Henrik is getting his shut-outs in the post-season! (Photo: Melissa Andus)

So, for a few minutes there, I was worried that this game was going to turn into the Boston-Toronto game, where Boston came back from a 3 goal deficit to win in overtime. But that didn’t happen. Lundqvist scored his second shut out in a row and the Rangers broke their streak of never winning a game 7 on the road with a 5-0 victory over the Washington Capitals. Congrats boys. Now we head to Boston for round 2….

» Continue reading “Rangers Move On To Face Boston After Five Zero Win In Game Seven”

I know you will be in the lineup tonight but will you actually play? (Photo: Melissa Andus)

Not surprisingly, Marc Staal announced this morning that he would not be playing in game five. Actually, it was surprising he announced it but the fact he isn’t playing after not skating yesterday shouldn’t catch anyone off guard. That means Steve Eminger remains in the lineup as the sixth defenseman which got me thinking – how much ice time will Eminger receive?

So let’s play a game. How many minutes in regulation (not going to sit and try to guess if there will be overtime and if so how long) do you think Eminger will have? Leave a comment below and see how close you come to being right.

Keep in mind, there are a lot of things that come into play when deciding this:

• Is the game home or away?
• What’s the score in the game? (Obviously you don’t know this before but how do you think it will go?)
• Who are his linemates?
• Who is playing for the opposition?

We’re going to do this before every game for different players so while some of those questions don’t affect Eminger, they will other guys in the future.

My guess? Well he played 5:54 in a home game so assuming a couple of shifts in the first and maybe a few in the second, I’m going with 4:32. Honestly I hope I’m wrong.

Nice job shutting down Alex Ovechkin, Mac Truck. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

I don’t know if it was the high of a home victory, the roar of the hometown faithful, or just a wake-up call from Torts, but the Rangers really showed up tonight. Hitting, winning face offs, McDonagh sticking to Ovechkin like glue, Brassard getting two assists, Hagelin showing up with a goal and two assists, and Stepan with the game winning goal for the second straight game… it all added up to another 4-3 victory over the Caps.

» Continue reading “Rangers Tie The Series With Nail Biter Win”

Cheer up, Dan Girardi. You scored the game winning goal! (Photo: Derrick Bostrom/ flickr)

What a game! The Rangers gained two points and their first shut out of the season in a hard-fought overtime victory against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Dan Girardi scored on a high rising shot to the upper right corner of the net at 3:11 of overtime with a nice pass from Brassard setting him up to go to the net. Nice work by Brassard, showing more of the talent gained in the Gaborik trade.

» Continue reading “Lundqvist Nets First Shut Out And Girardi Scores Game Winning Goal Against Isles”

Photo: William Rogers

Okay, so the Connecticut Whale are officially in a slump. The Whale appear to be mirroring the parent club, the New York Rangers. There is a reason for that, the New York Rangers have had to stock up on recalls from Hartford. The New York Rangers have Chris Kreider, Brandon Mashinter, JT Miller, Christian Thomas, Matt Gilroy, and Steve Eminger. Now, these are not all players that one would only associate as Whale players, however a month ago nobody pictured them in the roles they have been placed in as of late.

With that being said, I still don’t believe that the call ups are the reason for the Whales sudden slump. Furthermore, I don’t necessarily blame the Rangers slump on that either. This is pro hockey, whether it is NHL or AHL, these leagues intertwine because at any given time, in theory, one should be successful in a call up or conditioning stint with their affiliate. These two teams in particular have the same calls, plays, and systems. I am not saying that any defensive player can be called up and become Dan Girardi, but what I am saying is that these losses are bigger than Rick Nash with the Rangers, and bigger than Brandon Mashinter with the Whale.

» Continue reading “Ranger Recalls Hurting Whale?”

Welcome to the big time kid! (Photo: Chris Rutsch/flickr)

I had every intention of writing about Brad Richards struggles or the fact that losing Michael Del Zotto for any length of time would be a big loss for the Rangers this morning. Then the morning skate happened.

For those who haven’t heard, here’s the rundown:

» Continue reading “Is There Any Reason To Be Hopeful Tonight In Montreal?”

For those who missed it, Whale play-by-play radio announcer Bob Crawford sat down with Whale/Rangers defenseman Steve Eminger this week to talk Whale and Rangers:

Crawford is a little awkward in the interview (okay, very awkward) but otherwise it’s a great interview. Eminger is one of the quieter guys on the team but he gives some good insight here.

Have we seen this guys last game in this uniform? I hope not! (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Some interesting news today and no it didn’t involve whatever happened in the last two minutes of regulation last night. (No, I still haven’t gotten over that.) According to the AHL transaction sheet, the Rangers have sent Steve Eminger to Connecticut on a conditioning stint. The Rangers confirmed the move.

This is probably a good thing for Eminger but could mean a lot of things. It could mean they want him to play to be prepared for minutes with the Rangers in a couple of games and can’t take the chance to throw him into a game right now. For Eminger fans, that would be the best news. My gut is saying it means we’ve seen the last of Eminger as a Ranger, which is disappointing. The last Ranger sent to Connecticut for a “conditioning stint” after sitting out for a few weeks was Erik Christensen. Roughly two weeks later, he found himself in Minnesota. Now I believe he asked for that trade but this move reeks of the same thing.

I could be wrong and someone else is on the move so they need him prepared. (I have speculations about that as well. Look at recent D ice time.) Or it could be a true conditioning stint. We won’t know the truth till next weekend at the earliest. My hunch is it’s neither of the things mentioned in this paragraph. Hope I’m wrong.

It’s not the best picture but I’m sure you can tell who these guys are. One goes back in tonight, one stays out. I want them both back. (Photo: Melissa Andus)

As I’m sure everyone has seen by now, a couple of lineup changes for tonights’ tilt against the Islanders.

On forward, their will be a familiar face who nine days ago was told he would be out 10-14 days. To say Ryan Callahan is superhuman is probably an understatement. I really hope he isn’t rushing back because as much as I am thrilled to see him back on the ice, a lingering shoulder injury is the last thing the Rangers and Callahan need. To get back in, someone had to come out and that someone is Brian Boyle. Honestly, can’t say I’m surprised after seeing the comments Torts made Tuesday night and then looking at his ice time. The fact that he’s taking it the right way, at least publicly, means I’d be shocked if he isn’t back over the weekend. Hopefully the scratch wakes him up.

On defense the news isn’t as good. Dan Girardi did skate briefly with his teammates this morning proving he is indeed alive but left the ice after only a few minutes. The guess is he is dealing with some kind of foot/ankle injury but no one knows for sure. The fact that it’s causing him to miss games means it’s something that would have the rest of begging for pain killers of any type. The Rangers are still listing him as day-to-day so hopefully he’ll be back soon. (My actually thought process on this: Please be okay. Please be okay. We need you. Please be okay…)

The only other lineup change is Steve Eminger goes in for Stu Bickel. I probably should’ve started with that as that is the biggest news of the day since that switch will be a complete game-changer. Sadly, there are people out there who believe that…

What does this man claim to be? (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Anyone who knows me, knows my one strength (or weakness depending on how you look at it) is useless hockey trivia. I can barely remember what I ate last night for dinner but give me a random hockey fact and I’ll reiterate it back months later.

So where do I get it from? Well, one of the best places to find out about the boys is by reading their bios on the team site. They contain all the boring stuff such as stats and teams played on, but every once in awhile you can find a gem. Recently, the Rangers updated their site so here, in no particular order, are the top ten things I bet you didn’t know about the guys on the 2013 New York Rangers.

» Continue reading “Who Knew? Random Facts Found In NYR Bios”