Hurricanes No Match For the Weathering Rangers

NYR 3, Carolina 1

Three strikes and you're out!!!.....or is that in?   With three wins in a row Blueshirts fans are left scratching their heads wondering whether or not we can now once again celebrate our team.  Soon-to-be-traded-or-benched Wade Redden (a.k.a. Wadek Relik) returned to the ice last night after too many strikes (which led to his benching) and performed well for this particular game - so this doesn't provide a lot of comfort with him back in the lineup.  Snippy sniper Ales Kotalik was back on the ice after a similar benching and now audience favorite Matt Gilroy - who was sent down to the minors for some conditioning weeks ago - is now back as well.

So the team is now back to what it was.  Is it possible that Tortorella's temper is making an impact on our once limp Broadway hockey team?  Or is it just that we are playing ailing teams that we should be beating in the first place?  You be the judge.  (duh...the latter).

Here are the stats from last night's win:

December 21, 2009 – New York Rangers 3, Carolina Hurricanes 1 (Game #36, Road #19)
• The Blueshirts defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1, tonight at the RBC Center to improve to 17-16-3 (37 pts.) overall and 10-7-2 (22 pts.) on the road.
• Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves, including 13 in the third period, to close out the victory; Lundqvist has held opponents to two or fewer goals in eight of his last nine games.
• Marian Gaborik notched a goal and two assists; Gaborik has now had 15 multiple points games and has scored six goals and seven assists in his last 10 games.
• Brandon Dubisnky scored the game-winning goal and notched an assist;  Dubinsky tied for the lead among all skaters with a plus-3 rating.
• Marc Staal tallied a goal and logged a team-high 24:47 of icetime; Staal tied for the lead among all skaters with a plus-3 rating.
• Michal Rozsival recorded an assist and had a plus-two rating for the game; Rozsival logged 24:31 of ice time and led all skaters with 4 blocked shots.

For one game only, all hail Michal Rozsival who played the best game of the season -- there were moments of the Jaromir Jagr power play, when Rozzy had confidence and marksmanship.  Aside from the brilliance of  healthy Marian Gaborik and The Great Wall of Henrik, Rozsival was a difference maker on the ice last night, along with Marc Staal who is absolutely improving under the Torts-hand-devil-pitchfork -- he remains our best and most affordable player on the ice (with the exception of Michael Del Zotto or the 'now back from a brief stint in the H. Pack' Matt Gilroy).  

Wasn't that Brandon Dubinsky goal a work of art?  Awesome.

Tomorrow night we play the Florida Panthers, a team without a fanbase but plenty of passion.  They always seem to beat us.  Tomorrow will be the deciding factor for me on "the effectiveness of John Tortorella and his hammering" --- a win and four-in-a-row would be peachy.

tdr

Anonymous Canes Fan Is Forced To Wear Rangers Jersey, NYR 4, Hurricanes 2

The New York Rangers squashed the Carolina Hurricanes last night for the second time in four meetings this season, six wins for the Blueshirts in the last eight games.

Even better, a friend of mine from Raleigh, NC (see picture above) who happened to be in New York City stopped by the office wearing a Blueshirts logo proud & center. I have substituted his real face with 'how he felt, as to protect him from Canes fans on his return. "Oh Rod, where art thou Rod!"

Christian Backman - in his first game on defense for the Blueshirts was mediocre at best. You can take him 'back, Man!' Fredrik Sjostrom was terrific and I believe he will provide great speed to the team. One for two 'aint bad on the trading front.

NYR Brandon Dubinsky and Sean Avery both scored in the first period, launching the Rangers into safeville (though a three point lead with this team doesn't mean much these days), followed by another insurance goal by Chris Drury in the second. The fourth goal in the third period was a 'Brendan Shanny special' - a beautiful cross pass by Nigel Dawes and shot over Cam Ward's left shoulder for the goal. New York kept the Hurricanes off balance by controlling the puck throughout the entire game. It was a solid showing by New York and the tides may have turned -- every game means everything these days as a couple of losses could easily take us out of playoff consideration.

Official recap here.

We take on Philadelphia this Sunday on network tv!!!!!! Woo hoo. With Michael Richards, Simon Gagne, Lupol slightly injured and Nittymaki and Biron playing 'okay' goaltender, we should have a pretty good shot at two more points. As any DARK RANGER fan knows, the Flyers games mean the most to me. Watch for it....

tdr

Happy Boxing Day, Rangers 4, Hurricanes 2

There was more to the evening than Ranger's Colton Orr checking Matt Cullen across the face and the return of Sean Avery's antics (major and minor punishments galore) in this special, magical time of year.

Knowing young Tom Renney wanted nothing more than to beat a Red and White Rider Pump carbine action, five-hundred range model hockey team, he was told pre-game there was one more present behind the wish tree. Suspiciously, he didn't change anything in his lineup and still got want he wanted. A win. Spoiled kid.

Jagr broke out with two tallies (you heard that right!) and Brendan Shanahan set up a pair of third-period power-play goals to help the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Wednesday night. Chris Drury and Dan Girardi also scored for the Rangers, who snapped a three-game losing streak, winning for only the third time in the last 11 games. Official recap here.

The Rangers were at it again, a defense-first minded team and stuck with their guns. Although there were sloppy turnovers in the first period, the team was generally solid - crashing the net and outshooting Carolina 2 to 1 throughout the game. In fact, 'one-game rejuvenated' Captain Jaromir Jagr scored his first goal of the evening by planting himself on the far-end of Hurricane Cam Ward's net - a Euro-Dirty-Goal. Congrats to our Jagr for playing hockey on the boards, as opposed to playing European style. Whether it was Tom Renney, Brendan Shanahan, Chris Drury or Dancing Grandma, Jagr took his lead from someone and we are all grateful. Forgive my repetitiveness, but a "don't get my fingernails dirty" A-level player like Jaromir Jagr does not crash the net, so it was refreshing to see.

Marek Malik started the game and did a decent job. Marc Staal and Dan Girardi continue to amaze Blueshirt fans -- this youthful depth will only benefit the NYR franchise this year and seasons to come, or until Slats trades them this February for an aging potential Columbus Blue Jacket veteran?

Joking aside, rumor has it that the Blueshirts are trying to pry either veteran Adam Foote or top-four defenseman Rostislav Klesla from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Petr Prucha. Some of our young'ens may be thrown into the deal -- none of us like the sound of this. Just for fun, throw in Malik & Hossa for 'shits & giggles'....we triple dare you Slats.

According to Larry Brooks of the NY Post, "...The 36-year-old Foote, a physical presence the Rangers so obviously lack on the blue line, is on the final year of a three-year contract at $4.6M per that contains a no-trade clause he would have to waive in order to come to New York. If willing, the two-time Cup-winner with Colorado will become one of the prime rentals on the market as the Feb. 26 deadline approaches. Hence, the Rangers' attempt for a pre-emptive strike. Klesla, the multi-dimensional fourth-overall selection in the 2000 Entry Draft who will turn 26 in March, is under contract through the 2009-10 season at $1.6M per. "

Though teams are frozen through the New Year, we can expect some major trades throughout the NHL come January and February. The Blueshirts will be dumping some of our assets to strengthen that blueline. We all knew this last summer; we just didn't realize how valuable such rookies as Staal and Girardi would be and how they need to remain on this team. So here lies the mystery. (CORRECTION: Will anyone take Malik and how much of that salary will the Rangers continue to pay? - As pointed out by Scotty Hockey, this is no longer allowed as part of the collective NHL salary capping. Players can trade at the full salary only.)

The Dark Ranger feels that management is finally addressing some of the depth problems with the team, and in the end, the Blueshirts are already ahead of where we were last season -- and the 'fire-power' on paper is still an improvement. So optimistically, this looks good and as long as the brass upstairs is continually improving the team, we have to jump on the bandwagon and support the team. As long as we play solid 'last-night knock-em-down-Carolina Hurricane hockey' throughout the season, we are a 'shoe-in.'

The next five games are all against Canadian franchises and we begin the trek with the Toronto Maple Leafs this Saturday night at the legendary A.C.C. in Toronto where tickets are not accessible and 'standing-room only in the rafter passes' goes for $125 a pop. Prepare for a revival of the most-famous Sean Avery/Darcy Tucker meeting -- tickets for that alone are sold-out and the potential pre-warmup alley fight will be available on pay-per-view, so watch for the agitation, check in with The Dark Ranger - more entertaining on a Saturday night than Die Hard 4!

tdr

"Cam" You F****ing Believe It? Rangers 0, Hurricanes 4

The Atlantic Division first place New York Rangers dropped a bomb on the fans tonight at MSG as they were shutout by Carolina Hurricanes' goalkeeper Cam Ward, 4-0. Our "Hyde Blueshirts" showed up this evening, the coach wasn't present and once again the All-Stars this time left the rookies to arrive on ice and play a poor game of hockey. Here is an official recap because I don't have the patience to cover the basics after sitting next to my 'Canes-fan-friend through this tragedy at The Garden.

Where to begin? The guy next to me halfway through the second period screamed "THROW YOUR PURSE AT HIM, MALIK!!!!" which, somewhat, explains where the evening began. Not that Malik was responsible for the loss tonight - he wasn't, but the skating two-by-four (a.k.a. "Lurch") was non-present and looked bored and/or injured. Just as we witnessed in Ottawa on Saturday, Malik mishandled the puck everytime he was near it, a scared girl terrified of analyzing where he might pass it, but instead choosing to hit it as hard as he can just to clear it. I blame Marek Malik for setting the tone. Get him off my team.

His first fumble led to a turnover of the night and the first Carolina goal on Henrik Lunqvist - an unstoppable goal. The second goal on NYR, on a defensive turnover, could not have been stopped. The first period showed a complete breakdown of the system, no leadership, players not communicating to each other, non-present veterans, newbies turning over pivotal plays and no coaching. A really bad game overall.

The last Carolina goal is symbolic of our Blueshirt team philosophy, one that continues to be built around Jaromir Jagr. One example of this came toward the end of a shift in the third period when the Rangers were down 3-0, Jagr set up a play and broke his stick. Unable to continue playing as the point person on the shift, the entire Ranger defense line froze - youth unable to comprehend what to do next - and the undefended loose puck, frozen in time, sat for David Tanabe at his own blueline to carry it forward to score on Henrik Lunqvist to finally end the hope.

Sigh.

Jagr, Shanny, Gomez & Drury were once again invisble. They must have read in the papers and The Dark Ranger's blog how they are finally getting it together and the chemistry they have been seeking all season has arrived at last. Not even a point tonight and I doubt there were even any valuable fantasy hockey pool PIMs or PPPs to count on.... Not even Colton Orr or Ryan Hollweg dropped a glove.

A boring loss at that.

tdr

It's Again Hurricane Season for Cullen

From The Blueshirt Bulletin:
The Rangers today traded Matt Cullen back to Carolina for defenseman Andrew Hutchison, prospect Joe Barnes, and a third round draft pick. In what is primarily a move to shed Cullen's remaining three years at $2.875 million out from under the salary cap, the Rangers also pick up a player in Hutchison projected as a power play quarterback, but who has yet to become an NHL regular at age 27 because of concerns about his defensive zone play and his lack of strength. Barnes, 21, is a center with size and offensive upside, but his first pro season last year was cut short after 15 games due to a major concussion.

The Dark Ranger says:
This will free up some cap room to allow the Rangers to solidify both Sean Avery and Hossa to avoid arbitration -- one would hope, because arbitration creates indifference with two sides pitted against each other, which typically leads to one year contracts and free agents jumping ship. In speaking with a source attached to the Hurricane franchise, Hutchinson was a rotating defenseman -- not someone of strength and generally the last option of defense - not someone to solve the Rangers defensive weakness. I think most people felt that Malik was going to be traded before others -- perhaps with Nylander out of the picture, the Blueshirt Brass didn't want to completely upset the European-card too much this NYR trading season, making our good friend Jamomir feeling 'not-at-home'.

Matt Cullen never clicked here in the Big Apple. It was probably a good move. The Dark Ranger approves this one.

tdr