NY Rangers 1, Avalanche 5

Official recap here.  NY Rangers are now 10-9-1.    Tonight they take on the Minnesota Wild (away), followed by an official Dark Ranger dual-game weekend recap first thing tomorrow.   See you then.

Ranger Miscues Let Bruins Escape | BOS 3 NYR 2

Last night at the Garden, the Rangers unveiled their new third jerseys -- to be worn on Sundays and against Original Six teams.

For the coming out party for the jerseys, the Rangers hosted the Boston Bruins. I have to admit that when I first saw them (the jerseys) during the offseason (modeled by Sean Avery), I was unimpressed.

However, after seeing some pictures of the jerseys posted by friends over the weekend from the Rangers' introduction of the jerseys and watching the game on t.v. last night, they really grew on me.

As for the game, it was another nail-biting, closely-contested, low-scoring game that has been the trademark of their encounters the past 3 seasons. This time, Tim Thomas led the Bruins to a 3-2 victory over Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers.

The game was played briskly like an old-time pitcher's duel. When the final horn sounded, the clock read 9:22 so it took only about 2 hours and 15 minutes to play the entire game. The season series is now tied at 1. The official recap is here.

Coming off the heels of their scintillating overtime victory in Pittsburgh, the Rangers would have been excused if they came out flat or were beaten by the Bruins, who brought a 9-4-1 record to New York. Thomas, rejuvenated after last year's mediocre season, arrived with a gaudy 9-1-0 record and a sterling 1.32 goals against average. Coming into the game, the Bruins had allowed a paltry 29 goals through their first 15 games.

For the 2nd time this week, Marian found the inside of the net with the puck
and with his body. Here, Tim Thomas keeps the puck out and lets Marian slide on by.

Meanwhile, his counterpart, Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist had a 2.60 goal against average, which some detractors might remark includes a 1.33 soft goal allowed per game average.

Unfortunately in this contest, the difference was the fact that Lundqvist's Achilles heels (one for each ankle) appeared.

First, he was beaten high over his shoulder while down on the ice by Tyler Seguin to give the Bruins the lead at 2-1 with 3:25 left in the second period.

Later, he let in a soft goal in the first 70 seconds of the 3rd period by failing to cover the post securely permitting Mark Recchi's shot to find the space between his leg and the post to dribble its way through for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Oh Henry. An uncovered post and a laser shot made all the
difference as the Bruins jumped out to a 3-1 early in the 3rd period.

Last night, the Rangers started fast and maintained a decent amount of pressure on the Bruins all game long. Tim Thomas was kept busy but he did not have to stand on his head to keep the Rangers at bay.The Rangers showed some offensive fludity at times as Gaborik and his linemates continued to grow more comfortable.

What was definitely encouraging was Brandon Dubinsky's powerplay goal to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead with 7:10 gone in the second period. He deked Tim Thomas with his eyes as he charged into the offensive zone. Thomas bought the fake (which was legitimate since Gaborik was coming down the center) and moved slightly to his left before Dubinsky beat him with a wrist shot.

Dubinsky's play has shown no let up since Gaborik has returned as evidenced by the artistry of the game-winning play in overtime against Pittsburgh and his goal against Boston.

The Rangers have developed two quality scoring lines. For all the worries about a lack of offense, the Rangers are 10th in the NHL in goals scored (57), rarefied air for this team in recent years.

During the game Derek Stepan's presence became more pronounced as he logged more than 11 minutes for the game (including 3:30 on the power play) at the expense of Eric Christensen. It appears that Coach Tortorella is giving Stepan an opportunity to work his way on to the first line.

His pass to Gaborik for the Rangers' 2nd goal was simply beautiful and unlike Christensen's ill-conceived pass in the 1st period, the correct decision. Thanks to the recent spate of games at home, Stepan certainly looked more comfortable playing before the home crowd. During recent games, I noticed his ability to fend off defenders around the boards and behind the net in addition to his overall speed and skating skills.

The Rangers even outshot Boston 36-20 for the game including a margin of 16-5 in the final period. However, the Bruins provided a clinic for crowding the slot and blocking activity in the creases while blocking numerous shots, successfully frustrating the Blue Shirts and providing ample protection for their goalie.

Building on recent success, the Rangers killed all 3 of the Bruin power play opportunities (extending their recent success streak to 17 straight and 23 out of 24). This success with the penalty kill takes pressure off the team from worrying about incurring penalties by being physical. This is a far cry from their rate of nearly 25% futility rate that put them near the bottom of the league for the first month of the season.

Also noteworthy is the fact that during the past 7 games (excluding the 5-3 loss to the Caps), the Rangers have given up only 11 goals without Michal Roszival in the past 4 games, and with a blueline dependent on Steve Eminger and Michael Sauer (both continue to improve) as well as the noticeably improved Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. The goals allowed (52) now puts them in the middle of the league, which is far better than where they were at the beginning of November.

The Rangers had plenty of chances that were squandered during the game. Early in the game, Eric Christensen ruined a 2-on-1 break by trying an extra pass to Marian Gaborik instead of shooting. Michael Del Zotto took a slapshot from the left point with Ryan Callahan in front of Thomas. The puck was just a bit too high and Callahan whiffed on the deflection try.

In the second period, the Rangers had a 4 minute power play which ended up looking a lot like the Rangers were interested in running out the clock or forgetting that during a double minor, you can score more than one goal. Unfortunately, this opportunity was wasted.

In the final period -- the most painful 20 minutes of the game, the Rangers fell behind early 3-1 before Marian Gaborik brought the Rangers closer with a beautiful passing play with Derek Stepan with 14 1/2 minutes remaining. The Rangers could not break through for the equalizer as the Bruins tightened up their defense.

What was most frustrating was the Rangers inability to exploit a lengthy 2 man advantage when Andrew Ference and Zdeno Charra were whistled off within 16 seconds of each other with less than 6 minutes to go. While the puck movement was decent and the Rangers did take some shots, they made lives too easy for the Bruins. The Rangers continue to show a tendency to have their defensemen creep in too closely from the blue line.

That gave the Bruin defenders less ice to cover, preserving their strength, and enabling them to bottle up the slot and crease. The Rangers failed to open up the triangle to make the Bruins cover larger expanses to chase down the Rangers. This has been going on for the past 2 seasons at least and essentially neutralizes the 2 mad advantage.

Still, the past 2 games -- in Pittsburgh and against Boston -- have had playoff atmospheres and the tight-checking, physical play and gut wrenching twists and turns that we see every Spring. The Rangers are proving they can compete with upper echelon teams and bring a full-game effort for nearly every game.

The Rangers are now off to face two quality Northwest Division teams: Colorado (10-7-1) on Friday night and the Minnesota Wild (9-6-2) on Saturday night. Both are having good seasons so far so they should be fun games as the Rangers have a great 6-2 road record.

--- The Graying Mantis

Rangers escape with win despite attempted robbery at Igloo!

Well Rangers Fans, it was a close one! Soon after sewing up our win against the the greatest odds, did our netminder call the officials on their one sided performance by requesting to see the record for the last 5 seasons of penalty tallies in Pittsburgh.

You can get the official Report on the attempted Robbery here.

For us at the Dark Ranger, We know what happened and don't need it dressed up by the league or the officials. After a hard fought first period, where we tried to match the intensity of the Pittsburgh team, it became apparent that we just weren't controlling the puck enough and our offense while well intended was fairly one dimensional...The Gaborik line alone was a little puzzling as his linemates seemed content to kick back and let Gabby enter the zone solo and try to split 4 defenders on his way to the net. Quick Note: Kudos to Cally for dropping the gloves and shutting Comrie the hell up and later force feeding Skidmark Sid some glove during a scrum.



The second brought more of an effort and intensity, as did the third. Interesting enough that we never got a call in the entire game, but once again diving seems to be popular in Pittsburgh. You have to love how a kid like Malkin is revered as big, strong and fast and so steady on his skates but somehow gets overpowered and thrown to the ice by little Ryan Callahan. Once again, demonstrating the Pittsburgh motto of:"if you cant beat em, cheat em..." The officials of course, fall in line with this mentality making up calls along the way, justifying them with stupid smiles.


For as much tampering as there was, it added a bit of excitement to the game and even managed to royally piss off Lundqvist who played a spectacular game and tried to remain calm despite being tripped and later threatened by a tantrum throwing Crosby. It would eventually boil over as one mystery penalty too many pushed Henrik over the edge and resulted in him breaking his stick over the crossbar following the second Pens goal. Then Henrik attempted to get some boomerang action going with the broken handle, in the direction of the officials.

If not for the effort of the first line and a Marc Staal joining the play, all would have been lost. Instead, tied and going into overtime, our boys in blue decided to flip off the posterboys from Pittsburgh, the corrupt officials and the rest of the Gary Bettman circus. As much as I ride Dubinsky for that contract play at the beginning of last season, he did make a great Datsyuk-ian move to avoid the sprawling defensemen and feed Cally that winning goal.

Till next time Ranger Fans,

J_Undisputed

Benedict Arnold or Erik Christensen?

As you've all heard by now, New York Rangers Erik Christensen took liberties with the Edmonton press yesterday, essentially calling out his own teammate Sean Avery as clearly sucker punching Oiler's Smid during yesterday's match.

If you're not a Rangers fan, anything to do with Sean Avery will be a disgrace and you may praise Christensen for his honesty and forthright nature, but...

Sean Avery is my agitator and my pain-in-the-ass and I support him as a fan and I know and he knows his place in the league (even if Torts doesn't at times).  I say Erik Christensen is 'a bit of a rat' for screwing around with the locker room chemistry that is now winning them games.  The last thing we need is for our inner-core turning on each other and criticizing each other.  That should be left to the coach.

Blueshirt Banter did a nice piece here.  

So The Dark Ranger is calling him out as a disgrace to the jersey he wears.  Plain and simple.

You are supposed to protect your own Erik Christensen, so keep your damn mouth shut next time.

tdr

The Gaborik Rising / NYR 8 , Edmonton 2

Yesterday was Family Day at The Garden, Rangers brethren, one of the only opportunities this fall to bring your young'ens and inspire them to be a professional hockey player later in life; good clean family fun where they can cheer on their role models and you can reinforce all the New York Rangers propaganda we've been feeding them since they were babies.

Aside from the drumming the Edmonton Oilers took from the high scoring Rangers 8-2, the Garden fan-kids were treated to everything a good hockey game should have - the return of a former coach who helped bring back the Rangers to playoff glory & later shamed, a hat trick, eight renditions of the Goal Song, a bench brawl, the coach jumping into the action and a good old fashioned sucker punch.  Good family values.

Official recap here.

Gaborik defining 'dirty-goal'

We all tip our hats (and throw them on the ice) to Marian Gaborik, who coming off a shoulder injury that has sidelined him most of the season, played his fourth game and stole the limelight as he scored three goals and one assist - embarrassing most of the Oilers and especially goalie Nikolai Khabibulin who stopped only 22 shots and let more than enough in.

We must also tip our hats to the 'Return of Avery' - now known as Enemy Number One in Edmonton.  The Oilers were already trailing by three goals in the final period of a long and disappointing five-game road trip when Avery really got them mad. Our revitalized agitator checked Oilers' Colin Fraser hard into the boards and, according to the Oilers, declined to fight Ladislav Smid when he was challenged.  Avery eventually took the initiative of throwing a punch after Smid let down his guard when it seemed a fight wouldn't happen. - which if you watch the replay below, you will see that Smid dropped his gloves when he saw Sean accepting his offer and Edmonton is just what Dad used to call "a sore loser" making excuses for a kid on their squad trying to make a name for himself.  The Avery element of surprise made way for sorry Oiler excuses.

We usually save this behavior for Philly

A brawl then broke out with 8:42 remaining and by the end of it, 124 penalty minutes were handed out -- 67 to Edmonton -- including five standard misconducts and four ejections.   Even coach John Tortorella couldn't hold back Brandon Dubinsky from the bench - who took a 10-minute major for joining in on the ruckus.  Avery, Boyle, Prust and Dubinsky were all thrown out of the game......YEE HAW M*THER F*CKERS.  Oops....sorry kids and Family Day at the Garden.   "See kids....that's old time hockey."  The video is below and worth the entire watch:

It was an easier night for backup Marty Biron, who gave Henrik Lundqvist some much needed rest for the Pittsburgh Penguin game tonight.  Biron only faced 22 shots, but picked up another win proving that acquiring him during the off-season was the right move by Rangers management.

The game overall wasn't much of a challenge as the Rangers controlled most of the tempo, but it was 'made to look easier' by both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi's stellar defense.  Both commanded their zones, controlled the neutral zone and stepped up offensively when needed.  They both smoked Edmonton's #1 Draft Taylor Hall a number of times, making him look young and inexperienced, which by the looks of it, he is exactly that - young & inexperienced.  Hall looks well below in comfort and talent than more recent number picks such as Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos.  I'm sure in time he will blossom, unless Edmonton continues to drag their heels.  The NHL brings out the best or worse in a player and he obviously has not adjusted well at this point in the season.

Khabula-bye-bye.

The Rangers are 9-7-1 this season, ranked 4th place in the Eastern Conference - and their crank-n-grind work ethic is finally getting some respect in the hockey blogosphere.  We are surprising teams with 60-minutes of hockey - and Torts (over the last 2-3 games)  is doing a pretty good job of letting them (finally) play hockey and duke-it-out when necessary.  I have a feeling we're going to see more of this as the season progresses. 

So Pittsburgh is tonight and we can all wipe that smile off our faces, as Henrik is back in goal and 'The Diver' Crosby makes his way into the Garden.  We are supposed to win games against struggling teams like Edmonton and we did, but tonight we are only expected to play hard and give it our all -- and occasionally we win them.   The Penguins always bring a physical game to the Garden, but this time they are playing a very different Rangers squad and tonight is their first meeting.

Let's bring it on, Blueshirts.  Maybe Avery can show Crosby a good 'ole fashioned  melee....

tdr

Resilience At Work -- Defense Pitches In to Help Biron Slip Past Sabres | NYR 3 BUF 2 (OT)

Thursday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres presented a golden opportunity for the Rangers to finally win a game at home for the first time in this third game of a 4 game home stand.

Their upstate opponents, not the free skating talented team of recent years, had played an overtime game the night before in Newark. This was one of those games that the Rangers should get and need to get when they are home.

However, this game would see an injury depleted roster for both teams, which has become a staple of the Rangers' season so far. On the positive side, the Blueshirts were welcoming back Marian Gaborik for his first game since the opener, while on the infirmary side, Michal Roszival (shoulder) and Henrik Lundqvist (stomach flu) would be sitting.

Ryan Miller, the Sabres' Olympic goalie, was out with a knee injury and would be replaced by Jhonas Enroth, who had beaten the Devils the night before.

With Marty Biron in goal for his second start this week (he lost 2-0 on Sunday to the Blues), this was a chance for him to put to rest any doubts that he cannot spell Henrik for as many as a dozen or more games this season. As it turned out, the Rangers did not miss a chance to get 2 points at home and Biron erased significant doubts about his ability as he played a sterling game to lead the Rangers to a thrilling 3-2 overtime win. Official recap is here.

Fedetenko. He played perhaps his best game overall as a Ranger with a
goal, an assist and a waved off goal besides being a strong presence on the ice.

Besides Biron, the Russian contingent of Artem Anisimov and Ruslan Fedotenko provided the scoring needed to secure the win. Fedotenko got the Rangers' initial score in the first period while Anisimov scored a goal in the final minute of the second period and then snapped in the game winner with 3:28 remaining in overtime.

The Rangers took the lead in the first period after the Rangers failed to capitalize on 2 power play advantages. However, the Rangers maintained their pressure after the second one expired leading to Fedotenko slipping the puck under Enroth after the goalie could not control a rebound.

Christopher Higgins Redux? Frolov cannot buy a goal right now.
Alex Frolov, although snakebitten again, seemed rejuvenated and had a bounce in his step that suggested that he and Gaborik are going to team up well. Near the end of the period, he had 2 quality chances that he could not put home, yet again. But you can sense that the goals are about to come. The Rangers outshot the Sabres 14-8 and should have had more goals.

The second period started with the Rangers pressuring Buffalo led by Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust in an attempt to extend the lead. But eventually, the Sabres took control as Tim Connolly had 2 great chances in the first 3 minutes.

Biron was sharp for the most part and he had to be as the Sabres outshot the Rangers 12-4. He robbed Neidemayer by stretching across the net to stop his shot. Later Andrej Sikera sprang Thomas Vanek on a long pass; Biron blocked the shot but he ended up on his side. Tyler Ennis, duplicating Fedotenko's score, jammed the puck home under the prone Biron to tie the game at 1.

Robbing Niedermayer. Biron did not let Niedermayer find the
back of the net on several occasions.

With a minute to go in the period, the game got interesting. With 55 seconds to go, Brandon Dubinsky won a face-off in the Buffalo zone. Dubinsky chased the puck behind the net and passed it out to Anisimov at Enroth's right and shot it into the net, for his first goal in ten games with 48 seconds to go. (Recently, the best scoring that Anisimov had been doing was injuring goalies in practice -- he hit Lundqvist in the neck last week and plunked Biron earlier in the day.)

It was another game that the Rangers scored late in a period, including their recent win in Toronto. And it was an opportunistic goal since it came on only the Rangers' 4th shot of the period.

Offensively Positioned. Note how Grier has inside position on Ryan Callahan
and an unimpeded approach to the net to tie the with less than 3 seconds.

However, following a pattern of the past couple of seasons, the final minute of a period can be dicey for the Rangers. This game was no different as Buffalo immediately took the puck into the Rangers' end. The Rangers simply could not clear it out of the zone and you could see Rangers gliding around waiting for the horn to sound.

Dan Girardi was a guilty party as he slowly chased the puck into the corner but Cody McCormick of the Sabres got to it first and found Rob Niedermayer who saw that Mike Grier had inside position on Ryan Callahan in front of Biron. Grier took a nifty pass across the crease and slipped the puck into the net with 2.9 seconds left to tie the score.

For the third period, the Rangers came out of the locker room and dominated. The Sabres were likely weary at this point after their long game the night before. Gilroy pushed the puck up the ice several times. Fedetenko scored what should have been the Rangers' goal but it was inexplicably waved off just 4 minutes into the period. Replays showed that the puck was in the back of the net before the whistle blew.

Why the goal was not reviewed is also inexplicable. For one of the first times this season, Tortorella went ballistic on the bench and rightly so as this was the second goal waved off during the homestand on questionable grounds.

Two minutes later, the Rangers almost were in deep trouble as Hecht beat Biron on a wraparound but somehow Biron kept the puck out of the net, it bounced off Biron's pad and then the knob of his stick prevented it from rolling into the net. Fortunately, Eric Christensen swooped in to clear the puck away.


Game Saving Play. Biron, sprawling, was able to control the puck and avoid
knocking it into the net as the knob of his stick made the final save. Christensen
came in from the left to sweep away the puck into the corner to preserve the tie.

The rest of the period saw some great end-to-end play. Biron stopped Vanek's terrific try for score, the Rangers immediately skated up ice and Callahan made a beautiful pass to Dubinsky whose one-timer was stopped by Enroth with 11:25 left.

Christensen, Gaborik and Frolov meshed well during the third period but Frolov continued to be unable to convert his chances. Avery, Steve Eminger and Derek Stepan wreaked havoc with forechecking for a couple of shifts in the Sabre zone keeping Buffalo bottled up.

Regulation ended tied and so it was the third consecutive OT game for Buffalo. In the extra stanza, the Rangers were able to get an unusual win in overtime. Believe it or not, the game winning play started with a terrible turnover by Christensen outside the blue line.

Vanek was stopped again by Biron and the Rangers rushed up ice. Anisimov was stopped on his first shot at Enroth but the puck stayed in the zone. Fedontenko (who played perhaps his overall Ranger game) went into the corner to retrieve and sent it to Girardi at the blue line. He shot the puck toward the net, Anisimov's attempt was blocked but he immediately pounced on it, settled it and turning around, he shot a laser that beat Enroth high over his left glove hand with 3:28 remaining for the win.

Parting thoughts:

Answer to Frolov's scoring woes? Welcome Back, Marian.

Once again the Rangers showed their resiliency -- they shook off the loss of Roszival and Lundqvist. They did not allow Buffalo's tying goal at the end of the 2nd period to destroy their confidence. They ignored another waved off goal and just plugged away.

Winning this game was important because the idea of losing a third game in a row at home would mean that the Rangers had squandered a possible 6 points.

Marian Gaborik's speed was evident as the Rangers often rushed up ice with a quickness that has been missing.

With Roszival out, other defensemen stepped up -- Eminger and Sauer had good games. Sauer seems to be getting more comfortable on his shifts and is not shy to hit some people. He tangled with Paul Gaustad in the second period. Later, he boarded Patrick Kaleta (and somewhere Paul Mara did a fist pump) and drew a penalty for it. Kaleta was a bit groggy and some Sabres considered revenge against anyone in a blue shirt. But nothing developed and the game went on.

Gilroy, the beneficiary of Roszival's injury, certainly looked like his hiatus helped him as he had a better sense of what he should be doing out there.

One thing that has become evident recently is that fans are warming to the team. They are enjoying the team's lunchpail work ethic, their resiliency, their work in the corners and the payoff of a youth movement.

Fans I have corresponded with keep saying how much more entertaining the team is from recent seasons, especially the last two. Coach John Tortorella has maintained a quieter demeanor so far on the bench and in public. He has publicly praised his players (Roszival being a noteworthy example) and shared the advice he and his coaches have told players (Christensen) and what is expected of them to be contributor to the team. He has not fought with beat reporters, who have actually tried not to bait him this year. It seems everyone is more interested in how the team is developing.

David Letterman learning to his dismay that the Rangers do not have Ice Girls for him to pursue.
Later he told his crew that was the last time he would accept text messages from Brett Favre.

Interesting that Tortorella has taken more of a mentor role instead of the harsh parent. Perhaps he recognizes how hard they play and how hard they are trying to buy into his system.

Perhaps he realizes that he will lose the team because they have been without Gaborik, Prospal and Drury for the entire season.

With Gaborik's return, the level of talent should rise and the competition for ice time will increase. That can only be a good thing for the Rangers.

--- The Graying Mantis

You Win One, Then You Blues One

How do you beat a team named the St. Louis Blues (8-1-2) coming into the Garden having won six in a row?

You don't.

Or at least at Madison Square Garden you don't because we generally don't win games at home, and it was another crashing disappointment in front of the Garden faithful.  Coming off a fantastic Friday night shutout over the falling NJ Devils, this was not what anyone was expecting.

It was a battle of the backups as NYR's Marty Biron replaced Henrik Lundqvist and St. Louis' Ty Conklin replaced the shutout King Jaroslav Halak.  Biron did the best he could to keep the Rangers in the game, but ultimately he found no support, our d-men were unable to control our zone and the end result was Ty Conklin continuing his team's trend of shutting out their opponents.  The St. Louis Blues who managed to physical beat down on our New York Rangers, controlled the neutral zone and held our Blueshirts outside of their own blueline throughout the evening, even during a number of power play advantage opportunities, including a 'sorry-ass' Rangers five-minute power play (missed) opportunity. 

Official recap here.

The first period opened well, especially when the Rangers thought they had taken a 1-0 lead with 1:56 left in the first period, but a Frolov goal was immediately waved off by an odd and confusing high-sticking call by another ridiculous referee call.  Ref protocol, I suppose.

Blues' Steen took a pass from Brad Boyes during a 3-on-2 rush and snapped a shot from the high slot past Biron to make it 1-0 at 5:16 of the second period.

No Rangers stepped up after Stepan getting boarded.  This should never happen again.

During the third period after B.J. Crombeen received a five-minute major penalty for boarding Derek Stepan with 12:35 left and our boys only managed four shots.  The 'dump & chase' Rangers philosophy was in full effect and ultimately to no effect. But even more alarming was that, once again, this 'new & improved' tough Rangers squad were unable or unwilling to defend their own.  Perhaps Coach Torts' eyes were ready to bulge if any Ranger took a stupid penalty with only one goal on the boards, but I am surprised nothing became of this.  It was a ridiculous hit and there was no retribution.  Boogey?  Girardi (hardy ha)?  Yes, Prust launched shortly after, but again to no effect.

Sauer got more action from Boogaard than any Blues opponent

When your team is wronged, sending the right message is always about the right timing -- someone needs to teach our boys this.  Coach John Tortorella can talk about the right kind of penalty and he may talk-the-talk, but he is holding our boys back from retaliating - after last night, it is apparent that this is a trend that is becoming consistent:  "BEAT ON US, The New York Rangers".  I don't like the sound of that, and this needs to change.

One of the highlights was Sean Avery checking Tyson Strachan into the boards - which always amuses me at how embarrassing this must be to your fellow teammates. 

So we're a .500 team (7-6-1).  No surprise there.  Tomorrow night we play Alexander Ovechkin and his Caps at The Garden and it is almost certain Henrik Lundqvist will be in net, our only dependable and consistent wall of defense; expect to see him playing his heart out against an onslaught of Cap(tain) Crunch.

Maybe Boogey or Prust could make a run at Ovie?  Semin?  Green?  Something....anything....would get our attention back.  See you tomorrow.

tdr

Boys to Men -- Dubi and Boyle Lead Rangers to Victory | NYR 3 NJD 0

Proving that the maturation process continues in the absence of the veteran stars and again demonstrating an unexpected boundless reservoir of resiliency, the Rangers shook off their wounds from their loss in Philly the previous night to shut out the Devils 3-0 in Newark.

Savor this Ranger fans -- the Rangers are 5th in the conference, on a 95 point pace and averaging nearly 3 goals per game.

The Rangers survived the loss of Ryan Callahan (recovering from his mugging in Philly) and relied on their domestically raised killer B's -- Brandon Dubinsky and Brian Boyle -- to spoil the Devils' return home after a 6 game road trip. The official recap is here.

Frequent scorer plan. Dubinsky has 5 goals in his last 3 games,
10 in the team's first 14. How many of us saw this coming?

The missing starpower for last night's contest could have lit up Times Square. The Devils were without Martin Brodeur and Zach Parise. Besides the missing trio of Gaborik, Prospal, and Drury, Callahan was rested from the after effects of his boarding in Philly.

Despite being down 4 front line players, the Rangers again shook off adversity and kept the offensively-challenged Devils mired in their own.

The Devils continue to be winless at the Rock (0-5) so far this season. Brandon Dubinsky, with 2 goals last night, has 10 goals so far this season, which is more than the Devils starting front liners combined (even including the injured Zach Parise).

Ilya Kolvachuk was held pointless after being effectively smothered by Marc Staal and Dan Girardi throughout the game. Even more embarrassing was the fact that the Devils could not sell out the arena for a rival game even after being on a 6 game road trip.

Shrinking Violet. Blowhard fans touting how great Kolvy would
look in a Ranger uniform should be glad that management did not hear them.

For the game, the Devils had the overall advantage in shots, 33-20 (including a 11-4 first period advantage), for the game and were led by Jonas Hedberg in goal, who had been successful against the Rangers when he was with Atlanta.

However, Henrik Lundqvist was better in goal and the Rangers capitalized on their opportunities. Well, truth be told, the first line capitalized on their chances.

Brandon Dubinsky was directly involved with all 3 goals -- he scored the first and third goals of the game, the latter a shorthanded tally and set up the middle goal by winning a faceoff. Artem Anisimov had 2 assists and Brian Boyle scored his 5th goal of the season.

Dubinsky broke a scoreless tie with at 7:35 mark of the first when Alex Frolov drove to the net on the left side, shot the puck and worked behind the net to retrieve it. The puck went to Anisimov on Hedberg's right, who tried to shoot but instead it went across the crease to Dubinsky.

Although blocked by a defenseman, Dubinsky snapped a shot around the back of the defenseman and between Hedberg's legs. I had to watch the shot several times on replay to appreciate the quickness of Dubinsky's release. So entering the 2nd period, the Rangers had the lead, which has not been a common occurrence so far this season.

More importantly, the Rangers stayed out of the penalty box but were physical. Anton Volchenkov and David Clarkson started throwing their weight around, targeting Sean Avery. But Brian Boyle defended Avery by fighting Clarkson. The Rangers ended up with a power play that they could not convert. So the Rangers did not back down and it was nice to see Boyle use his size despite the physical game they played the night before.

Filling the Void and the Net. Dubinsky and Boyle have combined
to score 15 of the Rangers' 38 goals. Raise your hand if you saw THAT coming.

In the second period, the Devils pressured the Rangers but Henrik Lundqvist kept them at bay including stoning Kolvachuk and Langenbrunner. Late in the second, Danius Zubrus was whistled for hooking with 2 minutes to go.

During the power play, Hedberg covered up the puck by making a scrambling save on Todd White. Dubinsky won the ensuing faceoff to Anisimov, who passed to Girardi on the point. Girardi moved to the center of the blue line and shot the puck on goal. Brian Boyle deflected it past Hedberg so for once the Rangers scored a goal in the final minute of a period with :36 left. That was Boyle's 5th goal -- a career high in goals -- and the first power play goal of his career.

Early in the 3rd period, during a Devils power play, Dubinsky and White charged up ice on a give and go. After White's shot was blocked by Hedberg, Dubinsky banged home the rebound for a 3-0 lead.

Later that period, Clarkson, again proving that he is gutless, boarded Brian Boyle hard. Surprisingly, the refs actually called a 5 minute major on Clarkson. Even though the Rangers did not score, the passage of that time ensured that the Devils would not have enough time to score three times to tie the score.

And the 3 goal cushion was handy because fatigue that was setting in. But the Rangers had an insurmountable lead and did what they needed to do to enable Lundqvist to preserve his shutout.

Love for Boogy. For a team to be successful when stars are missing, others must step up. Derek Boogaard may have played his best game as a Ranger. Physical without taking any penalties, nearly scoring at one point and being an intelligent presence on the ice, Derek had a good game. The play that caught my eye was when he was in front of the net, saw Girardi pinch in along the right boards, and hustled to cover the right point. He was in the right position to keep the puck in the zone. So there seems to be some talent behind all that brawn.

One and done. Jonas Hedberg was deserted by his offense and finished after yielding Dubinsky's first goal. The Devils are 30th in power play proficiency. The Rangers gave them only 2 chances and used one for a short-handed goal to make the score 3-0.

Dominant. Rebounding nicely from the Philly game, Henrik stopped 33 shots.
In his career, he is now 20-7-5 v. NJ with 5 shutouts.

On Sunday, the Rangers begin a 4 game homestand -- St. Louis on Sunday, Washington on Tuesday, Buffalo on Thursday and finally Edmonton next Sunday. This would be a capital time for the Rangers to start showing some dominance at home.

---The Graying Mantis

Retribution Pending, NYR 1 / Flyers 4

Freeze-framed interview between periods, ex-Ranger Blair Betts sends a message

The Rangers won in fights.  The Flyers won the game.

With half of the Flyers goals scored by recent ex-Rangers (Blair Betts and NikIdiot Zherdev), it was a bittersweet loss to Philadelphia, as we were outplayed, outwitted and beat by another unknown Flyers third-stringer goalkeeper.  Where is Stephen Valiquette when you need him?

Official recap here.

With expectations at an all-time high, emotions ran high for the team and for its fans -- Daniel Carcillo had a target on his back for taking on our marquee player last season, and this new & improved Blueshirts squad was going to payback and take the physical game to them this time around.  Were the Rangers willing and ready to drop the gloves and set the tone?  Absolutely.  Did NYR enforcer drop the gloves with Jody Shelley?  Yes and Boogaard won.   Did anyone pay back Daniel Carcillo for his sins of the past?  Yes - and Brandon Prust taught him a lesson by undressing him.  Did Carcillo then turn down a bout with The Boogeyman?  Yes.   But...

Lee Harvey Oswald or a shaven Daniel Carcillo?  Both deserve punishment.

The 'ARE WE EVEN?' card is imbalanced again.  At the beginning of the third period with the Rangers down by 2 goals, the 'Damien' Daniel Carcillo leapt to hit NYR Fedotenko in the head - exactly the type of head shot the NHL has condemned over and over again this season.  No call was ever made, and at this time of this posting the NHL hasn't issued any suspension or question to whether or not this was an unjust hit.  Here is the video replay (and note the Philly broadcasters declaring how clean it was).  You'll note his head was down because he was first hooked (a penalty) followed by Carcillo plowing into him.  I admit we lost the game fairly - we were beat and nothing was coming together for the Rangers last night offensively - and without crying "the Refs?  the Refs?" I do think the Rangers missed a crucial 5-minute opportunity to put something on the boards due to the referees letting this one go.  Even morso, Ryan Callahan is thrown head-first into the boards by Kimmo Timonen and we saw no call from the refs? -- another five minute major missed opportunity.  

"If the league is trying to protect shots to the head, they will address it," Fedotenko said. "We, as players, need to play. I thought the first one was hooking, as I tried to shoot the first time, and the second was a shot to the head. I'm sure the league will review it and see if it was a clear hit to the head."    So....

I can almost guarantee that this will be forgotten and overlooked.  We will have to wait until December for retribution as it's the next time we meet the Philadelphia Flyers.  We can assume by that time Marian Gaborik, Vinny Prospal and Chris Drury will be healed and fitting into the Torts system.

Richards left wide-open and Hank had no chance.

As much as I hate losing to that cheap-shot of a team, I am not too worried after last night's effort.  They continued to play hard, despite the score, but nothing came together offensively during most of the second period and all of the third period.  Most of the Flyers goals weren't spectacular and they didn't have to work too hard to score --- they were the result of mistakes on our blueline (Del Zotto), lucky bounces (Zherdev goal) and letting mother-f*cking talented Mike Richards plant himself in front of NYR goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist.  Every time we play the Flies, Richards sits there waiting and we don't do anything about it -- this, I hope, will be corrected.

Additionally, Philadelphia has an uncanny instinctual ability to control the neutral zone and create breakaways (Richards, Carter, Giroux) - sloppy play by our young blueliners.   This, too, will change.

Though, through all the bad, Brian Boyle continues to impress the hell out of me -- he is not the same guy as last season, though I wish he had more offensive talent.  Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky (our one goal last night), Sean Avery, Fedotenko, Erik Christensen all played hard -- and our D-men held their own with the exception of two costly errors and a ridiculous Brandon Prust mis-call penalty that led to Philadelphia's power-play fourth goal.  Henrik Lundqvist as always prevented more Philly goals, but didn't seem on his game - along with the rest of the team.

Hhhmmm....?  Goalie interference?

The Rangers lost their mojo against the Flyers.  Maybe it was the 'expectations running high that could never be met', but whatever it was we all hope they lose it and regroup for tonight's important match against the NJ Devils of Newark at The Rock.   Tune in Rangers fans because it's a long season and this is not the Rangers squad we've seen in years past.  We've seen a consistent effort by this 'elite & star-less roster' and we're going to win some and lose some.

But for now we have to look forward to Maaahhhhhhty Brodeur and his bandwagon of 'underpaid compared to Kovie' brethren over in Newark.  See you tonight.

Let's Go Rangers!!!!!

tdr

p.s.  It still makes me chuckle when I think of what's eventually going to happen to Daniel Carcillo - the universe answers in different ways.  HURT is coming.



'RETRIBUTION PENDING....STAY TUNED.

It Only Takes A Shootout

Tonight Rangers fans we will be treated to our first meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers, one we've been anticipating for over six months - retribution is in order.  Tonight the Rangers enter the Wachovia Center with a different attitude - "You Talkin' to Me?"  

If you haven't blocked it from your noggin, the last time we played Philly was the final regulation game of last season for both New York and Philly and it came down to a shootout - Lundqvist vs Boucher (I think) or in other words, an elite goalkeeper (Henrik) vs their third stringer.  It was do-or-die for both teams.  Whoever won made the playoffs.  We lost.  As luck would have it, the Flyers fought their way to the Stanley Cup vs the Chicago Blackhawks.

We all recall what happened there.  They lost.

So this picture should remind everyone watching tonight that they lost the Cup.  Tonight will be a battle of epic proportions - playing Philly always is.  The Flyers are currently 2nd in the Eastern Conference (7-4-1) and the New York Rangers sit 7th in the Eastern Conference (6-4-1).

Keep in mind that the Rangers have posted a record of 14-3-2 (30 pts) in their last 19 games at Philadelphia, dating back to a 3-1 win on Mar. 27, 2004. May the better team win tonight.

Boy, I hate those Flyers....and boy do we hate Daniel Carcillo.  Expect a game featuring Sean Avery, Brandon Prust and (hopefully dressing tonight) Derek "the Boogeyman" Boogaard to go front and center with Carcilloface, Scott Hartsmelly, and Mike Richardosuck.   You want PIMS?  Tonight will give you PIMS.

As one of our readers said last night in response to a hopeful Derek Boogaard undressing of Daniel Carcillo, "RELEASE THE KRACKEN!!!!"   Hilarious.

Let's Go Rangers!!!!!!

tdr

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

King Henrik Rambo's Leafs, 2-0 (SO)

The King Is Back.

Top of the week to you Rangers fans!

It was quite the weekend and for those that haven't already read every possible recap of the Rangers win over the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0, the Dark Ranger offers a belated view.

For the official recap go here.

For a start, we lost on Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, a sloppy but exciting game that could have gone either way, followed by our 2-0 shutout at the Air Canada Centre against the Maple Leafs.  Even Colton Orr's pink skates weren't enough to penetrate Henrik's Lundqvist immovable wall in net, as the first, second and third stars of the game should have been undoubtedly awarded to our King Hank.  If any Blueshirts fans have doubts about  the man guarding our goal, then go find another team to follow; he stopped a total of 36 shots, many of which were legitimate scoring chances to make this shutout his 25th over his career.

Rangers Brian Boyle scored on the backhand to put the Rangers on the board at the 13:12 mark of the first period.  Ryan Callahan had a breakaway with 1:25 left in the second stanza, but Phil Kessel hooked him from behind. That led to a penalty shot, which Callahan capitalized on for a 2-0 New York lead.  Go Kessel, Kessel!

The second period was a nail-biter as the Leafs slowly disassembled our d-men and controlled the tempo with Lundqvist turning away 18 shots, but the Torts system was in full effect with a short-handed Rangers squad sticking with the plan throughout the third period and holding the Leafs scoreless.  It was priceless.

NY Brandon Prust socks it to Mike Komisarek, sending the right message

Without question, two players have emerged to be the most consistent over the last two weeks, Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan - and they've been commended by both coach and press on the work ethic they are instilling on the team. Both are perfect examples of what Coach Torts wants from everyone -- a hard and physical 60 minutes, always giving it your all, grinding to the net, forechecking, and an 'instinctual rather than second guessing' level of play.  Our boys on defense are slowly working into the system -- a young defense, but one that will look very differently toward the end of the season if Torts can maintain this hard-working grind.

Yet to return are Blueshirts' Marian Gaborik, Vinny Propsal and current captain Chris Drury -- and I rather like this team without their presence at this point - they've proved to the Blueshirt faithful that 'they want it, and they'll deliver it'.  It's a Rangers team that I especially like because they work so hard to get there -- win or loss, they have shown us a different work ethic and created exciting hockey.  No team can take us for granted - our B-club.

Tonight we see the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, an Original Six matchup -- so let the fireworks begin.  The good news is that they look very much like the injured Rangers as Marion Hossa, Brian Campbell and David Bolland are out tonight.  What Chicago has in remaining firepower, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, etc. we have in net with Henrik Lundqvist.   I wish it were evenly matched, but when is life fair?

As long as we play the system, we have a shot.  See you tonight.

tdr

Stormy Weather - Henrik Cannot Outlast Hurricane 3rd Period Onslaught | CAR 4 NYR 3

If the NHL (and the Rangers) want to encourage a growth in popularity, it needs to do 2 things -- schedule more Friday night games and present games like last night.

The difference in the Garden crowd from Wednesday night's crowd could not be more startling. Last night, the stands were packed with fans wearing their Ranger sweaters.

More importantly, numerous kids were in attendance including my friend's little boy, my nephews and some of their friends.

A young mother with her son in tow told me that the Rangers should have more Friday night games so that more kids can come. After last night's game, these youngsters may have become fans for life.

Led by 2 goals and an assist by 18 year old rookie, Jeff Skinner, the Carolina Hurricanes rode the goaltending of Cam Ward and a fusillade of 17 shots in the 3rd period to defeat the Rangers 4-3 in a very entertaining game. Henrik Lundqvist was the unlucky loser who certainly played well enough, especially during the 3rd period, to win.

The teams came into the Garden evenly matched in the standings and statistically -- their special teams, both power play and penalty killing, were near the bottom of the league standings. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Carolina team came armed with more and better weapons, and took 17 shots on Henrik Lundqvist during the 3rd period before finally beating him during a power play with 4 minutes left to break a 3-3 ties and leave New York with a 4-3 victory. Official recap is here.

Stepanesque beginning -- Skinner had 3 points

in his N.Y. debut including scoring 2 goals in

the second period to put the Rangers down twice.

Yes, the Rangers lost but it was not in the dispiriting manner of that dreary Thrasher loss a couple of nights earlier. Although unhappy with the outcome, Ranger fans did not leave disappointed because they saw a free-wheeling, fun game with more than 80 shots on goal, some fantastic goalie play by both Henrik Lundqvist (who was called on to make a series of fabulous saves) and Cam Ward and the continuing evolution of a resilient Ranger squad.

The squad fell behind 2-0 within in the first 54 seconds of the second period (on Skinner's first goal), but kept cool, eventually tying the game at 2 with two power play goals, falling quickly behind 55 seconds later on Skinner's second goal before finally tying the game at 3 two minutes later (after launching 18 shots on goal) going into the final period.

Driving fans batty. Callahan scored to make it 2-1 by batting in the puck

past goalie Cam Ward. Unfortunately, so far this season, he continues

to be unable to score in a more conventional manner.

Ryan Callahan had his second difficult game in a row. He was again guilty of watching an opponent score, missed several checks and missed several opportunities to score (including at least one empty net) before getting lucky by batting a puck past Cam Ward during a Rangers' power play to make the score 2-1 four minutes into the second period.

The tying goal (at 2-2) came on a beautiful power play when Erik Christensen (who was told by Coach Tortorella to step up his game) drew all 4 Hurricane players to Ward's left, and found Marc Staal cruising in from the left side of the blue line. Christensen hit him in stride and Staal waited to settle the puck and take aim before beating Ward to the short side. A beautiful play and quality shot by Staal for his second goal of the season.

Brandon Prust seems to be struggling since his eye injury

on Saturday and has lost some of his speed this week.

Carolina (or really, Jeff Skinner) demonstrated lightning-quick scoring during the 2nd period. His first goal came at the :54 mark. Almost immediately after the Rangers tied the game at 2, Skinner scored (before Staal's goal was announced) to take a 3-2 lead within 55 seconds and the Garden was quickly silenced.

But later, Callahan and Dubinsky teamed up on a 2-on-1 rush and Callahan fed Dubinsky on his left and he went high to beat Ward to tie the game going into the final period. Dubinsky now has 5 goals for the season.

In that final period, the Rangers had some quality chances that were foiled by Ward including a bang/bang play where Avery, behind the net, fed Derek Stepan who was speeding in for a one-timer that was snared by the goalie.

Later, during the fateful power play that cost the Rangers the game, Callahan and Dubinsky had another 2-on-1, but Callahan's shot was stopped by Ward. It was perhaps the Rangers' last quality scoring chance. The Rangers also hit a couple of posts during the game. So it is not a question of making some opportunities but as usual, converting them.

Erik Cole (after his game winner) and Skinner (2G and 1A)

were the offensive recipe for the Carolina victory.

On the ensuing rush back into the Rangers' end, Erik Cole, assisted by Skinner, scored the game winner 20 seconds later with 4 minutes to go in the game.

The Rangers now have lost 2 in a row at home and have a 4-4-1 record. Luckily, you have to figure the team will improve once their front line players return.

Except for the Canadiens, no other team in the East has gotten off to a quick start so the Rangers are not suffering as they try to make their way until Gaborik, Drury and Prospal return. You have to feel better about the team as it was evenly matched against Carolina despite missing its primary scorers.

The Rangers are halfway through a 4 game in 6 night stretch with a visit to Toronto (again) tonight for this week's edition of Hockey Night in Canada.

Then the champion Blackhawks, a team itself in turmoil, visit the Garden. By the time Tuesday morning dawns, the Blue Shirts could be in the midst of a 4 game losing streak.

Last night's loss was not from a lack of effort, simply a lack of corresponding talent.

--- The Graying Mantis