Prelude To The Blueshirts Win

What helped our boys in Blue yesterday was a fight-filled night between the Penguins and The Islanders on Friday night.  This is mandatory viewing; with Pittsburgh physically taking advantage of The Islanders this season and with Rick DiPietro getting knocked out by Pittsburgh's Brent Johnson only weeks ago, as the laughing stock of the league - the Isles were no longer willing to watch their guys take any crap from the Penguins. 

Friday's game, won 9-3 by the Islanders, featured 346 penalty minutes, 15 fighting majors and 11 game misconducts. The Islanders were fined $100,000 by the league, and two of their players - if that's what you call Trevor Gillies and Matt Martin - were suspended for 10 and four games, respectively. Pens' Eric Godard was suspended the mandatory 10 games for leaving the bench to join the fight.

The videos below outline a brawl of a game.  So for once in my hockey lifetime, I'd like to tip my DARK hat and thank The Island for a dirty game well done.

PERIOD ONE


PERIOD TWO



PERIOD THREE (yes...there are still more fights)


So who feels bad for Talbott?   Ha ha ah aha ha .....

tdr

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!

Rangers Live to Fight Another Day...

AVOID SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES...


A lifeless and, at some points, brainless first period, but the 'Blueshirts in a hole' had Ranger fans everywhere squirming in their seats with that old familiar feeling.

Read the official recap here.

With the heart(Callahan) and attitude (Avery) of the team out nursing leg injuries, it became a question of who would emerge and take the reigns of the team in these make or break games. The usual suspects were called upon as Gaborik, Prospal and Jokinen gained back more of their ice time. With a supporting cast of energized P.A. Parentau, Brandon Prust, often headstrong Brandon Dubinsky and even the Ranger, etc ... They delivered.

The comeback was started by Prospal, and it continued with Jokinen. Gaborik, netting his 40th of the season and an uncharacteristic goal by Marc Staal, sealed the Islanders fate. The theme of the night definitely seemed to be "shoot first, ask questions later" as the Ranger forwards and occasional defensemen, pelted the usually solid Islanders Netminder with quick shots and got all the right bounces.

The team is showing a bit of its potential. Forwards like Brandon Prust rebounded well after taking two horrible penalties. Hartford promotion Parenteau played like he was already auditioning for next season. The star forwards generated their offense and the coach finally appeared to have become less selective with his discipline, living up to his word to give minutes to the players that are bringing it every night. Tonight was also perhaps a glimpse of a system that Tortorella was trying to implement all season. The run and gun plays like the one that produced the Marc Staal goal, showed what happens when players can play both sides of the puck, are in the right place to advance the puck up ice and the defense chips in. How long it lasts is anyone's guess. Our hope is at least till the end of the season...

- J_Undisputed

And the winner for a best 3-D performance by a team probably not making the playoffs...

RANGERS ADD MORE DIMENSION TO THEIR GAME...


Better late than never as the saying goes. Last nights romp over the Isles, is the type of game, many of us have been waiting a season for. The team was firing on all cylinders.

Read the recap here. No 3-D glasses required.

Our boys in blue, started the game with a renewed energy, scoring 3 in the first and holding the fishies to a big fat Goose Egg! The shots were going in, the plays were smart, the defense had a pulse. I used to do something very similar in my elementary school days. I was brighter than a lot of kids in my class. As such, I would kind of get bored with the assigned exercises and start to doodle. Homework was also not a favorite of mine. The teachers would say "I was smart, but lazy..." Sound familiar anyone? Citywide tests, 98th percentile.. It turns out if I wasn't being challenged, I grew indifferent. Till I heard the magic words... "Summer School" and thought to myself.. well "oh shi... I better get crackin'"

Last nights effort is a prime example of what this team can do when it applies itself. Granted... this was not Ovie, the Disabler and his Capitals nor Skidmark Sid and his sh*tbirds, we were playing against. It was team whose playoff hopes are as bleek as our own... maybe even worse. Dwayne Roloson did all he could last night but he was overwhelmed by our relentless attack which was largely based on long, up the middle outlet passes... and crashing the net to follow up. How many teams does that work on? A few... but not as many if we only do it a handful of times a season, or when we have nothing to lose, or we're hosting a lesser team (not that our home record is anything to brag about). Could it be that we're simply letting it all hang out last night because the pressure is really off and mentally many of our players and fans packed it in for the season... and it was novelty game in 3-D?Not a chance you say? ok.

Trend wise it was almost an ideal game.

-Avery was grating
-Defense was playing both sides of the puck.
-Gabby was back to his scoring ways.
-Lundqvist was a wall.
-Our young guys played with fire and didn't look afraid.

It didn't help that Gordon's fishticks were playing into all of it and taking penalties all over the ice. In fact if the teams switched jerseys, how likely would it be that we would be calling this a typical game by our underperforming blueshirts? Word is the 3D glasses idea came to life after manage Ranger fans started complaining the rose color glasses they previously purchased, were defective.

Keywords To Being A Rangers Fan

Isn't it exhausting reading about what the Blueshirts need to do now, now that they dropped a pivotal-playoff-contending game to the equally struggling Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon?

Well, if you haven't read anything about the loss, then please go here for the vanilla-induced recap of the game in Boston.  Or if you are a reader or fan of DARK hockey, then perhaps if you were to Google the following keywords on any Rangers site:  consistency, overpaid, underachieving, 'Fire Sather', lacking desperation', 'lacking heart' -  you would find not only a recap describing yesterday's loss to the Bruins, but it is fair to say that you would find recaps of games throughout the 2009-2010 season.  

As an avid follower of my dear Blueshirts, there are only so many angles in the loss (reading or writing), and every time you think we've been here before, you were right.  Boston was no exception to this rule.  The consistency we've been looking for all season is right there in front of us.

A bad loss.

From a fan point of view, the above keywords could also accurately describe our own experiences this season:

Consistency - the fans are consistent.  Why not the players?
Overpaid - the fans are overpaying for what they are getting.
Underachieving - a losing home-game record!  Wow.
'Fire Sather' -  more press for the bastard.  He's not going anywhere, kids.
Lacking Desperation - the fans not wanting the Rangers to embarrass themselves in the playoffs against The Caps.
Lacking heart - this team has been breaking our hearts all season.  Enough already.  It's like break-up sex without an emotional connection.

So as much as we criticize the management, big dollar Dolan, the Captain, the rookies, The Coach, we continue to talk with great passion about the organization that we love -- which obviously points out that we, as consumers of good hockey, want good hockey.  It was/is a bad year at The Garden and you can see the cracks in the place, the team and, most importantly, the fans.   This is the first year I can remember that so many fans of the Rangers are this vocal and angry.

I suppose it's like an abusive relationship, a dependency --- but we can all count on one thing, we'll keep coming back for more.  The good, the bad, and even the shitty seasons.  They can raise the ticket prices when we don't make the playoffs.   Will it piss us off?  You bet - and we'll complain.  But we'll be there at The Garden and The MAN knows it.

Do you want an entirely new experience this season?  Enjoy the playoffs and watch those 'heart-filled' teams that earn the colors, earn the fans and work to make the Cup theirs on every level.  Let's look at the Phoenix Coyotes. Watch the little bankrupt team in the desert ride high in passion and consistency, willing to lay it on the line every friggin game TO PROVE TO THE SMALL DEVOTED FANS AND THE NAYSAYERS, TO THE EXILED QUITTER ALL-STAR COACH, THAT THEY ARE A TEAM THAT DESERVES THE CUP.....  Watch the desperation and see 'em get damn far in the standings --- because they will have earned it.  Will they win the Cup?  Probably not and the fans never expected it.  But there is pride in your team.  That's why you buy the tickets for the season.  That's why you follow the team when they suck.  Because they try.

So pay up suckers.  Keep your checkbook in hand because before you know it, the renewal notice arrives in the mail in a fancy '$20 dollar worth' disposable Rangers folder with promises of new, not old - and a promise of rebuilding, collaboration and The Brotherhood.  Ching, ching, ching, as the re-telling of a dream gets older and older every season.

See you at The Garden on Wednesday.  Big rival game.  Remember?  The Islanders!  Potvin Sucks!!?
(Pssst....we used to hate them)

tdr

Are The Rangers Better Than The Islanders?

What are the reasons that the Rangers are a better franchise than the Islanders? How about 9 million of them.

Looking forward at the 2010-11 NHL season there is much doubt of where the salary cap will be.  Rest assured, it isn't going up, maybe will drop 10%, but I feel will stay where it is.

The Islanders have committed a cap hit of $9,255,067 for two players next season. One is Yashin who they continue to pay to float on the ice in Russia. The second player continues to rehab and hasn't played much in over a year in DiPetro.

The Rangers have committed $9,087,500 for four players next season with Kotalik, Callahan, Avery and Dubinsky.

This leaves the Rangers with $167,567 which can be allocated to Avery and Torts couples’s therapy bill in an attempt to reverse the neutering job that has occurred this season.  Oops. I just noticed that Avery has scored 2 big goals tonight.

One has to ask who is getting more bang for their dollar? Trade Roz at the deadline and/or off season and let the kids play.

The future looks bright in the City that never sleeps.

Potvin sucks!

           -  BlueNationLeafs

Ranger Fans Embarrass Isles On The Island

The chants were loud. "Potvin Sucks", "You CAN'T BEAT US", "Let's Go Rangers!" drowning out any energy left in the Islanders Hockey Airport Hangar, as our Captain made us proud, Chris Drury, scoring his first two goals of the season and the Rangers delivering our third consecutive victory NYR 4, NYI 2. The Blueshirts are an astounding 9-2-1, leading the league in points, wins and leading the Eastern Conference and division. Should I repeat that? Though, with Buffalo, Montreal and NJ heating up in points and wins, it is probable that the playing field will even, but it sure feels sweet for the time being.

Official recap here.

For the same reaons we could have lost the game to the NY Islanders last night, so goes our next meeting with the Atlanta Thrashers this coming Thursday. Beware fans! It is always the unexpected games that turn things around -- these last place teams have more to gain in knocking the League first-seeded team into reality.

Is it me thinking we all need a reality check? Our boys do not seem to be playing great hockey -- it feels unreal that we are leading anything at this point, let alone the LEAGUE!!? With an actual working system in place and our coach Tom Renney every evening working on his chemistry set, we are seeing improvements as the season progresses (with the exception of our defense.....side note - "thank you Henrik again and again!") one would think we have more to look forward to....

But we've been here before....feeling like a big shot with my Rangers, but humble.....and small.....and "we can't win 'em all, you know?"

TDR

"All Hail The King & Our New Captain!" NYR, 2, Pittsburgh 1 OT

With four minutes left in the third period, after watching the New York Rangers play an electric game of playoff-style hockey against the Pittsburgh Penguins last evening (their second meeting in two days) - hard checking, smashing hits, breakaways, super duper goaltending, post-hit shooting, Avery fighting giants - a familiar feeling was creeping into The Dark Ranger's belly, that feeling that something was going to go wrong and the Penguins were going to capitalize on some Backman or Rozzy turnover....

I couldn't have been more wrong. Official recap here.

The game belonged to Chris Drury and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Drury scored a power-play goal 1:46 into overtime, giving the New York Rangers a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Monday night. Drury has scored in overtime four times and has notched 44 NHL game-winners, including seven this season. The Dark Ranger declares Chris Drury our unofficial Captain of the New York Rangers, as he is someone to build the franchise around. Many in the blogosphere criticized Dark for breaking ranks and celebrating Drury and his potential mid-way through the fall -- at the time, he wasn't scoring goals, but he was doing everything else that didn't register in the stats. He remains the ultimate playmaker and, most likely, our future "Captain of the Blueshirts" (no relation to another Rangers superhero - The Dark Ranger).

"The King" was the master yesterday. It is obvious Henrik's magic is gaining momentum and hopefully he will sustain it through a successful playoff run. (crossing fingers) I am beginning to believe again, willing to go on the edge and wait. Hank...don't let me down!

Our Blueshirts (41-27-11) were eliminated from the division race Sunday when they lost the opener of the home-and-home series in Pittsburgh, after last evening's victory we jumped to fifth in the Eastern Conference - one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators. We are tied in points with the fourth-place New Jersey Devils, but are behind because they have two fewer wins.

This week we go to the Island to capture two more wins (optimism, folks!) and ending the regular season against our cross-Hudson rivals, The NJ Devils of Newark. We are 7-0 against NJ this season and another win would likely just piss-them-off going into a potential first-round playoff run against them. It's possible and that would make for some great hockey.

Three more to go....we might actually do something right this week.

tdr

An Islanders' View of The Rangers

You can hit him, you can poke him and you can hate him. Two words.....2 goals!

Shanny defending his signing bonus....

Henrik Lundqvist obviously taking on the entire Isles offense solo.

Captains Jags showing what's made him an All-Star all these years.

The Fredrik newbie showing his stuff and following through....

...with controlling the puck.

THE Islander's view. F**k you!

tdr

Rangers 4, Bad Guys 1

Hola New Yorkers. Jibblescribbits here to recap your game against the hated Islanders. Hopefully my cable holds up through the game this time. Official recap here

Just so you guys know here's my thoughts on the Rangers before going forward. I am a huge fan of Chris Drury, and Henrik Lundqvist. I like Staal, Rosival, and really don't mind Gomez, despite his Devils days. However, I don't like Shanahan, due to his Red Wings days, and I think Jagr is kind of a whiny baby. Of course like all hockey fans, I hate Avery. But don't worry Rangers fans, that won't bias my recap, and overall I like the Rangers. So without further adieu here we go.

18:30: 1-0 Blueshirts. Shannahan scores as I barely settle in on the delayed penalty. Not really sure why a penalty was called, but how do you give up a breakaway, a clean one, to a 90-year old man on a delayed penalty. It took a 1:30 before reminding me I’m not in the Western Conference anymore Toto. Still a very nice pass by Nigel Dawes to set him uo.

12:00ish Rangers seem to forget that it’s in the Islander’s advantage if the Ranger’s don’t get the puck past that little Blue line. Lundqvist bails them out big time. He looks sharp

10:45 Backup Isles goalie (Dubli-what’s his face) makes a great save. How the hell did that not go in. Isles announcers think it may have hit the post. (Yup Avery hit the post, on the far side. Wow, how the hell do you miss that?)

9:54 PK. The Isles PP looks like the Avs. I’m surprised they haven’t been whistled for icing yet. 2 vs 1 broken up nicely by the Isles defender (not sure who it was) Drury gets back in transition to break up the Isles PP rush. Very nice kill for the Blueshirts

6:36 2-0 Blueshirts. Avery doesn’t miss that one, nice deflection on a really nice pass by Marik Malik (Really? I had to couble check this one when I looked it up since I missed who did it in real time.) . Really crappy D by #3 Davidson .

6:35 “Avery Sucks” comes down from the rafters. Listen I hate Avery as much as the next non-Rangers fan, but after he just completely worked your team isn’t the best time to taunt him. That chant may have been a little better after he hit the post on the wide open net earlier.

3:33 Jagr hits the post. Other than a little flurry earlier, the Rangers are dominating their cross-town rivals.

2:29 PP Rangers.

2:06 The first close up of Tom Renney. If he grew a killer ‘Stache, he could be Quenneville’s brother. Apparently they coach alike as well.

1:44 Backup goalie makes a huge save on Drury on the PP. Drury would have missed the net anyways. 2 open nets, 0 goals for the Rangers. I want to remind everyone that the Avs powerplay is worse than a team’s that misses open nets. Not that I’m bitter.

1^st Period Notes: I’m going to also watch Ducks-Avs tonight. The Ducks have the most physical (ok dirty) team in the league, and the Avs can make some hits. This has been completely different than a Western Conference game. It is nice to see open hockey with lots of goal scoring chances.

2^nd period

16:30 Rangers turnover leads to a Mike Comrie-Duff pass for a nice shot that just misses the net by some Islander.

14:16 Satan with the wraparound, but Jesus saves…errrr Lundqvist saves.

13:33 Malik decides to try playing the “So you think you can ice dance” defense. It doesn’t work and the Isles draw a Penalty. PK Rangers

12:16 Rosival decides the Islanders PP sucks so bad they need some help and shoots the puck over the glass. 5 vs 3 against the Rangers.

12:12 Lundqvist with a nice save off the faceoff.

11:18 Malik tries to celebrate the end of the 5 vs 3 by taking another penalty. The refs don’t call it and the Rangers don’t get scored on.

10:56 there’s that icing on the Power play. The Isles DO have the Avs PP.

10:00 left in the period, the Rangers have 1 shot this period, and I still feel like they are controlling play.

9:28 2-1 Goal Isles and just like that a Bergenheim shot and deflects of 2 Rangers and then into the net. Unlucky goal against the Rangers, but it could be a momentum changer.

5:25 Avery takes a really stupid penalty, at possibly the worst time of the game. Of course the Isles PP has looked pitiful, so it may not be too bad.

4:45 Comrie-Duff Denied by Lundqvist on the doorstep. Hillary can’t be happy.

1:22 Drury has the 3^rd shot of the period for the Rangers. Maybe Renney really does channel his inner “ Quenneville” and plays the “Hold on for dear life” strategy after getting a lead.

:51 PP Rangers. Game has slowed down quite a bit.

Notes: Jaromir Jagr may just be the slowest player in the NHL. How the hell this guy scores goals, a lot of them nonetheless, is beyond me. No wonder Gomez and him weren’t good linemates. Gomez might be able to skate up down and back up the ice before Jagr gets there. A terrible 2^nd period but only one goal against.

3^rd period

Sweet! technical difficulties to start the period. Like Towlie, I have no idea what’s going on.

18:01 I see the Rangers scored again, but again technical difficulties kept me from seeing it. That's two technical difficulties in 3 days. I really do know how to use a TV.

13:30 I am back and they are on the PP, that's certainly good news.

11:11 more technical difficulties. I think something’s wrong with my cable. But just enough to see the Rangers miss ANOTHER open net.

And the cable goes completely out, so I lost the rest of the game.

So I missed pretty much the entire 3rd period due to a pretty crappy cable connection, and technical difficulties (As much as I'd like to blame Comcast, this one was my fault actually), luckily NHL.com has pretty good highlights, and I got to see Gomez's tip in off the Staal shot.The Rangers, despite being up by a good margin, only gave up 3 shots in the 3rd so they must have dominated the game from there on out. I also wish that ENer that Avery had would have gone wide. Not because I didn't want him to score, but I'm curious to see if a) they would make Avery take a penalty shot against no one, or b) they'd award him credit for the goal if it was just awarded?.

Overall the Rangers looked impressive tonight, even if they aren't physical enough. Lundqvist gave up one fluky goal and was strong in the short bursts he needed to be and the Rangers dominated they're cross-town rivals for an important victory. It would have been better last week before I was eliminated from the Fantasy Hockey playoffs (you to Shanahan). Rangers picked up an important win, and I had fun watching an Eastern Conference game.

The Islanders Radio network chose the three stars, and they chose:
Lundqvist
Avery
Shanahan

I probably would have chosen:
Lundqvist
Gomez
Dawes

(Gomez had a goal and drew the penalty that lead to Shanny's breakaway goal. He looked pretty strong on the ice tonight. Dawes had a sweet sweet assist and some nice defensive plays. He finished at +2 with 2 assists.)

The Captain Is Back, Rangers Blank Flyers 2-0

Despite a slightly pulled groin from Saturday night's win against the New Jersey Devils, Captain Jaromir Jagr pulled out the first goal of the evening against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period. Not only did he score first, he delivered a solid performance as he was continually double covered by pesty Orangecoats, escorted by the team doctor into the locker room after recurring injuries, and surprisingly re-emerged third period back into the lineup to dominate the evening and lead The New York Rangers into their fourth straight win against the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-0.

The Blueshirts are now 7-6-1, second place in the Atlantic Division - one point away from taking the first position in the division. As the diehard meathead in Section 317 said after the game, "They may actually be getting their shit together!!!" A prolific sentiment shared by Rangers fans across the land.

Our "defensive strong", "proficient but low-scoring offense" controlled most of the game from start to finish. The Flyers were massively outshot in the first and second periods, but put the heat back on the Rangers in the third, until Brendan Shanahan locked in the second insurance goal with just over three minutes left in the game. The last goal solidified the win. Martin Biron, goalkeeper of the Flyers, deserves a special honorable mention for preventing a 6-0 loss.

...and again, the true hero of the night. The King. Henrik Lundquist. Simply the best goalkeeper in the NHL.

Tonight will be another test - as a 'win' against the New York Islanders will ensure a first place ranking in the Atlantic Division -- a pleasant distant place from the opening of the season.

Maybe Jagr knew something when he said "be patient, it will happen."

Going for five straight.

tdr