Goal Line Report
Big Two Points Up For Grabs in Atlanta
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/26/09 at 10:15 AM ET
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On paper, a tilt with the Atlanta Thrashers looks like an easy two points but for the New York Rangers, every game is like a playoff game and as such, should be treated like one.
The team is coming off a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild in a game where they played down to the Wild’s level. They were able to generate an array of scoring chances but once again had some difficulty finding the back of the net and were forced to play a tight defensive game, something fans are all too familiar with thanks to former head coach Tom Renney.
With that being said, good defense at this time of year certainly isn’t a bad thing but to win games, this team still needs to score more goals. Sure, they’ve scored more goals under new head coach John Tortorella but they need to do it on a consistent basis, something they have struggled with all season long.
Tonight is also a chance for the Blueshirts to show that they can be successful on the road, where they only have a 16-16-4 record. With five of the remaining eight games away from the Garden, that record will certainly need to improve and will have to come against teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, and Philadelphia Flyers. These are all playoff teams, making tonight’s match up against a non-playoff team that much more important.
Tonight’s focus should be goals, goals, goals. The Thrashers have allowed the second most amount of goals in the NHL this season and despite that, the Blueshirts were last defeated by them back on Adam Graves night when they lost 2-1 in the shootout.
That was then and this is now. Time to step up and pick up two big points that could go a long way in helping the Blueshirts clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: adam+graves,
atlanta+thrashers,
boston+bruins,
carolina+hurricanes,
john+tortorella,
minnesota+wild,
new+york+rangers,
philadelphia+flyers,
pittsburgh+penguins,
tom+renney
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About Goal Line Report
Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick's musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector's Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
For questions, comments and hip checks, feel free to e-mail Patrick at patrickhoffman3530@gmail.com.