Rangers Can't Hold Serve, Lose 5-3
Sunday, April 26, 2009
For the second time in this series, the New York Rangers failed to hold serve at home. Much like in Game 3, the Washington Capitals totally outplayed the hometown Rangers. The Caps proved that they are a bigger, faster, skilful, and physical force to be reckoned with.
With a little, or a lot of help from the NHL, how do you beat this team when all their cylinders are firing? Today’s matinee at the Garden had a lot of pre-game buzz. Sean Avery was back in the lineup and John Tortorella was sitting out with a 1 game suspension over the infamous "Water Bottle Gate" incident. Ah! The NHL at its best. I'll get into that later.
Milan Jurcina started off the scoring for the Caps by pounding a high shot over Lundqvist. The goal took place after not one - but two horrible giveaways by the Rangers inside their own blueline. Just over a minute later the Rangers tied it up on a nice deflection by Scott Gomez on a shot by Wade Redden on a PP! That's right, "It's a Powerplay goal"! I really thought that at the time it was a very nice response by the Rangers and things looked good. That is, of course, until Washington had it's 1st PP of the game and Mike Green roofed one past Henrik Lundqvist (High, glove side again much like Jurcina). Later in the 1st period, Tom Poti (Remember him? He's having a career series against his former club) put one in off of a 3 on 1 shortly after a Caps penalty had expired.
The 2nd period was all Caps as Viktor Kozlov and Alex Bettman, er, I mean Ovechkin. Sorry, I thought they were related for a minute. Anyways, they basically finished off the Rangers with one period to go. The 3rd period was what I expected from the Rangers trying to establish something, anything, in order to gain some momentum going into Game 7. Ryan Callahan scored on a PP and Marc Staal scored very late in the 3rd to make the score look reasonable at 5-3.
What do I think about Game 7? Hey, the Rangers coughed up a glorious opportunity to finish off the more talented Caps squad and now they have to venture back to Washington for a do-or-die game in a playoff series. Lundqvist needs to be much better than he has been the last two outings. Today was one that he definitely wants to forget. The Rangers will definitely need to score first in Game 7 to get the momentum on their side. The blueshirts are not very good at coming from behind and that's a fact. Finally, the NHL has got to come down from the love affair with Ovechkin. He's a great player, you can't deny that. But he gets away with more than any player in the "New Age" NHL. I saw him run over, from behind, Chris Drury today early on in the game. This incident happened in front of all 18,200 and the 4 blind mice officials... and no call. It's an insult to the fans and their intelligence. Oh, and how did 4 officials on the ice happen to not be looking when Donald Brashear clearly cold-cocked Blair Betts with a vicious elbow cheap shot? Are you effing kidding me? The officials on the ice circled, talked, and came up with - drum roll please... nothing? So instead of the Rangers getting a 5 minute PP and Brashear getting ejected from the game, we now have to wait for the clowns at the NHL offices to review the play and make a thoughtful decision about what to do. It certainly won't help the Rangers one bit. The right call was to be made in real time, during the game, you idiots. The Rangers don't need your charity now and suspending Brashear won't hurt the Caps in the slightest bit. As my good buddy Mark Rosenman said, "The King still gives us a punchers chance". We Rangers fans have to hope so. Over and out!
23 comments:
what did you think about that hit brashear put on betts?
Manic, It's an outright insult to mine and your intelligence that Brashear wasn't given a 5 minute major and ejected. 4 officials on the ice didn't see it? How convenient. As fake as it gets.
The NHL has got a lot of explaining to those who feel that Ovechkin and his mates are being babied as the chosen ones by Bettman.
I couldn't agree with you more Kotsy. Those referees should be ashamed of themselves. The league which cares more about it's 'public perception' than what is right should be embarrassed.
I can't believe that dirty hit changed the momentum in that game. It was a gross injustice to the Rangers.
This all seems to familiar, it has the same shades of shit that were all over the Penguins series last year.
A 2 minute minor for roughing with Paul Mara? Are you !@#$ing me?? An absolute joke.
On top of that, add in Shoane Morrison biting Brandon Dubinsky and giving Dubinsky 14 minutes in the box.
What a joke.
Btw, my names Ryan so you don't have to call me Manic lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGwrm3sGU8E
Disgusting.
Ryan, Public perception is 10 teams lost big money this season under Bettmans guidance or garbage which ever one you prefer.
His constant tinkering with the rules over the last 4 years have driven away fans. Today was a great example of why.
Who? in their right mind as Ranger fan gives a shit if Brashear gets suspended 100 games tomorrow for what he did to Betts. It's a moot point now.
The Rangers needed justice handed out immediately. The score was tied at 1 at the time. A momentum changer if I ever saw one! The NHL failed big time.
Wrath, I feel your pain. Isn't this the same guy who got clubbed by Marty McSorley and cried like a baby about it?
Exactly, justice will not be served. The time for the Rangers to be given some sort of justice passed when Brashear was given a match penalty with Paul Mara.
Embarrassing, absolutely embarrassing and a disgrace to what is a great sport.
But it goes unnoticed because the media is an enabler and the US media outlets don't know enough/don't care enough about hockey to bring up any sort of issue aside from the ones that Gary Bettman is trying to correct in their eyes. For example, John Tortorella being suspended.
Ryan, A Bertuzzi incident, Zednik's throat slash, Avery's sloppy seconds comments etc..... That's what the US mainstream media covers on Hockey.
What if that was Sean Avery who shoved Orr in warm up? Suspension guaranteed.
I think it's a definite suspension anyway for initiating contact like that. But then again, they can suspend him for that and his hit but who really cares anyways? It doesn't help the Rangers.
People can say all they want about Sean Avery, but he's never done anything like that. He runs his mouth, tries to annoy people, but he has never done anything along the line of a Brashear or Bertuzzi.
Hi Buddy, thanks for that note you wrote to me, it settled me down some. LOL - Well anyway there is no getting around this, Bettman is halfway there with his dream match up. Sid the Kleenex Kid vs Alex BETTMAN Ovechkin. Nobody can tell me that this DECK was not STACKED. You now have 4 BLIND Bettman's Maskarading officials compared to 3 in the day, and the officiating now is a complete JOKE. Can a hockey fan press charges against the NHL, for falsifying the integredity of the game, the officiating, the so-called leadership (Bettman) and the Marketing Dept?? Maybe Bettman should stop and smell the SHIT he is sheveling and maybe listen to some hockey people and not the puppets he surronded himself with. As a 50yr hockey and Ranger fan I have never seen anything like this. Example: The 4 BLIND DUMMIES did not see Brashear, who as we know is a huge man and not exactly invisible ELBOW to the HEAD with a late hit to Betts. No, they called 2 min roughing penalties to him and Mara, who tried to get to Breshear. You mean to tell me if that was Ovechkin or Crosby who got hit like that, say by AVERY nothing would've been called or seen ??? But, they would see those phanthom hooks - holds - and all those other types of Bettman's penalties they all would have 20-20 vision. Well, as they say, it aint over til the FAT LADY SINGS. Hey, please tell me that BETTMAN is not going to SING the Anthem Tuesday night. And to you Mr Hockey Disiplinarian Cambell, the damage was done, suspending Brashear means absolutely nothing, grow a pair of Man parts and tell your officials to call the game like it was meant to be. --- Geno
Ryan, Agreed it's over and the Rangers can't think about what ifs?
Geno, That's better. I enjoy reading your thoughts and sometimes you make me laugh.
I can't find no reason for the Rangers not to show up? You got to suit up and play it to the end. With Lundqvist you never know?
The NHL will pay eventually for the mismanaging that's going on. So hang in there.
It's game 7, there is zero room for excuses.
That was Horseshit! It's amazing how bad the NHL is trying to get the Caps through round one, did they not expect the Rangers to put up any kind of a fight? The hit that, the Yogi Bear looking goon Brashear laid on Betts... what the hell... Jesus wept.. I am disgusted by, Bettman, the NHL, Ted Leonsis(I should send you the email exchange), the Caps and their fans..... I hope that the Rangers win game 7, but really don't expect it.
Should we be surprised if the league suspends Brashear, not for the hit on Betts, but for what he did during the warmups? I sincerely hope the concussion is not too bad. I'm anxiously waiting for the next report, if I'm not mistaken Bettsy already underwent facial/skull surgery in the past. The guy don't deserve that.
kittylarue, I was there and the NHL should be held accountable by the fans who pay "BIG" dollars to watch this shit.
It was an embarrassing display by the NHL yesterday on national TV.
It's going to be funny to hear Bettman and his crew justify and talk their way out of this one.
Suspending Brashear after the fact means 0 to the Rangers. What was needed was instant justice. The officials turned a blind eye to it just the way Bettman wants it.
Jeff could you imagine what would have happened if that was Avery in the warm ups?
What the NHL did yesterday was show how fake, and illegitimate it can be.
Not good for the fans of this game.
For Bettman to stand up on his high horse and say different is a farce.
Betts may have a broken orbital bone. That's the word.
Kotsy,
I'll give you some inside knowledge: Drury told the media the referees saw the Brashear hit and deemed in clean.
They said it was a clean open-ice hit.
I was asking in the press room: Can anyone explain to me how Dubinsky's penalty was 12 minutes worse than Brashear's?
No one could answer. Just abysmal stuff.That's the refereeing in the playoffs?
Oh well... as a famous movie-coach once said:
The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that's gonna make the f------ difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying!
Time to start praying, Kotsy.
Play hockey for crying out loud! Who cares about the refs? Who cares what happened Sunday? JUST PLAY HOCKEY.
If Henrik plays his game, and Drury and Gomez play the way they are payed to play. Or more honestly, if Drury and Gomez get their heads out of their asses,The Rangers will have a good chance to win game 7. The defensemen cannot run like a bunch of pansies from the offensive zone. The defense has to take the body. HELLO!!! TAKE THE BODY. There is no running away in playoff hockey. And do me a favor Rangers. make a good pass.
Seth, What else are they supposed to say? They blew the call and possibly the Rangers season.
You can't tell me that it was clean hit especially in Gary Bettmans new NHL.
JohnM, Where have you been. I miss jousting with you LOL.
When you look at the Hockey side I can't disagree with you. However I have to take you on about the bias in favor of the Caps.
Never in my time have I seen the so called "Best Player" tag given to a player who is allowed to Jump, Charge and follow through with an elbow when he hits. That player would be Alex Ovechkin.
Sorry if you don't see that then you never will.
And what do yo tell the fans who pay big bucks to watch this that it's all legit? I was there and 18,200 saw the cheap shot by Brashear and all 4 officials did not? How convenient for the Caps.
The Rangers should of had a 5 minute pp. Remember the score was tied at 1 at the time. Is that not a possible momentum changing moment?
well put Kotsy. Ovechkin has been given plenty of liberties by the officials. Just as Sean Avery has never been given the benefit of the doubt.
Ryan, it's just so obvious. Avery gets nothing and Ovechkin gets all the presents.
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