By Rick Carpiniello on November 18, 2015 Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Preview, Rangers Report
The 14-2-2 Rangers look for a franchise-record-tying 10th win in a row Thursday in Tampa
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
The Rangers have done more than their share of celebrating
Can the Rangers’ trajectory continue?
12
The 14-2-2 Rangers look for a franchise-record-tying 10th win in a row Thursday in Tampa
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
The Rangers have done more than their share of celebrating
Can the Rangers’ trajectory continue?
12
The 14-2-2 Rangers look for a franchise-record-tying 10th win in a row Thursday in Tampa
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
The Rangers have done more than their share of celebrating
Can the Rangers’ trajectory continue?
12
The 14-2-2 Rangers look for a franchise-record-tying 10th win in a row Thursday in Tampa
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
The Rangers have done more than their share of celebrating
Can the Rangers’ trajectory continue?
12
The 14-2-2 Rangers look for a franchise-record-tying 10th win in a row Thursday in Tampa
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
Sir Isaac Newton might not like the Rangers chances in the upcoming weeks or months.
“What goes up,” he purportedly said, “must come down.”
National Hockey League gravity gets every team at some point. Every single one of them, with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens, who went 60-8-12 in 1976-77, and lost a total of 46 regular-season games (out of 320) in a four-year Cup run in the late 1970s.
That can never happen again, and it won’t with these Rangers, who are 14-2-2 and on a ridiculous pace to go 64-9-9. Not happening.
These Rangers, on Thursday, face the team that eliminated them at home, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last May, the banged-up (ex-Rangers captain Ryan Callahan among the many injured) and 8-9-3 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Rangers go into Tampa one win short of the franchise record of 10 in a row, which was set in 1939-40, and equaled in 1972-73 (all in pre-overtime/shootout days).
The Rangers will hit a skid, or a few skids, along the way. They’ll lose games, some of them consecutively. They will cool off record-wise, just because this cannot continue for almost five more months. When they do, they will be glad they banked all these points early (as Rick Nash said, “which is huge.”)
Here’s the thing with these Rangers, though. They haven’t peaked, not nearly. They are at this point despite, so many nights, just “finding a way” to sneak a win out of sub-par or even poor performance.
They have played a schedule, to date, on the soft side, with plenty of built-in rest, too. They have played a bunch of beyond-shaky goalies lately (three in a row were pulled, then Toronto backup Jonathan Bernier played an 86-foot dump-in into a goal two games later). They have been the definition of opportunistic.
The Rangers are where they are despite two goals from Nash and three from Chris Kreider – two players who combined for 63 last season. They are 14-2-2 despite their most dependable defense pair, Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, having such a difficult start that they were split up for a while, though McDonagh has completely returned to form and Girardi is getting closer.
Coaches have, over the years, said that when you win some games you might have deserved to lose, that usually spells a losing streak coming.
But you could argue, too, that the Rangers are just starting to find their collective game, that they could play better. Maybe a lot better.
I think this is the more likely scenario than a slump at this point.
Maybe they win eight of their next 10. We do know that the Rangers have, the last four-plus seasons, risen to challenges, and they have a very good Nashville team, then Montreal – one of the two teams to have beaten the Rangers in regulation – coming to town next week.
The difficult part, too, is that now the Rangers are the hunted. A very legit St. Louis team came to New York last week and left with a 6-3 loss, its coach (Ken Hitchcock) and captain (David Backes) praising the Rangers’ methods, speed and skill.
Every team now uses the Rangers, who have been to the NHL Final Four in three of the last four seasons, as a measuring stick, as the Rangers in the past used other teams for motivation.
“Well, of course when you’re on top, when you’re up there with a bunch of teams, you always have to expect teams are coming to chase you down and try to beat you,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s never going to change.
“But I think you don’t really think too much about their approach. All that matters is what we think, what we feel, and what our goal is going into every game. So I don’t really listen to that. But you know, I mean, if you want to stay up there, no question, it’s a tough task. But we’ll just go after every game here and make sure it means a lot. Every point matters.”
Twitter: @RangersReport
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