New York Rangers ready to host Toronto Maple Leafs in first home game -NHL Match Preview
New York remains to be the only team that still has not played in front of its home crowd, but that is all about to change as the Rangers will be hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, United States, on Thursday,
October 27, 2011.
The most sought after free agent during the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) offseason, Brad Richards, will finally be making his debut in front of the home crowd, which is highly anticipating him to turn around their team and make it one of the top contending
clubs this season.
New York’s long road trip which consisted of two games on the road in Stockholm, Sweden, and the next five in various cities around North America, was due to some major remodelling taking place at their home arena in the city. But now the team has been given
the green signal and will be playing at the Madison Square Garden.
"You can always look back at games and say there was an opportunity to win, but there were some games where we stole points as well. All in all, with the circumstances of everything, I think we're pretty happy where we are. We did a good job of fighting
through the adversities of being away from home and the toll it takes mentally and physically", said New York Rangers player,
Brandon Dubinsky.
Toronto was perfect entering the new season as it started off with three straight wins against its Canadian counterparts, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. As soon as they faced the Colorado Avalanche, the Maple Leafs have not been
able to come back into form ever since.
After their first loss to Colorado, Toronto has not managed to win more than one matchup in a row and if they continue their pattern at the moment, the Maple Leafs should be able to win against New York come Thursday coming out of a loss against the Philadelphia
Flyers on Monday.
The Maple Leafs have the advantage of a hot Phil Kessel at the moment, who leads not only the team but the entire league with his nine goal record along with six assists for a total of 15 points in eight games. Dion Phaneuf is also doing well for the club
as he stands with nine points, consisting of two goals and seven assists, but not only that, he has also been assisting the team in crucial moments throughout.
At the moment, New York does not have any player that comes close to the stats which Kessel has recorded other than, Marian Gaborik and Ruslan Fedotenko, who have four points (all goals) and five points (1 goal, 4 assists) respectively.
James Reimer, Toronto’s young goalie who registered a shutout in their season opener against Montreal, will be making a comeback after taking a shot to the head in their second matchup against the Canadiens, missing the next against Philadelphia. His return
will certainly boost Toronto’s response in the net, making it tougher on New York Rangers veteran goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, due to the competition from the other side.
Toronto will be playing their final road game against New York before heading back home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, while the Rangers remain at home for the next six contests.
Thursday matchup is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM ET.
Tags: