Rangers reach two-year deal with Jonny Brodzinski
Rangers center Jonny Brodzinski sets against the Minnesota Wild in the first period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Rangers announced a transaction on Monday. It probably wasn’t the one their fans were hoping for with the March 21 NHL trade deadline approaching.
The team announced an agreement with forward Jonny Brodzinski on a two-year contract extension. Brodzinski, 28, has played in five games for the Rangers this season and has spent the rest of the season with Hartford (AHL).
The Rangers got an up-close look on Sunday night at the kind of player they would like to acquire via trade — or the exact player — in Vancouver’s J.T. Miller. The former Ranger, who was traded to Tampa Bay in 2018, had assists on the first two goals in the Canucks’ 5-2 victory at the Garden.
The Rangers, who are off until they host St. Louis on Wednesday, have lost two in a row.
The Rangers lost to the Penguins, 1-0, on Saturday in Pittsburgh in a hard-fought game. They didn’t score on Sunday until the third period, when they were down 4-0.
A lot of that had to do with Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, who was on top of his game. The Rangers had great chances, especially in the first period, but were not able to finish, went into the locker room down 2-0 and seemed to get frustrated by that.
"There’s something to that," coach Gerard Gallant said. "Just a little execution . . . frustrating that they don’t go in. But, again, I thought the first was an OK period. We’re behind 2-0. Like I said, would have been nice to score one of those goals and we probably would have gotten some energy from it."
Said Ryan Strome: "You get some great looks in the first and you leave down two, it’s maybe a little discouraging. This is the National Hockey League. As you can see, things can change quickly and you [have to] have a better response in the second period, for sure. Obviously, when the puck’s not going in, it’s a little bit frustrating.
"We’re finding ways to win games, but obviously you want to produce as much as you can because that’s what you’re depended on for the team. The work ethic’s there, the compete’s there and the will’s there, but we just have to find the way to bear down at times and get that goal. Sometimes it’s the difference in the hockey game.
"We got one late, so maybe we can build off that. You start pressing a little bit, you get a little frustrated. The games are a little bit tighter at this point in the season, that’s for sure, lower-scoring games."
The Canucks overpowered backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who was making his first appearance since Jan. 27. Gallant gave Georgiev a pass but didn’t give one to the rest of the team.
"It’s been a month [since Georgiev played]," Gallant said. "I was more disappointed with some of our backchecks than Georgie, to be honest with you. We didn’t work hard enough and on a couple of their goals coming back."
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
