Rangers Deliver Early Present to Caps
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Ah, where do I start with this one? The New York Rangers made an awesome impersonation of jolly old St. Nick and gave out an early Christmas present to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
I don't really want to re-cap the game, because the Blueshirts have left me in a bah-humbug sort of mood. How can you squander a 4 goal lead against a depleted Caps team? Let's start with terrible giveaways. Which one you ask? Well, there were so many that I'd run out of space if I went over them all. The no hit rule? Yeah, that's funny. Let's see... you have one of the most exciting players in the NHL, in Alexander Ovechkin, and you let him run wild over you. Sorry, but a couple of hits by Dawes and Staal don't do it for me. Ovechkin plays on the edge and is physical himself - which means to me that he's fair game. If you live by the sword, you die by it too. Instead, Ovechkin showed the crowd at MSG what a true leader does. He hit, he hustled, and he scored (the last one was the key). It also helps when a team lets you off the hook and doesn't bury you when it was 4-0.
I know the Rangers got a point, but I wonder if the players get the point about finishing teams off. Where's the killer instinct? You work hard to get a 4-0 lead, but you hardly work to lose it 5-4. Sorry, there's no sugar coating this one. Christmas came early for the Capitals, courtesy of the New York Rangers. This one will be remembered as "How the Ovechkin stole Christmas"...
However, I'd just like to end this on a positive note, wishing all my readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Over and out!
11 comments:
Hello Chris,,,Sooooo we score 4 and lose and score 2 and win...sooo what gives..i wanna pull my hair out...Ovi...what a stud though...far superior to Crosby and Malkin...kovelchuk is a stud too...possibilities there?
leatherneck: Leatherneck, I won't go that far about Ovechkin. I go by the mantra "Who does he make better" around him? It looks to me as though his team mates are submissive and defer to him.
He's a great player and can take over a game on his own. However, I feel if you are gonna run around like he does then take the shield off! He also leaves his skates to make hits. Another player who takes advantage of the way the league is today.
Remember it's just my humble opinion.
I would love to see Kovalchuk on the Rangers, no doubt.
This game left me dumbfounded and wondering "What the Hockey IQ is for some of the Rangers?"
Merry Christmas!
I know Drury is still having a good one... "I am not going to let it ruin my Christmas. I'll throw this one in the garbage and move on".
That game was a joke the other night. That's pretty much all I have to say. It was a joke when we were up 4-0, then it was a bigger joke when we blew the lead and lost in OT.
The team better come out and get a W against Jersey on Saturday...
wrath of sanity: Wrath, the Rangers not only delivered they gift wrapped the game to Washington.
Not exactly the response you would expect out of a player who wears the C. All I can say is that was a garbage response!
Merry Christmas to you and lets hope the Blue Shirts can figure out a way to play 60 minutes. Jersey cometh....
Hello Chris...hope you had an awesome Christmas with your family and that Santa was good to you..lol so..question of the day..Tom Renney..in or out...as your opinion is valued...what is your thoughts on that...I love Pearns auroa...but he has to go..he resents himself well on tv and get a good vibe about him as a person...results are pretty shitty though...so...Renney..in..or out?
leatherneck: Leatherneck, I don't put much into coaching at the Pro level. Players win or lose games. That's what I firmly believe.
I also believe the biggest problem you have in today's NHL is you sometimes overrate your talent (overpay as well).
It's a huge gamble with the movement of players and you have no choice but to roll the dice.
Could it be that in the Rangers have done both?
So I guess my answer is IN. A change in Coaches may give you a quick boost, but it never sustains itself for the most part in season.
I hope you had a good Christmas as well.
Ovechkin...Ovechkin...Ovechkin....
The Caps had a minor league lineup against the truly minor league Rangers. Including a minor league coaching effort by Tom Renney.
The game was exciting. It was a goal scoring frenzy. Thats the way us fans like our hockey. Fun. Exciting, Not a soccer match. The Rangers and Caps delivered in that regard.
Rangers were able to score early, and often. A fast start that needs to be tempered by the low skill level replacements in the Caps lineup.
Here is the difference. The Caps sell power offense. They do it for 60 minutes. The Caps will give up many goals. But the Capitals will score a few goals too. The coaches in Washington send lines out there to TRY TO SCORE ON EVERY SHIFT.
Listen, no matter how you dissect the hockey game. You score more, you win more. The inept Ranger game plan does not allow for full throttle. Or trying to score at all costs, with all hands on deck. 4 goal leads are not safe in Renney Hockey !!!! Renney Ranger wants defensive responsibility. RR wants to get 2 goals per 30 games from Betts in exchange for PK dominance. RR wants 3 goals in 20 games from Dubinsky in return for defensive positioning as the high man after a dump in for defensive awareness. Prucha cannot get any time based on his defensive liability according to Renney Ranger.
To clarify. 4 goal leads are not safe in Renney Hockey means that what Kots said earlier is right on. The Rangers fail to continue on the same offensive path at some point during most games when they have a lead and in all games when the score is tied. Where it seems the Rangers lost this game because of defense. I disagree. They lost because the Rangers stopped playing offense.
johnM: JohnM, there was a team once that played a straight forward, take no prisoners on offense.
HMMM... I think I played against them, Oh yes now I remember it was the Edmonton Oilers of the 80s.
When they had a lead, they would pour it on some more and bury you. Trust me it sucked!
Grant Fuhr once told me over a few cocktails "I just look up at the scoreboard at the end of a game and know I let one less in than the other goaltender".
Washington does play a similar style and the Rangers sat back and watched as the caps buzzed all over them. No killer instinct.
This team is losing what little identity it had...and fast...Potter played well and now the bad play has infiltrated the one ROCK er had..Lundqvist...he was awful last night...not a positive reciepe Chris..Jersey simply played the basics very well and won...another shorty...oh boy...Dubinsky has gone invisible..whats the team mission statement for this year...do you know? I really would like to know that
leatherneck: Leatherneck, I wish I knew what they (The players) are thinking.
I believe you and I have had many discussions on whats good and whats bad about the Rangers. The bad is at the forefront at this moment.
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