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New York Rangers News, Rumors and Rumblings, January 22nd, 2017

By John Williams

Feb 14, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal (18) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the third period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal (18) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the third period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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All the news, rumors and rumblings you need to know about in the world of the New York Rangers, all in just one place!

  • After a few horrible games in a row where everything from the defense to Henrik Lundqvist struggled, the New York Rangers pulled out a much-needed victory against the Atlantic Division’s Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

The Good

  • Mats Zuccarello is having a bit of a resurgence. After being placed on a line with Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan in late December, Zuccarello is putting up a lot of helpers. In his last 4 games, Zuccarello has 6 assists, and Mike Murphy over at Blue Shirt Banter wrote about how Zuccarello has been fantastic lately, even if he’s not putting pucks in the net himself.
  • Speaking of players playing well of late, Pavel Buchnevich has been a monster since returning to the lineup. The Russian sensation has scored a point in eight straight games and has accumulated six points in his last four games as well. Joshua Kloke of Sports Illustrated wrote about the rookie.

The Bad

  • As for players who are struggling, it appears that Jimmy Vesey has hit the rookie wall. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post wrote about it here.
  • Speaking of struggling, Kevin Klein has been riding the struggle bus all season long. Klein admitted that he is not playing at the level that he played last season. You can read his comments here via CBS.
  • Cyrgalis also wrote about how the Rangers offense is going to need to be the catalyst for this team going forward. Of course, he is right. The defense can’t hold a candle to the other top units in the league, much less their defense of a few seasons ago.
  • There is good news, though, is that both Matt Puempel and Marc Staal re on the upswing as far as health is concerned. Both players are coming back from concussions, the second of which Puempel has sustained this year.

The (Potentially) Ugly

  • According to the New York Post, the NHL is making a change to their mandated goalie equipment. “The league sent a memo to teams earlier this week stating by Feb. 4, all goalies will have to wear the newly sized pants, which have less padding around the hips and are tighter around the thighs,” according to the report. “Goaltenders around the league knew this was coming, though they never had a concrete date set.”

Next: My Rangers Story: If it wasn't for the Rangers, I wouldn't be alive

  • The Rangers will go to Joe Lewis Arena and play the Detroit Red Wings at 12:30 today. The Red Wings won the first meeting between the two teams in early October, as Jimmy Howard stole the show. The Red Wings have been bad this year and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in a quarter of a century.
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