#jimmy-vesey

#jimmy-vesey

Game 7.That is all that needs to be said.The winner advances to round two and, the loser goes home.This is the game in which anything can, and likely will, happen.The New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers head to the Prudential Center in New Jersey to settle this back-and-forth series.Both teams have been excellent at times and bad at others.

Game Wrap-ups
Whenever the Rangers need a big performance in an elimination game, Big Game Chris Kreider answers the call.With the Rangers down 1-0, Kreider got the biggest goal of the series thus far, redirecting Mika Zibanejad's shot past Akira Schmid just before the first period ended.That goal set the tone for the game, as the Rangers didn't look back.

The New York Rangers entered this Game 6 in a must-win situation.Both the Rangers and New Jersey Devils have something to play for, and every inch of ice must be earned in this pivotal game.Madison Square Garden was loud from the beginning but anxious at the same time.Would the Rangers live to play another day?

The New Jersey Devils kicked off Game Six against the New York Rangers like a team determined to end the series.That lasted maybe 19 minutes, then they turned into a frustrated fluffle of bashful bunnies.[Note: I'm covering the Devils this postseason.One of the biggest mistakes I've made, and that includes the time I had a mohawk.]

Game Wrap-ups
The NY Rangers had their winning streak snapped by the Carolina Hurricanes last night, blowing two leads in the third period to a 3-2 loss.The Canes controlled much of the play, but it was the Rangers holding a 1-0 lead heading into the third period.A scoring onslaught where the two teams traded goals over a 90 second span.

The Rangers took a break from their pseudo-series with the Penguins host a different Metro rival, the Capitals.Their year has been derailed by injuries, and aside from the regularly scheduled players on IR, they were also without Alexander Ovechkin and Sonny Milano tonight.And this is after selling at the deadline.

Here are today's news and links:


Highlights: NYR 2, CAR 1 (4:57 video via NHL.com)Game Recap: In a battle of quality vs quantity, the Blueshirts made the most of their few and far between opportunities to rebound from Tuesday night's home defeat with a road victory (CBS)
Mollie Walker discusses New York's win over Carolina and what a victory like that means in a matchup that could happen down the road in the playoffs (NY Post)
Colin Stephenson points to the fourth line trio of Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Tyler Motte as one of the key's to New York's strong post-deadline play (Newsday)
Vincent Mercogliano offers his takeaways from the Rangers' win in Raleigh (LoHud)
Matt Grazel gives three points he took from the Blueshirts' recent home stand (The Hockey Writers)




Former Rangers and current Florida Panthers' skaters Eric Staal and Marc Staal refused to wear a Pride jersey in warmups for the team's Pride Night, citing their beliefs as Christians as the reason behind their inability to wear the jerseys in good conscience (Sportsnet)
Walt Ruff reports that with Florida's regulation loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, the Hurricanes became the second team to clinch a spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Official Team Site)
The Vancouver Canucks agreed to a two year, two way contract extension with defenseman Christian Wolanin (TSN)

By Nick Faria Posted on March 22, 2023 New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) controls the puck while skating near Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas (88) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams The New York Rangers had a prime opportunity Tuesday night to get within striking distance of the Metropolitan division lead with just 11 games to go.

After a highly successful weekend, the Rangers took on the Metro-leading Carolina Hurricanes.The Canes have surrendered less goals that every team except Boston, so winning by a margin of six-plus was unlikely, but the Rangers did see Ryan Lindgren return to the lineup.First Period:
It took until the final three minutes of the first, but the Rangers drew first blood.

Ahead of the trade deadline, the New York Rangers added some major star power into their forward ranks, in the form of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane.With those players added to a lineup that already includes such forward talent as Mika Zibanejad, Artemiy Panarin, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafrenière, and Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers are a high-octane group with an emphasis on skill and creativity.

According to a report, New York Rangers winger and former 9th overall selection Vitali Kravtsov has requested a trade from the organization.The 23-year-old has played in just 28 games this year, with a 3-3-6 line in those contests.The trade deadline is on March 3rd.Chris Drury is going to have his work cut out for him to not lose big on the former top pick.

Lineup Changes
Per Vince Mercogliano, the NY Rangers lines tonight have minimal changes.Tyler Motte is obviously in the lineup, on the fourth line, starting his second go round with the Rangers.Also, Jimmy Vesey and Vladimir Tarasenko have swapped places.Kreider - Zib - Vesey Panarin - Trocheck - Tarasenko Laf - Chytil - KakkoMotte - Leschyshyn - Goodrow
- Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 20, 2023

The bottom six are as expected.

The NHL trade deadline has come and gone, with the Rangers as one of the big winners.Chris Drury added Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, Tyler Motte, and Patrick Kane to solidify their RW depth and fourth line depth.There are no doubts that Drury did his job and Rangers are a better team in the long run, even if they are going through some short term roster issues.

Irresponsible Rumormongering
Another day, another Patrick Kane rumor.Per Emily Kaplan, Kane's team is "recalibrating" and have asked the Blackhawks to truly dive into the Rangers and see if there is a match.This is the rumor that just won't die, even after the Vladimir Tarasenko trade.There is legitimate concern around Kane's hip injury, and if it will impact his play.

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When Vincent Trocheck came to the New York Rangers during the 2022 offseason, the belief was that his skillset would match Artemi Panarin's well on the second line and bring in career numbers.That hasn't gone exactly to plan, but Trocheck has found a new partner on his line that seems to be producing pretty solid numbers with Panarin moving to the top line.

Here are today's news and links:


Larry Brooks offers his thoughts on the current state of the Rangers, including Vitali Kravtsov's desire to be traded, the team's stylistic change in how they play, and more (NY Post)
Anthony Rieber points to the line change that landed Artemiy Panarin with Jimmy Vesey and Vincent Trocheck as the catalyst for his four goal performance on Saturday (Newsday)
Brendan Azoff wonders if a reunion with Tyler Motte could be in the cards as the Blueshirts look to upgrade their forward depth ahead of the trade deadline (The Hockey Writers)
Arthur $taple di$cu$$e$ what he'$ been hearing regarding the Ranger$ even in the wake of their blockbu$ter deal la$t week (The Athletic)

The Rangers are set to kick off their yearly swing through western Canada tonight, and the first stop on the trip will be in British Columbia for a matchup with the Vancouver Canucks.These two teams squared off exactly one week ago at Madison Square Garden as the Rangers earned a 4-3 victory in the most recent rematch of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.

There hasn't been a team playing better hockey than the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last month.Yet the New York Rangers did more than enough to end two big streaks Thursday night.Jimmy Vesey scored twice, Igor Shesterkin made key saves, and the New York Rangers shut down the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at Madison Square Garden to win their fifth game in a row.

The Rangers arrived in Ottawa having lost their last three games.Jaroslav Halak started the game, having lost each of the six games he's started.After a 3-1 victory, both the team and the goalie are on a one game winning streak.Jimmy Vesey, who was all over the ice, struck first with his third goal of the season, when he jammed home a rebound.

I'm looking forward to tonight's measuring stick game against the New York Rangers.I have a long memory..still remember December 15 th in New York when Jimmy Vesey (out of all players) stuck it to his former team.Well, tonight, the Leafs have a chance to avenge that game and loss when they host the New York Rangers for game two of five on their homestand.

Sheldon Keefe addressed the media after his team's 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers that dropped the Leafs' record to 19-6-6.On the team's performance and inability to break through offensively:
If you look at it, [New York] had two scoring chances, really, and they scored on them both.Aside from that, there was nothing happening for them offensively.

New York Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) scores on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) in the first period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Eastern Conference finals, Friday, June 3, 2022, in New York.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)Before last night's dramatic three goal third period, the Rangers were getting utterly crushed by St. Louis.

Here are today's news and links:


Highlights: TOR 3, NYR 2 (5:09 video via NHL.com)Game Recap: Will Cuylle had an uneventful NHL debut, Filip Chytil scored a pair of goals, but it was all for naught as the Blueshirts blew yet another game they in which held a lead of two periods (CBS)
Mollie Walker points out that the third line of Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, and Alexia Lafreniere had another strong outing after being reunited prior to last night's contest (NY Post)
Colin Stephenson notes that while the trio of kids are making headlines, the unit of Vincent Trocheck, Jimmy Vesey, and Barclay Goodrow is making a mark on the game in its own way (Newsday)
Vincent Mercogliano offers his takeaways from New York's latest defeat (LoHud)

Here are today's news and links:


Andrew Crane heard from Jimmy Vesey in the wake of the two year, $1.6 million contract extension he and the Rangers agreed to yesterday (NY Post)
Denis Gorman relays word that although Filip Chytil found himself in the doghouse down the stretch of Tuesday's game, Gerard Gallant doesn't expect the young Czech center to stay there moving forward (Newsday)
Vincent Mercogliano details how Vesey parlayed his professional tryout during training camp into the two year contract extension he agreed to (LoHud)
Brian Abate highlights the steps Kaapo Kakko has taken in his development this season and how the Blueshirts' patience with him is beginning to pay dividends (The Hockey Writers)
Colton Pankiw lists three trading partners if the Rangers decide to move on from Alexis Lafreniere (The Hockey Writers)




Detroit Red Wings' forward Jakub Vrana went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned to AHL Grand Rapids (TSN)
Team Canada rallied from a 2-0 deficit and defeated Team USA 6-2 to advance to the gold medal game of the World Junior Championships (ESPN)

Here are today's news and links:


     Highlights: NYR 3, TOR 1 (4:56 video via NHL.com)Game Recap: A strong effort from Igor Shesterkin and a pair of goals from Jimmy Vesey were the driving forces behind New York's victory as they handed the Maple Leafs their first regulation loss in over a month (CBS)
     Mollie Walker notes that Vitali Kravtsov found himself drawing into the lineup once again as he appears to build some momentum on his season (NY Post)
     Larry Brooks discusses how a rare extended shift for the team's second power play unit served as the turning point of the game (NY Post)
     Vincent Mercogliano offers his takeaways from the Blueshirts' fifth consecutive victory (LoHud)




     The Los Angeles Kings agreed to a five year, $21 million extension with forward Trevor Moore (NBC Sports)
     First overall pick Juraj Salfkovsky is not expected to be assigned to the Slovakian national team ahead of the World Junior Championships (TSN)

Here are today's news and links:


     Mollie Walker chatted with K'Andre Miller as he adjusts to the pressure of playing in a contract year for the first time in his pro career (NY Post)
     Colin Stephenson notes that although Jimmy Vesey didn't return to New York with the expectation of top line minutes, he's been receiving exactly that as of late (Newsday)
     Tom Castro writes that after last year's magical run that was sustained largely due to brilliance from Igor Shesterkin, some regression this season was to be expected (The Hockey Writers)
     Brendan Azoff highlights Adam Fox's strong play compared to the lackluster team around him (The Hockey Writers)




     Iain MacIntyre argues that although the Vancouver Canucks' placement of Roberto Luongo in their Ring of Honor is a nice gesture, the team should retire his jersey number (Sportsnet)
     RFA forward Alex Formenton is ineligible to play for the remainder of the 2022-23 season after he went unsigned past yesterday's 5 PM deadline (TSN)