The Fifth Liners

The New York Rangers scored an impressive win last night at Madison Square Garden as they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1! They were lucky not to fall behind after 20 seconds though when Henrik Lundqvist stopped Sidney Crosby's breakaway chance! He was also faced with challenging efforts from Tanner Glass and Marcus Niskanen, but the Swede's efforts kept things at a tie game! But in a late 1st period flurry, the Rangers took control as Ryan McDonagh scored on 18 minutes to give them the lead and this was then followed up just over a minute later when Derek Stepan put the Rangers 2-0 up! Into the second period and New York went further in front when Brian Boyle slammed past Marc-Andre Fleury to make things 3-0 after 13.10 played. Kris Letang gave Pittsburgh a solitary reply when he scored on a powerplay, but Pittsburgh would get no further than that! But Rangers captain Ryan Callahan restored their three goal advantage shortly after when he deflected in Carl Hagelin'...

The swings and roundabouts of the playoff lottery were on display for all to see last night as we march onto to more game 7 action! Derek Brassard's second period goal for the New York Rangers earned them a 1-0 win against Washington Capitals and sets up an interesting final tie at the Verizon Center! So far this series has been a back and forth affair and I think any betting man would have a hard time putting a wager on this one! The Toronto Maple Leafs have also leveled their series against Boston and have impressively fought from 3-1 down to bringing things to a 3-3 tie! Their 2-1 win against the Bruins at the Air Canada Center was inspired by a first star performance from James Reimer- with Optimus Reim making an impressive 29 saves to keep the Bruins offense at bay! Leafs fans had to wait until the third period for the goals to come with Captain Dion Phaneuf scoring after just two minutes and after nine minutes of play, once again former Bruin Phil Kessell put the Leafs...

New York Rangers will definitely be appearing in the Eastern Conference playoffs after a 4-3 Overtime win against Carolina Hurricanes confirmed them as the 7th overall seed! Early goals from Derek Stepan and Derek Brassard made it appear that it would be an easy night for the Broadway Blues, but Carolina rallied in the second period and goals from Jiri Tlusty and Tuomo Ruutu tied the game! Early in the 3rd period Tlusty scored again to put the Hurricanes 3-2 in front and things were beginning to look worrying for the Rangers! Brad Richards however, scored on a powerplay near the end of the period to push things to overtime. It was left here for Captain Ryan Callahan to shoot high into the next and give great reward to the Rangers hard work! This year we have a rare distinction of having both teams from the Big Apple appearing in the Eastern Conference! A potential match up between these two would be one of great interest as we know what both can do offensively. The Stanley Cup race...

There was a goal feast in Wednesday nights NHL action, with the most notable scoring being the New York Rangers blitzing Pittsburgh 6-1 at Madison Square Garden! Ryan Clowe was the stand out with two debut goals in an impressive start, before this he had gone scoreless all season long and Rangers fans will no doubt be delighted that he has discovered his scoring touch again. There was also scoring debuts for John Moore and Derek Brassard- who had only arrived from Columbus hours before! Goalie Henrik Lundqvist also chipped in with 26 saves and Wednesdays win takes New York to 7th overall in the Eastern Conference. In the absence of Sidney Crosby, the Penguins looked worryingly thin on quality and despite Pascal Dupuis' lone goal, things are starting to look troubling for the Stanley Cup contenders!   Meanwhile Edmonton Oilers three number one picks shone brighly in their 8-2 win against an un-inspired Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome to go five games unb...