NFT: NY Rangers 2023 - 2024 Season

[kartanoman]

Mystery Alaska retribution complete! 6-5 in overtime and not even the Isles' defender kicking the goal off the magnets could stop the Breadman from firing the "game over" shot 10 seconds into the OT session!

What a barn-burner! What an amazing environment! Full props to the NHL and the NJSEA, with support from the Jets and Giants, to create the festive atmosphere that, with the game, created great memories for Rangers fans, and reflected great credit on the NHL. North Jersey knows how to host a party and it was all class. Kudos fellow Jerseyans, present and past!

Peace!

[Messiah717]

Win of the year for both the Rangers and the NHL.  A classic in front of 79,000.

[kartanoman]

Coming up next is a tiny revenge matchup against first place Dallas at the Garden tomorrow. Two first place teams doing battle to keep pace with Florida who is currently the #1 seed in the conference. It is also a game the Rangers need to keep pace with Carolina who have a winning streak going.

They don't get any easier with the majority of division games coming up. The injuries are starting to add up. Is this the time Drury will push the button and make an acquisition for the final run?

To be determined ...

Peace!

[kartanoman]

If you didn't watch tonight's game, you missed a masterpiece of first place teams who put out tonight and lived up to the billing of this big match.

First of all, this game underscores how important Kappo Kakko is for this team. He scored yet again and it makes five games in a row for him.

For all we have lambasted Igor this season, you would have bit your tongue tonight watching, without question, the best goaltending performance of the season. 41 saves tonight and holding the potent Dallas offense to one goal. Just magnificent!

Laviolette's game plan tonight was brilliant. Focus on the defense, capitalize on offense but don't take wild risks and get back to support the defense. For the first time, they played a brand of hockey that was somewhat conservative, yet they had many opportunities to score if Scott Wedgewood, Dallas' goalie, wasn't nearly as spectacular as Igor tonight.

The Rangers don't win this game without Igor's performance and I know he's had his rough times. Sunday he could be forgiven for giving up three early due to the sight lines being different and the glare on the ice impacting his vision of the action. Tonight, he played out of his mind and made Dallas' best scorers shake their head in disbelief.

Eight wins in succession. New Jersey on Thursday. The pressure to perform not going away any time soon. If this is how they plan to go about it, we could be in for something special in March.

Peace!

P.S. Seeing Lindgren on the ice tonight, big shiner, and staples under his eye, says it all. Toughness, grit, determination. I have all the respect in the world for that man. He led the defensive charge tonight.

[Messiah717]

Great game by Igor.  Give the Dallas net minder credit also.  The Rangers could've had two or three more. 

[babywhales]

My boys were at our rink from 3-9 last night and I got to stay home and watch last nights game with the misses. So right out of the gate i was thrilled and the game didn't disappoint. 

Stars were coming off a back to back nights with the Bruins so I was hoping the rangers would jump out earlier and Fox took care of that. Kakko's game winner beating Wedgewood upper corner inside post was real nice.  

Igor was aggressive exploding at the puck on some of those big shots and the puck luck was with him at the right time as well.  Hearing those Igor chants multiple times through the game was awesome and boy oh boy did he earn it. Especially in the third period when he doubled down on his effort and put on a spectacle. Damn near 1/2 his saves had to of been in the 3rd.  

Igor simply stole the game from the Stars. That being said the Rangers could not receive a sauce pass on a multitude of 2:1 situations and while they didn't get many shots on Wedgewood, opportunities were missed. 

Side Note- Rangers offense has really started to turn in on over the past 8 games scoring 3 or more goals 6 of the last 8 games. 

Pulling the boys from school and headed to Chicago for some deep dish and the Blackhawks Flyers Game tonight 

Rangers Devils on Thursday !

[Rosehill Jimmy]

If you didn't watch tonight's game, you missed a masterpiece of first place teams who put out tonight and lived up to the billing of this big match.

First of all, this game underscores how important Kappo Kakko is for this team. He scored yet again and it makes five games in a row for him.

For all we have lambasted Igor this season, you would have bit your tongue tonight watching, without question, the best goaltending performance of the season. 41 saves tonight and holding the potent Dallas offense to one goal. Just magnificent!

Laviolette's game plan tonight was brilliant. Focus on the defense, capitalize on offense but don't take wild risks and get back to support the defense. For the first time, they played a brand of hockey that was somewhat conservative, yet they had many opportunities to score if Scott Wedgewood, Dallas' goalie, wasn't nearly as spectacular as Igor tonight.

The Rangers don't win this game without Igor's performance and I know he's had his rough times. Sunday he could be forgiven for giving up three early due to the sight lines being different and the glare on the ice impacting his vision of the action. Tonight, he played out of his mind and made Dallas' best scorers shake their head in disbelief.

Eight wins in succession. New Jersey on Thursday. The pressure to perform not going away any time soon. If this is how they plan to go about it, we could be in for something special in March.

Peace!

P.S. Seeing Lindgren on the ice tonight, big shiner, and staples under his eye, says it all. Toughness, grit, determination. I have all the respect in the world for that man. He led the defensive charge tonight.

Had my grandson to his second ever Ranger game and first win!  Thankfully school is on break because by time we got off train to Westchester it was 12:30 AM

Igor was magnificent.  He made one glove save in 2nd period that would have made Keith Hernandez proud.  Spot on about Kakko. He may never live up to expectations attached to a #2 overall pick but he could be settling in to a big bodied, physical forward who's not afraid to get his nose bloodied and has skill.  The two "power forwards" Edstrom and Rempe were throwing their weight around and forcing the Stars to keep their heads up.  Very early observation but I would say Edstrom is the better all around player.

All in all a great night

[kartanoman]

Had my grandson to his second ever Ranger game and first win!  Thankfully school is on break because by time we got off train to Westchester it was 12:30 AM

Igor was magnificent.  He made one glove save in 2nd period that would have made Keith Hernandez proud.  Spot on about Kakko. He may never live up to expectations attached to a #2 overall pick but he could be settling in to a big bodied, physical forward who's not afraid to get his nose bloodied and has skill.  The two "power forwards" Edstrom and Rempe were throwing their weight around and forcing the Stars to keep their heads up.  Very early observation but I would say Edstrom is the better all around player.

All in all a great night

Taking the train out of Penn Station, after a win like this one, will make an impression on a kid for life. It did for me, back in the late 70s, when my man Anders Hedberg was flinging his wrist shots past the great goaltenders of the day, and even ancient but capable backups such as Wayne Thomas could keep you standing in amazement. That's why they used to call it the "Magic World" of Madison Square Garden. I haven't been in that building since March of 1979 but I remember it all just as your grandson does, fresh in his head right now. I plan to take my daughter, next month, to Mullet Arena when the boys visit us out here to play the Coyotes and I just know she'll feel the same way.

Thank you for bringing up the tall timber of Edstrom and Rempe. Personally, I think it's a super idea because, as Sam and Joe were remarking last night, you have Miller, who is a big guy, and now he's flanked by these six foot seven giants who make him look small by comparison. That collision Edstrom had with the Stars player was theater at its best. Crash! Both fly in opposite directions. Edstrom takes a knee and gets up while the other guy appeared to be thinking "did anyone get the license plate of that double decker?" Plus, Edstrom played far more aggressive last night than in his previous outings. Rempe is still getting his feet wet on the big stage but I'm glad he was in there to provide toughness along the boards; it served its purpose last night.

To earn a quality win such as the one last night was encouraging. But I agree with @babywhales in that Boston did a good job the night before to soften them up a little before facing the Rangers. In essence, they are fighting through their own gauntlet and struggling, just as Colorado struggled through theirs in their east coast trip. So, I'm more forgiving of the Rangers' poor performance with their disappointing west coast endeavor.

Still a month and a half to go, but Florida has really stepped up and made some noise with an impressive winning streak of their own. Hoping they and Boston knock each other's brains out while the Rangers contend with Carolina who, with the Rangers, have made it a two-horse race in the Metro. The President's Cup is still up for grabs now that Vancouver is starting to cool off.

So, the Rangers have the Devils, Flyers and Jackets on the road, come home to the Jackets. Let's see how they do with their divisional rivals before looking at those tough March matchups which will see them have to win on the road in buildings they've not performed well in lately.

For now, the Devils up next!

Peace!

[jgrangers2]

That was a really good win against one of the top teams in the west. If Igor has truly turned the corner and we can find a 1RW to pair with Kreidbanejad, we might be the favorite in the east.

[DaveBrown74]

While the Sunday game at Met Life was an absolute thriller with an electrifying ending, I thought last night's game was more important as we finally saw Shesty deliver in a really spectacular way. For me, it was huge to see him playing at this level again. Obviously, he needs to play at a high level consistently for the Rangers to have any chance at a deep run, but just the fact that he showed he's still capable is huge in my eyes. I was getting worried that he might, for whatever reason, never play that way again.

By the way, the Rangers, who have won 8 in a row, have a franchise record of 10 wins in a row, set in ... wait for it .... 1940.

[kartanoman]

While the Sunday game at Met Life was an absolute thriller with an electrifying ending, I thought last night's game was more important as we finally saw Shesty deliver in a really spectacular way. For me, it was huge to see him playing at this level again. Obviously, he needs to play at a high level consistently for the Rangers to have any chance at a deep run, but just the fact that he showed he's still capable is huge in my eyes. I was getting worried that he might, for whatever reason, never play that way again.

By the way, the Rangers, who have won 8 in a row, have a franchise record of 10 wins in a row, set in ... wait for it .... 1940.

Great having you back posting on this thread again ... we missed you!

By the way, 1940 isn't a cursed number/year anymore!

Peace!

[kartanoman]

I don't want to jinx the game in progress, but the game is effectively over after two (2) periods with the Rangers completely owning the Devils 4-0.

Here's what I'm seeing. First, this isn't the same Devils' team that dropkicked the Rangers out of the playoffs last season; not by a longshot. The statistic which blew me away was the Devils' power play scoring only twice in their last 45 times (as of end of period two).

As for the Rangers, they picked up from the Dallas game but added a layer of physical intimidation with plenty of Devils' blood shed in this game.

Laffy with two (so far), Kreider and Z-man one each with all of them sweet shots.

Penalty killing has been a Devil killer tonight to include a major and double minor.

Igor has looked sharp all game and has made the big save when needed, but the Rangers' defense stood tall again tonight.

It's been odd watching them spank the Devils around, but quite satisfying if I must say so. Two more dates with this team at the Garden before seasons' end and I'd expect them to come to play for those.

I'll stop here as the Breadman serves Vinny Trocheck a silver platter pass for goal #5.

Nine in a row! Philly next up!

Peace!

[kartanoman]

5-1 ...

Blech!!!

[kartanoman]

Peter Laviolette comments on Rangers fans in New Jersey tonight (NOTE: he has no idea what's waiting for him here in Phoenix when we plan to take over Mullett Arena and make it MSG West!!!

Rangers fans

[DaveBrown74]

Love that Lavvy acknowledged the fans. Of all the teams I support, the Rangers' fan base is by far the most loyal. They've had to wait very long time periods in between cups, and the intensity level never wanes.

As for the team, you just can't ask for any better than what we've been getting. Shesty turning the corner is the big story for me, although there are plenty of other great stories as well. I loved the nastiness and physicality last night. That game was a blood-fest! This Remke kid is an animal.

All eyes on the Flyers tomorrow as we go for the tie of the club win record. Let's keep the streak going!