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 earn their first road win with a strong showing against the Tampa Bay Lightning

The New York Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by the score of 3-2 on Saturday night. The Rangers had come in to this game losing their last game and not having a road win on the season. They wanted to end that tonight and they played a strong game and were able to do so. Marty Biron got his first start in net of the season for the Rangers and played well. The Rangers got some balanced scoring and they were able to play strong defense to shut down Tampa Bays high powered attack. 
The Rangers goals were scored by Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin and Rich Nash. The Rangers were trailing 1-0 in this game before scoring three straight and then enduring a late goal by the lightning but holding on for the 3-2 win.

The first goal of the game was scored in the second period by Steven Stamkos his sixth of the season. The goal was scored at the 4:22 mark of the period, the Rangers were able to tie the game at the 9:50 mark of the second period. The goal was scored by Stepan with assists by Hagelin and Taylor Pyatt. Nash scored at the 3:04 mark of the third period to give the Rangers the 2-1 lead. He was assisted by Brad Richards and Marc Staal. It was a beautiful goal as he went right around the defenseman and made a nice move to the front of the net and slid it past the goaltender. Hagelin scored on a tap in at the 14:47 mark of the third with an assist by Pyatt to make it a 3-1 Rangers lead. Tampa scored their second and final goal at the 19:39 mark of the third. The goal was scored by Stamkos.

The Rangers only took one penalty in the game and the Lightning took two. It was a clean game as all three penalties were in the second period. Biron made 30 saves on 32 shots and got the win and Garon stopped 27 of 30 for the Lightning. The shots were pretty even with Tampa getting two more 32-30.

The Rangers are now 4-4 on the season and the Lightning are 6-2. The Rangers will next play on Tuesday night in Newark, New Jersey against their rivals the New Jersey Devils. It will be the first time they have played since game six of the Eastern Conference finals last season when the Devils knocked the Rangers out of the playoffs.

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 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.

NJ Outlaws vs. Danville Dashers

Here is the link for my live blog on the NJ Outlaws game tonight against the Danville Dashers in Wayne,NJ.  If you dont know what that is, it is a minor league hockey team in Wayne,NJ.  The Outlaws are in their first season, so come on out and check out all the action and let me know.  http://njoutlaws.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/nj-outlaws-vs-danville-dashers-111811/ 

Yanks game called in 4th inning

The Yankees were able to get in a few innings but the game was called in the 4th inning today due to the rain. Andy Pettitte was supposed to start but didn't because they thought they would have a long rain delay and didn't want him to start and then have that happen. He actually came into the game in the 4th inning and had a nice 1-2-3 inning but then the game was called. Damaso Marte, Mariano Rivera and Boone Logan all had scoreless innings. The Yankees offense looked to be in midseason form as they scored 6 runs in the first inning and were leading 8-0 when the game was called. A-rod had a 2 run single in the first and Robinson Cano had a 2 run double. Brett Gardner had a sac fly that was really because of Robinson Cano being aggressive, it was a short fly ball that should of never scored a run but it did. Derek Jeter had a single and Nick Johnson and Mark Teixeira both had walks. Nick Johnson came up for a second time in the first inning and had a rbi walk. Derek Jeter also walked in his second at bat of the first inning. This game doesn't count for anything as the game was called before they got 5 innings in. The Yankees will play the Reds in Sarasota tomorrow evening.

New Jersey Nets Week in Review

I know you are all thinking what is going on here with the basketball but I am getting a little help from a friend. I will reveal that information soon enough but for now I am going to be posting some basketball stuff for you NBA fans out there and to bring something else to the blog, to digress a little from baseball but of course I will continue to have daily coverage of the Mets and Yankees do don't worry for those not interested in basketball. Here is the recap of the New Jersey Nets week. The great news for the Nets was that they won a game this week. They also lost a game but who cares. They beat the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night by the score of 104-93. It was the second time this season they have beaten Charlotte. It is pretty amazing considering they are 5-49 on the season. Courtney Lee was the high scorer for the Nets with 21 points. Brook Lopez scored 16 points before fouling out. Everything was back to normal again the next night when the Nets returned to their losing ways. Miami handed them a 87-84 loss at the Meadowlands. Dwayne Wade was injured in the first quarter and did not return to the game. Despite his absence the Nets were not able to take advantage. New Jersey had a 80-74 lead with 5 minutes left but Miami finished with a 13-4 run to close out the game. The Nets are now 5-49 and a embarrassing 29 1/2 games out of first place in the division. They are 22 games out of a playoff spot and what can you say except there is always the lottery and next season.