As we slowly roll up on the All-Star Break and the Rangers remain in hot competition for a return to the post-season, 2011 is off to an auspicious start at least in that fans will want to watch more Rangers games as the year progresses. With almost half the season already underway, this will fortunately alleviate a little stress on the wallet as stress begins to mount around the playoff bubble. In what is shaping up to boil down to a 4 team race for 3 spots, between the Rangers, Thrashers, Canadiens and Hurricanes, the Blueshirts’ chances at this point still seem fairly optimistic, though a few more home wins would go a long way towards alleviating any concern. Season ticket packages are still available on the Rangers website, at reduced rates for the remainder of the season, if you would like to take part in the home crowd experience. After all, there’s no better place to watch the Rangers than in person at Madison Square Garden.Of course, season tickets aren’t an option for all fans, despite the need for crowds down the stretch, due to busy schedules and geographic proximity. For fans in the New York area, local programming will certainly carry both home and away games. However, for fans from afar, it could be approaching a point in the season where your TV service provider offers reduced rates on NHL packages. Or perhaps you do live in the area but simply want to watch more than just the Rangers to keep tabs on the playoff race and/or divisional standings. For example, on Center Ice through Dish Network or Direct TV New York, Atlanta, Montreal and Carolina games can all come straight to your living room. (more…)

As we sit over a third of the way through the 2010-2011 NHL season, the Rangers are off to a fine start. Not fine as in exemplary, not fine as is the finer things in life, not fine as is “dang she’s fine,” rather the casually dismissive “I’m fine, thanks for asking.” The point is, just like the 2009-2010 season in which the Rangers went, 38-33-11, and the 2008-2009 season, finishing at 43-30-9, the Rangers are on pace to be in playoff contention, but at this point in the maturation of the current group of players, is that really good enough? For the record, the Rangers qualified for the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference in 2008-2009 and missed the playoffs entirely the following year, though the race came down to the wire.In fact, in the 4 years preceding 2008-2009, the Rangers qualified for the postseason play, yet failed to deliver any hardware to the Madison Square Garden trophy case, after finishing no higher than 3^rd in the Atlantic Division. And where do the Rangers sit currently, you ask? Were the season to end today, the Rangers would indeed qualify for the playoffs, yet trail, you guessed it, two teams in the Atlantic Division. These means the Rangers, who in recent history have proved to fold in the face of adversity, would once again be called upon to not only defend their home ice but steal a game on the road in unfriendly confines. (more…)