The New York Rangers are back at it Thursday, playing their first-ever game in the Beehive State, when they visit the Utah Hockey Club.
This represents an important game and an intriguing time for the Rangers for multiple reasons.
First is to see how the Rangers rebound after blowing a late one-goal lead in the third period before losing in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. It was just last week that the Rangers bounced back nicely from a pair of blown leads and another OT defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars. So, let’s see if they follow suit in this case.
Second is trying to put on a bow on their three-game road trip. A win Thursday, and the Rangers grab five of six points (2-0-1). Pretty darn good. A regulation loss cuts into their recent mojo and leaves them heading back to New York with just three points (1-1-1). Believe it or not, that’s a big difference.
Third, well there’s a point streak to consider. They’re 3-0-2 in the past five games, a solid building block after a terrible two-month stretch of hockey. They desperately need points, and the past two weeks have been getting points on a nightly basis.
Finally, this is the start of a crucial five-game stretch against mediocre opponents. Now keep in mind that the Rangers (20-20-3) are mediocre, too. So, there are no givens here. But these next five games — against Utah, Columbus, Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia — represent a huge opportunity for the Rangers to gain ground and could define their season.
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New York Rangers news
Breaking down the positives and negatives from the Rangers’ overtime loss in Denver on Tuesday.
Braden Schneider believes there were “plenty of positives” for the Rangers to carry forward from their loss to the Avalanche.
Our John Kreiser took the opposite side, and wrote about how damaging it is for the Rangers to cough up standings points with a pair of bitter OT losses.
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NHL news
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed their No. 1 goalie, Tristan Jarry, on waivers. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas says if he clears, Jarry will be sent to Wilkes Barre-Scranton in the American Hockey League. Quite a fall from grace for the two-time NHL All-Star. Colleague Dan Kingerski expertly breaks it all down at Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
Team president Cam Neely said Wednesday that the Boston Bruins “may be retooling a bit” before the NHL trade deadline March 7, as opposed to being heavy buyers. The Bruins are 3-6-1 in their past 10 games and own the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Speaking of trades, rumors and the upcoming deadline, Chicago Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall said he’s “ready for anything” as a pending UFA, and seems resigned to being traded.
The Winnipeg Jets acquired defenseman Isaak Phillips from the Blackhawks for minor league defenseman Dmitry Kuzmin.
John Tavares exited Toronto Maple Leafs practice early on Wednesday after getting tangled up with defenseman Chris Tanev. He’s been placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least a week although the consensus seems to be he’ll be out longer than that.
Sheldon Keefe returns to Toronto on Thursday for the first time since he was fired as Maple Leafs coach and subsequently took over behind the New Jersey Devils bench. “I’m excited for it,” Keefe said Wednesday.
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-3 and Connor McDavid passed Jari Kurri for second on the Oilers all-time scoring list with 1,044 points. McDavid trails only Wayne Gretzky, who had 1,669 points with the Oilers before he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Buffalo Sabres skated to a 4-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes, though remain last in the Eastern Conference with 39 points.
Watch Ryan McLeod record his first NHL hat trick in the Sabres win.
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