Goal Line Report
Entries with the tag: Ottawa+Senators
Rangers Continue to Get it Done on the Road
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/05/11 at 10:49 AM ET
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While the New York Rangers’ have struggled at home this season, there is no doubting that things have been quite the opposite for the team on the road this year.
Last night, the Rangers went into Ottawa and defeated the Senators by a score of 4-1 for their 20th road victory of the season. For the Blueshirts, they were obviously able to put the puck in the net, cash in on their chances, play smart defense and get great goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, who made 28 saves on 29 shots to earn the No. 1 star of the game.
The team got goals from Vinny Prospal, Mats Zuccarello, Artem Anisimov, and Derek Stepan. These are players that the team needs to have score more and they were all able to come through last night, especially Prospal as he now has points in his last three games and has six points in his last six games as he looks to provide his team with improtant offense down the stretch.
This game showed that the Rangers can indeed get the important goals when they need to do. For example, after Zuccarello made it 2-0 in the second period, Anisimov went in and scored to make it 3-0 just 12 seconds later. The team never allowed the Senators to get back in the hockey game.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Derek+Stepan, Henrik+Lundqvist, Mats+Zuccarello, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers, Vinny+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,
Not Great but Not Bad
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/02/11 at 08:40 AM ET
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That would be the phrase to describe the play of the New York Rangers last night in their 3-2 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
The team got off to a great start and was up 2-0 in the second period on goals by Brandon Prust and Artem Anisimov. However, the Penguins scored three goals to take the lead before Ryan Callahan tied it up with a power play goal on Jordan Staal’s five minute penalty (he got tossed from the game).
This was a game that the Blueshirts should have been able to pick up two points but instead, come away with one. They had trouble finishing both in the third period and in the shootout and ultimately, that is what did them in as they had numerous chances to get the game winning goal.
With that said, there were some positives in the game. For starters, it was great to have Callahan (1 goal) and Brandon Dubinsky (1 assist) back in the lineup. These are two of the hardest working Blueshirts and it showed last night as they generated several scoring opportunities. Callahan definitely showed some rust but since he had not played for over a month, it is excusable.
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Tags: Artem+Anisimov, Brandon+Dubinsky, Brandon+Prust, Jordan+Staal, New+Jersey+devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan,
Gutsy Win by the Rangers over the Senators
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/10/10 at 01:57 PM ET
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Before I begin this post, it should be noted that I did not catch any of the New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators game last night because I had a men’s league hockey game.
With that said, it was nice to find out that the Blueshirts came out with the 5-3 victory and got the game winning goal from rookie defenseman Michael Sauer, who apparently had a terrible blunder that lead to the Senators’ first goal in the first period.
I also know what happened between Rangers’ enforcer Derek Boogaard and Senators’ enforcer Matt Carkner but that really does not matter to me too much. It’s just important to know that the Rangers picked up two more points before heading into a big weekend with games against the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night and the Washington Capitals on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
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Tags: New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators,
UPDATE: Del Zotto a Healthy Scratch Tonight/Big Three Games in Four Nights for the Blueshirts
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/09/10 at 11:24 AM ET
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UPDATE: According to Ranger beat writer Andrew Gross’s Twitter, New York Rangers’ defenseman Michael Del Zotto is a healthy scratch tonight in Ottawa and that defenseman Matt Gilroy will be inserted into the lineup:
Michael Del Zotto a healthy scratch tonight for #NYRangers, Gilroy in. Henrik Lundqvist will be in net.
The New York Rangers have a busy next couple of days coming up with three games in four nights on tap for the Blueshirts.
It begins tonight in Ottawa where the Rangers will take on a Senators’ team that beat them at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night by a score of 3-1. It was a game in which the Rangers did not come out with the intensity that is needed to win a hockey game and it ended up costing them in the end.
What was also disappointing about that game was that the Senators were coming off a 1-0 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres the night before. The Blueshirts did not take advantage of the opportunity to beat a tired team and it’s a game that they needed to pick up two points in.
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Tags: Alex+Frolov, Columbus+Blue+Jackets, John+Tortorella, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Ruslan+Fedotenko, Washington+Capitals,
Playing to a Weaker Opponent’s Level at MSG
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/06/10 at 09:04 AM ET
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How did most New York Rangers’ fans know that a game like last night’s loss to the Ottawa Senators was going to happen?
Unfortunately, they knew because this is how the Blueshirts play sometimes. When a weaker opponent comes into Madison Square Garden, the Rangers will often play down to their level and often either lose or win a close game.
Last night, the Senators came into MSG not having scored in their last nine periods and yet, the team managed to put in three (one empty net goal) against the Rangers in winning the hockey game 3-1.
Early on in the game, one could tell that the Rangers were going to struggle given that they were badly outplayed by a team that had played the night before in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Yet, the Senators were all over the puck in the Rangers’ zone and also played tight, defensive hockey.
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Tags: Brandon+Prust, brian+Boyle, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Ruslan+Fedotenko,
Blueshirts Week Ahead
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/29/10 at 08:00 AM ET
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I would like to introduce you folks to a new feature here at the Goal Line Report: Blueshirts’ Week Ahead.
I do a similar feature over at RLD Hockey. However, unlike RLD Hockey, this feature will focus on the New York Rangers and will include players to keep an eye on and the team’s games of the week.
This is something I will do every Monday morning from here on out.
Players to Keep an Eye on
- Henrik Lundqvist
Coming off two straight wins, it will be interesting to see if New York Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist can carry it into this week against the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders (2) and Ottawa Senators.
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Tags: Erik+Christensen, Henrik+Lundqvist, Marian+Gaborik, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Is Lundqvist Back on Track?
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/28/10 at 02:44 PM ET
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After being out of town for the last two days, it was nice to see the New York Rangers get the job done on the road and get back-to-back wins against the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators.
It was even nicer to see that Blueshirts’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist started both games and played well in them. Unfortunately, I did not get to watch either game but just looking at his statistics, it looks like he faced a lot of rubber and was able to pick-up his second shutout of the season against the Panthers and get the shootout victory against the Predators last night by stopping all three Predator shooters.
It may just be two games but for Lundqvist, they should be considered confidence boosters. He had been struggling up until late last week and needed to show his hockey club that he is still the backbone of the team and show them why he is considered one of the top netminders in the National Hockey League.
The Blueshirts have another big week on tap beginning tomorrow night when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins visit Madison Square Garden for a tilt. Later in the week, the Blueshirts will take on the New York Islanders in the beginning of a home-and-home series at the Coliseum on Thursday night followed by a game at MSG on Friday night before closing out the week with a game against the Ottawa Senators at the Garden on Sunday evening.
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Tags: Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, Nashville+Predators, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Sidney+Crosby,
Back in the Saddle
by Patrick Hoffman on 10/03/10 at 07:09 PM ET
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Good evening folks. Sorry for not posting anything this weekend but I was in Massachusetts for alumni weekend at my college.
While I was away, it seems liked I missed quite the pre-season game last night between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators. I know the Blueshirts suffered an 8-5 loss but it’s nice that at least during the pre-season, the team scored some goals.
The question, however, is will they be able to score goals once the regular season begins next Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres? Only time will tell but until then, it appears that both head coach John Tortorella and general manager Glen Sather have some tough decisions to make when it comes to selecting the team’s roster, something I am sure I will be writing about this week as the start of the regular season gets closer and closer.
Thanks for understanding and I look forward to bringing you the best Rangers’ coverage I can during the season. If there is anything that you would like me to do to make the blog better, please do not hesitate to tell me by either leaving me a comment or dropping me an e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Glen+Sather, John+Tortorella, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators,
Rangers Take on Sens Tonight at The Garden
by Patrick Hoffman on 10/01/10 at 08:35 AM ET
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The New York Rangers will finish up it’s last games of the pre-season over the next couple of days. They’ll take on the Senators tonight at Madison Square Garden and then again tomorrow night in Ottawa before preparing for next season’s regular season opening game in Buffalo next Friday night.
It appears that Henrik Lundqvist will get the full game between the pipes tonight for the Blueshirts while according to Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants, back-up netminder Martin Biron will more than likely get the full game in Ottawa tomorrow night.
Tonight’s pre-season tilt marks the return of Blushirts’ forward Vinny Prospal, who was the club’s second leading scorer last season with 58 points. Steve Eminger, who is in NY on a try-out contract with the Blueshirts, has only played one pre-season game due to a sore grain but will be in the lineup tonight.
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Tags: John+Tortorella, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Steve+Eminger, Vinny+Prospal,
Three In A Row = Somewhat of a Winning Streak
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/02/10 at 11:15 PM ET
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It feels weird writing that considering that this was the New York Rangers’ first game since returning from the break. However, the Blueshirts came out and played a solid road game in defeating the Northeast-leading Ottawa Senators 4-1 to pick up a crucial two points and their third straight win in as many games.
Ryan Callahan, despite not really having a break since he was on Team USA, had a terrific game in scoring two goals while also being his all-out hustling self. The team also got solid performances from the likes of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (24 saves), Erik Christensen (2 assists), Brandon Dubinsky (1 goal), Sean Avery (1 goal, 1 assist) and a few others.
The team was able to score four goals without it’s leading goal scorer and point getter, Marian Gaborik, who was out with a lower body injury. This should show you that when the team plays the right way, it can score goals without having to rely too heavily on its superstar.
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Tags: Glen+Sather, New+York+Rangers, NHL+Trade+Deadline, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Senators and Leafs Highlight Northeast Division
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/03/10 at 12:22 PM ET
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From good friend of the blog James Murphy at NHL.com:
The Ottawa Senators will try to stretch their franchise-record winning streak to 10 games Wednesday when they take on the Northeast Division-leading Buffalo Sabres. But as coach Cory Clouston pointed out Tuesday, there’s always room for improvement even when everything seems to be going right.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect game or perfect team,” Clouston told the Ottawa Sun. “There are always areas to improve on. We’re playing well (but) you can’t get complacent. You can either move forward or backward. We want to continue to move forward. To just say one or two areas, it doesn’t work that way. There are a lot of areas where we’ve got to get better.”
Jason Spezza also has a streak of his own going as he has scored a goal in seven straight games; he can break former teammate Dany Heatley’s club record with a goal against the Sabres on Wednesday. Spezza, though, ruled out superstition as the secret to his success.
Click here for more from our good pal Murph.
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Tags: NHL, Northeast+Division, Ottawa+Senators, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
A Better Description of Last Night’s Loss to the Sens’
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/15/10 at 12:15 PM ET
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From Andrew Gross of The Record and Ranger Rants:
As was to be expected, descriptions such as “awful” and “horrible” floated around the Rangers room to describe this lame loss. Lame because they should have been on edge not to take the slumping Senators lightly. Lame because the Rangers are again having trouble generating offense just two games after a 3-1 win at Boston that was the third time in four games they had scored three or more goals.
Asked why it happened, John Tortorella, who broached the subject of not falling into this trap at least twice with his team before the game, said, “I can’t answer that, I’m not in their heads. I don’t understand it. It’s a team we’re fighting against for a playoff spot. We know they were embarrassed the night before (a 6-1 loss at Atlanta on Tuesday). We tried to guard against it. But I guess they weren’t listening.
Vinny Prospal said it couldn’t only be the coaches screaming, the players needed to take some ownership in motivating and correcting themselves.
Henrik Lundqvist looked like he wouldn’t have minded doing some yelling, saying four goals in the last four games “is obviously not enough.”
Click here for more. Hopefully, the team will be able to put the puck in the net this weekend. If not, who knows what the consequences will be.
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Tags: New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators,
What a Game!
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/13/10 at 04:53 PM ET
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I was lucky enough to attend last night’s New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils game at Madison Square Garden and all I can say is WOW!
This game had it all from lots of offensive opportunities, hits, to great team play and unbelievable by goaltending by Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist and Devils’ netminder Martin Brodeur.
If you’re a Blueshirt fan, there really should not be too much, if anything, to complain about. The team threw pucks to the net, protected Lundqvist and did just about everything they could to win a hockey game. On the other hand, may be the power play could have been better but other than that, this was a terrific game for your Rangers.
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Tags: New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators,
A Start
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/14/09 at 07:02 PM ET
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This game had shootout written all over it. There were many missed scoring chances, big saves by each goaltender, and quality special team’s efforts.
Fortunately, this ended with a 2-1 shootout win for the New York Rangers over the Ottawa Senators. Surprisingly, the game-winning shootout goal came from P.A. Parenteau, recently called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack.
However, this game was all about the big-time effort from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 35 saves in the game and made some huge stops in the skills competition. After reading yesterday’s papers and listening to him during the post-game on Thursday night after the team lost to the Atlanta Thrashers, it was easy to see/hear that Lundqvist was frustrated and wanted to get things back on the right track.
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New+York+Rangers
, Ottawa+Senators,Satisfying Start
by Patrick Hoffman on 10/04/09 at 09:37 AM ET
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Good morning folks. I apologize for not having blogged anything Rangers yesterday but I was busy last night at the New York Islanders’ game as part of their media staff. I know, I know…I’m a Rangers fan but if I want to make it in the game as a writer, I have to go with whoever is going to take a chance on me. Plus, it was great to see phenom John Tavares pick up his first two points in the NHL (1g, 1a).
With that said, however, it was nice to see the New York Rangers post a 5-spot on the board last night in defeating the Ottawa Senators. In catching the Rangers in 60 when I got home into the wee hours of the morning, it was nice to see Marian Gaborik pick up a couple of points in his home debut and see players such as Brandon Dubinsky, Michael Del Zotto, Vinny Prospal and of course, Henrik Lundqvist, all play a key role in the team’s first win of the season.
In his first two games of the season, Dubinsky already has four points (2g, 2a). I know that he got off to an extremely hot start last season but may be this season, he’ll be more consistent given the players he is playing with.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tavares, Marian+Gaborik, Matt+Gilroy, Michael+Del+Zotto, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Vinny+Prospal,
Another Blogger’s Opinion on Why Moving Heatley is Going to be Difficult
by Patrick Hoffman on 06/26/09 at 03:26 PM ET
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From Ryan McFadden at Blueshirt Banter:
It seems like Murray is refusing to allow the market to set the price for Heatley. The Senators need to come to grips with the fact that Heatley is not going to return equal value before or after July 1st when the $4 million in salary to him is due. Not in a salary capped league and not in a recession.
Every since the news of Heatley wanting a trade broke, I have been saying over and over that it is not going to be easy for him to be moved. I’ve beaten the proverbial dead horse saying that Heatley is not going to return equal valuefor four reasons:
1) They don’t have much leverage at the draft with the $4 million that Heatley is owed hanging over their heads.
2) That sum will immediately eliminate a number of teams from pursuing him until after July 1st when the amount is to paid to Heatley.
3) There is the limited number of teams which Heatley will accept a trade too.
4) The number of potential trading partners dwindles even further as some are not willing to take on a large contract during this economy.
Click here for more. I’m tired of all this Heatley talk. How about you?
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Tags: Dany+Heatley, Ottawa+Senators,
Two Out Of Four Ain’t Bad
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/22/09 at 09:45 PM ET
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Going into this weekend, all the New York Rangers were focused on was their game. They weren’t focused on who was in front of them, behind them or looking a few games down the road. The team was focused on the here and now.
Their intense focus certainly showed last night at the Garden as the team beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3. Tonight’s game, against the Ottawa Senators, on the other hand, ended in a 2-1 loss, which means that the team remains in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.
While four points would have been great, the team should be satisfied with their play this weekend. They put pucks to the net, used their speed well, did a great job killing penalties (now first in the league) and were competitive in both games. Some other notes from the weekend:
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Eastern+Conference, Jim+Schoenfeld, John+Tortorella, Marian+Gaborik, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Ryan+Callahan, Wade+Redden,
Four Big Points on the line this weekend and some Ranger Notes
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/19/09 at 10:50 PM ET
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With the Eastern Conference standings changing every day, every game from here on out means something for the New York Rangers.
This would especially be true for the two games they have this weekend at home against the Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators. In actuality, the Blueshirts should be able to come away with four points but since the Sabres are still battling for a playoff spot and the Senators are playing better hockey under their new coach, four points are certainly not guaranteed.
The good news? The Rangers are finding ways to win, getting their offense into high gear and looking like a team that deserves to be in the playoffs.
Other notes:
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Dan+Girardi, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Marc+Staal, New+York+Rangers, Nik+Antropov, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Ryan+Callahan, Scott+Gomez, Sean+Avery,
Avery Gets It Done
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/15/09 at 08:30 PM ET
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NBC promoted this afternoon’s game as “Sean Avery’s New York Rangers” against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was only fitting that Avery and the Blueshirts went out beat the Flyers by a score of 4-1, with Avery scoring two goals, getting into a couple of scrums and causing the Flyers to focus on him rather than on playing the game.
What’s more is that the Rangers actually scored three power play goals and once again peppered the Flyers net with 39 shots on goal and this time, were rewarded for it.
The win puts the Blueshirts in a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with the Montreal Canadiens, a team they will take on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, a place that has been a nightmare of sorts for the team the past couple of visits.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Montreal+Canadiens, NBC, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Philadelphia+Flyers, Sean+Avery,
Clemmensen Proving His Worth
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/15/09 at 08:29 AM ET
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When Martin Broduer went down with an injury in early November, many hockey pundits and fans thought that the New Jersey Devils were done. They weren’t scoring a lot of goals, they weren’t really winning and lastly, they would have to rely on Kevin Weekes and Scott Clemmensen.
Well, just over four months later, the team is near the top of both the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division thanks to timely goal scoring from the likes of Patrik Elias, Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner, solid defense from Colin White, Bryce Salvador and Paul Martin and solid special teams.
However, one area that everyone is overlooking is the solid goaltending from Clemmensen. The 31-year-old netminder from Des Moines, IA, is proving to folks around the club and the league that he can play with the big boys and that ultimately, he can play well. Through last night’s game against the Boston Bruins, Clemmensen has compiled 24 wins in 37 games while posting a 2.23 goals against average and a .922 save percentage with two shutouts (both happened this week against the New York Rangers and Bruins).
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Bryce+Salvador, Colin+White, Jamie+Langenbrunner, Kevin+Weekes, Martin+Brodeur, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Patrik+Elias, Paul+Martin, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Scott+Clemmensen, Zach+Parise,
Some questions before taking a break
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/25/09 at 10:30 PM ET
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Good evening folks. I hope all you hockey nuts enjoyed the NHL All-Star festivities this weekend. I particularly enjoyed Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin’s rekindled friendship, Alexei Kovalev’s hometown showing and a pretty high scoring All-Star game. Do I think that changes need to be made? I sure do but for now, I wanted to give the NHL a good old pat on the back for their good work this weekend.
I wanted to let you know that I will not be blogging much this weekend because I will be on vacation in Puerto Rico playing some golf. I am returning on February 1 (Super Bowl Sunday) and will get back to blogging on the 2nd. However, feel free to drop me an e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to let me know what’s going around the league and of course, with the New York Rangers.
However, before I left, I wanted to get your thoughts regarding the league’s second half of the season:
- Which teams will round out the top eight in the Eastern and Western Conferences?
- Which player will score the most points in the second half of the season?
- Which player will have the biggest fall in the second half of the season?
- Which coaches, if any, will get fired?
- Will Pat Quinn be joining the Ottawa Senators at any point?
These are just a few questions that I have regarding the second half of the season and I’m sure that more will emerge as the NHL resumes play this week. Let’s hear your thoughts folks!
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Tags: Alexei+Kovalev, Alex+Ovechkin, Evgeni+Malkin, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pat+Quinn,
Look at the Bright Side
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/19/09 at 02:35 PM ET
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Yes, yesterday afternoon’s 3-0 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly stings but look on the bright side: the New York Rangers picked up points in four of their five road games, including wins against the Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and the talented Chicago Blackhawks.
The trip saw Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist return to form, especially his statistics: 23 wins, a 2.54 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts. These numbers certainly show why he is attending this year’s NHL All-Star game in Montreal.
The team’s recent road trip also saw Chris Drury come alive as well as the continued strong play of Ryan Callahan and Nigle Dawes. Hopefully, these three will continue to play well because they are the only ones that are performing consistently on an offensive level in the past couple of weeks.
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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Buffalo+Sabres, Chicago+Blackhawks, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, Madison+square+Garden, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, NHL+All-Star+Game, Nigel+Dawes, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ryan+Callahan,
Another Shutout for The King
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/10/09 at 10:30 PM ET
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For the second time in three games, New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist picked up a shutout (his second of the season). This time, it came at the hands of the struggling Ottawa Senators in a 2-0 victory.
This was a game in which Lundqvist had excellent rebound control, was in position for both the first and second shots (if there was one) and more importantly, he gave his club a chance to win a hockey game, which they did thanks to goals by Brandon Dubinsky (finally) and a beauty from Lauri Korpikoski off a great feed from Nikolai Zherdev.
As a team, the Blueshirts were disciplined, tough in front of their own net and made the game easy for Lundqvist. When they do things like that, it’s easy to see why they would win.
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Tags: Bobby+Sanguinetti, Brandon+Dubinsky, Brendan+Shanahan, Brian+Elliot, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, Lauri+Korpikoski, Michal+Rozsival, Nassau+Veterans+Memorial+Coliseum, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Petr+Prucha, Scott+Gomez,
Will He Actually Play and other Ranger Musings
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/10/09 at 04:30 PM ET
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As Sam Weinman reported in his blog, the New York Rangers have called up defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti in the event that defenseman Michal Rozsival cannot play tonight after suffering a facial injury in last night’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
The question that both Weinman and I are wondering is what does this say about Corey Potter? Potter played with the Blueshirts a few weeks ago and did just fine and yet, when the team is in a bind like they could be tonight, they potentially look to Sanguinetti. Yes, Sanguinetti is an all star in the AHL and leading the Hartford Wolf Pack with 20 points in 39 games, but is he ready to step in against a potentially potent offense in the Ottawa Senators?
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Tags: Bobby+Sanguinetti, Buffalo+Sabres, Corey+Potter, Hartford+Wolf+Pack, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jim+Cerny, Michal+Rozsival, New+York+Rangers, Nigel+Dawes, Ottawa+Senators, Rangers+Report, Ryan+Miller, Sam+Weinman, Stephen+Valiquette, Tom+Renney,
Time to Step Up
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/08/09 at 09:15 PM ET
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As I’m sure all of you New York Ranger fans are aware of, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was named to the Eastern Conference All Star team. He’s been a Vezina Trophy finalist in each of his three seasons in the National Hockey League so it’s nice that he finally got recognized by the league as one of the game’s elite netminders.
With that being said, if NHL management based their selections on the last two months, Lundqvist would not be on the team. Much like he did in 2006-07 and last season, Lundqvist is having trouble finding consistency. Just take a look at this week, for example. On Monday night, he stymies the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-0 shutout and last night, he allows five goals in a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The team’s beat reporters went about as far to say that Lundqvist was one of the main reasons why the team lost last night. I’m sure most of you would agree.
This weekend, the team takes on the Buffalo Sabres (Friday night, 7:30 p.m., at the HSBC Arena) and the Ottawa Senators (Saturday night, 7 p.m., at Scotiabank Place). These are four points that the Rangers should be able to get so hopefully, Henrik will be on top of his game in the tilt he starts (assuming that backup goaltender Stephen Valiquette will start one of the two) because as Henrik goes, so do the Blueshirts.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Eastern+Conference+All+Star+Team, Henrik+Lundqvist, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Stephen+Valiquette,
Records can be Deceiving
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/01/08 at 09:30 PM ET
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With a record of 17-8-2 and sitting first in the Eastern Conference, one would have to think that the team and its fans would be happy.
In the case of the New York Rangers, not so much. Looks can be deceiving folks and yesterday afternoon’s 4-0 clunker at the hands of the Florida Panthers proves that point.
Over at Sam Weinman’s (The Journal News) Rangers Report Blog, MSG’s John Giannone points out that of the club’s 17 wins, six have come in the shootout. If there were no shootouts, the team would have a substantially lower record and would be 11-7-8.
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Tags: Calgary+Flames, Chris+Drury, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Giannone, Markus+Naslund, Michal+Rozsival., Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Phoenix+Coyotes, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Sam+Weinman, Scott+Gomez, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Wade+Redden,
Officially a Losing Streak
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/22/08 at 07:30 PM ET
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While they may have only dropped their last two games, the New York Rangers played like they were in the midst of a two-week slump in a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators this afternoon.
They had no jump in their legs, didn’t get pucks to the net, had trouble getting the puck out of their own zone and looked generally disorganized for 60 minutes.
So my question is: What’s going on?
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Colton+Orr, Jarkko+Ruutu, Marc+Staal, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Paul+Mara, Phoenix+Coyotes, Stephen+Valiquette,
Valiquette to Start
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/22/08 at 12:00 PM ET
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According to Sam Weinman of The Journal News, the New York Rangers have elected to start Stephen Valiquette this afternoon against the Ottawa Senators.
Valiquette played half the game on Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks and stopped all 15 shots he faced after Henrik Lundqvist was pulled by Rangers’ head coach Tom Renney (five goals allowed).
However, according to Weinman, Valiquette had been penciled in for this game for a long time and it’s not just a coincidence that he is starting after Lundqvist’s struggles on Wednesday night.
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Tags: Eastern+Conference, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Sam+Weinman, Stephen+Valiquette, The+Journal+News, Tom+Renney, Vancouver+Canucks,
Embarassing
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/20/08 at 05:30 PM ET
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Last night’s 6-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks can be described in one word: embarrassing.
Through the first 30 minutes of the tilt, the New York Rangers were nowhere to be found, especially in the defensive zone as Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was hung out to dry.
That brings me to my next point: Lundqvist did not pull himself from the game last night.
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Tags: Henrik+Lundqvist, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Sam+Weinman, Scott+Gomez, Stephen+Valiquette, Tom+Renney, Vancouver+Canucks,
Underappreciated
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/18/08 at 09:30 PM ET
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In the Rangers’ 2-1 shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators last night, players such as Chris Drury, Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev (with the exception of the lone shootout goal), Brandon Dubinsky or even Dan Girardi were not the team’s best players. Far from it, in fact.
In my eyes, it was Blair Betts, Fredrik Sjostrom and Lauri Korpikoski that shined as they got the team back in the game by scoring a goal in the third period. Not only that, but they kept the game simple, something that the other lines have not learned how to do yet.
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Tags: Alex+Auld, Blair+Betts, Brandon+Dubinsky, Chris+Drury, Dan+Girardi, Fredrik+Sjostrom, Lauri+Korpikoski, Markus+Naslund, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Vancouver+Canucks,
Never Say Die
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/15/08 at 11:45 PM ET
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It was just four weekends ago that the New York Rangers were down 2-0 in third period and managed to come back and win the game 3-2 in a shootout over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It was deja vu all over again tonight as the Rangers were down 2-0 in the third to the Boston Bruins, only to tie the game in the third period with 53 seconds to go and win it in a shootout thanks to a goal from captain Chris Drury.
Welcome to the new NHL folks.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Chris+Drury, Fredrik+Sjostrom, Henrik+Lundqvist, Markus+Naslund, New+York+Islanders, New+York+Rangers, Nigel+Dawes, Nikolai+Zherdev, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Tom+Renney,
Drury Breaks Out
by Patrick Hoffman on 11/07/08 at 06:00 PM ET
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This may be his second season as a New York Ranger but in last night’s 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Drury finally broke out.
He helped the team’s power play break out of its funk with two goals with the man advantage. Drury also scored the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season.
All in all, not too shabby for the Trumbull, CT native.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Chris+Drury, Edmonton+Oilers, Henrik+Lundqvist, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, Steve+Valiquette, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Tom+Renney,
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