Rangers Come Up Large

After an excellent road win in Pittsburgh (3-2, OTW), which has been a house of horrors for the Rangers in recent years, the boys headed home for a 1 PM matinee. The Rangers squared off against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who just came off of a loss to the New York Islanders the day prior. Like in Pittsburgh, there was no Gaborik or Del Zotto. The Rangers needed to get these 2 very important points before the Olympic break.

Early on, the game didn’t look too good for the Rangers. The Rangers looked slow, lifeless, and really uninterested. As a result, the scoreboard showed it. Down 2-0 with the fans showing their displeasure, the Rangers turned it around with a 4-goal 2nd period. Sean Avery ignited the boys in blue with a gorgeous goal on a penalty shot. On the shot, he completely faked out Mike Smith and roofed a beauty high into the empty net. From there, King Henrik Lundqvist had to make several key saves- especially on Nate Thompson and Marty St. Louis- to keep the Rangers within reach.

Vinny Prospal evened the game on a nice rebound shot with traffic all around the Tampa net. From there, Erik Christensen took over as he scored 2 goals in a row. The first goal was a nice 5-hole shot and the other was very Gaborik-like. It was Gaborik-like in the sense that he got the shot off extremely fast and the quick release surprised Mike Smith. Honestly, that second goal surprised me as well! Christensen should have had the hat trick as he missed 2 glorious opportunities on his next shift. Oh well… who’s complaining? Chris Drury finished off the scoring with an empty netter to make the final score 5-2 in favor of the Rangers.

Some of my observations from the game… first, the bad. How many times are we going to watch the Rangers forget that the game starts when the puck drops in the 1st period? Duh? I just don’t understand it at all. Obviously, the players don’t either. Lastly, there are way too many odd man rushes against the Rangers. If not for some outstanding goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers could have easily been blown out of this game in the 2nd period. Now we’ll focus on the good in this game. I didn’t get to see the win over the Penguins (I was working a Bobcats game), but it sure was nice to see the fight and resiliency that the Rangers showed in Pittsburgh as well as the comeback today. These 2 wins and 4 points will go a long way for the Rangers if they are going to grab a playoff spot. For now, at least, it keeps them close and in decent position to make a good run at it after the Olympic break. Also, isn’t it nice to see the other teams having to be aware of the sudden "toughness" that the Rangers have with (recent acquisition) Jody Shelley, Brandon Prust, and Aaron Voros? It’s been a while, but believe me… teams will take notice if they haven’t already.

Have fun watching the Olympic hockey everyone. But to me, what still counts first is the how the Rangers finish the season… and in 2 weeks or so, we shall find out! Over and out!

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Getting Critical

Coming off of an excellent win last Saturday over the New Jersey Devils (who have been leaking oil lately), the New York Rangers get a few days off before their next tilt against the Nashville Predators. It’s getting to that point in the season where I believe the Rangers must get on some kind of roll as far as wins go. In fact, I think it’s critical to do so.

There are now 23 games left for the blueshirts: 10 at home and 13 on the road. That’s a tough schedule ahead of them. The inconsistency that has plagued the Rangers all season has got to disappear and disappear fast! In order to finish up strong the Rangers will need Henrik Lundqvist to play like he did against the Devils (Sorry Marty, the King still owns you). The team must play disciplined hockey at both ends of the ice. The D must step up and become more like snarling dogs in defending their zone. The forwards have to create offense and score on a nightly basis. Special teams… well, it’s very simple. They must be special!

The outlook is tough for the Rangers. The mentality needs to be one of a playoff mentality. The playoff push starts early for the Rangers. It starts now!

Now, on to some Quinnipiac Bobcats news… Finally! A win! Yes, the Bobcats struck gold on Saturday night with their first win in their last 10 attempts. The Bobcats won with a 2-0 shutout over Colgate. Goalie Dan Clarke got the shutout and Zack Hansen & Greg Holt scored for the Bobcats. I hope that this will finally get this team going after struggling for so long. Over an out!

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Into the Belly of the Beast

The New York Rangers are now heading home to face the Washington Ovechkins this Thursday night at MSG. Talk about going right into the belly of the beast (the Caps are now on an 11 game winning streak)!

The Rangers must regroup after a less-than-stellar west coast trip which ended with 1 win and 2 losses. Once again, the effort overall was there… but the lack of scoring and offensive creation was a huge factor in this trip. Let’s face it folks- 6 goals in 3 games is not going to cut it in the NHL or any other level of hockey.

I’ve got one observation that I’d like to make from the road trip. The poor officiating once again reared its ugly head (Example: Prucha’s nice acting job at the end of the Phoenix loss). Sorry, but this is what was bound to happen and believe me it will continue to grow as long as the NHL continues to play games with changing the rules of this great game. Trust me, there’s more that I could talk about… but I think the fans have picked this up and are disgusted as well.

Now that I have strayed from talking about the Blueshirts, let’s get back to them. First, Gaborik has been a monster again for the Rangers. He’s done everything that a Rangers fan can ask for. However, the scoring has to come from others! That’s where Olli Jokinen comes in. You do know that the Rangers made a trade, didn’t you? Just kidding! GM Glen Sather made what I feel was an excellent trade. He was able to unload Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust. It’s a win/win situation for the Rangers. Kotalik and Higgins (I’ll be nice) underachieved in New York- period. Kotalik was brought in to boost the PP and unfortunately, all he ever did was make loud sounds when his shots hit the boards. One question that I have is: how does a player the caliber of Kotalik warrant a partial no-trade clause? On to Christopher Higgins… it was a nice story. He was coming home to New York and all that. In his case… yes, he worked hard and played many minutes. But in the end production is what counts and Higgins simply did not produce, it’s as simple as that.

The recently acquired players made their Rangers debut last night against the Los Angeles Kings. Going forward, Olli Jokinen should be able to give the Rangers a major lift in the scoring department. Yes, he has struggled for a while but he is going to get every opportunity to shine with the Rangers. Also remember that he’s also playing out his contract… if it works, it works. If it doesn’t work, then the Rangers can clear some cap space which is a big thing for this team. Now I would like to talk a little bit about Brandon Prust. If you want physical play, energy, toughness, and a player willing to fight for his team- then you’ve got the right guy. Prust is by no means a heavy weight, but he sure plays like one. I believe Rangers fans will love Prust. I know one thing for sure. The opponents of the Rangers, especially the defenseman, will know where he is and that’s a good thing!

Let’s hope the Rangers can fire it up against the Capitals on Thursday night. They have no other choice. Over and out!

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Rangers Hit Rock Bottom

I finally ventured to MSG last night to take in a Rangers game… and what I saw was not very good. The fourth straight loss and to a team in the Carolina Hurricanes, who let’s face it- they should beat. I can’t put a finger on it and I don’t think anyone really can as to why. The Rangers, at times, show some life and then at other times they look absolutely terrible in all aspects of the game. It’s been an ongoing pattern throughout the year. My personal views are nothing short of being repetitive: If you can’t muster any offense then you have to show up in other ways. By that I mean you have to play a tough, physical and grinding type of game. It’s that simple.

Also… what is up with the lack of life at home? The Rangers record at home is hurting this team big time. 12-13-4 is unacceptable at home. All the teams above the Rangers in the standings have winning records at home… go figure! I, along with many others who I played with in the past, just keep shaking our heads about this home ice dis-advantage (I’m sure Rangers fans are as well). I am still hoping that somehow this will turn around. However, the clock is beginning to tick faster and faster each and every day. Rangers fans are also growing impatient as the Rangers playoff hopes are on the line.

I just want to take the time to thank everyone who we saw last night at the game. My wife Lisa and I had a great time. Too bad we couldn’t witness a win, but that’s just how it goes. A big shoutout to my man Ron Greschner. Always good to see Gresch and his friends. Oh, I almost forgot! I also saw my former owner in Hartford, Howard Baldwin. With him was his son, Howard “Bubba” Baldwin. We got a chance to sit and talk extensively with them while drumming up old stories and memories. There were lots of laughs! Over and out!

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Flyers Smother Rangers

You knew it was bound to happen… the Rangers were on a nice offensive streak with 14 goals in their last two games and the Flyers definitely knew it! What transpired was a large, orange blanket that the Flyers threw at the Bueshirts’ offense and limited them to only 5 (maybe 6) good scoring chances on this night.

Philly was the better team from the start. They out forechecked, backchecked, and took away all the momentum the Rangers had going into this one. All of the scoring the Flyers would need came off a James van Riemsdyk backhand rebound on a breakaway. Henrik Lundqvist made the first save, but gave up a terrible rebound right back to van Riemsdyk- who made no mistake with the put back. The second Flyers goal was an absolute killer for the Rangers. While trying to kill a Marian Gaborik penalty at the very end of the second period, a failed clearing attempt by Chris Higgins turned into a back-breaking PP goal with 2.5 seconds to go in the period. The goal deflected in off of Marc Staal’s skate and went into the net just before the time expired in the period. You have to be better than that and know the situation of the game. Just a bad play and it turned into a fluke goal- which essentially killed the Rangers on this night.

There’s really not much else to discuss about the game itself as it was played. The Flyers were better, not by much- but just enough. Case closed. Now we can talk about some of the festivities that occurred during the game. To me, the fun stuff started when Arron Asham was allowed to run over Henrik Lundqvist. Sorry, if the NHL isn’t going to protect him- then a teammate should have. As a player, if you haven’t figured out by now who your bread and buttger is (The King) then you don’t belong on the ice. Next, we have Marian Gaborik tangling with Daniel Carcillo. Are you f*#!ing kidding me?! How did this happen? Carcillo showed how ballsy he was by grabbing Gaborik and then pummeling him to the ground. I know Gaborik dropped his gloves, but this is a mismatch of great proportions. Again… somebody? Please? Anyone should have been all over Carcillo- immediately!

I will give Sean Avery and Aaron Voros props for doing what’s right in these situations. First, Avery took on Scott Hartnell (who’s overall game, I personally like). One thing that I don’t like is a player who drops the gloves but wears a face shield. Case in point: Scott Hartnell. Sorry. That just doesn’t impress me one bit. Avery also took on Carcillo in a decent scrap a little later. You just got to love Avery and Voros (Who fought Asham) for providing the Rangers with some toughness and energy. If more Rangers would learn from these guys, it certainly would help in the long run.

Well, on to Montreal. Over and out!

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Raucous Rangers Beat Habs, 6-2

After two disappointing regulation losses (2-0 to Ottawa at home and 4-1 to St. Louis on the road), the New York Rangers faced off against the Montreal Canadiens at MSG in a Original 6 showdown. Unfortunately for the Rangers and their fans, the Rangers fell behind 2-0 in the 1st period to the Habs. The Garden Faithful let the Blueshirts know this as a cascade of boos carried the Rangers to the locker room for the first intermission. Even Henrik Lundqvist showed some anger after the 2nd goal and was probably wondering, “What on Earth is going on with the Rangers and their poor play at MSG?”. I’m not sure what happened in between periods, but the Rangers came out for the 2nd period with a major snarl and it proved to be a tonic for the Rangers’ woes.

First, Ryan Callahan scored. That was then followed up by a goal by Brandon Dubinsky. After that, Dubi had an encore and potted yet another goal. Three straight goals! Wow! The goals gave the Rangers the lead that they would not relinquish. The Rangers were physical, nasty, and it let to some nice old-time hockey. Sean Avery squared off with Josh Georges in a spirited battle. After that there was almost a 5 on 5 skirmish which led to Wade Redden squaring off with Benoit Pouliot. To me this showed that the boys in blue were “all for one and one for all”. That, I think, is something Rangers fans have been waiting for: team unity! I liked what I saw and I also believe there are points in a season that ignite or bring a team together. This might be one of those points! At least… let’s hope so.

Heading into the 3rd period, Ryan Callahan scored on a PP (nice to see that, even if it had to be reviewed a little after the fact). Marian Gaborik then broke out of his “goal slump” by one-timing a beautiful pass from an unselfish Brandon Dubinsky. Dubi could have shot the puck to score the hat-trick, but he opted for the pass and it was a nice gesture that had a nice result. I give Dubinsky all the credit on that one. Chris Drury then finished off the scoring for the Rangers with a late goal to make the final score, 6-2. A much needed W and 2 big points in the standings for the Rangers.

Lastly, don’t read too much into the Avery/Tortorella exchange after Avery’s second penalty. Sure, it lead to a goal by Montreal… but a little verbal barrage never hurt anyone- even if it’s with your head coach. A nice win tonight and hopefully they can use this type of game as a rallying point in their season. Over and out!

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