Rangers End Preseason on High Note
Alfredsson named first star in return. Bertuzzi ties for presason points lead. Pilar top point getter for defencemen.
The New York Rangers ended an impressive preseason by welcoming the return of one hero and getting worrisome news about another.
Daniel Alfredsson returned from an 11 game suspension and was dominant against a poorly disciplined Flyer squad. Alfredsson set up two powerplay goals and scored another to finish with three points and the game's first star.
There was some bad news as Pavel Bure will miss the season opener due to an injury sustained last game. The Russian Rocket was hoping to make the start but is still on the limp. Bure was expected to miss only one game and there is some concern the injury may be worse than expected.
"Not true," said Bure. "I'll be back for the second game of the season.
Two other key aquistions of the off season were impressive as well. Bertuzzi netted another 2 points to finish in a tie for the preseason point lead with 13 while young Karel Pilar finished with the top points for defenceman with 9.
Those who were tuning in to see the Sundin - Bertuzzi - Alfredsson line suit up for the first time were disapointed as Fedorov was put on Sundin's right wing and Alfredsson was paired with Ribeiro and Dumont.
"We thought the speed of Fedorov would compliment Sundin and Bertuzzi," explained coach Nielson. "Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket we decided to spread our biggest shooters across all our lines. Ribeiro - Dumont - Alfredsson gave us a line with great speed, defence, passing and scoring and they looked great together. That allowed Ponikarovsky to add size, speed, and scoring to Par Backer's line."
The Flyers, who finish the preseason with a eye popping average of 53 penalty minutes per game, handed the Rangers 13 power plays as they tried to revert to 1970's Broadstreet Bully hockey. The Rangers were happy to take advantage of the extra man time and only some great saves stopped this from being a bigger rout.
The New York Rangers ended an impressive preseason by welcoming the return of one hero and getting worrisome news about another.
Daniel Alfredsson returned from an 11 game suspension and was dominant against a poorly disciplined Flyer squad. Alfredsson set up two powerplay goals and scored another to finish with three points and the game's first star.
There was some bad news as Pavel Bure will miss the season opener due to an injury sustained last game. The Russian Rocket was hoping to make the start but is still on the limp. Bure was expected to miss only one game and there is some concern the injury may be worse than expected.
"Not true," said Bure. "I'll be back for the second game of the season.
Two other key aquistions of the off season were impressive as well. Bertuzzi netted another 2 points to finish in a tie for the preseason point lead with 13 while young Karel Pilar finished with the top points for defenceman with 9.
Those who were tuning in to see the Sundin - Bertuzzi - Alfredsson line suit up for the first time were disapointed as Fedorov was put on Sundin's right wing and Alfredsson was paired with Ribeiro and Dumont.
"We thought the speed of Fedorov would compliment Sundin and Bertuzzi," explained coach Nielson. "Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket we decided to spread our biggest shooters across all our lines. Ribeiro - Dumont - Alfredsson gave us a line with great speed, defence, passing and scoring and they looked great together. That allowed Ponikarovsky to add size, speed, and scoring to Par Backer's line."
The Flyers, who finish the preseason with a eye popping average of 53 penalty minutes per game, handed the Rangers 13 power plays as they tried to revert to 1970's Broadstreet Bully hockey. The Rangers were happy to take advantage of the extra man time and only some great saves stopped this from being a bigger rout.
posted by RangersGM at 1:40 PM
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