New York Rangers Daily: Hits keep on coming from all angles, Bowen Byram trade rumors
It was some day (and night) for the New York Rangers on Tuesday. It seemed like every time they had time to recover from one punch, another hit was waiting for them.
Most important was that they lost another game. The Rangers dropped their 11th contest in the past 14 games, falling to the woeful Nashville Predators 2-0. Here’s hoping that with a day off Wednesday, the Rangers were able to blow off some steam on Broadway right off Bridgestone Arena postgame.
If any team needs to do that, it’s the Rangers (15-15-1). Because right now, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel with a visit to the Dallas Stars up next, before a pair of divisional games against the tough Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils.
The losses are mounting. The team appears in a death spiral. The coach is on the hot seat. The players are angry with management. A former cornerstone player fired back after being a healthy scratch Sunday. The top scorer remains out with an injury.
You get the picture. And it’s not a pretty one.
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New York Rangers news
Wow, where to start? How about our three takeaways, including the perils of playing from behind again, from New York’s shutout loss in Smashville.
At the morning skate, Kaapo Kakko lashed out about being scratched for the 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. His time in New York might be on its final lap.
Former Rangers forward Mike Rupp ripped into his former team, laying the blame for the Rangers freefall on management and the coaching staff. If you read anything today, make sure it’s this article. Some provocative stuff from Rupp, a 2003 Stanley Cup champion.
Artemi Panarin remained out of the lineup. The Rangers leading scorer is still day to day with an upper-body injury, though he did skate in a no-contact jersey in the morning. Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen made his Rangers debut after being acquired in the Jacob Trouba trade a couple weeks ago with the Anaheim Ducks.
Working off some Elliotte Friedman commentary, we did a breakdown on what the Rangers’ end game is by drastically cutting Mika Zibanejad’s ice time and dropping him to the third line.
NHL news
Is Bowen Byram about to be on the move again? The Fourth Period reports that the Buffalo Sabres defenseman, acquired less than a year ago from the Colorado Avalanche, is drawing interest from the Vancouver Canucks.
Connor McDavid is “OK” after leaving Edmonton Oilers practice Tuesday following a collision with teammate Darenll Nurse.
San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky was fined $25,000 by the NHL for “inappropriate conduct” during a 4-3 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday. No one’s saying exactly why the coach was fined, but reportedly it had something to do with his response to the officiating in that game.
Anthony Stolarz is headed to New York this week. No, not because he’s been traded to the Rangers or Islanders. The Toronto Maple Leafs goalie will have a procedure here on his knee. He will be out 4-6 weeks.
The Buffalo Sabres were smoked by the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Tuesday and their skid’s been extended to 11 games.
WATCH Patrik Laine score three power-play goals in that Montreal win against Buffalo. Laine now has six goals in seven games since his return from a knee injury.
The Pittsburgh Penguins slipped past the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division standings after a 3-2 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings. The Rangers are now tied for sixth in the division, two points up on the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets.
Somehow, the Washington Capitals blew a 2-0 third-period lead, and lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.
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