Tag: New York Rangers

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Predators and Rangers both eager to bounce back and improve their performance

Nashville Predators (NHL)

Despite having a tough season, the Nashville Predators might be in a better mental state than the struggling New York Rangers.

The Predators have the chance to avoid a fourth straight home loss by handing the Rangers their third consecutive defeat on Tuesday night.

As of Monday, Nashville had the fewest points (22) in the NHL. Even though they were stuck in a 1-6-3 slump, the Predators are still finding positive aspects of their game to move forward with hopes of a turnaround.

On Saturday, Nashville fell behind 3-0 at Colorado, but third-period goals from Steven Stamkos and Luke Evangelista brought them back into the game. However, the Avalanche scored two empty-net goals to win 5-2.

“In a year that it’s been tough to find some of those moral victories, with the way things (went Saturday, it’s) certainly one of those,” Stamkos, who has three points in three games, told the Predators’ website.

“And we’ve just got to build on that. It’s frustrating when you start to play the game the right way, the way that we want to, and you don’t necessarily see the results. That’s the old saying, ‘You just stick with it.’”

Maybe a game against the struggling Rangers will help Nashville, which is stuck in an 0-1-2 home slump.

The New York Rangers, the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winner, started the season strong with a 12-4-1 record and 61 goals scored. However, they’ve scored only 31 goals and lost 10 of their last 13 games.

New York Rangers (NHL)

On Sunday, the Rangers fell behind 3-0 at St. Louis but made a comeback with third-period goals from Brett Berard and Will Cuylle. However, they lost 3-2, which added to the team’s frustration.

“I don’t even know how to describe the feeling right now,” Rangers defenseman Adam Fox told the New York Post. “It’s definitely not good.

“We talk; we talk as a group and say to just try and be engaged. It definitely wears on you when you’re in kind of a streak like this.”

The Rangers have scored only seven goals in their last four games, three of which were decided by a single goal. Leading scorer Artemi Panarin (36 points) may miss a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury. It’s also unclear if winger Kaapo Kakko, who has just one point in his last six games, will return after being a healthy scratch on Sunday.

“We’ve just got to keep fighting, keep battling,” Cuylle, who has four goals and eight assists in 14 road games this season, told NHL.com.

After Jonathan Quick (2.47 goals-against average) made 21 saves at St. Louis, Igor Shesterkin (3.08 GAA) could be back in goal for New York.

Nashville’s Juuse Saros has a 3.40 goals-against average during his current 0-5-3 stretch. However, backup Justus Annunen was excellent, making 35 saves during the Predators’ 4-1 win at Dallas on Thursday.

It’s uncertain if injured Nashville captain and defenseman Roman Josi (lower body) will miss a third straight game.

Stamkos has 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 42 career games against New York. The Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad has only one point in his last six road games.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Kings keep momentum going with dominant 5-1 victory over Rangers

Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers

The Los Angeles Kings scored three goals in the second period to take control and went on to win 5-1 against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Warren Foegele each had a goal and an assist in the win, while goalie Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves on 32 shots.

Anze Kopitar added two assists for the Kings, who have now won seven of their last eight games.

Byfield, Kempe, and Phillip Danault all scored in the first 5:04 of the second period, which led to Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin being pulled from the game.

The Kings took the lead 7:05 into the game when Turcotte scored after receiving a clever pass from Kempe during a 2-on-1 rush.

Less than a minute after the opening goal, Connor Mackey tried to fire up the Rangers by fighting with Samuel Helenius.

With 4:54 left in the first period, Byfield set up Foegele in front of the net. After his first shot was stopped, Foegele scored on the rebound to give the Kings a 2-0 lead.

Los Angeles Kings players react after a goal in the 2nd period

Byfield made it 3-0 just under three minutes into the second period, scoring after getting a pass from Foegele and beating Shesterkin.

Kempe then made it 4-0 with a goal at 15:20 in the second period after a no-look pass from Kopitar.

Danault scored just 24 seconds later on a rebound, forcing the Rangers to bring in former Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who stopped all 13 shots he faced.

Filip Chytil got the Rangers on the board with 7:43 left in the second period, as his shot from the boards deflected off a defenseman and got past Kuemper.

A minute later, Chytil drew a penalty, but the Rangers couldn’t capitalize on the power play as Vincent Trocheck’s wrist shot hit the crossbar.

Mika Zibanejad had a shorthanded breakaway with 13:48 left but couldn’t score as Kuemper made a save with his legs.

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Kings aim to increase their intensity in afternoon matchup against the Rangers

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings have been on a strong run, moving up near the top of the crowded Pacific Division, while the New York Rangers are still trying to break out of a long slump.

The Rangers will look to fix their issues when they play the Kings on Saturday afternoon in New York.

Last season, the Kings had a record of 21-12-1 after coach Jim Hiller replaced Todd McLellan. This season, Los Angeles started with three straight losses but has been steadily earning points. They had a good start with an 8-3-3 record and are continuing their strong performance.

Since losing two consecutive road games to the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche, the Kings have gone 8-3-0 in their last 11 games. They’ve been winning because of their strong defense, allowing two goals or fewer in every victory.

During a six-game winning streak, the Kings outscored their opponents 21-8, but that streak ended with a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. Jordan Spence scored the only goal for the Kings, and captain Anze Kopitar didn’t get a point for the third time in his last 14 games.

The Kings are hoping to be more aggressive offensively after finishing Thursday’s game with only 14 shots on goal. They also allowed two goals in the third period, including the go-ahead goal by Jack Hughes.

“Maybe a little more aggressive right from the get-go,” said Kings forward Phillip Danault. “It wasn’t a bad game. They capitalized a little more, but I would say the pace was there. I didn’t mind our game, it’s just a matter of capitalizing.”

The Rangers have a record of 10-12-0 in their last 22 games, after starting 5-0-1. They’ve had problems since winning three games in a row from Nov. 14-19. New York has split six games since then, following a five-game losing streak from Nov. 21-29, which led general manager Chris Drury to say he was open to making trades.

New York Rangers (NHL)

On Dec. 6, Drury traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, and since then, the Rangers have split four games. They won 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the same day as the trade, but followed that up with poor performances in losses to the Seattle Kraken and Chicago Blackhawks.

New York avoided a third straight loss by winning 3-2 against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. Mika Zibanejad, who has been struggling, scored a power-play goal, while Reilly Smith and defenseman Adam Fox also scored. This win came after a 2-1 loss to Chicago, where coach Peter Laviolette criticized the team’s lack of effort.

“That’s what we talked about before the game,” Zibanejad said. “Just one win. That’s all we care about. And obviously you want to be able to stand here with an unbelievable effort for 60 minutes and have only positive stuff. But I’ll take the win. We’ll take the win. And keep building.”

However, the win came with a cost. K’Andre Miller was placed on injured reserve on Friday due to an upper-body injury he got during Wednesday’s game. Miller has two goals this season, and the Rangers called up Connor Mackey to replace him. Mackey will play alongside Braden Schneider on Saturday.

“We feel like we have good pieces in place to come up,” said Laviolette after practice on Friday. “Now it’s their turn to step up.”

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Struggling Rangers and Sabres are both facing boos as they prepare for their upcoming matchup

New York Rangers (NHL)

Two teams looking to turn things around will face off in Buffalo on Wednesday night when the Sabres host the New York Rangers.

The Sabres are in the middle of a seven-game losing streak, which is the longest active streak in the NHL. They are tied with the Nashville Predators, who will play Calgary on Tuesday night, for the longest current drought. Both teams have also lost three games in overtime or a shootout during their losing streaks.

Buffalo’s streak has been frustrating for the youngest team in the NHL. In Monday’s 6-5 shootout loss to Detroit, the Sabres were ahead 3-2 after the first period and 5-3 after the second, with goals from Jason Zucker and team leader Tage Thompson. However, the Red Wings tied the game in the third period and forced overtime.

Buffalo has had the lead after the first period in five games during the losing streak and has led after two periods in two of those games. The losing streak has led to fans booing the Sabres loudly during their home games.

After practice on Tuesday, coach Lindy Ruff spoke to reporters and said the team didn’t make the right choices as the Red Wings applied pressure, which has been a problem throughout the streak.

“We were making some good plays,” the coach said. “We just didn’t get comfortable enough when they were trying to stress us out by pinching down the walls and coming at us.”

The losing streak has also coincided with a poor stretch from Buffalo’s power play. Since the game in Anaheim on Nov. 22, the Sabres have scored just one power-play goal in 24 opportunities. Before that, they had scored at least one power-play goal in 10 of their previous 11 games.

Buffalo Sabres (NHL)

While Buffalo is tied for the longest current losing streak, the Rangers will come into Wednesday’s game with the worst record in their last 10 games (2-8-0).

This rough stretch has come during a difficult time for the Rangers. Last Friday, they traded defenseman and team captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, who is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and a draft pick. The Rangers had been trying to trade Trouba since the offseason.

The Rangers lost at home on Monday for the second time in as many days. They only managed a short-handed goal from Will Cuylle in a 2-1 loss to Chicago, which is tied with Nashville at the bottom of the standings. The loss was met with boos from the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

After the game, Laviolette spoke to reporters and said he understood the fans’ frustration. Whatever is causing the team’s poor performance, he said, needs to be fixed in the locker room.

“There’s been some positive signs inside the room, (but) not (Monday),” he said. “… I thought the intention in the first was good. The execution was off, and both slipped in the second and third.”

Ruff said the Sabres might welcome Mattias Samuelsson back into the lineup on Wednesday. Samuelsson has been dealing with a lower-body injury and last played on Nov. 11.

Ruff also said that Rasmus Dahlin is “progressing” as he recovers from back spasms that have kept him out since Dec. 3, but he did not give a timeline for when the defenseman might return.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Blackhawks snap five-game losing streak with win over Rangers

Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers

Taylor Hall scored the go-ahead goal with 13:44 left and also picked up an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks ended their five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the struggling New York Rangers on Monday night.

During their losing streak, the Blackhawks had been outscored 21-10. This win gave interim coach Anders Sorensen his first victory in his second game since taking over for Luke Richardson on Thursday. Chicago also snapped a six-game road losing streak (0-5-1) and earned just their fourth win in 15 games this season (4-10-1).

Hall broke a 1-1 tie with a great individual play during a two-on-one with Connor Bedard. Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller lost the puck along the boards to Jason Dickinson, who passed it to Bedard, who then fed Hall on the left wing. Hall went to the net, received a pass from Bedard, and the puck went in off Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin’s stick and pad as Hall fell over him.

Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Blackhawks, who won for the second time this season when scoring two goals or fewer (1-15-2).

New York Rangers (NHL)

Chicago goalie Arvid Soderblom made 29 saves in his second win of the season, highlighted by a key save with his left skate on Artemi Panarin during a Rangers power play in the second period. Soderblom played in place of Petr Mrazek, who was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury.

Will Cuylle scored his first career short-handed goal for the Rangers, but they lost for the eighth time in their last 10 games and were booed by the crowd during the third period. Shesterkin, who signed an eight-year, $92 million contract on Saturday, stopped 30 shots in his first appearance since the deal.

Chicago took the lead with 11:50 left in the first period after a mistake by Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad dumped the puck behind the net, but Hall intercepted it, circled the net, and passed it to Bertuzzi, who scored from the left circle.

The Rangers answered quickly, as they won a puck battle in their zone and moved the puck up the ice. Sam Carrick shot on Soderblom, who made the save, but Cuylle scored on the rebound with 43 seconds left in the first period.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

The Rangers are aiming to improve their defense against the Blackhawks

New York Rangers (NHL)

The New York Rangers were on track to win their second straight game on Sunday until their defense fell apart.

Still trying to find consistency, the Rangers now have the opportunity to recover from one of their worst defensive performances of the season when they face the NHL’s worst team, the Chicago Blackhawks, on Monday.

The Rangers have a record of 2-7-0 in their last nine games, with the two wins being followed by poor defensive efforts.

New York ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 30, but then lost 5-1 to the New Jersey Devils two days later. They won 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, only to suffer a 7-5 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday afternoon.

Reilly Smith, Filip Chytil, and Vincent Trocheck scored in the first 24:47 of the game, but the Rangers then allowed five unanswered goals. They lost their lead in the last 5:54 of the second period, letting the Kraken move freely through their offensive zone and take advantage of New York’s 12 turnovers.

“The goals were the chances, that was it,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “We had the pieces in place and when it came down to the point where it had to be defended, it got loose. Definitely not what you’re looking for, you’re in charge of a game 3-1 and like I said, the chances were the goals. We could’ve been tighter and better in those situations.”

Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

It was the first time the Rangers allowed seven goals since Dec. 12, 2023, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. New York has given up at least six goals five times in the first 26 games, which is one less than the total from last season, when the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy with 114 points.

New York is 7-1-0 in the last eight matchups with the Blackhawks, who are playing their second game since firing coach Luke Richardson and hiring Anders Sorensen as his replacement.

Chicago has scored just 66 goals, the third-lowest total in the NHL, and has been outscored 21-10 during a five-game losing streak. This streak continued with a 4-2 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, where the Blackhawks couldn’t capitalize after defensemen Alex Vlasic and Alec Martinez scored in the first period.

The Blackhawks were held to two goals or fewer for the third consecutive game and for the 18th time this season. They also had a season-low 14 shots on goal.

“We’re going to have to keep working at this,” said Chicago captain Nick Foligno. “It’s not just going to turn around in one day. Obviously, we would like it to. It would have been nice to get him (Sorensen) that first win. But we’re going to find a way to get it in New York.”

The Blackhawks are also dealing with injuries. Goalie Petr Mrazek was placed on injured reserve with a left groin injury on Sunday, and Martinez did not practice after taking a puck to the neck in the game against Winnipeg.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Rangers look for solutions after defeat to underperforming Blackhawks

New York Rangers (NHL)

The New York Rangers had the best record in the NHL last season, but after 27 games this season, they are struggling, with eight losses in their last 10 games.

Three days after trading captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim, the Rangers lost again, 2-1 at home to the Chicago Blackhawks, the team with the worst record in the league. During the game, the Rangers were booed several times by their fans at Madison Square Garden, where they have now lost eight out of 15 games this season.

“We’re not feeling great about that – for sure,” said Artemi Panarin, New York’s leading scorer, who didn’t get any points against his former team on Monday. “We’ve got to play better so we don’t hear that anymore.”

The Blackhawks, who hadn’t won a road game in over five weeks, played well with strong defense, good execution, and few mistakes. The Rangers took 30 shots and managed just one short-handed goal from Will Cuylle against Arvid Soderblom, the Blackhawks’ backup goalie, who had a 1-6-1 record.

This loss marked the second straight game where the Rangers were beaten by a backup goalie. On Sunday, they lost 7-5 to Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer after blowing a 3-1 lead.

“The execution was off all night. Could be fatigue. Could be mental. Could be anything,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “Regardless, it’s unacceptable. We’ve got to be better than that. You’re not going to win hockey games if you can’t execute.”

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson, center top, talks to his players during the third period of an NHL hockey game

The Rangers started the season strong with a 12-4-1 record but have gone 2-8-0 since their 4-3 win over Vancouver on Nov. 19. The team traded Trouba and his $8 million salary, which freed up cap space but left them without a tough physical presence on defense.

New York’s star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, who just signed an eight-year, $92 million extension on Saturday, has a 9-10-1 record and has lost six of his last seven games.

Laviolette stressed that the leadership group, now without Trouba, needs to step up if the Rangers want to improve their position in the standings.

“The only answers are going to come from that room,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got to be better than we were tonight.”

For Chris Kreider, the team’s most experienced player at 33 years old, the solution is to bring the right mindset and put in consistent effort. The Rangers play Buffalo on Wednesday and will return home to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

“We have to get back to work and show we can play the right way,” Kreider said. “And we have to do that for 60 minutes.”

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Kraken come from behind to defeat struggling Rangers in a high-scoring showdown

Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two goals and had two assists as the Seattle Kraken came back from a two-goal deficit to beat the New York Rangers 7-5 on Sunday afternoon.

Eeli Tolvanen added a goal and two assists, and Shane Wright contributed one goal and one assist for Seattle, which finished a 3-1-0 road trip and won against the Rangers for the second time in franchise history (2-6-0).

Brandon Tanev, Vince Dunn, and Yanni Gourde also scored for Seattle, while Chandler Stephenson and Matty Beniers each had two assists. Philipp Grubauer, who started in goal because Joey Daccord was sick, made 32 saves, earning his first win in his last seven decisions since October 17.

K’Andre Miller and Vincent Trocheck each had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin each recorded two assists for the Rangers, who have lost seven of their last nine games.

Reilly Smith, Filip Chytil, and Alexis Lafreniere also scored for New York. Jonathan Quick, starting because Igor Shesterkin was out due to his wife going into labor, saved 15 of 21 shots. Quick had shut out the Kraken 2-0 on November 17 in Seattle.

Seattle Kraken (NHL)

After falling behind 3-1, the Kraken scored three goals in 5:18 late in the second period to take the lead. Tanev scored at 14:06, Tolvanen at 15:34, and Bjorkstrand tipped in a shot from Brandon Montour at 19:24 to give Seattle a 4-3 lead.

Seattle added to its lead in the third period, with Dunn scoring a powerful shot from the right point just 1:00 in, and Wright scoring at 11:13 to make it 6-3.

The Rangers fought back as Miller scored at 12:27 and Lafreniere at 14:57 to cut the Kraken’s lead to one goal.

Gourde sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:14.

The Rangers scored the first goal of the game as Miller’s shot from the left point went between Grubauer’s pads, and Smith was there to tap it in at 3:38.

Bjorkstrand tied the game with a power-play goal at 1:46 of the second period.

Chytil scored at 2:50 of the second, and Trocheck added a power-play goal at 4:47, giving the Rangers a 3-1 lead.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Ducks’ Jacob Trouba criticizes Rangers as he departs

Jacob Trouba (NHL)

Jacob Trouba is happy with his new home in Anaheim, but he is not pleased with how the New York Rangers handled his departure from Manhattan.

“I was put in a position this summer to make a decision between my career and my family and I chose my family. I would choose my family 100 times over again,” Trouba told Mollie Walker of the New York Post.

“I don’t feel bad about that. I was happy about it. I don’t like that it was made public necessarily or how everything unfolded so publicly, but I guess that’s part of New York and what happens.”

“It made it difficult to play kind of with that hanging over everything. The result is the result. I’m happy with moving forward, but I’m not overly thrilled with how it went down. In my opinion, things could’ve been handled better. I’m not blaming anybody or anything, just kind of how it happened I thought was kind of unfortunate.”

The trade talks for Trouba began in the offseason and were brought up again recently when Rangers general manager Chris Drury told other GMs about the defenseman’s availability.

New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins

Trouba also confirmed to Walker on Friday that if he had not agreed to the trade — Trouba’s contract includes a 15-team no-trade clause, according to PuckPedia — the Rangers were planning to place the veteran defenseman on waivers, meaning he wouldn’t have had any control over where he would go.

In the end, Trouba was not placed on waivers Friday but was traded to the Ducks shortly after. In exchange, the Rangers received defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

So far this season, Trouba played 24 games with the Rangers and earned six points. The 30-year-old from Rochester, Michigan, spent parts of six seasons in New York, playing in 364 regular-season games and recording 31 goals and 105 assists for 136 points.

Trouba was named captain of the Rangers before the 2022-23 season and helped the team win its fourth Presidents’ Trophy last season after finishing the year with 114 points.

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NFL (American Football)

Igor Shesterkin ends his slump as the Rangers defeat the Penguins 4-2

New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins

Reilly Smith scored the go-ahead goal with 10:07 left in the third period, and the New York Rangers finished an eventful day with a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

The Rangers got their second win in eight games (2-6-0) after trading their captain, struggling defenseman Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks earlier in the day. New York also reportedly signed goalie Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year contract extension.

Smith, who made a defensive play that led to a two-on-one break, scored against his old team after Pittsburgh goalie Alex Nedeljkovic stopped him and Mika Zibanejad. Smith stayed with the play, moved to the right side of the crease, gained control of the rebound, and slid the puck into the slightly open right side of the net.

Smith’s fourth goal of the season came almost 2 1/2 minutes after Pittsburgh’s Phillip Tomasino tied the game at 2-2.

Artemi Panarin scored twice in the second period as the Rangers came back from an early deficit. Panarin, who leads the team with 15 goals, had his fifth multi-goal game of the season, putting the Rangers ahead 2-1 with just two seconds left in the period.

Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers

Vincent Trocheck sealed the win with a goal 98 seconds left after assisting Panarin on his goals.

Blake Lizotte also scored for Pittsburgh, which had its four-game winning streak ended.

Shesterkin made 20 saves, ending a personal five-game losing streak. His first win since Nov. 19 was highlighted by a glove save on Evgeni Malkin with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the second period.

Nedeljkovic allowed four goals on 32 shots.

Lizotte gave Pittsburgh the lead when he skated through the offensive zone without being challenged, entered the slot, and beat Shesterkin to the glove side with 13:41 remaining in the second period.

The Rangers tied the game 69 seconds later when Panarin received a cross-ice pass from Alexis Lafreniere and fired a shot from just above the left circle into the net while Malkin tried to block it.

After Owen Pickering hit the right post with 47 seconds left, the Rangers regained the lead. Panarin took a pass from Trocheck, entered the offensive zone, moved through the slot, and released a shot that went past Nedeljkovic.

Tomasino scored after the Rangers turned the puck over in the neutral zone, lifting the puck past Shesterkin’s blocker 8:29 into the third period.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Jacob Trouba is unhappy with the way the Rangers managed his departure in the trade to Anaheim

Josh Trouba and Connor McDavid in the 2nd period

Jacob Trouba is finally leaving New York after months of public trade rumors and private pressure from the Rangers, who were determined to move on from their captain and his large contract.

Trouba wasn’t happy with how he was pushed out, but he is glad to join the Anaheim Ducks.

“It’s a rite of passage to get fired from MSG,” Trouba said Friday after the Ducks traded defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025 for the veteran defenseman.

The trade ends Trouba’s five-year run with the Rangers. He had been involved in trade rumors for months, and he admitted that the uncertainty affected his play this fall.

“Don’t like that it was made public necessarily, but I guess that’s New York and how it happens,” Trouba said. “Made it kind of hard to play, but I’m excited to move forward. In my opinion, things could have been handled better. Not blaming anybody or anything, but it was just kind of an unfortunate end to my time in New York.”

Josh Anderson and Josh Trouba in the 1st period

Rangers general manager Chris Drury has made no secret of his desire to revamp the roster since the summer, and Trouba is in the sixth year of a seven-year, $56 million contract. His expensive deal was a barrier to the changes New York wanted to make, and Trouba also had a strong no-trade clause.

In a conference call set up by the Ducks to introduce their new defenseman, Trouba confirmed the long-rumored details of his time in New York, including his decision to block a trade — reportedly to Detroit — last summer. He did this to stay with his wife, Kelly, who is completing her three-year medical residency at a hospital in New York.

“I’ll be honest, I was put in a position this summer to make a decision between my career and my family, and I chose my family,” Trouba said. “I would choose my family 100 times over again.”

Trouba also confirmed that the Rangers told him this week to accept a trade or risk being scratched. He also mentioned that he was informed he would eventually be placed on waivers, which would have taken away his ability to choose where he went.

“Yesterday morning was, ‘Accept this trade or we’re scratching you,’” Trouba said. “Got to the place where I felt comfortable with Anaheim, and that was the place I wanted to go.”

Trouba said his wife is also excited about moving to Southern California, calling it “a great opportunity for her long-term as well.” Trouba will join the last-place Ducks in Montreal on Monday for the start of a four-game trip.

“It’s a team that’s kind of right on the cusp of taking the next step and being really great, I think,” he added. “I can come in there and make an impact in a positive way. It’s just a city I was very excited about coming into.”

New York Rangers (NHL)

Trouba joined the Rangers in a trade with Winnipeg in 2019 and became New York’s captain before the 2022-23 season.

Trouba has been considered one of the NHL’s best checking defensemen when at his best. He has six assists in 23 games this season but has struggled to produce offensively like he did in his best years, including a career-high 50 points with the Jets in 2018-19.

“I can tell you — and I said this to him — I thought while he was here and during our time here he was a really good player and a really good teammate. A good person,” said New York coach Peter Laviolette after Friday night’s 4-2 win over Pittsburgh. “I thought he worked hard and tried to set a good example for the New York Rangers.”

The Ducks can handle the remaining 1 1/2 years of Trouba’s contract because they have one of the NHL’s lowest payrolls and plenty of salary cap space after general manager Pat Verbeek couldn’t sign any top free agents last summer.

Trouba will immediately become an important player on the Ducks’ defense, who are currently in last place in the Pacific Division. He will also play alongside Anaheim forwards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano, who were his teammates with the Rangers during their 2022 Eastern Conference finals run.

“I think he’s got some underrated offensive skills that probably hasn’t shown in the last year or so,” Verbeek said. “It gives our team a lot more rigid, physical play to the rest of our group, and for me, I’m trying to make this team better.

Anaheim Ducks and Seattle Kraken

That is part of how I want us to play. I want us to be really tough to play against, and he certainly adds that element to our group.”

The Ducks’ defense includes captain Radko Gudas, veteran Cam Fowler, free agent signing Brian Dumoulin, and promising young players Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and Jackson LaCombe.

The rebuilding Ducks are still not a strong team on offense or defense after six seasons without making the playoffs, but they have shown improvement defensively this year, allowing 2.96 goals per game after giving up 3.57 last season.

Vaakanainen, who hasn’t played since November 13 due to an upper-body injury, was included in the trade. He played 68 games and scored one goal for the Ducks last season but has struggled with injuries throughout his career with Boston and Anaheim.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Reports indicate that the Rangers have agreed to a contract with Igor Shesterkin, making him the highest-paid goalie in the NHL

Igor Shesterkin watches Sidney Crosby as he protects the net in the 1st period

The New York Rangers made a deal with Igor Shesterkin on Friday that will make him the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history, according to multiple reports.

Shesterkin, who will turn 29 on December 30, agreed to an eight-year contract worth a reported $92 million, which averages $11.5 million per year. This surpasses Carey Price’s eight-year, $84 million deal signed with Montreal in 2017, making it the most expensive contract for a goalie.

The Rangers did not announce the contract, and Shesterkin refused to comment on it after the Rangers won 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

“I cannot say anything else,” Shesterkin said. “Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow.”

Shesterkin, who succeeded Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist as the Rangers’ goalie, has been one of the best in the league since his debut in 2020. He has a record of 144-68-18, with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.

Igor Shesterkin passes to Cody Glass in the 1st period

This season, the Moscow native has a record of 9-9-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2021-22 and has helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference final twice.

Signing Shesterkin to a long-term deal was the most important task left for general manager Chris Drury after trading defenseman Jacob Trouba to Anaheim earlier on Thursday. Drury also signed rising star forward Alexis Lafrenière to a seven-year contract earlier this season, and a new contract for key defenseman Ryan Lindgren could be next.