With a victory today the Rangers can cap off an impressive stretch of hockey with their fifth-straight playoff spot. It’s a wonderful accomplishment considering where the Rangers were on March 21st. But, it also obscures the truth- the Rangers are a team that is not built to win it all. Yes, the Rangers have some very good pieces but these pieces are not enough to overcome the overall lack of talent on the roster. more ›

Of the four “major” sports, the NHL is clearly the forgotten member of the group. While it has a passionate group of followers, the NHL's numbers are small in the U.S. compared to the other major sports. That’s why it is vital for hockey to do everything it can to promote the sport, including stopping the season for almost three weeks to let its athletes compete in the Olympic Games. more ›

• Thrashers 5, Rangers 3: Henrik Lunqvist returned, but it wasn't enough for the Rangers, who lost without Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky. The former has a concussion and the latter has a broken hand. Not good. Artem Anisimov and Marian Gaborik helped erase two one-goal deficits, but the Rangers wilted after that. This was their first game back after a long road trip to Canada, and they've lost eight of 11 (with one shootout loss.)
• Devils 4, Penguins 1: That's nine straight road wins for the Devils, and that's one shy of the record to start the season. Niclas Bergfors had a goal and two assists. The Devils have now tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals also have 26 points. Zach Parise had a goal and Travis Zajac had three assists.
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Penguins 3, Rangers 2: The privilege of opening against the defending Stanley Cup champions did not inspire the Rangers, who fell behind 3-1 before making a comeback attempt that came up short. Chris Drury scored the first goal of the year to tie the game at 1, and Marian Gaborik added one in the third period. The Rangers were outshot, 31-27, and get Ottawa at home on Saturday. more ›

Atlanta Thrashers 5, Rangers 4 (SO): Things looked rosy with a three-goal lead late in the second period. But then things disintegrated. Steve Valiquette allowed a goal with 21 seconds to go before intermission. Then two more goals in the third period set up a shootout that went five rounds without a goal. How important will this squandered point be? Only time will tell. Valiquette did have his first NHL assist in the game. But that plus goals by Chris Drury, Nikolay Zherdev, Nik Antropov and Drury again went to waste. The Rangers won't get many opponents as easy as Atlanta the rest of the way. more ›

Down 1-0, Chris Drury got caught flatfooted at the point on a two-man advantage and the Flyers converted. They scored three more goals, to open an insurmountable lead and the Rangers are now staring into the abyss. They face two of the worst teams in the league next, but can they really be expected to pull out of this tailspin? more ›

Everything is perfectly setup. Sean Avery is back on the ice in Hartford, mixing it up from the moment he stepped on the ice last night. It seems inevitable that he will be back on Broadway soon, trying to revive the Rangers’ season. more ›

Rangers 2, Islanders 1: The Islanders have enough trouble winning games with Rick DiPietro in net. So imagine how they felt when an injury to backup Joey MacDonald meant Yann Danis -- fresh off the bus from Bridgeport -- got some facetime. He allowed two goals in a 1:56 span in the second period, and that was just enough for the Rangers. Nigel Dawes and Chris Drury got the glory for the Rangers, who got a strong performance from Henrik Lundqvist. The Islanders have lost five straight and are going nowhere fast. They have the league's worst record and have gone 2-15-2 since Nov. 29. So the Rangers' only acceptable result was a two-point haul. more ›

• Rangers 4, Penguins 0: Most things that didn't work during a recent slump clicked Monday at the Garden. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots, got his first shutout of the season and became the fifth NHL goalie to start a career with four seasons of 20 or more wins. The Rangers converted on two power-play opportunities -- they went 1-for-17 during their 1-3-1 stretch entering this game -- and came up with a big win. Goals from Nigel Dawes, Paul Mara, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez helped the Rangers regain first place, but they have played more games than the Flyers and the Devils.
• Nets 98, Kings 90: Yep, that's what an 8-27 team looks like. The Nets have to be worried about Devin Harris, who sat out the second half after aggravating an injury. But at least they can smile at Vince Carter's 29 and Yi Jianlian's 22. The Kings led at the 5:21 mark of the fourth quarter, but the Nets woke up in time. Harris, who missed Saturday's game against Miami, will need to feel better if his team is going to be competitive against teams better than the Kings.
• Oilers 3, Islanders 2: This quote from Andrew Cogliano, who scored the go-ahead goal for the Oilers, sums up the Islanders' state of affairs. “We just couldn’t lose this game. When a team comes in the way they did, you have to win it.” The Islanders held a 2-0 lead at one point, but that vanished into the wind.
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• Rangers 3 Carolina 2 (Shootout): The Rangers rebounded nicely from Friday’s debacle, but the biggest events of the night occurred off the ice. Matt Sundin spent the night in a luxury box watching the game as part of a promotional event, but he has a meeting with Glen Sather at some point in the near future. Will the Rangers add Sundin to the mix? It remains to be seen, but they did just fine Saturday with Chris Drury winning the shootout with a nice backhand.
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Hopefully, Wednesday’s 6-3 loss will represent the worst effort the Rangers give all season. They came out flat, gave up three breakaways in the first ten minutes and committed atrocious turnovers in their own zone. Yet, somehow they only trailed 2-0 after one period. more ›

• Edmonton 3 Rangers 2 (Shootout): Was it bad play or simply the great goaltending of Jeff Deslauriers? Deslauriers stymied the Rangers though the first two periods, turning away 26-of-27 shots, as the Oilers took a 2-1 lead into the third period. more ›

It’s been a long wait for Chris Drury. Eleven games into the season, Drury didn’t have any goals. That changed Monday night as Drury found the net twice in the Rangers 4-2 win over the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum. Drury scored just 56 seconds into the game to give the Rangers the lead, but the Islanders tied things up as time was expiring in the first period on a wrist shot by Kyle Okposo. more ›

Rangers 1, Maple Leafs 0: Tom Renney mixed up his lines tonight and while it didn’t produce any points, the effort was encouraging. Chris Drury is back as a center and Scott Gomez has a couple of new wingers and both lines showed some promise Friday. But, despite 32 shots, the Rangers couldn’t crack the Toronto net. more ›

Yes, Jagr has been wonderful in a Rangers’ uniform since the lockout ended. His 54-goal season in 2004-05 revitalized a dead franchise and brought hope back to MSG. Without Jagr, the Rangers would not have advanced to the second round of the playoffs the past two years and probably would not have attracted two of the top centers in the NHL, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to sign with the club last July. more ›

You have to pick your poison when playing the Penguins. Do you try and stop Pittsburgh’s top line, anchored by Sidney Crosby, or do you focus on shutting down the equally talented, Evegni Malkin and his line? And, don’t forget about the defensemen, Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are both threats to score when they touch the puck. Clearly, keeping the Penguins off the scoreboard will be a monumental task. more ›

Staal’s goal was one of the many highlights for the Rangers, who played a superior game to New Jersey except for a stretch in the third period. Chris Drury had a very good game, getting big wins off the draw and adding a goal and an assist. Gomez had two goals, including a very creative empty-netter to clinch the win. Patrik Elias had two goals for New Jersey and a very big uncalled slash that setup the third Devils goal. New Jersey will head home and try and fight off elimination on Friday. more ›

Overtime failed to produce a winner so things went to a shootout where Nigel Dawes made a brilliant fake to freeze Martin Brodeur and score . Dawes’ goal held up and the Rangers beat the Devils for the sixth time this season, while moving into a tie for fifth in the Eastern Conference. more ›

• Islanders 4 Rangers 3 (Shootout): This was not a game for fans of goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist was terrible, Wade Dubielewicz was too but better when it counted and the Islanders prevailed in a sloppy game. more ›

Montreal didn’t score in OT, but Saku Koivu converted in the shootout and Montreal sent the Rangers to their worst loss of the season. more ›

The Rangers are going to have to have a lot more weekends like this one if they are going to make the playoffs. Fresh off of Saturday’s shellacking of Buffalo, New York outlasted San Jose in a physical contest 3-1. more ›

Vince Carter put forth one of his best efforts of the season -- a 29-point, nine-rebound performance. And that was after a nasty elbow sent him to the locker room. But the Nets' defense -- or the Mavericks' poor shooting -- was the story in this one. Dallas made only 36.5 percent of its shots.

Nigel Dawes got the Rangers on the board near the end of the third period as he converted a power play chance. Scott Gomez who assisted on the first goal followed with a goal of his own, setup by a great screen from Chris Drury at 3:53 of the second. Then the fights started, a linesman took a skate to the face but the Rangers and Valiquette kept their focus and got the win. more ›

• Rangers 5, Canadiens 3: Fans who tired of FOX's marathon Super Bowl pregame show may have migrated to NBC to catch this inspired effort by the Rangers. Playing in Montreal -- did any of them get to watch the Super Bowl, or even want to watch? -- the Blueshirts scored five unanswered goals after trailing, 3-0, early in the second period. Chris Drury had the go-ahead goal, and Scott Gomez, Michal Rozsival, Martin Straka and Brandon Dubinsky also scored. Coach Tom Renney, who has not had the most job security of late, described this as a character win. The Rangers sit at seventh place in the Eastern Conference, with 60 points. They trail the Flyers -- whom they dominated -- by only three points in their Atlantic Division.
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