The New York Rangers are rolling

The New York Rangers have been rolling since early December.  They have only lost one game since then with 12 wins in their last 13 games.  The Rangers are completing a tough three city California road trip on Saturday night with the chance to sweep it.  They have been getting great goaltending coupled with good defense and now are scoring goals at a good clip.  The Rangers right now are probably the best team in the NHL and looked prime to make another good run at the Stanley Cup. 

They had been playing really well but then embarked on a three city road trip to California this week.  This was seen as a big test as they were set to face the Anaheim Mighty Ducks who had the best record in the NHL, the defending stanley cup champs the LA Kings and then finally the San Jose Sharks.  The New York Rangers won all three games.  I don't think there is anyone in hockey that wants to play them right now, that is how good they have been.  Henrik Lundqvist has been great and his backup Cam Talbot has been really good as well.  The Rangers are still playing strong defense and now they are one of the top scoring teams in the league as well.  Rick Nash is playing on another level, he may be the best player in the sport right now.  Martin St. Louis is a good goal scorer and guys like Chris Kreider and Carl Hagelin use their speed and can put the puck in the net as well.  The biggest difference is that they can score on the power play now.  They have a good quarterback in Boyle and they are playing with a lot of confidence right now. 

They are currently in third place in their division but have been going back and forth with the Washington Capitals who are fourth and now the first wild card.  It will probably be a battle to the end but the way the Rangers are playing, just make the postseason and then go from there.  They will have the confidence to beat anyone in the league. 

The New York Rnagers win 5-0 over the Pittsburgh Penguins

The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Madison Square Garden and the final score was 5-0.  The Rangers had a bad weekend and came out like a team on a mission.  Henrik Lundqvist was great in goal and they had contributions from a lot of guys.  All of the goals were scored by a different player.  Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Kevin Klein, Derick Brassard and Mats Zucarello scored the goals. 

Lundqvist made 33 saves as the Rangers got back over 500 at 7-6-2.   They will now face off against the Colorado Avalanche at home on Thursday night.  The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.  Zuccarello, St. Louis and Klein scored the first period goals.  Brassard scored a power play goal in the second period and Nash scored a shorthanded goal in the third period to complete the scoring. 

Lundqvist earned his third shutout of the season and Marc-Andre Fleury took only his third loss of the season.  The Rangers and Penguins met for the first time this season after the Rangers rallied in the postseason last year to defeat them. 

The New York Rangers are two wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals

The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.  The game took place at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada and the final score was 3-1 Rangers.  The Rangers were down 3 games to one in the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins and then from that point on haven't lost a game.  They were galvanized by the passing of Martin St. Louis mom and Henrik Lundqvist has been great.  The Rangers stormed back against Pittsburgh and won the series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.  They now have won the first two games on the road and are heading home with a 2 games to none lead.  They are two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final. 

Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves and let one goal in.  He was the second star of the game with Ryan McDonagh getting the first star and Derek Stepan getting the third star.  McDonagh and Stepan each had two points.  The goals were scored by McDonagh, St. Louis and Nash.  Rick Nash who has had so much trouble scoring has now scored two goals in the last two games. 

The Rangers have now won five games in a row and are really flying high.  The Rangers broke a 14 game losing streak of trying to increase the lead in a series.  They have finally done it and are playing with so much confidence right now that it looks like it will be hard to beat them.  Lundqvist has really stepped up his game and been like a brick wall and they have a deep balanced team that can put the puck in the net.  The power play is playing much better again and scoring some goals and the penalty kill has been great as well. 

The Rangers would love to win game three and have a chance at a series sweep in game four but they want to at least split the two games and have a three games to one series lead heading back to Montreal to try and finish it.  If they have that and then don't win they will have a chance to clinch it on home ice and head to their first finals since 1994 and have a chance to win their first Stanley Cup since then. 

New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium

New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium


This is basically like two worlds meeting for me. The title of this blog is Yanks and more, meaning the focus is on the New York Yankees but I also cover more. The New York Rangers are playing at Yankee Stadium tomorrow afternoon. This is such a cool thing to me. I really thought about attending the event but it is just too cold for that. I can’t wait to see it on television. I really think this is a cool thing and it will be interesting to see how the players and fans react.

I did find out today that Bald Vinny who is the leader of the Yankee stadium bleacher creatures will be doing a Rangers roll call tomorrow. I think that is pretty cool of the Rangers to have him there and attempt this. I hope they get it on television and the world can see it. The Rangers have been playing much better hockey lately although they lost their last couple of games. They need to get back on track and get a win at the Stadium tomorrow against their division rivals. The Devils have seemed to have their number lately although the Rangers are a better team. The Islanders who they will also play at the Stadium have also given them problems lately. Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal and he has been on a hot streak lately. He will be sporting his pinstriped pads and special stadium series mask.

I am expecting a really fun day for all and hopefully it will be a good game. The points in this game are very important especially considering it is a divisional game. The Rangers right now are in second place in their division. They are only one point ahead of two teams though and a couple of points ahead of two others. They changed the way the setup is this season. It used to be the top eight teams in the conference would make the playoffs and be seeded by their place in the standings. This year it is the top three in each division and then two wild card teams make it. The Rangers right now would make it but they have to keep winning because it is such a tight race.

The New York Rangers lose 3-0 in Ottawa

The New York Rangers lost 3-0 to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. They are trying to hold on to at least the eight seed in the Eastern conference. They really don’t want to finish eighth and face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the NHL playoffs. They would rather finish eighth though and take their chances then the season to be over and them not making the playoffs. 
It was 0-0 at the end of the first period and although the Rangers didn’t have many chances they felt they played a pretty good period. They were losing 1-0 at the end of two and then the Senators scored two in the third to finish the game off.

Andre Benoit scored his second goal on the power play at the 19:11 mark of the period. In the third the goals were scored at the 12:16 mark and the 17:58 mark. The goals were scored by Guillaume Latendresse with his fifth goal and Colin Greening with his sixth goal of the season.

Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves out of 28 shots and Bishop was 24-24. Ottawa had the shots advantage with 29 to the Rangers 24. The Rangers were 0-4 on the power play and Ottawa was 1-2. The Rangers will play at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. They remain in eighth place in the Eastern Conference just behind the NJ Devils for seventh place.

The New York Rangers comeback and defeat the New York Islanders in OT

The New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders by the score of 2-1 in overtime. The game took place at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. The Islanders took the 1-0 lead in the first period and held it for most of the game. The Rangers were able to tie the game late in the third period on a Rick Nash deflection. The game went into overtime and the Rangers quickly scored on a power play. They have been much better on the power play and that has really helped them. Henrik Lundqvist was good in goal once again. 
The Islanders got on the board first at the 11:51 mark of the first period. Michael Grabner scored the goal and was assisted by McDonald and MacDonald. There were no goals in the second period and Nash scored at the 14:37 mark of the third period with assists from Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin. The game winning goal came at the 42 second mark of the overtime from Gaborik with Nash and Stepan assisting on the goal.

The Rangers had the shot advantage 37-29. Nabakov the Islanders goalie was outstanding and really kept them in the game. The Rangers had a good first period and a dominating third period but they had a lot of trouble scoring on Nabakov. The Rangers had three power plays in the game and the Islanders had none. There was one fight which was more of a scrum and resulted in offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties.

The Rangers have won a season high four games in a row. The Rangers continue to be one point behind the NJ Devils for 7^th place in the Eastern Conference. They are in eighth place and will take on the Ottawa Senators on Friday night from Madison Square Garden. Nash since coming back from injury has been great. He has eight points in his last four games which have all been wins. He has eight goals which are tied for them team lead and he has five goals in the four games since returning from injury.

The New York Rangers defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 and move ahead of them in the standings

The New York Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 4-2 on Tuesday night. The game took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Rangers got off to a hot start but then were down 2-1 before tying the game at the end of the first period. There were no goals in the second and Rick Nash took over the game and scored the last two games in the third period. Henrik Lundqvist was good. 
Ryan Callahan started the scoring with a goal at the 1:30 mark of the first period. Derek Stepan and Marion Gaborik had assists on the goal. Wayne Simmonds scored a power play goal at the 7:18 mark to tie the game with assists from Claude Giroux and Voracek. Voracek scored a power play goal at the 17:07 mark of the first period with assists from Simmonds and Timonen. Callahan scored to tie the game at two at the 19:19 mark of the first period. Ryan McDonagh assisted on the goal.

There were no goals in the second period and in the third Nash scored at the 2:50 mark and the 11:42 mark. The assists were from Dan Girardi, Stepan and Callahan.

Lundqvist made 25 saves on 27 shots on goal. Bryzgalov made 20 saves on 24 shots for the Flyers. The Rangers power play was 1-4 as that has picked up for them lately. The Rangers are now a point ahead of the Flyers and they have three games in hand on them. They are only one point behind the Devils and the Rangers have a couple of games in hand on them as well. The Rangers will play the Islanders in Long Island on Thursday night.

The New York Rangers game some guys back and look sharp in 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning

The New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by the score of 4-1 on Thursday night. The game was played at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto all came back from injury and played well. Nash though had the biggest impact with a goal, an assist and just setting the tone from the get go. Henrik Lundqvist didn’t have to do too much until the third period and then he was up for the challenge. 
Nash led the team with 12 shots on goal and inspired his team who came out flying. The Rangers had a 2-1 lead after one period but a 20-3 shots advantage. Carl Hagelin got the first goal at the 7:23 mark of the first period. Derek Stepan made it 2-0 at the 8:40 mark, he was assisted by Ryan Callahan. Hagelin has nine points in his last nine games played. The Lightning made it a 2-1 game at the 16:09 mark of the first period. Martin St. Louis scored the goal on a pass that he redirected from Eric Brewer. The Rangers made it a 3-1 game in the second period with 3:52 to play. They had a 35-11 shots advantage after two periods and the two goal lead. Nash scored the final goal with just over a minute left in the game on a beautiful pass and a nice move by him. Lundqvist was tested in the third and was up to the challenge. He faced 11 shots through two periods but 13 in the third period alone. McDonagh had two assists and Del Zotto also coming back from injury played well. Nash had the biggest impact though and hopefully for the Rangers this was their turning point.

The Rangers will remain home and play the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night. The Rangers currently have 20 points and are sitting in tenth place in the conference. They are one point ahead of Buffalo so this will be a big game. The Rangers though have several games in hand on the teams right in front of them especially Philadelphia who is in eighth three points ahead of the Rangers. The Rangers have four games in hand on them.

New York Rangers lose in a shootout in Ottawa

The New York Rangers were trailing 1-0 in this game and came back and were able to salvage a point. They took a 2-1 lead within a minute though and then gave up a power play goal. It was an exciting overtime and both teams had some chances but it went to a shootout and in the 7^th round the Rangers lost. Chris Kreider had a chance to keep it going but hit the post to end the game. JT Miller in the sixth round made a nice move and he just couldn’t finish as he had the empty net to shoot at. 
The first goal of the game was scored at the 6:48 mark of the first period. Jakob Silfverberg scored a shorthanded goal. The assists were from Daniel Alfredsson. Ryan Callahan scored a power play goal to tie it at the 10:44 mark of the third period.

The Rangers took the lead at the 11:35 mark of the third period. Ryan McDonagh scored with assists from J.T. Miller and Jeff Halpern. Miller got his first NHL assist. At the 13:30 mark of the third period Mika Zibanejad scored with assists from Greening and Wiercioch.

Kaspars Daugavins scored the winning goal in the shootout. Callahan scored the only shootout goal for the Rangers. The Senators had 37 shots on goal in regulation and the Rangers had 34. In overtime each team had three shots on goal.

The Rangers will play at Montreal on Saturday. They remain in eighth place in the conference and three points behind the Senators and four points behind three other teams. It is a very bunched up conference right now.

The New York Rangers defeat the Washington Capitals at home

The New York Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals by the score of 2-1 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Rangers were trailing 1-0 less then two minutes into the game but they scored the last two goals of the game to secure the win. The Rangers had the better of the play and were badly out shooting the Capitals but still trailed 1-0 after one period. Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin were the goal scorers and Henrik Lundqvist played well in goal. The Rangers are now 4-0-1 in their last five games. 
The Rangers had 40 shots on goal and Holtby the Capitals goalie probably played his strongest game of the season stopping 38 of them. The Rangers didn’t score until their 30^th shot on goal and that was in the second period. The Rangers penalty kill was 4-4 and the Capitals have a good power play.

Lundqvist finished with 27 saves and 10 in the third period. Darrol Powe was lost to injury after having a hard center ice collision. There was no update on his condition after the game. John Carlson scored for Washington 1:19 into the game, Ribeiro and Fehr assisted. Hagelin scored at the 7:39 mark of the second period and had assists from Ryan McDonagh and Rick Nash. Stepan scored the power play goal which was the game winner at the 4:25 mark of the third period. Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto assisted on that goal.

The Ranger will now play the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night at the Garden. The Ranger now have 17 points on the season, they came into the game in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. It is really bunched up right now, the Canadiens were just in front of the Rangers. The final shot totals were 40-28 in favor of the Rangers. The penalties were pretty even with Washington taking five and the Rangers four. There were no fights in the game.

The New York Rangers blow a lead but defeat the Boston Bruins in a shootout

The New York Rangers held a 3-0 lead in the third period but let that slip away. The Rangers played a really good game and then with a 3-1 lead and about 1:30 left in the game they gave up two goals with the Bruins pulling their goalie. It was kind of a couple of lucky bounces that went Boston way. The Rangers though were able to regroup get the game through overtime to a shootout and win it from there. They are very good in shootouts because of their all world goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Ryan Callahan scored the game winning goal to give them the 4-3 win. 
The Rangers scored their first goal on a great play by Rick Nash who got the puck to Carl Hagelin while on the ice. Hagelin now has four goals in the last three games. Derek Stepan scored the second goal and Antron Stralman scored his first goal in over a year in the third to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead. Rick Nash scored on a great move in the shootout and Callahan scored the winner in round four.

Lundqvist came away with the Broadway hat as he made 37 saves. Stepan and Hagelin played good games as the Rangers continue to get balanced scoring and playing four solid lines.

The one negative is the power play which was 0-4 and didn’t score on a 5 on 3 advantage. They are now 4-44 on the season which is just terrible. The penalty kill has become very good in the last few games and that is a big reason why they have won three games in a row.

The Rangers will now play their next three games at home against the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens. They should win at least two and have a good shot at winning all three and having a nice six game winning streak as they head on the road. They now are two games over 500 and have 14 points on the season. They are moving themselves up in the conference and really starting to gain confidence. They are a really good team that has a chance to do special things this year and they are starting to show it now. It may have taken them some time to get used to each other and the system that the Rangers play but now with each game that goes by they are getting better and better and growing more confident in themselves.

New York Rangers defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1

The New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by the score of 5-1 on Sunday night. It was their second straight victory and fifth in their last seven games. The Rangers have won 4-1 and 5-1 in their last two games. They seem to be putting it together with more of the Rangers style we saw last year and some balanced goal scoring. 
Carl Hagelin had a big game with two goals and an assist. He was the number one star, Rich Nash had a goal and an assist and was the number two start and Lundqvist was very good again especially in the first half of the first period when the Rangers defense had some breakdowns. The Rangers used all four lines tonight and Arron Asham had his first goal as a Ranger.

Hagelin scored the first goal 31 seconds into the game and was assisted by Nash and Dan Girardi who returned from injury and played a good game. Ryan Callahan scored at the 15:13 mark of the first period to make it 2-0 Rangers.

Hagelin scored at the 9:58 mark of the second period to make it 3-0. He was assisted my Marc Staal. The Rangers had a bad breakdown that gave the Lightning their only goal. It came at the 14:42 mark of the second period and Vincent Lecavalier scored with Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman assisting.

Asham scored at the 12:22 mark of the third period with an assist from Ryan McDonagh and Nash finished off the scoring at the 19:51 mark of the third with assists by Hagelin and Girardi.

The Rangers had the advantage in shots with 32 to Tampa Bays 20. Lundqvist was 19-20 in saves and the Lightning used two goalies. The Rangers were 0-3 on the power play and killed off both power plays by the Lightning. The Rangers are now over 500 for the first time this season and will head to Boston to take on the Bruins Tuesday night.

The New York Rangers win their second game in a row

The New York Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 2-1 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. They came out flying and took an early 1-0 lead on a Michael Del Zotto goal. They held that lead for a while until they scored again in the second period on a Ryan Callahan goal. The Flyers were able to cut the lead to 2-1 early in the third on a power play but that would be it as the Rangers were able to hold them off especially in the end. 
The Rangers played a very solid game, Henrik Lundqvist was good, the defense for the most part was good and the offense was good. The Flyers goalie was very sharp otherwise it could have been worse. The Rangers power play even looked more in sync then it has been.

Ryan Callahan who scored the second and game winning goal left the game in the third period after getting into a fight. He has a hurt shoulder which turned out to be a shoulder sublaxation. He will miss 10-14 games which isn’t good but it could have been a lot worse.

The Rangers had 28 shots on goal to the Flyers 27. The Rangers are now 3-3 on the season and the Flyers are 2-5. Del Zotto was the number one star with Lundqvist being the second star and Rick Nash being the third star. The Rangers will next play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at home.

The Rangers still want to get better in certain areas but they are starting to come together and play their game. Rick Nash has played very well but he has only one goal and may need to start scoring soon especially without Callahan for a while. The Rangers have won three of their last four and two in a row, they will try to make that three in a row on Thursday night.

The Rangers dominate the game but rally after an early deficit

The New York Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs by the score of 5-2 on Saturday night. The game took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Rangers had a very good first period out shooting the Maple Leafs 14-3 but they were trailing 2-1 on the scoreboard. They played well in the second period and made it a 2-1 game. In the third period they exploded scoring four goals including an empty netter to win the game 5-2. Henrik Lundqvist was good even though he didn’t have much work, the defense was really good and the top line of Marion Gaborik, Rick Nash and Brad Richards was awesome again. 
The Rangers got two goals from Gaborik, a goal from Richards, Marc Staal and Brian Boyle. The Rangers probably played their best all around game of the season. They played a full 60 minutes and deserved to win the game. It was a game that the Rangers badly needed as they only had one win in their first four games. They now have two wins and will play at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

The Rangers trailing 2-0 got a goal from Richards at the 5:43 mark of the second period, the assists were from Gaborik and Nash. Staal scored the game tying goal at the 7:36 mark of the third period with assists from Gaborik and Michael Del Zotto. Gaborik scored to give the Rangers their first lead at the 12:57 mark of the third period. Boyle had a tip in at 17:08 of the third with assists coming from Del Zotto and Derek Stepan. The Rangers iced the game with an empty netter from Gaborik at the 18:45 mark, he got assists from Nash and Dan Girardi.

The one negative in this game was that the Rangers were 0-4 on the power play, they are now 2-22 on the season. It is something that plagued them all year least year and is doing the same so far this year. The Rangers do have more scoring power this season though and if they are going to score five goals it doesn’t really matter if they come on the power play or not. The Rangers had a 42-17 shot advantage in the game.

The Rangers were short handed three times and they allowed one power play goal. There were a couple of fights with Asham and Rupp taking part in them.

The Rangers will try to win two in a row for the first time this season and get to 500 on the season Tuesday night. They will try to avenge their loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday night. They will then take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night before heading to Tampa Bay on Saturday.

The Rangers lose a tough one in Philly

The New York Rangers lost 2-1 in Philadelphia on Thursday night. They came off a good win over Boston on Wednesday night at home after losing their first two games. The Rangers couldn’t keep their momentum going though as they couldn’t score, getting a power play goal in the third period. They had a two man advantage and a four minute power play with around 10 minutes to go in the third period and failed to capitalize. 
The Rangers are now 1-3 to start the season, that is not where they want to be but they still have time. The Rangers have played much better in their last two games. They will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Saturday and then they will play the Flyers and Bruins in the two games after that at home next week. The Rangers need to get a good streak going and start to be the team that everyone though they would be and can be.

Taylor Pyatt scored the only goal for the Rangers. It was his third in the last three games. Lundqvist probably played his best game with 31 saves. Lundqvist and the defense have gotten much better the last couple of games and that is very important for the Rangers. The offense will get better as the guys start to develop chemistry but it is the goaltending and defense which ultimately will win you games.

The Flyers scored both of their goals in a four minute span in the second period. The first goal was a deflection off a skate. The second one was on a power play and a rebound.

The Rangers just couldn’t get their offense going in this game, they only had 13 shots through the first two periods and only one from the top line that had been so good the night before. The Rangers looked like they were tired and had heavy legs. They are usually pretty good in back-to-back games. The Rangers this early may just not have their conditioning where it should be. It will be important for them to bounce back at home against the Maple Leafs and get a win.

The New York Rangers get off to a slow start and then finally win against Boston

The New York Rangers lost their first two games of the season. They lost in Boston and then they came home and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I should say that although the Rangers are one of the favorites those were two top teams they were facing also to start the season. Rick Nash did record an assist in his first game and a goal in his second game. The Rangers just didn’t look crisp though and then finally on Wednesday night at home against Boston they won a thrilling game in OT. They looked more like themselves winning 4-3 in OT, Marion Gaborik recorded a hat trick. 
The Rangers were more physical, they were dropping down to block more shots and they get a hard fought win which they needed. They will head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Thursday night. The Flyers have started the season 0-3 and the Rangers will try and make that 0-4 while putting a winning streak together. The Rangers will then be back home on Saturday night to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Henrik Lundqvist has given up some goals although I don’t think most have been his fault. He will have to get a little bit better though and the defense has to start to tighten up, I think they were more on track in this game. They gave up a late goal which was disappointing but then erased that with a quick game winner in overtime. Rick Nash has been really impressive, he had some brilliant moves that the goalie made some good saves on, he is close to really exploding though. I like the pairing of Nash, Richards and Gaborik on the top line and I think you will continue to see that for the foreseeable future. It is a short season but there is still plenty of time and the Rangers have their first two points of the season. They would like to push that to four points tomorrow and then go from there. They do have a majority of games at home to start the season so they would like to take advantage of that.

The New York Rangers begin the quest for the Cup soon

The New York Rangers were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in last seasons Eastern Conference Finals. They lost in six games and the sting has been there ever since. The Rangers had to wait extra long as the lockout dragged on and was finally just settled last week. Training camp began yesterday and the first game will be Saturday night in Boston. There won’t be any preseason games and 48 games will be played in a pretty short amount of time. The Rangers will open up with a pretty tough schedule. They have the Bruins on Saturday, then come home Sunday for the Penguins then play the Bruins again at home. They then have the Flyers and Pittsburgh, it won’t be easy but it is important especially this season to get off to a good start. 
I think the Rangers have one advantage in that they have the same core of guys. They have a few new guys including superstar Rick Nash. Nash seems to be comfortable though and has been living in New York for a few months, he says he really likes the city and today he had a nice quote about pressure. It looks like he is embracing it and looking forward to it and shouldn’t have any problems. The Rangers really do have a stacked team starting with the best goalie around in Henrik Lundqvist. They now have scorers on multiple lines, it looks like Brad Richards and Nash will work on the same line which is a nice combination. Marion Gaborik will be on another line and he is one of the best scorers. They have nice depth and good defense. It isn’t easy to win games and get far but the Rangers have a legitimate shot to win the Stanley Cup. I know one thing for sure they won’t be outworked. They are determined and they have a good coach who is going to push them, they get along very well and are excited to be playing again. I really think they will at least make the finals this year and may be raising the cup come April. If the Rangers are able to win it, it will be the first time since 1994. It looks like they are favorites to a lot of people also though which makes it tough but I think they realize what is in front of them and they are prepared for it.

The New York Rangers are happy that hockey is back

The New York Rangers lost in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals last year. They lost to the New Jersey Devils their rival. They have been itching to get back to playing hockey again every since. It has been a long seven months but the lockout is finally over and the Rangers players are starting to hit the ice. There were a bunch of Rangers at the practice rink, training camp will begin shortly and the season is expected to start on January 19^th.

The New York Rangers were so close to getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and possibly winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994. The Rangers nucleus remains the same but they added Rick Nash to bring some much needed scoring to the team. The Rangers have an all world goalie and a good defense that remains intact. They now have Nash to go with Marion Gaborik and Brad Richards as guys that can put the puck in the net and they can spread that over a couple of lines. Carl Hagelin had a strong rookie campaign and he is back and Kris Kreider came in late as a young rookie and showed the Rangers a lot. He will be available now for a full season and could bring some more scoring to the team. The Rangers appear to be very serious threats for the Stanley Cup. I would say that the one team that can derail that for them will be the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out in a 48 game schedule.

The Rangers can benefit from this though, they mainly have the same team as last year. The Rangers had Gaborik who was going to start the season hurt now fully healthy along with the rest of the team. They won’t be traveling as much, it all looks to add up to success for the Rangers. They are also a close knit group with them being very happy to be back as evidenced by how many guys showed up at the rink today. John Torterella the no nonsense coach also said his team will be ready and I am sure he will bring the most out of them. He is very demanding but the players all buy into his system. The Rangers look poised to take the next step and are roaring to go, we will soon find out if they have what it takes to hoist Lord Stanleys Cup.