2019 March

Rangers found their optimal blueprint in Flyers win

You’ve heard it from Alain Vigneault whenever the Rangers have run into rough patches this season, including this past weekend when the coach used one of his favorite expressions between discouraging defeats to the Islanders and Penguins in which his team surrendered 12 goals on 84 shots. “We’re going to have to simplify our game,” […]

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Islanders fall again, swept by Bruins

The Islanders had a golden chance to get a small measure of revenge Thursday night. And they failed to take advantage of it, falling to the red-hot Bruins, 5-2, at Barclays Center. Boston (26-10-8) completed its season sweep of the Islanders (23-20-4), winning all three meetings by a combined score of 13-4. The Bruins, who […]

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A Rick Nash breakout creates this Rangers’ trade dilemma

This is the conundrum facing general manager Jeff Gorton as the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaches: The more productive that Rick Nash is, the more substantial chance the Rangers have to make the playoffs. But at the same time, the more productive he is, the more substantial a package the Rangers can acquire in exchange […]

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Josh Bailey picks up right where he left off in Islanders return

After missing the previous four games with a lower-body injury, All-Star winger Josh Bailey rejoined the top line alongside John Tavares and Anders Lee in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Bruins at Barclays Center. Bailey — second on the team in points (50) and fifth in the NHL in assists (38) entering the game — […]

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Rangers will be without key defenseman to start road trip

Marc Staal has been ruled out of the weekend back-to-back in Colorado on Saturday afternoon and Los Angeles on Sunday night that kicks off the Blueshirts’ four-game western swing leading into the All-Star break. As such, the Rangers will be obligated to summon a defenseman from the AHL Wolf Pack to serve as a spare […]

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Rangers lose Kevin Shattenkirk indefinitely to torn meniscus

The cloud hovering over the injury-beset Rangers has a silver lining. Because though Kevin Shattenkirk will be sidelined for an indefinite period of time following Monday’s scheduled surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, there are both a painfully obvious explanation for the defenseman’s disappointing opening run on Broadway and justifiable anticipation […]

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Putting friends in charge of player safety is an NHL gaffe

This is understandably a difficult disconnect for players to fully grasp, but it literally has their well-being at risk. The fact that a recently retired player continues to be in charge of player safety is detrimental to the league. The immediate argument from the NHL Players’ Association is that they need someone in that position […]

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Rangers youngster gets another chance to prove he belongs

Tony DeAngelo will get another crack at living up to his innate talent and fulfilling his promise when he rejoins the Rangers’ lineup Saturday in Denver following his recall from the AHL Wolf Pack to replace the injured Kevin Shattenkirk. “I don’t want to try to do too much, but at the same time, it’s […]

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NHL’s embrace of Kid Rock is offensive and makes no sense

When an individual proudly displays the Confederate Flag during his act on stage, it is not an act. When an individual defames the LGBTQ community by wondering, “Why these days is everything so gay? Gay rights, transgender this and that,” it is not about politics, it is about common decency. When the NHL invites the […]

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Depleted Rangers no match for surging Avalanche

DENVER — Undermanned and overwhelmed. This was clearly going to be a tough one for the recently-hobbled Rangers, and it played out just about as expected, suffering a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Avalanche on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Center, giving Colorado their ninth win in a row. “You can’t find any excuses […]

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