Game Preview: Rangers v. Hurricanes(UPDATED)
The Rangers are on the road tonight to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The puck drops at 7pm and can be seen nationally on Versus.
Thanks again, Manny.
So the afternoon game/NBC Game of the Week spell has been broken, ladies and gentlemen. After going 0-5 in afternoon games this season, the Rangers pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins yesterday at the Garden. And while there were definitely a few flaws(can someone please remember to cover Chara?), overall it was a good game to watch, and a great game to be seen by the national, possibly non-hockey-fan audience. Hell, anytime we don’t get embarrassed on national television is a good game in my book. I’d also like to thank Manny Fernandez for apparently getting hammered before game time, it helped us out a lot, dude.
Anyone else find it extremely amusing that the NBC announcers and commentators couldn’t shut up about Avery? And that they were actually saying good, positive things about him? These are the same guys who used to rip him apart and call for him to be ejected from the league. And now that
Hey ref, can you tell Mike Milbury to stop hiding in my garbage?
he’s gone through counseling and had this crazy ride back to the NHL, they’re hailing him like he’s the Rocky Balboa of hockey- the outwardly contemptible, but in the end venerated hero that’s been cast aside by society, and has clawed his way back to the top through mountains of adversity, when 6 months ago they would have personally set fire to his house. The amount the time they spent talking about him yesterday rivaled how much they talk about Crosby-which is a ridiculous amount, even when he’s not there.
Anywhoo, I am really liking the way this team is looking since management ousted Tom Renney and Co(except you, Mike Pelino, you’re a good dude). They’re aggressive, they’re uptempo, they MOVE ON THE POWER PLAY, and they SCORE GOALS. Who knew that was what you’re supposed to do in hockey? I sure forgot what it was like for a while. I’m hoping they can keep this up and go roaring into the playoffs, and kick some ass once they get there.
Photo Credit(both): (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
No lines for tonight yet, I’ll update with them once they become available.
UPDATE-1:45pm: Steve Valliquette will be in net tonight.
Numbers breakdown:
Hurricanes record: 35-27-5 – 7-3-0 in their last 10 - 28-13-1 at home
Rangers record: 34-24-8 – 4-4-2 in their last 10 - 14-14-4 on the road
Average goals scored in a game:
Hurricanes: 2.78
Rangers: 2.39
Average goals allowed in a game:
Hurricanes: 2.82
Rangers: 2.65
Power Play
Hurricanes: 26.8%
Rangers: 14.6%
Penalty Kill:
Hurricanes: 79.8%
Rangers: 87.3%
Stats from NHL.com
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:
