Dog show & fresh ice
 

Any thought on how this might affect the Rangers for better or worse?

Just about every game is played on fresh ice. The Rangers share MSG with the Knicks, the Liberty, the circus, monster truck rallies, concerts and all types of events. It's rare that the ice stays put for multiple games at a time.

That's not what I meant. For the dog show the ice is melted because the dogs can sense the cold and start digging. Afterwards an entirely new sheet of ice is layered down and painted, it's a new rink entirely.

This is not a true statement according to the million or so MSG tours I've been on. The ice is covered for almost every event, however it is removed for events involving animals like the circus, dog show, and rodeo stuff.

Unlike teams of the past, the quality of ice should have no impact.
Dump and chase, block shots, forecehck, bang people around.
That style could be played on any surface with equal effectiveness IMO.

Is this why the Blue Jackets game was moved to 8 pm?

Even with a 'new' layer of ice, this isn't the core problem as to why MSG's ice is bad in the first place.

The ice is located four stories up. Put that together with the fact that a train station is directly below everything, and a refrigeration ice system that is archaic compared to today's standards, you have a recipe for terrible ice conditions.

During the last phase of renovations is when they are finally going to be redoing the entire refrigeration system. This is when I believe the ice will finally be somewhat similar to most modern day arenas.

Most likely an afternoon Knicks game

Yep. Knicks play Dallas at 1 at the Garden.

Actually, if we're playing against a more skilled team, we should be intentionally making ****** ice, because it hurts the other team far more then it hurts us.

Liberty actually play in Newark now, which is extreamly weird. I found that out when I went to the Rangers/Devils game the other week.

But its really amazing how many events the arena holds during the course of a year.

They're only playing in Newark because the Garden's shut down during the summer for the renovations. They will be back when everything is done.

it's probably a combination of the knicks playing in the afternoon, the 19th being hockey day in american and the fact that monday is a national holiday.

Ah, I stand corrected.

Either way, MSG is always on the list of arenas with the worst ice in the THN Players Poll. I can't see how the dog show will make much of a difference, for better or for worse.