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'...

While the Phoenix Coyotes ' troubles off the ice seem to be resolved for now, any uncertainty about the team's future was definitely not reflected on the ice. The Coyotes really brought the game to the Rangers last night, ruining Alain Vigneault's debut. Kyle Chipchura netted first for Phoenix only a few minutes into the game after an error by Henrik Lundqvist allowed Rob Klinkhammer to set up Chipchura for the opener. The Jobing.com arena gave the Phoenix keeper a standing ovation after Mike Smith made a sprawling double save to keep the Coyotes in the lead.  The Rangers upped their game but the first period finished with the Coyotes leading 1-0. The second period brought more goals, Marc Staal cancelled out the Coyotes' lead during a Rangers powerplay. The game didn't stay tied for long though, Radim Vrbata was alert to a rebounding puck to fire past Lundqvist just before the halfway point of the game. The second period finished without inc...

Ever since 1994 when the New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks over seven games to claim their first Stanley cup since 1940- glory has now been absent from the Big Apple ever since! The big question now is which team in this fine city has better shot at victory in the coming seasons as the Rangers are continually expected to push for it but their counterparts the New York Islanders have been dismissed as underdogs in previous seasons despite having more cup wins than their rivals. This question will require some big considerations as as always... Lets go to war! New York Rangers  This team is still held in high regard by many people and the Rangers are among the highest spending teams in the league. But money doesnt always guarantee success and for the Rangers this has been painfully true in recent seasons. Take for example last year when Rick Nash finally joined the team and alongside big scoring Marion Gaborik and Brad Richards, many expected this line to be the one t...

The Boston Bruins claimed victory in Game One of their series against the New York Rangers with a 3-2 Overtime win at the TD Garden. The game burst into life in the second period when a mistake by the usually consistent Henrik Lundqvist allowed Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara to score and give the home side the advantage. But with two seconds left on the clock, Ryan McDonagh swooped in to level scores! New York went ahead 16 seconds into the third period when Derek Stepan scored, but Bruins fans didnt have to wait long for a response as a long ranger from Torey Krug sealed his first NHL goal on a powerplay and leveled the scores! Goalies Rask and Lundqvist were both kept busy for the remainder of the period but no could find a way past so the game was pushed to overtime. After four minutes of play Brad Marchand scored to give the bruins the victory! Although Boston has secured victory, things will not be straight forward in this series and people should prepare for some interest...

New York Rangers have levelled their series against Washington Capitals after a 4- 3 win at Madison Square Garden last night! This series is one that is growning increasingly interesting and is set for a grand finale! Brad Richards scored his first of the series late in the first period and Carl Hagelin increased the Rangers advantage to 2-0 midway through the second. But then the Capitals rallied through Mathieu Perrault who cut the lead to one- then 17 seconds before the buzzer, Troy Brouwer scored to bring us a tie game! Any nerves the Rangers fans may have had of their team folding under pressure were put to bed 59 seconds into the third period as Dan Girardi scored on a powerplay to put New York in front and seven minutes later Derek Stepan restored their original two goal advantage! But soon after a long range effort from Karl Alzner beat Lundqvist to ensure a tight finish was in store. But the Rangers held on to tie the series at 2-2! Which way will this series go? The an...

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...

Last night the New Jersey Devils made the short trip to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Rangers , 2 goals from Ryan Callahan and a third from Derek Stepan were enough to defeat the Devils who could only muster 2 goals. The loss means that the Devils have no chance of a playoff place. Full story  here.