New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundgvist came up with 38 saves to help the Rangers notch the win against the Washington Capitals last night at Madison Square Garden.  “He’s amazing, he’s our heartbeat, and he gives everyone confidence that is playing in front of him,” said defenseman Paul Mara, who took the initial lead for New York with a goal 13:55 into the first. “He’s awesome. We love him. He’s the king.”

Chris Drury scored early in the second period to give the Rangers a two goal advantage.  From there they were able to shut the Capitals  offense down, aside from Alex Ovechkin who scored 2:13 into the 3rd.   This marked his first goal of the series, despite leading the NHL with 56 goals this season.

The Rangers will try to close the series at 5 games with a win in Washington this Friday at 7:00 pm.  New York Rangers Playoff tickets are available here at Aceticket.com.

Alex Ovechkin conrtibuted two assists for the Washington Capitals as they went on to dominate the New York Rangers 4-0, cutting the series deficit to 2-1.  “It was an important game, but it’s over,” said Ovechkin. “It?s done. It’s history. And we have to battle next game.”

The Capitals had a lot of help from their 20 year old goal-keeper Simeon Varlamov, who came up with 33 saves.  Rangers coach John Tororella was very displeased with his team, saying “They played very well defensively and I thought we stunk defensively.  That was the key to the game. They defended very well in front of their net and we were chasing our tail all night long ? spinning and watching the puck.”

The series will stay in New York for one more game before they move back to Washington for game 5.  Game 4 will be played Wednesday, April 22nd at 7:00 pm.  NHL playoff tickets are still available.

The New York Rangers shutout the Washington Capitals today in D.C. to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.  The Rangers won on a first period goal by Ryan Callahan on the 2nd shot of the game for New York.  Callahan’s goal was all the Rangers would need as Henrik Lunqvist completed a 35 save shutout, his 3rd career playoff shutout.  The Capitals changed things up in net on their end, going with the 20 year old Simeon Varlamov.  Varlamov was impressive, stopping 23 of 24 shots in his first playoff appearance.

The #7 seed New York Rangers were not expected to get past the 1st round but under the guidance of new coach John Tortorella, New York seems to have found an identity.  With their mediocre regular season behind the Rangers could be a threat in these Stanley Cup playoffs.  If so they will have to get past some tough times including a possible 2nd round matchup with a very tough Boston Bruins team.

New York Rangers Playoff tickets are available for all games. Don’t miss New York’s return to Madison Square Garden for game 3 vs the Washington Capitals. 

Brandon Dubinsky scored the go ahead goal with 8:17 left in regulation  for the New York Rangers to beat out the Washington Capitals 4-3.   This marks the first game of the quarterfinals, giving the Rangers the early 1-0 advantage.  The Capitals offense seemed to be dominant for the majority of the game as they lead in shots taken, hits, and face-offs.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundgvist was able to calm the storm, coming up with 32 saves for the game.  Coach John Tortorella was more than pleased with the win.  “I thought we were a nervous club, but that we rebounded well in the second period,” he said. “We found a way to get our legs underneath us. We had big plays at big times. We were fortunate to get a win.”

The next game of the series will be Saturday, April 18th at the Verizon center.  Get your Rangers playoff tickets now at Aceticket.com!

In the midst of the final week of the regular season, teams are preparing for the tough playoff road ahead in a tight Eastern Conference.  The Boston Bruins hold the best record in the league at 51-18 with three games to go before the opening rounds.  After making an early exit in the quarterfinals last season, the Bruins are eager to go back and make a better run for the Stanley Cup.

The Bruins might run into the Pittsburg Penguins later in the playoffs, which would make for an outstanding series.  Pittsburg went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals last year but failed to beat out the Detroit Redwings.  Team GM Ray Shero has made moves within the last month to assure his team is back in contention.  He recently acquired forwards Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, who have been able to fit right into the lineup along with Sidney Crosby.

The Atlantic Division is packed this season with contenders who have goals to make it far in the playoffs.  Along with the Penguins the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers are teams to watch out for.  The Devils are known for their high power offense lead by Zach Parise and Patrick Elias.  The Rangers are on a roll as of late with Sean Avery, Nik Antropov, and Derek Morris taking control.  New York is still fighting to make the playoffs but if they do clinch, they can compete with any team.

Eastern Conference Playoffs - 1st Round Matchups

(1) Boston Bruins vs (8) Montreal Canadiens
(2) Washington Capitals vs (7) New York Rangers
(3) New Jersey Devils vs (6) Carolina Hurricanes
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs (5) Philadelphia Flyers

Look for one of the most exciting Eastern Conference post-seasons to date.  NHL Eastern Conference Playoff Tickets are now available with us at Aceticket.com!

The reeling New York Rangers, losers of 10 of 12 games fired heach coach, Tom Renney on Monday and hired former Rangers Assistant Coach John Tortorella.  The move by GM Glen Sather is an attempt to save what was once a promising season for the Rangers.  New York jumped out of the gate with a 10-2-1 record only to flounder leading up to and into the second half of the year.  The Rangers have failed to score points, relying heavily on the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist and nine shootout wins.

Although the coach is often the victim in these scenarios, few doubt that this recent slump is Renney’s doing.  The Rangers lack a serious first Center and have no standout Defenseman.  While the power play could certainly be better with the talent they have, the Rangers weren’t built for a serious cup run.  You have to wonder if Sather should ultimately take the fall here.

For his part John Tortorella should bring some intensity to the team. His style contrasts that of Tom Renney’s laid back approach.  The Rangers are still in a playoff spot and Tortorella should be able to keep them there and even improve their position but don’t expect the Rangers to get past the 2nd round of the playoffs this year.

Tortorella’s first shot comes on Wednesday 2/25 at Toronto. The Rangers will return home on 2/26 to host the Florida Panthers.  Rangers tickets are available for this and all home games.

The New York Rangers head into the 2009 All Star Break in first place with a one point lead over the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division.  The Rangers are 4-1-1 in their last six games getting them valuable points in their tight division.  The Rangers defeated the Anaheim Ducks last night by a score of 4-2 thanks to two power play goals.  Scott Gomez got his first power play goal on the year in the third period breaking the 2-2 tie.  Despite scoring the power play goals the Rangers were anything but sharp with the man advantage. Goalie Henrik Lunqvist noted:

“We really struggled on the power play, but two goals went in. It felt like they were not really sharp, but that’s what happens sometimes.” 

The Rangers got a first period goal from Markus Naslund and a short handed goal from Fredrik Sjostrom in the second period.  Blair Betts added an empty net goal to close out the scoring.

The NHL All-Star game takes place on 1/25 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. After the All-Star break the Rangers will host the Carolina Hurricanes on 1/27 at MSG. Rangers tickets are available for all remaining 2009 games. Info on Rangers playoff tickets will be available soon.

New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist got his 20th win and 1st shutout of the year last night stopping 27 Penguins shots en route to a 4-0 Rangers win.  It was Lundqvist’s 18th career shutout.  The Rangers who have struggled of late especially on the power play got off to a good start with 2 power play goals in the 1st two periods.  Nigel Dawes got the 1st period pp goal while Paul Mara added the 2nd in period 2.  Chris Drury and Scott Gomez added 3rd period insurance goals as the Rangers regained their lead in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers will host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday 1/7 at Madison Square Garden before hitting the road for games against the Sabres, Senators, Islanders, Blackhawks, and Penguins.  New York Rangers tickets are available for all remaining 2009 games. 

The New York Rangers won in dramatic fashion at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. Down 4-1 in the third period, the Rangers battled back to drop 4 points on the Islanders, and help hold on to their lead in the Atlantic Division. Petr Prucha, who has not seen much ice time this year, scored one of the key goals jst 49 seconds into the final period. “I got lucky,” Prucha told AP writer Ira Podell. “It’s tough being out of the lineup for so long, and it was frustrating. I got the chance to play again and scored, so hopefully I will be in the lineup for the next game.” Left wing Nigel Dawes put the nail in the coffin on a shot assisted by Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan with just 19 seconds to go in the game. On January 3rd the Rangers will face the Capitals in Washington at 7:00pm.

New York Rangers Tickets are available now!

The New York Rangers improved to 22-11-2 last night with a 3-2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings.  The Rangers win was their 6th OT win out of their last 7 victories.  New York held a 2-1 lead before a Kings goal by Dustin Brown sent the game to OT.

Michael Rozsival gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the second period and would eventually net the game winner in OT as well.  Chris Drury opened the scoring for the Rangers with a first period goal.

The Rangers will travel to San Jose to face the Sharks on Saturday 12/20 before returning home to host the Washington Capitals on 12/23 and the New Jersey Devils on 12/27.  Rangers tickets are available for all games.