Rangers Set To Welcome Back Dan Boyle Against The Avs
“This could be a turning point though. Starting tonight, the Blueshirts next 10 games are mostly against opponents they should get up for. Maybe playing the likes of Winnipeg, Toronto & Edmonton caught them a little flat. Maybe a run of Pittsburgh (twice), Philly (three times), Bolts (twice) and the Habs will help bring out the best in the Rangers, starting with the King. So let’s go. Fuck the Penguins. Fuck ‘em.”
Good call, 610. Fans couldn’t have asked for a better performance from their Blueshirts Tuesday night as they dismantled the hottest team in hockey. Nash kept rolling, Hank put up his second goose egg of the month and all the Penguins superstars could do was watch their plus/minus dip. The Rangers will have a shot at an encore Saturday on Pittsburgh’s ice – but for now, the focus is making sure the disappointing Avs don’t spark their season tonight at MSG. Dan Boyle makes his return to the lineup while Mike Kostka hits the bricks & it’ll be interesting to see how comfortable he is handling the puck coming off a broken hand. The fact that it’s not his top hand should help. AV’s got him paired with Staal and manning the point on the first power play unit, so he’s getting thrown right back in the mix. Now we’re just waiting on Mac Truck for this team to finally be 100%.
There’s not a more disappointing team so far this season than Patrick Roy’s Avalanche. After catching fire last year & taking the Central, there was reason to believe they’d be a force. Instead, the youth that led them to the second-highest win total have fallen flat on their faces. Not only are Landeskog, O’Reilly, MacKinnon & Duchene not scoring but they’ve combined for a -32 in only 17 games. Varlamov has been solid, but is being asked to turn away almost 40 pucks a night with 0 help in front of him. Only the Sabres let their goalies get more action. They’re a mess right now. They just got blown out on Long Island by a touchdown & today marks the one-month anniversary of their last (and only) road win. The roles are reversed from Tuesday for the Blueshirts, so they’ll need to come out strong & make sure they don’t get mouse trapped. Should be a fast-paced, entertaining game – Colorado’s talent IS gonna wake up sooner or later. If the Rangers can duplicate their most recent performance though, it sure as shit won’t be tonight.