Bantering Points: 5/8/24
Here are today's news and links:
Rangers News:
Highlights: NYR 4, CAR 3 (5:05 video video via NHL.com)
Game Recap: The Rangers fought back with a power play goal in the third period to tie things up, and eventually come out on top of Game 2 in a double overtime thriller thanks to continued brilliance out of their special teams (CBS Sports)
Larry Brooks points to the intensity of New York's practice sessions as one element that sets the current Rangers team apart from other in the recent past (NY Post)
Mollie Walker chatted with Adam Edstrom and Louis Domingue about the ongoing playoff run in AHL Hartford that they contributed to throughout the regular season, but are now up with the big club and practicing as Black Aces (NY Post)
Mark Cannizarro notes that whenever the Blueshirts trip up along this playoff run, they will be well equipped to handle the adversity that comes in the wake of defeat (NY Post)
Ted Holmlund relays word of some bold comments from Tony DeAngelo, as the former Ranger who got kicked off the team for getting punched in the face and just being a generally unlikable presence told K'Andre Miller he'd fight at him at a moment's notice (NY Post)
Michael Blinn discusses the bizarre sequence near the end of regulation where ESPN cut away from the game and into the start of their broadcast of the Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars game (NY Post)
Andrew Gross points to the multi-goal performance out of Alexis Lafreniere as another step in his rise to stardom (Newsday)
Neil Best examines the predicament Matt Rempe puts referees in with his physical style and propensity to take dumb penalties in the few and far between shifts he gets (Newsday)
Vincent Mercogliano offers his takeaways from New York's Game 2 victory (LoHud)
Brian Abate credits the Blueshirts' centers for stepping up in the early portion of these playoffs (The Hockey Writers)
Arthur $taple write$ that the Ranger$' exact play$tyle i$ hard to de$cribe, but it lead$ to a lot of winning (The Athletic)
Around the NHL:
The San Jose Sharks won the 2024 Draft Lottery, earning the right to take consensus top prospect Macklin Celebrini out of Boston University while the Chicago Blackhawks won the second overall pick (NBC Sports)
Connor McDavid (EDM), Nikita Kucherov (TBL), and Nathan MacKinnon were named as finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (TSN)
Greg Wyshynski reports that the St. Louis Blues named interim head coach Drew Bannister as their full-time head coach (ESPN)
With a number of big name free agents set to exit stage left and only the memories of last season's championship run to comfort the Vegas Golden Knights now, there will be some tough decisions to be made for the league's 31st franchise (Sportsnet)
