New York Rangers Daily: There’s a chance for Blueshirts, miserable night for Auston Matthews
This crazy ride of the New York Rangers season officially reached the midway point Thursday night. To think, there are still 41 games to go. That’s a lot of hockey after so many storylines and so much upheaval and losing in the first half.
Ironically, after so much negativity — which included a terrible 5-4 OT loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday — they ended the first half on a positive note. The Rangers played one of their better all-around games this season, defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in overtime on Sam Carrick’s game-winner. They’re now 3-1-1 in the past five games and creeped closer to NHL .500 (19-20-2).
So, you’re saying there’s a chance? Well, the Rangers remain four points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with five teams ahead of them. They passed the Philadelphia Flyers with the win Thursday. And let’s face it, there’s no great team currently among those five ahead of them.
The Detroit Red Wings have won five in a row and the Pittsburgh Penguins are on a three-game winning streak and have Sidney Crosby still playing at an elite level. But not a single one of those teams scares the Rangers, who are feeling better about themselves after a simply atrocious two-month stretch.
A pretty tough road trip lies ahead for the Blueshirts, starting Saturday night in Vegas against the NHL-best Golden Knights (28-10-3). After that, it’s the Colorado Avalanche (26-16-1), who righted themselves and have the League’s top scorer in Nathan MacKinnon. Then the Utah Hockey Club (17-16-7), who are four points out oft he second wild card in the West.
But, yes, there’s a glimmer of hope that making the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season is not out of the question for the Rangers.
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New York Rangers news
Here are our three takeaways from the big win Thursday, including Rangers’ special teams coming through after long dry spell.
The latest Rangers injury updates were positive, with Filip Chytil back on the ice skating and Igor Shesterkin returning from a four-game absence to start against the Devils.
Our Lou Orlando explains why he believes this is the perfect time for Rangers to give newcomer Arthur Kaliyev a long look.
Our Hartford Wolf Pack weekly features updates on Rangers prospects Dylan Garand and Adam Sykora, plus a preview of their weekend schedule.
And our weekly NCAA Prospects Report highlighted the scoring prowess of Rangers draft pick Brody Lamb, who’s lighting it up at Minnesota.
NHL news
Alex Lyon is day to day for the Detroit Red Wings with an upper-body injury, and they recalled veteran Ville Husso from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to partner with ex-Rangers goalie Cam Talbot.
Goalie Connor Ingram is back with Utah after an AHL conditioning stint. He’s missed 22 games with an upper-body injury.
Incredibly, Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner each was minus-6 (!) in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, on for each goal against.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Edmonton Oilers 5-3. Crosby passed Joe Sakic for ninth on the all-time NHL scoring list with 1,643 points.
The Islanders played one of their best games of the season, riding 30 Ilya Sorokin saves to a 4-0 win against the Rangers’ next opponent, the Golden Knights.
Speaking of shutouts, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned his second of the season, leading the Sabres to a 4-0 win against the Ottawa Senators, who were booed off their home ice after the loss.
Senators forward Noah Gregor will be “out a little while” with a lower-body injury sustained in the loss.
The Boston Bruins lost their sixth straight game, 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Watch Brayden Point record his 600th NHL point with a power-play goal in the win against the Bruins.
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