OK, show of hands, how many thought the Rangers would get three points out of this home-and-home series against the prematurely-crowned Stanley Cup champions? Two points? None? Seriously, if I had told you on Wednesday afternoon when everybody was nuts over the Marian Gaborik trade that they’d get three points,... Read More →
Game 34. Rangers at Canadiens. Ya boys have lost three of their last four (one of those in some random non-hockey related contest held after the game ended in a tie) and six of their last nine. They have scored five goals in those six losses, and 15 goals in… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) I’m sure there’s some sentiment today that the Rangers beat a bad, struggling team last night, and that is very true. But, we’ve seen it plenty the last two weeks where the Rangers play a lesser foe and get one point, or none, or get beaten by a… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) I’m not talking anybody off ledges today. I’m just not. Because, though I still think the Rangers will make the playoffs, there’s not a lot to like about this team big picture. 2) Last year’s team wouldn’t have many starts like that, and if it did, Brandon Prust… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Start at the start. You know the Jets are going to come hard, you know they’re playing well and all jacked up about being in the playoff hunt, and that the place, unlike MSG, is going to be really loud and nuts. And that, therefore, you are going… Read More →
Game 17. Rangers at Canadiens. Your boys have lost two in a row, except that, in the National Lockout League, one of those losses doesn’t count as a loss even though if you win one of those stupid post-game contests it counts as a win. Anyway, the Rangers have enough… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Even when you’ve been doing this as long as I have, and you’re sitting there writing about what an awful game you’re watching, sometimes you hesitate. I ask myself, is it just because the crowd is dead that it seems awful? Is it just because one team is… Read More →
Prust was asked if he read where John Tortorella said he is just another player in another uniform, and Prust said, “well, he’s just another coach.” He was laughing when he said it. Brandon Prust:
First and foremost, thanks to Carp for giving me a spot in the lineup. Most appreciated. Here we are, folks. A dozen games in the books already. Twenty-five percent of the schedule done, just like that. Sure, a truncated 48-game season is better than no season at all. But it… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Let’s start with the kid. Or the kids. Please don’t go overboard with this 19-year-old, who isn’t going to score a goal a game, or two a game. But, geez, right off the bat J.T. Miller looks like he belongs, like he has the body and the ability… Read More →
Here’s my story from The Journal News and LoHud.com: By Rick Carpiniello GREENBURGH – You could look at the Rangers’ moves on Monday as shuffling deck chairs, moving around a lot of spare parts. They could have zero impact whatsoever. Very clearly, though it’s early, the Rangers’ organization sees its… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Wowzer. I don’t even know where to begin. That was just putrid. I thought there was a stretch there in the second period where the Rangers righted themselves a bit, and then they shot themselves in the skate with the Derek Stepan giveaway for a Sidney Crosby (who… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) It is beyond stupid to think this team was going to stink it up all season. I don’t think they are where they need to be, and they still need to get more from the guys who play on the second line, or who are supposed to play… Read More →
I certainly don’t want to make a big deal about the feisty edge the Rangers might have lost over the off-season. As I said earlier, a few times, I think the Rangers are going to be a little different this year. More speed. More high-end skill. And as much as… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) I still think the staged fights are dumb and mostly useless. But to a degree I agree with John Tortorella, that when a guy is in that kind of battle, right in front of your bench, teammates need to take that and run with it, at least a… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) I’m not judging anything or anybody after one game. But I agree with Captain Callahan, who said, “we’ve gotta increase out battle level.” It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t where it was last year (or the year before), and with some of the guys they lost—who played top-nine… Read More →
Grittier, or prettier? The Rangers lost some of their grinding personality in Brandon Prust, Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko, and a big part of their game was battling for every inch of ice. Some of that has been replaced, and Rick Nash will use his big body, too. But this… Read More →
One of many reminders: Live Chat Wednesday at noon. Be there. ******************************************* Here’s my notebook from camp today: Two of Glen Sather’s biggest mistakes could be freed from their contracts by Saturday and thus, conceivably, continue their NHL careers. Defenseman Wade Redden, whom Sather signed to a six-year, $39 million… Read More →
First some quick stuff: Brad Richards missed a third day in a row with the flu. The Rangers will not work out on the ice tomorrow, instead doing classroom/video meetings, so MSG Network’s training camp special has been pushed back to Thursday. Listen to Torts when he is asked if… Read More →
Good morning Rangers fans! Here is a brief introduction about me, which will hopefully put everything I say into some kind of context. Like many of you, I am a diehard Rangers fan, avid reader of Carps’ blog, season ticket holder, and a fan since birth. My first Rangers memory… Read More →
