First the news. Ryan McDonagh said he’s not worried about his left knee at all. He said it’s an injury he’s had in the past where the kneecap tweaks and there’s some pain but it subsides. He also got the Broadway Hat for the first time this year—hard to believe… Read More →
Game 53. Fifth of the season against the Flyers. The Rangers have won the first four … but none of them in the Arena That Changes Names Every Five Minutes … three at MSG and one at Citizens Bank Ballpark. The Rangers are 6-0 in the last six meetings going… Read More →
I don’t know what you guys thought about the game, but I sure thought it was a fun game to watch, even if it took the Garden crowd 50 minutes to get into it. The second and third periods were pretty wild. Thoughts: 1) Not to be one of those… Read More →
No update on Ruslan Fedotenko, but the Rangers were not happy about Dominic Moore’s shoulder-to-head hit in retaliation for Fedotenko clobbering him along the wall. John Tortorella wouldn’t comment on it, other than to say that that his team shouldn’t be happy about it. Here’s the post-game stuff. John Tortorella:... Read More →
I truly believe that these four wins over the Flyers won’t mean jack-squat if the Rangers wind up in a playoff series against them. It doesn’t work that way. But I also truly believe that the Rangers are better. And here’s the thing. The Flyers have more skill. The Rangers—can… Read More →
Bizarre night topped by Jim Dolan, all smiles and giggles, popping into John Tortorella’s press conference. I think what happened is that Dolan was in Tortorella’s office and the coach asked him if he wanted to do the press conference instead of Torts. And Dolan took the dare and went… Read More →
Welcome to the second half. The best team in the East, battling for No. 1 overall, better expect that these bottom-dwellers are going to be fired up to play them. That these teams think it’s a barometer game when they play the Rangers. That there’s no more sneaking up or… Read More →
Shut the front door. That’s how you smother a good team, how you make their night miserable, how you bounce back from a loss. Fact: The Rangers are quickly becoming the team you don’t want to play, because they will make you absorb a beating, fight for every inch and… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) This is one of my favorite of many stats so far through 40 games, with the mid-point of the season coming Thursday: Henrik Lundqvist, who has won seven in a row, has limited opponents to two goals or fewer 21 times in 29 starts. Holy shishkebob. Yet he… Read More →
For all the complaining we (I) did about the outdoor game, it was a downer going back indoors, especially at the World’s Quietest Arena. What a shame. Could you imagine a first-place team in the middle of a season in the 1970s or ‘80s and the kind of intimidation MSG… Read More →
John Tortorella (I believe the first question is about Gaborik’s line; he had some interesting things to say about the rest of this season; and also late in the interview, about Ruslan Fedotenko having Wojtek Wolski looking over his shoulder): Brad Richards: Marian Gaborik: Martin Biron: Marc Staal:
This is what’s special about this team. The most hyped game they have played in years, if not decades, coming up next, a bad loss in the game previous. I know some of you guys worried about this being a trap game during the live chat yesterday and we talked… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) Another staged fight to start the game. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Maybe it’s hypocritical, but to me they don’t seem as senseless when it’s archrivals playing. I did think Rupp had some good, solid hits, though he wasn’t credited with any, officially. 2) I liked the… Read More →
Well, that was about as wild as it gets. Not one for the archives in terms of how to play, or how to win. But, wow, was that a finish. I am racking the rusty rolodex between my ears trying to remember a similar game, and I’m sure there was… Read More →
Thoughts: 1) The Rangers don’t usually get out hit and outmuscled, but they sure did in the first period and they definitely did on the first goal … even if there was an illegal pick there. I thought they lost about four physical battles on that shift. 2) And from… Read More →
First I want to thank the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors for giving me this topic of conversation, because last night’s Rangers-Leaves game was pretty dull and not worthy of much of a review. So I’m going to do this in two parts. First, a quick review of the… Read More →
Temper the giddiness over the six goals for a moment, because, well, you have to realistically say that some of that was on Michal Neuvirth and some of that was on a Washington team that wasn’t great in its own end. But the truth is, the Rangers had the puck… Read More →
“It’s pretty ugly everywhere at times now.” That was the quote from Brad Richards (on MSG Network), who said several times several different ways that the Rangers: A) survived themselves and a brutal opening schedule and B) are not playing particularly well, even if they are playing hard most of… Read More →
Game 6. The third of a four-game tour of Western Canada. The sixth of a seven-game odyssey to begin the season. Get ready to be inundated with Tom Renney stuff tonight. Wojtek Wolski (groin) is ready to return, but he will not play and be a prucha, as Erik Christensen… Read More →
Gotta go quickly today. Got a football game to cover tonight, so I’m going to attend a meeting with Mr. T at Mr. Green’s office this morning. Thoughts: 1) I’m going to invoke the name Brian Leetch again. Because Leetch always had a clock in his head, and he knew… Read More →
