Bantering Points: 2/1/17

After getting nearly a week off to re-energize and prepare for a meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets, you would think the Rangers would have came out and played an inspired game. Well, that's where you'd be wrong. New York fell behind 6-0 early in the third period, before managing to battle back and eventually fall short by a score of 6-4. Luckily, the team will have the chance to put last night's debacle behind them quickly, as they'll be in Buffalo tomorrow night for a game against the Sabres. Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

• Highlights: CBJ 6, NYR 4 (4:38 Video via NHL.com)
• Game Recap: Unspectacular goaltending from both of their netminders proved to be too much for New York to overcome (CBS)
• Sean Hartnett points to Alain Vigneault's spectacular track record with young players as a reason to hand him a contract extension (CBS)
• Brett Cyrgalis and Dan Martin chatted with Alain Vigneault about how the coach's newly signed contract extension came together (NY Post)
• Larry Brooks discusses how the Rangers identified Vigneault as the right man for the job going forward (NY Post)
• Justin Tasch breaks down why New York made the right decision by extending their head coach's contract (NY Daily News)
• Tom Dianora points out how he Rangers' decision to hold on to Kevin Klein has turned into a missed opportunity (The Hockey Writers)
• Josh Khalfin highlights a number of OHL forwards for Rangers fans to be aware of (Blue Seat Blogs)
• John Williams believes hat with nearly half of their remaining games against divisional foes, New York controls it's own playoff destiny (Blue Line Station)
• Timothy Haggerty unveiled half of the list of the best Blueshirts since 2004 (Blue Line Station)
• Jared Clinton argues that Alain Vigneault has earned his spot as the third highest paid coach in the NHL (The Hockey News)
• Postgame Notes: With is third period tally, Michael Grabner reclaimed the league lead in even strength goals with twenty one (Official Team Site)
• Postgame Interviews: Alain Vigneault,(2:03) Kevin Klein,(0:58) Ryan McDonagh,(1:52) and Henrik Lundqvist (0:39)

Around the NHL:

• Greg Wyshynski wonders if the New York Islanders will look to scurry back to their old home of Nassau, now that the news of their eventual eviction from the Barclays Center is out (Puck Daddy)
• Emily Sadler reports that the Vegas Golden Knights are eligible to make trades as early as March 1st of this season, the day after the trade deadline (Sportsnet)
• Jason Brough relays word that opinions on the league's new mandated goalie pants range from "really comfortable" to "really restrictive" (NBC Sports)
• Ilya Bryzgalov "writes" about how he saved this year's All-Star Game (The Players Tribune)/