New York Rangers Daily: Staying focused on Blueshirts during break; Quinn Hughes out for 4 Nations Face-off
The 4 Nations Face-off break in the schedule is upon us. And it’ll be nearly two more weeks before the New York Rangers play their next game.
But that doesn’t we mean we will take a vacation to the tropics here at Forever Blueshirts, no matter how enticing that sounds!
Nope, we’ll be here every day. Looking ahead to the March 7 trade deadline. Looking back on how the Rangers arrived at the break 11th in the Eastern Conference and just three points out of a wild-card spot despite one of the worst quarters in recent memory.
We’ll also be all over the mid-season tournament, where six Rangers will represent three nations in the four-team international event.
The Rink Rap podcast will be fired up a couple times a week still, including Monday when former Rangers captain and longtime radio analyst Dave Maloney will join the show.
So as you Blueshirts Faithful catch your breath and ramp up for the stretch run, know that we’re still grinding here every day, not taking a break during the break, talking all things Rangers on a daily basis.
Subscribe to the Rink Rap podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page.
New York Rangers news
Our Tom Castro makes the case that the Rangers should investigate acquiring rugged forward Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the trade deadline.
Speaking of physical forwards on the trade market, here’s a breakdown of why Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins likely won’t end up with the Rangers ahead of the March 7 deadline.
We took a dive into how Peter Laviolette’s line changes and Will Cuylle’s straight-ahead approach and heroics helped the Rangers win a crucial game right before the break, 4-3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In case you missed it, here are our three Rangers takeaways from that win in Columbus, including how everything broke New York’s way in the playoff race on Saturday.
Sure, Louis Domingue would prefer to have 100 career wins in the NHL by now, but good on the Hartford Wolf Pack veteran goalie for earning his 100th AHL win the other night.
NHL news
The United States sustained a big blow ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off when it learned Quinn Hughes won’t be able to participate because of an undisclosed injury. The Vancouver Canucks defenseman and captain will be replaced by Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson.
Another Senators defenseman, Nikolas Matinpalo, also was added the 4 Nations tournament. Matinpalo will play for Finland, replacing Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ramus Ristolainen, who has an upper-body injury.
Despite missing the Carolina Hurricanes’ 7-3 win against the Utah Hockey Club with a lower-body injury Saturday, Mikko Rantanen will play for Finland at the 4 Nations.
Teams must submit final rosters for the in-season tournament by 5 p.m. ET on Monday. Canada plans to evaluate Sidney Crosby’s progress at a skate in Montreal on Monday before making a final call on his status. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain has been sidelined with an upper-body injury.
The Penguins keep making moves to retool their roster, claiming defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers from Utah.
Pierre LeBrun reports that pending UFA forward Jake Evans and the Montreal Canadiens are not close on a new contract, making it more likely he could be traded ahead of the March 7 deadline.
The Washington Capitals overcame an ugly start to pick a point in a 5-4 shootout loss to Utah.
The Tampa Bay Lightning surged into the break with a 5-0-1 mark following a 5-3 win against the Canadiens. It appears the Canadiens are falling out of the playoff race after a 1-7-1 stretch heading into the break.
Watch Nicholas Paul of the Lightning score, perhaps, the prettiest goal on Super Bowl Sunday.
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