Opening Night
The Rangers officially kick off their 85th season tonight in Buffalo, when they square off against the Sabres. Buffalo won last night, defeating the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on the back of two goals by Derek Roy. This will be just the second time in the franchise’s history that the Rangers have opened the season against […]
Opening Night Statistics
The Rangers are set for their 2009-10 season opener tonight in Pittsburgh (7:30pm – MSG) and they’ll be looking to extend their unbeaten streak in the first game of the season to five games. In fact the Rangers haven’t lost a season opener since the lockout, and are 6-3-1-0 in their last ten seasons on […]
Some Things Never Change
by Mark Owens Let’s get one thing out of the way: Chris Drury will be the second-best captain the Rangers have had in the past 30 years. He is more than ready to lead this team, especially with seven new players and legends Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan out of the picture. The team’s average age is now 26, down from […]
Turnover, Speed, and Leadership Void
by Mark Owens Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, along with Henrik Lundqvist, take over as the team’s leaders. Jagr’s offensive production ‘ hopefully ‘ will be replaced by the speedy, enigmatic, underachieving, high first-round pick Nikolai Zherdev (sounds a little like Alex Kovalev, doesn’t it?). Replacing Shanahan’s 23 goals, theoretically, will be Markus Naslund, whose production the past two seasons has […]
No Such Thing As A ‘Free’ Agent
In a way it’s ironic that the NHL and NHLPA use the terms “Free” Agency. Judging by some of the projected offers for the few marquee players on offer, they’re about as far afield from that designator as you can be and still sign a valid contract. Tampa Bay (complete with new ownership) has gotten […]
Critical Decisions
by Steven Zeltser This offseason is going to be critical for both the organization and Sather himself. There are many decisions to be made. Do they bring back their captain, Jaromir Jagr? If so, who else from the Jagr entourage must be signed? Straka? Rozsival? Malik? Does Shanahan have another year in him and is his […]
Season Ends in OT
Well that’s another season in the books my friends. With today’s 3-2 OT loss to the Penguins, the Rangers officially were eliminated and now will turn their attention to retooling over the season. Several key players will be free agents this Summer including: Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Sean Avery, Martin Straka, Michal Rozsival, Marek Malik, Paul Mara, Stephen Valiquette and Jason Strudwick.
Playoffs Start Tonight!
Well my friends, the 2008 NHL Playoffs kick off tonight, and the Rangers will of course face the Devils in Newark (7:00pm – MSG). It looks like Bendan Shanahan will be back with Scott Gomez and Sean Avery, with Petr Prucha replaced in the line-up by Ryan Hollweg (though we will likely not know for sure until game time). On defense, the Devils will […]
Trades Give Rangers Depth and Flexibility
by Mark Owens Acquiring Christian Backman for a fourth-round pick helps offset the loss of Paul Mara and the addition of Fredrik Sjostrom adds skill to the fourth line. Adding Backman to the mix creates competition among Backman, Marek Malik (who is playing very well right now), Mara, and Jason Strudwick for the last two slots among the top six defensemen. Apparently, Backman is even […]
Renney’s Use of 4th Line Leaves Team on Thin Ice
by Mark Owens Simply put, Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr should only be on the ice when the opponent is pushing the Rangers around, or perhaps when playing two games in two days. The illusion that they along with Blair Betts somehow form a checking line capable of dictating tempo and shutting down the opponents’ best players is just that ‘ […]