Rangers’ burgeoning youth providing plenty of hope for bright future
NY Post
The doom and gloom surrounding the Rangers this season has been all encompassing, draining and taxing.
A 6-2 thrashing of the last-place Blackhawks isn’t going to completely clear the sky, but it stopped the downpour — even if only momentarily.
Coming off a weekend in which Filip Chytil dazzled and a couple of prospects played integral roles in Team USA’s IIHF World Junior Championship repeat gold medal win, however, the sun appears to be shining on the future of the Blueshirts organization.
Chytil had the same pop and swagger in the past two games that he showed through the first month and a half of the season, before the Czech center missed seven games for an upper-body injury that was deemed not a concussion.
Posting three goals on six shots in the past two games, Chytil set a new season-high point streak of four contests.
He appeared to be heating up the two games before that, too, when the 25-year-old ripped a pass off the boards to spring Brett Berard for his breakaway goal vs. the Bruins after he went five-hole on Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the previous game in Florida.
The Rangers hit the mark with their on-ice ceremony honoring Mika Zibanejad ahead of his 1,000th NHL game Monday night.
PORT ST. LUCIE — For now, Craig Kimbrel is choosing Mets purgatory.
‘Freak of nature: Zion Williamson’s resurgence could pose a Knicks problem versus motivated Pelicans
Zion Williamson is slimmer and healthier for his trip to MSG.
Don’t blame Mikal Bridges for his paltry stats. Blame the role.
Almost a year to the day after a goaltender interference call against Kyle Palmieri lost the Islanders a game against the Blue Jackets that started their season’s death spiral, they were on the wrong end of another controversial call against those same Blue Jackets that might have had the same effect.
On the Queens side of town, the reno began in earnest almost as soon as Francisco Lindor grounded into the 4-6-3 double play. That ended a 4-0 loss before a rare sizable crowd at Miami’s loanDepot Park last Sept. 27, all of them there to witness the final death rattles of an epic baseball calamity.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is being paid handsomely for his breakout season.
Next comes the harder part. Mostly because it can’t get any easier.
It was Kids Day at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, but for the Rangers, it’s been All About The Kids for months.
PORT ST. LUCIE — From the moment he was told he needed surgery on his left hamate bone, Francisco Lindor fixated on the recovery time. Trainers provided the Mets shortstop a six-week pathway to return to play, and Lindor was determined to hit every marker.
Dylan Garand knew the number off the top of his head. He knew that, between the regular season and playoffs, he’d logged over 160 games with AHL Hartford, and he was right. Before the Rangers recalled him Friday, Garand had served as the Wolf Pack’s goaltender 165 times.
SAN DIEGO — As you may have seen elsewhere in this newspaper (and also if you haven’t deleted me yet from your social media), I have a book coming out Tuesday called “The Bosses of The Bronx.” Much of it details the 37 years’ worth of antics, winning, losing, winning again and overall mania of George Steinbrenner’s time with the Yankees.
Don’t close the curtain on “Mean” Joe Greene.