Tag Archives: New York Ranger

BERLET SPOTLIGHT: QUICK GRAVY IS KING

Posted on May 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: BRUCE BERLET, (Special to Howlings)

Adam Graves, one of seven former New York Rangers to have his number retired in the Madison Square Garden rafters, is a big fan of Hamden native and former Avon Old Farms and University of Massachusetts standout Jonathan Quick, who has backstopped the Los Angeles Kings in their improbable run to the NHL’s Western Conference finals.

“I can’t believe how low he gets,” Graves said Sunday night before the Connecticut Whale lost 4-3 to the Norfolk Admirals in Game 3 of the AHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. “It’s not a butterfly, it’s like he’s spread out right on the ice. But he has been terrific.”

Quick, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie, made 23 saves, 13 in the second period, as the Kings beat the visiting second-seeded St. Louis Blues 3-1 Sunday for a four-game sweep and an 8-1 record through two rounds. The eighth-seeded Kings eliminated the President’s Trophy winner and No. 1 Vancouver Canucks in five games, and Quick allowed only six goals, none on 17 Blues power plays, in the Kings’ first postseason sweep.  Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Whalers, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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FANFARE: THE KING OF NEW YORK

Posted on May 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

By: Adam Gavriel

It’s hard to believe that 12 years ago in the 7th round, and 205th overall pick of the 2000 NHL entry draft that the New York Rangers would be selecting a goalie that would soon become the best in the world. On that day Henrik Lundqvist was drafted out of Sweden’s junior system after an impressive year with Frolunda and the U-18 World Junior Championships team.

Since then Lundqvist would win a Swedish Elite League championship and MVP. His trophy case also sports an Olympic gold medal, three NHL all-star games and four Vezina nominations including this year, where he is sure to be the favorite.

Being nearly impossible to differentiate one year from the next in Lundqvist’s illustrious career, you have to believe that as Rangers fans, and hockey fans, are in the midst of one of the best goaltending seasons of all-time. Lundqvist has performed above and beyond what anyone expected this season, and if the Rangers continue their playoff run through June, he could look at cleaning up hardware this summer. Continue reading →

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Posted in Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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GAME FOUR: A THING OF BEAUTY

Posted on May 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL SERIES: GAME FOUR

BY: BRUCE BERLET (Special to Howlings)

After a tough one-goal loss to the Norfolk Admirals on Sunday night, Connecticut Whale coach Ken Gernander said he had few complaints, just a wish for his team to improve on the minutiae, those little things that can mean the difference in any sport, especially in the playoffs.

One night later, the Whale parlayed more aggressive goaltending by Cam Talbot and stellar penalty killing, especially late in the second period and early in the third, into a 4-1 victory at the XL Center that evened their AHL Eastern Conference semifinal at two games each.

“We had some great shot blocks,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said. “The defensemen had good anticipation, and we had real good all-around penalty killing. Jordan Owens and Ryan Bourque had those shots, and those are the plays that can rally a team when they see guys lay it on the line like that to get their job done.”  Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports, Uncategorized

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GAME FIVE: GARDEN MIRACLE

Posted on May 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS      

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 5
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
(NYR lead 3-2)

Team Notes:

  • The Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals, 3-2, in overtime tonight at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series.  The Rangers lead the series 3-2.
  • The final three goals of the game were tallied on the power play, including Brad Richards’ game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation and Marc Staal’s game-winning goal at 1:35 of overtime. Continue reading →
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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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GAME FIVE: RANGERS ON THE PIVOT

Posted on May 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

WASHINGTON CAPITALS at NY RANGERS
2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 5
(Series tied 2-2)
Monday, May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers (Regular Season): 51-24-7 (109 pts), 1st in East
Capitals (Regular Season): 42-32-8 (92 pts), 7th in East

  • All information through NHL games on May 5

TONIGHT’S GAME:

The Rangers will face-off against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m.; TV: NBC Sports Network; Radio: ESPN NY 98.7FM), in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The series is tied at two games apiece, following a 3-2 loss in Game 4 on Saturday at Verizon Center. The Rangers enter the contest with a 204-221-8 record all-time in 433 playoff contests (113-86-2 at home; 91-135-6 on the road). New York has posted a 23-32 record all-time in Game 5 of playoff series Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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RANGERS GM 4: WHAT IS IT WITH THE REFEREES THESE DAYS?

Posted on May 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

      VERSUS     

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 4
Verizon Center – Washington, DC
(Series tied 2-2)

                                              1st     2nd    3rd    T
New York Rangers            0        2        0        2
Washington Capitals        1         1        1         3

Team Notes:

  • The Rangers were defeated by the Washington Capitals, 3-2, today at Verizon Center in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series.  The series is now tied at two games apiece.  Continue reading →
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GAME TWO: WHISTLES WHACK WHALE

Posted on May 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINAL SERIES: GAME TWO

Looking to build off a tremendous performance in Game One of their Eastern Conference semi-final series, the Connecticut Whale returned to The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia Friday for Game Two of their Best-of-Seven series with the number one seeded Norfolk Admirals. But, everything that went right for the visitors in Game One seemed to abandon them in Game Two as they dropped a 4-1 decision evening the series with the Admirals at a game apiece.

The Whale’s ultimate undoing was a combination of outrageously bad refereeing, exacerbated by a lack of overall team discipline and most importantly, a failure to capitalize on their scoring chances.  The Admirals meanwhile received strong performances from several players including Mike Kostka and Tyler Johnson who each had a goal and an assist. The big difference was the out-of-this-world goaltending Norfolk got from Dustin Tokarski (3-1-0, 27 saves) en route to their victory in front of 4,859. Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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BERLET SPOTLIGHT: RYAN CALLAHAN

Posted on May 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: BRUCE BERLET ( Special to Howlings)

Kevin Dineen was known as “the John Wayne of the Hartford Whalers.”

The Florida Panthers coach, who should have been among the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year, was the guts of the Whalers in their heyday and appropriately the captain who scored the final goal in franchise history in a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 13, 1997.  Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Whalers, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, IIHF World Championships, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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HAWK’S EYE: A TALE OF TWO THOMAS’

Posted on May 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

BY: Bob Crawford, (Voice of the CTWhale)

The pressure cooker of pro sports can make for some strange situations, and hockey history has seen many a family battle, with gentlemen sharing the same last name going up against one another in opposing jerseys.

Most of those have been sibling clashes, with brother combinations like Phil and Tony Esposito, the Staal brothers, the Sutter clan, Scott and Rob Niedermayer, Keith and Wayne Primeau, etc., knocking heads.

The current Connecticut Whale vs. Norfolk Admirals series, though, features a father and son locking horns, in the Whale’s Christian Thomas and his dad, Steve. Continue reading →

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Posted in AHL, Connecticut Whale, CTWhale, Hartford Wolf Pack, Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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GAME THREE: SURPRISIN’ AT VERIZON

Posted on May 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

     VERSUS     

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game 3
NYR leads 2-1
Verizon Center – Washington, DC

                                            1st     2nd    3rd    3OT    T
New York Rangers          0        1        0        1         2
Washington Capitals      0        1        0        0         1

Team Notes:

  • The Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals, 2-1, in triple overtime tonight at Verizon Center in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series.  The Rangers now lead the series 2-1.
  • Tonight’s contest marked the seventh time the Rangers skated in a game that required at least three overtime periods and, at 114:41, is the fourth longest game in franchise history.  It was the longest Rangers game since Mar. 21, 1939 (119:25, 2-1 loss vs. Boston), and the second longest game resulting in a win for the Rangers all-time (Mar. 26, 1932; 119:32, 4-3 win at Montreal).  Continue reading →
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Posted in Hockey, New York Rangers, NHL, Sports

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