New York Rangers

May 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers players surround left wing Chris Kreider (20) after he scores the game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins during overtime in game four of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Rangers win 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports This has been the question on many fans minds over the past few days. Prior to game 4, many fans were skeptical of this, myself included. I’ve had some “fans” tell me I don’t have any faith in this team to come back from being down 3 games to none. It’s not that I didn’t have faith it was just that I was being more on the rational side. Everyone knows how tough it is to win 1 game in the playoffs let alone 4 straight. This leads me to my next question, can it be done? I think the answer lies all in today’s game in Boston. Obviously if they lose, this time tomorrow they’ll be cleaning out their lockers & this time Monday they’ll all be teeing off at some fancy Country Club. IF they can muster a win today in a hostile environment, then I can almost guarantee that the tides will turn and the pressure will be off the New York Rangers shoulders and on the Boston Bruins’. Boston’s lineup hasn’t had too much change since their collapse in the 2010 playoffs when the Philadelphia Flyers came back from down 0-3 to go on to the Stanley Cup. So I have no doubt that if they drop today’s game some of that will come back and start to haunt them. Get it back to Madison Square Garden and I guarantee we’ll see you in Boston early next week for game 7. 3 things to watch for in today’s game: Henrik Lundqvist. He is money in elimination games. 6-1, 1.40 GAA & a .952 Save Percentage in his last 7 games. Tuuka Rask. He is the opposite of Lundqvist. Posting a 2-8 record with a 3.20 GAA & an .890 Save Percentage (career). That’s just downright awful. Young Bruins D-Man vs. Rangers fore-check. Although they have played well (Torrey Krug especially) they’ve looked rattled at times, especially in game 4 when the Rangers inserted a little more grit and bang to their lineup. It all happens today at 5:30pm EST on NBC Sports Network. Do the New York Rangers keep climbing the mountain? Don’t forget to leave some feedback! Follow me on Twitter: @serao_11

Could MSG be on the move? With just six months left until the finishing touches are placed on the $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden, the arena was recently denied an indefinite operating permit by the city of New York, specifically the New York City Planning Commission. Instead MSG was given a 15 year lease on the space it currently sits. Ben Kabak over at Second Ave Sagas weighed in on the matter, and it appears that this new 15 year lease comes with a caveat: MSG will need to find a resolution with the city to “the Penn Station problem.” The “Penn Station problem” is, as Kabak puts it, capacity restraints. As a daily commuter to and from Long Island, I can see where this is coming from. I have often been unable to even enter Penn Station when there are delays, as the station itself is very small and the hallways very narrow. As people get priced out of living in the city, the number of commuters grows on a monthly basis. Another aspect is that many, including some NY Post editorial writers, believe that the city needs to recapture the architectural beauty that was the old Penn Station, and that it needs to be done right where MSG currently stands. The problem here is that there is a pretty large office building right on Seventh Ave that wasn’t there when the original Penn Station stood. Some editorial writers, it appears, have short memories. During the process of granting MSG a 15 year lease, commission Chair Amanda Burden said, “I don’t think anyone would disagree that the best outcome for New York City would be a relocated Madison Square Garden and a rebuilt Penn Station.” Like Kabak, I vehemently disagree with this sentiment. Penn Station is cramped, but there are ways to alleviate this problem without moving MSG. Burden’s comments are also a bit naive, considering James Dolan and Cablevision just spent $1 billion of their own money to renovate MSG. Dolan will not let the city simply walk all over him after he just dropped ten figures into the city’s economy on the renovation. John Q. Taxpayer did not spend a cent of their own money to fund these renovations, and it’s something that Burden should keep in mind before giving a person like James Dolan an ultimatum. Dolan and MSG have another 15 years to sort things out, but I’m pretty sure the man who just put $1 billion of his own money into a renovation is not all that pleased that they are attempting to move the Garden. You can guarantee that if the city pursues this route, Dolan will not spend another $1 billion of his own money on a new arena, of which a location has still not yet been decided. A simple solution, as Kabak put it, is to expand on the current Penn Station and make it more accessible. Tweet

The New York Rangers already did the hardest part. They fought their way through Game 4 to avoid a sweep and now head into Boston down 3-1 in the series. A loss ends their season. A win sends the series back to New York for Game 6. A win makes things really, really interesting. Easier said than done, of course. The Rangers had their share of problems against the Bruins Thursday, but fought and clawed their way into an overtime victory. Sometimes those wins are enough to prove to a locker room that they're good enough to come back in a series. Sometimes wins like that boost confidence and trust in one another. But the reality is the Bruins need one more win to advance, the Rangers need three. Which is what makes Game 5 so important. A loss and the Bruins move on. A win and the Rangers bring this series back to Madison Square Garden where they would be able to force a Game 7 in front of their home fans. We're getting ahead of the game, obviously, but you can see why Game 5 seems like a must win for both sides. The Rangers made some huge adjustments in Game 4, including a revamped fourth line that helped neutralize the physicality of the Bruins fourth line. The assumption is John Tortorella will stick with his lineup from Thursday -- why change what's working? -- but that will be confirmed at warmups. Yes, that means Brad Richards being scratched for a second straight game. The power play -- which got its first goal of the series off a Brian Boyle shot -- needs o be better. No more failed opportunities. Maybe the goal Thursday will help spark the man advantage, the Rangers certainly can't afford to have it fil them now. The margin of error is so small for the Rangers it's nearly zero. They lose and the season ends. A lot of things came together in their Game 4 win. Keeping it going in Game 5 is critical to success and a win would really sock the Bruins in the jaw. Easier said than dime of course.

Tommy Hughes (#14) (Saskatoon Blades) This is why we watch ice hockey because no matter what level we are watching, the last minute of any game can come down to a matter of inches as the Portland Winterhawks held off the London Knights 2-1 to advance to Sunday's final of the 2013 Memorial Cup. It wasn't the textbook classic game but it was a fight and forgive the corny cliche but London has nothing to be ashamed of as they fought with everything they had. This was a good hockey game that deserved to be seen by more than the Canadian fans and those living in Oregon. London actually did well with their trap making it hard for Portland to establish any kind of offensive flow in a scoreless first period. The Knights got the first goal of the game in the second period when Max Domi cashed in a power play goal for what turned out to be the only goal he would score in the Memorial Cup. The goal was an "excuse me" as Domi's first attempt he fanned on but it was enough to get Portland goalie Mac Carruth out of position as he was looking for the first shot. Don't knock Domi for having a 1-1-2 line during the Memorial Cup as he was solid at both ends of the ice. I would take him with a middle of the first round draft pick. London's 1-0 lead didn't last as Portland got it right back a little over two minutes later when Portland's version of Ryan Callahan, Brendan Leipsic (congrats on the contract Brendan) pestering London goalie Jake Patterson and Ranger's prospect Tommy Hughes (2013 UFA) allowed Tyler Wotherspoon to get a shot that deflected in off the skate of Hughes to tie the game up. The game then turned into more of a chess match with neither team able to get one past through the rest of the second period and the early part of the third period when Portland would finally take the the lead. And it was Ty Rattie who if Portland wins the Memorial Cup deserves the MVP for his play throughout the entire tournament. For the 4th straight game Rattie scored and this one was just as pretty as Rattie comes off the left boards and fires a shot that goes in over the shoulder of Patterson to give Portland a 2-1 lead. London did not go away as they fought back registering several good scoring chances that Carruth kept out of the net and with help from his defensemen didn't allow for any major rebounds. Still the last 2 minutes was exactly the kind of hockey that fans want to see; London had several scoring chances and despite having an open net, Portland couldn't get enough breathing space to seal the win. It came down to the final horn and Portland wins 2-1. This sets up a dream final of Halifax vs Portland on Sunday night. Call your friends, family and everyone else as this game is one the NHL Network USA starting at 7 PM EDT/ 4 PM PDT. A chance to see 3 of the top NHL prospects going head to head. Halifax won the first matchup 7-4 and it will be interesting to see if Portland can come up with the better game plan. And the last one is done London's loss in the semifinals means that Tommy Hughes career in the OHL ends and his journey to become a Ranger begins. Hughes was no offensive threat when he was in the OHL playing in 169 games and recording all of 3-29-32 during that time. Yes the first thing Hughes is going to need to do is find himself enough offense to earn a ticket to the NHL. Defensively won't be a problem as he does all the right things on defense. Hughes plays a physical brand of hockey punishing anyone who tries to set up in his area. He will put his body on the line just like Dan Girardi does and give credit to the London coaching staff for teaching their players how to play an NHL brand of defense. Jeff Beukeboom will find that he has a very coachable student in Hughes but even with offense, Hughes projects to be a 3rd pair defender but he will be one who can eat up minutes.

Courtesy of the NYR: NEW YORK RANGERS at BOSTON BRUINS 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eastern Conference Semifinals – Game 5 Saturday, May 25 (5:30 p.m.) – TD Garden BOS leads 3-1 TONIGHT’S GAME: The Rangers will face-off against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden (5:30 p.m. — TV: NBC Sports Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7), in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Blueshirts trail in the series, 3-1, following a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers enter the contest with a 213-232-8 record all-time in 453 playoff contests (120-89-2 at home; 93-143-6 on the road). New York has posted a 24-34 record all-time in Game 5s. ALL-TIME RANGERS PLAYOFF RECORDS: Overall — 213-232-8 Home — 120-89-2 Away — 93-143-6 Goals for — 1,243 Goals against — 1,237 ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORDS —RANGERS vs. BRUINS The Rangers and Bruins are meeting in the playoffs for the 10th time overall, and the first time in 40 years. Their last postseason encounter was in the 1973 Quarterfinals, a series won by New York 4-1. Overall, the Blueshirts have a 3-6 playoff series record vs. the Bruins, posting a 19-25-2 mark in 46 postseason contests. RANGERS vs. BRUINS: All-Time (Regular Season): 249-283-97-2 overall (143-119-55-0 at home; 106-164-42-2 on the road) 2012-13: New York was 2-1-0 overall (1-0-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road). Two of the three contests were decided by one goal, including one game that required overtime and another decided in the shootout. The Blueshirts’ penalty kill was 15-16 (93.8%). Henrik Lundqvist was 2-1-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .913 Sv%. The Rangers have won 11 of their last 15 regular season games against the Bruins, including seven of their last nine meetings, and are 22-7-2 against Boston since 2005-06 The Rangers are 12-3-0 in their last 15 regular season games against the Bruins at MSG, dating back to a 3-2 win on Nov. 20, 2005 The Blueshirts are 5-1-0 in their last six regular season games at TD Garden, having out-scored the Bruins, 15-10, over the span Henrik Lundqvist has started in 27 consecutive regular season games against Boston, dating back to Jan. 13, 2007 The Blueshirts have three players with previous playoff experience against the Bruins – Arron Asham (9 GP, 1-2-3), Roman Hamrlik (25 GP, 1-8-9), and Darroll Powe (11 GP, 0-1-1) New York lists no former Bruins on their roster Boston lists three former Rangers on their roster: Jaromir Jagr (2003-04 – 2007-08); Wade Redden (2008-09 – 2009-10); Marc Savard (1997-98 – 1998-99) INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. BRUINS (Regular Season): Henrik Lundqvist — 30 GP, 21-7-2, 1.67 GAA, 6 SO Martin Biron — 31 GP, 12-12-2-1, 2.66 GAA, 1 SO Brad Richards — 37 GP, 8-23-31 Ryan Callahan — 22 GP, 5-6-11 Michael Del Zotto — 13 GP, 2-5-7 SPECIAL TEAMS: Power Play: The Rangers tallied one goal in four power play opportunities (7:05) in Game 4, and are now 3-42 (7.1%) in the playoffs. New York is 0-2 in five-on-three situations (3:17; last – 5/12 vs. WSH), and 0-2 while skating four-on-three (0:23; last – 5/8 vs. WSH). Shorthanded goals allowed (0). Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered two goals to the Bruins in four shorthanded situations (7:07) in Game 4, and are now 19-25 (76.0%) in the playoffs. Shorthanded goals for (0). Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation in Game 4, and are now -1 in five four-on-four situations (10:25) in the playoffs. Four-on-four goals for (0). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): J. Boychuk (5/19 at BOS). QUICK HITS: Prior to Game 1, the last time the Rangers and Bruins played an OT game in the playoffs was Mar. 27, 1958 (L, 3-4) Four of the remaining eight teams in the playoffs are Original Six teams, marking the second time this has happened since the NHL adopted the current playoff format in 1994 (2010) All Original Six teams qualified for the playoffs for the fi

Tonight's Game The Rangers face-off against the Boston Bruins tonight at TD Garden (5:30 p.m.), in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Blueshirts trail in the series, 3-1, following a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 on Thursday at...

A source confirms exclusively to Us Weekly that supermodel Anne Vyalitsyna is dating New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey! The pair first met, briefly, at a New York Rangers Game — and the 24-year-old athlete can credit Twitter for helping him land a date.via Anne V Dating Matt Harvey: Supermodel, Mets Player Affectionate in Picture – UsMagazine.com.The post Supermodel Anne V reportedly dating Matt Harvey appeared first on The Mets Police.Related posts:Must Read: The excellence of Matt Harvey and the misery of the Mets – GrantlandHow Matt Harvey Became the Most Exciting Pitcher in Baseball – Allen Barra – The AtlanticMets’ Matt Harvey seems to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated

Down 2-0 with a little more than 32 minutes left to play, and facing elimination, the New York Rangers playoff run was at a crossroads. They could follow the example of the Washington Capitals who folded like a cheap suit in Game 7. Or, the Blueshirts could decide to fight back and play with a desperation, urgency and resiliency that has been lacking in this series. If they were to choose the latter option, they were going to need a break. Well, one break coming up, courtesy of Tuukka Rask who certainly will not be winning Dancing With the Stars any time soon. Just 58 seconds after Rangers nemesis Torey Krug scored his third goal of the series, Carl Hagelin’s backhander trickled past the prone Bruins goaltender after Rask stumbled and fell to the ice. “Probably the ugliest goal I have ever seen,” Henrik Lundqvist commented to Larry Brooks of the NY Post. “It turned it around for us, and that’s hockey. ‘‘We need to be more focused, I need to be more focused,’’ Rask explained to Ira Podell of the AP. ‘‘I just took a step to the side in what I think probably was a skate mark or something. I lost my balance and the rest is history. ‘‘We gave them a couple of gifts and it cost us the game.’’ The other “gift” was Derek Stepan’s goal 75 seconds into the third period to tie the game as he picked Zdeno Chara’s pocket and stuffed home the tying goal. After the game Chara said he didn’t know Stepan was near him – which is understandable given that FrankenChara (copyrighted by my wife Roe) is like eight feet tall on skates and probably thought Stepan was a gnat buzzing around his head. “It certainly gave us life,” Stepan stated after the game. “It’s a timely goal at the right time.” The Rangers resiliency was tested again as Boston scored two seconds after Ryan McDonagh’s borderline call for Goalie Interference expired as the Bruins scored after Henrik Lundqvist made a flurry of stops late in the Boston power play. However, less than two minutes later a month of Sundays hit the calendar, pigs started to fly and cats and dogs were living in harmony as the Rangers power play woke up from its doldrums to tie the game midway through the third period. Credit Brian Engblom for pointing out the two things the Rangers did right, for a change, on their power play and the big mistake the Bruins committed. For one of the few times on a man advantage, the Blueshirts were able to gain the Bruins zone while carrying the puck. Combine that with some puck movement and player movement and you have Brian Boyle’s power play goal. The one main point Engblom pointed out was how the Bruins got caught watching the puck and no one was looking at the weak side and that allowed Boyle to skate into position in the slot. For the rare time, it was Boston that got burned puck-watching – not the Rangers. I hope John Tortorella puts the following quote up on the bulletin board in the TD Garden prior to Game 5 as a reminder of what the Rangers need to do on Saturday. “When we get a power play we need to be determined enough to go out and make a difference,” Boyle said to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “We need to do it. It has to work. The games we lost, if we get a power-play goal it’s a different game.” The King rallied his teammates with a pre-game speech and then went out and backed it up – especially in overtime as he counted key stops on Patrice Bergeron, Jaromir Jagr and Brad Marchand among his 37 saves. “I told the guys before the game there was no way we were losing this game,” Lundqvist said. “We want to keep playing. We owe it to ourselves, to our fans. All our focus today was just on this game. Now we move our focus to the next game and the first period of that game. We will see how far that takes us.” All of Lundqvist’s talk and play would mean nothing without Chris Kreider’s overtime winner. Again, puck and player movement played a key following a huge faceoff win by Deric

A very well-attended optional skate today that only included players who dressed for Thursday night’s 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 against the Bruins as the Rangers avoided a sweep. Chris Kreider was given a maintenance day off bit Kris Newbury, Micheal Haley and Roman Hamrlik continued to skate with the varsity with the assumption that they’ll remain in the lineup for Saturday’s Game 5 at Boston’s TD Garden. The Rangers’ practice squad, the “Black Aces” skated separately. Brad Richards, Ryane Clowe and Darroll Powe skated with that group. However, defenseman Anton Stralman was not on the ice, though he did an off-ice workout. Still, that likely means he will not be in the Game 5 lineup. A few interesting factoids provided by the NHL this morning regarding the Rangers’ Game 4 win: - The 4-3 OT win was franchise’s fifth OT win when facing elimination. Last time was Mat-teau Mat-teau Mat-teau against the Devils in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference final. - Kreider has six goals in 25 playoff games as a Ranger, including three winners. In 23 regular season games, Kreider has two goals and no winners. - Henrik Lundqvist is 5?0 with a 0.98 goals-against average, a .966 save percentage and two shutouts in his last five home playoff games with the Rangers facing elimination. Over the past two seasons, the Rangers are 6-1 in elimination games: Two wins against the Senators when facing a 3-2 deficit in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, a win in Game 7 against the Capitals last year in the conference final, two wins over the Capitals when trailing in the series 3-2 in this year’s first round and now the Game 4 win over the Bruins. The only blemish was their Game 6 overtime loss to the Devils in last year’s conference final. “I don’t know,” captain Ryan Callahan said when asked why the Rangers can elevate their game that way. “I guess it’s just a sense of desperation and I think it shows the character we have in this room and a willingness to go out there and work and battle and not give in.” Added John Tortorella: “I don’t think our team gives. We’ve done some good things there. I go back to the first series, just winning two in a row to win that series. That’s something, you try to hang your hat on I guess. I’m not a real big believer in it, I think every game is a different situation. But our team doesn’t give. Listen we were ugly the first part of (Game 4), we end up finding ourselves after a flukey game. I think we played better. Bottom line is, all is forgiven, you don’t go back and dissect it, you won a game to keep yourself alive and that’s what we have to look to now. Just win a game, it’s in Boston.” ====================================================== Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AGrossRecord Follow the Record Sports Staff at twitter.com/TheRecordSports