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Goal Line Report

Entries with the tag: Tampa+Bay+Lightning

Mike Ross of NHL Home Ice: Spreading the Word About Hockey

As we all know, hockey is a fledgling sport in the U.S. It doesn’t get the coverage it deserves and when it does press, it’s usually for something negative (ahem, Sean Avery).

However, one radio channel/network that steps up when it comes to hockey coverage is XM’s NHL Home Ice Channel. Day in and day out, the channel provides great hockey content to fans all over the world and always has them coming back for more.

Recently, I had the opportunity to do an e-mail interview with one of the channel’s hosts and producers, Mike Ross. “Rossy” tells us about how he fell in love with the game, how he got involved in hockey radio, the channel’s future, this season’s surprises/disappointments and of course, his Stanley Cup predicition.

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 Tags: Adam+Proteau, Barry+Melrose, Boston+Bruins, Brian+Duff, Canadiens, Dean+Brown, Gord+Wilson, Len+Barrier, Manny+Fernandez, Maple+Leafs, Mats+Naslund, Mike+Ross, Milan+Lucic, Oren+Koules, Patrick+Marleau, Phil+Esposito, Phil+Kessel, Rick+Vaive, Rocket+Richard, San+Jose+Sharks, Sean+Avery, Steve+Lloyd, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, The+Hockey+News, Tim+Thomas, Todd+McLellan, Vincent+Damphousse, Wayne+Gretzky, XM+NHL+Home+Ice,

Records can be Deceiving

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,

Skills Competition Bails out Rangers

For the second straight game, the New York Rangers needed a shootout to pick up two points, this time against the Florida Panthers.

It was also the second straight game that both Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev scored in the “skills competition” to give the Rangers a 4-3 victory.

Unlike there many other games that went to the shootout, it was the opposing team that tied up the game with just over a minute to go in the tilt as David Booth ripped in an in-tight shot past Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (38 saves) with 1:33 left to go in the hockey game.

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 Tags: Craig+Anderson, David+Booth, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, Markus+Naslund, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Petr+Prucha, Stephen+Valiquette, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Tom+Renney,

Rangers on the Prowl in Miami

The New York Rangers continue their two-game road trip in the South with a matchup against the Florida Panthers tonight at the BankAtlantic Center. A win would give them 36 points on the season and a chance to keep their lead in the Eastern Conference.

One would have to expect that Rangers’ head coach Tom Renney will implement the same lineup he used on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which includes keeping the line of Markus Naslund, Brandon Dubinsky and Nikolai Zherdev together.

Last season, the Blueshirts were 2-1-1 against the Panthers. This season, the Panthers have struggled under new coach Peter Deboer, going 8-11-2 with a minus- 12 goal differential, scoring just 48 times in 21 games and allowing 60 goals.   

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 Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, David+Booth, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, Markus+Naslund, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Peter+Deboer, Stephen+Valiquette, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Tom+Renney,

Dynamic Duo

Throughout training camp and preseason, New York Rangers’ head coach Tom Renney had Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev together.

During this time, the two found instant chemistry by being able to find each other on the ice, utilize their speed, jump into open holes and more importantly, create scoring chances.

Two months later, the two players are doing it again and last night’s 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning was a perfect example.

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 Tags: Eastern+Conference, Markus+Naslund, Mike+Smith, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Steven+Stamkos, Tampa+Bay+Lightning, Tom+Renney,

A Fish out of Water

This would be the perfect way to describe Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Mike Smith.

He’s up, he’s down, he’s to the left, he’s to the right, he’s on his belly, he’s on his feet, etc. However, it’s a style that works for Smith and his statistics through the first month and a half of the regular season.

In 14 games, the 26-year-old is 5-4-5 with a 2.35 goals against average, a .932 save percentage (fourth in the league) and 1 shutout.

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 Tags: Mike+Smith, Nashville+Predators, Rick+Tocchet, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,

Drury Breaks Out

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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Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
 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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