NYR TODAY Saturday 9/30: Today in Rangers History

Today in NYR History September 30, 2011:

Playing against his former club team, the Frolunda Indians, in Sweden, Henrik Lundqvist leads the Rangers to a 4-2 victory.

NYR TODAY Friday 9/29: Alumni Birthdays, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthdays September 29: 

Rudy Poeschek RW (1988-1990) Benoit Poulliot LW (2013-2014) Walt Tkaczuk C (1968-1981)

Today in NYR History September 29, 1997: 

The Rangers acquire Pat LaFontaine from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second round pick in the 1998 NHL Draft and future considerations.

In 67 regular season games with the Rangers LaFontaine scored 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points. During his one season with the Rangers, he tied for the team lead in goals scored, and recorded his 1,000th career NHL point.
In a game against the Ottawa Senators on March 16, 1998, LaFontaine accidentally collided with teammate Mike Keane and suffered another concussion. LaFontaine missed the remainder of the season and all of the next season, announcing his retirement formally on October 12, 1999
LaFontaine is one of five players in NHL history to skate for all three teams based in the state of New York. The others were Mike Donnelly, Jason Dawe, Martin Biron, and Taylor Pyatt. Unique amongst them, LaFontaine played his entire career in the state of New York while Donnelly, Pyatt, Biron and Dawe all played for additional teams outside the state in their careers. LaFontaine once joked about it, saying "I think I'm the only player in history who has been traded twice and hasn't had to change his license plate.

Rangers Make Roster Cuts, NYRTC Notes

The Rangers have announced that the following roster moves: Lias Andersson has been loaned to Frolunda in the Swedish League, Bobby Farnham was released from his PTO, Boo Nieves, Vinni Lettieri, Ryan Graves & Neal Pionk are being sent to Hartford and Matt Puempel is being placed on waivers.

The Rangers have 25 players remaining in training camp:

Forwards (15): Pavel Buchnevich, Paul Carey, Filip Chytil, David Desharnais, Andrew Desjardins, Jesper Fast, Steven Fogarty*, Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello

Defensemen (8): Tony DeAngelo, Nick Holden, Steven Kampfer, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei, Brendan Smith, Marc Staal

Goaltenders (2): Henrik Lundqvist, Ondrej Pavelec

The lines the Rangers are using at practice this morning include (NYR):

Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash, Filip Chytil, Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, JT Miller
Jimmy Vesey, David Desharnais, Paul Carey
On defense the Rangers have Ryan McDonagh & Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei & Brendan Smith, Marc Staal & Anthony DeAngelo.

Andrew Desjardins & Jesper Fast are skating as extras up front and Nick Holden and Steven Kampfer are skating as a fourth defense pair.

The Rangers have announced that Filip Chytil has been named the winner of the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, "which is given annually to the top Rangers rookie in Training Camp as selected by the media."

Chytil is one of our players to win the award in the same year they were drafted, including Dan Blackburn (2001), Filip Novak (2000) and Manny Malhotra (1998).

NYR TODAY Thursday 9/28: Today in Rangers History

Today in NYR History September 28, 1926: 

Rangers purchase the contract of Frank Boucher from Vancouver in the WHL.
Boucher played for the Rangers until he retired in 1937–38. Boucher centered the famous Bread Line with the brothers Bill and Bun Cook, and together they helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup in 1928 and 1933, also reaching the Finals in 1932.
Frank was not only a brilliant forward, but was also one of the game's classiest. Lady Byng, wife of Viscount Byng, the Governor-General of Canada, donated a trophy to be awarded to the NHL's "most gentlemanly player." While playing for the New York Rangers, Boucher won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 7 times in 8 years. He was then given the trophy outright, and Lady Byng donated another trophy to the NHL.
The Rangers hired him to coach the New York Rovers, a minor-league team that also played at Madison Square Garden, as his apprenticeship to coaching the Rangers. When general manager Lester Patrick made the decision to retire from coaching prior to the 1939–40 season, he hired Boucher, who led his Ranger club to the last Stanley Cup. The franchise would be in existence for 68 seasons before they won a Cup without Boucher being directly involved.
After finishing first in the NHL's regular season in 1942, the Rangers lost in the playoffs to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Soon they became victims of the military draft of World War II and went into a steep decline. In 1943–44 NHL season the New York Rangers were so bad that Boucher came out of retirement for 15 games to play where he recorded 14 points. The Rangers finished the 50 game season with only 6 wins. From 1940 to 1972 they reached the Stanley Cup Finals only once.
When Patrick retired, Frank took over as general manager. He got the Rangers into the playoffs in 1947–48 with his trade to get Buddy O'Connor and Frank Eddolls. He stepped down from coaching to concentrate on his manager's job and hired Lynn Patrick, Lester's son and an ex-teammate, to coach the Rangers, and Lynn came very close to winning the Stanley Cup in 1950, proving Boucher astute in hiring him as coach. But the Rangers were an aging team, and eroded. Lynn Patrick resigned to go to Boston, and neither Neil Colville nor Bill Cook, also former teammates of Boucher's, could get the Rangers into the playoffs. General John Kilpatrick, the Rangers' owner, thought about replacing Boucher, but he held off.
During the 1945–46 season, Boucher became the first coach to use two goalies regularly. Alternating Charlie Rayner and Jim Henry every game, and later, every four to six minutes, he proved the usefulness of having two goalies.
Frank went back behind the bench in 1953–54, but could not get the Rangers into the playoffs. He then hired Muzz Patrick, another son of Lester and ex-teammate, to coach the team, but the Rangers won only 17 games and missed the playoffs again. So General Kilpatrick had a talk with Frank and reluctantly expressed that Frank could not build the Rangers into a winner, and recommended Frank resign as general manager. Frank thought it over, realizing that it was better than being fired. He then typed his resignation and handed it in to the General, ending his 29-year association with the Rangers.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958. In 1998, he was ranked number 61 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. His uniform number 7 hangs in the rafters of Madison Square Garden, although it was retired for a later Ranger, Rod Gilbert. Although later Rangers such as Gilbert and Mark Messier have been more honored by recent fans, Boucher's status as the star of two Ranger Stanley Cups and the coach behind another marks him, except perhaps for team builder Lester Patrick, as the greatest Ranger of them all.
In 1974, Boucher wrote When the Rangers Were Young, a book about his experiences with the old-time Broadway Blueshirts, giving him one last moment of fame during his lifetime. He died of cancer on December 12, 1977 in the town of Kemptville, Ontario, near Ottawa at the age of 76.

NYR TODAY Wednesday 9/27: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday September 27: 

Al MacNeil D (1966-1967)

Today in NYR History September 27, 1991: 

The Rangers and Los Angeles Kings play an outdoor exhibition game at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The air temperature at puck drop was around 85 °F (29 °C), going as high as 95 °F (35 °C) during the course of the game, with 28% humidity, though the ice held up well. The Rangers started the game well, scoring two goals by Tony Amonte and Doug Weight for a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. In the second period, the Kings scored three goals by Tony Granato, Brian Benning, and Sylvain Couturier to get a 3-2 lead at the end of the second period. The Kings added two more goals in the third period by Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky for a 5-2 win.

The Kings captain was Wayne Gretzky, while the Rangers had yet to name a captain for the upcoming season. The Rangers previous captain Kelly Kisio had signed with the San Jose Sharks during the off-season. Mark Messier wouldn't be named the Rangers next captain, until after joining the team October 5, 1991, being traded from the Edmonton Oilers for the Rangers' Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice and 1989 draft pick Louie DeBrusk.

A second exhibition game was scheduled between the Rangers and the Kings to take place on September 29, 1991, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game, however, was cancelled, due to poor and unsafe ice conditions at the Charlotte Coliseum.

RANGERS VS FLYERS POST GAME WRAP UP 9/26

RANGERS VS FLYERS POST GAME WRAP UP 9/26

The Rangers ended their preseason with an overtime loss tonight in Philadelphia to the Flyers 4-3.

The Flyers scored 3 unanswered goals after Paul Carey and David Desharnais had put the Rangers ahead 2-0 in the first period. Michael Grabner scored the tying goal in the third period with 2:21 left in regulation.

The Flyers score 3:22 into overtime to take the win and tie the preseason series 1-1.

Rangers Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec stopped 35 of 39 shots on goal. In the second period Pavelec gave the Rangers a scare after taking a high shot from the point in the sternum sending him crashing face first to the ice. Pavelec stayed in the game following a brief time out where the Rangers trainer checked his status.

The Rangers were 1 for 3 on the power play while the penalty kill was perfect killing off 6 of 6 Philadelphia man advatages.

Prospect Lias Andersson who was scheduled to play was a late scratch due to a sore foot incurred during last night’s game at MSG when he took a puck to the boot blocking a shot.

The Rangers finished the preseason split in all 3 of their series 1-1 vs Islanders, 1-1 vs Devils and 1-1 vs Philadelphia. They finish with a record of 3-1-2.

Alain Vigneault watched the game from upstairs with GM Jeff Gorton to evaluate some of the younger players while Lindy Ruff presided over the Rangers bench. Vigneault, Gorton and the staff will be making decisions tomorrow and had said earlier in the day that cuts will be coming.

RANGERS VS FLYERS FINAL GAME STATS:

SOG:

Rangers 27

Flyers 39

POWER PLAY

Rangers 1-3

Flyers 0-6

GOALTENDERS:
New York - O. Pavelec (35 SV)
Philadelphia - B. Elliott (24 SV)

SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS    SCORE
09:09    New York    Paul Carey (1) ASST: Jimmy Vesey (2), David Desharnais (1)    1-0
11:37    New York    PPG - David Desharnais (2) ASST: Vinni Lettieri (1), Brady Skjei (1)    2-0
18:36    Philadelphia    Samuel Morin (1) ASST: Claude Giroux (1), Jakub Voracek (1)    2-1
2ND PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS    SCORE
02:44    Philadelphia    Scott Laughton (1) ASST: Michael Raffl (3)    2-2
3RD PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS    SCORE
05:27    Philadelphia    Oskar Lindblom (1) ASST: Andrew MacDonald (1), Travis Konecny (2)    2-3
17:39    New York    Michael Grabner (1) ASST: J.T. Miller (1)    3-3
OT PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS    SCORE
03:22    Philadelphia    Travis Konecny (2) ASST: Claude Giroux (2)    3-4

PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS
00:42    New York    J.T. Miller - Hooking - 2 minutes
05:51    Philadelphia    Samuel Morin - Fighting - 5 minutes
05:51    New York    Bobby Farnham - Fighting - 5 minutes
05:51    New York    Bobby Farnham - Instigator - 2 minutes, Served by Pavel Buchnevich
05:51    New York    Bobby Farnham - Misconduct - 10 minutes
09:43    Philadelphia    Claude Giroux - Hooking - 2 minutes
14:21    New York    J.T. Miller - Hooking - 2 minutes
2ND PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS
03:53    Philadelphia    Andrew MacDonald - Holding - 2 minutes
13:52    New York    Steven Kampfer - Tripping - 2 minutes
3RD PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS
02:13    Philadelphia    Mikhail Vorobyov - Elbowing - 2 minutes
10:55    New York    Vinni Lettieri - Slashing - 2 minutes
OT PERIOD
TIME    TEAM    DETAILS
No Penalties

RANGERS VS FLYERS GAME DAY NOTES 9/26

RANGERS LOOK TO END PRESEASON ON HIGH NOTE

Coming into tonight’s game riding a 4-3 overtime win, the Rangers will head to Philly tonight and try to end the preseason with a second straight in the back to back of the two game matchup.

Ondrej Pavelec will get the start tonight and is slated to play the entire game. Brandon Halverson will once again serve as the backup for the third straight game. Halverson is the only other goaltender besides Pavelec and Lundqvist left in camp.

Tonight’s NY Rangers Lineup:

Forwards:

Miller
Hayes
Farnham
Nieves
Vesey
Carey
Grabner
Desharnais
Fontaine
Chytil
Buchnevich
Lettieri

Defense:

Smith
Pionk
Kampfer
Graves
Skjei
DeAngelo

Goaltenders:
Pavelec
Halverson

NYR TODAY Tuesday 9/26: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday September 26: 

John Scott LW (2011-2012) Jack Stoddard RW (1952-1953)

Today in NYR History September 26:

1958: Rangers call up Eddie Shack from Providence in the AHL and signed to his first NHL contract.

1988: The Rangers sign Guy Lafleur as a free agent.

2011: Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers hold a press conference to confirm their participation in the 2012 Winter Classic.

RANGERS VS FLYERS POST GAME WRAP UP 9/25

McDONGAH PROPELS RANGERS OVER FLYERS IN OVERTIME

Heading into Overtime tied 2-2 in an exciting, even paced matchup between the Rangers and Flyers it too almost four minutes into the five minute thre on three period for Captain Ryan McDonough to put the Rangers over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.

Relying on goals by Rick Nash on the power play in the first period and the game tying goal in the third by Mika Zibanejad (playing in his 2nd preseason game)  and a strong effort in net by Henrik Lundqvist the Rangers were able to take the first of two preseason games versus Philly.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 37 of 39 shots on goal earning himself the first star of the game. Lundqvist looked spectacular at times allowing 2 goals both off the stick of Flyers’ Travis Sanheim. Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth almost equaled Lundqvist’s effort with a 28 save performance making some brilliant saves himself.

Youngsters Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Vinni Lettieri and Boo Nieves all continued to impress as the Rangers roster was trimmed earlier in the day when Daniel Catenacci, Cole Schneider and Brandon Crawley and Scott Kosmachuk were all sent to Hartford. The Rangers now have 34 players left in camp, including 21 forwards, 10 defenders and 3 goalies.

Tough decisions are coming for Alain Vigneault on both the offense and defense as Tony DeAngelo continued to impress and both veterans Marc Staal and Nick Holden are all vying for the bottom 3 positions on the blueline.

FINAL GAME STATS:

Three Stars
1    Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (37 Saves)
2    Travis Sanheim, Phi (2G)
3    Ryan McDonagh, NYR (1G, 1A)

Scoring Summary
1st Period
3:16        Rick Nash (Power Play)
Assists: Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Buchnevich    Rangers 1-0
5:39        Travis Sanheim
Assists: Nolan Patrick, Jordan Weal    Tied 1-1
2nd Period
19:56        Travis Sanheim
Assists: Radko Gudas, Michael Raffl    Flyers 2-1
3rd Period
5:29        Mika Zibanejad
Assists: Pavel Buchnevich, Chris Kreider    Tied 2-2
Overtime
3:51        Ryan McDonagh
Assists: Mats Zuccarello, Filip Chytil    Rangers 3-2

Penalties
1st Period
2:14        Radko Gudas    Holding    2:00
4:33        Sean Couturier    Slashing    2:00
5:26        Filip Chytil    Hooking    2:00
16:39        Michael Raffl    Hooking    2:00
2nd Period
0:20        Jakub Voracek    Slashing    2:00
3:44        Chris Kreider    Tripping    2:00
17:29        Gabriel Fontaine    Tripping    2:00
3rd Period
1:25        Nolan Patrick    High-sticking    2:00
9:27        Mats Zuccarello    Slashing    2:00
12:10        Radko Gudas    Roughing    2:00
12:10        Mats Zuccarello    Roughing    2:00
12:10        Mats Zuccarello    Unsportsmanlike Conduct    2:00
13:50        Nolan Patrick    Roughing    2:00
Overtime
No Penalties


Shots on Goal
                   Team    1    2    3    OT    Tot
Philadelphia Flyers    11    11    15    2    39
New York Rangers    6    11    9    5    31

Goaltenders
                  Team    Goaltender    Shots    Saves    TOI    Record
Philadelphia Flyers    Michal Neuvirth    31    28    63:43    0-0
New York Rangers    Henrik Lundqvist    39    37    63:51    1-0

Power Play Conversions
Philadelphia Flyers    0 of 5
New York Rangers    1 of 6