Tag: New York Rangers

NHL Stars of the Week – Tokarski Lifts Sabres for Top Honors

Today the National Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of February 8th through 14th.

First Stars – Dustin Tokarski (G – BUF) and Michaela Pastorius (Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center)

  • Tokarski would record a 2-1-1 record that would see him have a 2.27 GAA and a .934 save percentage as he would stop 128 out of 137 shots faced for the week. He would make 29 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Bruins on April 13th, then make 27 saves in a 5-2 victory over Washington on April 15th to earn his first victory since DEce. 12th, 2015 when he was with Montreal. On April 17th Tokarski would make 38 saves in a 3-2 loss to the Penguins, but would end the week with a 384 save 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh on April 18th.

Second Star – Artemi Panarin (LW – NYR)

  • Panarin would pace the League with four goals and six assist for 10 points in four games played for the Rangers. All four games would be against the New Jersey Devils and Panarin would play a huge part in their four game series sweep over the Devils.

Third Star – Mark Stone (RW – VGK)

  • Stone would record three goals and five assists for eight points in four games for the Golden Knights. Stone would record a goal and an assist on both April 12th and 14th as the Knights would defeat the Kings 4-2 and 6-2 respectively. Then Stone would record two assists on April 16th in a 4-2 win, and a goal and an assist on April 18th 5-2 victory, both against the Ducks.

*All Graphics courtesy of the NHL.

Rangers Bi-Weekly

Hello TXHT fans and welcome to New York Rangers bi-Weekly! We are going to do things a little different this time and instead of taking a look at each individual game, we are going to look at groups of games the Rangers played against three clubs the past two weeks. That includes the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. Its been a bit of an up and down stretch for the team with some truly high highs and some embarrassing lows. Let’s jump into the second half of March and Early April and see just what happened with the Broadway Blueshirts.

New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres – Three Matchups

3/22/21 – Rangers 5, Sabres 2

4/1/21 – Rangers 3, Sabres 2

4/3/21 – Rangers 2, Sabres 3

The Buffalo Sabres are far and away the worst team in the NHL. Everything that has happened to this season just seems to keep piling on and this nightmare of a season just never seems to stop for them. They don’t have double digit wins on the season and their star center Jack Eichel is not only hurt and out for the foreseeable future but has rumors swirling around him that he will be traded this offseason. The two most heavily rumored teams he could be going to? The Rangers or the LA Kings. Just not a good time in Sabres land and it doesnt look like things will be changing. 

The Rangers played Buffalo three times in mid to late March and their first two matchups went basically as expected with two Rangers wins. Kaapo Kakko and Chris Kreider each had two goals in the Rangers 5-3 win on the 22nd and Adam Fox added a goal and two assists for three points which added fuel to his quickly brewing Norris Trophy fire. Fox is currently second overall in points by a defenseman and is tied with Victor Hedman in assists. It was a great game for the blueshirts. In their game on April 1st, it took overtime but the Rangers got another win against the lowly club from Buffalo when Mika Zibanejad would rip a one-timer in OT. 

Then comes the 4/3 game… oh boy this was not a good from the Rangers. Despite leading 2-1 in the third, the team made a bad decision to sit back on their heels on not go for the kill. Buffalo would get chance after chance and Victor Olofsson would tie the game late with the Sabres eventually winning in a shootout. It was one of the most embarrassing Rangers losses of the entire season since they allowed the worst team in the league to just climb back in. This game really showed that the Rangers aren’t ready to take they next step. That killer instinct they need to have can’t take a game off and it did. 

New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers – Two Matchups 

3/25/21 – Rangers 8, Flyers 3

3/27/21 – Rangers 1, Flyers 2

There may not be a better microcosm for the Rangers season than these two games against the Broad Street Bullies. Game one: total domination, sublime puck movement and scoring from all around the lineup. Game two: Coming up short after an aspiring performance with an absolute let down. The Rangers have a consistency problem and that of course comes with a young team. At some point though, the Rangers will need to outgrow this trend of being amazing sometimes and below average other times. 

Defensively, they have been great this season and have improved leaps and bound over the last few years. Offensively, it seems to be that there’s an explosion of it or they can’t remember how to score a goal. In the 8-3 win against the Flyers, the team had that killer instinct. They fought hard, they won puck battles and they embarrassed the Flyers in every aspect of the game. In the 2-1 loss, they forgot what seemingly made them successful in the previous game. 

In the 8-3 win, Mika Zibanejad has a hat trick and three assists for six points. Adam Fox had five assists. Pavel Buchnevich scored twice and Ryan Strome had four points. A lot of the Rangers big guns were able to torch the Flyers with little to no issue. In the 2-1 loss though those four players combined for 3 points. Not good. The consistency failed them in their little two game set with Philly and the coaching staff needs to do more to get that consistency instill within the team.

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals – Two Matchups 

3/28/21 – Rangers 4, Capitals 5

3/30/21 – Rangers 5, Capitals 2

Four goals in the third period weren’t enough to overcome the Washington Capitals in their first game of a two game set. The most encouraging aspect of the first game was to see the fight the Rangers have in them and that Alexis Lafreniere was able to get on the board and add to his rookie point totals. In the second game of the set against the Caps, Artemi Panarin had three point and was the best player on the ice in a 5-2 Rangers win. Not much else to say except this team needs to be consistent, as we’ve mentioned above. 

One last thing: Fire David Quinn. Have a great day everybody.

NHL Stars of the Week – Fox Assists His Way to Top Honors

Today the National Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of February 8th through 14th.

First Stars – Adam Fox (D – NYR) and Deena Trupkin (Long Island Jewish Medical Center)

  • Fox would lead the League with 10 assists and 11 points in four games played. Fox would begin the week with a goal and two assists in a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on March 22nd. Then on March 25th against Philadelphia he would record 5 assists, and first Ranger to do so since Wayne Gretzky in Feb. 1999, in a 8-3 victory. On March 27th Fox would tally an assist in the Rangers 2-1 loss to the Flyers, and then would close out the week with two assists in a 5-4 loss to Washington on March 28th.

Second Star – Martin Necas (C – CAR)

  • Necas would record four goals and three assists for seven points in three games for the Hurricanes. Necas would start the week with recording a goal against Columbus in a 3-0 victory, and then a goal and an assist in a 4-3 victory over Columbus on March 25th. On March 27th he would record 2 goals and two assists in a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay to end the week.

Third Star – Jusse Saros (G – NAS)

  • Saros would stop 80 out of 82 shots he faced throughout the week to record a perfect 3-0-0 record with a 0.67 GAA and .976 save percentage, including one shutout. Saros would start the week with his 12th career shutout as he would stop all 31 shots in a 2-0 victory over Detroit on March 23rd. Then on March 25th against the Red Wings he would stop 20 shots in a 7-1 victory, and then he would close out the week with a 29 save 3-1 victory over Chicago on March 27th.

*All Graphics courtesy of the NHL.

NHL Stars of the Week – Jarnkrok Powers Preds for Top Honors

Today the National Hockey League announced their Three Stars of the Week for the week of February 8th through 14th.

First Stars – Calle Jarnkrok (C – NAS) and Dr. Alex Jahangir (Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center)

  • Jarnkrok would factor in on six of the nine goals the Predators scored for the week as he would record three goals and three assists. Jarnkrok would open the week with with a goal and three assists in a 4-1 victory over Tampa on March 15th, and then would score a goal for the Predators in their 2-1 victory over Florida on March 18th. After being held off the scoresheet on March 20th, he would complete the week with a goal in a 4-3 victory over Dallas.

Second Star – Connor McDavid (C – EDM)

  • McDavid would share the League lead in scoring as he would record four goals and four assists for eight points in four games played. In a pair of games against Calgary McDavid would record a total of four points in a 4-3 loss (1a – Mar. 15th) and a 7-3 victory (1g, 2a – Mar. 17th). He would score both goals for the Oilers in a 2-1 victory over Winnipeg on Mar. 18th, and then he would close out the week with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Jets on March 20th.

Third Star – Mika Zibanejad (C – NYR)

  • Zibanejad would tie McDavid for the League lead in scoring as he would also record four goals and four assists for eight points in four games played for the Rangers. After being held scoreless on March 15th by Philadelphia, he would respond with three goals and three assists for a six point second period against the Flyers in a 9-0 victory on March 17th. Then against Washington, he would be held off the scoresheet again on March 19th, but Zibanejad would record a goal and an assist in a 3-1 victory over the Capitals on March 20th.

*All Graphics courtesy of the NHL.

Rangers v. Capitals – Similar Script, Different Result

New York Rangers (12-13-4 28pts) v. Washington Capitals (20-6-4 44pts)

Game Recap:

Back in DC for the second game of their back to back with the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals look to continue their winning ways as Tom Wilson returns from his seven game suspension. In the first period both teams would get some powerplay opportunities, but neither team would score on them to gain the advantage. However, late in the period Pavel Buchnevich would strike to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead as they headed into the first intermission.

In the second period the Caps and Rangers would trade powerplay opportunities, but both teams penalty kills were up to the task, plus Ilya Samsonov and Keith Kinkaid played lights out hockey to keep the game at 1-0 in favor of the Rangers.

In the third period we would see the Caps take a penalty, but after killing it off it would be John Carlson scoring to tie the game at one. However, after killing a penalty of their own, Mika Zibanejad would strike to give the Rangers the 2-1 lead, and then Brett Howden would get the empty netter to secure the 3-1 victory over the Capitals. This game mirrored the game that was played the night before, but with a different result. Both Ilya Samsonov and Keith Kinkaid played spectacularly in net for their respective teams.

Lineups:

New York Rangers:

Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin — Ryan Strome — Colin Blackwell
Alexis Lafreniere — Filip Chytil — Kaapo Kakko
Brendan Lemieux — Kevin Rooney — Brett Howden

Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba
Libor Hajek — Brendan Smith

Keith Kinkaid
Alexandar Georgiev

Scratched: Julien Gauthier
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (lower body)
COVID-19 protocol: Phillip Di Giuseppe

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Daniel Sprong
Conor Sheary — T.J. Oshie — Richard Panik
Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Justin Schultz
Zdeno Chara — Nick Jensen

Ilya Samsonov
Vitek Vanecek

Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Injured: Lars Eller (lower body)

First Period:

NYR Penalty – 1:57 – Alexis Lafreniere 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 5:16 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Slashing

NYR Penalty – 9:20 – Artemi Panarin 2 minutes for Holding

NYR Goal – 17:49 – Pavel Buchnevich (11) from Adam Fox (16) and Mika Zibanejad (12)

End of FirstNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots79
Faceoff Wins1213
Hits312
Powerplay0/10/2

Second Period:

NYR Penalty – 5:54 – Brett Howden 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 15:41 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Boarding

End of SecondNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots1517
Faceoff Wins1724
Hits621
Powerplay0/20/3

Third Period:

WAS Penalty – 1:44 – Carl Hagelin 2 minutes for Interference

WAS Goal – 5:55 – John Carlson (7) from Tom Wilson (11) and Nicklas Backstrom (22)

NYR Penalty – 8:12 – Brendan Lemieux 2 minutes for Cross Checking

NYR Goal – 17:28 – Mika Zibanejad (7) from unassisted

NYR ENG – 19:32 – Brett Howden (1) from Ryan Strome (14)

End of ThirdNYR – 3WAS – 1
Shots2529
Faceoff Wins2736
Hits1431
Powerplay0/30/4

Rangers v. Capitals – Ovi to the Rescue

New York Rangers (12-12-4 28pts) v. Washington Capitals (19-6-4 42pts)

Game Recap:

Coming into the weekend the New York Rangers would come to town to faceoff with the Washington Capitals for a back to back series. In the first period it would be a very quiet period until the last five minutes when we would see Nicklas Backstrom get called for tripping to give the Rangers the first powerplay of the game, and it would be Artemi Panarin with the one time snipe to get the Rangers on the board first. Afterwards the Caps would get their first powerplay, but would not be able to capitalize on the opportunity as the Rangers would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Come the second period, it would be another quiet period. No goals or powerplays, but after a hard, clean hit on Ovechkin we would see a small flare up, but nothing major as the Rangers would hold the 1-0 lead.

In the third period the it would remain a tightly contested matchup, but come the final 7 minutes of regulation Alex Ovechkin would not strike once, but twice by burying the loose puck in the crease to give the Capitals the 2-1 victory over the Rangers. The Rangers would out shoot the Caps 33 to 18 in the game, but the Capitals would be able to get the dirty goals and Vitek Vanecek would come up big to gain the victory.

Lineups:

New York Rangers:

Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin — Ryan Strome — Colin Blackwell
Alexis Lafreniere — Filip Chytil — Kaapo Kakko
Brendan Lemieux — Kevin Rooney — Brett Howden

Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba
Libor Hajek — Brendan Smith

Alexandar Georgiev
Keith Kinkaid

Scratched: Julien Gauthier, Tarmo Reunanen
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (lower body), Anthony Bitetto (lower body)
COVID-19 protocol: Phillip Di Giuseppe

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Daniel Sprong
Conor Sheary – Nic Dowd — Richard Panik
Carl Hagelin — Garnet Hathaway

Brenden Dillon — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Justin Schultz
Zdeno Chara — Nick Jensen
Trevor van Riemsdyk

Vitek Vanecek
Ilya Samsonov

Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: Lars Eller (lower body)
Suspended: Tom Wilson

First Period:

WAS Penalty – 15:21 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Tripping

NYR PPG – 16:42 – Artemi Panarin (8) from Ryan Strome (13)

NYR Penalty – 17:32 – Filip Chytil 2 minutes for Hooking

End of FirstNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots85
Faceoff Wins68
Hits912
Powerplay1/10/1

Second Period:

NYR Penalty – 11:36 – Brendan Lemieux 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

WAS Penalty – 11:36 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

End of SecondNYR – 1WAS – 0
Shots1911
Faceoff Wins1417
Hits1824
Powerplay1/10/1

Third Period:

WAS Penalty – :31 – Brenden Dillon 2 minutes for Hooking

WAS Penalty – 10:46 – Richard Panik 2 minutes for Holding

WAS Goal – 13:18 – Alex Ovechkin (13) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (10) and Justin Schultz (12)

WAS Goal – 16:27 – Alex Ovechkin (14) from John Carlson (20) and Zdeno Chara (7)

End of ThirdNYR – 1WAS – 2
Shots3318
Faceoff Wins2128
Hits2332
Powerplay1/30/1

Rangers Bi-Weekly – Feb 24th to Mar 7th

Welcome back to Rangers bi-weekly! It’s actually been a much better two weeks in Rangers town than even I expected so let’s jump right in and see how the Broadway Blueshirts have been handling some recent adversity thrown their way. 

February 24th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Score: Rangers 3, Flyers 4

No Artemi Panarin, No Kaapo Kakko, No Jacob Trouba, No Filip Chytil. The Rangers had to go to battle with one of the top teams in the NHL down four of their best players and going into this game, I truly thought it wasn’t going to be close and that the Rangers would suffer an embarrassing loss against the Flyers. They proved me way wrong. Yes, they lost but they managed to stay competitive and when they needed one of their leaders to step up, he did. Chris Kreider was the Rangers entire offense of the night when he scored a hat trick in the 4-3 loss but he looked like a man possessed. When Kreider gets this way, and embraces his speed, he is one of the best players in the league. He has a big contract to live up to and this season he is showing that the Rangers made a smart investment. Kreider is a physical freak who continues to show, even going into his 30s, that he will be a great asset for the team going forward. The fact that the team kept it a one goal game without many of their most important pieces is the big positive to take away here.

February 26th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Score: Rangers 6, Bruins 2

This was easily one of the most fun Rangers games all season and it was the first with fans back in attendance. The Garden was rocking as the Rangers scored six times against what many consider to be the best team in the NHL. The Bruins always seem to be this juggernaut of the eastern conference but the Rangers on this day, flexed their offensive muscles. Still no Artemi Panarin but it did not slow them down one bit. 

Phil Di Giuseppe would begin the Garden party when he tipped a Julien Gauthier shot past Tuukka Rask. I wish Gauthier’s initial shot had gone in to help build his confidence but hey, can’t complain about a one goal lead. Ryan Strome would join the party next and was set up with one of the best passes I’ve seen all season from any player. Alexis Lafreniere sent a beautiful pass to Strome who snapped the puck past Rask for 2-0 Rangers lead. Just an awesome start. After a Bruins goal, the Rangers would strike back and score the next four goals. Colin Blackwell, Chris Kreider (Again!), Pavel Buchnevich and Jonny Brodzinski would all score in a 6-2 win. The Rangers caught some fire and looked to continue to flaunt their new found offensive prowess again next game against the Bruins. 

February 28th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Score: Rangers 1, Bruins 4

After two games of positives, it all came crashing down in this one. The Bruins stymied the Rangers at every turn and the Rangers did not look so good in a 4-1 loss. Colin Blackwell would score the Rangers lone goal in this one. Blackwell has been one of the best signings in recent years as he was essentially signed off the scrap heap and has been a nice middle six contributor for a team that needed guys to step up. Blackwell has played on just about every line this season and he has proven to be a more than capable contributor on this New York Rangers club. Let’s move on to happier times. 

March 2nd, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres

Score: Rangers 3, Sabres 2

This was a wild one with three of the games five goals coming with the first three minutes of the first period. Pavel Bychnevich would continue his torrid scoring pace and strike first. Sam Reinhart would get one back for the Sabres but Buchnevich would bank a shot off of Alexis Lafreniere to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Lafreniere would collect his third goal of the season and he seems to really be finding his game. The first overall pick had a rough time scoring during the early part of the season but now he is stapled to the top line and second power-play unit so he is getting way more opportunities as the season has gone one. 

Chris Kreider would score once again keeping himself red hot to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the second period. Kreider, I can’t say this enough, has just been dynamite since Artemi Panarin took a leave of absence from the team. He has truly stepped up as a leader on this team and I hope he does indeed get named the next captain of this franchise. Tobias Rieder would score a meaningless goal as the Rangers sailed to a 3-2 win

March 4th and March 6th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils

Scores: 6-1 Rangers and 6-3 Rangers

You wanted feel good and dominating wins? You got it Rangers fans. Two straight road games at “the Rock” would extend the Rangers winning streak to three games and man does it feel good to stick it to the Devils. The Rangers were all over this club for two straight games and they put up 12(!!!) goals on them. Chris Kreider would score a hat trick in the March 4th game (his second straight hat trick on the road). Pavel Buchnevich and Brendan Smith would score as well but my favorite goal of the first of the two games was when Alexis Lafreniere lasered a shot past Aaron Dell for his fourth goal of the season. It was a beautiful snipe and reminded you just how much skill this kid has.

The game on March 6th was more of the same greatness. Adam Fox would score one of the best goals this season when he went from end to end on the power-play and snapped the puck past the New Jersey goalie. What a goal from the Rangers number one defenseman. Ryan Strome would score twice and Filip Chytil would chip in a nice skillful backhand tally in front as well. Libor Hajek would score his first of the season and his two career goals have been against New Jersey. Just an awesome two games of domination against a major rival. The Rangers were finally over NHL .500 after their March 6th win against NJ. 

March 7th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Score: Rangers 1, Penguins 5

Just an absolute dud of a game. The Penguins won.  Not too many good things happened. Let’s move on. 

The Week Ahead

March 9th, 2021: NYR vs. PIT

March 11th: NYR vs. BOS

March 13th: NYR vs. BOS

Devils Weekly: Another sucky week (with a good ending)

To quote John Tortorella “I’m not gonna break it down for ya”. Misery followed the New Jersey Devils after they lost back to back games at home last week against the Washington Capitals. They flat out did not play well at all in all facets of the game this week as they took on the NY Islanders and NY Rangers (twice), then finally the Boston Bruins. The game against the Islanders wasn’t as bad as their performances against the Rangers. They gave up two third period goals and unfortunately made a comeback effort that was way too late. The only bright side of the result was the Devils avoided being shutout by Semyon Varlamov and the Islanders.

Against the Rangers saw very poor play as the Devils gave up twelve goals in two games against their Hudson River rivals. There’s really not much else I can say other than that they flat out sucked and played awful. The defense and goaltending was absolutely terrible. New Jersey had to get their game together and find a way to play a much better game against the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Fortunately, the Devils played obviously their best game of the week as they beat the Boston Bruins in a nail biter shutting them out 1-0. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood played out of his mind making forty saves and Kyle Palmieri scored the game winner late in the third period. The Devils finally found their game and got a win after a five game losing streak. New Jersey was committed to playing a full sixty minute game and played a much better game defensively.

How they doin’? My thoughts on the week:

As I said, the past five games has not been fun to watch if you are a New Jersey Devils fan. What has concerned me the past week is the defensive play and structure, MacKenzie Blackwood’s play since returning, and obviously the pathetically dead last ranked penalty kill in the NHL. Fortunately at the end of the week, the defense looked much better and played with more structure and better positioning as they kept the Bruins off the board. This game showed this is exactly how the Devils D needs to play on a consistent basis.

As far as MacKenzie Blackwood, to be fair I think he’s still trying to get his timing and positioning back since returning from the COVID-19 protocol list. I think it would have been smart to have him play with AHL affiliate Binghamton to ease him back into playing. You can tell Blackwood isn’t all the way back to his top notch form just yet. Hopefully we’ll get to see that form from Blackwood real soon.

The penalty kill is absolutely frustrating to watch. It’s been a total disaster this whole season and it’s not getting better. Not having Nico Hischier lately in the lineup hasn’t helped as he’s the team’s best overall all around player and is a big piece to the penalty kill. However, I do think Lindy Ruff and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine (who runs the PK) need to look at changing or tweaking the approach because clearly what’s being done isn’t working.

What’s ahead:

3/9/21: New Jersey Devils @ Washington Capitals

3/11/21: New Jersey Devils @ NY Islanders

3/13/21 & 3/14/21: New Jersey Devils vs NY Islanders

Rangers Weekly: Sour Week with a Sweet Finish

Hello everyone and welcome back to Rangers weekly! We have six games to get to so let’s jump right into it!

February 8th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders

Score: Rangers 0, Islanders 2

We begin on February 8th when the Rangers battled the Islanders once again this season. After two promising wins against Pittsburgh and Washington, the Broadway Blueshirts looked as flat as ever in this game. Their goaltender kept them in this one as best as he could and to be honest, this might have been one of Igor Shesterkin’s best games of the season but he was let down by his teammates. Third period goals from Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas would doom the Rangers to a 2-0 loss at the Garden. It’s never a good night when the fourth liners are the ones who seal your loss and for the Rangers, this might have been one of the most deflating losses all season.

February 10th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Score: Rangers 2, Bruins 3 (F/OT)

This game had so much promise for the Rangers as it began. They played with pace and they looked like a completely different team than the one that got pushed around but the fishsticks a few nights ago. They were rewarded for their start when Julien Gauthier would score his first ever NHL goal after a nice play in front. Gauthier was mobbed by teammates after he gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. The Rangers lead lasted into the second until Chris Wagner scored to tie the game at one goal a piece. Anders Bjork would join the scoring party and give the Bruins a 2-1 lead in the third period. The Rangers wouldn’t back down and Kevin Rooney would tap the puck past Tuukka Rask after a Ryan Lindgren rebound found him for a 2-2 tie. The game would end in heartbreak for the Rangers in overtime as Brad Marchand would score after a dominating OT performance to give the Bruins a 3-2 win in OT. This marked the second straight loss for the Rangers. The worst part about this game was that Rask was a brick wall when facing off against Mika Zibanejad, a player the Rangers desperately need to get going, Rask stopped every grade A chance from Zibanejad.

February 12th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins matchup 2: Electric Boogaloo

Score: Rangers 0, Bruins 1

The Nick Ritchie game. The Rangers played well enough to win but unfortunately, Jaroslav Halak was a brick wall and didn’t let one shot by him. Not much else to say on this game except that Artemi Panarin was out and the Rangers offense didn’t find much of a rhythm without him. Nick Ritchie would score the only goal of the game on one of the ugliest goals I’ve ever seen and the Bruins would hand the Rangers their third straight loss. Things were not looking up in Rangerstown.

February 16th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils

Score: Rangers 2, Devils 5

This game might just have been the lowest point of the Rangers season yet, The Devils, after not playing for two weeks due to COVID protocols, came out with fire in their veins and embarrassed the Rangers in a frankly, disgusting showing. Their pace was bad, they didnt play well and they allowed a team who didn’t play a hockey game in half a month to walk all over them. The Rangers looked like they were the team who had the big layoff. Just a horrid effort and it marked the Rangers fourth straight loss. Ugh.

February 18th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Score: Rangers 3, Flyers 2 (SO)

Oh god here we go again, another great NYR loss to talk to you all about… wait.. What? They won a game? And in convincing fashion? Whoa ok. Let’s talk about this. The Rangers played their best game in two weeks with this big win over the Flyers. Colin Blackwell continues to prove why he’s one of the best offseason acquisitions for this team as he scored yet again and depth blueliner Brendan Smith even chipped in a nice goal for the Rangers. Not the sexiest names that scored but hey, goals are goals. The game would end in a shootout with Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin both scoring nasty goals to send the Flyers packing. This was a great win for a team that badly needed it. It felt nice to write about a Rangers win.

February 20th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals

Score: Rangers 4, Capitals 1

This was the most dominating Rangers win of the entire season. They gave the Capitals no room and they flexed their offensive muscles, gettin four goals from Ryan Strome, Alexis Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad (FINALLY!) and Chris Kreider. The only goal allowed by the Caps was a late second period tally from Dimitry Orlov. The Rangers looked dominant, the defense had a great showing and they got a second straight win. All positives going into the next week of play. Kaapo Kakko was held out due to COVID protocol so hopefully he will re-enter the lineup sooner rather than later.

Rangers Current Record: 6-7-3

The Week Ahead:

Wednesday, February 24th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Friday, February 26th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Sunday, February 28th, 2021: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

Devils Weekly: And we’re back

After putting their games on hold for two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team, the New Jersey Devils returned to action this week. The Devils were busy as they played four games is six days. Three games were on the road and one game back home in Jersey. Let’s look and see how the Devils did after the layoff:

Hudson River Rivalry renewed @ New York’s Rangers (2/16/21)

The two Hudson River rivals were scoreless until the second period where things started heating up. Pavel Zacha got the Devils on the board first on the power play which was assisted by Damon Severson and Janne Kuokkonen. Moments later, Colin Blackwell got the game tied up for the Rangers scoring his second goal of the season. Will Butcher who was making his season debut for New Jersey scored his first of the season as he fired a puck off a Rangers defender that went into the back of the net to regain the lead for the Devils. However, a late goal by Pavel Buchnevich tied the game up as the score would be even 2-2 heading into the third period.

In the third period, the New Jersey Devils were able to score three times to push themselves towards victory over their rivals in the New York Rangers by a final score of 5-2. Third period goals came from Yegor Sharbgovich, Nick Merkley, and an empty netter from Mikhail Maltsev.

Game Highlights:

Battle in Beantown @ Boston Bruins (2/18/21)

New Jersey had a strong performance against the East leading Boston Bruins. Kyle Palmieri scored twice in the second period, one his was goal was a key short handed goal on the penalty kill. Palmieri needed these goals as he’s been off to a slow start goal scoring wise this season. Jake DeBrusk did get the score within one for the Bruins as he added his first of the season. However, moments later Pavel Zacha got the two goal cushion back as he added his fourth goal of the season. After two periods, the New Jersey Devils would lead the Boston Bruins 3-1.

David Pastrnak and the B’s would add a late third period power play goal but, it wouldn’t be enough as the Devils were able to shut them down and hold on for a 3-2 victory.

Game Highlights:

Welcoming the Buffalo Sabres to Prudential Center and a new captain (2/20/21)

Before this game,the New Jersey Devils named Nico Hischier the 12th captain in team history. Congratulations goes out to Nico as I’m sure he’ll do great things as the Devils captain for years to come! Unfortunately, this game wasn’t a great one for the new captain and is one I’m sure he and the team want to improve on playing a better 60 minute effort. Colin Miller gave the Sabres an early 1-0 lead that stood through the first period.

In the second period, Sam Reinhart scored twice giving his team a commanding 3-0 lead. Those were his fourth and fifth goals on the season.

New Jersey was able to get the score within one as Kyle Palmieri scored his third goal of the season very early in the third period. Then PK Subban at the 16:44 added his first of the season. However, the Devils couldn’t complete the comeback effort and fell to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2.

Game Highlights:

Heading to the Nations Capital @ Washington Capitals (2/21/21)

New Jersey got off to a great start against the Washington Capitals as they showed off their youth, speed, and skill. Andreas Johnsson got the Devils on the board first with a power play goal. The Devils would take that 1-0 lead into the second period.

Jack Hughes added his fourth of the season as he backhanded the puck behind Caps goalie Craig Anderson to add to New Jersey’s lead. Unfortunately, penalty trouble and the veteran skill of the Capitals caught up with the Devils as TJ Oshie got his team back in the game with a power play goal. New Jersey held onto a 2-1 lead until the third period.

In the third period, the Washington Capitals showed this young Devils team who’s boss as they unleashed their will on them. John Carlson, TJ Oshie (his second PPG of the game), and an Alex Ovechkin power play goal gave the Caps a 4-2 lead. Nikita Gusev did add a late goal but it wasn’t enough as the Devils would lose in D.C by a final score of 4-3.

Game Highlights

How they doin’: my thoughts on the week

I would have to say the Devils had a pretty good first week back. They won twice this week in regulation against really good teams in the Rangers and especially the Boston Bruins. The victory against the B’s was a very gutsy and hard earned win for this young team. Kyle Palmieri got off the goal scoring shnide and scored three time this week.

This week also saw the return of star center Nico Hischier from injury and battling COVID-19. Also, Hischier was named the 12th captain in New Jersey Devils team history. That was some exciting news for him and the franchise as a whole. Unfortunately the game against Buffalo wasn’t so great as the Devils didn’t have a good start and started coming back too late in the game.

Continuing with good news, Sunday’s game against the Washington Capitals was the 1,000th game in center Travis Zajac’s career which have all been with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils got off to an amazing start against the Caps but couldn’t finish them off. Washington came back to win 4-3 after trailing 2-0 for a while. This game showed that this young New Jersey Devils team is one that is on the rise and has a bright future ahead. However, this game also showed they’re still not ready for the big time just yet. Overall, this was a very interesting and exciting week for the team.

Whats ahead:

2/23/21 New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres

2/25/21 New Jersey Devils @ Buffalo Sabres

2/27/21 & 2/28/21 vs Washington Capitals