Blueshirts avoid Scalping at the Hands of Hawks

What do you do when facing the top line of poster boys from the defending, Stanley Cup Champs. You bring the fight to them....try to muscle them at every turn and then you try to keep up as they start to run...Scratching and clawing for every goal along the way.

Read the official Recap here.

What is there that can really be said about the close game between a a fairly young team thats trying to stay on top and a bunch of young hard chargers that are looking to change places with them. Somebody's got to lose. It appears our team may have gotten the message, that it doesn't have to be us. Perhaps squaring off against the defending champs provided that extra bit of incentive for Rangers, young and old to give it that little extra.

The team itself... for its fight, determination, defiance, manic energy is defined by the trio of Anisimov, Dubinsky and Callahan. For these young players and teammates like Prust and Boyle... the clock never stops, the ice is always fresh and the puck is always within reach. The perspective seems to be a bit different from a year ago when they were the new faces, 4th and third line guys that were just trying to do their part and not make mistakes. Theres a new energy and a new confidence. It can be seen in the forwards like Fedotenko, Stepan, and Avery and in the far reaches of defense of Staal, Del Zotto and even the Mystery D-man rotated in for the night.

Whenever the team plays like this, a win is always within reach, mostly because it seems to hone Lundqvist into a razor sharp goaltender by giving him something to defend. Whether it's a one goal lead or only a one goal deficit. The team can learn to put its confidence in one another to have their part... and let their teammates handle the rest. Perhaps this is exactly what doctored ordered for Gabby, Hank and the other pillars of the team. To have the weight taken off their shoulders and placed in the hands of everyone who sees ice time. Even guys like Boogaard, Eminger and Roszival and benefit from this as long as the rest of the team stays out of the box and words hard to kill off any penalties that may be racked up.

Whatever it is.. Its catchy and lets hope that this fire burns hotter with the return of Marion Gaborik and Chris Drury and doesn't find itself snuffed out. Keep the train rolling, boys....Lets go Rangers!

Till next time Ranger fans,
- J_Undisputed

Late Signs of Life at the Mausoleum Spell Trouble For Blueshirt Penalty Kill

It was a spirited game and a see-saw battle in the holiday matinee game between our Blueshirts and the Gordon's fishsticks. Proving to be a contest that pivoted on power play opportunities and penalty calls, you have to give credit to both teams for trying to make their own luck every time a whistle blew, whether or not anyone had a clue as to what was called.  Read the official recap here for the details.


There were a lot of things to like and not like about yesterdays game. I was particularly impressed with:
- The added scoring from our defensemen - It's in this light, that Tort's ideal for the defense really shine. They are shooting more on the power play and chipping in goals wherever possible.
- Boogaard throwing the body around. It almost led to a goal yesterday and it's a presence that we have been missing the past few years except when the occasional player stepped up for a game or two.
- Brian Boyle on face-offs. He seemed to pick up a little bit on using his size from that Messier center workshop and has worked to improve his game this summer.
- Stepan continuing his hard work - there's a lot that can be said about this kid and his vision on the ice. His work around the net also shows another facet to his game that is the sign of a 'one day' elite player. He doesn't seem to be physically intimidated very easy and will push back if he needs to. The little scruff with Martinek yesterday did show that he could use some preparation for when the stuff really hits the fan. I was happy to see the first guy to jump in there and start throwing gloved punches on his behalf - and that was Gabby.

Now that being said, is it too early to see some alarming trends...?

- Second chances around the net. WTF?!  We're practically gift wrapping them at this point. We can expect a lot of '5-goal against' games for Henrik if this continues. It was one of the reasons I was skeptical about cutting Exelby from camp that quickly. He was one of the few guys willing to make his presence felt around the net when guys crowded Henrik. Of course it will be Henrik that has to pick up the slack if the D-Men don't and try to make spectacular saves without being taken off his feet. A feat that is a lot to ask of a butterfly goalie. When you have a good goalie, your opponents will inevitably resort to screening and picking up garbage around the net and it will pay to have someone who can hammer people in the crease. Which brings us to the next point.

- Stay at home defensemen. Is there even such a thing anymore in the Bettman league? Its nice that our defensemen are chipping in on offense, but wasn't the whole point of jamming up camp with all these extra d-men tryouts, to find a defenseman that could defend? Staal has an edge to his game and doesn't seem to have any qualms about hammering someone as well as finding his offensive game because well, he can. Our other d-men are getting pucks to the net but play far too soft in their own end and have fallen into that trap of becoming the 4th forward rather than a defenseman. Quick to streak up ice and get caught deep in the opponents end; its going to present a lot of odd-man rushes this season and wear Henrik thin. Girardi, in particular, was supposed to be a stay at home defenseman and still strikes me as a little soft; a few season ago he was stepping into guys and playing them hard. Unfortunately, that all seemed to go out the window once he got punched in the mouth and driven into the ice by Cam Barker a few seasons ago.

- The musical center game continues. Equipment problems aside, Torts has been plugging Stepan when possible and stirring up the other lines with Dubi and Christensen. It's still early and I am fine with exploring the options and trying to generate offense with click rather than a gel in desperate situations. Even still, times running out for Coach-a-rella as Drury and Prospal are getting antsy to play.. and something will have to be done eventually. Christensen may inevitable find himself the odd man out as he waits in the press box for Drury to break another bone or age to to further catch up to Prospal. Lets play these kids now with some consistency and find out what they can do before we stick them in 'Pressbox Limbo' and have to start the reintegration and assessment process every time we want to bring one back because of an injury. All in all, I expect at least one announced change in the line up before the home opener on Friday. How do you announce a team with a captain and an alternate on the DL?

- Derek Boogaard - Can he please punch someone in the head already? I'm tired of seeing Boyle and Prust tangle with guys while he's out there searching for a dance partner and people avoid him? Its not his fault, mind you but.... Damn, punch someone already... even off the ice, I'd settle for watching him wail away on John Giannone... Actually, I'd kind of pay to see that.

Till next time, Ranger Fans..

-J_Undisputed

P.S. This isn't over Fishsticks! We're just getting started!!! Bah!

Brian Boyle The Ranger

Rangers Report says:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH BRIAN BOYLE
New York, July 8, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Brian Boyle.

Boyle, 24, was acquired by the Rangers on June 27 from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Boyle appeared in 28 games with the Kings last season, registering four goals and one assist for five points, along with 42 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in games played (28) and penalty minutes (42). Boyle notched three goals in a four-game span from March 28 at Nashville to April 4 vs. Phoenix. He also skated in 42 games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (AHL), recording 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points, along with 73 penalty minutes. He collected two points (one goal and one assist) in his season debut with the Monarchs on December 5 vs. Worcester. In addition, Boyle posted two, four-game scoring streaks – December 13 vs. Providence to December 17 at Manitoba (one goal and four assists) and March 4 vs. Springfield to March 8 at Worcester (two goals and two assists).

The 6-7, 252-pounder has skated in 36 career NHL games with Los Angeles, recording eight goals and two assists for 10 points, along with 46 penalty minutes. He registered two points (one goal and one assist) and a plus-two rating in his NHL debut on February 2, 2008 at New Jersey. Boyle has also appeared in 114 career AHL contests with Manchester, collecting 41 goals and 42 assists for 83 points, along with 162 penalty minutes. In 2007-08, he established AHL career-highs in games played (70), goals (31), assists (31), points (62), and penalty minutes (87). That year, he led the Monarchs in goals, ranked second on the team in points and fourth in assists. His 31 goals also led all AHL rookies and ranked 10th in the league overall, while he finished second in the league among rookies with 62 points. Boyle also tallied three goals and five assists for eight points in 16 postseason contests with Manchester during the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Hingham, MA native was originally Los Angeles’ first round choice, 26th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.