New York Rangers Chance at Gold and Bronze
New York Rangers Compete: Canada vs. USA
New York Rangers, Brady Skjei and Derick Brassard, went toe-to-toe during one of the semi-final matches of the 2016 IIHF World Championships. In another Canada vs USA match, our neighbors to the north were yet again favored to win and rightfully so. However, team USA held their own and actually had a real opportunity at an upset.
The game started off as many would expect, Canada scored the first two goals and went into the locker room at the end of the first period with a 2-0 lead. This is when the game was turned upside down. The second period saw a ton of action resulting in four total goals.
Team USA came onto the ice at the start of the second scolding hot. The boys in blue flew past Canada as they tallied three goals in just over nine minutes.
Just when the USA looked to be hitting their stride, good ol’ Derick Brassard was their to knock them down a peg. Brassard was given a golden opportunity to score when team Canada went on the power play. USA’s goalie, Keith Kinkaid of the New Jersey Devils, lost control of a rebound and was unable to regain positioning due to congestion in front of the crease. This left Brass with nothing but his stick, the puck and a clear view down Main Street. Canada tied the game up with 4:30 left in the second period.
Just under two minutes into the third period, Ryan Ellis of the Nashville Predators, ripped an absolute bullet that flew short side over Kinkaid’s glove. This goal ended up being the game winner and set the stage for both teams medal games.
New York Rangers Brady Skjei in USA vs Russia
A classic battle, USA vs Russia. Brady Skjei did not find his way to the gold medal contest, however he still had a chance to bring the bronze back to the states.
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Unfortunately, there were not many, if any, positives taken away from this game. The Russians absolutely embarrassed team USA in the bronze medal match and won by a score of 7-2.
Skjei didn’t have his best outing, as he was only able to record two shots on goal in his 17:02 minutes of recorded ice time. Throughout the entire tournament, Skjei started ten games, seven from the right side and three from the left. He recorded a total of ten shots on goal that produced a single point and averaged 17:56 minutes of ice time throughout the tournament.
New York Rangers, Home of a 2016 World Champion
Derick Brassard, unlike his teammate Skjei, had a more uplifting end to his time in Moscow.
Canada took an early lead over Finland when Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, scored the games first goal of the gold medal game with 8:36 left in the first period. This was McDavid’s first and only goal of the tournament, it was also all Canada needed to bring home the gold for the second year in a row.
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As the final seconds of the third period ticked off the clock, Matt Duchene, of the Colorado Avalanche, recorded the tournaments final point on an empty net goal.
Derick Brassard ended the World Championship with 11 points on five goals and six assists. He also averaged 15:02 of ice time per game.
Even though Brass was unable to record a point in the gold medal match, he still performed well throughout the tournament and will come back to MSG for training camp with hardware to brag about.