Game 24. Rangers at Capitals. Ya boys begin a four-game road trip as they hit the half-way mark of this Bettmaned 48-game season. They lost a four-game winning streak with that loss to Ottawa Friday at the Garden. They can jump over New Jersey into seventh place in the East… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Most of the time, you can analyze a game and say this team deserved to win, or this team deserved to lose. Last night was one of those games that, seriously, could have gone either way, no problem. The only thing that would concern me a little bit,... Read More →
Thoughts: 1) The Marc Staal injury. I don’t know what to make of it. You just hope something like that isn’t serious. Freakin’ scary though, wasn’t it. I was just mentioning to somebody in the pressbox last night that there were an awful lot of players on both teams with… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) This was more like last year for the Rangers. They got punched in the mouth and all of a sudden they decided to show up. Well, it wasn’t even a punch in the mouth, it was a dangerous, intentional, filthy hit by a cheap-shot artist of the lowest… Read More →
Don’t forget today’s noon Live Chat right here. You can check in from the ledge. Thoughts: 1) For a team that’s played just 16 games, there have sure been a a lot of them for which I really don’t have an explanation. 2) I thought it was fitting, though, that… Read More →
Game 16. Rangers at Senators. Ya boys will be one-third of the way through this Bettmaned season after tonight’s game in beautiful downtown Kanata, Ont., just a short 55-minute, bumper-to-bumper, straight-into-the-setting sun, 3 mph ride from Canada’s capital. This is the first meeting since the nasty seven-game series with the… 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 →
Thoughts: 1) Remember last year when the Rangers were almost always the more physical team, the team that won more battles and dictated play, and often the faster team? I thought this was a game that kind of reminded me of last year more than any other this season. 2)... Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Martin Biron. Let’s talk about fairness here. Because it isn’t fair if every time this guy plays and the Rangers don’t win, that it’s his fault, or the fault of the decision to play him. He’s not going to go 8-0 or 10-0 or whatever. He’s 1-0-1. Three… Read More →
John Tortorella: Brad Richards: Martin Biron: Brian Boyle:
Game 13. Islanders at Rangers. The Rangers open the second quarter of the season on a three-game winning streak, and 6-2 in their last eight. Martin Biron starts in goal, his second start of the season. Brian Boyle returns to the lineup after being scratched for three straight, replacing Chris… Read More →
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 →
Because it was such a big part of the discussion during the live chat (you can replay it on the thread below), and since J.T. Miller admitted he struggled in Boston, and since John Tortorella said he’s still undecided about a lineup for tomorrow night’s game against the Islanders (the… Read More →
Before we look back at last night’s mayhem, remember we will have a Live Chat right here at noon today. Should be some interesting discussion given what happened and how it happened last night. Be there. Or else. Thoughts: 1) I haven’t had the opportunity to say this in a… Read More →
Game 12. Rangers at Bruins. Ya boys hit the quarter-pole of this Bettman-shortened season with their third meeting (already) of the season against the team I think has been the most impressive in the East so far. The Rangers have not won three in a row yet this season. The… Read More →
Just a few things before we get to the game notes. First, because it’s bound to happen, let’s stop the talk about J.T. Miller and his entry-level contract. It’s a non-issue. Whether he stays up or goes down will be based on his performance and his development. It will have… Read More →
Game 11. Lightnings at Rangers. Dan Girardi is expected to return after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. He will replace Steve Eminger on defense. Otherwise it looks like the same lineup (and the same line combinations) that beat the Islanders Thursday, meaning Brian Boyle is prucha’d, along… Read More →
The coach talked about Dan Girardi, Brian Boyle, Rick Nash, and other topics pre-game tonight. John Tortorella:
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 →
Game 10. Islanders at Rangers. First meeting of the season in the luke-warm rivalry. (Let’s face it, the Rangers have much bigger rivalries with the Devils, Flyers, Penguins and even Capitals right now). Brian Boyle, one of the “scared or tentative” players coach John Tortorella mentioned after the loss in… Read More →
