inch close to the Rangers. With that said, if the Blueshirts can come away with two points themselves, they will certainly be in better position and have a bit of insurance.
The Rangers need to come out and set the tone early. They need to throw the puck on net, finish their chances, protect the lead if they get one and do everything they possibly can to win a hockey game because if they cannot, they could be in trouble when they take on the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night in Ottawa and the Philadelphia Flyers at home on Sunday afternoon.
For the Rangers, it will be important that players such as Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Wojtek Wolski, Mats Zuccarello, Artem Anisimov, Brian Boyle and Vinny Prospal step up offensively. With Marian Gaborik still expected to be out of the lineup, these seem to be the guys that can put the puck in the net. Now, they need to do it on a consistent basis.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brandon+Dubinsky, Brian+Boyle, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Mats+Zuccarello, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ryan+Callahan, Vinny+Prospal,
Things Getting Tighter and Tighter for the Blueshirts
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/02/11 at 03:05 PM ET
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Last night’s 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres was a game that the New York Rangers had to have. Unfortunately, the team’s inability to finish hurt their chances of doing just that and as result, making things tighter and tighter for them as the team heads down the stretch.
Mats Zuccarello had a chance to tie hockey game with just under two minutes to go when Wojtek Wolski deflected a puck to the slot to Zuccarello. Zuccarello took it in all alone on Sabres’ netminder Ryan Miller only to be stopped by Miller’s glove. Had Zuccarello been able to lift it a bit higher, the game surely would have gone into overtime where anything could have happened.
The Blueshirts had the puck in the slot numerous amount of times in the third period but Miller was either able to make the save or be lucky enough to have one of his defenseman block it or have the Rangers miss the net. All in all, Miller made 29 saves in helping his team get to within three points of the Rangers in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Mats+Zuccarello, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Miller, Wojtek+Wolski,
Rangers Set to Take on the Sabres
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/01/11 at 08:45 AM ET
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With the NHL Trade Deadline out of the way, it is time for the New York Rangers to focus on clinching a playoff spot in a very competitive Eastern Conference.
Tonight, the Blueshirts will take on the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden in an extremely important game for both clubs. The Rangers currently sit in the seventh spot in the conference with 70 points, just three points behind the sixth place Montreal Canadiens while the Buffalo Sabres are only two points behind the eighth-place Carolina Hurricanes.
With back-up goaltender Martin Biron out indefinitely due to a broken collarbone, it will be up to franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to lead the team the rest of the way. Lundqvist has played well in his last three games and has given his hockey club a chance to win each one of them.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Biron, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers,
Rangers’ Shutout Capitals for the Second Time in Big 6-0 Victory
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/25/11 at 09:32 PM ET
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Going into tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals, many New York Rangers’ pundits and fans did not know what to expect. Both parties worried about the team being without Marc Staal and Marian Gaborik as well as facing a potentially potent Capital’s offense.
May be this was a good thing as the Blueshirts dominated the Capitals on the scoreboardc in a 6-0 shutout victory. Believe it or not, this was the Rangers’ second shutout over the Capitals this season as the team shut them out back in December in a 7-0 romping.
Besides picking up the shutout, the best thing to come out of this game for the Rangers’ was their success on the power play. The team went 2-for-3 on the man advantage with goals from Erik Christensen (he had two goals and an assist in the game) and Derek Stepan. Believe it or not, the team’s power play has been a lot better of late and that is because they are being more aggresive and throwing more pucks on the net. Hopefully this trend will continue for the Blueshirts.
Speaking of Christensen, he played like a man on a mission tonight. He had three points, was around the net a lot, he had four shots on goal, played on the power play and was effective. Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella needs more of this from Christensen as the team continues to build their playoff push.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Dan+Girardi, Derek+Stepan, Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Marc+Staal, Marian+Gaborik, Michael+Sauer, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+McDonagh, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Washington+Capitals,
Four Points On the Line This Weekend/Staal Injury Update
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/25/11 at 08:45 AM ET
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UPDATE: From Andrew Gross via Twitter:
Staal out Fedotenko in McDonagh paired with Girardi tonight for Rangers.
From Earlier: The New York Rangers are back in action tonight in Washington against the Washington Capitals after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday night.
It does not have to be said that this is once again a big game for the Blueshirts. The Rangers still sit in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the eighth place Carolina Hurricanes and six points ahead of the ninth place Buffalo Sabres.
At the other end, the Capitals are currently fifth in the East with 74 points and are just three poitns behind the Southeast Division leading Tampa Bay Lightning. As such, this game is just as important to the Capitals as it is to the Blueshirts.
The Blueshirts will be without Marian Gaborik this wekend as it is believed he suffered a concussion sometime before playing against the Philadelphia Flyers last Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants said the following regarding Gaborik:
Marian Gaborik (concussion) has reported he’s feeling better but there’s no timetable for his return. Gaborik did undergo blood work back in New York to see if there were any “deficiencies,” though Tortorella wasn’t exactly clear on what deficiencies they might be testing for.
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Tags: Andrew+Gross, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Marc+Staal, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Ranger+Rants, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Washington+Capitals,
Rangers Pick Up Big 4-3 Shootout Victory over the Hurricanes
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/22/11 at 10:23 PM ET
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There was no question that the New York Rangers needed to come out of Carolina with two points tonight.
The team was able to do just that with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes after Wojtek Wolski tied the game with less than two minutes to go and then scored the game winner in the shootout to give the Blueshirts two big points in the Eastern Conference Standings. With the win, the team now has 68 points and is just one point behind the sixth place Montreal Canadiens.
This was a game that reminded me a lot of how the team was getting all those wins in the first half of the season. They worked extremely hard, threw pucks at the net (43 shots for the game), forechecked, got timely offense, solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves) and ultimately, were able to get two big points.
The game had a playoff-like feel to it and the Blueshirts treated it as such. The team is going to have to do this for the rest of the season as the games are only going to get tougher as we get closer to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marc+Staal, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Washington+Capitals, Wojtek+Wolski,
Time to Get The Rangers’ Offense Going
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/22/11 at 08:45 AM ET
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It seems like this has been a key theme for the New York Rangers during the second half of the NHL season.
Unfortunately, the Blueshirts have had trouble doing so on a consistent basis, which will need to change fast especially if the team finds out Marian Gaborik will be out of the lineup for a bit (should know more today). Tonight, the team will need to start up its offense against the eighth place Carolina Hurricanes in Carolina tonight.
The Hurricanes are just two points behind the Rangers in the Eastern Conference standings and are 15-10-3 on home ice this season. With that said, the Rangers will have a hill to climb tonight if they want to get two points before taking on the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
As I mentioned up top, this team needs to start scoring goals. The Blueshirts need guys like Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Wojtek Wolski, Artem Anisimov, Brian Boyle, and Vinny Prospal to all start putting the puck in the net with regularity.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brandon+Dubinsky, Brian+Boyle, Carolina+Hurricanes, Jim+Cerny, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan, Vinny+Prospal, Wojtek+Wolski,
Gaborik Update: Disappointing 4-2 loss for the Rangers
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/20/11 at 03:23 PM ET
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Marian Gaborik Update: From NBC’s NHL Extra Twitter Account:
An update on Marian Gaborik from earlier today, he left the game with a concussion.
From Earlier: In a game in which the New York Rangers outshot the Philadelphia Flyers 39-24, the Blueshirts managed to lose the game 4-2 at Madison Square Garden this afternoon.
A lot of credit has to be given to Flyers’ netminder Brian Boucher. Boucher was on top of his game in making 37 saves and was especially big in the third period when he stopped 14 of 15 Ranger shots.
With that said, however, this game was once again a perfect example of how the Blueshirts still lack some finish to their game. In the third period, Rangers’ forward Artem Anisimov could not get his stick on a cross crease pass on what could have been an easy goal.
Overall, it wasn’t a terrible game for the Blueshirts. They put plenty of pressure in the Flyers’ zone, put plenty of pucks on net but just couldn’t get the goal that mattered in the third period.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Atlanta+Thrashers, Brian+Boucher, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Washington+Capitals,
Where was the Offense?
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/19/11 at 10:13 AM ET
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In a game that the New York Rangers really needed to get two points to help keep pace in the Eastern Conference, they got none as the team was shutout 1-0 by the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
The Blueshirts only had 15 shots on Devils’ netminder Johan Hedberg. While Hedberg did make some good saves, many shots were not considered quality scoring chances and this is what hurt the Blueshirts.
As always, the Devils played a very aggressive game defensively. The Devils were able to capitalize when the Rangers’ turned over the puck in the offensive zone only to have Devils’ sniper Illya Kovalchuk go in and score on a breakaway to give his team a 1-0 lead and ultimately, the hockey game.
To me, it seemed like the only Ranger who played well last night was goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist was sharp from the get go and did everything he could to try and get his team two points in making 27 saves.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Johan+Hedberg, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Rangers Power Play Clicks In Victory Over the Penguins
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/13/11 at 05:40 PM ET
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As our fearless leader Paul Kukla mentioned in my previous blog, I need to start writing about the New York Rangers needing to win now in order to get the team going.
This afternoon at Madison Square Garden, the Blueshirts did just that in a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, snapping their six game winless strerak. The team was also able to get its power play as the team went three for five with the man advantage.
The game certainly did not start great for the Rangers as they found themselves 2-0 after the Penguins scored two goals on their first four shots. After Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella called a timeout, the team responded in a positive manner and exploded offensively.
The Blueshirts got goals from Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan (2), Vinny Prospal and Artem Anisimov with Callahan, Prospal and Anisimov all connecting on the power play. It just goes to show you what a good power play can do to a hockey team as this afternoon, it certainly raised the level of the Rangers.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Atlanta+Thrashers, Brian+Boyle, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Los+Angeles+Kings, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Vinny+Prospal,
The Goal is Simple: Win
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/13/11 at 11:02 AM ET
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This is exactly how the New York Rangers should look at this afternoon’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blueshirts are winless in their last six games and the streak has put them dangerously close to falling out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The Carolina Hurricanes, who are in the eighth spot, and the Atlanta Thrashers, who are in the ninth spot, are both just two points behind the Rangers and each have games in hand.
The team’s offense must find ways to put pucks in the net on a more consistent basis. Marian Gaborik, and it seems like we have talked about him all season, needs to start scoring goals. He played well on Friday night against the Thrashers but could not score on the penalty shot he was awarded in the third period. Had he scored on the penalty shot, the team may have come away with a victory rather than a 3-2 loss.
The Rangers also need to start finding a way to close out games. During their winless streak, they haven’t been terrible by any means. In fact, they had a chance to win most of the games but simply could not find a way to do so. This needs to change immediately.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Is Tonight the Biggest Game of the Year for the Blueshirts?
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/11/11 at 08:00 AM ET
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Everyone involved in the New York Rangers’ organization from the brass, to its players and to its fans should answer that with a resounding YES.
The team is winless in their last five games and tonight, take on an Atlanta Thrashers hockey team that is just four points behind them in the Eastern Conference standings. To make things a bit more interesting, the Carolina Hurricanes are only three points behind their Blueshirts with one game in hand.
The Rangers need to stop the bleeding before they have nothing left and find themselves out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season. To get back on the right track tonight, the team is going to need some offense, smart play in the neutral zone and strong goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, who should be between the pipes tonight.
When it comes to the team’s offense, Marian Gaborik needs to step up and contribute. This is a guy who can skate and shoot with the best of them and yet, he has not been able to do so this season. If Gaborik can get a goal or two tonight, it should boost his confidence and may be get him going.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Brandon+Dubinsky, Brian+Boyle, Carolina+Hurricanes, Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan, Sean+Avery, Vinny+Prospal,
Rangers Missing the Playoffs: Can It Actually Happen?
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/08/11 at 12:00 PM ET
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This is the question that New York Rangers’ fans are asking themselves after a tough 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena last night.
After working extremely hard to stay in the thick of the ever tight Eastern Conference playoff race, the team’s current five game winless streak has put them in the seventh spot in the conference. The Blueshirts are just four points in front of the eighth place Carolina Hurricanes and the Atlanta Thrashers.
The team is struggling to score the big goal, having trouble on the power play and not getting contributions from its scoring sniper, Marian Gaborik. All of these things lead to a much less potent Rangers’ hockey club and one that could very well find themselves golfing come April rather than competing for the Stanley Cup.
With regards to the team’s power play, the coaching staff needs to figure out a system that plays to the team’s strengths, which is working hard down lo and scoring the dirty goals. Instead, the team is electing to pass rather than shoot, giving the opponent a very easy read on the Rangers’ power play.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Detroit+Red+Wings, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Better Defensive Effort Needed Tonight Fron the Rangers Against the Thrashers
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/22/11 at 12:00 PM ET
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After losing to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Thursday night, the New York Rangers have to put in a much better defensive effort in their game tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers.
The team allowed 39 shots on Thursday night, did not break up enough plays, and were often caught out of position. Had the team performed better on the defensive side of the puck on Thursday night, we could be talking a 4-1 win rather than a loss.
In looking at the Rangers vs. Thrashers game preview on the team’s web site, it seems that the team will be ready to deliver a much better defensive performance tonight against an offensive Thrashers hockey club.
“If we’re going to compete, especially in the second half of the season, we have to defend the proper way,” said Tortorella. “It has to be of the utmost importance to us. We have to defend first, and then work from there. So we have some work to do.”
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, John+Tortorella, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Washington+Capitals,
Sloppy Defensive Effort Hurts Blueshirts in Loss to the Hurricanes
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/21/11 at 11:06 AM ET
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After pounding seven goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, the New York Rangers were held to one goal in a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center.
Specifically, they were held to one goal by the terrific netminding of Cam Ward, who made 39 saves in the game. The Rangers had their chances to score a bunch of goals by time and time again last night, Ward was able to make the save.
If you’re a die-hard Blueshirts’ fan, I am sure that you expected the team to deliver that kind of effort last night after scoring a bunch of goals the night before. With that said, however, the team had a lot of opportunities and had those chances gone in, we could be talking about another big win.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, New+York+Rangers,
Gaborik shines in Rangers’ Victory
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/20/11 at 08:43 AM ET
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When we first heard that New York Rangers’ forward Brandon Dubinsky was going to be out with an injury for the next three to four weeks, Blueshirt fans probably wondered who was going to step up and provide the offense.
As it turns out, the player that should have been supplying offense all season long stepped up in a big way last night with four goals and an assist for five points in a 7-0 white-washing of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The player I am talking about is Marian Gaborik.
Gaborik was simply an offensive force last night. He hustled, had a nose for the net, put pucks to the net and the puck always seemed to find him at the right time. These were all the things that he did last season that allowed him to score over 40 goals.
This is the Gaborik that team needs to have on a consistent basis. With someone like Dubinsky out, goals are going to be a bit harder to come by but if Gaborik can play like he did last night going forward, the team will be a lot better off.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brandon+Dubinsky, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Sean+Avery, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
Time to Start Going Goals
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/19/11 at 08:29 AM ET
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With the New York Rangers having dropped three of their last four games all by one goal, the time has come for the team to start putting the puck in the net at the right time.
The team will get the chance to do that tonight when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in an original six matchup at Madison Square Garden.
The Blueshirts need to come out and be offensive and aggressive for a full 60 minutes rather than just the last period of the hockey game, which was the case in back-to-back losses this weekend to the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers. Had the team played the way they did in the third period on both nights, we could easily be talking about a three game winning streak.
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Tags: Andrew+Gross, Artem+Anismov, Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Derek+Stepan, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, Mats+Zuccarello, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ranger+Rants, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Toronto+Maple+Leafs, Washington+Capitals, Wojtek+Wolski,
Rangers Set for Original Six Battle with the Canadiens/UPDATE: Staal and Lundqvist Are All-Stars
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/11/11 at 11:32 AM ET
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UPDATE: New York Rangers’ defenseman Marc Staal and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist were selected to the NHL All-Star game. This is certainly a well-deserved honor for both as Staal is clearly the team’s best defenseman and one of the best shutdown defensemen in the National Hockey League while Lundqvist is the backbone of the team and one of the best goaltenders in the league.
UPDATE 2: Rangers’ rookie Derek Stepan will participate in the Honda NHL Superskills Competition.
EARLIER: Tonight’s game between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens at Madison square Garden could feature a number of firsts.
To start, Wojtek Wolski will make his Rangers’ debut tonight after being traded to the team yesterday in exchange for defenseman Michal Rozsival. Wolski definitely has what it takes to produce in the league but much like Alex Frolov, he needs to show that he can do it at a consistent level. The Rangers are giving him a fresh start and if he ends up succeeding, the Blueshirts will be all the better for it considering he is just 24-years-old.
According to Rangers’ beat writer Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants, Wolski will wear No. 86 tonight and will get the chance to skate with Marian Gaborik:
Also, tonight is the expected Rangers debut of Wojtek Wolski. Even though Sean Avery has played well the past three games on Marian Gaborik’s left wing, I suspect Wolski will get a chance to skate with Gaborik and Artem Anisimov with Avery skating with Drury and, most likely, Kris Newbury. But we’ll see about the line combinations later on.
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Tags: Alex+Frolov, Andrew+Gross, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dallas+Stars, Michal+Rozsival, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Ranger+Rants, St.+Louis+Blues, Wojtek+Wolski,
Rangers Win with Youth
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/06/11 at 08:24 AM ET
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For many years, New York Rangers’ fans wanted a team that worked hard every night, won hockey games and had a bunch of young players on the roster.
Believe it or not, Rangers’ general manager Glen Sather has succeeded in making that happen and it showed last night in the team’s 2-1 overtime victory last night over the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.
The key players in last night’s victory are all home-grown Blueshirts and all contributed to a Blueshirt victory. Defenseman Matt Gilroy scored to give the Rangers’ a 1-0 lead off a great feed from Mats Zuccarello.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dallas+Stars, Glen+Sather, John+Tortorella, Mats+Zuccarello, Matt+Gilory, New+York+Rangers, St.+Louis+Blues,
Not Just Yet for Ryan McDonagh
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/04/11 at 03:05 PM ET
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According to Peter Botte of the Daily News, recently called up defenseman Ryan McDonagh will not play for the New York Rangers tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who was recalled from Connecticut to replace demoted Michael Del Zotto, also took part in practice. He isn’t slated to play against the Hurricanes, with Tortorella again praising Matt Gilroy for working his way back into the Rangers’ top-six.
Don’t worry folks. I have a feeling that Tortorella will get McDonagh in the lineup very soon but right now, the team has a solid defense in Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michal Rozsival, Matt Gilroy, Michael Sauer and Steve Eminger. With that in mind, there is no need to rush McDonagh into a game right now.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, John+Tortorella, New+York+Rangers, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Ryan+McDonagh,
Tough Loss Despite Great Effort From Team’s Top Line
by Patrick Hoffman on 10/30/10 at 05:06 PM ET
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The New York Rangers played a solid enough home game last night to win.
Unfortunately, they came up short in losing the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 4-3, despite taking 43 shots and Hurricanes’ netminder Cam Ward.
The team got a terrific performance out of the Brandon Dubinsky (1 G, 1A), Ryan Callahan (1G, 1A), and Artem Anisimov (1A) line. Both Dubinsky and Callahan scored goals while Anisimov showed great support by going after the puck, taking hits, getting the pukc to his linemates and putting himself in good scoring position to create opportunities.
This continues to be the top line for the Blueshirts and it shows by how much head coach John Tortorella is putting them out there. The head coach said the following to team web site beat writer Jim Cerny after the game:
“They continue to be our best and most consistent line night after night,” Rangers head coach John Tortorella said. “I liked a lot of what I saw from our team (Friday) night. There are things we have to fix, but there are a lot of good things there.”
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brandon+Dubinsky, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Martin+Biron, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
A Continuing Trend and Trouble Ahead
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/28/10 at 09:57 AM ET
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Things continue to go sour for the Blueshirts as the team lost 5-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes last night at Madison Square Garden.
The team started slow and was never able to really recover, which has been a problem for the Rangers all season long. The problem continues to grow and has sunk the Blueshirts into the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with 55 points, barely keeping them in a playoff spot as the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders all have 54 points.
There’s trouble on this team folks. They’re having trouble scoring, not playing solid defensively and according to Larry Brooks, things are very negative in the locker room. This has led the Rangers and their fans to picture what it will potentially be like in April when the team does not make the postseason.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers,
Hurricane Warning at Madison Square Garden
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/27/10 at 07:19 PM ET
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This is going to be a really short blog folks.
Less than five minutes into the game, it’s 2-0 Carolina Hurricanes over the New York Rangers. The crowd is already out of it, Henrik Lundqvist does not look sharp and has allowed a softie and this looks like a potential game for the Blueshirts to get shutout in.
I really hope I’m wrong but the Blueshirts don’t look like they’re ready to play tonight.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers,
Blueshirts Preparing for a Hurricane
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/27/10 at 09:52 AM ET
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Another game, another chance to score some goals and more importantly, a chance to pick up two crucial points in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
These are the things that the New York Rangers have to look forward to heading into tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden. The team is currently tied for the eighth and final playoff spot (seventh in the East according to NHL.com) with the Florida Panthers, who are coming off a big 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens last night.
The Blueshirts have lost three straight games, scoring just two goals and allowing 12, certainly numbers that do not lead to victories in the National Hockey League. Tonight, the team will be looking to reverse the trend, put the puck in the net, and play solidly enough on defense and in goal to help win a big hockey game.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers,
Rangers Continue to Disappoint & Struggle
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/26/10 at 11:03 AM ET
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I unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), was not around to watch the New York Rangers lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-2 last night at Madison Square Garden.
I know that Artem Anisimov had two goals for the Blueshirts and some dude named Chris Conner had two goals for the Penguins. I also know that the Rangers continued to struggle and managed to fall to eighth place in the Eastern Conference with the loss last night.
Hockey pundits and fans alike know how important getting points at this time of year is. We stress it over and over again and with good reason, considering that the Olympic break is coming up and then after that, April will be here before we know it.
The question is where will the Rangers be when all is said and done?
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Flyers Dominate Blueshirts
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/31/09 at 09:57 AM ET
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I have to say that I did not see this coming.
Last game at MSG before 2010, a chance to pick up two big points in front of the home crowd and improve the team’s home record and an opportunity to build a new winning streak - all blown to smitheriens as the Blueshirts lost to the Philadelphia Flyers last night by a score of 6-0.
Basically put, the team did not show up last night. They gave the Flyers ample scoring opportunities, left guys all alone in front of both goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (pulled after the first period) and Chad Johnson and made the game quite easy for Flyers’ netminder Michael Leighton.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers,
