Kukla's Korner

Goal Line Report

Entries with the tag: James+Neal

Do Not Take Lightly

This is the attitude that the New York Rangers should have going into tonight’s tilt with the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

The Penguins may be without Sidney Crosby and some of their other better players but they have definitely picked-up their play in the last few games. Guys like Evgeni Malkin, who should be considered the Penguins’ most valuable player right now, and James Neal are doing everything they possibly can to keep their club afloat while Crosby is still recovering.

Furthermore, defenseman Kris Letang will be making his return to the Penguins’ line-up tonight. This will give the Penguins some added firepower and as well as a lethal threat on the power play.

Like team head coach John Tortorella said two nights ago, the club should not be thinking about the Stanley Cup right now. This Blueshirts’ hockey club has a long way to go and needs to take things on a game-by-game basis, something that has worked well for them so far this season.

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 Tags: Evegni+Malkin, Henrik+Lundqvist, James+Neal, John+Tortorella, Kris+Letang, Nashville+Predators, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Sidney+Crosby,

Holding Onto the Top Spot

That is what the New York Rangers continue to do as the team picked-up a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators last night at Madison Square Garden.

Due to playing in a hockey game of my own, I was not able to catch any of the game. With that said, it was nice to see Henrik Lundqvist get another shutout and the team come out with a much better defensive performance than they did against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night in Montreal.

It was also nice to see that John Mitchell scored another goal for the Blueshirts. No one really knew whether or not Mitchell would fit in with this Rangers’ team but he has come in and gotten the job done by working hard every night, forechecking hard, going to the net and cashing in on opportunities when they present themselves.

This is a team that continues to show that it can respond well after a loss. Too many times in the past few seasons would the Rangers follow up a loss with another bad game but this season, team head coach John Tortorella has seemed to keep that to a minimum.

With the win, the Rangers improved to 29-11-4 for 62 points. The team has a one point edge over the Detroit Red Wings for first in the league and a three point edge over the Boston Bruins for first in the Eastern Conference.

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 Tags: Boston+Bruins, Detroit+Red+Wings, Evgeni+Malkin, Henrik+Lundqvist, James+Neal, John+Mitchell, John+Tortorella, Montreal+Canadiens, Nashville+Predators, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Sidney+Crosby,

Big Test for Blueshirts

That will most certainly be the case tonight when the New York Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The Penguins ride into town with the best record in both the Eastern Conference and entire NHL (14-6-4). Of course, we cannot forget that Sidney Crosby is back and once again looks like the best player in the entire National Hockey League.

The Blueshirts are also playing some pretty solid hockey themselves. They have won two straight over the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers and also sport one of the league’s best records on home ice at 6-1-1.

The key for the Rangers tonight will be to key in on guys like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. These guys know how to put the puck in the net and if given ample room to do so, especially on the power play, will make the Blueshirts pay for their mistakes.

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 Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brad+Richards, Derek+Stepan, Evgeni+Malkin, Henrik+Lundqvist, James+Neal, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Sidney+Crosby,

     

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