{"id":4937,"date":"2017-01-03T14:31:44","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T19:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=4937"},"modified":"2017-01-03T14:31:44","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T19:31:44","slug":"matt-puempel-finding-groove-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/01\/03\/matt-puempel-finding-groove-rangers\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Puempel Finding His Groove With The New York Rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/puempma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Puempel<\/a><\/strong> has been making a name for himself in New York. The 23-year old and former 24th overall pick in the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft has tallied five goals and an assist in 13\u00a0games as a Blueshirt. \u00a0In the same amount of games with the Ottawa Senators this season, Puempel had zero points, thus leading to his placement on the waiver wire and eventual arrival with the New York Rangers.<\/p>\n<h3>Matt Puempel Finding His Groove With The New York Rangers<\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 27px;\">Fighting for a Roster Spot<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Injuries have been an issue for the Rangers so far in the 2016-17 season. \u00a0Forwards<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zibanmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mika Zibanejad<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nashri01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rick Nash<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/buchnpa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pavel Buchnevich<\/a><\/strong> have all missed time due to injury. \u00a0With these players&#8217; absence, the Rangers needed to find a player fast. \u00a0When Puempel was picked up and signed by the New York Rangers in late November, the purpose was for him to serve as a bottom line, fill-in player to help add depth to the injury-riddled Rangers. \u00a0Puempel has done just that and more-he is producing significant points for a fourth line player.<\/p>\n<p>Puempel has netted a total of five goals, and scored his first ever career hat trick on Dec. 29 when the Rangers decimated the Arizona Coyotes 6-3. \u00a0All three of Puempel&#8217;s goals came on the power-play, with the third tally being in the dying minute of the game. \u00a0Puempel&#8217;s role on the man-advantage with the Rangers has been a significant one. With all of the offensive talent in guys like <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/millejt01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.T. Miller<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zuccama01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mats Zuccarello<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/stepade01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derek Stepan<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nashri01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rick Nash<\/a><\/strong>, just to a name a few, it is a good sign to see a bottom line player like Puempel see time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NYR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NYR<\/a> win 6-3 thanks to a hat trick from Matt Puempel!! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ifQcDxJISt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ifQcDxJISt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/814691575414620160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 30, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps Head Coach <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/v\/vigneal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alain Vigneault<\/a><\/strong> sees Puempel has a fourth line, specialist player. \u00a0One that grinds it out and plays his role with the team and fills in on special teams, like\u00a0<strong>Sam Gagner<\/strong> on the Blue Jackets. \u00a0Let it be noted that 4:05 of his 12:20 of ice time against the Coyotes was all on special teams and in that frame he scored three goals.<\/p>\n<h2>Puempel&#8217;s Future<\/h2>\n<p>Puempel has definitely defined his role with the Rangers. \u00a0He&#8217;s an excellent bottom line player who can serve as a valuable asset on special teams. \u00a0He has great speed that blends into the Rangers&#8217; face paced, hard nose offense. Most importantly, Puempel is not afraid to get in front of the net. \u00a0The turning of the new year sparks a critical time for all hockey teams. The Rangers have not have had an easy road this year, and the competition is tough, especially in the Metropolitan Division. The Blueshirts offense needs to remain hot if they seek a playoff berth and another shot at the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Soon, however,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zibanmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zibanejad<\/a> returns from his broken leg, and after him, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/buchnpa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buchnevich<\/a> is set to return soon. \u00a0That is two player right there back into the lineup. \u00a0So what with Puempel? \u00a0Alain Vigneault will most likely scratch Puempel and will use him as a fill in player whether it be for injuries, the rare suspension, or if another player just can&#8217;t seem to get it going.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NYR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NYR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikaZibanejad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MikaZibanejad<\/a> takes the ice early! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NdtCyQMFf3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/NdtCyQMFf3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYRangers\/status\/815966444181721088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Vigneault told the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/sports\/hockey\/rangers\/matt-puempel-nets-career-hat-trick-rangers-beat-coyotes-article-1.2928286?utm_content=bufferce888&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=JTasch+Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> New York Daily News<\/a>,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cHe\u2019s working extremely hard. There\u2019s no doubt that he\u2019s got an offensive knack there. He knows where to go, and hopefully a game like tonight will give him more confidence and he\u2019ll be able to help us out moving forward.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>All in all, Puempel turned nothing with the Senators into something with the Rangers. \u00a0He had a total of four goals in 52 total games played with Ottawa, scoring more than that in just the 13 games. The former Kitchener Ranger has played an impressive game and seems to fill in well with the team&#8217;s offense and style of playing. \u00a0It remains up in the air of whether or not he will receive a contract at the end of the season, but for the time being, the best for for Puempel to do is to keep playing his game and racking up as many points as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/630663638\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/630663638?et=FYbw8AfdTgFLTwtJDzosYw&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=_yTN5ZozEZjqdX1Cdi67TJ1ojAPa7lVSmpjhZCQ9ivI=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matt Puempel has been making a name for himself in New York. The 23-year old and former 24th overall pick in the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft has tallied five goals and an assist in 13\u00a0games as a Blueshirt. \u00a0In the same amount of games with the Ottawa Senators this season, Puempel had zero [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1187,"featured_media":4948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"1483452000","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"Matt Puempel playing great so far for Rangers after being claimed in November","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[37,915,371,48],"class_list":["post-4937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rangers","tag-hockey","tag-matt-puempel","tag-mika-zibanejad","tag-new-york-rangers"],"modified_by":"Griffin Schroeder (Associate Editor)","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}