The word “desperate” might not be enough to describe the way the Islanders are feeling as their roller-coaster season winds to a close. After plunging in the standings following an impressive midseason push, they absolutely needed a win against the last-place Devils Friday night. Thanks to Jaroslav Halak, coupled with general futility from the New […]
Read MoreThe Rangers know their defense is in dire straits without Ryan McDonagh. Which is why they were being overly cautious with the captain, sitting him out with an undisclosed injury for Friday night’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins at Garden. “He’s day-to-day, nothing serious,” coach Alain Vigneault said Friday morning. “But at this time, […]
Read MoreIf the result had truly mattered, then this eighth straight defeat on home ice would have been a crusher for the Rangers, beaten 4-3 in a shootout by the human bag of magic tricks otherwise known as Sidney Crosby and his Penguins. But save for the ignominy of it all, this represented a stutter-step forward […]
Read MoreEven the most ardent hater couldn’t have wanted this to happen, not like this. Yet what seemed like an inevitability due to the awful ice surface at Barclays Center turned into the worst-case scenario, with Islanders captain John Tavares suffering a hamstring injury during his team’s 2-1 win over the Devils on Friday night. Tavares’ […]
Read MorePHILADELPHIA — Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 shots to earn his second shutout after replacing Michael Neuvirth early in the first period and the Flyers beat the Devils 3-0 Saturday night. Neuvirth left the game after collapsing in his crease 7 ¹/₂ minutes into the game. He was carted off the ice on a stretcher and […]
Read MoreRick Nash has been unflinchingly honest over the past few years about his role on the Rangers, about what he’s here to do, and about knowing his importance to the team’s success. Nash knows he needs to score goals, and he knows they haven’t always come in the numbers that he would like — especially […]
Read MoreFor years they had been inseparable, off the ice and on the ice, where they made magic as sweet as any set of NHL matched-pair wingers have in a very, very long time, and in the mind’s eye of the hockey universe. But after a while, Patrik Elias yearned for independence from his friend Petr […]
Read MoreBUFFALO — Anders Lee and the New York Islanders refused to pack in their late-season playoff push minus captain John Tavares. Lee capitalized on a pair of turnovers to score third-period goals a little more than five minutes apart to keep the Islanders in the playoff hunt with a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres […]
Read MoreThere was a reason Michael Grabner was available this summer for the Rangers to sign him to a relatively modest, two-year, $3.3 million deal. His previous season with the Maple Leafs looked a lot like the current stretch he is going through — one goal in his past 19 games heading into the Rangers’ Garden […]
Read MoreNo more black Broadway Hat, and no more home losing streak. The Rangers did what they could to “change the karma,” as Brendan Smith put it, and part of that was replacing their old hat given out to their chosen player of the game with a new beige fedora, small bright feather and all. Mats […]
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