Rangers Hockey is Back! Dryden Hunt, Goodrow, Lundqvist Retirement

Rangers fans, it feels SO good to be back, doesn’t it? I know losing 4-0 to the Islanders isn’t exactly what we were looking for but in all honesty, it felt great seeing the boys back in their home blues. It felt great hearing Sam Rosen call head coach Gerard Gallant by his new name Gerard Gauthier, and it felt great going on Twitter and watching my timeline update with Rangers news as every second counted down on the clock. We’re back baby.

Now, onto the game.

• I think it was pretty clear that Dryden Hunt was one of the only Rangers who really stood out. He was relentless on the puck and on the forecheck, created some good scoring chances, and just seemed to be annoying as fuck to play against. This is something to watch and key in on as the preseason goes on.

• The Islanders line of Clutterbuck, Czikas, and Johnston put the Rangers in a chokehold the whole night. They play the same way every single game no matter if it’s game 1 of preseason or game 7 of the playoffs. The play a simple game in getting pucks deep and keeping everything to the outside and they never turn down the speed. Again, I know its preseason but there was a world of difference in that line compared to Chris Kreider peeling off after a breakaway or laying up a can of corn on the power play as he’s by himself with plenty of time. 20 seems to be in midseason form.

• Welcome to Broadway Barclay! I wish we could’ve seen more from the new free agent acquisition but it’s fair to say that it didn’t take long for him to introduce himself to this rivalry. It wasn’t an outrageously scumbag hit but enough where it could ruffle some feathers. Rivalries are awesome.

• Lundkvist and Nemeth didn’t really stand out and as a defenseman that’s not always a bad thing. I liked seeing the kid get shots through looking for tips in front. Granted, this is way to small of a sample size, but I thought he looked good. Not great, but good. Tinordi and Bitetto on the other hand? Woof.

• I was hoping we’d see Will Cuylle do something sweet, especially because he “models his game after Tom Wilson.” You’d think that someone looking to stand out would do something to stand out but I’m a 30 year old who never sniffed the show so who I am to complain?

• The Rangers announced today that Henrik Lundqvists jersey will be retired January 28th against Zuccarello and the Wild. I immediately looked up tickets and instead of pulling the trigger on $120 tickets I waited 30 minutes to see that they were not $500. I swear to god I am such a small brained dummy. This would’ve been such an easy way to make money but instead I’m writing this on my lunch break broke as ever. That night is going to be incredible and for those who go, make sure you’re extra loud.
• Also, we’re going to try out a newsletter in the future. Here, you can find all