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Rebounding Rangers back home, look to force Game 7

By WTOP Staff

IRA PODELL
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — When the New York Rangers last left Madison Square Garden they were embarrassed, disappointed, and unsure if they would get another chance this season to erase the haunting memories of a playoff meltdown.

Hard work, desperation, and team bonding — all in the face of a personal tragedy — were enough to prevent the Rangers’ season from ending Friday night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.

New York will need two more performances just as good to reach the Eastern Conference finals.

The first one is Sunday night back in the Garden, where two losses in the past week put the Rangers in a 3-1 hole and on the brink of elimination.

“Our first game at home, we played real well,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Saturday after the team returned to New York. “We limited Pittsburgh to 15 shots, we had 35 shots, we had a good amount of scoring chances. We just didn’t finish. The second game — obviously, we’d like to forget about that one.”

That was Wednesday night, a lackluster 4-2 defeat in which the Rangers recorded only 15 shots on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and turned over the puck a staggering 25 times. They had no answers for their foibles and they searched for confidence that they could shake it off and get the series back to New York for Game 6.

“Like we mentioned, it was a bad time to have a bad game, but we did,” Vigneault said. “We moved past it, we got ready for (Friday) night, and we played a good game.”

The Rangers showed their desperation from the start, and jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period when they had 17 shots — two more than their Game 4 total. They took the play to the Penguins, and rallied around teammate Martin St. Louis, who was in the lineup despite the sudden death of his mother on Thursday.

When the Penguins got within 2-1 in the second, the Rangers responded with a pair of goals 50 seconds apart to stretch the lead to three. An empty-netter made it 5-1 and ensured Sunday’s game would be necessary.

“It’s going to be a very emotional night again for our group, being Mother’s Day, and the situation that Marty is going through,” Vigneault said.

While the Rangers waited to head home — their return was delayed until Saturday because of fog in New York — St. Louis went back to Montreal. It was his second trip there as he also went home on Thursday after learning of his mother’s death when he arrived in Pittsburgh.

St. Louis spent the night with his father, and on Friday morning they decided it was best for him to rejoin his teammates because that is what his mother would’ve wanted. His latest trip to Montreal was to pick up his father and sister, who will be in attendance for Game 6.

“Hopefully, that will bring us some positive energy,” Vigneault said. “We’ve been able through adversity and through some of these moments to focus in the right areas. That’s what I think we did last night. We applied the game plan we wanted to apply.

“If our intentions are on continuing to play this year, we have to win. Pittsburgh, if they don’t win, they still have another opportunity. From our standpoint, we don’t have a choice. Our level of play, our level of execution, our level of compete and desperation has to be as high as it can be.”

That is one area in which New York has excelled in recent years.

The Rangers are 8-2 in their last 10 games when facing elimination, dating to Game 6 of the first round in 2012 at Ottawa. Henrik Lundqvist has a 1.38 goals-against average, a .953 save percentage, and two shutouts in those games. He is also 6-0 with a 0.98 GAA, .965 save percentage and two shutouts in his last six home elimination games.

New York has won a game when facing elimination in six of its last seven series.

“When your season is on the line, it’s a given that you’re going to come in with every ounce that you have — mentally and physically — and put it all on the line,” forward Brad Richards said Saturday. “We did a good job of having everybody do that (Friday). That’s the biggest challenge, getting everybody to put forth that energy level.”

The Penguins will be looking to regain the momentum that made a loss in Pittsburgh on Friday appear unlikely. Even though they still have two chances to win one game and advance to the East finals for the second straight year and the fourth time in seven seasons, they certainly don’t want to face the pressure of a winner-take-all Game 7 — even on home ice.

“We weren’t at their level,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Saturday. “They were more desperate, and came at us real hard and forced the issue on us.

“A lot of their opportunities were gift-wrapped by us.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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