Rangers the favorites in the East?

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Rangers General Manager Glen Sather made the move that all the Rangers fans wanted to see this off-season, an elite scorer in a Rangers sweater. 

With the acquisition of Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Rangers bulked up an offense that was less than stellar last season. The cost to bring Nash to the Rangers was Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a first round draft pick. 

Dubinsky was a fan favorite and could spark the Rangers with his speed and energy. Unfortunately Dubinsky had one of his worst offensive seasons scoring only 10 goals and recording 34 points for the year. Dubinsky's playoff performance was not much different. Dubi failed to find the back of the net and tallied only two assists in nine games. 

Artem Anisimov was a consistent third or fourth liner who put up respectable numbers for the Rangers. Anisimov netted 10 goals and recorded 30 assists in 79 games for the Blueshirts. 

As hard as it is to see these two players leave, it was obvious the Rangers offense needed serious help, especially the power play. 

Last season, Nash posted 30 goals and 59 points for the NHL worst Blue Jackets. Nash has scored 40 or more goals twice, and has scored 30 or more seven times. 

With Nash on Broadway, it is hard to believe that the Rangers are not the favorite coming out of the Eastern Conference in the 2012-13 season. The Blueshirts are coming off a remarkable season that ended in the Eastern Conference Finals, somewhere no one thought they would be at the beginning. 

Adding a 30 plus goal scorer to a roster with players like Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, and Ryan Callahan, has made the Rangers offense lethal instead of lacking. 

Of course there are teams in the East that can be considered favorites like the Pittsburgh Penguins, barring any injuries to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and the Boston Bruins. The Philadelphia Flyers have suffered severely along the blue line, and could not land Nashville's Shea Weber when the Predators matched their offer sheet. The New Jersey Devils saw their captain Zach Parise leave for Minnesota during free agency, and were content just to re-sign their young talent, and Martin Brodeur is 40 year old goaltender. 

The Rangers seem to have found the missing piece that would make them a complete team, and a team that can make a Stanley Cup run. The added offense will help take the pressure off of Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist, and will not force Hank to make highlight reel saves game after game. 

The Rangers are a well balanced team that have already shown that they can shut teams down with their defense, and now added the necessary offense to make them a favorite to repeat as Atlantic Division Champions, and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Rangers Top 10 Moments of 2011-2012 Season

The New York Rangers enjoyed their finest season since their championship season in 1993-94. Their season unfortunately ended in the Eastern Conference Finals at the hand of the division rival New Jersey Devils.

There was still plenty of great moments for the Rangers this season, and here are the top ten moments.

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10. Gaborik gets OT winner against Florida (Jan 5, 2012)

With former President Bill Clinton in attendance, Marian Gaborik sent the Garden faithful into a euphoric state when he blasted a shot from the slot by Florida goaltender Scott Clemmensen. The game winner gave the Rangers a 3-2 victory, and their third win in a row.

9. Rangers score four in the second to beat Pittsburgh (November 29, 2011)


The Rangers erased a 1-0 deficit in the second period with a four goal barrage. Ryan Callahan tied the game eight minutes into the second with a power play goal. John Mitchell and Brad Richards scored ninety seconds apart to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead, and Marian Gaborik added another power play goal with less than minutes left in the second period. The win was the Rangers seventh win in a row at home.

8. Richards beats Coyotes with 0.1 seconds left (December 17, 2011) 


Just when the game looked like it was headed to overtime, Brad Richards spun a backhand shot that deflected off of Keith Yandle's stick and passed goaltender Mike Smith. The goal was originally disallowed by the refs who said time had expired, but after review the puck crossed the line with 0.1 seconds left, and the Rangers won 3-2.

7. Richards scores game-winning goal in Winter Classic (January 2, 2012)


In a much anticipated match-up between the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in the Winter Classic, the two teams did not fail to entertain. The Flyers jumped ahead 2-0 in the second period, but the Rangers came back to tie the game, and five minutes into the third period, Brad Richards buried a rebound opportunity to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead and victory.

6. Lundqvist stops Briere on penalty shot (January 2, 2012) 


Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was in the spotlight all season, and he never failed to please Ranger fans, especially with 19 seconds left in the Winter Classic and the Rangers clinging to a 3-2 lead. Ryan McDonagh was penalized for covering the puck with his hand in the Rangers crease. The Flyers were awarded a penalty shot taken by Danny Briere. Lundqvist remained patient while Briere came in, and he stopped Briere's attempt through the five-hole, and kept the Rangers ahead 3-2.

5. Rangers reach 50 wins (March 30, 2012) 


The New York Rangers hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden looking to notch their first 50 win season since the 1993-94 season. The Rangers dominated the Canadiens from start to finish en route to a 4-1 victory. Michael Del Zotto netted two goals in the third period to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead, and Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves for the shutout.

4. Kreider scores first career goal against Ottawa (April 23, 2012) 


Chris Kreider was coming off a National Championship with Boston College when he got the call up from the New York Rangers during their series with the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers were facing elimination in Game 6 and came out with a gutsy 3-2 victory that included Kreider's first career NHL goal. With just under a minute to go in the second period, Kreider beat Ottawa's  Craig Anderson to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. They went on to beat Ottawa 3-2, and eliminate Ottawa in seven games.

3. Rangers sweep season series from Flyers 


If there was one team the Rangers wanted to see in the playoffs this past season, it was the Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers went 6-0 against their division rivals this season, including their exciting 3-2 win over the Flyers in the Winter Classic. The Blueshirts outscored Philly 24-11 in the season series, and swept the season series from the Flyers for the first time in 40 years.

2. Richards ties game with 6.6 seconds left (May 7, 2012)


The Rangers were on the brink of elimination against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Rangers were trailing the Caps 2-1 late in the third period. Joel Ward of Washington took a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Carl Hagelin. The Rangers pulled goalie Henrik Lundqvist for a two-man advantage and with 6.6 seconds left on the clock, Brad Richards poked the puck passed Caps goalie Braden Hotby off the post and in. The Rangers stayed on the power play into overtime where Marc Staal fired a shot from the point passed Holtby for the victory. The Rangers went up 3-2 in the series and defeated the Caps in seven games.

1. Lundqvist wins the Vezina Trophy 


Henrik Lundqvist dazzled between the pipes this season for the Rangers,and this year it earned him the Vezina Trophy, given to the top goaltender in the league. Lundqvist was at the top of the league in almost every category. Lundqvist posted 39 wins including 8 shutouts. He also boasted a .930 save percentage with a 1.97 goals against average. It was no surprise to the fans that Lundqvist brought home the hardware this year, he was one of the main reasons the Rangers achieved so much success this season. Lundqvist was also up for the Hart Trophy, given to the league MVP.

A Look Back; Game 4 of the '94 Eastern Conference Finals

The New York Rangers took a 2-1 series lead on the Devils Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 shutout. Henrik Lundqvist was stellar in net, and made many key saves including one on Ilya Kovalchuck's breakaway chance.

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The New Jersey Devils came out strong and fast in Game 4, and blitzed the Rangers in the first period. Midway through the first period Stephane Richer scored on the power play and gave the Devils a well deserved 1-0 lead. Later in the first period Bill Guerin beat Mike Richter on a breakaway, and the Devils held a 2-0 lead after the first period.

Head Coach Mike Keenan decided to pull Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, and replace him with Glenn Healy in what looked to be a move to motivate his team, and relay his frustration to his team.

The Rangers play improved in the second period, and Game 3 hero Stephane Matteau cut the Devils lead to 2-1.

In the third period, the Devils extended their lead to 3-1 with just under seven minutes to play, when Glenn Healy made a gaffe behind the Rangers goal, and allowed Valeri Zelepukin to put the puck into an empty net.  The Rangers could not recover and the Devils took Game 4 by a 3-1 score, and tied the series at two games apiece.

Mike Kennan made multiple controversial moves in Game 4 that over shadowed the game itself. Aside from pulling Richter in the first period, Keenan kept both Mark Messier and Brian Leetch on the bench for long periods during the game. Keenan tried to send a maessage to his team that he was not going to accept their intensity and play. The Rangers answered with a goal in the second period, but the Devils were too much.

The series moved back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5, and the series even at two.

Rangers Offense Struggles In Playoffs

All season long the New York Rangers have played a defense first system, and it worked, getting the Rangers a top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Now their lack of goal scoring has put them in their second consecutive seven game series.

The Rangers have scored 13 goals this series, and have not scored 4 goals in a game since Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers have scored 3 goals twice this series. It was obvious that this was going to be a low scoring series, but with all the one goal games, the pressure is constantly being put on goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist is an All-World goaltender, but the pressure cannot be put squarely on his shoulders night after night. The Rangers have struggled to get a two-goal lead on the Caps this series. Except for Game 1, the Rangers have never lead by more than one goal.

Game 7 Saturday night looks to be no different from the other six games this series. It will be a tight defensive battle where one bounce could determine the outcome of the game.

The Rangers need to re-focus after their poor outing in Game 6 that saw them get beat in every aspect of the game by the Caps. Pucks to the net, players to the net, and relentless forecheck is what is needed for the Rangers to win Saturday night. This all begins with the Rangers level of intensity. The Caps have been taking the Rangers style and throwing it back in their face, and also with more firepower on offense.

Braden Holtby has been nothing short of stellar this series going 3-0 after losing a game. That also means that the Rangers found a way to beat Holtby in the other three games, The Rangers must get bodies in front of the net and distract Holtby, and not let the Caps block 25-30 shots a game.

And one more thing, shut down Ovechkin, the Caps go when he goes.

Game 6 is on Henrik Lundqvist

The New York Rangers grabbed a 3-2 series lead on the Washington Capitals Monday night with a remarkable comeback victory that ended with an overtime goal by Marc Staal.

The Rangers have the series lead even though their All-Star goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, has not played up to his potential. Lundqvist has made some tremendous saves this series, like his glove save robbing Alexander Ovechkin's redirection, but he has also let in a few soft goals, and some fluke goals.

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In Game 2 Lundqvist misplayed a dump in off the boards and the puck went off of Ryan McDonagh and in. The Rangers lost the game 3-2.

In Game 4 Alexander Ovechkin ripped a shot from the high slot. Lundqvist had the shot go off of his glove and fall into the net behind him. Later that game, in the third period, Mike Green took a shot from the point that slipped through Lundqvist's legs and into the net for the game winner. Lundqvist was not screened on either of these shots,but he could not stop them. The Rangers lost the game 3-2.


All season Henrik Lundqvist has bailed the Rangers out of games with great performances highlighted with great saves. Unfortunately, Lundqvist has also been prone to soft goals that he should have stopped. In the playoffs, there is no room for soft goals.

If the Rangers are going to take this series from the Capitals, Lundqvist is going to have to be a stonewall in net. The Capitals are going to come out with desperation right away, and will be throwing as many pucks as they can at Lundqvist. It will be up to Lundqvist to keep his focus, make the saves, and give his team a chance to win.

The Rangers and Caps play tonight at 7:30 pm at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C

Richards Ties it Late, Staal Wins it in OT

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It was another wild night for the New York Rangers and their fans, but the Rangers sent their fans home with and overtime victory.

The New York Rangers were trailing the Washington Capitals 2-1 last night with 28 seconds left on the clock. Joel Ward took a four minute double minor penalty when his stick hit Carl Hagelin in the face and cut him. The Rangers had one last chance to tie the game with a six on four advantage.

Off the face-off the Rangers controlled the puck and it cycled around to Michael Del Zotto at the point and he shot the puck at Ryan Callahan looking for a deflection. After two whacks at the puck by Callahan, Brad Richards chips the puck by Braden Holtby and John Carlson into the net, and sent the Garden crowd into a frenzy with 6.6 seconds left in regulation

The second half of Joel Ward's double minor carried over into overtime, and Marc Staal finished the Ranger comeback less than two minutes into extra time. John Mitchell won the face-off back to Staal, and Staal ripped a shot that looked to deflect off of a Capital trying to block the shot, and passed the glove of Holtby.

Anton Stralman scored his third goal of the playoffs in the first to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Brooks Laich answered for the Capitals in the second period when a pass from Alexander Ovechkin found Laich in the slot, and Laich buried the shot.

Early in the third period, John Carlson gave the Caps the lead when he blasted a shot from the point off Henrik Lundqvist's glove and into the net.

The Rangers turned a Game 5 loss at home into a series chaniging victory, and a devastating loss for the Washington Capitals.

The Rangers will look to finishoff the Caps, and end this series in Washington, D.C on Wednesday night.