Goal Line Report
Entries with the tag: New+Jersey+devils
An E-mail Interview with Sean Hartnett of WFAN.com
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/24/12 at 03:02 PM ET
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With the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils battling it out to see who will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final, I figured now would be a good time to conduct an e-mail interview with someone who is currently covering the series.
Sean Hartnett, hockey writer/blogger for WFAN.com, was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to tell us about how he got into hockey, how he became a hockey blogger as well as his thoughts on the Eastern Conference Finals.
PH: How did you get into hockey?
SH: As a boy, I was fascinated with Mario Lemieux. I enjoyed the artistry he displayed on the ice. He was the ultimate game-changer. The highlight of his spectacular goal in Game 2 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals never gets old. He absolutely undressed the Minnesota North Stars’ defense. No matter how many times I watch it, it will never get old.
The first hockey video game I owned was NHL ‘94, so that definitely played a part in building my hockey obsession. I would have NHL ‘94 tournaments with neighbors and close elementary school friends. Nearly, two decades later… I haven’t really changed that much. At the age of 27, I still have NHL 12 tournaments with friends and they get pretty heated!
PH: Growing up, who was your favorite team/player?
SH: As a kid, teams weren’t as important to me as individual players who made the game so enjoyable to watch. I mentioned Lemieux earlier and I loved watching Wayne Gretzky set up behind the net in ‘his office’ and work his magic.
Everyone enjoys players who are artists on the ice. Early 90’s Teemu Selanne and Pavel Bure could pull off ‘out this world moves’ like no one I’ve ever seen before or since. Mike Modano, Pat LaFontaine and Brett Hull were the ultimate examples of talented Americans who were great ambassadors for the game.
I had friends who were Rangers, Devils and Islanders fans but I never really got caught up in the rivalry at young age. My mother bought me the 1994 Rangers’ championship t-shirt but it seemed like every couple months I was getting a t-shirt, jacket or jersey of a different team from my mom who spoiled me or another family member.
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Tags: New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Sean+Hartnett, WFAN.com,
Devils’ Late Goal Sinks Rangers’ Comeback Efforts
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/23/12 at 10:49 PM ET
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At the end of the day, it does not matter how many goals you allow as long as you are the team that has more when the final buzzer sounds.
In tonight’s Game 5 between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden, it was Devils’ forward Ryan Carter’s goal with less than five minutes to go in the hockey game that lifted the Devils to a 5-3 victory. The Devils’ defense may not have been great but in the end, it was their offense that got the crucial goal to give their team a 3-2 series lead.
For the Rangers, it was the things that happened both early and late in the game that hurt them the most. In the first period, the Devils scored three goals on six shots (Stephen Gionta, Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac) to go up 3-0 less than 10 minutes into the hockey game. Then, in the third period, Carter scored the Devils to put them up 4-3 after the Blueshirts had gotten themselves back into the game and that was followed by a Zach Parise empty net goal with 1:32 to go in the hockey game.
Had it not been for those 15-minutes, this could have been a Rangers’ victory. Even when the club was down 3-0, they did not quit and battled hard to tie the game as they got goals from Brandon Prust, Ryan Callahan and Marian Gaborik.
The team was also able to take advantage of a somewhat shaky Martin Brodeur (25 saves) to get back into the hockey game. With that said, Brodeur battled to the end and made the big saves late in the third period when it mattered most and more importantly, he put his team one victory away from a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Brandon+Prust, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Brodeur, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Patrik+Elias, Ryan+Callahan, Ryan+Carter, Stephen+Gionta, Travis+Zajac,
Some Nasty Moments in The Rangers/Devils’ Rivalry
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/23/12 at 08:43 PM ET
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From Patrick Hoffman at Sportsnet.ca:
One of the greatest things about pro sports is the rivalries.
The NHL, like all other leagues, is built on a plethora of great rivalries. One of these rivalries is continuing its epic history in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Of course, this is between division rivals the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. This rivalry has produced a ton of great regular season and playoff games, goals, saves and memories.
In addition to the great parts of this rivalry, there has also been a fair share of the nasty. Dirty hits, wild fights, plenty of jawing and an overall hatred of each other makes the Rangers-Devils rivalry one of the fiercest in the NHL.
Click here for more.
Monday night’s game at the Prudential Center brought this rivalry to the forefront of the sports world. So it only seems logical to take a look at some of the nastiest moments this great rivalry has created.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers,
Looking for Answers Tonight in Game 5
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/23/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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Coming into tonight’s Game 5 between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden, it appears that there are more questions than answers regarding the state of the Blueshirts after their 4-1 loss in Game 4.
While the Rangers were not exactly dead in their loss in Game 4, the team certainly was nowhere near its best. The club spent too much time in the penalty box, was outworked, outhustled and outshot and offensively, were too quiet to generate quality scoring chances against future Hall of Fame netminder Martin Brodeur.
Obviously, the team said all the right things both after the game and after yesterday’s practice but one has to wonder what the team is really thinking. For example, what is Rangers’ defenseman Michael Del Zotto thinking after his terrible performance in Game 4 in which he was the main cause of the Devils’ second goal by Travis Zajac and was also benched by head coach John Tortorella?
Another question that needs to be answered tonight is regarding the team’s offense? Where have the likes of Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards gone? While it is not fair to put all of the pressure on Gaborik and Richards to perform, these are the only two guys on the Blueshirts, with the exception of team captain Ryan Callahan, that can produce and put the puck in the net on regular basis.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, John+Tortorella, Martin+Brodeur, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Travis+Zajac,
The Script Remains The Same
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/21/12 at 10:43 PM ET
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This appears to be the case for the New York Rangers as the team dropped Game 4 at the Prudential Center to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-1.
For the third straight series, the Blueshirts will go into Game 5 tied with their opponent. While this probably should not have happened against both the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, the Rangers certainly deserve this fate after the way they played tonight.
The Blueshirts came out extremely flat in the first period and paid for it. The Devils picked-up two goals (Bryce Salvador and Travis Zajac) and were outshot 12-9 in the process. Had it not been for the strong play of Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist (26 saves), the period could have been much worse for the Blueshirts.
The team also racked up 41 minutes in penalties. While it was good to see the Rangers play a physical brand of hockey, spending that much time in the penalty box does not help anyone and only takes your best players off the ice for an extended period of time, something the Rangers cannot afford to do on any given night.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Bryce+Salvador, Henrik+Lundqvist, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Travis+Zajac, Washington+Capitals, Zach+Parise,
Time to Go Off Script
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/21/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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For the New York Rangers, this postseason has been a story of deja vu.
There have been many similarities in each round from the number of games played, to the goal scorers in each game as well as the general outcome of each tilt. While this is certainly interesting, it is time for the Blueshirts to go off script.
In each series, the Rangers have taken a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 only to lose both times to the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, respectively. In fact, only once in this whole postseason have the Rangers been able to win two straight games and that was back in Games 6 and 7 of their first round series against the Senators.
The Blueshirts are coming off a game in which they were badly outplayed by the New Jersey Devils, except for a portion of the third period when they got two quick goals from Dan Girardi and Chris Kreider. Luckily, the team got a terrific 36-save performance from their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as he made extremely timely saves against the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique and others.
The Rangers were also very lucky that the goal posts were on their side on Saturday afternoon. The Devils hit four of them and had at least one gone in, it could have been a much different hockey game.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Adam+Henrique, Brad+Richards, Chris+Kreider, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, Ilya+Kovalchuk, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Travis+Zajac, Washington+Capitals, Zach+Parise,
Prust Suspended for Game 4
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/20/12 at 07:42 PM ET
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From NHL.com:
It appears as though the New York Rangers will be without Brandon Prust on Monday night.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the rugged forward has been suspended for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils after his hit on Anton Volchenkov during the second period of Saturday’s 3-0 win at the Prudential Center.
Volchenkov was carrying the puck along the boards and chipped it out of the zone when Prust landed an elbow to the back of Volchenkov’s helmet. Volchenkov, was down on the ice for almost a minute afterward, but was able to continue playing.
Click here for more.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Anton+Volchenkov, Brandon+Prust, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers,
Prust to Have Hearing Tomorrow
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/19/12 at 08:39 PM ET
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From NHL.com:
New York Rangers forward Brandon Prust will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Sunday morning after connecting with the head of Anton Volchenkov during a 3-0 win against the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday.
Volchenkov was carrying the puck along the boards and chipped it out of the zone when Prust landed an elbow to the back of Volchenkov’s helmet in the second period. Volchenkov was down on the ice for almost a minute afterward, but was able to continue playing. No penalty was called on the play.
Click here for more on Prust.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Anton+Volchenkov, Brandon+Prust, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers,
Lundqvist Stonewalls Devils’ in Game 3 Shutout
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/19/12 at 04:46 PM ET
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Once again in this year’s postseason, New York Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was the story for his hockey club as his 36-save performance help shutout the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 at the Prudential Center by a score of 3-0.
Much like in Game 1, except with a lot more shots in this afternoon’s tilt, Lundqvist stopped everything the Devils threw at him in the hockey game. He was especially good in the first period when he stopped several odd man rushes and made a terrific glove save on Devils’ sniper Ilya Kovalchuk in close.
Lundqvist also made several big stops in the middle frame to keep the game at 0-0 in the third period. The Devils outshot the Rangers 15-9 in that period but again were not able to put one past the “King”.
Then, in the third period, the Blueshirts found a way to put pucks past Martin Brodeur, who, like Lundqvist, was also have a solid game between the pipes for his hockey club. Rangers’ defenseman Dan Girardi put the team up 1-0 on the power play just over three minutes into the third period when a Brad Richards’ face-off win ended up in the back of the net off a Girardi snap shot that beat Brodeur stick side.
Two minutes later, the Rangers found the back of the net again when rookie Chris Kreider deflected a Ryan McDonagh shot past Brodeur for his fifth of the postseason and a 2-0 Rangers’ lead. While the Rangers did not generate a lot of offense all game long (22 shots), they were able to score two goals 1:57 apart.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Chris+Kreider, Dan+Girardi, Ilya+Kovalchuk, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators,
Heads or Tails?
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/19/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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That is what this Eastern Conference Finals series is between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils because picking which team will advance to the Stanley Cup Final is like flipping a coin.
On one side, you have the No. 1 seed Blueshirts. These Rangers work hard, block a lot of shots, play physical, get great goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist and yet, have not been able to take control of a series for three straight rounds.
On the other side, you have the No. 6 seed Devils. These Devils have speed, know how to put a net front presence in front of Lundqvist, have many two-way players, and have a future hall of fame netminder in Martin Brodeur.
This is why it makes perfect sense that heading into this afternoon’s Game 3 at the Prudential Center, this series is tied up. In Game 1, the Blueshirts rode a three goal third period and the perfect goaltending of Lundqvist to a 3—0 shutout. In Game 2, the Devils fought hard all game long, used deflections to beat Lundqvist and got great goaltending from Brodeur.
For the Rangers to win this game, a number of things need to happen. For starters, the Blueshirts need offense. Guys like Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, and Ryan Callahan need to start scoring like they did in the regular season.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Brad+Richards, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan,
An apology
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/18/12 at 03:37 PM ET
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Obviously, I am taking quite a beating for the article I wrote regarding the New Jersey Devils and their No Blue campaign.
For starters, I did not mean this as an offense to any Devils’ fans. This was an opinion article and one that may be I should have written very differently.
I guess what I am still having trouble understanding is why an organization, that has had attendance problems in the past, would want to keep a group of fans that has done a lot to make the Devils’ profitable during the course of the rivalry. In fact, many people call the Prudential Center MSG South or even reference it as another home game for the Blueshirts.
I can understand that the organization wants to have more of their fans in the building rather than having a bunch of Rangers’ fans. In fact, that is admirable and one that will more likely help home ice advantage.
With that said, that is still money that the team is turning down. I guess that is all I was trying to say.
Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+rangers,
What are The Devils Thinking?
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/18/12 at 12:43 PM ET
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From Patrick Hoffman at Sportsnet.ca:
For their Eastern Conference Final with their Hudson River rival New York Rangers, the New Jersey Devils have gone ahead and launched a “No Blue” campaign to help enhance their home ice advantage at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
This campaign is designed to keep Rangers’ fans out of the Prudential Center during the Eastern Conference Finals and get more Devils’ fans in the arena to support their hockey club.
On one hand, it is understandable for a team’s fan base to do whatever it takes to root on their favorite hockey team and utilize home ice advantage to the best of their abilities. On the other hand, this campaign is absolutely ridiculous and when you think about it, embarrassing for an NHL franchise.
What does it say about your franchise that you are still trying to get your own fans into your barn for a playoff game? In most other NHL cities, it is easy to get fans into a building for a Stanley Cup playoff game and have it sell out.
Click here for more.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers,
Rangers Fail To Take Control for Third Straight Round
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/16/12 at 11:19 PM ET
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This is starting to become a familiar story for the New York Rangers in this postseason as the team finds themselves tied with their opponent after two games for the third straight round.
This opponent, the New Jersey Devils, went into Madison Square Garden and played a solid road game in earning a 3-2 victory to even up the series. The Devils got timely goal scoring, got another good game from their goaltender Martin Brodeur and did a good job of closing the door late in the third period to get the big victory.
For the Blueshirts, this was once again a game that they could have won. Rangers’ rookie Chris Kreider scored his fourth goal of the playoffs on a power play that gave the Rangers’ a 2-1 lead with just over 8 minutes left to go in the second period.
With the way Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist has been playing this postseason, one might think that would be enough to get the Rangers a victory and a 2-0 series lead. That did not happen as the Devils’ scored with just over two minutes to go in the second period to tie it (deflection by Ryan Carter) and a goal 2:31 in the third period (David Clarkson) to get a lead they would never relinquish.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Chris+Kreider, David+Clarkson, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jim+Cerny, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Carter,
Time To Take Control
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/16/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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This is what the New York Rangers need to do tonight in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series with the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.
With the Blueshirts coming off a 3-0 victory in Game 1 and the 1-0 series lead, the Rangers should try and do everything they can to take control of this series. Through the first two rounds, it never felt like the Rangers had the series well within their grasp and while this series is in no way easy for the team, they should be able to grab control of this series in a hurry if things go their way.
For starters, Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist is more than just on top of his game. While he did not face as many shots (21) as Devils’ Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur (27) did, Lundqvist made the big saves when he had to and was especially good in the second period when he made 10 saves, many of them of the difficult variety.
Secondly, the team has its forechecking game going again. This was evident on the team’s first goal by Dan Girardi when Chris Kreider got to the puck first and fed Girardi for the one timer and it was also apparent as the team won many puck battles along the boards.
It should also be mentioned just how good the Rangers’ defense has been in their last two games. The team held the Devils to just 21 shots in the game and 4 in the last period on Monday night in Game 1 and in Game 7 on Saturday night against the Washington Capitals in the third period, they held up the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson, and Mike Green and gave them very little room to maneuver or shoot the puck.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Alexander+Semin, Alex+Ovechkin, Brooks+Laich, Chris+Kreider, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marcus+Johansson, Martin+Brodeur, Mike+Green, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Nicklas+Backstrom, Washington+Capitals,
Rangers Take Game 1
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/14/12 at 10:45 PM ET
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If you are or have been a fan of either the New York Rangers or New Jersey Devils for the past 20 years or so, than Game 1 between the two clubs in the Eastern Conference Finals was a very familiar story.
The Blueshirts were able to come away with a 3-0 victory thanks to third period goals from defenseman Dan Girardi, fresh out of college winger Chris Kreider and Artem Anisimov and solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist. For the Rangers, it was the fifth time that the team has shutout the Devils in the postseason as Rangers’ great Mike Richter shut out their Hudson River rivals once in 1992 (Game 4), once in 1994 (Game 2) and twice in 1997 (Games 2 and 4).
This was a typical Rangers’/Devils’ game. There was lots of tight checking, lots of blocked shots, and with the exception of the third period, not a lot of goals were scored. It was like a regular season game except for the fact that this is now the Conference Finals.
For the second time in as many games, the Blueshirts outplayed their opponent in the third period. The team forechecked hard, threw plenty of pucks on Devils’ Hall of Fame netminder Martin Brodeur (25 saves) and were able to not only get the first goal of the game, but they followed it up with an insurance marker just a few minutes later.
Rangers’ rookie Chris Kreider was involved on both goals. On Girardi’s goal, it was Kreider who carried the puck into the Devils’ zone and was able to feed Girardi, who was coming off the bench on a line change, with the puck who buried one past Brodeur’s right pad.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Artem+Anisimov, Chris+Kreider, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, Martin+Brodeur, Mike+Richter, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers,
Battle of the Hudson Part 6
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/14/12 at 10:13 AM ET
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For hockey fans in New York and New Jersey, the Eastern Conference Finals could not be a more perfect scenario.
Tonight, the Eastern Conference Finals get underway between the No. 1 seed New York Rangers and No. 6 seed New Jersey Devils. This will be the sixth time the two Hudson River rivals go at it in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Rangers winning four of the five series’s.
The Blueshirts are coming off their second Game 7 victory of the 2012 postseason as they were able to finally knock out the Washington Capitals in the postseason after failing to do so in 2009 and 2011. The Rangers came through when they needed to and showed that when they are under a ton of pressure to win a hockey game, they can come through with flying colors.
Across the river, the New Jersey Devils just shocked the No. 5 seed Philadelphia Flyers by beating the Broadstreet Bullies in just five games. The Devils’ defense was tremendous in shutting down one of the top offenses in the league and are now in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2003 season when they won the Cup.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Henrik+Lundqvist, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Washington+Capitals,
That Old Feeling: Rangers Advance to Conference Finals to Take on The Devils
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/13/12 at 10:33 AM ET
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I am sure that this is something many of you New York Ranger fans are getting after the team defeated the Washington Capitals in Game 7 last night to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will take on the New Jersey Devils.
Obviously, this is similar to 1994. While it did not take 7 games in 1994 to knock out the Capitals in the second round, the Rangers still came through with the win to advance to take on Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.
18 years later, Brodeur is still the man between the pipes in New Jersey and has three Stanley Cups on his Hall of Fame resume. With that said, the Rangers team he will be facing this season is much different than the one he faced as a rookie in 1994.
Back to the Blueshirts. The Blueshirts have shown time and time again this season that when they need to win, they get it done.
Last night, the Rangers played “Ranger hockey” and got timely goal scoring, great goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, played great defense, got in on the forecheck, blocked a lot of shots and won the game. This is what made the team so successful in the regular season and when they have played this way in the postseason, they have been able to come through with a victory.
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Tags: 2012+Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Brad+Richards, Henrik+Lundqvist, Martin+Brodeur, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Washington+Capitals,
Looking to Close Out the Homestand with a Win Against the Sabres
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/23/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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Prior to the 7-game homestand, the New York Rangers knew that it would be a great opportunity to really establish home ice before the postseason and pick-up some points to help build on their Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings lead.
In six games so far, the Blueshirts have gone 4-2. The team has beat the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings while losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche.
Tonight’s game between the Rangers and Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden is an important one for both clubs. For the Rangers, it is an opportunity to go back to being three points ahead of the Penguins as the Penguins beat the Nashville Predators last night by a score of 5-1.
For the Sabres, it is an opportunity to get two huge points to put them in the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have been playing playoff hockey for the last month or so and have really turned their season around after a rough few months and after last night’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Penguins, the Sabres can move into the eighth spot over the Washington Capitals with a win.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brad+Richards, Brandon+Dubinsky, Brian+Boyle, Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Colorado+Avalanche, Derek+Stepan, Detroit+Red+Wings, Marian+Gaborik, Nashville+Predators, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Washington+Capitals,
Looking For More Points
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/21/12 at 10:40 AM ET
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The New York Rangers will be doing just that tonight at Madison Square Garden when they take on the Detroit Red Wings.
The Blueshirts are coming off a playoff-clinching 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night. The team played tough, got timely scoring and played solid on defense.
Even though the team clinched a spot, this is not the time to slow things down. After crushing the Winnipeg Jets last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins are just one point behind the Rangers for first in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
Luckily, this Red Wings’ hockey club is not playing their best right now. The team is struggling with injuries up and down the lineup and is 3-6-1 in their last 10 games.
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Tags: Detroit+Red+Wings, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Winnipeg+Jets,
A Great View of the Opening Face-Off Craziness at MSG
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/20/12 at 09:30 AM ET
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From Mike Ross at NHL Home Ice:
Hockey fights though, never seemed that gratuitous because of what I’d been sold for years:
- Hockey fights breed accountability
- Hockey fights do not result in anyone getting hurt
- Hockey fights happen because of the passion in the game
- Hockey fights are necessary so players have a way to vent frustrationAnd for years, I bought it…much the same way my parents smoked for most of my childhood without ever giving a second thought to the effects of second-hand smoke. How were they supposed to know? It was never drilled into them.
But when I saw 3 scraps of the opening faceoff between the Rangers and Devils on Monday (the 2nd time there have been multiple fights off the start of a game between these two teams), I tried to understand which of the above criteria were met.
Click here for more from Rossy.
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Tags: Mike+Ross, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, NHL+Home+Ice,
Rangers Clinch Playoff Spot With 4-2 Win Over the Devils
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/20/12 at 08:48 AM ET
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While the first three seconds of the hockey game between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils provided a lot of theatrics, it all ended up meaning very little for the rest of the game as the Rangers went onto to clinch a playoff spot by beating the Devils by a score of 4-2.
For the first since the 2005-06 season, the Blueshirts managed to clinch a playoff spot with a few weeks to go in the season. While the team will now play for seeding, all that matters is that they have advanced to hockey’s “second season” and will have the chance to play for hockey’s Holy Grail come April.
The game may have not been pretty for either squad but in the end, the Rangers were able to get the job done with timely goal scoring. Brandon Dubinsky got the team going just over a minute after the three fights in the beginning of the first period to give the team a 1-0 lead.
Defenseman Dan Girardi scored 33 seconds into the second period to put the Rangers’ up 2-0. While the Devils would get one back to cut the lead to 2-1, Blueshirts’ forward Mats Zuccarello would put one in on the power play to give the team a 3-1 lead.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Dan+Girardi, Derek+Stepan, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers,
Step It Up
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/19/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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The New York Rangers need to do that with their play tonight against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.
After all the hockey action this weekend, the Rangers are just now one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Atlantic Division- and Eastern Conference- lead. Oh yeah, the Philadelphia Flyers are not playing too badly either as they are now just three points behind the Blueshirts.
The Blueshirts are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend. The team fired 42 shots at Avalanche netminder Semyon Varlamov but Varly was tremendous in turning aside 41 of them.
With that said, and it has been mentioned before, this Rangers’ team needs more offense. Right now, the only line that is producing is the Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin line. Other than that trio, the offense has been extremely quiet.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Carl+Hagelin, Colorado+Avalanche, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Semyon+Varlamov,
Varlamov Steals One at MSG
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/17/12 at 09:40 PM ET
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Sometimes, all a hockey team needs to win a game is good goaltending.
That is exactly what the Colorado Avalanche got tonight from their netminder Semyon Varlamov in a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers. Varlamov stymied the Blueshirts in making 41 saves on the night.
Varlamov was calm, cool, and collected in between the pipes tonight for his hockey club. He was able to control rebounds, had an excellent glove hand, recovered to make second and third stops and was the main reason why the Avalanche won tonight.
For the first time in the last few weeks, the Rangers were getting offense from all of their lines. No one was afraid to shoot the puck tonight, the team crashed the net but unfortunately, were only able to beat Varlamov once on 42 shots.
While it was the team’s second straight loss, one that has allowed the Pittsburgh Penguins to stay two points behind the Blueshirts after beating the New Jersey Devils this afternoon, there were some other good things to come out of this game for the Rangers. For starters, a healthy Ryan Callahan and Michael Del Zotto returned to the lineup. Callahan was his usual self while Del Zotto tried to help add some more offense to the team.
Secondly, the team got a good performance out of their starting netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist allowed just two goals on 19 shots and played well enough to give his club a chance to win a hockey game.
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Tags: Colorado+Avalanche, Henrik+Lundqvist+Mats+Zuccarello, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Semyon+Varlamov,
Blueshirts Overpowered by the Penguins in 5-2 loss
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/15/12 at 09:54 PM ET
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Going into the game without starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, defenseman Michael Del Zotto and team captain Ryan Callahan, one knew tonight’s game against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden was going to be tough for the New York Rangers.
It was certainly tough for the Blueshirts as the team lost by a score of 5-2. The club did not have the depth to match what the Penguins were throwing out on the ice and unfortunately, it hurt them in the end.
Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain and arguably the best hockey player in the world, Sidney Crosby, had himself a solid first game back. Crosby picked-up an assist, was a +3 and had 16:00 minutes of ice time. He was also smart enough not to put himself into dangerous areas as to avoid getting hit too hard or being too vulnerable.
The Rangers were not terrible tonight but they certainly were not great. Defensive lapses early on in the second period really hurt the club as the Penguins were able to score two goals with the first 2:30 of the frame to go up by a score of 3-1.
The Blueshirts were able to cut the lead to 3-2 on a goal by Marian Gaborik but that would be the last time the team would find the back of the net tonight.
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Tags: and+Buffalo+Sabres., Brad+Richards, Carl+Hagelin, Colorado+Avalanche, Detroit+Red+Wings, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan, Sidney+Crosby,
A Must Win for the Rangers
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/11/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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This is exactly what tonight’s game at Madison Square Garden between the New York York Rangers and New York Islanders is for the Blueshirts.
For the first time this season, the Rangers are in the midst of a three game losing streak in regulation. This past week, the Blueshirts lost to the New Jersey Devils (4-1), Ottawa Senators (4-1) and Chicago Blackhawks.
Because of the losing streak, the Rangers are just four points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team they will meet on Thursday at MSG. If the Rangers continue to play they are playing right now, Thursday night’s tilt with the Penguins could end up meaning even more than it already does.
However, it is time for the team to focus on tonight’s meeting with the Islanders. It will be the last meeting between the two clubs with the Rangers holding the edge in the season series at 3-1-1.
They may not be in a playoff spot but the Islanders are definitely competing every night. They work hard, they forecheck and they make life extremely tough for opponents, something the Blueshirts will have to deal with tonight.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks, Detroit+Red+Wings, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Big Game at The Mad House on Madison
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/09/12 at 02:10 PM ET
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With the New York Rangers struggling to find the consistency that made them so successful for much of the season, tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks will be a big test for the Blueshirts.
In last night’s 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, the team looked out-of-sync in all areas of the game. This also happened to be the case in the team’s 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
For the Rangers, this is coming at a bad time as both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference playoff race is heating up. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who will have Sidney Crosby returning in the very near future, are now just 6 points behind the Blueshirts while the Philadelphia Flyers are 8 points behind thanks to the fine play of their netminder Ilya Bryzgalov (finally, eh?).
The team needs to get back to forechecking better, something that Rangers’ forward Marian Gaborik mentioned to team beat writer Andrew Gross of The Record and Ranger Rants.
“I think so,” he said. “The support needs to be there. We have to create more forechecking in the zone. Also, we have to try to chip pucks in and create more odd-man situations.”
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Henrik+Lundqvist, Ilya+Bryzgalov, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Original+Six, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Sidney+Crosby, United+Center,
Biron to Start Tonight/Other line-up Updates
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/08/12 at 02:11 PM ET
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According to Andrew Gross, the New York Rangers’ beat writer/blogger for The Record and Ranger Rants blog, the Blueshirts have elected to go with Martin Biron in goal tonight to face the Ottawa Senators.
This sounds like the right decision considering that the Rangers take on the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow night. Remember, the Blackhawks scorched Biron and the Rangers in their previous meeting by a score of 4-2 so putting starting netminder Henrik Lundqvist in sounds like the right thing to do.
Gross also said that Rangers’ forward Brandon Dubinsky will not be in the lineup tonight due to sinus issues he is experiencing that could impact his skating. Dubinsky also said he still has some pain in his hand from the fight he had with New Jersey Devils’ forward David Clarkson on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center:
Brandon Dubinsky will not be in the lineup tonight against the Senators as he tells the media he is still having sinus issues that could affect his skating. Dubinsky said his hand hurts as well after fighting the Devils’ Ryan Carter on Tuesday. Dubinsky was holding nasal spray and also appeared to have stitches on his nose. Considering the Rangers do not have a morning skate tomorrow in Chicago, it’s very likely he’ll also miss the Blackhawks’ game.
Dubinsky also reported he’s been having trouble sleeping as a result of his injured nose.
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Tags: Andrew+Gross, Brandon+Dubinsky, Chicago+Blackhawks, David+Clarkson, Henrik+Lundqvist, Martin+Biron, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Ranger+Rants, The+Record,
Time to Step Up
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/08/12 at 10:09 AM ET
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This is exactly what the New York Rangers need to do as they prepare for three games in four night’s starting tonight with the Ottawa Senators.
There is no doubt that the Blueshirts have been inconsistent of late. They have allowed at least three goals or more in their last three games and clearly did not play well against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center.
The Ottawa Senators have given the Rangers’ some trouble this season and are currently one point behind the 6th place Devils. They have a powerful offense that is dangerous and knows how to put the puck in the net.
With that in mind, the Rangers will need to get their defense back in order in a hurry. Again, 13 goals allowed in the last four games will not win you any games in this league.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Chicago+Blackhawks, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
The Need to Wake-Up
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/07/12 at 02:25 PM ET
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If the New York Rangers want to have any kind of success this upcoming spring, they will need to do just that.
In last night’s 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils, the team looked like they were sleep walking. They put 23 shots on Devils’ netminder Martin Brodeur while giving far too many scoring chances to the Devils as guys like Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, and David Clarkson (empty net) were able to strut their stuff in front of Blueshirts’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist.
Things are not going to get any easier for the Blueshirts. Tomorrow night, the club will take on the Ottawa Senators and then the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday night before coming home to take on the New York Islanders at Madison square Garden on Sunday night to kick off a 7-game homestand.
This is not the time for the Blueshirts to take their foots off the gas. While they may have somewhat of a comfortable lead in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, now is not the time to be inconsistent and for the most part, the team has been inconsistent over the last few weeks.
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Tags: Chicago+Blackhawks, Ilya+Kovalchuk, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Patrik+Elias,
Going Over the Hudson
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/06/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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This is exactly what the New York Rangers will be doing tonight as the travel across the Hudson River to take on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
These two clubs last met last Monday at Madison Square Garden, where the Blueshirts took care of business and shutout the Devils by a 2-0 score. It was not the most exciting game as there was only 28 combined shots.
The Blueshirts are coming off a big 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon at MSG. The team continues to get goal scoring from Marian Gaborik (32 goals on the season) and excellent goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, both of which have contributed greatly to the Rangers’ success this season.
Going forward, those two will have to continue to play better but others must step up and contribute a bit more. There is no doubt that Brad Richards can create scoring chances and setup teammates (27 assists).
With that said, it would be nice to see him do that on a more consistent basis as well as putting the puck in the net a bit more. Yes, Richards has 18 goals and yes, 7 of them have been game winners but this team needs to see a bit more goals from him if they want to have success in the postseason.
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Tags: Anders+Nilsson, Boston+Bruins, Brad+Ricahrds, Brandon+Dubinsky, Henrik+Lundqvist, Madison+Square+Garden, Marian+Gaborik, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Prudential+Center,
Rangers Win Wild One Against Bruins
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/04/12 at 03:42 PM ET
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Going into the afternoon tilt, one probably thought it was going to be a defensive battle for 60 minutes.
Instead, 7 goals were scored with the New York Rangers coming out on top over the Boston Bruins by a score of 4-3. It was not easy but the Rangers did what they had to do to win.
For starters, the team was able to get two big ones in the first period on goals by Ruslan Fedotenko and Carl Hagelin. The goals came 1:10 apart as the team took advantage of a somewhat tired Bruins hockey club coming off a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders yesterday afternoon at the TD Garden.
However, Bruins’ head coach Claude Julien called a timeout after the second Blueshirts’ goal and did not say a word. Sometimes, silence really is golden.
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Tags: Benoit+Pouliot, Boston+Bruins, Carl+Hagelin, Claude+Julien, Dennis+Seidenberg, Derek+Stepan, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jordan+Caron, Marian+Gaborik, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Tim+Thomas,
Going to Carolina
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/01/12 at 10:39 AM ET
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The New York Rangers will be in Raleigh tonight to take on the Carolina Hurricanes as the team looks to extend its winning streak to three games.
The Blueshirts are coming off a 2-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The team allowed just 13 shots in Henrik Lundqvist’s eighth shutout of the season, which is just two more than their lowest recorded total on home ice back in 1981 against the Calgary Flames when they only allowed 11 shots.
It will be important for the team to play a full 60-minutes as things do not get any easier for the Blueshirts heading into the stretch. They take on the Hurricanes tonight, the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night and the Boston Bruins at MSG on Sunday afternoon.
Luckily for the Blueshirts, this team has played as a cohesive unit all season long. They battle for each other, they stick up for each other, they play together as a team and because of this, have been one of the league’s top teams all year.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Calgary+Flames, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,
Not the Most Exciting But a Win Is A Win
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/28/12 at 10:14 AM ET
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This is exactly what can be said of last night’s 2-0 shutout by the New York Rangers over the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.
The team’s combined for just 28 shots on goal (yes, you read that right) with only two finding the back of the net. Luckily, it was the Blueshirts that found the back of the net on goals by Carl Hagelin and Ryan Callahan.
Callahan and Hagelin have become quite the dynamic duo for the Rangers since being put on the same line. They both hustle, they both forecheck, they both go hard to the net and they both have the offensive ability to create offense.
With his goal last night, Callahan now has 25 on the season. While Callahan was a scorer in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Guelph Storm, no one was quite sure what he would be able at the NHL level. Now, it looks like he may be able to crack the 30-goal mark.
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Tags: Carl+Hagelin, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Ilya+Kovalchuk, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan,
Rangers Quiet/Ready for Tonight
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/27/12 at 03:53 PM ET
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It appears that the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone for the New York Rangers, with the team having acquired defenseman John Scott from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.
So now, the Blueshirts will go forward with the team they currently have as team general manager Glen Sather and team head coach John Tortorella are showing that they believe in the hockey team they have. Given that the Blueshirts are first in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, it makes sense that team management and its coaching staff believe in this hockey club.
Now, the Blueshirts must focus on their big game tonight (7:30 p.m.) at Madison Square Garden against the New Jersey Devils. With both teams currently in a playoff spot, tonight’s tilt will certainly have a playoff feel to it as the Devils look to further advance in the Eastern Conference standings while the Rangers look to continue to have a firm hold on both the Atlantic Division and the East in general.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Chicago+Blackhawks, Glen+Sather, John+Scott, John+Tortorella, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ryan+Callahan,
Battle of The Hudson
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/07/12 at 09:09 AM ET
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While it always seems like the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils play a playoff brand of hockey when the two clubs meet, that will really be the case tonight when they will go at it at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers, who are on top of both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, are coming off of two straight wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. In those games, the club got excellent goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, played a physical style of hockey and won all the little battles within the game.
On the other side, the Devils might just be playing their best hockey of the season. The team from across the Hudson River has won five straight games and is putting the puck in the net with regularity, getting solid performances out of of both Ilya Kovalchuk and Martin Brodeur and playing with a swagger that has been missing from their game the last few seasons.
These two teams met last Wednesday night at the Prudential Center, where the Blueshirts lost a hard fought game 4-3 in a shootout. As I had mentioned last week, this was a game that the Rangers should have won so they will definitely be looking to get the two points tonight on home ice.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Henrik+Lundqvist, Ilya+Kovalchuk, John+Tortorella, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Steve+Eminger,
Rangers Do It Again Over the Flyers
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/06/12 at 09:09 AM ET
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There is no doubt that the National Hockey League would probably love to have both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If you are asking yourself why, just look at the four games that have been played between the two clubs this season. The games have had it all from timely goal scoring, big hits, fights, and great goaltending.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, they have lost all four tilts at the hands of the Blueshirts. Yesterday afternoon at the Garden, the Rangers were physical, blocked a ton of shots, got timely goal scoring and clutch goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist.
Playing in their Winter Classic uniforms, the Rangers put on a great show for their fans. The team got solid performances out of guys like Lundqvist, Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan, Marian Gaborik, Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky.
It was a complete team effort, one that gave them another two points in the standings. With the victory, the Blueshirts remain in first place in the Eastern Conference with 71 points, which is three points more than the second place Boston Bruins and five points more than the fourth place Flyers.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Boston+Bruins, Brandon+Dubinsku, Dan+Girardi, Derek+Stepan, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ryan+Callahan,
Heave Ho Four in a Row
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/05/12 at 08:00 AM ET
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That is what the New York Rangers will be looking to do this afternoon at Madison Square Garden when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers.
The teams have met three times already with the Blueshirts coming away with three wins, including winning the Winter Classic by a score of 3-2. The Blueshirts have also beaten the Flyers twice on home ice this season.
There is no doubt that the Flyers are going to come out as a hungry hockey club. In yesterday’s 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils at home, the Flyers gave the Devils a 6-0 lead before coming back to score four goals in the third period to make it an exciting hockey game.
This is a Flyers team that has a lot of offense. Guys like Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds, Jaromir Jagr and Matt Read can all put the puck in the net. Hartnell leads the club with 25 goals and Giroux is right behind with 20.
With that in mind, the Blueshirts are going to need to be ready to battle. The club is coming off a hard fought 1-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night in Buffalo and the team more than likely knows that if they play the way they did against Buffalo, they could be in trouble against the Broadstreet Bullies.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Claude+Giroux, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jaromir+Jagr, Matt+Read, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Scott+Hartnell, Wayne+Simmonds, Winnipeg+Jets,
The One That Got Away
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/01/12 at 09:02 AM ET
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Looking back at last night’s tilt between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, it was a game that the Rangers should have come away with two points.
The Blueshirts had three 1-goal leads that they let slip away in a 4-3 shootout loss at the Prudential Center. While these things happen in hockey, they are things that could have been prevented with better defensive coverage in the Rangers’ zone.
On both the Devils’ second goal and tying goal in the game, the Rangers appeared to be lost in their own zone. It should also be noted that Devils’ sniper Ilya Kovalchuk should never be given that much room in the offensive zone.
With that said, it was not a terrible game for the Blueshirts. They showed some offense and with better defensive coverage in their own zone in the third period, could have easily come away with their third straight victory.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Ilya+Kovalchuk, Martin+Biron, Martin+Brodeur, Montreal+Canadiens, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Prudential+Center,
UPDATE/Back to the Grind
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/31/12 at 10:32 AM ET
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UPDATE: Per Rangers’ beat writer Andrew Gross’s Twitter, Martin Biron will be starting between the pipes tonight for the Blueshirts:
Biron in net tonight vs. Devils. Otherwise same lineup for Rangers.
That is what the New York Rangers will be doing tonight at the Prudential Center when they take on the New Jersey Devils.
Coming into tonight’s tilt, the Blueshirts are on a two game winning streak. Two Saturday’s ago, the Rangers beat the Bruins in overtime by a 3-2 score and then three nights later at Madison Square Garden, the club shutout the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 3-0.
The Rangers also currently find themselves in the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 66 points and are one point behind the league-leading Detroit Red Wings. For the Rangers to keep up this kind of pace, they are going to have to get things started on the right foot tonight in New Jersey.
Luckily for the Blueshirts, they have several players who have performed well over the last few games. Lundqvist was terrific in Boston and was good when he had to be against the Jets.
Marian Gaborik, the NHL All-Star MVP, scored two goals against the Bruins and picked-up a hat trick and an assist in the All-Star Game. His confidence should be at a high level right now.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Detroit+Red+Wings, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, NHL+All-Star+Game, Winnipeg+Jets,
It’s Deja Vu all Over Again
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/26/11 at 10:23 AM ET
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It appears to be that way as just like the New York Rangers did last week, they will be taking on the New York Islanders again tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Blueshirts are coming off a week in which they picked up six points with three victories over teams in their division. The team beat the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers last week to help move the team to first place in the Atlantic Division and second place in the Eastern Conference.
With games on Wednesday (at the Washington Capitals) and Friday (at the Florida Panthers), it will be interesting to see how team head coach John Tortorella uses his goaltenders. It is not out of the question that Tortorella uses netminder Martin Biron tonight against the Islanders and then uses Henrik Lundqvist for the next three games against the Capitals, Panthers and of course, the Flyers at the 2012 Winter Classic.
Other than that, there is not too much else going on in Rangerland these days. The team is winning plenty of hockey games, battling through injuries and getting solid play from everyone on the team.
Hopefully, things will stay that way as the team begins an interesting seven days in which they could potentially pick-up eight points.
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Tags: 2012+Winter+Classic, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Martin+Biron, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Washington+Capitals,
The Marian Gaborik Show
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/21/11 at 09:08 AM ET
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That is exactly what it was for the New York Rangers’ last night in their 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Marian Gaborik picked-up the game winning goal, an empty net goal and added an assist for a three point night. The game before, he picked-up another two goals and now has 19 on the season.
Gaborik looks like the player he was for the Rangers two seasons ago. The puck seems to be following him and he obviously knows how to make things happen.
Not only is he scoring goals and putting up points, he is also playing consistently well on the other side of the puck. He has made some solid defensive plays this season and backchecks a lot more than he used to.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Boston+Bruins, Derek+Stepan, Marian+Gaborik, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers,
An Intriguing Tilt at The Rock
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/20/11 at 10:41 AM ET
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That is exactly what tonight’s game between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils is shaping up to be.
Both clubs are playing well, in the top eight in the Eastern Conference and are only separated by three points. Sounds like old-time Patrick Division hockey, eh?
The Blueshirts are coming off a dramatic win over the Phoenix Coyotes. In the game, Marian Gaborik picked-up two goals and nine-year man Brad Richards scored the game winning goal at the buzzer to help his team pick-up the all important two points.
On the other side, the Devils are coming off a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Devils are on a four-game winning streak and looking to make it five against ther rivals from across the Hudson River.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Brandon+Dubinsky, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, Montreal+Canadiens, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Phoenix+Coyotes,
Buzzer Beater
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/18/11 at 03:00 PM ET
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Apparently, I missed an exciting New York Rangers’ game last night as the Blueshirts scored with 0.1 second left to go in regulation time to beat the Phoenix Coyotes by a score of 3-2.
I was lucky enough to see the replay of Brad Richards scoring the game winner but could not believe that the team won the game in this fashion. This was a game that the Rangers needed to win to get back on the right track and to do it in that manner was certainly exciting.
It was nice to see highlights of the game and see that Marian Gaborik picked-up two goals. He had been struggling the last few games to do just that but with his two goals last night, Gaborik now has 17 goals and also leads the team in points with 27.
Of course, it was also nice to see Richards come through with the game winner. The Blueshirts are paying him a lot of money to do things like that and with 26 points in 30 games, it is easy to see that the deal is working out for all involved.
Based on the statistics, Rangers’ back-up goaltender Martin Biron had another solid game for his hockey club. Biron is now 6-1 with a 1.82 goals against average, a .934 save percentage and 1 shutout.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Marian+Gaborik, Martin+Biron, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Phoenix+Coyotes,
An Inspirational Story About a Big Devils’ Fan: Jake Wisniewski
by Patrick Hoffman on 10/20/11 at 12:00 PM ET
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From good pal of the blog and one of my mentors, Stan Fischler, at MSG.com:
Stories such as Jake Wisniewski’s could not be crafted by a Hollywood script writer—nor a Tinseltown director for that matter—unless his name happened to be Alfred Hitchcock.
At age four, suffering from Cystic Fibrosis, a thin and frail Jake—and family—ventured from his native Poland to America seeking better medical treatment than he could possibly receive at home.
From then on—and for years—young Wisniewski’s life was spent in and out of hospitals in the New York Metropolitan Area. He was desperately seeking help that would return him to anything close to a reasonably normal life so he could continue rooting for his favorite hockey team, the New Jersey Devils.
Click here for more.
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Tags: Jake+Wisniewski, MSG+Network, New+Jersey+Devils,
Something to Look Forward to?
by Patrick Hoffman on 09/23/11 at 08:58 PM ET
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That is the question after tonight’s 4-3 preseason win for the New York Rangers over the New Jersey Devils.
Just look at this Brad Richards had a goal and an assist. Marain Gaborik had a goal and an assist and Wojtek Wolski had an assist.
If you’re good at math, that’s five points for the team’s potential No. 1 line. Yes, it is preseason but it makes one curious to see if it will be that way in the regular season.
This is what the Rangers will need to happen night in and night out in the regular season. The team needs a line that can contribute on a nightly basis, make the big play when they need it and produce.
Other than that, tonight’s tilt was just a game where both teams were trying to their game in order, which is to be expected in pre-season hockey. With that said however, it was a very exciting third period and one that should have both team’s fans excited for the upcoming season.
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Tags: Brad+Richards, Marian+Gaborik, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Wojtek+Wolski,
A Bit of Both
by Patrick Hoffman on 09/22/11 at 08:27 AM ET
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Those words can best be used to describe last night’s 2-1 overtime New York Rangers’ loss to the New Jersey Devils in overtime.
The team was not great but the club was not horrible either. Yes, it took the Blueshirts awhile to get their first shot on goal but when they finally did, they seemed to setlle down a bit and generate some good scoring chances.
Overall, the club got good performances from the likes of Dale Weise (scored the game-tying goal in the third period), Dylan McIlrath, both goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Talbot, along with line of Sean Avery-John Mitchell-J.T. Miller as the line forechecked hard and caught head coach’s John Tortorella’s eye.
Two players that seemed to be inconsistent last night were forward Erik Christensen and defenseman Michael Del Zotto. With regards to Christensen, it is all about playing with confidence, something he has struggled with in his NHL career. In the case of Del Zotto, it is about being consistent witht the puck as he needs to know when to hold onto it, when to dump it off and when to put it on net.
It is really early so fans should not read too much into last night’s loss. Like the players and the coaching staff, the fans must be patient and go with the process as the team continutes to shape up into a regular season hockey club.
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Tags: Cam+Talbot, Dale+Weise, Dylan+McIlrath, Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, J.T.+Miller, John+Mitchell, John+Tortorella, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Sean+Avery,
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,
Another Day, Another Big Game for the Blueshirts
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/07/11 at 07:36 AM ET
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The Carolina Hurricanes continue to put pressure on the New York Rangers for one of the final playoff spots in the tight Eastern Conference as they shutout the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 3-0.
With the win, the Hurricanes have pulled to within two points of the Blueshirts. The Rangers will have a chance to increase that lead to four points tonight when they take on the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Rangers are coming off an extremely emotional win over the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. The team fought from three goals back to win the game 5-3. Unfortunately, they lost Ryan Callahn, the heart and soul of the team, to a broken ankle in the process.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Boston+Bruins, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Ryan+Callahan,
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,
