If this keeps up, the NHL is going to be a lot uglier this season. With the preseason schedule in full swing, there already have been a shocking amount of slashing penalties and faceoff violations called, something the league said it was going to have its officials focus on this year, but which hardly anyone […]
Read MoreIt didn’t come with the first practice, it didn’t come with the first preseason game, and it won’t come until the games start to mean something. But eventually, Kevin Shattenkirk is planning on feeling that hometown pressure, the pressure he signed up for this summer when he took a deal below market value to sign […]
Read MoreIf it was surprising to see Matt Puempel getting into a fight in his first preseason game Wednesday night, it wasn’t surprising for him. The Rangers forward has made the decision to get back to being more physical this season after his first year with the Blueshirts was marred by two concussions within a month. […]
Read MoreThe NHL playing preseason games in China is a bittersweet reminder that the most international league of the four major sports and its biggest growth sector resides overseas. But it’s also a reminder that out of pettiness and greed they failed to convert on what is the best built-in marketing tool to grow the game […]
Read MoreBRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The reason the Rangers seem so shallow at center is because it’s hard to know what they’re going to get from 31-year-old free-agent signee David Desharnais. But coach Alain Vigneault said he knows what he hopes to get, and that is a third-line center the Rangers so desperately need. “At that time […]
Read MoreBRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Mika Zibanejad spent the week before training camp lying in bed sweating and shaking from an illness. It kept the center from playing in the Rangers’ first three preseason games, but he was finally preparing for his debut, which is set to take place Saturday night against the Devils in Newark. “Back […]
Read MoreThe NHL is refusing to send its athletes to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, because the league does not want to go dark for nearly three mid-winter weeks. But you know that by now. What you probably are not aware of, however, is the NHL nevertheless will go dark across all NBC platforms […]
Read MoreMaybe Boo Nieves isn’t the flashiest player, but he might be exactly what the Rangers are looking for. The Blueshirts are taking an honest look at the 23-year-old center as a possible fourth-line pivot and penalty killer, his steadiness possibly giving him an edge over other players competing for the same roster spot. “It’d be […]
Read MoreRight now, in the throes of preseason, it is hard for Alain Vigneault to reflect. But the Rangers coach is aware this is his fifth year behind the bench with the organization, the longest run since Phil Watson was at the helm from 1955-59. Expectations under Vigneault have ranged from middling to Stanley Cup contenders, […]
Read MoreThe Pittsburgh Penguins have accepted an invitation to attend a White House ceremony celebrating their second-straight Stanley Cup championship, saying they “respect the Office of the President” while agreeing with others who feel the need to take a knee in protest. “The Pittsburgh Penguins respect the institution of the Office of the President, and the […]
Read More