12/16/10 Rangers vs. Coyotes (The Real Pre Game Post)

Sorry to any avid readers who were confused by my quite offensive article about the Coyotes. That was a fake little post to mess with my buddy James.

Now for the real post.

Rangers at home against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Rangers put on a thriller, scoring four goals against the Penguins in the 3rd period to win the game. In the process though, they lost a key player in Ryan Callahan to a broken hand. Speculations say that he will be out six weeks as of right now, which is a huge blow to the Rangers lineup. Luckily, Chris Drury's absence from the lineup has not dwindled his play, for he came out and played like he has played all year. So, lucky for the Rangers, Drury can possibly fill that little void left when Callahan is out.

The Coyotes got shut out by New Jersey last night, and have slipped out of playoff contention as of recently. They are 5-4-1 in their last 10, and a win tonight could bump them back up to 7th place in the Western Conference. While no player has managed to break the 10 goal plateau yet, there are plenty of players in their lineup who can produce when needed most. The Coyotes are +1 in the goals for/goals against ratio, which goes to show that their standing placement isn't as bad as the way they are playing. They are still a contending team from last year, and may shock the hockey world once again if consistency picks up in Phoenix.

My Diagnosis


The Rangers have been having a hard time building a win streak bigger than two wins in a row as of late. The  Coyotes have been plagued by the same problem, only I feel the Rangers have a lot more tools to work with than Phoenix does. Despite their less than satisfying home record, I'm giving tonight's game to the Rangers.

My Predictions


Rangers win 4-2

Erik Christensen will get the Rangers on the board first in the 1st period.
The Coyotes will pull even with a goal from Eric Belanger also in the 1st.
Derek Stepan will get the final goal of the 1st in the closing minutes.
Marian Gaborik will bring the Rangers up 3-1 in the 2nd period.
Keith Yandle will cut the deficit to one also in the 2nd period.
And finally, Artem Anisimov will cap the game off for the Rangers half way through the 3rd period.

Enjoy the game!