Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Red Headed Kid With The Black Hat

Mackenzie Skapski wears the Broadway Hat
Talk about milestone days. Twenty year old Mackenzie Skapski had a bunch. It was his father, Denis, 47th birthday. Birthdays? The kid was born on the day that the Rangers won the Cup in 1994. Skapski started the season playing in the Eastern League, moved up to Hartford in the American Hockey League and wound up playing for the NHL Rangers. I don't think anyone else has ever done that. Look it up.

The game started poorly for Skapski. Fourteen seconds in the Sabres, Matt Moulson, scored as the Rangers blundered in their own end. It was probably a blessing in disguise as the Rangers totally controlled the puck for the first two periods. The Rangers out shot the Sabres 31-12 and played most of the first two period in the Buffalo zone. The third period was more competitive  with a 13-12 Sabre edge. Skapski had 24 saves, the Sabre goalie, Michael Neuvirth had 40 saves.

The kid may have been nervous at the start but he over came that quickly. He spent every time out at the Ranger bench, chatting and fist pumping. Other timeouts were spent talking to the officials. This kid is no blushing wall flower. The kid has a personality and he brought it out full time in this game.

More important. He won the game and got the Rangers those coveted two points. The Rangers are three points behind the Islanders and have two games in hand. The Islanders have just tied the Caps with 47 seconds left. So after the game the Ranger gave the red headed kid the famous black hat, which is symptomatic of the star of the game. He sure was. Here's to the Red Headed Kid with the Black Hat.

The Rangers are 8-1-2 since the King went down. Fortunately, the two Princes,Cam and Mackenzie have held up well. Hail Sir Cam. Hail Sir Mackenzie. Lets keep it going. They are in a shootout on the Island. The Caps won the shoot out 1-0. Caps are tied with Rangers for 2nd with 78 points. The Rangers have three games in hand. The Rangers are four points behind the Islanders and have three games in hand. Stay tuned.



Related Articles by Categories


0 comments:

New York Rangers (@NYRangers) | Twitter

NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) | Twitter

NHL on TNT (@NHL_On_TNT) | Twitter

The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) | Twitter

Blueshirt Banter (@BlueshirtBanter) | Twitter

NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) | Twitter

Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) | Twitter

NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) | Twitter

Stephen Valiquette (@VallysView) | Twitter