Winter Classic 2012: Why Surging New York Rangers Will Continue Road Domination

The NHL’s Winter Classic has been a letdown for the home team’s fanbase since its inception in 2008. For that reason, and the fact that the New York Rangers have won their last four games, the trend of road teams winning the Winter Classic will continue.  

There have been four Winter Classics, with only the Boston Bruins fans seeing their hometown team win. Aside from that 2-1 game, it’s been a road team domination of 11-6.  

If the pressure of playing at Citizens Bank Park doesn’t get to the Philadelphia Flyers, then the relentless Rangers attack will.  

This New York squad has been on fire heading into the Winter Classic. They have won four straight games, outscoring their opponents 15-7. In three of those four games, they have scored four goals, while allowing two.  

During this four-game winning streak, it hasn’t been all been done by Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.  

Lundqvist has seen his games and minutes drop this year in an effort to try to keep him more rested when they enter the playoffs.

This has led to both him and backup goalie Martin Biron splitting time during this season and this winning streak. Both Biron and Lundqvist have two wins during this streak.  

However, the stellar net play from the Rangers goalies isn’t the only reason why this team is red hot.

During this four-game streak, superstar forward Marian Gaborik has been on a tear. The winning streak has seen Gaborik score a goal in each game, a total of six goals.  

The winning streak has even seen a preview of this year’s Winter Classic, with the Rangers beating the Flyers, 4-2.  

That game saw a Rangers team prove to be too much for the Flyers. New York was able to hold a Flyers offense that ranks second in the NHL in scoring averaging with almost four goals per game, to only two.  

However, the win over the Flyers last week was not something to the Rangers.  

In their first meeting, Lundqvist stole the show with a 29-save performance, helping the Rangers shutout the Flyers, 2-0. 

At this year’s Winter Classic, we will see another road team come in and win a tough fought game.  

The win will pull the road team even further ahead in the all-time Winter Classic record to 4-1, which will make it a daunting task for whomever the host of the game next year is. 

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