For those joining late … Jeff Halpern was claimed off waivers by Montreal, and the Rangers also put Stu Bickel on waivers. Also, J.T. Miller left practice with a left wrist injury he suffered Thursday against Florida, and Arron Asham (back) declared himslf good to go for Sunday’s game against… Read More →
My thoughts: The Rangers are in a funk. Is it time to panic? Making the playoffs is looking more like a pipe dream. Beating a Pittsburgh team now having won eight in a row, on the road, was perhaps too much to ask. But those losses to the Sabres and… Read More →
Game 26. Rangers at Jets. The Rangers—gasp!—have lost one in a row and two of three … and of course the sky is falling. Never mind that they’ve won five of seven. Still, full-panic mode goes into effect tonight if they lose on the frozen plains of Manitoba where Hedberg,... Read More →
Game 25. Rangers at Baby Buffaloes. Ya boys have won five of their last six as they play the second of a four-game road trip. They will go with the same lineup tonight, meaning that Stu Bickel and Roman Hamrlik are prucha’d. Marc Staal and Arron Asham remain out with… Read More →
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) That’s at least five OT goals by Gaborik the last two seasons—including the triple-OT winner—and three of those on the 4-on-3 PP. He has eight goals, same as Rick Nash. He has four game-winners this season, FWIW. I know some of you don’t want to hear it—because if… 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) Amazing how good you look when the puck goes in. Also amazing how much different this Rangers team is when most of its pieces are on the ice and somewhat healthy. Each line, each D-pair looks more like it should be getting the minutes it gets. And when… Read More →
Game 19. Lightning at Rangers. The cavalry, or most of it, is arriving just in time. Rick Nash (likely concussion) and Michael Del Zotto (likely hip) and Ryan McDonagh (who knows what his injury was/is?) will all play tonight. Matt Gilroy (flu) and Arron Asham (back spasms) will not play…. Read More →
Game 18. Jets at Rangers. Ya boys come slip-sliding in, with three straight losses (0-2-1), and four in the last five (1-2-2). They begin a four-game homestand, after which they will have already played 14 of their 24 home games this season. In other words, 17 of their final 27… Read More →
John Tortorella:
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 →
Game 15. Canadiens at Rangers. The Rangers 4-0-1* in their last five (asterisk = they lost one of those games, but it doesn’t count as a loss, even though they won of those games in the same fashion and that counts as a win—only in the Bettman Bonus Points for… Read More →
Doubt that we will find out whether he’s sick or hurt … but Rick Nash will not play tonight. Chris Kreider and Brandon Mashinter will both play. Henrik Lundqvist in goal. Stu Bickel scratched.
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
