SoCal Rangerstown

It’s finally here people: training camp! The Blueshirts announced their roster for training camp which begins today. The 54 players taking the ice are outlined below: 

Forward: Lias Andersson, Pavel Buchnevich, Paul Carey, Daniel Catenacci, Adam Chapie, Filip Chytil, David Desharnais, Andrew Desjardins, Bobby Farnham, Jesper Fast, Steven Fogarty, Gabriel Fontaine, Tim Gettinger, Michael Grabner, Ryan Gropp, Kevin Hayes, Scott Kosmachuk, Robin Kovacs, Chris Kreider, Dawson Leedahl, Vinni Lettieri, JT Miller, Rick Nash, Boo Nieves, Matt Puempel, Ty Ronning, Cole Schneider, Malte Stromwall, Adam Tambellini, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello.

Defense: Alexei Bereglazov, Brandon Crawley, Sean Day, Tony DeAngelo, John Gilmour, Ryan Graves, Nick Holden, Steven Kampfer, Brenden Kotyk, Ryan McDonagh, Vince Pedrie, Neal Pionk, Brady Skjei, Brendan Smith, Marc Staal, Sergey Zborovskiy

Goalie: Alexander Georgiev, Brandon Halverson, Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Nell, Ondrej Pavelec

The Rangers will have medical testing today, followed by on-ice testing on Friday. After that, the players will be split into three groups for practice on Saturday and Sunday.

It’s no secret that the New York Rangers have put their blue line on a major renovation this off-season. 

In fact, only two Blueshirts “veteran D-men” remain, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal. With the rest of the defensemen having at most a full-season with the Rangers under their belt, 2017-18 marks a welcome new age for the Rangers’ defense. 

Rangers’ Updated Blue Line Spells Change for Staal

Marc Staal has spent 10 seasons in the NHL, all with the New York Rangers. Staal’s tenure with Manhattan’s hockey club makes him the longest tenured player left besides Henrik Lundqvist, the cornerstone of the franchise. 

However, it’s become evident within the past several years that Staal’s game has declined since his fateful eye injury versus the Flyers in on March 5, 2013. Additionally, Rangers’ management realizes that Lundqvist deserves better than the blue liners that have been in front of him. This explains this off-season’s defensive overhaul, which started with Dan Girardi being bought out of his contract and Kevin Klein retiring to the Swiss League. With only two or three solid years left in the King’s career, the Blueshirts need to bring him home the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup. 

Marc Staal Minutes 

Staal had an all time low average TOI of 19:11 last season, lowest since his rookie year. Additionally, he’s making countless mistakes throughout the last several seasons. One being infamously poking Hank in the eye in the 2015-16 post-season, giving him a black eye and impeding his goaltending performance. Additionally, his plays in front of the net have been careless and flimsy, getting completely steamrolled by younger and stronger D-men of the NHL’s future. 

With Brady Skjei’s elevated role, Brendan Smith’s extended contract, McDonagh’s tenure as captain continuing and the much anticipated acquisition of Kevin Shattenkirk, Staal’s minutes will see a drop this season. I’d estimate about two minutes less on average. As Staal’s career continues to take less and less impressive turns, retiring is not too far away for this Staal brother. 

Shatty’s Home

It was the move that the haters thought impossible but it happened. Kevin Shattenkirk signed with Rangers as a free agent for a steal of a deal. Shattenkirk signed on for four-years for a total of $26.6 million. The hometown glory of being a Ranger is what ultimately swayed Shattenkirk to the Blueshirts but the Blueshirts needed his prowess on the power play desperately. The Rangers sat 17th on the power play by the end of the 16/17 season. 

Shattenkirk is expected to play on a pair with Ryan McDonagh as a US power-duo. Shattenkirk earned 14 points in 19 regular reason games with the Capitals and six points in 13 post-season games. 

Power Rangers

Another element adding to Staal’s diminished role will be the strength of Smith and Skjei. Skjei was one of the top rookies last season, a Calder snub, if you ask me, earning 40 points, 5 goals and 35 assists, and 42 penalty minutes in 80 games. There’s no doubt Skjei is the future of the Rangers’ defense. 

As far as Brendan Smith, a late season trade with the Red Wings in exchange for multiple draft picks, his grit was a missing key element for the Rangers’ blue liners. Smith’s ability to drop the gloves and add an additional edge, with some talent to boot, gives him a clear advantage. In fact, Smith adds the toughness received from Tanner Glass without needing to call up Tanner Glass. 

Hello my SoCalRangerstown faithful!

I miss you all and writing for our Blueshirts. Next season seems way too far away. 

Next week I’ll be attending the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, as I did last year, and will have a post for you all after that on my other side BluelineBlonde.Tumblr.com! No Rangers are nominated sadly but it should still be a great evening. 

As soon as we get some trade chatter going, I’ll be sure to cover those here as well as I impatiently wait for the return to the Garden.

Love you all!

Henrik Lundqvist celebrates Team Sweden’s shootout victory against Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship.

May looked a little bit brighter for Henrik Lundqvist yesterday, something he richly deserves. After a disappointing second round exit for Henrik Lundqvist and his New York Rangers, the elite goaltender announced he would play for Sweden with his twin brother, Joel Lundqvist at the IIHF World Championship. Yesterday, Team Sweden emerged victorious against Team Canada to earn the glittering gold hardware. 

Watching yesterday’s gold medal game as a Rangers fan was both exciting and extremely frustrating for several reasons. The biggest being Team Sweden’s defense is absolutely legendary and Lundqvist plays better behind them because of it. Rewind a mere few weeks ago when Henrik is playing his best for the Rangers yet his defense lets him down time and time again. The proof is in the result as the Rangers exit the 2016-17 season losers once more but our netminder moves on to be victorious with a team who plays like a team. Play like a team, win like a team. Pretty simple. 

Sweden’s defense comprised of Anton Stralman, Philip Holm, John Klingberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jonas Brodin, Victor Hedman and Alexander Edler played phenomenally in front of Lundqvist. Strong hits, intelligent poke checking, intelligent coverage without screening their goaltender and more was seen repeatedly as Team Sweden fought for the gold. 

Check out Anton Stralman absolutely leveling Rantanen. Bundled. 

How refreshing it must have been for the King of New York to have a team playing with him in mind, teammates who don’t shrug off their responsibilities and say “oh Hank will do it.” Staal, Klein, Holden, Girardi. We’re looking at you. 

Defensive players aside, Oscar Lindberg, a fourth-liner for the Rangers played on Sweden’s top line, earning major minutes. I certainly hope Alain Vigneault and the rest of Rangers’ management was taking diligent notes yesterday as they restructure for what could be one of Hank’s last seasons wearing a blue shirt. The play of Derek Stepan was inexcusable this playoffs for his salary cap. It’s time to start saying goodbye to the “core group.” 

My heart is heavy as I write this this morning. While I feel for the entire Rangers fan base today, the man I feel the most disappointment and pain for is Henrik Lundqivst. 

From an unknown draft pick to the face of a billion dollar franchise, Henrik Lundqvist has always been the King of New York in my eyes. I have known no other goaltender for this team as well as I’ve known his work and it breaks my heart to watch his team fail him time and time again. 

Throughout your years with the franchise you have had extremely glittering years and some inconsistencies all the same but when it really counted, you have always been ready. Ready to take that extra move, always eager to make the extra save and be the best competitor you can for your team. 

On behalf of everyone else who won’t say it, I am sorry. I am sorry we doubt you when you’re having an off-night but I’m more sorry that you’re being held back from an accolade you so richly deserve, the Stanley Cup. 

As we’re all aware of, you’re 35, meaning that your time with the Rangers could be coming to and end and if you don’t get to hoist a cup within your time left, I hope the Rangers give you one hell of a ceremony and apology because you’ve always been this team’s best hope at that prize. 

Thank you for being the face of this team that I love so much, for being an icon I’ve been able to look up to for the last 11 years. We’re all distraught this morning but my heart goes out to you the most. 

The Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers will hit The Garden tonight for game six as the Rangers seek to avoid elimination. 

However, the fact that the Rangers are even down in this series continues to blow my mind. In approximately 329:22 of game time through five games of round two, the Rangers have led for 179:52, have been tied for 136:20, and have ONLY trailed for 13:10. Not only that but the Rangers have also scored first in all five games against the Senators in post-season. 

Bottom line: The Rangers need to learn how to finish a game. Letting goals in with less than four minutes left is unacceptable. If they’d polish up their last five, if AV would keep Skjei and Smith in (S-squared) and get rid of Staal and Holden when the going gets tough, we wouldn’t be in this situation. 

If we drop this series, it will go down as one of the most frustrating post-seasons I’ve ever seen because the Rangers have clearly been the better team and then lose focus and drop it. 

Despite how increasingly infuriating it has become to watch this team blow leads late, it’s time to reflect on the past and remember that the Rangers play their absolute best when their backs are against a wall. The Blueshirts have won eight of their last 11 playoff games when trailing in a series. That fancy little stat dates back to the Caps series back in 2015. That game seven was when my friend Matt took a video of my jumping up and screaming when Step scored that OT goal. Thanks for that Matt! Miss you. 

So Rangerstown, we’ve been here before. We know what to do. In the meantime, take some deep breaths and #believeinblue. 

The Rangers couldn’t have asked for a better response throughout games three and four at MSG this week. Winning each game by three goals, there’s no question the Rangers out-shined the Senators like we knew they could. 

Today, as the Rangers return back to Ottawa’s home ice, can they continue their dominance and take the series lead? My vote is yes. 

Senators star, Erik Karlsson is hurting and the rest of the Senators displayed their extreme frustration with chippy hits through the final minutes of play at MSG on Thursday. Their seams are showing and the Rangers ability to stay focused, especially on the road, will translate to success in today’s contest. 

However, just because the momentum is in the Blueshirts favor, doesn't mean that this game is a sure thing. Look at last night’s win for the Ducks. Down 3-0 all game until a late third period surge won them the tie and the ultimate win in overtime. Anything can happen in the playoffs. 

You’ve heard that phrase all over the Rangers locker room between yesterday and today but it doesn’t make it any more true.

The New York Rangers, if you ask me, have played well enough in this series to be up 3-0 but due to a flukey goal and mere minutes of distracted minds, the Blueshirts found themselves in a 2-0 hole and needing a desperate change. 

By dropping Holden and Staal to the third pair and moving Smith and Skjei up, as well as adding Tanner Glass and scratching Pavel Buchnevich, the team came out flying on Tuesday and dismantled the Senators. Ask for a goal and you received. Tallies were from Zuccarello, Grabner, Nash and Lindberg. The Senators lone goal was the result of an incredible back pass from Bobby Ryan to Pageau. However, that singular tally was all the Senators had in them at the Garden that night. 

Mika Zibanejad played the game we’ve always known he is capable of on Tuesday as well. While he stayed off the score sheet, he was all over the ice, making plays and driving hard to the net. If he keeps this up tonight, I expect to see a big Z-bad tally going up tonight. 

Also - has anyone seen JT Miller and Kevin Hayes? Time to step up boys or I’ll be putting your face on a milk carton soon. 

There’s no doubt that tonight the Senators will be coming strong, wanting revenge but it’s up to the Rangers to shut that down immediately because how you start defines your night and if the Sens come up big in the first, it will be difficult to climb back. 

Keys to tonight? Physicality has got to keep coming. Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith both left the game banged up on Tuesday and the Rangers were largely outhitting the Sens all game. Keeping up that pressure will be key in boxing the Sens in their own zone and out of ours. 

Hank has got to be on his best. There’s no question that these playoffs have been spectacular for the veteran goaltender but he’s got to come up with that extra save when the defense collapses, as it likes to do on this Rangers squad. 

Let’s see the October Rangers team come out to play a bit. Anyone else remember back in the start of the season when the Rangers were just shelling teams? Five-goal games were totally normal and Papa Johns investors were hating themselves. If the Rangers forward depth can bring that offensive power every game day, we won’t have a problem. 

Limiting Karlsson. This is self explanatory. He does amazing things when he’s got puck possession so we have to intelligently smother him so we don’t pull a Washington Capitals (get it?) 

With a loss tonight, the Rangers would sink into a deep 3-1 hole and would have their backs against the wall and while the Rangers have emerged from that hole before victorious, I’d rather see them play the game they are fully capable of playing and finish this series out in six and take on round three with confidence. 

Let’s Go Rangers!!

As Rangers fans, we are no strangers to heartbreaking defeats but we are also no strangers to sparkling comebacks and that’s what we’ll have to hope for tonight when the Blueshirts return home to MSG for game three. 

I was gutted by our inability to finish on Saturday, feeling like this team had lost their will to win but I refuse to sit anymore and doubt that this team will rise to the challenge presented to them today in New York. The Rangers have rallied from 3-1 series deficits and 5-goal holes against great teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets. There’s no reason why tonight they shouldn’t be able to achieve that same crowd-raising greatness. 

Until 4:00pm (PST - I’m an West Coaster remember), I will be sitting impatiently at my desk with my Hank jersey draped over the back of my chair, waiting for watch my team play to win. 

When the puck drops, my heart rate will increase and my blood pressure will rise and it will all be worth it because we have to believe and bleed blue. 

There are few times that I have felt genuinely embarrassed to be a Rangers fan and one of those times was Saturday afternoon. 

After leading throughout the game, mostly by two goals, the Rangers absolutely collapsed with four minutes to go in regulation. The Senators scored two goals to tie the game at five and then the Senators completed their comeback, winning in double OT to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. 

The Rangers had earned the right to win that game for 56 minutes, however, their cocky behavior and lack of focus cost them an extremely important game and even more morale as they head back home. Home for the Rangers has not been a friendly place in the 2016-17 season and with memories of round one’s game three still looming, many Rangers fans are left with a pit in their stomach that our year of hockey is rapidly coming to a close. 

Blame can be spread throughout the team depending on who your Blueshirt favorites are but many are quick to blame coach Alain Vigneault. His favoritism of the veteran players showed in the extra minutes when youth and some guys needing to prove their NHL stripes could have been more motivated. Some blame Henrik Lundqvist, who had been a solid brick wall in the playoffs until letting 6 goals in on 34 shots on Saturday. Blame could also fall to the captain, Ryan McDonagh, who couldn’t motivate his team to hang in for the last four minutes of play. You can also credit Pageau’s four-goal game and the fact that the Senators just kept coming, but perhaps because their captain is in a ‘league of his own’ if we were to quote our own coach.

No matter who you’re seething against right now, there’s no question that a collapse like that is completely unacceptable in the playoffs. Especially when you’re so strongly favored to win. This has been a consistent issue for the Rangers who often sit back when they feel like they’re on top and are forced to eat their words later. If I was AV, I would be instructing my team to always play like it was their last game, like their down two goals and the Stanley Cup is waiting in the wings to be hoisted over their hard-working heads. 

As the Rangers suit up for game three tomorrow, they’ll have no choice but to be their very best unless they want to sink into a 3-0 hole and risk being swept by the Senators. 

After an exciting six game series against the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers after heading into round two against another north of the border team for the first time since 1937.

Before Thursday’s game one, there are five key elements to examine from not only the Rangers’ round one victory but their history with the Ottawa Senators. 

1) The King has Returned: Henrik Lundqvist

It’s no secret that Henrik Lundqvist had a questionable regular season this year, giving up uncharacteristic goals, struggling to find his rhythm and being sidelined by injury. However, when it counted, the King was back with a vengeance. 

Hank’s playoff statistics, if playoffs were to end today, would be his best in his entire career. With a 1.70 GAA and .947 save percentage, Hank was unstoppable. Compare that to last year’s first round exit with a 4.39 GAA and .867 save percentage. Lundqvist’s next best playoff numbers come from the 2011-12 post-season with a 1.82 GAA and .931 save percentage. 

For those of you who say Hank’s window is closing, you better open up those eyes and take a look at the cold, hard, stats. 

2) Depth Save the Blueshirts

Everyone knows the Rangers’ top-liners. Stepan, Kreider, Miller, Grabner, etc but they may as well not have shown up in round one with the depth the Rangers are rolling. It was the fourth line who came to play in games one and two when the top lines struggled to produce much of anything. 

With the wake-up call from game three’s horrendous performance, the top guys seemed to smell the coffee a bit but they wouldn’t have a chance to show it if it wasn’t for the workhorses of the bottom lines. It was all about the Swedes, Lindberg and Fast. I guarantee I’m not the only one still drooling over Fast’s goals in game five from Zibanejad and backhanding it in game four. Talk about a player’s player.

3) Summer’s Trade Shocker: Brassard and Zibanejad

It was the Blueshirt’s shocking switch of the summer when they announced they were trading Derick Brassard for Mika Zibanejad. Brassard had been one of the scorers for the Rangers, especially in the post-season and his friendship with his teammates, especially Mats Zuccarello was a point of focus. However, after scoring 27 goals in his 2015-16 season right before his exit to Ottawa, the Senators got the short end of the stick as he registered only 14. While Zibanejad also scored 14 goals for the Rangers this regular season, let’s not forget he was out for several weeks with a broken leg. So there’s that. 

Zibanejad is five years younger than Brassard and was an intelligent move to make for Rangers management to build some much needed youth on an aging Rangers’ squad. Zibanejad also scored the OT winner in game five to send the Rangers back to New York to punch their round two ticket. 

4) Erik Karlsson

Karlsson, a Team Sweden teammate with Hank many times over, including in this past summer’s World Cup of Hockey, was the Senators’ best player this year with 71 points. Captain Karlsson has also been nominated for the Norris Trophy for the fourth time in his career. 

However, while the stats and leadership qualities don’t lie, Karlsson has been playing with hairline fractures in his heel and while he doesn’t foresee them becoming a problem. Apparently the injury initially occurred on March 28th blocking a shot but has been re-aggravated. With the top TOI in this playoffs (182:23), including 41 minutes in game five′s double OT, Karlsson certainly isn’t letting pain sway his stamina. 

5) The Blueshirts are Bringing the Grit

More than your typical blueliners got involved in some scraps in round one, including baby-face Jimmy Vesey who took on Montreal Captain, Max Pacioretty in game six. The Rangers vs. Canadiens series, which was once touted to be one of solely skill turned into the most physically aggressive of all round one match ups if you paid attention.Montreal had 52 penalty minutes while the Rangers were right behind with 48.  

It’s not just physical grit that emerged in the series though, it was the grit to win intellectually as well. There’s no question that grit was non-existent for the Rangers in game three and they knew it. Their ability to come back and win three-in-a-row to seal the series win proved that there’s a winners’ mentality in the Rangers locker room. 

Also, I know most Blueshirt fans dislike Dan Girardi but he’s making these playoffs count. His hit on Shaw was a key piece in game six’s success and his lifer status for the Rangers is nothing short of iron man worthy. 

For the first time in six consecutive playoffs games, the Rangers won Game 4 at MSG on Tuesday and effectively took the lead in their round one series against the Canadiens in Montreal on Thursday. 

Tonight’s game six however is back at home and presents a new challenge for the Rangers. However, out of the last nine games where the Rangers have been able to advance at home, the Blueshirts have won seven times. Hank has been in net for all of them.

This week’s headline: Mika Zibanejad was able to be the OT hero in Thursday for the Rangers after turning 24 on Tuesday. 

Lundqvist’s performance this playoffs has been far better than last year, no doubt regaining his King-like status and motivating the Rangers towards their 3-2 series lead. 

After a much needed win on Tuesday evening at MSG, the Rangers have tied their round one series versus the Montreal Canadiens at 2. Rick Nash received the Broadway hat for this strong performance and the Garden breathed a sigh of relief seeing their Blueshirts with some life. 

However, tonight is a new game and a new challenge and the Rangers will have to continue their determined road play to come out on top tonight. There’s no question the Bell Centre is a difficult building to play in but in both games one and two, the Rangers let that energy feed into their competitive spirit to strike first with a win and come within seconds of another. 

According to my favorite Rangers reporter, Steve Zipay, there are five keys the Rangers need to unpack a win tonight. Check them out below: 

Scorers need to score: No secret that our fourth line has been our best line with the exception of Rick Nash. Step, Kreider, Hayes, Grabner, Zuc, Miller, I’m talking to all of you. Get your ish together and get some pucks to the net and stop trying to be so gosh darn fancy.

Limit odd-man rushes and open ice: Hank’s not perfect, help him out sometimes. 

Block the Crowd: As mentioned before, I think the rowdiness of the Bell Centre helps the Rangers’ competitive spirit but they also shouldn’t get cocky or carried away by it.

Be relentless on the forecheck: aka make it as difficult as possible for the Canadiens to clear their zone

Keep Pacioretty where he is: unimpressive: The Canadiens’ captain led the team with 67 points and 35 goals in the regular season. This series he has a sole assist. Keep it that way.

Read Zipay’s full article here.