Tonight the Rangers will battle their New York rivals the Islanders who have a lot of young talent waiting to break out in the National Hockey League.Watch out it is always a war between these two teams.
This picture belongs to cache2.asset-cache.net
The Isles have a very talented center, #91 John Tavares has impressed many eyes in the Hockey world scoring 28 points in 38 games this year finding the back of the net for 16 goals.This picture belongs to ESPN.com
The 19 year old is on pace for 35 goals at the end of the season.
The 2009 first round draft pick will be a player to keep an eye on as the season unfolds.
After him they keep on coming with the youth you have #21 Kyle Okposo who is great at making the perfect pass with 23 assists in 27 games.
the 21 year old winger continues to improve daily it should be interesting to see how his career will transform.
They have some experience in their defensive zone with two enforcers, two defensemen who will battle you all night in front of their net.This picture belongs to farm4.static.flickr.com
The two 34 year olds have given a lot of protection in their own end giving a problem to any opposing goal scorer.
Starting with #25 Andy Sutton at the height of 6 foot 6 245 pounds he is a monster to go through if you want to put some points on the board.
On the other end you have #32 Brendan Witt he brings very much needed leadership to the lockeroom day in and day out.
The New York Islanders main problem is that they have missed out on one of the better goalies in the league for over a year now in #38 Rick DiPietro.This picture belongs to ESPN.com
His style can be compared to the legendary Devils goal tender Martin Brodeur.
R. DiPietro comes way out of the net to cut off the angle, and is known as one of the better puck handlers.
Rick is the backbone of this team the more time he misses the more it will hurt the chemistry of this team down the stretch.
Their coaches have been smart with being patient because you do not want to see the end of this man's career because you brought him back too soon.
Playing with a goalie like that can only bring you confidence out there, and take a lot of pressure off of your defensive players.
Once this team gets him back and playing to the level he was once at then they will be a dangerous team for anyone looking to defeat them.
As for the Rangers when it comes to their team there is always 3 names you look out for.
#10 Marian Gaborik is a no brainer he is the key play in every game that he steps on the ice.Marian leads the league with 26 goals scored, and is 2nd behind the San Jose Sharks Joe Thorton with 48 points trailing him by 3.
This picture belongs to ESPN.com
M. Gaborik is in his first year for New York what a signing he was, he will mean a lot to this organization for a long time.
Aside from him #16 Sean Avery hasn't put up the points that has been expected of him with 14 in 32 games, but he has made an impact in almost every game.This picture belongs to ESPN.com
You know when the other team is going out of their way to gun for him that he has done his job what worries me is it is always a gamble to play with a target on your back.
You never know when someone is going to cheap shot you, and cause you to miss a serious amount of time.
The entire team is held together from their net minder #30 Henrik "The King" Lundqvist who has been nothing short of perfect as of late.This picture belongs to ESPN.com
Since the start of December he has been outstanding although the team has a 5-3- record this month
His 16-13 record doesn't do him justice for how he has played this year holding the league to a 2.41 goals against average which has gone down considerably in recent play.
The king is back on track to his royal routes with 4 straight wins allowing only 5 goals in his last four outings stopping 136 out of the last 141 shots he has seen.
Look for fireworks to set off at 7:00 pm eastern time tonight when these two teams look to gain ground in the Eastern Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment