EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — It will be one more start for Antti Raanta, his eighth straight Saturday against the Kings in Los Angeles, before Henrik Lundqvist regains the net Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks. “I feel good, but when you come back, you can’t expect to feel perfect right away,” Lundqvist said, referring to […]
Read MorePITTSBURGH — Embattled goaltender Jaroslav Halak is glad to be back and contributing to the Islanders’ run to the playoffs. Halak, after spending time with AHL Bridgeport, won for the first time since December when John Tavares scored in the shootout to lead the Islanders over the Penguins 4-3 on Friday, pushing them into the […]
Read MoreEL SEGUNDO, Calif. — This is shaping up as the most challenging decision of Alain Vigneault’s four-year tenure in New York, for now that the Rangers’ seven core defensemen are ready to go, the coach is going to be charged with sitting out one of them every night as a healthy scratch. That means maybe […]
Read MoreIt couldn’t have been more clear that Doug Weight is not going to allow the fact there are three goalies currently on the Islanders’ roster to disrupt his team yet again. So much so, the always accommodating coach cut off a question — soon to apologize — when asked about it Saturday afternoon before his […]
Read MoreThe question in front of the Islanders is less about what exactly led to the deep stinging that resulted from the 2-1 defeat to the Bruins on Saturday night at Barclays Center, a brutal loss that allowed Boston to leapfrog these Brooklynites for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the question for […]
Read MoreJeff Skinner scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway with 10:26 left and the surging Hurricanes stretched their point streak to 10 games with a 3-1 victory Saturday night at Prudential Center that eliminated the Devils from playoff contention for the fifth straight year. Sebastian Aho scored twice and Eddie Lack made 26 saves for […]
Read MoreLOS ANGELES — The NHL’s vision rarely extends past the 50 percent of revenue the league is guaranteed under the CBA, so it is no surprise neither the board nor commissioner can recognize the positive global byproduct of continuing to participate in the Olympics in 2018. If it cannot be immediately quantified, the benefit does […]
Read MoreLOS ANGELES — This was tantamount to a Broadway understudy bringing down the house with a bravura performance in his final show before the star with the name above the title on the marquee resumed his starring role. This was Antti Raanta, superb in turning in a 30-save shutout in the Blueshirts’ 3-0 victory over […]
Read MoreLOS ANGELES — Three years later, 11 of the Rangers who suffered an agonizing five-game defeat to the Kings in the Stanley Cup final returned to the scene of the crime for Saturday’s meeting between the two clubs. Backup goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Marc Staal, Rick Nash, Dan Girardi, Mats […]
Read MoreANAHEIM, Calif. — If Henrik Lundqvist wanted to be tested in order to prepare for the playoffs upon returning from a seven-game absence covering nearly three weeks, The King surely was that here on Sunday in a 6-3 empty-net-abetted defeat to the Ducks. “It was a challenging game,” Lundqvist said with a wry smile after […]
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