Blog

Vigneault: Jimmy Vesey will be in playoff mix despite ‘real off night’

There are still some decisions left for Alain Vigneault to make internally when figuring out the way he wants his Rangers lineup to look when the postseason starts in two weeks. Though rookie winger Jimmy Vesey is set to be a healthy scratch for Friday’s game against the Penguins at the Garden, he is still […]

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One ‘awful period’ may have just dashed Islanders’ playoff hopes

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers let loose on the Islanders in a wild opening period. Wayne Simmonds got his 30th goal of the season as Philadelphia scored five times in a fight-filled first period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Thursday night. Cal Clutterbuck, Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd had the goals for the […]

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Rangers need Henrik Lundqvist to regain form before it’s too late

After all the preamble, it’s almost showtime for the Rangers. So consider the final five games of the regular season as the last dress rehearsals. Four of them are set to have Henrik Lundqvist in nets and a lot work awaiting the goaltender and his team in order to feel good going into the postseason. […]

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Devils legend Patrik Elias is retiring

In June of 1994, the Devils selected an 18-year-old native of the Czech Republic with the 51st overall pick in the NHL Draft. And after 1,240 NHL games, two Stanley Cups victories and just about every conceivable Devils’ team record later, Patrik Elias is finally hanging up his skates. Elias, who spent his entire career […]

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The Red Wings falter, a barn gets shuttered and an era ends

It is the end of an era in Detroit. More so, this is the NHL and all its fans saying goodbye to a simpler way of thinking about the game, giving way to the inevitable rush of bigger business and a more sanitized and less personal way of doing things. The Red Wings’ streak ends […]

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Rangers\u2019 inability to win at Garden is just getting silly now

There were encouraging signs for the Rangers, the biggest one being how Henrik Lundqvist played in nets. But this was not the coveted 60-minute performance from the whole team, and with the playoffs right around the corner, the road remains littered with potholes, none larger than the ugly mark that still remains at home. The […]

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John Tavares goes down in heap as Islanders cling to hope

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 […]

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Rangers taking cautious approach with their captain

The 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, […]

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Two key Rangers need some days off before playoffs begin

If 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 […]

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Did Barclays Center ice screw Isles at the worst time?

Even 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’ […]

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