Blue Notes
Steve Zipay takes you inside the locker room, home and on the road, with the New York Rangers.
Rangers-Devils rule ratings
Good morning, Best here again. Allow me to take off my hockey writer helmet and briefly don my TV hat to bring you this ratings update:
Game 1 of the Rangers-Devils series averaged 6.2 percent of New York area homes on NBC Sports Network, the best ever for a hockey game in this market on NBCSN/Versus/OLN.
That beat the 5.7 MSG got for Game 7 of the Rangers-Senators series, which was...
Brodeur clams up on game days
Hello, hockey fans. I'm back from another afternoon at the Rock, where the Devils had a team meeting but did not skate. That sort of thing happens a lot at playoff time, when fresh legs are paramount.
This was Day Two of my mission to become the first person since World War II - as far as I know - to cover an entire NHL conference final entirely by train, including practices and morning skates.
The...
After home splits in 1st two rounds, Rangers aim for 2 straight
Photo credit: Getty/Bruce Bennett
Trust me on this one, folks: Winning Game 2 at home, which the Rangers failed to accomplish against the Senators and Capitals, is THE issue today and tomorrow.
Way back on April 14, the 3-2 OT loss to the Sens on the Chris Neil goal was a wakeup call after the 4-2 opening win. Rangers led 2-1 late in the thrid.
And remember the 3-2 loss to the Caps and young Mr. Holtby in G2 at MSG?...
Three goals in third lift NYR over Devs: Post-Game Xtra
All of Newsday's coverage, game-story, sidebars, a column, is at http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/rangers?qr=1, and here's some more from me...
Selected stats and quotes:
The three-goal win was the largest margin of the playoffs for the Rangers, and the three goals were a playoff high for a period.
The PK was 4-for-4.
The Rangers outshot the Devils 28-21,...
Rangers rate with NY viewers
Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal between the Capitals and Rangers Saturday averaged 4.8 percent of homes in the metropolitan area, the highest rating ever for an NHL game on NBC Sports Network in New York. The game averaged a 7.67 rating in Washington, D.C. Overall, the conference semifinals averaged 1.29 million viewers nationally on NBC Sports Network, the best on...
Johnny Mac on Henrik Lundqvist's tennis game
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 John McEnroe was on a conference call today and was asked about jam band member and Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist:
``He's an incredible athlete. As far as his tennis, he'sprobably the best guy I ever played that's not a tennis player. He's athletically unbelievable. How quick his balance is on the court. And I hate to admit,...
Live from MSG: Some pre-game reading
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J.P. Parise excited about Devils
Zach Parise, the Devils' captain, said he spoke to his father, J.P., Sunday about the big showdown looming against the Rangers.
"He was saying how excited he was,'' the younger Parise said. "He said there are four teams left, and you guys have a great chance.''
J.P. scored perhaps the Islanders' most famous Madison Square Garden goal ever when his overtime tally stunned the...
Devils out in force for morning skate
Photo credit: Getty Images
Greetings, hockey fans! Neil Best here, reporting for duty for the duration of the Rangers' playoff run.
I am honored to be working with two of the area's best hockey scribes - Steve Zipay, my predecessor on the sports media beat, and Arthur Staple, my successor on the Giants beat - and looking forward to four wild and crazy weeks of hockey.
(Which is by far the best sport, as we know,...
The East Finals Schedule
Game 1: Monday, May 14 8 p.m. New Jersey at NYRangers NBCSN, NBCSN, CBC, RDSGame 2: Wednesday, May 16 8 p.m. New Jersey at NYRangers NBCSN, CBC, RDSGame 3: Saturday, May 19 1 p.m. NY Rangers at NewJersey NBC, CBC, RDSGame 4: Monday, May 21 8 p.m. NY Rangers at NewJersey NBCSN, NBCSN,CBC, RDS*Game 5: Wednesday, May 23 8 p.m. New Jerseyat NY Rangers NBCSN, CBC, RDS*Game 6: Friday, May 25 8 p.m. NY...
