By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 Every move the Islanders make seem to be with an eye on July 1, 2018 and John Tavares’ impending free agency. Tavares is a do-everything center, but even that ability has seen the Isles’ captain reach the second round of the playoffs just once in the first eight seasons of […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 Oscar Lindberg is a Vegas Golden Knight. While the Rangers lost a player who showed plenty of promise, they didn’t see enough of Lindberg in a role where they could truly discover his offensive potential. During his time with the Blueshirts, Lindberg showed bursts of creativity when he was on […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 Sometimes loyalty can get in the way of making smart decisions. The Rangers were extremely loyal to Dan Girardi … and for good reason. Over his 11 seasons with the Blueshirts, he poured his heart and soul into the organization, and sacrificed his body time and time again. Unfortunately, this […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 The Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting in the exact same position they were last season. After Wednesday’s victory, the Penguins are once again up two games to none and in the driver’s seat, two games away from a championship repeat. The surface results are the same, but the metrics don’t favor […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 With a .941 save percentage through the first three rounds, it is easy to see why Pekka Rinne has emerged as a favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Goaltenders with those type of gaudy numbers are easily identified and goaltenders only trail centers in the traditional voting results for MVP. […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 They are at it again. The Senators bullied the defending Stanley Cup champions into a corner with their decisive 5-1 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, pushing their Cinderella run much further than anybody anticipated. The Senators are starting to push into uncharted post-lockout territory. Teams with […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 The Rangers have built their recent foundation of success on elite goaltending and torrid shooting streaks. With this type of blueprint, it is possible to be outchanced and outpossesed and still emerge victorious. The Blueshirts moved away from this over-reliance this season and it is ironic that their elimination came at […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 The Rangers may have entered their series with the Senators as heavy favorites, but actually their regular-season shot metrics painted a picture of a team who could struggle with the team speed of Ottawa. The Senators also boasted an early Conn Smythe candidate in Erik Karlsson who had dominated the Bruins […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 It’s hard to look at the Ottawa Senators as a formidable foe when essentially everybody thinks the Rangers are a lock for the Eastern Conference Final. Most playoff predictors have the Sens as the least likely team to advance into Round 2. It’s fairly easy to see why: The Senators have […]
By: Chris Boyle Follow @ChrisBoyle33 After a perfect road game to start the series, the Rangers found themselves in trouble entering Game 3. Even though the Habs found themselves on the ropes for 59 minutes and 18 seconds away from a 2-0 hole, the Canadiens found their stride and began to pull away from a team […]