Regarding the Rangers, who hit the top of the stretch a nose out of a playoff spot with 32 games to go beginning with Thursday’s match at the Garden against the Maple Leafs: 1. Based on point-per-game numbers, the Penguins project as the conference’s second wild-card spot with 92 points, but let’s add another four […]
Read MoreThe Islanders inched closer to full strength Tuesday, just in time to kick off the stretch run. Casey Cizikas returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering an apparent hand injury Jan. 13 and missing six games. “I’m pretty excited,” Cizikas said before the Islanders fell 4-1 to the Panthers at Barclays Center. […]
Read MoreIf the Rangers can force management to rethink its course approaching the Feb. 26 trade deadline, they’ve got 13 games in which to do it. Thirteen games to convince management that this indeed is a group worth keeping intact, or even bolstering, rather than applying a facelift. “It’s clear what situation we’re in with the […]
Read MoreThe hole they dug for themselves was plenty deep before the Islanders finally tried to climb out of it Tuesday night. On a day when they spoke of the urgency they needed in each of the final 32 games after the All-Star break, that quality was sorely missing in the first 40 minutes. Only after […]
Read MoreThe game has changed around Cody McLeod, but the newest Ranger has not. “I’ve been in this league for a few years and haven’t changed my game and I don’t think I should,” the 11-year veteran winger, picked up from Nashville on waivers before the All-Star break, told The Post after joining the Blueshirts for […]
Read MoreAs it has been in each of the last three Olympics, there will be a Lundqvist on the ice in Pyeongchang beginning next week. He will don the yellow and blue sweater, trying to lift the Swedish men’s hockey team back to the podium again. “Just the wrong number,” Henrik Lundqvist said with a wry […]
Read MoreTORONTO — Justin Holl originally expected to have Wednesday off. He was sure glad he played. Holl scored in his NHL debut and Travis Dermott got his first goal in his ninth career game, leading the Maple Leafs to a 5-0 victory over the Islanders. “It’s almost surreal,” Holl said. “You’re like ‘Wait did that […]
Read MoreWhile 24 teams returned from the NHL’s All-Star break with Tuesday games and four more were back in action Wednesday night, the Rangers enjoyed two extra days of valuable practice time. It was a welcome gift after a stretch of eight games in 13 days before the break — with coach Alain Vigneault giving his […]
Read MoreClick:Rapid tooling solutions Just as Cody McLeod stepped into his role as designated enforcer — um, energy guy — for the Rangers, Matt Martin apparently has stepped off his for Toronto, a healthy scratch for the fourth straight time in his team’s walkover 4-0 victory over the Blueshirts on Broadway. The Maple Leafs, you see, […]
Read MoreIt’s a big and complicated question, but it’s one the Rangers have to be contemplating. If general manager Jeff Gorton believes trading captain Ryan McDonagh is a possibility in the midst of what is likely to be at least a small rebuilding around this Feb. 26 trade deadline, then who might be a good suitor […]
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