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YANKEES AND METS: WHO REIGNS SUPREME, SEASON AWARDS THUS FAR By: Matthew Blittner As the current Major League Baseball Season reaches the traditional bench mark of Memorial Day Weekend, let's examine just who "owns" the City of New York, the Yankees or the Mets? And to spice up the debate, I will also provide my take on several awards for the two teams at this point in the season. MVP (MOST VALUABLE PLAYER) YANKEES: AARON JUDGE. No surprise here. The, "Judge Man," as he has affectionately been dubbed by the Pinstriped Faithful, is currently raking at a historic rate. With 15 home runs through play on Friday night May 26th, Judge is tied with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's Mike Trout and the Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper (Harper blasted his 15th of the season on Friday night against the Padres as part of the Nats 5-1 win at Nationals Ball Park.) To go along with his 15 homers, Judge has a .315/.420/.678 triple-slash line, ...

ISLANDERS EXPANSION DRAFT: WHO TO PROTECT By: Matthew Blittner As many of you who follow the NHL know, next season will feature the first chapter in the new Las Vegas Golden Knights franchise history. But, before that can happen, the Golden Knights have to build themselves a roster, and as per NHL tradition, that means that Vegas will have the opportunity to select one player from each of the remaining 30 teams in the league. In years past, the goal was to simply fill out the roster of the new expansion franchise, but this time around, the NHL has decided that it wants their newest club member to be competitive right out of the gate. So, certain rules were put in place to help speed up Vegas' competitive timetable.  On June 21st, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Golden Knights will formally announce to the world, their list of selected players. The NY Islanders, are in the same boat as every other club in the NHL. They will lose one player...

NY RANGERS OFFSEASON: HOW TO FINALLY CAPTURE THE STANLEY CUP By: Matthew Blittner With the matchup for the 2016-17 Stanley Cup now set, the Pittsburgh Penguins will take on the Nashville Predators, in a series that will certainly provide a stark contrast between these two teams. Pittsburgh entered the 2016-17 season as defending Stanley Cup Champions, and looking to become the first team since the 1997 and 1998 Detroit Red Wings to repeat as Cup Champions.  This will mark the fourth time in the Hard Cap Era that the Penguins will play for Lord Stanley's Fabled Chalice, (2008, 2009, 2016, and 2017) and the sixth time since 1990. Nashville meanwhile, is in the first Stanley Cup Final of its' 19-year history. To juxtapose the teams even further, Nashville is attempting to become the first eight-seed to hoist The Most Sought After Trophy in All of Sports, since the 2012 Los Angeles Kings. On the other hand, the Penguins are coming off yet another 100 plus...

RANGERS EXPANSION DRAFT: WHO TO PROTECT By: Matthew Blittner As many of you who follow the NHL know, next season will feature the first chapter in the new Las Vegas Golden Knights franchise history. But, before that can happen, the Golden Knights have to build themselves a roster, and as per NHL tradition, that means that Vegas will have the opportunity to select one player from each of the remaining 30 teams in the league. In years past, the goal was to simply fill out the roster of the new expansion franchise, but this time around, the NHL has decided that it wants their newest club member to be competitive right out of the gate. So, certain rules were put in place to help speed up Vegas' competitive timetable.  On June 21st, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Golden Knights will formally announce to the world, their list of selected players. The NY Rangers, are in the same boat as every other club in the NHL. They will lose one player to t...

RANGERS' SEASON COMES TO SCREECHING HALT -- OUSTED BY OTTAWA By: Matthew Blittner RIP -- Here lies the NY Rangers' 2016-17 season and their hopes of winning the  Crème de la crème  of sports hardware -- The Stanley Cup. In the last 76 years, the Rangers have won exactly one Stanley Cup, and that was 23-years ago at this point! On Tuesday night, May 9th, 2017, the Rangers fell to the Ottawa Senators in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, or for the fans who remember such a thing, the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. "They went out, not with a bang, but with a whimper." If the Stanley Cup playoffs are a boxing match, then the Rangers have been KO'ed in the second round, and by a lesser opponent no less. Not to take anything away from Ottawa, they made the plays when it mattered most, and of course had some good puck luck, as they are a team deserving of moving on in this heart-wrenching tournament. However, with their experience of the pas...

PREVIEW: RANGERS VS SENATORS GAME 6 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS By: Matthew Blittner Is this 2012 or 2017? You might ask, what commonality links these two years together? Well, let's take a look at the New York Rangers' playoff runs from both years. 2012: The Rangers faced the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals and fell behind three games to two after losing Game 5 at Madison Square Garden by a score of 2-0 as Jason Spezza netted both Ottawa goals against Henrik Lundqvist and Craig Anderson pitched a 41-save shutout. 2017: The Rangers are facing the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Second Round or the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals if you will. After losing Game 5 in Ottawa, by a score of 5-4 in overtime, the Blueshirts find themselves in the same 3-2 hole that they did in 2012. Once again, Henrik Lundqvist got beat in a crucial game, this time thanks to Kyle Turris's OT game-winner, while Craig Anderson, who was ...

RANGERS SEASON ON THE BRINK -- LOSE GAME 5 IN DEJA VU MOMENT By: Matthew Blittner Having tied their series with Ottawa at two games apiece entering the swing game of Game 5, the Rangers were riding a wave of momentum. Having outscored Ottawa 8-2 over Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden, the Blueshirts looked to continue their surge towards the Eastern Conference Finals. In the beginning, it looked like the Rangers would do just that.  Goals by Jesper Fast and Nick Holden in the first 5:13 of the game gave the Blueshirts a quick 2-0 lead and they were looking for more. Alas, Henrik Lundqvist did not have it on this day, as he  flubbed the puck by turning it over behind his net and couldn't get back into position in time, and Ottawa's Mark Stone put it in the vacated net at 6:03 of the first to trim the Ranger lead to 2-1. Thankfully, the Blueshirts would hold the lead through the end of the first period and were 40 minutes away from a 3-2 lead ...

GAME 5 RECAP: RANGERS-SENATORS By: Matthew Blittner Rangers 4, Senators 5 (OT):          5/6/17        Canadian Tire Centre Well that was fast. An 0-2 series became 2-2 after last night's 4-1 win by the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Now, all of a sudden, a series in which the Rangers were left for dead by the media after their collapse in Game 2, has become tied as the teams prepare to play Game 5 in Ottawa tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. A big difference in the past two games has been the level of play of the teams' goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist has rebounded in spectacular fashion from his Game 2 meltdown, to allow just a single goal in both Games 3 and 4. With his teammates making it a priority to allow him a clear line of sight on the opposition's shots, the King has been able to re-ascend to his throne. Meanwhile, his counterpart Craig Anderson, has fallen further into the abyss as he has surrendered seven tota...

PREVIEW: RANGERS VS SENATORS GAME 5 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS By: Matthew Blittner Well that was fast. An 0-2 series became 2-2 after last night's 4-1 win by the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Now, all of a sudden, a series in which the Rangers were left for dead by the media after their collapse in Game 2, has become tied as the teams prepare to play Game 5 in Ottawa tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. A big difference in the past two games has been the level of play of the teams' goaltenders.  Henrik Lundqvist has rebounded in spectacular fashion from his Game 2 meltdown, to allow just a single goal in both Games 3 and 4. With his teammates making it a priority to allow him a clear line of sight on the opposition's shots, the King has been able to re-ascend to his throne. Meanwhile, his counterpart Craig Anderson, has fallen further into the abyss as he has surrendered seven total goals over the two games at MSG. It hasn't been entirely An...

RANGERS TIE SERIES -- AMIRANTE RETURNS TO FUEL THE FANS By: Matthew Blittner "Ladies and Gentlemen, here to sing Oh Canada and the Star-Spangled Banner, please welcome back  a fan favorite since 1980, JOHN AMIRANTE!" Roughly 30 hours before the puck was scheduled to drop for Game 4, word leaked out over the internet that the Rangers had decided to bring their iconic National Anthem singer John Amirante back from a two-year team imposed hiatus. As word spread through the City of New York, many fans became more excited about Amirante's imminent return rather than for the actual game. So, when it came time for the fans to rise and remove their caps for the singing of both National Anthems, there was a palpable electricity in the air of Madison Square Garden. Many likely wondered if the internet rumors were indeed true. Well, THEY WERE! As the Public Address Announcer was introducing Amirante, the crowd of 19,000 plus, was whipping itself in...

MID-SEASON NY RANGERS TRADES -- BEST OVER PAST 25-YEARS By: Matthew Blittner With the NY Rangers currently playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, many people are likely wondering how this team was put together and why are they among the final eight teams left standing out of 31. A team's construction is usually the primary responsibility of the General Manager. A GM can construct his roster through moves such as: trades, free agent signings, drafting, call-ups/demotions, and waiver claims. So, for your reading pleasure, I have listed four of the top Rangers' mid-season trades over the last 25-years, that directly led to either a Stanley Cup Championship, or a deep playoff run. These trades are listed in chronological order with the the oldest one first, and for your entertainment, I have included a rating for each. Enjoy! 1) MARCH 21, 1994 -- RANGERS PREP FOR STANLEY CUP RUN, ACQUIRE FOUR PLAYERS. Looking to shore up the team fo...