NY Rangers (33-29-6) vs Calgary Flames (30-25-11)
• 18 Mar 2025 19:00 EDT
• MSG, NYC
• TV: MSG, SNW •
The Rangers are home to host the never quite there Calgary Flames tonight. The Rangers are really in need of wins as two teams behind them both have games in hand, Montreal with two and Detroit with one. Calgary remains in the hunt for WC2 in the Western conference, two points back with a game in hand, so you know they’ll be out there looking for two points tonight.
The Rangers enter 4-4-2 of their last 10 and with that recent loss to Edmonton. The Flames are barely hanging on, 3-4-3 in their last 10, dropping their last two to TOR (last night) and COL. Will the team that wants two points please stand up!
Line-up wise: Shesterkin (2.80 GAA, 0.907 SV%) gets the start tonight with Darth Vadar…I’m sorry, Dan Vladar (2.98 GAA, 0.893 SV%) expected for the Flames. The Rangers have a couple of line-up changes to report: Othmann comes out and Parssinen plays in. Laviolette seems to feel Othmann needs to work on a few things and get a ‘reset’. Besides, Parssinen is one of the new toys bought at the trade deadline and he’s only be taken out of the box once or twice. As a result, Berard will drop down to play LW on the fourth line and Parssinen will play RW on the third. The Rangers also announced that another newcomer, Kaliyev, is officially done for the season with an undisclosed (at this writing) UBI. Connor Zary returns to the Flames line-up after serving two games in the cooler for a nasty elbow on the Canucks E. Pettersson.
The refs tonight are Kyle Rehman (1071 GP) and Michael Markovic (304 GP). Rehman likes to blow the whistle, Markovic less so but when he does it is slightly more likely to be on the visitors.
Keys to a Ranger victory: Calgary is a struggling team, don’t give them any room to breathe.
On this date in history: In 2014, Henrik Lundqvist passed Mike Richter for the most victories in NYR history with his 302nd win, a 35 save 8-4 road win over Ottawa.
Speculative NYR lineup:
Forwards
1st line ⊳ Panarin ⋄ Trocheck ⋄ Cuylle
2nd line ⊳ Lafrenière ⋄ Miller ⋄ Zibanejad
3rd line ⊳ Kreider ⋄ Carrick ⋄ Parssinen
4th line ⊳ Berard ⋄ Brodzinski ⋄ Rempe
Defensemen
1st pair ⊳ Miller ⋄ Borgen
2nd pair ⊳ Vaakanainen ⋄ Fox
3rd pair ⊳ Jones ⋄ Schneider
Goalies
Starter ⊳ Shesterkin
Backup ⊳ Quick
Healthy scratch: D de Haan F Othmann D Sousy
Injured: Edström (LBI) Kaliyev (UBI)
In the Cooler: none
Long-term IR: none
218 responses to “It’s Go Time!”
First!
Eggs are expensive, don’t lay one tonight
LGR
I’m still taking Richter over Lundqvist. You all know why.
Hank is prettier
Woot
Pretty never stopped a goal but I hear ugly can stop a watch.
Letting guys rip untouched from the slot probably not the best defensive strategy.
Eating cheddar broccoli soup with bread. Bread scores. Coincidence? Probably.
Gravy that requires further testing. Evaluate over remaining games
Smoking in the dynamite shed
Igor with some $9.25 mil saves.
73=Rempernator.
Boom!
Letting the Flames set up camp in front of Shesterkin all night so far. Might be prudent to knock one of them on their…..@$$
EV controlling Joe and asking for a timeout
4th line again with sustained zone time
Hate to be the bearer of bad news. But they are not winning this
Gravy just needs to eat more soup
Rangers peaked at 1:13 of the first period.
I totally forgot about this game and so, apparently, did the Rangers.
They don’t miss a beat with losing the special teams game and, hence, the rest of the game do they?
Deliberate slash. Play on
Get rid of Perimeterjad.
Job # 1.
Forget yelling at the clueless officials and stomp whoever did that.
Awful effort vs lowest scoring team in league
93 would rather petition the refs..what a pansie…
Love to see 93..79..23..20 playing somewhere else next season..this core is cooked..lumpy and soft to the core
I hate this fu-king team. This iteration of the NYR franchise is absolute dog-sh-t.
I see the shot count gives away that those is a Ranger game too..
They’re due for a no show. Haven’t had one since 7-3 loss to the Jackets. They have one every 4 games on average. When you give away that many games it’s tough to stay in the hunt.
It’s been a no show season…..in fact they have a no show job.
Not a brain cell on this team
They’re in trouble when their penalty kill defense is equal to their regular defense.
Zibanejad’s having a laugh on the bench…. cool….
This is disgusting
Love my team
Hate this version of them
There level of compete or actually lack thereof is informative about their desire to make the playoffs.
Whoever is responsible for choosing and coaching this putrid D6 should be given a lobotomy with a hammer and chisel.
Rangers can’t play 4 on 4 because it’s similar play to 3 on 3 and they suck at that.
93 hugging and holding
Get him out of NY Drury..do your job
Rangers are the #1 team in the league at missing the net and shooting it out of the zone.
Jones and Berard can be the lead attractions in New York Rangers Midget Toss.
Perimeterjad is emblematic of EVERYTHING that is wrong w this team..
Press box him until he says Uncle.
Vaakanainen is lucky to have not taken what was OBVIOUSLY a penalty.
JT misses the net a lot (overrated player imho)
This defense is atrocious. How tf do they do this in such an important spot? It’s embarrassing.
Can we get one forward on our top 6 who will carry the puck to the net??? Just one … please
)
Papa, without JT they’re probably out of the wildcard hunt already. He’s dragged this team into the fight a few times already.
Laff in rear is MIA again. (still?)
Papa, your last post is exactly what I’ve been telling at the screen all season. They’re afraid to go to the net.
Another unnecessary and not dangerous shot from the point.
Every chance to make it harder on themselves…..
I found Laffinrear! In the box.
Rangers dominating play. They should be up 5-2.
Why are Sam and Joe scoreboard watching? The Rangers are clearly disinterested.
This is going to be one of those Igor is the only Ranger playing game until he too gives up.
More than half a game gone by and the Rangers have 7 shots. That is majorly pathetic.
Fox still gets a slight pass because he’s still getting his legs back under him. But only to a point.
Rangers are about to score. I feel it in my bone.
Rich, Rangers are saving them all for games 81 and 82.
When is Igor going to start acting like a real goalie and go Billy Smith on these Calgary you know whats? Or at least Hextall them?
They have 7 shots on f-ing goal. 7. Well, popsicle just took a penalty, so maybe they get up to 8.
That effort by Fox defending Kadri cannot be defended.
Here goes the two minute nothingburger.
E3 you’re not supposed to take the little blue pills before the game 🤣
IT’S PASSING PLAY TIME!
They just waited for a defender’s stick was in the way to make a pass. What TF?
Kreider. Retire.
This is f@#$ing pathetic.
Calgary played last night in Toronto. The Rangers apparently stayed out all night
C3p0, they have to get it in the zone to do that.
Clown show lol
LOL I was wrong. Popsicle penalty didn’t yield any shots.
What an awful PP. I feel like reverse peristalsis coming on ….chunks rising .ughhhh🤢….ughhhh🤮🤮🤮🤮
Sorry…🤮
That’s one of the first times that Igor has tried to get on the highlight reel and he actually made the save.
NYR thought game was in Calgary. Will start playing at 9:07.
I repeat my 19:05 – Eggs are expensive, don’t lay one!
Putting in Parsley for Berard was obviously the right choice. Good thing they didn’t need a boost in energy in this one.
Remps should have tried the wrap around
Rempe trying to make a pass from behind the net through 3 Calgary players lol… Gretzky, he is not. Rempetzky
I for one am really enjoying the juuso parssinen show. What a deadline acquisition. So glad he’s ours.
It makes me want to cry when Sam says Calgary is out hustling the Rangers.
Nice no hook call. Smh
CCCP any of the inmates going on parole that can skate?
Calgary is running a clinic on the Rangers even though neither team knows how to do that.
7 shots through almost two periods is pretty impressive.
It’s okay guys…. Good teams find a way to win, even when they’re not playing their best hockey….
Perhaps a should visit the Rangers locker room between periods. I for one would be very interested to know if any of them actually have a pulse.
Take a shot! I don’t care if it’s from your own f@#$ing zone!
Maybe NYR are running an AA clinic.
Lavi better bring the heat between periods
JT has a chance to take it to the net or take a shot from down the middle and instead passes it to a side guy who’s 45 miles away from the net at a 15 degree angle.
Rangers with a smart strategy. Playing poorly on purpose lulling the flames into a false sense of security. Then, the come out and bust ballz in the third.
Can a player lose it as quick as Kreider apparently has? Or has he just quit on the coach and GM?
End of second period. Maybe the Rangers need some Midol?
7 freakin shots. You got to be f kidding me.
Like I have had to say too many times this year. This team is very hard to watch.
The worst part of this game is that they’re not giving up all the goals they should be and, therefore, not allowing us to turn this dreck off early.
Jones sucks. How is he in the lineup?
My guess is that the first period was their good one and I didn’t even see it.
The only heat Lavi is brining between periods is the deuce he drops in the bowl
E3, other than Igor no one in a ranger jersey tonight deserves to be in the lineup.
E3 – Lavi likes short guys with tiny pp
Papa – agreed on Kreider. One of many that suck azz.
Papa, he should drop it in the middle of the locker room as an analogy to their play.
When, if ever, will Eddie Munster and his Staff realize that their precious babies are, intentionally or not, working to get them all fired?
The word missing from my 20:47 is physician. Sorry.
This team sucks to high heaven Jesus can you believe it against your own fanbase they can’t even play with passion. I’ve been waiting for the next goal against so I could shut the d*** thing off I can’t take this excuse for a team. Apparently it doesn’t bother any player on this freaking team.
Papa – maybe it’s the inverse re: jones and his pp. maybe he packing a monster. An anaconda.!!!
If Detroit or Montreal win tonight, we’ll be mercifully back out of the last wildcard spot.
Let’s get rid of the whole core group and get a bunch of Youngsters that want to play hockey. The core group doesn’t mind being totally embarrassed. Absolutely incredible
Coos, the conundrum: coaches believe they are coaching to get the players fired; players believe they are playing to get the coaches fired.
The irony – everyone is still employed.
Othman obviously was dragging the team down
What was the point of trading for deHaan and Saucy if they sit and Jones plays?
Rich your 20:47 ? I thought the missing word was “stripper”
Think about how many collective hours we’ve all wasted watching this team this season that we’ll never get back.
Too many players look up to #20 maybe that’s the problem. They played better without him
Rangers 4 SOG in first.
Rangwes 3 SOG in second
Rangers – expect 2 SOG in third.
Beezle, they didn’t believe they deserved that San Jose 3rd rounder that was basically a 2nd rounder. Maybe they were waiting for a second 🤷🏻♂️
#23 out of playing shape after extended layoff, so Munster plays him 24 minutes. With all the myriad of DMen provided by Drury, Eddie can’t find one competent.
Rangers apparently got a phantom shot after the second period.
Put Vali behind the bench.
Ev – my wife just said the same. “How can you watch this slop?”
ValleyKat daring with that suit tonight but poor choice of tie
I wonder if ValleyKat is tapping Michele?
Papa bear hit the nail right on the head
E3 2nd period was a local minimum, 4 shots in 3rd for sure, maybe 5
Michele is hot.
Vally seems focused on Michelle’s breasts a when he is talking to her between periods.
We have a team full of Dwayne Jetskis.
Beeze – inflection point for sure, concave up…
Michelle has spunk. I like her
Need a 5 minute major
Gabby Shirley, TBL’s Michelle = way hotter.
Valley: “I’ll take 5 minutes with Michelle”
E3, my guess is your majors take at least 10 minutes.
Changing line personnel can’t make them play with heart and brains. It’s too late for that. Too bad Shesty can’t score from where he is.
NYR trying for the Fibonacci sequence of shots.
Headzo – I snort miralax.
The last time a Ranger grabbed a loose rebound in the slot Leave it to Beaver was the top rated show on television
No heart and desire. No respect for the uniform they wear.
Gravy – the fib in reverse.
This team is in A-Fib
Linesman didn’t even look at the players while calling that icing. He just watched it on its way to the goal line. Smfh
Try Miller with Cully and Rempa
Puck’s in the zone
Puck’s out of the zone
Still no shots by a forward in 33 years.
They look like they have no idea what to do in the defensive zone.
Igor needs to lead the rush….
Ev – or in the O zone –
They didn’t even know what to do when they won that faceoff. Jesus
Rangers as a team laying huge huge money on Calgary this game….
Captain Cally!
Shesterkin needs to go up the bench at a TV timeout and smack his stick on everyone, slapshot style.
Good shot. Can take the next 5 minutes off.
$11m man got more hits then the dj this year
Vladar doesn’t need to stay alert, he just needs to stay awake.
Igor – only Ranger with the Un-yuns on display.
A master class in futility.
Amazing display.
Young guys get benched after any mistake but
Run the mutts out to float shift after shift
If this game isn’t justification enough to fire Drury and Lavi after the season we’ll be in hockey hell for another 5 years
I’m watching the NCAA play in game and reading yuse guys’ posts. It’s very entertaining.
St. Francis is a University now too. All the small Catholic schools that only play basketball are doing it.
Papa, dig in for the next 5 years.
Basketball????
I’d rather chew aluminum foil while shaving my head with a cheese grater.
Igor earning his loot tonight
What a sad group of shrinking violets. Should be losing 10-1.
Igor gets the least penalties called against guys who run him.
They can’t afford to dump and change. When you have Igor, why tf would you never use him while changing??!!
Even Joe is giving them sh-t.
Schnitt, I’m booing at home.
The teams hates women
This is at least 3-1 after they pull Igor, which I wouldn’t bother doing. Just look at their pp.
How many times do you let your goalie get
Knocked down?
Too many fancy pants stupid passes. Shoooooot.
Also they are treating the puck like it’s a time bomb about to explode.
All of us put more effort into this then they do. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Brace yourself lads. This is when they turn it up to eleven.
35-12 SOGs Flames. What a sh!t show. Blow it up. Can they apply as an expansion franchise? They wouldn’t be any worse.
Canadiens won. We’re out of the playoffs.
Trocheck is a moron
Good on the FOs again though.
What an absolute disgrace. Is it clinically possible to die of embarrassment?
Well, back to pornhub.
Offside on a 2 on 0 with empty net seems like something NYR would do.
We’re done. Calgary was one of the 4 easiest teams we had left.
I’m guessing Shesterkin is going to regret signing with the Rangers. What a waste of a goalie. The hockey famine is coming.
13 SOG? That’s just unlucky, isn’t it?
Has a coach ever been fired this late in the season with a team this close to the playoffs (mathematically)?
He should have called time out after they overturned the empty net goal…and put out the 4th line…but he has no balls
Henrik For President of Hockey Ops
Callahan for GM
Quenville for Coach
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
Beez to answer your question Bergeron was fired by Esposito with very few games left and then coached the Rangers himself to av disastrous sweep by Pittsburgh…1989.
The light at the end of the tunnel is a black hole!
Well that was fun.
ValleyKat and the Gnome just destroying them
They should fire everyone and get a jump on next season.
That game knocked us out of the playoffs and put Calgary in them. 🤦🏼♂️
To improve the vitality of this team the Rangers should pursue youth in Asia.
Did they boo at the end of the game? I turned it off when I thought they scored the empty netter.
That was insanely bad. No effort. All Quit in NY.
KAM un-dyed his wig. Same old chitty game, though.
Keep mailing it in boys maybe the Huggy twins
Ask out
The Persian Version reads this Blog. Eschews lately the huggy huggies with THE, cedes love fest to Tro.
If Dolan cared, he’d axe Drury tomorrow morning. Let his next GM show Lavi the door (plenty of blame for him too). Then get to work before the draft/summer to start making a team and not an assembly of high priced parts with some leftovers thrown in.
Rangers were so bad NHL.com removed the box score
ditto 22:47
Eddie Munster boring and useless.
Of the NYR forwards, six shots on goal, three by Kreider. Again, of the forwards, a grand total of 16 shots missed, 7 by Panarin.
Drury is no dummy… first, he destroyed the locker room by getting under the skin of players… then, went on to get some so so spare parts at the deadline, then wrote a letter saying “Hey, guys, I did my best, now it’s up to you!” Laid everything on the players and disappeared in his clutch mobile into the MSG fog! Fuggin smart!
Dolan cannot be bothered. He’s going through a bankruptcy. I guess the sphere in Vegas wasn’t a good idea after all.
“CCCP any of the inmates going on parole that can skate?”
Sure! if you give them some benzos or opioids, not only will they skate, but they’ll also die for you!
First.
It’s been almost 8 years since the letter?
I found myself rooting against them last night. I don’t find the team likable anymore. The coach, and his dead puck era system, need to go. Calgary was mocking it in the 3rd period. I am a big Kreider fan, and have never understood the crap he takes from fans, but he needs to go over the summer. Can they afford to sell low on Lafrenier? I do t think they can, so he stays. If you can trade Panarin, do it. I doubt they can trade Zibanejad, but if they can, they should. Build around JT for the time being. Search for that elusive partner for Fox.
This year I haven’t watched the rangers that much since the collaspe in November. There definitely needs to be major changes. I probably won’t watch to much what’s left of the season. The rangers are unwatchable.
Kreider will probably be bought out unless they retain half via trade
He is not going to get healthier and his back has taken a lot of crease abuse
Father Time is undefeated
*NEW POST*
They would be doing a lot of low selling over the Summer if they dump everyone. I assume their medical people should have a prognosis regarding Kreider’s ability to play at his previous level. It’s hard to tell how much of his drop off is physical and how much is about his issues with Drury. Mika seems to be working harder to contribute and is not an immediate problem. LAF would be another low sell. Next year is Bread’s last year so over the Summer they should decide whether to extend him or not. They will miss his offense if he moves on. He was the only guy who scored last night and no one else generates offense on the team right now. If they keep this year’s first pick and dump everyone over the Summer they will be awful next year and likely give the Pens a shot at the 1OA next year. Fox and Igor have NMCs that kick in on July 1. Drury should at least see what the market for them is. There are dark days ahead and those contracts won’t age well.
There is an organic problem with this group in that every third of fourth game they take the night off and in general don’t have any pushback when opposing teams pick up their intensity. They also took a month off during the season. It’s a long season and teams will have off nights but they have way too many. Someone in the room should understand the group dynamics, but no one has been able to turn it around.