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| ► OTG POLL
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Previous Polls
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| ► RUMOR MILL
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Wednesday - February 10th
Bob Mackenzie was on the intermission tonight in the Bruins - Rangers game and said that there are still teams interested in Tony DeAngelo, but that maybe it'll take a little distance from his recent incident for a deal to get made.
Part of the reported hesitation has been over potential backlash from the fanbase and local media to an acquisition from prospective teams, and with time, any heat would be mitigated a little.
No doubt things will mellow a little over time, but if you're a team/GM willing to make the move, then you're probably going to have to deal with a certain level of backlash, should you make the acquisition...as well as risk
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| MORE RUMORS...
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| ► INJURY REPORT |
| Filip Chytil |
2/25 |
| Chytil skated for the first time today, though appears like he won't be ready for tomorrow. Oh yeah, he also had COVID while he was out. |
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| Jacob Trouba |
2/23 |
| Skated this morning, but still weeks away from a return |
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| Kaapo Kakko |
2/20 |
| Placed in NHL COVID Prtotocol |
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| MORE INJURY NEWS... |
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Question Of The Day
September 29th, 2017
How many rostered players were on the ice for opening night 2016-17
Answer...
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| ► RANDOM RANGER |
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ELWYN MORRIS
(1948-1949)
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Born: |
Jan 3 - 1921 |
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Pos: |
Defense |
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GP: |
18 |
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G: |
0 |
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A: |
1 |
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Pts: |
1 |
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PIMs: |
6 |
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Sean Avery won't be in the line-up tonight
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Posted by Toby Ivey ≡ 2:31:34 PM - October 5, 2009
The more things change the more they stay the same. Tonight's match-up between the Rangers and Devils marks the start of the 27th season series between the two teams. From the very first year in 1982-83, when the teams split the season 3-3-1, this has been a case of five star dining versus meat and potatoes.
As anyone who's watched the two teams over the past three decades knows, it's been the team first concept that New Jersey has promoted that has lead to three Stanley Cup rings and a playoff streak that dates back to 1996-97, a span of twelve seasons.
Overall the Devils, have won 13 of the 26 seasons played to date, with the Rangers holding the advantage in 9, and 4 seasons ending in a tie. Seven of those Devils wins came in consecutive seasons from 1997-98 through to 2003-04, but since the lockout it's been a more even affair.
In the four series played since 2005-06, the Rangers and Devils have each won a season series and tied two. Over that same period the Blueshirts hold a 17-13 win advantage in the regular season.
A large part of that success can be drawn directly from the Devils' own playbook. The modern father of the Devils has to be Jacques Lemaire, who epitmized the late 90s with a crushing defensive style that garnered much success for the men from The Swamp, but also forced the league to change several rules in an attempt to counteract a swing to the defensive side of the game.
Tom Renney took a look at his roster coming out of the lockout, and immediately went to work crafting his own version of Lemaire's trap. A hard forecheck, pressure in the neutral zone, but a defense first mentality that kept the blueliners on the blueline.
Certainly Henrik Lundqvist and Jaromir Jagr deserve credit as well. Jagr initially gave the Rangers the offensive firepower they needed to take advantage of the few chances they'd generate, and Lundqvist came in to steady what had been a weak position since Mike Richter had left.
Since breaking into the NHL (against the Devils no-less), Lundqvist has built up an impressive 15-6-1 record, a .935 Save Percentage and a paltry 1.80 GAA against Martin Brodeur (Scott Clemmensen last season) and the Devils.
Still this is far from a one-sided affair. After being beaten 7-1 in his first season as coach, Brent Sutter bounced back with a 3-3 season series last year. Even though Martin Brodeur missed a good part of the year with the first major injury of his career.
While Sutter won't be back this year, his replacement is very familiar with how things are done West of the Hudson. Jacques Lemaire's return to New Jersey will not necessarily mean a return to the 1990s, but it will likely mean the Rangers will likely find it just that much harder to get a puck by Brodeur.
Lemaire has spent the better part of the last decade coaching the Minnesota Wild, a team that has a slight 3-2 advantage over the Rangers in their last five meetings (Rangers lead all time match-up 7-3).
Tortorella too has experienced this rivalry before. Back in 1999-00, he was an assistant as the Rangers went 0-3-2, though he did win the one remaining match last year 3-0 to tie last season's series.
As for the players, both Brodeur and Lundqvist are well equated with the rivalry, as are long timers like Michal Rozsival and Patrik Elias (IR) on their respective teams. For veterans like Marian Gaborik, Vaclav Prospal and Rob Niedermayer it'll be a chance to experience the heated rivalry for the first time.
One player has even experienced it from both sides. Former Ranger Mike Mottau suited up for the March 31st 4-3 win over the Devils back in 2001, and has established himself as a regular in the Devils line-up over the past couple of seasons.
But let's put all that aside for a moment. What this rivalry really comes down is the fans. It's those games in New Jersey where half the crowd is chanting Let's Go Devils, only to be drowned out by a counter Let's Go Rangers chant. It's the difference between parading down the avenues of Manhattan and a parking lot in New Jersey.
It's about the Stanley Cups the Devils won, and the playoff dominance that the Rangers have had over their division rivals. It's about watching Sean Avery do everything humanly possibly to get under the skin of Brodeur, whether that be falling on him, mouthing off or simply waving his stick in front of him.
It's about borderline hits, about John Maclean breaking Niklas Sundstrom's arm in the playoffs. Former Devils who failed as Rangers and vice versa.
Most of all it's about winning each and every game.
Tonight we start another season, tonight it's Rangers vs. Devils.
Profile of the Author:
Has been an active follower of the New York Rangers since the 1996-97 season. Began OutsideTheGarden.com in 2001, and has continued to collect data and provide analysis on the team through to the current day.
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Additional stories from Toby Ivey:
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| ► NEXT GAMES
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Friday Feb 26th
7:00pm - Home
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Sunday Feb 28th
12:00pm - Home
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Tuesday Mar 2nd
7:00pm - Home
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Thursday Mar 4th
1:00pm - Road
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Saturday Mar 6th
7:00pm - Road
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Sunday Mar 7th
7:30pm - Road
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Tuesday Mar 9th
6:00pm - Road
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Thursday Mar 11th
7:00pm - Road
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Complete Schedule
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| February 26th, 2021 |
| MADISON SQUARE GARDEN |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
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1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
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0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
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| ► STANDINGS
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Team |
GP |
W |
L |
OT |
Pts |
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Bruins |
18 |
11 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
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Capitals |
19 |
10 |
5 |
4 |
24 |
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Islanders |
19 |
10 |
6 |
3 |
23 |
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Flyers |
16 |
9 |
4 |
3 |
21 |
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Penguins |
18 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
21 |
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Rangers |
18 |
7 |
8 |
3 |
17 |
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Devils |
15 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
16 |
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Sabres |
17 |
6 |
8 |
3 |
15 |
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| FULL STANDINGS |
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