UPDATED: Game Preview: Rangers v. Buffalo Sabres
UPDATE: Voros is a healthy scratch (!) with Prucha and Korpikoski getting the nods.
Tonight’s anticipated lineup:
Naslund-Gomez-Callahan
Dawes-Drury-Prucha
Korpikoski-Dubinsky-Zherdev
Sjostrom-Betts-Orr
-Eric
The Rangers are on the road tonight to take on the Buffalo Sabres. The Puck drops at 7pm and can be seen locally on MSG, or on Game Channel 10 if you have the Center Ice Package.
Yes it's a mini-brawl against the Islanders, but the reason I picked it is because of the refs: one looks like he's looking for his keys, one looks like he's playing the bongos, and the other looks like he's hailing a cab and his face shows no indication that he has any idea what's going on.
So the last time we saw our Rangers, they beat the New York Islanders 3-1. Whoopidy damn do. They were able to score 2 freakin’ goals plus an empty netter against a squad of AHLers and a third-string goalie – a team that’s been in last place pretty much all season. I don’t know how much of a victory I’d say that was. It was nice not to have a sore throat from screaming profanity at my tv, but it wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of hope.
That being said, if they can keep it going tonight in Buffalo, I’ll begin to rethink how I feel about this team. I’ve ranted about them enough, I won’t bore you all with more of it. Plus I’m too ‘meh’ about this team right now to put the effort into typing it.
Anyway, the Rangers will have to play hard tonight against a hungry Buffalo team just barely clinging onto a playoff berth, and only 2 points behind us in the standings. If they don’t go back to playing stupid, pansy, overly-fancy hockey that doesn’t work and has gotten them into the shit they’re in at the moment, and instead play hard and aren’t afraid to get their noses dirty, they should be able to grind out a win. Should.
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Numbers breakdown:
Sabres record: 30-23-6 – 5-4-1 in their last 10 - 16-11-2 at home
Rangers record: 31-22-6 – 2-6-2 in their last 10 - 13-13-3 on the road
Average goals scored in a game:
Sabres: 2.85
Rangers: 2.34
Average goals allowed in a game:
Sabres: 2.76
Rangers: 2.70
Power Play
Sabres: 21%
Rangers: 13.7%
Penalty Kill:
Sabres: 83.1%
Rangers: 87.2%
About the author: Rory is a recent college graduate from central New Jersey majoring in History and PR. A Ranger fan all her life, the bane of her existence is the New Jersey Devils, and she harbors a severe hatred for Martin Brodeur. Her favorite current Rangers are Henrik Lundqvist, Sean Avery, and Steve Valiquette, and her favorite all-time Rangers are Mike Richter and Jeff Beukeboom. Related posts:
