Happy Holidays and Happy Hockey

...or (insert) the head of Ilya Kovalchuk

Nothing better than a good Turkey Shoot, eh?  

As the holiday season begins, here at The Dark Ranger we wanted to wish everyone safe travels and a fun-filled weekend of hockey! We appreciate your readership and hope that you continue to visit for some good fan insight and, better yet, a good laugh.
 
Happy holidays to all and see you tonight in Tampa Bay.


The Dark Ranger        Graying Mantis       J_Undisputed

The $7 Million Dollar Goal

                                                 Rangers 4, Devils 3  SO

Why not save it for last?

Just when you thought it was over, The Boys In Blue pulled out another unlikely win against the NJ Devils of Newark, led by Captain Drury and his $7 million dollar clutch -- who with 20 seconds left in regulation took a sweet backhanded feed from Erik Christensen reminding us why we drafted him in the first place.  The Clutchman Cometh (at least for one game, that is...).   That one goal was worth seven big ones.

So that makes two wins in a row for the Rangers making them 'Undead' - at least they're walking and are determined to play for blood, take on the living, seeking hockey world domination.  With Boston and Philly both losing last night, the Rangers advance back into the realm of 'maybe' only three points from the 8th and last playoff spot. 

Go here for a more articulate and less exhausting recap.

This was one hellava game.  Generally (with few exceptions) a game versus New Jersey is a good one. Regardless of where we are in the standings, the anticipation and level of play is always something reminiscent of the battle over Mingo County - the Hatfield Rangers the more articulate and well connected to their McCoy Devil backwater rivals across the Hudson.

Obvious in any match with the NJ Beelzebubs, it comes down to two bodies in net.  Henrik hates Marty.  Marty hates Henrik.  Not only does 'Fatty B' dislike 'The King", but the fans have accelerated the teams' goalkeeper rivalry by dueling simple-minded chants such as "M-A-R-T-YSSSSS  B-E-T-T-E-R" followed by Rangers fans screaming the equivalent for the younger, more good-looking and equally as talented Blueshirt 'TEAM-in-a-box goalie' Henrik Lundqvist.  Time will show what Henrik delivers in the long run, but one thing is for sure - last night Henrik was more solid having to make up for our lack of D-men - and was dominant in the shootout.    H-E-N-R-I-K's better.  Simply.  Oh, and also....

Lundqvist became the first NHL goalie to earn 30 wins in each of his first five seasons and the first Rangers netminder to post five straight 30-win campaigns.    (Sorry Marty)

Brandon Dubinsky & Artem Anisimov registered the first two goals, followed by the thrilling 20-seconds left Drury multi-million-Joisey-Devil-jaw-drop tie-breaker.

The Blueshirts sit one point away from the Atlanta Thrashers (9th slot) and 3 points away from Boston (8th slot).  Hold on to your pants, folks....

Though Drury wasn't able to deliver the CLUTCH during the Olympics for TEAM USA, perhaps he and this over-privileged and underwhelming Blueshirts squad can deliver a MIRACLE of our own by making the playoffs.  You never know.....  You never know....

Toronto Maple Leafs are next at the A.C.C. on Saturday night.  "Hey Colton Orr....meet my little friend Prust and Shelley!"    Should be a nail-biter.

tdr

But We Scored Five Goals!!??

NYR 5, Caps 6

'Bittersweet' is the word to describe tonight.

Not only is former-super-sniper Atlanta Thrasher Ilya Kovalchuk officially now a New Jersey Devil, but the Rangers lost in regulation for the seventh time in eight games and have slipped below the post-season cutoff in the Eastern Conference.

But we scored five goals???!!!!

Here is the tsn synopsis:

The Rangers carried play in the first period and took a 1-0 lead at 8:58 when Callahan tipped in a shot by Jokinen, snapping New York's 0 for 25 power-play slump over seven games. Gordon tied it with 3:20 left in the frame, despite Washington being outshot 15-5 at the time.  Prospal got that one back just 10 seconds later, and New York finished the period with a 2-1 lead and an 18-6 shots advantage.

The tide turned in the second as Washington quickly caught up in shots and on the scoreboard. Knuble's 20th goal made it 2-2 at 4:41, and Ovechkin's power-play tally at 7:16 gave the Capitals their first lead.  Jokinen, in his second game since being acquired from Calgary on Monday, scored his 12th of the season and first with the Rangers to make it 3-3 at 12:19. Prospal put New York back on top 40 seconds later.  Dubinsky's power-play goal with 1:12 left in the second made it 5-3 and had Madison Square Garden rocking.  It didn't last long as Ovechkin quieted the crowd by netting his NHL-leading 38th, scoring a one-handed goal with only 8.5 seconds left in the middle frame.  Former Rangers defenceman Poti tied it 5-5 just 59 seconds into the third, 36 seconds after New York newbie Michael Del Zotto was sent off for high-sticking.

Despite the loss, it was an awesome game to watch, complete with all of the short-handed turnovers, too many penalties, and defensive gaffs one comes to expect as a Rangers fan, but there was a confidence from the start in our Blueshirts very different than the level of play we've seen throughout this losing streak.  They were fast and hungry and they fed off the Garden, something I don't remember in some time.  Henrik Lundqvist was solid in goal, regardless of how many he let in --- if he hadn't played to his level, the Caps would have scored five more goals.

Alexander Ovechkin is truly a marvel to watch.  He is a guy who loves to win, is motivated by The Garden, and is the consummate hockey player.  I wish he was on our team.  Is it me, or am I the only one scratching my head with Rozsival covering Ovechkin one-on-one?  TORTS you ineffective Napoleon!!!!  - one thing is for sure, Torts has his favorites and sure loves benching Redden.  He's got it half right.

Some quotes of the night:

“For sure this is very, very tough to take, but we screwed it up ourselves,” Marian Gaborik said after the Blueshirts yielded three power-play goals while shorthanded nine times overall, including three times in the second period and five times in the third.  "We have to be disciplined; we can’t take that many penalties against anyone, certainly not against a team like that.  It’s our own fault.”

At the very least, it's refreshing that we're not being fed the usual "We played hard, we're just not getting pucks in the net" sound-bite that bites the ear.

Recently acquired Olli "Twist" Jokinen scored a goal and an assist and pushed the puck forward --- with Proust doing a great job with the body throughout.  The team has improved with them in the lineup.  Time will show what happens, so if our newly acquired Westerners can beat the historical "Lackadaisical Garden Syndrome" (the disease that gradually slows down hockey players to not work so hard, but still hastily cashing their checks), they might improve the tempo of the game.

The NJ Devils of Newark tomorrow, with Stanley Cupping Kovy on their side.  I call on Sean Avery to rise high and make fun of Fatty Brodeur, and do what he does best.  Be a pest.  Throw off their game.  Let's win this one and remind Kovy why he should have taken his Atlantian $100 million dollar contract, rather than one that belongs to a half-attended, half-hearted hockey town.  Yeah...they're on top right now, but a loss to the Blueshirts would do wonders in elevating our half-feeling team.

Who knows?  If not the Devils tomorrow, maybe we'll win a game one of these days!!?  10th place in the Eastern, by the way folks.

tdr

Farty Marty Wins First At The Garden

NYR 2, NJ Devils 4

It's safe to say I personally had a sh*tty day.  Watching the game tonight made it even sh*ttier.  Go here for the official recap.

NJ Devils goaltender Marty Brodeur won for the first time in 10 regulation matches at The Garden while playing goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist, as the New York Rangers (now 7-3-0) lost their second in a row at home.  Why you might ask?  Because Marty earned it.  Tough to say, but Fatty (or Farty) was the dominant goalie tonight.   As for Lundqvist, he made 21 saves and the Devil's game winning goal was Henrik's to stop -- a 'throw it toward the Blueshirts goal, block and piddle in between Henry's pads shot' by NJ's Dainius Zubrus ended Henrik's reign over Oily Brodeur at The Garden.  Mind you, our puck moving defenseman found themselves ineffectively losing the puck in the offensive zone while Devil snipers left them behind to carry multiple '3 on 2's' & '2 on 1's' against The King all night.

The end was a mess.

The opening of the game looked promising, as the Blueshirts aggressively opened the first period with a physical forechecking type of game, obviously looking to rebound from Monday night's embarrassing, horrific and exposing loss to the San Jose Sharks.  As pointed out this week in this blog, Monday's loss was a blueprint for how to play our New York Rangers, and The Devils certainly read those plans and jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Parise and Bergfors.

Rangers pest Sean Avery dropped the gloves for the first time this season in a fight with Mottau. After Avery pasted Mottau to the boards with a clean hit, the pair went at it for nearly two minutes before Avery capped the brawl with a takedown.   This was a chance to meet the challenge and motivate the Rangers into a new way, a new day....it worked.

The 2nd period was owned by the Blueshirts, as Gaborik scored his seventh of the season at 1:47, just seven seconds into a power play,  to cut the lead to 2-1.  Vinny Prospal won the faceoff back to the point, where Kotalik drew the defense and slid the puck to Gaborik. His sniper's shot bounced off traffic in front and past Brodeur.  With 5:35 to go in the second period, the Rangers turned defense into offense.  This was the turning point.  The great coaching Torts equalizer philosophy was in the house!

The third period disproved the need to push everyone forward at all times, as our boys were caught with their pants down -- giving too many opportunities for the NJ breakaways....the third period Zubrus goal followed by Parise adding an empty-netter in the final minutes ended the rivalry for one-night this season.

Despite a high-goal scoring and puck possession level of play, the Rangers have exposed serious deficiencies in their blueline.  Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival have stepped up their game considerably in the last four games -- the newbies get a pass as they've put the Blueshirts in a winning ranking to start -- and all D-men have shown that they adapt to Torts system well (more Redden, less Rozzy), but we are still missing the stay-at-home-defenseman, the stud, who controls the neutral zone.  When the D-men fail to capitalize on scoring goals, the forwards (Prospal, Kotalik, Higgins, Anisimov) panic to get back to defend the blueline.  The men in back can play up front, but the goal scorers are not conditioned to play back and have been relying on the defense to cover all grounds.  This will soon be a bigger problem for our Blueshirts as every subsequent team will learn from the tapes. 

This Saturday we meet a taste of the old Rangers, a meeting with Scott Gomez and Paul Mara of the Montreal Canadiens -- who this evening won their first game at home against the Long-ga-Islanders.  There are rival battles throughout the season (like tonight) and there are games that we are expected to win.  In looking at both of the teams, where they stand and what they've earned, the Rangers are expected to beat the Habs.  

Leave it to Torts, Henrik and Marion Gaborik.  If they won't figure it out, no one will.  Shuck is off, Rangers brethren -- this one hurts but it's only one game against those Jersey 'what exit?' Schmucks!

Hey Marty, now go enjoy a victory steak and lots of creamed spinach with mushrooms.  You deserve it plumpy!

tdr

Adrian!!!! Henrik???? Oh Crap, A Bear....

How will the Blueshirts respond when they've been beat into chum?

With the New York Rangers recently getting baited, flipped and filleted by the San Jose Sharks 7 to 3 -- the real question is how the Blueshirts will respond to our rival Devils of Newark tomorrow night, 7pm EST.

The prophet coach John Tortorella said this before Monday's Jim Jones exhibit, obviously seeing vulnerabilities in the team:

"We're teetering on going the wrong way here."

How right he was.  It would have been interesting to know how he addressed the team privately -- and not through the NYR fan channels -- and the first period will tell everything as we all look forward to one of the greatest Rangers Rivals --- Marty the Fatty VS. Sean the Pest.  

I say Avery takes another goalie interference five minute penalty, as a response to how much he adores Mr. Famous Unctuous Goalie - with permission from Torts.  Coach Torts has taken the high-road by asking the league to look at how many teams have taken-out our King Goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist through spontaneous slides, & runs at the net.

As the league prizes their prize goalkeepers and record holders, the Rangers are bound to test the physical and mental limits of M-A-A-R-R-T-T-T-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y straight out of the gate.  Expect a brawl with Mah-tee in the first period and a newly confident team working hard for every goal.

See you then and Let's Go Rangers, friends!

tdr

Boys In Blue Beat Brodeur, NYR 3, NJ Devils 2

 It keeps looking better.

In the opening minutes of the game last night, the Devils scored on the Rangers forcing NYR Coach John Tortorella to use his only timeout.  "Sh*t or get off the team!" or something related was the message forcefully delivered by Torts as he proceeded to wake-up their lazy asses and send the right message back on the ice.

It worked.  We are 2-1.  Official recap here.

Both rookies Michael Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy changed the tone of the New York Rangers last night against the NJ Devils, both scoring one goal each and revitalizing the anemic power play.  So our top D-men are 19, 22 and 25 year olds.  Already there are improvements in the power play -- evidenced by a tighter passing, more confident looking unit, they were bound to begin scoring goals in this third game of the season.  It is entirely too early to compare these young D-men to other great Rangers defencemen -- in fact, it is taboo at this point, but with Michael Del Zotto bound to stay in the NHL having scored two goals in his first three NHL games, along with Matt Gilroy and his one goal, it does bring two potential candidates for the Calder Trophy into the thinking.  (on a side, the last time two rookie Rangers defensemen scored a goal each in the same game was 1990 by Miroslav Horava & Jeff Bloemberg)

Other obvious observations:  'The King" Lundqvist remains the best asset for the Rangers.  He was the true 'Rock' at the Prudential Center showing his nemesis Marty Brodeur a thing or two about rival goalkeeping.

Ales Kotalik scored the second goal in the first period on the power play, his first as a Ranger and the first reminder that he is actually wearing a Ranger's jersey.  Nice work Kotty.

But I am way ahead of myself...

Together with the potential talents of these young Ranger newbies, plus Marc Staal and a (hopefully improving) Dan Girardi, we are getting what the coach has been preaching - forward puck moving blueliners that are not afraid to shoot the puck.  That should motivate the play of invisible Dan Girardi, not-as-bad-as-usual Wade Redden and horrifyingly bad Michal Rozsival.   If not, things will change.  Torts is running this team, not Chris Drury and it shows; he won't have it any other way.  Even the Captain has been taken off power play duty, and the Coach rules.

Some don't like him.  I do.  He is good for the team.

Plus the Devils (albeit only 2 games in the season) are in last place in the Eastern Conference.  How cool is that? (someone chant M-A-R-T-Y very loudly right now).   Ironically, the Detroit Red Wings are in last place on the Western Conference side.   How that will change, but enjoy it while it lasts.

So without giving in to all their potential and yet believing in this new Rangers team, I have to admit --  I am starting to believe.  It is convincing enough that the youth of this new Blueshirt squad can and will motivate the veterans to 'step up' and improve the inconsistent crap we've all become so accustomed to supporting.  Today I am "Torts happy" and giving him credit for last night's win; motivating by fear, integrity and strong words.

Now a healthy Sean Avery is another story....

tdr

Rangers Expose A Week(es) Defense, NYR 5, Devils 2

By Golly! Last night the NY Rangers broke one of the two curses of this season, embarrassing those pesky Devils of Newark, 5-2. With a slight boost of confidence mid-way through the second period and down 0-1, the Blueshirts went on a 3-goal scoring binge within two minutes, and a subsequent two goals by Nik Zherdev. The curse of the 2-goal game has been proven otherwise. That leaves the 'curse of the first-period rutt' to deal with.

Needless to say, two more points and the NY Rangers dominate the Atlantic Division and lead the Eastern Conference (12-5-2). Not bad for a flawed team with very little defense. Just wait until they 'get good'!!?

Official recap here.

Here is an interesting tidbit: For only the third time in 101 meetings with the Devils over 15 years, the Rangers faced a goalie other than Brodeur. Our boys certainly took advantage of the Devils-minus-Brodeur and they took it to them in the second and third periods. I still have no understanding of the first period black hole, but I am certain coach Renney is whipping up a new batch of line potion to address the fact THAT THEY JUST DON'T LOOK INTERESTED in opening strong.

Curse...maybe.

Chemistry....maybe.

Coach.....f*ck yeah!

The Dark Ranger is proud of our boys last night --- this is the level of work we need every game to win 'em, and you can see (last night by example) that once they climb out of the first period hole - and take the lead - the 'defensive dark cloud' is lifted and they begin to play hockey. Sure, there will be mistakes in the process, but they obviously go to the net and dig a little tougher. Forechecking --- last night, yes! Power play unit -- last night, yes! Team confidence -- last night...yes! The Blueshirts and coaching staff need to stop listening to everyone calling us a 'one or two goal per game team' and let them play some God d*mn hockey!

Salute and Let's Go Rangers!

TDR

Brodeur Not Amused By Avery's Chicken Dance

Turns out after the Rangers loss on Sunday was only half of the news. The Canadian media has had a field day with Sean Avery's face-to-face shield dance with NJ goaltender Marty Brodeur, and Devils coach Sutter didn't like it one bit.

So much that he personally called NHL Commissioner Bettman to complain about it. And guess what? The League actually created a new rule (from now on) to prohibit such behavior. You can imagine how relieved goaltenders across the world must now feel?

The Avery Rule Principle.

As long as Sean Avery continues to score goals throughout the playoffs (3 goals in 3 games), I don't give a damn at how he embarrasses himself. He is a good hockey player and an exceptional theatrical magician. If players were to avoid him, he wouldn't be effective.

Let them play hockey, Bettman, even if it's at the street level. You are more radical than Avery by bowing to the Canadian press and changing the Leagues laws, and your Utopian self-righteous 'vanilla and honey' hockey league will not hold the fans in the long run. What's next? Ban fighting?

Let 'em play Bettman...let 'em play!!!

TDR

The Marty & Sean Show, Part II

It's playoffs time, folks and coming off a ridiculous SO loss to the New Jersey Devils yesterday, our New York Rangers do not have home-ice-advantage going into the first round this week and we end the regular season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Official recap here.

Beyond that, the game was a wash - a preemptive look at what this first-round NY Rangers/NJ Devils will look like: defensive hockey, stellar goaltending, and Sean Avery grating on Marty Brodeur! Though Avery was 'below the radar' during most of the game, this week should see the return of the most famous instigator/goaltender rivalry we've ever seen between these two organizations. We should also look toward some pretty hard hitting from the start. The first period of yesterday's game the Devils dominated with physical force, which the Blueshirts immediately adjusted to come the second period.

With the Blueshirts winning 7 of the 8 meetings this season against the NJ Devils, and with Marty Brodeur looking mortal lately, it should be a fantastic series in the world of professional hockey. With the first games in Newark this upcoming Wednesday, April 9 (first game) and Friday, April 11 (second game), MSG will look forward to it's first home games on Sunday, April 13 (third game) and April 16 (fourth game). Hopefully, the Rangers will not need more than the first four games to close out the series (IT'S OKAY TO BE WILDLY OPTIMISTIC......WE MADE THE PLAYOFFS FOR GOD'S SAKE). Let's go Rangers!

As The Dark Ranger is wildly bias these days, especially at the opening throngs of the first round - I share with you a terrific hockey blogger Faux Rumors' comments that put into perspective how Rangers fans are feeling these days:

Faux says, "If we were Ranger fans we'd be happy with our matchup. Sure we'd be wary of any team led by Brodeur, but he's human. Just do what worked 7 times this year. Also, last year Marty started to look a bit weary from all the work. Perhaps it'll happen again? This Ranger team is NOT the same as last season. Drury is on your side this time, AND there are some very hungry young guys. Should be a great series!"

It is exciting stuff and I am confident that Coach Tom Renney will remember to bench Marek Malik (after slamming our own goaltender Henrik Lundqvist yesterday) and, mostly, allow our forwards to break from the defensive posture and score some goals (exactly what they did after our system broke down after the first horrible period yesterday). The young guys will give it their all - we can count on that - the veterans have decided something is worth fighting for (i.e. Chris Drury body checking to make a point & Jagr scoring goals lately) and our goaltender has recently found his old self in net - the key to our Stanley Cup run. There.....I said it. The SC words.

Possible? Simply, yes.

tdr