The Rangers Game Log

Let's Go Rangers!

2006-04-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

- This is what we’ve been waiting nine long years for? I don’t know about you, but I’m not having fun at all. What did we do to deserve this? I think of all the excitement and hoopla over making the playoffs; the Bobby Granger commercial with him running around hugging everyone, the singing playoff tickets, and it’s all for this? To be tortured by the Devils, beating ourselves, screwed by the refs, self-inflicting injuries, and suffering the kind of bad luck that I thought was exorcised in 1994? Is Mike Keenan the only living being that can stave off the demons?

Have you ever experienced a more agonizing two minutes as a Ranger fan than the end of that second period? Two minutes of five-on-three. I was practically lying on the floor, barely able to watch. And perhaps I shouldn’t have bothered. A total of one shot on goal, that by our favorite Ranger Sandis Ozolinsh after seven seconds. And that was it. Sykora, who played a spunky game but missed earlier on a two-on-one that he should have buried, hit the goalpost flush on. Rucchin missed on a redirection attempt from in front of the net. And then there was the goal, a play that will guarantee Ozolinsh a place in Rangers notoriety for all time. I can’t imagine he’ll play at the Garden, even though the Rangers can hardly afford to not dress him given the fact that Jagr is out for Game 3.

But the third period reaffirmed my faith in the team, or at least what’s left of it in the wake of the carnage. I don’t think anyone would have been surprised, or even too disappointed if the team sagged after the most devastating end-of-period turnaround one could ever imagine. But instead, they continued to buzz and hit and skate and took the play to the Devils right to the very end, when Brodeur fittingly denied Ozolinsh with his acrobat diving stop.

This may sound crazy, but if the season ended after Game Two, what would stick in my mind is not the season-ending losing streak, not the way they could never get going again after the Olympics, not the penalties they took in Game 1, not Jason Ward ending his own season, and not even the pathetic lunge at Scott Gomez that put Jagr out of action. It would be the effort of 19 guys (yes, including Ozolinsh...he tried and doesn’t mean to suck) who showed the kind of pride in wearing a Rangers uniform that we haven’t seen in a long time. They showed moxie, character and grit, and isn’t that all we could have asked for when the season started?

So strike up a cheer when the boys hit the ice resplendent in Blue. They can win this game with a similar effort, some big saves and a couple of breaks, and God damn it, aren’t we due for a little luck? The Devils will be exposed before this tournament is over, and even if the obstacles are too much for us to overcome, the Rangers can at least initiate the cracks. The Rangers did indeed restore their identity in Game 2, at least the part that remains. At least for this one night, with all of us behind them, these remnants can be enough. Let’s Go Rangers!!

- Where do people like Johnette Howard of Newsday, who probably watched about two Rangers games this year, come off criticizing Renney for starting Weekes? Rangers fans are entitled to their opinion on this – mine is that I go along with the coach if he felt that Weekes gave them a better chance to win this particular game. And no, Weekes didn’t make a big save in the game. But I don’t need to read that from know-nothing columnists that speak in condescending and derisive terms about a coach who has done a lot more things right than he’s done wrong.

- I’ll be at Game 3 of course, and the last time I was at a Rangers playoff game was the last one played at the Garden; the excruciating Game 4 semifinal loss in 1997 against the Flyers. This story is absolutely true; I’m not making it up, I swear. I was at home, getting ready to leave for the game, and the doorbell rang. It was a dry cleaning delivery. “How much?” I asked.

“$19.40.”

I took this as a very bad sign, but I didn’t think it signaled nine years of bad luck. When is this going to end? Do you think this is all my fault?

Game One, By The Penalties

2006-04-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

1) D. Moore, 03:28 - Holding - This was by far the most outrageous of the calls. Cam Jannsen took a run at Moore long after the latter had relinquished the puck and seemed to lead with his elbow. This was deemed to be a legal play, but Moore defending himself but pushing his attacker off was not. It was a ludicrous and damaging call, as it led to Elias’ first goal. This was also an early indication that we weren’t going to win on goaltending. Nice shot, but nothing we haven’t seen Lundqvist swat away; he looked late with his glove hand.

2) J. Ward, 06:39 – Elbowing The new combination of Ryan Hollweg being moved up to the Betts-Ward line had produced a good forechecking stint in the Devils zone and had pressured the puck in deep when Ward led with his elbow up high in hitting Gomez somewhat clumsily along the center-ice boards. Worse, Ward was injured on the play, and left the arena on crutches.

3) J. ORTMEYER, 17:56 – Interference – Overlooked in the Rangers’ penalty blitz is the failed power play attempts, including the two following the one on which Prucha scored the only goal (and on which they should have been awarded another power play when Gionta pulled down Ozolinsh). The second power play was followed by an extremely strong shift by Jagr-Hollweg-Betts. But shortly thereafter, Ortmeyer took down Langenbrunner on what looked like could have been a dangerous leg on leg hit.

4) S. OZOLINSH, 19:21 – Tripping – Just a stick chop on Zach Parise along the boards. Though you felt OK after they killed off the resulting 5-3 and got out of the period tied at one, the Rangers looked like the better team before penalties #3 and 4 disrupted their flow.

5) Second period, NYR, M. ROZSIVAL, 01:49 – Boarding – This was just a bad play. You can argue that the player turned his back, but the check was high and he followed through with his gloves, smashing his face into the glass. He was lucky it wasn’t a double minor or worse. Instead of building on their penalty kills, three-for-three since the goal, they were shorhanded again.

6) B. BETTS, 06:50 – Hooking – This was the killer of them all. A good kill on #5 turned into a power play, and though they didn’t score (again), they followed it with yet another good five-on-five; it’s early game sequences like these that make us think that we have a shot. Jagr- Nylander-Sykora, then Rucchin came on; this was perhaps the strongest point of the game for the visitors. After a TV timeout, Hollweg went to the net and Brodeur froze the puck. Then off the faceoff, Betts was called for hooking behind the Devils net; I dunno, perhaps he had his stick up into the player’s chest. In any event , you cannot take that penalty in the offensive zone! Not only did it stop the momemtum, the Devils scored on the criss-cross pass that Lundqvist, so quick on his lateral movement during the season, could only watch. An absolute killer.

7) NYR, M. MALIK, 13:24 – Roughing – Again, the Rangers were more than holding their own at full strength when Malik took a needless roughing call on a high forearm at center ice. What the hell!?! And then when the Rangers drew an even-it-up penalty on a rush that resulted in a great chance in front for Moore, it was 8) T. POTI, 15:09 - Hi stick, taking a careless penalty, leading to the killer 3rd Devils goal, which followed Dominic Moore’s near miss off the post. This led to what was effectively a power play goal, on a Ken Klee shot that fluttered in after being deflected.

After what I’m sure must have been an emphasis on not taking penalties during the second intermission, #9) NYR, J. JAGR, 00:32 – Hooking, #10) NYR, M. HOSSA, 04:52 - Cross check, and #11) NYR, M. MALIK, 07:06 – Elbowing, took place, incredibly, in short succession starting the 3rd period. Jagr’s was unbelievable; as JD said, he hooked him for “about 1/18th of a second,” (as JD struggled to maintain his objectivity). It took the Devils 20 seconds to cash in on another shot that Lundqvist didn’t see. Hossa’s “cross-check” was called by the trailing official; Malik’s elbowing was blatant and was followed by the 5th goal.

#12) and #13) R. HOLLWEG, 14:11 – Roughing, and R. HOLLWEG, 14:11 – Instigator were the only productive penalties of the game, as Hollweg retaliated for a vicious run on Kasparaitis by Weimer by starting a fight with Jannsen, who was not penalized for grabbing Hollweg’s hair. Expect to see these two go at it again.

- So while it’s true that the Rangers played very well at full strength, it’s not as simple as just not taking penalties, for the following reasons:

- They’ve taken bad penalties all year, and were obviously cautioned during the intermissions. So why should they be able to change their ways at this time?

- The power play continues to struggle, and was nearly as ineffective as the PK, though that fact is being overlooked. After Prucha’s goal, they failed to capitalize on six and a half straight attempts, all at key points of the game with the Rangers still within one or two goals.

- Lundqvist doesn’t look like the same goalie, and was outclassed by Brodeur, who, yes, in my opinion, did consciously steer the rebounds away adroitly. I, for one, would not be shocked if Renney went to Weekes. In fact, the AP reported that Renney was surprisingly noncommittal when asked if Lundqvist or backup Kevin Weekes would play.

- And of course, the big question which, if answered negatively, makes this whole discussion moot. I don’t know if Jagr was trying to emulate Mark Messier’s infamous stick to the face of Doug Gilmour which legend says turned the 1997 series around, but his flailing at Scott Gomez and resulting injury resulted from nothing but frustration, which we’ve seen him display before, and to the detriment of his teammates. He did not look well exiting the arena, as those around him were seen staring down at his arm, and didn’t practice on Sunday. Renney said "He's uncomfortable, but it doesn't appear to be too bad." We’ll see, but you gotta believe he'll be out there; how effective we don't know. Jason Ward’s injury seems to be worse, and he’s already been missed on the PK.

The real tragedy of the fiasco was that, with Colin White out of the game, the Blueshirts had an opportunity to do some real damage five-on-five. I’m usually a pretty optimistic guy, but I really don’t know if the Rangers can stop this downward spiral, especially with the power play sputtering and Lundqvist not coming up large. But they’ll have to stay out of the penalty box to avoid being embarrassed.

History is (not always) Bunk

2006-04-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

- Stan Fischler pointed out tonight that the 1949-50 Rangers went into the playoffs on a losing streak, and yet went to the 7th game of the Finals. Of course, that was only two rounds. And 56 years ago. Fischler really has a way of bringing up the relevant points.

More significant is the recent history, which shows that the Rangers are 3-0 against the Devils, and more significantly, against Brodeur. Marty has a real stick up his ass about this fact, and it seems obvious that he bristles when the subject of Blueshirts come up. There was an absurd article the day after Mark Messier night in which major Rangers-hater Mark Everson interviewed Brodeur, who made some ridiculously bitter comment to the effect that had he made a couple more saves against the Rangers in ’94, perhaps there wouldn’t be such a fuss over The Captain. I don’t usually waste my time writing to these guys, but I emailed Everson, writing: If Ron Hextall makes a couple more saves in the '95 Conference Finals, then maybe Martin Brodeur Night won't be necessary. Talk about sour grapes, what a stupid article!

It’s a funny thing in professional sports how things about particular franchises stay the same even though all the players change. The Rangers could never be like the Flyers, even if the teams traded for each other tomorrow. They’d still be the Rangers, and no doubt suddenly the ex-Flyers wouldn't be nearly as tough. When we used to, or still say “Same Old Rangers,” well, it’s not really the same old Rangers, otherwise we’d be watching Phil Goyette. But as time goes by, it’s no longer quite as important who was occupying the uniform at any particular time. The team’s history can inhabit the present, and get into the heads of fans and players alike. When the Rangers and the Devils were in overtime, and then the second overtime in Game 7, you could feel the weight of the 54 years, right there in the Garden, waiting to crush our hopes, perhaps forever, or so it seemed.

Though it’s not quite as profound as going 54 years without a Cup with 29 of those years being in a six team league, I think there’s something to the Rangers’ post-season dominance of the Devs...at least there can be if the Blueshirts make it that way. A strong start and an early score can start to stir those thoughts of the past, especially with Brodeur, who has lived it himself, and is particularly subject to its effect. You know he’s thinking about it. The Rangers can get to him, and the Garden crowd can remind him of the past. An early wraparound goal or two could send him completely off the edge.

- I guess we’ll have to suffer with Emrick on Saturday on NBC. Of course, you have to listen to him when you watch the tapes of Game 6 in ’94 too, since MSG didn’t televise the games from the swamp back then. I’m not sure if the new DVD uses Howie Rose’s radio broadcast instead, but who can listen to him anymore? Even Matteau, Matteau is ruined a little bit. OK, it’s not.

- Trautwig said on MSG that “half the team had the flu,” though he can be flippant at times. Dubi at Blueshirts Bulletin wrote that the top line just took the day off. In any event, Renney plans to play Ozolinsh on Saturday, and I think that’s a no-brainer. He’s a major offensive talent and can bring a lot to the attack, and the Rangers will have to deal with his mistakes; that’s what playoff-caliber goaltending is. They’ll particularly need him on the power play, which just must improve for them to have a shot. The good news is that the power play has been red hot / ice cold all year, and it’s about time for it to perk up.

- It was truly a playoff atmosphere on Tuesday night, even though there was only one Rangers goal. The audible groan and accompanying silence after each Sens goal told you how much the game meant, at least to the fans.

Wha' Happened?

2006-04-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

- Well, it seems to have simply come down to Henrik Lundqvist saving the season. In addition to stopping the puck, it’s up to Lundqvist to revive the power play; to make Martin Straka not pass when he should shoot (on net), and not shoot when he should pass; to get the forechecking game going again; to get Renney to not bench Jed Ortmeyer against the Flyers (we’re 0-2 when he does so); to get Peter Prucha scoring in bunches again; to stop Michael Nylander from taking offensive zone hooking penalties; to get the officials to get their calls right (what a joke, the way they handled the attack on Ryan Hollweg on Saturday).

Of course, by stopping the puck and controlling rebounds, he could actually really help settle down Sandis Ozolinsh, who seems to now be getting blamed for all the defensive woes. And the return of Darius Kasparaitis should help in that regard too.

But how did it come to this anyway? Everything seemed fine if not flawless, really, after the playoff clincher against the Flyers. The subsequent sleepwalk against the Islanders was expected; the fact they could win with such a half-hearted effort was encouraging. There was the OT win in Boston against a team that has now lost 23 out of their last 29 (8 in OT or SO); nothing to write home about for sure, but nothing awful either. The Bruins have at least battled and have now lost consecutive 4-3 decisions to desperate Ottawa, Montreal, and Atlanta squads. The 2-1 loss in New Jersey to the league’s hottest club in a hotly-contested and well-played game was certainly no disgrace; and even the loss to the Islanders, while inexcusable, was explainable and mitigated somewhat by the third period onslaught.

So what has happened? How did things get as bad as they’ve been for the last two games? Individual player meetings and a 20 minute closed-door lashing have had no effect. So really, what is there to lean on now other than the return of King Henrik? The theory goes that everything starts with spectacular goaltending, which the rest of the team feeds off of. Lundqvist will be asked to provide that coming in cold against an Ottawa team who, as luck would have it, needs to win to keep their conference title hopes alive (also needing the Hurricanes to lose). Perhaps it should be a bit reassuring that the Sens, losers of 9 of their last 12, find themselves in actually a worse position than the Rangers, at least in terms of not controlling their own fate. Two quick goals for Buffalo against the Hurricanes, as the now-revived Sabres did to Toronto the other night, could help deflate the Sens, who continue to struggle even with Chara and Redden back in the lineup. In all the weeks (months) that we’ve been staring at this final, ominous-looking game on the schedule, who would have thought that it would turn out to be anything but an unwelcome distraction for the Senators, and a chance to rest their best players. Just our luck…

- With all the talk of the benefits of Lundqvist and Kaspar’s returns, overlooked is the hoped-for return of Martin Rucinsky early in the first round against whoever the hell we’re going to end up playing. He’s been out a lot this year, and the team has mostly done well without him, so perhaps he’s a bit forgotten. But at this time of year, with the intensity up and scoring more difficult, this team in particular can ill afford to have a point-per-game scorer out of the lineup. I think his return could be a big boost; he’ll help the power play, and whether he or Straka moves down to play with Sykora on the second line, it will hopefully relieve some of the pressure on Jagr, which will only be cranked up further starting Friday night.

- And how about those Devs, man! An amazing winning streak indeed, especially considering that pre-streak they were teetering on the edge of elimination, with Brodeur looking almost amateurish at times, and they were facing what seemed to be a treacherous stretch of schedule. But their ten wins have come against Philly (3), Rangers, Ottawa, Buffalo, Carolina, and Montreal (and two against the Pens). Even us Blueshirts fans must give them full credit (and thank them for beating the Flyers).

Three things for those of us who dread seeing another “parade” around the Meadowlands parking lot to consider. 1) Do you really want to go into the playoffs with an 11 game win streak, should they win tomorrow? (Note that Montreal could be playing for their playoff lives if Atlanta wins tonight.) I mean, how long can a team stay hot? 2) Remember that they’ve been a streaky team all year. They won 9 in a row and 10 of 11 in January, only to fall back into the doldrums that had them in such a precarious position before the streak. And 3) Given the state of the Meadowlands parking lot with all the construction, they’d have no place for their little procession anyway.

She Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (We Hope)

2006-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

- I got home from the game on Tuesday, and went right to the laptop to read what was up with Malik's injury, to check on the finals from out-of-town, and to scan the official super-stat sheet on the game. "I can't believe Malik is hurt now and the Flyers won, shit, but I figured out that all they have to do is win the next two games and I can't believe my brother told my mother to have the Seder on the second night when he knew we had a game even if it's a road game and when the hell is Lundqvist going to be back and I can't believe Prucha missed that shot and oh my god the Devils won again, we're definitely going to play them, and what am I going to do Thursday night, are we going to start to watch the game there or should I watch the game on the DVR when we get home and I have to call Direct TV to schedule them so we can have OLN in time for the playoffs but if they come on Saturday, what if they're not done before the game starts...."

"STOP!" the Head Chef said. "You're obsessed!"

We've only been together for five years. So she has no idea what is (hopefully) about to enfold. I say hopefully because she won't see much if we go out in four in the first round. That would probably just seem like a condensed version of the other seasons she's seen. I'm trying to prepare her, but I don't think she quite understands. Her ultimate hockey thrill thus far was the Malik shootout goal (though she was actually more excited about Studebaker's (that's what she was calling Strudwick that night; she had just seen him on TV and thought he was cute). She's never seen a third period of Game 6 with the Rangers down 3 games to 2, and the game tied...and she's never seen me during one of those. Remember that stuff? If she thinks I'm obsessing now....oh man. She's only seen me obssess over the Kentucky Derby this time of year, and that at least would keep me really quiet, except for a minute or two during the race. I hope I don't scare her away.

- Brooks in the Post is reporting that we could very well see Marc Staal play in some really important games. Brooks asked Coach Renney if he'd be comfortable playing him. "Yes," the coach said, with a wide smile. "I would."

Fuhgettabootit

2006-04-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

- Just forget, if you can, last night’s debacle at the Garden. The Atlantic Division title is still in the bag. A win over Pittsburgh tomorrow night puts the Blueshirts in a position to clinch the division on NBC on Saturday afternoon in Philly against the shaky Flyers no matter what the out-of-town scoreboard reads between now and then; and the Rangers have won three of three there this year. Isn't that the way it should be anyway?

So forget about the loss to an inspired, but incompetent Icelander squad on home ice. Forget about the saves that DiPietro made in the opening minute, including one with his back turned, an occurrence that portended the misery to come. Forget about the awful power play, particularly in the first period, when 2 1/2 pp attempts led to zero shots. Forget about being out hit 19-13 by a team on the road to nowhere. Forget about the inexplicably missed call on Shawn Bates’ high stick of Jagr that should have given the home team another 5 on 3 and four more minutes of power play – and about the offensive zone hook on Nylander with less than two minutes left that, of course, wasn't missed...are those ever? Forget about the missed opportunities with the score 3-2 late in the third – Prucha all alone in the slot rushing his shot right into DiPietro, when he had the time to read a Harry Potter novel, and Sykora flubbing from the same spot shortly thereafter. Forget about the futile 24 third period shot effort. Forget about the Flyers beating the Pens after blowing a 3-0 lead at home. Forget about the Devils, five points behind but with only three to play. None of that matters. It’s two wins and they’re in.

But what certainly does matter, more so than the team taking the game too lightly – I mean, what did you expect less than a week after they defeated the same team, which they’ve basically toyed with all year, with a similarly half-hearted effort – and more so than the tough loss despite a good effort in New Jersey on Sunday night – is the physical state of the team. Malik has joined the list of injured starters, and half of the top six defensemen are out. Most concerning of course, is Henryk Lundqvist, who told the Post that he had "regressed a little." I was hoping that maybe Lundqvist, who speaks English well enough, nonetheless thought that “regressed” meant that it got better! But he went on to say that he "felt a little twinge skating in Boston on Saturday" AND that his “groin is a little bit sore."

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think my groin is on my hip. What exactly is this injury anyway? At first, it was portrayed as virtually nothing, something he could have played with if the game was “really important,” as if these aren't. Now, five games later, and not even well enough to practice yesterday, Renney says he wants him to play the last two games. But Dellapina in the Daily News reports that although Rucchin, Malek, and Poti (dare I say he was missed last night?) are expected to return for Saturday’s showdown, Lundqvist and Darius Kasparaitis are not as close to returning.

Huh? What does that mean? On one hand, do we really want the King to go into the Flyers game cold like that? But on the other, doesn’t he need to get some work before next Friday? What’s going on here; the players are dropping like flies. Malik reportedly reinjured the shoulder that kept him out for five games last month simply by reaching for the puck in practice. We have no idea what’s wrong with Poti, who seemed fine the last time we saw him, setting up the winning goal on Saturday. There’s no sign of Kasparaitis at all. Why is this happening now?

On the good side, Weekes continues to perform well, Thomas Pock looks like he could be another Tom Poti (the good parts), Ryan Hollweg is becoming more and more annoying to opponents, we’re in the playoffs, and the post-season ticket package plays the stupid goal song when you open it up (how cool is that?). They’ll apparently have to win in Pittsburgh with the same lineup as last night, but the team assures us that everyone, except perhaps Rucinsky, will be ready to play the post-season opener. No doubt they’ll all be out there on the ice no matter what their real condition is…..but hopefully it will be on the ice at Madison Square Garden. Win Thursday and Saturday, and it will be.

One Man Show in OT

2006-04-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

- Michael Nylander single-handedly earned the Rangers the extra point in their come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win in Boston. He won the opening faceoff, then prevented damage from a Jagr turnover with a back check and a solid hit on Patrice Bergeron, dished a tricky back pass to Jagr to break out of the zone, received the puck back (on a perfect pass from #68), did a couple of spin-o-ramas along the boards, put the puck right on Poti’s stick, expertly kicked a deflected return pass right to the tape of his stick, and ended the game with a perfect shot off the underside of the crossbar. He then teased NBC’s Pierre McGuire about all the “shit” he’d given him in Hartford. Expect future games to be shown on a five second delay.

Poti also had the primary assist on Jarkko Immonen’s goal, doing a good job keeping a bouncing puck in the zone, and setting the rookie up for an expertly executed tip-in.

For the third game in a row, Weekes got some help from the crossbar, when Bergeron hit it early in the second period. He could perhaps be faulted on the Bruins’ tying goal, which snuck through the short side after Poti lost the puck at the end of a long shift, but he played with confidence; we see now why he’s always been referred to as a streaky goalie.

Jagr just couldn’t seem to tee up his shot, and was credited with just three; he had many more than that thwarted. Often matched against Boston’s top line, he had an active game in the defensive zone, and was even spotted clearing the puck with 20 seconds left in a penalty kill.

Renney started and ended the third period with the HMO line, and gave them three shifts in between. Hollweg had 13 even shifts for 11:23, all at even strength. This is a trend I’d like to see continue.

It was another light-hitting but effectively workmanlike performance and a well-earned win on the road. Tonight's game against the Devils will be vastly different. With the Flyers going down and the Devils winning in Montreal, it's become ever more apparent that a first-round showdown between the two rivals is in the cards. A win tonight would be a good confidence builder after they dropped the last game 2-1.

Taking One For the Team

2006-04-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

- I had sat in Section 405 since the 1978-79 season along with my brother and my friend Ira, but after the dismal 2003-04 season, I thought that we really needed a change. It was mostly just for the change of scenery, and just partly because of a couple of morons sitting behind us (not Throwaway). My comrades were a little skeptical, but reluctantly allowed me to make the switch, while making it clear that I would be liable for any negative consequences. It was a huge responsibility, and I felt the pressure. We ended virtually exactly on the opposite side, with Dancing Larry finally in full view (we had been pressed up against the opposite side of the T V broadcast booth). I could only hope and pray that Section 422 would be a pleasant spot. The view, from nearly center ice, is certainly outstanding.

But after one of the early games, my mates started complaining. “Oh, man, did you hear that guy behind us?” Actually, I had, kind of, but I was so ga-ga about hockey being back, about sitting out in the open after being confined by that broadcast booth, and by the team’s spirited play, that it was at first like just a little harmless buzzing that was far off in the distance. But as the games wore on, it started to bore into my brain like some slow-acting acid. A guy with the most annoyingly piercing, high-pitched whiney voice who blabs incessantly from the opening faceoff on virtually any subject in the world….except the Rangers. The Giants….the Yankees….his futile exploits with women….the Knicks…..THE FUCKING KNICKS!?!? The little time actually spent on the game is loud, high-pitched, repetetive, and 100% unfunny and unclever rants that have recently, and rightly, drawn ire from other fans in the section, who have told him to shut up. They, however, don’t have to sit directly in front of this guy and hear all the idiotic, irrelevant chatter. You can only imagine the grief that I’ve gotten from my seatmates, who will not let me forget that this was all my doing. And who can blame them?

So last night, with around five minutes left in the second period, your normally mild-mannered blogger, who can usually tolerate even seeing the horses he bets on get left at the gate or nosed at the wire with nothing but gentle humor, lost his mind. From the opening faceoff, with the game of the dull variety, to say the least, the blaring chatter was non-stop. We heard about the Boston Red Sox’ bullpen. How could the Mets blow a 4-0 lead? The Nets absolutely have a chance to beat the Pistons. Absolutely! The attorney in court today was really hot. (He’s a personal injury lawyer, which precludes the possibility of me assaulting him.) Barry Bonds. Bud Selig. The only talk about hockey was: which third round draft pick did the Rangers trade this season for Jarkko Immonen (he was acquired in the Brian Leetch trade); and, is the Devils’ current win streak at nine or ten games? (it’s five) The frustrations of an entire season of this kind of stupidity, the weight of my colleagues' glares, not to mention a crappy day, put me over the edge.

“AHHHHHHH!! WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WATCH THE GAME???” I primal screamed. “AHHHHHHHH! JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!” I earned a small ovation from surrounding fans, who have no idea, really, how bad it really is. And though he at first reacted by questioning my sanity, yelling Let’s Go Rangers and stuff in my ear, and threatening to come to every game next season (like we'll still be there, ha) I felt much, much better; in fact, I achieved a complete sense of peace. I found that I was completely immune and unaffected by his nonsense for the rest of the game. How long this will last, I can’t really say. However, I can state with absolute confidence that the Rangers would not be having this kind of season if we were still in 405. No way. We took one for the team.

- Later, while reviewing Rangers in 60, I realized that the Islanders hit the crossbar twice during a power play during the time described above; and I’d remembered neither the two shots, nor that they even had a power play, for that matter. I had no recollection of anything until the goal that was originally credited to Jagr.

The home team’s play was racheted up from dismal to good-enough after the frightening first period, in which Weekes, looking far more confident than he had in the first half of the Flyers’ game, made a couple of sparkling saves, including one on a breakaway by Shawn Bates. It appeared that Renney said little during the time-out called after the Fish Sticks’ goal, and that Jagr did most of the talking. The timeout was followed by one energetic shift by the Betts-Ward line, but the team relapsed until the second period.

Nice effort by Prucha, relatively quiet since the four-day break, to set up Immonen for the goal. The rookie also showed a deft touch with a Nylander-type soft spin-around pass to Malek, which led to a nice setup to Jagr. Immonen was 6-4 on draws, and also supplied no less than four of the team’s 14 hits, an anemic total after the 30 dished out against the Orange Crud.

Tom Poti has at least earned the grudging respect of the crowd, and continued his steady play with his end-to-end rush, followed by a take-down of the pesky Jason Blake, one of the few Islander players to show up. Wouldn’t you think that Yashin feels guilty about taking all that money? It was a strange atmosphere as the rivalry lies in shambles at this point. Few Fish Stick fans were brave enough to show up, and the Rangers are 13-1-2-1 against them in the last 16 games. Ozolinsh picked up a plus two as his play continues to steady after a most shaky first few games.

Four More Hills To Climb, Baby!

2006-04-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

- The chant of “Let’s Go Rangers!” reverberated throughout the staircases and hallways leaving the Garden last night, and when’s the last time you heard that? The smattering of orange-clad fans from Philly were, for the first time this season, regretting their decision to invade enemy territory.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way – the power play was 0-7, failing to pad a 1-0 lead earned in a nearly perfect first period for the home team – they allowed only three feeble shots on Kevin Weekes – and then failing to take back control of the game when it briefly got away in the second. And Jagr’s shooting hand went cold, as he failed to connect on an incredible 12 shots, at least five of them from point-blank range, including the first period glove save that had him grinning in disbelief.

But the four desperately needed days of rest were quite apparent, and the home team had jump in their legs that we haven’t seen on a sustained basis since the Olympic break. And make no mistake about it - though the top line accounted for both scores, this game was won by what we’ve come to know during this amazing season as Rangers hockey – it was the foot soldiers on the 3rd and 4th lines who clearly benefited the most from the break, and they provided the energy that stirred the crowd, and in turn, the team. They were on top of the Flyers all night at both ends of the ice, leading a mostly solid defensive effort that limited the Flyers to 23 mostly harmless shots, cycling effectively in the offensive zone, and even generating some solid scoring opportunities. Jason Ward, in particular, was a dynamo, delivering four hits, and clearly deserved to be one of the three stars. Ryan Hollweg stood toe-to-toe with Mike Richards minutes after Denis Gauthier rocked Martin Straka’s world with a legal but brutal shoulder hit.

All three defense pairings were solid, with Fyodor Tyutin playing the role of Darius Kasparaitis, delivering six hits including a thundering open-ice check on Brian Savage in the third. The pairing of Tom Poti and Sandis Ozolinsh – yeah, that one – actually received more ice time than Roszival-Malik. Ozolinsh played a total of 28:38, and man, can he pass the puck (though we certainly would have been screaming “Why the $^#& didn’t he shoot!?” if Nylander hadn’t converted his first period goal.

The team did a great job clearing all but one of the ample rebounds left by Weekes, whose lack of confidence could especially be seen in the tentative way he handled the puck. But he somehow managed to stop Jeff Carter’s backhand in the third – he called it a “Hasek save,” and was solid on Gagne’s shorthanded breakaway, and in closing up the five hole on Forsberg’s shootout attempt. I saw fans that were earlier giving him the derisive cheer on saves – not really helpful considering the situation - standing and screaming his name. I must say that although I still felt supremely confident going into the third despite trailing 2-1, I was prepared for the worst in the shootout. I was telling myself that I wouldn’t let it ruin the good things the Blueshirts did throughout the night. And you can’t tell me you felt good after Gagne’s easy score and with Nylander about to go into his slow motion routine! But you gotta love the way Sykora threw Esche a changeup, ripping the forehand wrister top shelf. I’ve read that Handzus’ final attempt hit the crossbar, but who cares, really!? A three point lead with seven to go; two of those against the pitiful Islanders, who have quit on their coach, and one each with Boston and Pittsburgh.

- Esche’s play certainly deserves a mention. Last week he told the Philly press that he saw the handwriting on the wall and was resigned to Antero Nittymaki starting in the playoffs. If Ken Hitchcock was indeed leaning that way, he may want to reconsider. Esche was spectacular throughout, stopping 38 of 40 shots, including those dozen to Jagr, who had scored nine goals on him in the previous meetings. Esche stopped 21 of 22 in the third period and overtime, many of the subtle spectacular variety, including one on Jagr in which he shut down the five hole that #68 ticketed his drive towards. I read in the Philly papers that the Flyers felt they played a great game, but if not for their goalie, the score would not have been close.

- Tom Renney singled out Straka after the game, not only for this game, but for his consistent work throughout the season. Of all the new Rangers this year, I have to say that he’s been the most positive surprise to me. He’s an unrestricted free agent after the season, and with young players waiting in the wings, who knows what his future prospects are here, but despite all the missed scoring opportunities, it’s fair to say that the team wouldn’t be where it is without him. With 72 points, he’s third on the team in scoring, and as Renney pointed out, his backchecking is superb.

- According to a couple of unofficial lists I’ve seen, the other unrestricted free agents on the team are: Steve Rucchin, Tom Poti, Martin Rucinsky, Jason Strudwick, and Petr Sykora. Oh yeah, and Dale Purinton.

More Fish Sticks Please

2006-03-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

- The Rangers will resume the major league portion of their schedule in Ottawa tonight, after a 5-1 scrimmage win over the combative but not competitive Icelanders at the dismal Coliseum. It doesn’t get any better than this. Ranger fans took over the building with chants of “MVP,” “We Want Fish Sticks,” “DP Sucks,” and the obnoxious “WOO” that follows the home team’s occasional goals there. For those of us who endured the days of “1940,” “Last Place,” and “Double Chili,” we can’t possibly rub it in enough. The Blueshirts won three out of four there, all in completely dominating fashion. Since Kevin Weekes, returning too soon from a groin injury, gave up three goals on the first three shots of the first game, the Rangers outscored them by 20-7. We can only revel in the fact that there are two home games left against the hapless “rivals;” the only negative is that there will be hardly any of their fair weather fans to taunt on those nights.

- Could it be that Colton Orr is a hockey player? Following up his competent performance against the Sabres, Orr played a big role on this night, challenging and decking Eric Godard (again) after the latter left his feet to sandwich Kasparaitis, who had a dynamic return with five hits. Did we miss Kaspar, or what? Orr showed discipline and smarts when refusing to fight John Erskine, and then drew a four minute power play after delivering a clean hit. He nailed Miroslav Satan with another clean hit in the first, and was on the ice for Blair Betts' goal, one of his ten shifts.

- Renney rolled out the genuine HMO line for ten minutes of action, and they provided their usual energy. Can we have that regularly please?

- Jagr told John Giannone after the game that he was trying out new skate blades, and that he was a little “taller” for the game. He said that made for good playmaking, as evidenced by his four primary assists, but that he didn’t have a good shot. Could have fooled me; his shot that deflected off of Straka was his patented cut to the middle wrister that certainly would have gone in anyway.

- Does anyone feel sorry for Howie Rose?

- Interesting to see if Tyutin gets back into the lineup tonight. The defense performed nearly flawlessly; Strudwick had a strong game, though this game may not be a good judge. Lundqvist should be fresh for the Sens after practically getting the night off; he made just 18 saves but fanned on Yashin’s goal. That’s 25 goals for the big waste, who makes about as much as Jagr. Think about that. Islander fans must have been thrilled to hear Stan Fischler speculate that Milbury would be asked to stay because of the young players performing so well of late.

- As impressive as Jagr’s accomplishments are this year, keep in mind that Jean Ratelle missed 17 games at the end of his 109 point 1971-72 season when he suffered a broken ankle after being hit with a slapshot off the stick of teammate Dale Rolfe in a 4-1 win over the California Golden Seals. I was there, and will never forget the groan from the crowd as Ratelle went down (one of many such groans heard throughout the years). Bobby Rousseau scored two goals that night as Gilles Villemure got the win in one of the most costly wins in Ranger history.

Back From the Brink

2006-03-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

- OK, I guess that’s a bit too dramatic; it’s not like they were facing elimination, nor even a significant blow to making the playoffs. But I still feel as if they came back from the brink of something with their dramatic 5-4 shootout win against the Sabres. The Rangers have lost 20 games in regulation this year; but for each of those, even including the four that occurred during the recent six game winless streak, I had some kind of rationalization or excuse – they didn’t get the bounces, they were tired, they ran into a hot goalie, or they were plain just due to lose.

But to me, this one would have been tough to take, and would have shunted them closer to the pack of ordinary teams fighting for playoff spots. They needed to follow through from the two points earned in Florida, to show that they were indeed on the way back to something resembling pre-Olympic form. They were facing a slumping Sabres’ club that was ready to be had. A loss would have made a finish higher than the 5th seed increasingly unlikely and left them with just three wins in 12 games. And worst of all, down 4-2 after two periods, I was starting to think that perhaps the magic of this season had run its course. There’s little short of a ten game losing streak to close the season (unlikely with three games against the woeful Icelanders remaining) that could detract from the unexpected delights of this season, but I think we all are anticipating some playoff topping on the cake. And I was starting to have my doubts.

Instead, the Broadway Blueshirts reached back, and despite little jump left in Ranger legs towards the end of one of the most brutal schedule stretches I can ever recall, may have topped much of what has occurred in this amazing year. The bursts of energy are coming only in fits and starts, such as the fierce forechecking by the RMO – Rucchin, Moore and Ortmeyer – line that led to the second goal. They still spent far too much time pursuing opponents than controlling the puck. But this team hung in – you could see the desperation level rise after the Sabres’ 4th goal, as Colton Orr, playing with Betts and Ward, delivered his best shift as a Ranger.

And once again, as it should be, it was the team’s two stars that were able to lift them to victory. Jagr, in another brilliant performance, set up Sykora on the third goal with a deft one-touch pass, and virtually willed the puck past Ryan Miller from the side of the net to tie the game. On the subsequent five-on-three, he hit the inside of the post on the first shot of what seemed like batting practice, with Roszival lopping up the fat pitches. Though he couldn’t break through on that, or on the overtime power play, it all made for another memorable performance by a true superstar playing the hockey of his life. He was credited with nine shots on goal, but must have had at least that many blocked, deflected, or wide…possibly on the two abovementioned power plays alone!

Henrik Lundqvist replaced Weekes, who fought the puck all night, did a great imitation of a stone pyramid on the Sabre’s two wraparound goals, and failed to make a big save all night. Lundqvist made big stops at the end of regulation and overtime, and didn’t give Buffalo even a chance in the overtime. What a great moment after Afinogenov’s shot, when the crowd went silent waiting for the referee’s signal of no goal.

So two more games in this ridiculous stretch, and then a welcome four days off during which the Blueshirts will hopefully be able to recharge. If they can get two points before the break – a good possibility given Wednesday’s trip to Long Island – they should be in excellent shape for the final chapter to an amazing season which was brought back from the brink at the Garden last night.

Rangers Take a Costly Point

2006-03-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

- I went into last night’s game in Florida with a real sense of doom after watching the pre-game show. Kevin Weekes spoke about the difficulty of staying sharp for what would be just his second start in the last ten games. On top of that, we heard about the red-hot Panthers, back in the playoff race and desperate for points, and how they’ve been regularly generating 37 shots or more per game. The Rangers are 1-3 in games without Darius Kasparaitis, we were told. Not the kind of stuff to give me a lot of confidence.

Yet that changed in the opening minute, when a sharp series of passes - Malik to Jagr to Rucinsky – led to the opening shot of the game. It was a good first period for the Blueshirts, despite being outshot 9-4. They withstood the expected Panthers attack with some excellent crisp short passing in their own zone, some of the best we've seen of late, and the team looked extremely sharp. And when the amazing, incredible, words-can’t-even-describe Jaromir Jagr snapped home his 50th of the year, it looked like the team was on its way to a big win.

Not so fast. Once again, it was a series of Rangers penalties that helped to turn the game around. Four straight in the middle of the second period; two of them of the cheap, hooking variety, which becomes far more maddening in the light of the uncalled slash that has apparently ended Rucinsky’s season. Thus, most of the second period was spent in the Rangers zone, leading to a 2-1 deficit.

But the Rangers did a lot of things well in this game. The power play came through with a huge tying goal by Sykora at the end of the second. They came back with a strong third period, only to be foiled by Roberto Luongo, who made several big saves, stopping Ortmeyer twice in succession, and stopping Rucinsky’s tricky backhander on the play that he was hurt on the vicious slash by Jay Bouwmeester. And despite surrendering a season-high 42 shots, they never really withered in their own zone; the forwards stayed in hot pursuit and the D combined for ten blocked shots. Malik rebounded with a superb effort, and Jason Strudwick acquitted himself well in place of Kasparaitis. The ‘H’MO line, with Marcel Hossa replacing Hollweg, provided some good energy. And what can you say about Jagr, who was inches away from ending the game in OT when he made his patented “try-and-stop-me” swoop around Bouwmeester, and his usual move around the goalie, only to be stopped by either the post or perhaps Luongo’s stick.

It was a point on the road, and after all, with the backup goalie in the nets against a hot, hungry club, you have to take that, IF, that is, the Blueshirts, with Lundqvist back in the nets, get two of them in Tampa tonight. Weekes played well in the first and third periods, and made big stops at the end of regulation and overtime to get to the shootout. But while we can perhaps give him a pass on the tricky shot by Nathan Horton that beat him for the first goal, the second was a decidedly soft one, and in the shootout, there was enough space between Weekes’ legs for Horton and Jokinen to have shot Karl Rove through. We’ll look for some better results tonight.

- Sykora is becoming a sure thing on the shootout with the lightning quick top shelf backhand shot. I don’t know if goalies could stop that even if they know that it’s coming.

Rangers Lacking HMO Coverage

2006-03-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

- Ryan Hollweg's reckless and dangerous (not to mention dumb) hit from behind on RJ Umberger, coming at a time when the Rangers had regained the lead on Jagr's second goal and with #68 looking as if he was ready to put up Kobe-type numbers for the night, was the obvious turning point of the Blueshirts’ 6-3 loss to the Flyers. However, it also cast a shadowy spotlight on Tom Renney's roster decisions for the game.

When NHL play resumed after the Olympic break with the Rangers visiting the Orange Crud, Renney went with a finesse lineup despite the fact that Darius Kasparaitis would be an obvious target after injuring Simon Gagne in Turin. The Blueshirts made Donald Brashear and company look foolish that night in a 6-1 win. However, last night, with Kaspar out of the lineup and the Flyers needing the game urgently and sure to try and avoid having to face a revived Rangers power play, Renney dressed Colton Orr instead of Jed Ortmeyer.

In his post-game news conference, Renney said that his penalty-killers, who surrendered two goals on the Hollweg major and three overall, seemed out of synch. Perhaps the coach needs to look in the mirror here; Ortmeyer has been the team’s most consistent player on the PK all year and his shot-blocking presence was sorely missed. And while you can't definitively state that the Flyers wouldn’t have scored as many goals as they did if Ortmeyer was on the ice, it’s fairly certain that he would have served the team better than the useless 4:03 of ice time that Orr had.

The game also highlighted the importance of the HMO line – the REAL HMO line – to the team’s success. Trailing by a goal in the third thanks to Ozolinsh’s ridiculous gift to Simon Gagne for Philly’s 4th goal, with the Flyers clogging the middle, the home team refusing to adjust, and the crowd strangely sluggish throughout the night, the absence of the energy line was all too apparent despite Jason Ward’s seemingly single-handed efforts to get things going. Perhaps they could have provided the spark that the team needed and didn’t even come close to getting.

- Let’s hope that not too many teams noticed the way the Flyers solved Lundqvist by placing big bodies in front of the net. He’s going to need some more help from his D there. Based on this game, who do you think is the team’s MVP?

- Even with Jagr going crazy, the team needs production from that second line which looked so good against Boston. Rucchin-Straka-Sykora were a combined minus 7, with five shots on goal total. Marek Malik had a shaky night on D. Strudwick did what he could with three blocked shots, but Kaspar’s hitting, which has been mostly absent since the Olympic break, is sorely missed. And am I the only person who actually missed Marcel Hossa?

I’m willing to put this one into the “not the end of the world” category. It’s been a strange season series between the two clubs, with each failing to win at home in three tries; and the Rangers retain the game in hand and actually still lead the division on the tiebreaker. But the Blueshirts now face a treacherous five games in seven nights stretch, with four of those on the road including the last one in Ottawa, yikes. And on Friday, they visit the red-hot Florida Panthers, back in the playoff race after winning seven of eight, including a win over Ottawa and a home-and-home sweep of Carolina. Look for Kevin Weekes to get the start there.

Blueshirts a Puzzle to Opponents

2006-03-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

- A bit of a spotty effort by the Rangers against the Bruins last night, but an easy 5-2 win shows just how far the club has come. It was a bit of a strange game; of course, the presence of Brian Leetch in an opposing uniform – and #22 no less – was weird in itself. But the crowd was rather subdued at times, as the game was sometimes played in slow motion.

One of the fossilized local news personalities we see here in NYC is the venerable sportscaster Sal Marciano. Unlike other relics like weathermen Mr. G and Storm Field, and anchors like Chuck Scarborough and Ernie Anastos, on whom the layers of makeup in the effort to make you think it’s still 1975 are all too apparent, Marciano, who briefly did play-by-play for the team on Channel 9 in the 70’s, looks more naturally preserved than the others, and has barely changed after all these years. He's the Dick Clark of NYC local news.

Last night, Marciano noted that the Rangers had won three in a row after their “puzzling” six game losing streak. That skid seems long ago now, even though the three wins have come against middling (at best) opponents, and included perhaps their worst effort of the season, against the Caps. But really, in an 82 game season, there’s little puzzling about a streak in which, for the most part, the only real failure on the team’s part was to put the puck in the net. Those things happen in the NHL, and the fact that there was little in the way of defensive breakdowns, shows the remarkable consistency we’ve seen all year.

During the streak, I saw some people lament the fact that team has lost ten games in OT/SO, as well as 11 others by one goal, worrying that this somehow makes the team unsuited for the playoffs. But would you prefer for them to have been blown out instead? They’ve played 68 games, and in only 8 cases have they lost by more than one goal; and two of those were two goal defeats with empty net goals! That means that the Rangers have only been out of six games all year! That is unbelievable!! Do you really think that makes them a question mark for playoff hockey? And consider that coming into the season, we would have been happy just to see them be competitive. This team has almost not had a slump at all. It may be more appropriate to call the losing streak a ‘fluke’ rather than ‘puzzling;’ a stretch in which they ran into some hot goalies and in which Rucinsky himself blew enough golden opportunities, including his weak shootout attempt in Atlanta, for them to have won at least half of those games!

- Boston tried using defenseman Brad Stuart as a shadow on Jagr, and #68 seemed to have some fun with it in the third period. In one remarkable stretch, he seemed to say “shadow this, motherf-----,’ as he shrugged off the 6-2, 220 lb Bruin and controlled the puck for a good 30 seconds, finally taking it behind the net and leaving for Prucha, who made his nifty move to get free and set up Nylander for the easy goal.

- Lundqvist was great as usual, and came up with a huge save in the second, after the Bruins had cut the lead to 3-1 after a timeout. Boston broke in 2 on 1 after killing of a penalty, and King Henryk stoned Glen Murray on the pass-across shot; the biggest save of the game.

- With Jagr certain to draw more shadows as we move into the playoffs, the second line will be crucial, and the Rucchin-Sykora-Straka line looked sharp, giving Renney a decision to make when Rucinsky returns. Great work on the third goal, with Rucchin and Sykora passing the puck back and forth under pressure behind the Boston goal, and Rucchin getting his second nice assist of the night as he fed the puck out to Straka, who did a great job directing the puck to the tape with his skate and putting it home. Sykora failed to convert on two all-alone opportunities in the game – one on a gorgeous spin-o-rama pass by the offensively impressive Ozolinsh, and the other on a turnover created by Rozsival, who picked up a +2 to increase his season total to a very un-Ranger like +33. He also is showing more confidence on offense, moving into the slot to take Rucchin’s perfect pass for an important first goal after a sluggish Blueshirt start.

- Seven hits for Ryan Hollweg; and three for Kasparaitus, who leveled Dan LaCouture with a perfect hip check in the third.

Seems Like Old Times (Not TOO old)

2006-03-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

- Seems like things are getting back to the way they used to be. Saturday night’s effort against the woeful Leafs saw the team getting back to the basics that has gotten it where it is. The original HMO line was back together (not the faux HMO’s with Hossa or Orr replacing Hollweg or Ortmeyer); the dynamic duo of Ward and Betts were reunited, the defense pairings settled down after being realigned, Jagr dominated the offense, and Lundqvist shut the door. I don’t really know what game the Toronto players and writers who claimed that they outplayed the home team were watching.

Yes, some of the negatives that have plagued the team all year were on display too – too many penalties, and no response to the liberties taken with Petr Prucha; the target on his back now seems far bigger than the player himself. But the team overcame those, as usual, in part thanks to the seemingly revived power play; and yes, Sanders Ozolinsh can look pretty good there.

It will also be like old times tonight when Brian Leetch comes a-calling. He’ll get his standing ovation, along with a video collage that will certainly get even the most steely and drunken fans at the Garden a bit teary.

OK, perhaps the following will seem sacreligious, so fire away at me if you wish, but I for one don’t get overly sentimental at these occasions. Do the little ceremony, drop the puck and play, and look forward to the night they retire the #2. I am NOT one of the Ranger fans who rooted for Detroit the night that Eddie Giacomin came back. Players come and go, and I’m old enough to have seen a lot of them do so. Yes, Brian Leetch was one of the greatest players ever to wear a Ranger uniform; I love him dearly, have the picture on my wall of him accepting the Conn Smyth (even if Zubov was the team’s best defenseman) and I’m certainly looking forward to paying the proper tribute to him.

But I will not be chanting “Bring Him Back.” After seven non-playoff years during which he was the leading ice-time getter and power play QB, it was time for him to move on, and anyone who saw his ragged performances in the playoffs for the Leafs and in the World Cup that preceded last year’s non-season knows that Glen Sather did the right thing, even if he didn’t do it the right way. Leetch, in my opinion, was never the same player after the wrist injury he suffered in the semis against the Flyers in 1997. This year, he has 5 goals, 25 assists, is a minus 8, and has once again failed to elevate a lousy team beyond its capabilities. So let’s welcome him back. And then kick his team’s butt.

A Win, Though Not Quite Seventh Heaven

2006-03-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

- Tensions were definitely heightened yesterday, both before and during the Rangers’ gut-wrenching, streak-snapping 5-4 win against the Caps. I spent the afternoon nervously watching the clock in anticipation, and it’s been awhile since I had that feeling. During the final TV timeout of the game, with just under five minutes to play, someone turned to me and said “This is going to be the longest five minutes of my life!” Oh man! How will this guy deal with a one goal lead with five minutes left in a Game 6?

However, the final 4:55 wasn’t quite as long as he expected. That was thanks in part to the one of several new combinations for the game, the line of Blair Betts – Marcel Hossa – Jed Ortmeyer. Betts (11-5 on draws) nudged the puck deep off the faceoff, and Hossa, who has seemingly been given more of an opportunity with this club than Doug Weight and Dave Gagner did combined, went to work behind the Caps net, battling successfully for the puck. The trio kept the puck in the zone with hard work for a full 45 seconds, even generating a scoring opportunity for Ortmeyer, who was dynamic all night, leading the team with five solid hits, before the Caps were forced to ice the puck. That was a glimpse of what some of us have referred to this year as “Ranger hockey,” and it came as a relief after 55 minutes of sloppy, scattershot play. It set the tone for the remainder of the period, which generated no major scares; even the defense duo of Tyutin and Ozolinsh, who were minus 2 and committed more giveaways than the Pentagon has to Halliburton, staunchly defended their goal, using their bodies to not allow the Caps to establish position in front of Lundqvist, who came up big despite the four goals against.

The Rangers played those last few minutes with intensity and purpose, as they sought to make Jaromir Jagr’s incredible winning goal stand up. This certainly can’t be the same player that we were told would brood and sulk when things didn’t go his way. He has played through injury since the break and throughout the streak, demonstrating leadership qualities that we didn’t anticipate. A commenter on Blueshirt Bulletin recently suggested that he now be given the ‘C,’ and that would be well-earned and probably a benefit to the team. John Dellapina, who to me is the best of the beat reporters by a wide margin, reported that Renney had to calm Jagr down when he lashed out at the bench during the second period. The man is playing with a grim purpose, and seems determined to carry this team, at least the offense, on his back. Anything less than that, and it will be a short spring.

- Kasparaitis was credited with three hits, but they lacked any of the oomph that we are used to; he is clearly hurting with his broken toe.

- The win puts the Blueshirts in first by two points, but the losing streak was not without its serious implications. It allowed Buffalo and Ottawa to pull away in the standings, which makes a 4th seed highly unlikely unless one of those teams collapses. That means that failing to beat out the Flyers would land the Rangers in the 5th seed (at best!), on the short end of a 4-5 matchup against one of those two squads. So keep your eye on the Orange Crud, who play in Tampa tonight.

It's A Category Six

2006-03-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

- Bill Parcells always talks about his players having to “make a play,” an exhortation for one player to take matters into his own hands, and make the big play needed to get his team over the hump. If the Rangers had made just one play, out of the many chances they had, perhaps they wouldn’t have been blown away by the Hurricanes for their sixth straight without a win. It could have been a power play goal five minutes in after the team came out strong against a Canes team that looked ready for the taking; man, they needed a goal there to affirm their strong start and assert control. Or perhaps a spectacular (or even just a great) save by Kevin Weekes. I’ve pretty much deferred to the decisions of Tom Renney this season, but it seems that he really screwed up on his goalie selection for the last two games. When you play a team that’s lost just five times at home all year, you likely need the kind of amazing goaltending that only Lundqvist is able to provide; and a 5-3 loss in a game in which they outshot the Canes 44-29 is tough to swallow.

But the two most glaring and obvious opportunities took place in the second period. Marcel Hossa, of whom Renney inexplicably told the Post that he inserted in the lineup "to add more scoring" outraced two Canes for a shorthanded breakaway. Trailing 2-1 at the time, you just gotta make that play! But Hossa didn’t even get a shot on goal, and shortly thereafter it was 3-1; that was clearly the turning point of the game. When Martin Straka had his chance to cut the lead on his penalty shot he overdeked and didn’t get a shot off either. You gotta make that play!

- Blair Betts made a horrible, inexcusable gaffe early in the second, when, with a clear chance to move the puck out of the zone, he attempted a blind pass at his own blue line, allowing the Canes to keep the puck in and eventually score a floater for a 2-1 lead that negated any momentum from Nylander’s first goal that tied the game late in the first. Betts finished at –2 on the night

- Sanders Ozolinsh has yet to add much to the power play, though he’s obviously someone that teams have to keep an eye on, which will hopefully loosen things up a bit for Jagr and his mates down low. Ozolinsh gave the puck away with a minute to go and the net empty (perhaps a bit too early), leading to an empty netter that denied the Blueshirts a shot at any last minute heroics.

- Hossa seems to bring additional energy when he’s put back into the lineup after being scratched; perhaps Renney was recalling his two goal performance against the Blue Jackets after missing several games. In thoroughbred parlance, he goes well off a layoff, and he had six shots on goal; but he's a mid-level claimer at best. And that breakaway, man…..you just gotta bury that.

- I’m getting more and more concerned about the team’s ability to stay in one piece, as they once again took a physical pounding. Petr Prucha seems to be getting even smaller as the games get tougher; and seems an easy target. He left the ice hunched over at one point after getting slammed. Roszival was blasted into the boards twice. With Hollweg out of the lineup, and Kasparaitis not having registered a single hit in the past two games (?), there was little to offer in response. Perhaps Kaspar's toe is bothering him? He did have five hits in Montreal on Saturday.

- As they did with Montreal, the Blueshirts finished the season series with a 1-3 record against the Canes…..two possible playoff opponents that would have a lot of confidence against us going in.

- Still, the boys didn’t quit, and another inch on the puck that rolled on the goal line, and perhaps they could have gotten a point. Despite the sometimes sloppy defensive play, you could really boil the game down to their being outgoaltended. A 4-0 homestand would make us forget all of this, and all four games, against Washington, Toronto, Boston, and Philly, are eminently winnable. Ironically, the only team they’ll be seeing that they haven’t played well against is the Caps, whom they lead in the standings by 31 points. I’d like to see Hollweg-Moore-Ortmeyer out there tomorrow night to get things off to a rousing start.

- The Rangers are 4-4-2 in their last ten games. Now, that doesn’t seem too bad, does it?

Five is Jive

2006-03-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

- I think that every Ranger fan has had this little fear all season somewhere in our minds that there would come a point where we would wake up from the rapturous dream that has been the 2005-06 season. For many of us, the 6-1 win in Philly that resumed the season may have temporarily doused those doubts, and for Ranger fans, thoughts like “we’re for real” and, especially, "we can win the Cup" can be extremely dangerous ones. But does the winless streak continued by the agonizing 3-2 OT loss to Atlanta portend the end of the line?

One of my favorite sayings by the sagacious long-time Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver was: A team is never as good as it looks when it’s winning, and never as bad as it looks when it’s losing. And the Rangers looked very, very good indeed during the winning streak that propelled it near the top of the conference and league standings.

However, if this is how bad the team looks when it’s losing, it doesn’t really seem all that bad. The goaltending remains solid and at many times spectacular, the work ethic is still there; and these two critical factors are reflected in the mere nine regulation goals allowed in the 0-3-2 streak. And thanks to the two points earned in overtime losses, the team retains its two point first place lead. Yeah, dig it man – we’re still in first.

But that the team is in a slump is beyond doubt now; all the classic signs are there, particularly the fact that the games are all starting to look basically the same. Last night was a variation on the theme – the Thrashers hit two posts in the first period; the Blueshirts shots-on-goal onslaught came in the second period instead of the third; and the team actually had the lead. But still there were the many missed chances, the wasted power plays, and the penalties – of the deserved, unlucky, and questionable variety. For the second game in a row, a fruitless five-on-three power play loomed large in the outcome; and once again a bad late third period penalty - oh, a very bad penalty by Betts at a point when the Rangers had seemed to regain their equilibrium in a 2-1 game - followed immediately by an unfortunate clear-into-the-crowd call helped to seal the deal.

The Rangers have exactly one play for their five-on-three power play; unlike most teams, there’s no attempt to work the puck down low in an attempt to find an open man within easy range. Just feed the puck to Jagr in that spot just to the right of the high slot. When you’re hot, you’re hot, and the pucks flew past Robert Esche in Philly and many other befuddled victims; when you’re not, you’re not, and Kari Lehtonen and Cristobal Huet seemed to swat the pucks away with the ease of Keanu Reeves waving away the bullets at the end of The Matrix. The palpable relief of the crowd when the home team was up 2-0 dissipated with each missed shot, each wasted power play, and the sense of doom took over. By the time Martin Straka was whistled for an incredulous holding the stick call in the overtime, I don’t know that anyone in the stands didn’t anticipate the unhappy outcome.

A slump can be a tough thing to break out of, especially with a game in Carolina coming up. But it’s a long season, and teams have to weather these periods; note that the Hurricanes are themselves winless in three since the win here last Monday. To me, the signs point to a slump and nothing more. An 0-3-2 streak with nine goals allowed doesn’t make the Rangers a bad team anymore than the Islanders’ 5-1 streak makes them good. Of course, the ominous sight of Jagr grabbing that spot on his hip/groin and his post-game wavering on his availability for Tuesday’s game, can change everything. But for now, we have to keep the faith. Prucha is back and seemed to regain his confidence as the game wore on. Imagine the scoring depth he could bring to this team? It’s all good, really….it’s a sometimes annoying sports cliché when people point out that: well, if someone told you in September that we’d be in first place yada yada yada. But in this case, it applies, so until further notice or the sight of Lundqvist doing a Mike Dunham impersonation, we have to keep the faith. What else is there to do?

- Well, we got the HMO line again, but with an Orr instead of Ortmeyer, who Renney said needed the rest. The line did its job a few minutes into the second period. After a listless start to the period, they kept the puck in the Thrashers’ zone with some hard work and a couple of solid bumps by Orr on Eric Boulton, whom he tried, unsuccessfully, to goad into a fight off the opening faceoffs of the first two periods. The shift seemed to pick the team up and the two goals followed shortly thereafter. However, once again there were too many missed opportunities, especially by a hapless Rucinsky, who perhaps had to re-adjust to Jagr’s pinpoint passes after being moved back up to the top line. He was credited with four shots on goal in the second, but missed at least a couple of others, committed two turnovers and a penalty before leaving with a knee injury described as just a tweak.

- Sanders Ozolinsh looks shaky on D; his failure to clear the puck led to the first Atlanta goal, and he looked tentative and downright scary at times deep in his own zone. But he also showed his offensive prowess, unleashing a wicked wrist shot in the third that Lehtonen came up big on soon before his team rallied, big save.

A Vacation Tinged With Blue

2006-03-12T06:29:00.001-08:00

- Spent the last week in Antigua, and what a wonderful week it was. It’s a gorgeous island, the weather was spectacular, and I was able to totally relax. Well, mostly almost nearly. Blue was the color of the sky, the water, the drink of the day on Tuesday, and my only thoughts of home. Because while I was able to forget about work, kids, and the everyday tribulations of life, didn’t think about port deals or nuclear proliferation, nor much care about the Oscars, the Sopranos, or even the Kentucky Derby preps, there was one thing constantly weighing on my mind and they were wearing Blue. You’d think that I could miss three lousy games at a time when the team was riding high in first place in the division, 21 games over .500, and with seemingly no real worries especially after the 6-1 win over the Flyers to resume the season, right? Just forget about it, I thought. What's the worst that could happen? (Besides devastating injuries) I’ll just check the scores when I get home.

Right. I held out all the way until Monday morning. There was one lonely little internet terminal than nobody was going within 50 feet of, but the temptation was too great. Under the pretense of having to send a couple of emails that absolutely could have waited, I slinked over to the terminal early in the morning hoping no one would see me. Three bucks for fifteen minutes, I slid in the bills one two three. The connection was slower than Dale Rolfe, and by the time I composed and sent the two lousy emails, I was scrambling for the score of Saturday night’s game. Devils 2, Rangers 1. Tried to access a boxscore or recap but ran out of time and was spared the details of injury and crossbars. I felt they would lose this game, but the news still hit hard, despite it being the first regulation loss in six weeks! Get a grip, what is wrong with me!?

No more internet, I resolved, and besides, I just KNEW they would win against Carolina. I also knew that since the game was between two of the top teams in the league, there was a chance I could see a headline about it in the cursory news and sports summary that was printed out from Yahoo for the guests each morning. So I casually strolled over to the binder that contained the printouts on Tuesday morning, and saw: “Gerber spoils Rangers’ Lundqvist return.” I held out hope until just a few hours ago that perhaps the game had gone overtime. So there I was, lying on a beach in a total paradise, being waited on hand and foot, eggs and bacon every morning, 11 A.M. cocktails, all you can eat, skinny-dipping in the Atlantic Ocean, and I had a knot in my stomach the size of Gilles Marotte over a second straight loss, not even knowing the score nor circumstance, and who knows what I would have done if I’d known about the 17-0 shot advantage in the third.

I refused to go online, but considered calling my friend Ira for some reassurance that everything was OK. Ira once told me that he had considered getting hypnotized into not caring about the Rangers anymore, and suddenly the idea didn’t seem so comical. If I can’t forget about them in this setting, then perhaps a Vulcan mind-meld is called for. “Forget.”

On to another resort, this one with TV’s in the room, so it was straight to the ESPN score crawl on Wednesday night. ....Rangers 2 Atlanta 3 SO....Jagr PP Goal....... I felt the walls of the room closing in on me. The point earned was little satisfaction, but it was a little satisfaction. On Thursday, a morning rain delay in beach activity, so I turned on ESPN Sports Center anticipating some highlights. I don’t watch much Sports Center these days, but I shouldn’t have been surprised at how little they care about hockey considering how little they cared about it when they cared about it. I could have gotten more information about the Maccabiah games on Iranian state TV. Don’t blink, you might miss some hockey; the “highlights” consist of two plays and a cloud of smoke. Maybe I turned away to check my sunburn for a second, but it seemed to me that there were no Rangers highlights except for a Lundqvist save on the Top Ten, and a remark by Steve Levy about the Rangers “losing Jagr in the overtime” that stopped my heart cold before he continued “...with an illegal stick,” WHY WOULD HE DO THAT TO ME? I also caught on the crawl .......for Rangers RW Ville Niemenen..... and was never able to get the details on that or Sanders Ozolinsh.

I actually broke down that night and headed for the internet room. But it was too late, just as well. Didn’t need to learn that they lost Jagr for the shootout as well.

So when I got home Saturday night, the first thing I did was to make sure that the DVR had recorded the game in Montreal, and the next thing I did was check in with Blueshirt Bulletin to bring me up to speed. It pretty much confirmed my impression that the team had lost some tough games, and that there didn’t seem to be anything to really panic about.

Then I watched the game. What a nice gesture by the Blueshirts, really, to bring me right up to speed on what I’d missed. In about an hour and a half of accelerated viewing while skipping through commercials and intermissions, I got a complete primer on the week that was. A slow start, some solid goaltending to keep them in, a sputtering power play, the big line shooting blanks, a frantic third period with a big shot advantage (an absurd combined 55-17 for the last four games), a crossbar, and a whole lot of frustration. It’s tough enough playing in Montreal on a Saturday night; they had to run into a Canadiens team and crowd juiced up by the emotional ceremonies for Bernie Geoffrion and a hot goalie getting his second shutout in a row. You just got the feeling after not too long that they would not score a goal on this night. The crucial five-on-three power play seemed too predictable, and Nylander’s crossbar nearly made my week of (almost) blissful relaxation go completely down the drain. Attending today’s tilt with the Thrashers could very well complete that process. I could be completely pale by 8 PM.

Anyone know a good hypnotist?

On A Short Break

2006-03-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

For me, anyway. After just one game, I'm off on vacation. Other than during the Olympic break, this was the best week possible, with only one home game to be missed. That game, on Monday night, is against conference leader Carolina, who won tonight (Friday), making a first-place showdown impossible. For now, anyway. I'll miss only three games total, plus the trading deadline, which seems to be extremely quiet this year. I don't really expect the team to be different upon my return; though you never know. I'm coming back Saturday evening, and I set the DVR to record the game that night so I can watch it in its entirety. Coming home from vacation in a tropical paradise can be tough to take, but thinking about what may lay ahead will greatly soften the blow. Oh man, I have SO bought into this! See you in a week.

The Boys Are Back!

2006-03-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

- I can't quite say that the Rangers didn't miss a beat after the break, but it was a a fast beat, and Kevin Weekes, looking more confident than he has at any point this year, kept his team in the game with one big save after another, including a magical shoulder stop early in the game in which the puck seemed to float in mid-air before landing safely underneath him. But even during those perilous opening minutes, you could see the 2006-06 Rangers percolating under, and the performance improved as the penalty kills went on.

But what I liked most about the game was Jagr. Not just the fact that he scored two goals and added an assist, but it was the way he went about it. Backing up his earlier comments about his commitment to the Rangers, Jagr had his game face on, showing little emotion after his scores, and even adding a big backchecking play on a Flyers 3 on 2 in the first. He sent a message that he's back, and that he means business. Taking their cue from Jagr, the Rangers did the same. They showed the Flyers who's boss in the division, and did so with disdain for the Flyers' bush league attempts at intimidation. The Blueshirts are looking more and more like a very serious team.

- Donald Brashear always seems larger than life against the Rangers. Not only the physical stuff, but he actually at times acts like a hockey player. He hits hard and mostly clean within the rules of the NHL, at least when he doesn't lose his mind. However he always hits with what looks like an attempt to injur. I guess the Flyers feel the same way about Kasparaitus. Of course, it was OK for Scott Stevens to do it.

Early in the game, I feared for the team's physical safety against the rampaging giant, and wondered if it was smart to sit out Colton Orr. But Renney was right as usual. The Rangers didn't back down, and tag teamed him. Roszival gave him a facial, earning a minor penalty. Tom Poti nailed him along the boards; Betts and Ward hit him in rapid succession; and finally, Kasparaitus put him over the edge. Is there a penalty in the books for pulling hair?

Of course, any self-respecting coach would have benched him after taking two ridiculous minors long after play had stopped. Instead, Brashear was awarded power play time in the third perod, and his sophomoric attack at the end of the game showed that nothing ever changes down in Philly - their hockey team is still garbage after all these years. That was Mick Vukota material, and Hitchcock earned every penny of his $10,000 fine for fetching his moronic goon on Kasparaitus at that point in the game.

- Blair Betts rocks. Thirteen minutes in his first game back, scored a goal, 10-5 on faceoffs and the usual solid work on the PK. I'm telling you man, this guy is going to score a big playoff goal or two, if we make the playoffs. (Do I still have to say that?)

Deja Vu All Over Again

2006-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

- This seems kinda familiar, doesn't it? It's like a second opening day of the season, and once again, the Rangers open in Philly. Assuming that Jagr plays with his groin, Kaspar with his toe, Tyutin with his visa, and Betts with his knee, it will seem even more familiar. Because with Weekes in goal and Prucha sidelined, the Blueshirts will field the same lineup as on opening day #1, with the exception of Petr Sykora in place of Jamie Lundmark. [EDIT: I guess I'm assuming that Hollweg will play rather than Nieminen, but that actually may not be the case.] Jamie Lundmark? That seems sooo long ago! Lundmark actually started the Rangers back from a 3-1 defecit with a second period goal, his final one before being traded.

Just watched the Flyers lose to the Devils in a shootout. You know those Bud Light commercials with the guy who dares to stay at work until 5:05.....on a Friday? They should have one that goes "I'm going to watch the Devils on Fox Sports.....with the sound on!" Man, those guys are unbearable. "Oh, Marty, Marty, Marty," gushed Chico after he shut the door on the Orange Crud. It's a scheduling break for the Rangers to get the Flyers on the second night of back-to-back games right off the break, and I'm looking for a big effort from the Blueshirts. Renney has done everything right, at least in terms of preparation, and I think he'll have his team ready, at least mentally; and I'm looking for a sharp performance by Weekes.

- Lundmark has six goals total for the season, along with 11 assists.

Playoff Tweak

2006-02-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

- I got my invoice for playoff tickets on Saturday morning, and it was a far different experience than during the past seven seasons, when it was for the most part something to scoff at and ignore. Those seasons tend to blend together as one, just like the four consecutive playoff seasons ended at the hands of the Icelanders in the 80’s, a torture that only Ranger fans could be subjected to. My recollection now was that in each of those seven seasons, the team’s playoff fate was already fairly certain by the time the invoices arrived, even as they did so earlier and earlier each year in an attempt to at least generate some interest income for Cablevision.

This year is different of course, and I was excited to return it right away, not even waiting for the deadline. Then I turned on the TV to catch the end of the bronze medal game, and the very first words I heard were “..and Jagr doesn’t kill penalties, but he hasn’t returned either.” And once again, as it did when I read of his being helped off the ice during the Finland game, the season flashed before my eyes. The ups and downs of being a Ranger fan can strike at any time, even during a 2 1/2 months hiatus. I was glued to the set at game’s end, watching for the sight of #68 on the ice. Relief swept over me when I saw him join the celebration and participate in the handshake line (his handshake with Tyutin was particularly perfunctory); and I replayed the scene over and over and in slow motion in an attempt to discern any revealing body language, or to perhaps lip-read him telling Rangers teammates something like “Don’t worry, it’s fine, I just didn’t want to take any chances, and I would have played if the game was closer. Wanna go out for some beers?”

So the Daily News terms it a “tweak,” and he told Johnette Howard of Newsday: "But if the score was different, I think I could go." We can only see how he feels after the long flight home and recovery from jet lag. And for now, my playoff voucher is still sitting here.

Bring the Troops Home Now

2006-02-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

- I’m just about recovered from the shock of reading the words “Jaromir Jagr was assisted off the ice..” the other day. The season flashed before all of our eyes, and with the competition sure to become even more intense as the tournament moves into the medal round, I don’t know if I can even bear to watch. Time to bring the boys home.

The nasty attack highlights perhaps the biggest challenge the Rangers will face as they move towards the playoffs – trying to protect their top player, whose number 68 seems to have become a more and more inviting target over the last few weeks. By gamely suiting up the next day in a game his team certainly could have won without him, Jagr may have sent a message that he won’t be easily cowed. But the Rangers need to send a message that they will not tolerate attacks on their most talented players; perhaps they can start by running Finnish goalie Antero Niittymaki if he starts in Philly on March 2.

OK, I’m kind of kidding about that, but the issue is a serious one; Ranger fans merely have to think back to the physical beating that the Blueshirts took the last time they were in the playoffs, a mere nine year ago. In the opening round, Kirk Muller slew-footed the pesky Bill Berg, breaking his leg. In the second round, John McLean broke the arm of Niklas Sundstrom with a senseless slash. Sundstrom had had his best season to this day with 24 goals, 28 assists and a plus-23, and had been one of the team’s best players in the playoffs to that point. In the semis, the Flyers targeted Brian Leetch from the opening faceoff of the series, and it took only to Game 2 until Trent Klatt wrecked his wrist with a hard check into the boards. Leetch gave it a try in Games 4 and 5, but couldn’t shoot the puck and the series was effectively over at that point. He won the Norris Trophy that season and finished with a plus/minus of +36. The injury bothered Leetch well into the next season, and I would argue that he’s never been as good as he was before; he hasn’t been close to being a plus player since that year. For good measure, Klatt nailed his brother-in-law Ken Gernander in Game 3 with one of the most vicious and mean-spirited checks I’ve ever seen; Gernander’s major league career was effectively ruined.

A willingness to strike back at the other team’s top players would make teams think twice about taking liberties and help keep Jagr safe. So would a quick end to the Czech team’s run in the Olympics.

Liv For The Gold

2006-02-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

Stefan Liv started in goal for the Swedes today. Why change a winning formula?

(Gulp.)

Are They Over Yet?

2006-02-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

Say the Czechs and the Russians are playing for the gold medal. With overtime ticking down, the Czechs intercept the puck at their own blue line, and Jagr comes steaming up the right wing boards into the offensive zone. Darius Kasparaitis is caught a little flat-footed; he has a chance to make a play, but only by taking Jagr out with a hip check along the boards. Kinda like the completely clean, but injury-inducing check he laid on the Sabres' Tim Connolly at the Garden a few weeks ago. What does he do?

Unlikely situation to occur? Probably. But they'll be many cases I'm sure in which a player has to make some kind of play against an NHL-teammate, and there are entirely possible scenarios that nobody wants to think about. I don't think I've ever approached any hockey tournament with such a combination of anticipating great hockey and dreading the unthinkable. Mostly the latter.

Are the Olympics over yet?

Big Picture Gets Smaller

2006-02-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

- ‘Surprising’ is no longer adequate to describe the Rangers season; the Blueshirts’ 35th win of the season put them past even amazing and incredible, straight into Rod Serling territory. A convincing sweep of the obnoxious Leafs was more than one could have asked for, or even imagined. Not that the Rangers aren’t a better team and shouldn't have won both games, but coming after the dramatic win in Philadelphia, the sheer humiliation of an Islanders’ team that didn’t seem to be in the same league, and the eye-opening win against Ottawa in front of a raucous crowd, one could have easily imagined and accepted a split with a desperate Leafs team that the Rangers always have a problem with.

The big picture, once a 2-3 year (optimistically) project, is presently the next two and a half weeks, as we all hold our breath that we get the team back in one piece for the resumption of the season on March 2. You never quite know what you’ll get when you throw a new mix with young, hungry guys together with a new coaching staff; add in great goaltending and a guy playing like he’s the best in the world, and suddenly the future becomes now. There’s something magical about a team that just comes together like this one has, and we’ve seen teams like this go far into the playoffs. Despite the emphasis on the future, there’s more than a little “now” element to this team – Martin Straka, who I never imagined was this good (even if he should have twice as many goals as he has), is a Group III free agent after the season, as is, according to this chart on the Hockey Trade Rumors website, Rucinsky, Ward, Poti, Rucchin, and Strudwick.

And we’ve heard some strange rumblings from Jaomir Jagr about wanting to play in Russia. He’s certainly playing like a man with a particular mission, and with that being the case, should the team continue to roll after the break, Sather and Maloney may feel that, as unimaginable the thought would have been in September, they’re in a position to trade one of the surplus of valuable prospects in the system for a veteran that can help now. If you happen to stumble upon a team that just happens to click, you gotta go for it. Just the defection of two or three of the abovementioned players can completely change the chemistry, and in this era, changes are the rule rather than the exception.

The break might be a good thing; it will be a chance for the role players like Moore and Ortmeyer and Rucchin to recharge their legs. Sykora is looking forward to the rest, and Prucha will be safe and sound and working towards his return. Whether the recent good karma we’ve seen since Rucinsky’s ping-pong shot off Sykora’s mask tied the game in Philly will continue remains to be seen – there was the fortunate deflection on Kasparaitus’ pass to Poti on his breakaway goal at the Garden; in Toronto, Rucinsky’s centering pass was conveniently returned to him by a Leafs defender, allowing him to set up Sykora in the slot; Straka’s pass bounced off a Leafs skate right to Jagr for his 40th.

One thing I was a bit disturbed about was the way the Leafs went after Jagr without any retribution. Bryan McCabe was penalized for a hard and particularly vicious and uncalled for blind-side check after the puck was gone; and Darcy Tucker drew an elbowing penalty that didn’t look as bad on replay as it did originally. But still, in the not-so-old days, many teams (usually other than the Rangers) would never allow their best player to be abused like that, and even now, I doubt that a Pat Quinn-coached team would allow that to pass without a response. Yeah, I’m an old-time hockey guy; but if teams see that they can slam Jagr without consequence, the consequences for the Rangers could be catastrophic.

Shootouts Cheapen Penalty Shots

2005-12-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

- The Devils and Thrashers were tied with overtime ticking down when ~~Marcel~~ Marion Hossa came streaking down the right side on Marty Brodeur. Dan McGillis tripped Hossa, sending him crashing into the Devils goalie, and Hossa was awarded a penalty shot (on a somewhat questionable call). So here we go....a minute and a half left, the game at stake.....WOW, there’s nothing like this, right?

Well, in fact, now there is. While the penalty shot remains indisputably an exciting play, what really was different about this one (which Brodeur stopped), even coming in overtime, from your usual run-of-the-mill shootout penalty shot? The play is perhaps the most unique one-on-one confrontation in all of team sports. There really is nothing like it in any other game - to halt the action and clear all but two players off the playing field. Perhaps the closest thing to it would be the penalty kick in soccer, but the goalie has as much chance of stopping those as George W. Bush has of convincing us that he didn’t lie about the war. And whatsmore, the penalty shot in the course of a game is truly a rarity – if you follow one particular team, you’re lucky to see it more than a couple of times a season.

But now, with shootouts, you could conceivably see a penalty shot 30 times in a single night, as we did at the Garden last month. And though we will always remember the goal by Marek Malik that ended that game, it was a truly unique one, and most of the other 29 attempts were eminently forgettable. Once a truly singular occurrence, the penalty shot, in an effort to declare a winner in games that don’t necessarily warrant nor need one, has been cheapened into a superfluous gimmick. Here’s hoping that the epic spectacle of multiple overtime playoff games is not the next victim.

Out of Sync

2005-12-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

- I dunno, it seemed like the Rangers were just a bit out of sync last night in their 3-2 loss to the Canucks. Certainly in the first period, when Vancouver came at them like the first wave of bargain hunters when the stores open at 6 A.M. on December 26. Perhaps it was the usual first-game-after-a-roadtrip syndrome that teams usually have to overcome; or maybe it was adjusting to the step up in class, speed, and size against an experienced Canucks squad that showed why they’re considered to be one of the top contenders in the West.

But Lundqvist kept the Blueshirts in the game, punctuating his sharp first period with a pair of skate saves in the closing seconds of the frame. Things seemed to go from bad to worse when Todd Bertuzzi of all people, got the visitors, who seemed to have a fairly large contingent of fans on hand, on the board early in the second and the Rangers failed miserably on a subsequent power play.

Even after the home team seemed to get their footing after the first of Prucha’s two goals, at times carrying the play and eventually outshooting the Canucks thanks to a 16-6 advantage in the third, they just seemed to be a bit off. It never helps when Jagr has a subpar game. Prucha has not shown much of a penchant as a playmaker, but he put the puck right on the tape of Jagr’s stick in the first, and Jagr, wide open in the slot, shot wide on a chance that he would - and should - normally bury. That was a bad sign, and he finished with only two shots as he was frustrated by the Canucks close shadowing. In the official stats, he was listed as having zero giveaways – if that’s the case, than I don’t understand exactly what constitutes a giveaway in the NHL.

So while there were times at which it seemed as if the Rangers would take control of the game, it never quite transpired. It was telling that immediately after Prucha’s second goal, they had to survive a subsequent Vancouver onslaught. And here I’m going to second reader Throwaway’s call to reunite the Hollweg-Moore-Ortmeyer line. Renney put Hollweg on at this stage with his new linemates Blair Betts and Ville Niemenen, but they were immediately swamped. All night, the line combos seemed just a step off in both zones, and perhaps it’s time to go back to what had been working so well. HMO….Betts and Ward….together again. It’s also time to get Maxim Kondratiev back in the lineup. He could have served the team well against Vancouver’s up-tempo and physical play.

With everything, things could have been different if Prucha’s bid for a hat trick hadn’t glanced off the goal post. And though the Canucks deserve full credit for their effort, the winning goal was a gift and an awful gaffe by Nylander, whose prodigious offensive talents are at times betrayed by his play in his own zone. (He only played a bit over nine minutes last night, and was rarely on the ice in the third period.) If the game was truly the measuring stick that Tom Renney proclaimed it to be, then the Rangers were just a tad short. It’s always disappointing to lose on a late goal at home, but you have to come away from the match with at least a little encouragement that they can skate with good teams playing at the top of their game.

- We don’t like the Islanders if you haven’t noticed, and their loss at home to the Wild was a nice consolation. But unlike the classless morons that attend their games (occasionally), we don’t root for injuries, and besides, the Rangers can crush them fair and square. So here’s hoping that Jason Blake is OK so that the Blueshirts can kick the shit out of him next time they play.

Away and Away?

2005-12-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

- Tonight’s opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, are second in the Northwest Division at 18-9-2; but they are only 5-8-2 on the road (13-1 at home). They’ve lost their last three in a row away from home by a combined margin of 13-6, but they come off a big “win” (shootout) against the league-leading Senators on Friday night. An extremely interesting aspect of their schedule thus far is that on three different occasions, they’ve played consecutive road games against the same team! That gives a whole new meaning to the term “home-and-home” series. Perhaps we need a new phrase for that in the new NHL - "away and away?" The Canucks will return the favor and host consecutive home games against the same teams no less than three times throughout the balance of the season. Let’s hope that this remains strictly a Western Conference phenomenon. Consecutive games in Fish Sticks country, or having to see the Orange Crud in town twice in a row would be too much for this Rangers fan to bear.

- The last time that the Canucks were in town was on Feb 2, 2004, and the circumstances were drastically different. The Blueshirts had lost three in a row and were 1-7-2 in the previous ten games, while the Canucks had won five in a row. The home team stayed true to form in that they blew a two goal third period lead, but they got a late goal by Bobby Holik to get a 4-3 win, prompting him to remark, characteristically, ``We will have to be careful not to get overexcited with one win.'' They dropped four out of their five subsequent games.

- The second place Flyers may have four games in hand on the Rangers, but they’ve played only ten road games and 18 at home. Whatsmore, they face an 11 game road trip that commences later this month, one which will bring them to the Garden for the first of four visits (none back-to-back) on Jan 5.

Off Day Tidbits - Dec 12

2005-12-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

- The Rangers are still tied with the Ottawa Senators for the top spot in the conference, but the games in hand total is down to five from six, so there’s some progress for you. The Blueshirts will finally get their first look at the Sens on the road the day after Xmas.

Ottawa made what will be for them in the new NHL a rare trip to western Canada this past weekend, and they “lost” twice, beaten in Vancouver in a shootout and in Calgary in overtime. The fans and press were psyched in both cities, seeing it as a “measuring stick” game for their teams. The crowds were reported as 18,630 (101.1% full) in Vancouver, and a sardine-like 19,289 (112.4% full) in Calgary! Sounds like the NYC subway during rush hour.

The Calgary Sun proclaimed: Turns out the Calgary Flames have no reason to sell themselves short when it comes to measuring against the club pegged as the NHL's best. The Vancouver Sun said: So now we know -- don't we?-- that the Vancouver Canucks can be every bit as good as the best team in hockey. Jeez, imagine if either team had actually won their game in regulation! The Canucks wasted 12 power play chances against a sharp Dominick Hasek and needed to go to the 4th shootout round to get the second point.

In Ottawa of course, it was a distinctly different take.

The Senators hit the skids for a second straight night, turning in a lacklustre effort in dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to the Calgary Flames in front of 19,289 last night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

All [Damon] Langkow had to do was put the puck home over a sprawling Emery as the Senators didn’t put up much in the way of the fight and got what they deserved in a game that was billed as a Stanley Cup final preview. [Ottawa Sun]

(Is every newspaper in Canada a Sun?) The Sens’ massive defenseman Zdeno Chara is getting attention in the hockey blogosphere; James Mirtle wrote the other day of The emergence of The Chara.

Leafs fans may groan when his name is mentioned as a Norris Trophy candidate, but Chara simply does so many things well and makes it so tough for the opposition to play against him that I can't imagine a scenario where he doesn't win at least one in his career.

With Wade Redden out since late November, Chara is logging over 30 minutes a game. This was one of Mike “The Shoe” Milbury’s more brilliant deals, trading Chara and the second overall pick (Jason Spezza) for Alexei Yashin, who he then locked in for ten years. Spezza leads the Sens in scoring with 11 goals and 32 assists and a plus 20 rating. Yashin is having a decent season statistically at 12-17-29, but note that he has less goals than a certain 8th round draft pick rookie who's played far less minutes in Manhattan; and we know what happens to Yashin when the Isles make their annual one-round playoff appearance (not assured this season by any means).

The Sens complete a tough three-in-four day road stretch with a game in Colorado tonight. The Canucks have rested since “beating” the Sens Friday, and will be at the Garden Tuesday. Trevor Linden is the only player left on either team from the 94 finals; and he’s had a couple of stops elsewhere in between.

- Tony Amonte scored his 400th NHL goal against the Sens on Saturday, and who woulda thunk? A 4th round pick for the Blueshirts, he scored 68 goals in his first two seasons, but only 16 when he was dispatched to Chicago by Mike Keenan in the trade that brought Brian Noonan and Stephane Matteau to New York. 316 NHL goals later for Amonte, now 35, I’ve never heard anyone complain about that deal.

- Larry Brooks talks up the possibility of a deal for Petr Sykora in the Post today. Sykora is 29, and will be a free agent after the season. He has just five goals and eight assists thus far this season.

The Rangers Win the Damn Thing

2005-12-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

- It’s a happy recap, but only because of the Rube Goldbergesque goal by Martin Rucinsky for the team’s first OT (non-shootout) win of the year. It’s being reported that the shot was deflected by Blues’ defenseman Bryce Salvador (no relation to Bryce Lampman) before hitting the glass, and floating off Patrick Lalime’s butt into the net. But Rangers Game Log has analyzed the super-slo motion, which revealed that after hitting Salvador, it hit the back of Marek Malik’s helmet, went into the stands, struck an unsuspecting electrician sitting in the 5th row, and was then batted away by a crazed peanut vendor back into play, off the glass and into the unfortunate Blues’ goalie.

It’s an illustration of how poorly the Rangers played that Weekes was stellar in the net despite giving up four goals. Being shorthanded 12 times didn’t help. But the Blueshirts seemed to finally have this one under control after scoring their first power play goal of the road trip with just 3:15 to go on another tough break for Lalime. He’d just made a good save on a point blank Poti shot, but Prucha’s shot went off Salvador’s skate into the net.

With the teams playing four aside in the final two minutes, this one seemed to be in the bag, as we saw glimpses of the Broadway Blueshirts we’ve come to love. The visitors smelled victory and had the Blues pinned in their own zone as the fans started to boo. Kasparaitus delivered one of his five credited hits at center ice and cleared the puck back down; Jason Ward stole the puck and was denied on a wraparound; Moore stole a clearing attempt and was foiled on a breakaway; Kasparaitus nailed Tkachuk in the defensive zone and allowed Malik to clear. But then Malik made a critical mistake; with just one second to go until the Blues would have a brief power play, he iced the puck. Don’t know if he thought that the power play had started, or if he felt he had a shot at the empty net, but the Rangers wouldn’t recover from that mistake. Despite Moore cleanly winning the faceoff, Tkachuk had cheated a bit and got a jump to the end boards and controlled, leading to the wacky tying goal. It's very possible that the puck was hit with a high stick before Sillinger legally batted it in, but the replay was not conclusive. Malik actually redeemed himself for his error just beforehand by blocking an empty net attempt by Tkachuk (deservedly named the first star).

- It was the Rangers’ first overtime goal since the final game of the 2003-04 season, when Bobby Holik scored in Washington to put the Blueshirts out of their misery for another year. Or two in this case. The assists went to Thomas Pock and Karel Rachunek, and what ever happened to that guy? He doesn’t seem to be in the league anymore. It was Holik’s second goal of the game; the other was scored by Mike Green, on an assist from Josh Green. The only Green in the league this year is Travis. In fact, the only players on the ice for New York that day that I found to still be in the league are Garth Murray, just called up Friday by Montreal, Dan Lacouture, who’s played five games in Boston, Jamie Lundmark, Jamie McLennan, the goalie that day, now a backup for the Panthers, Holik and Tyutin.

- A tough six game stretch now awaits the Blueshirts, led off by what could be a fascinating four game homestand. It's an interesting mix of tough visiting squads, and with full, lively crowds assured as the holiday approaches, and with a 20-8-4 record that seems just surreal, the atmosphere should be electric. The Canucks are in Tuesday night, and then after a five day rest, the homestead continues with the Avs, Devils, and Lightning. That is followed by road games in Ottawa and Long Island. Yes fans, the year 2005 shall not conclude without another encounter with the putrid Fish Sticks in front of their cretinous fans with their tedious chants and general lack of civility.

Life At The Top

2005-12-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Rangers players help Preds backup goalie Chris Mason find his contact lens.

(Or maybe they're looking for the Islanders, way down there in the standings somewhere?)

- Don't look now, but the Rangers now share the top spot in the NHL with Ottawa, and who cares, really, if the Sens have played six less games? Let's see how well they do when their strings of four games in six days start to pile up.

- If you took my advice and took the loved one out to dinner, you missed the team's most complete performance of the season. As bad as the power play has been, that's how outstanding the penalty killing is; and just as the power play cost the Blueshirts the point in Chicago, the PK set the tone with their first period kills. Jed Ortmeyer was an inspiration to the team, and to us all, hanging in there after taking a Zedlicky slap shot right over the knee, and diving to block a shot shortly after. No way they could lose after that display!

I also said in the same misguided post that the game wasn't really that important because the loss that I was admittedly anticipating (still a habit after seven years) would be neutralized by a win in St. Louis on Saturday. Now, that game becomes a huge one (they all seem bigger as the record gets better), as a loss against the woeful Blues would greatly diminish what they accomplished in Nashville. So don't make any plans. That's right - you're spending your Saturday night at home, fuck the loved one.

- The one depressing note about the game to me was the apparently significant injury to the Preds' David Legwand. Coming on a totally innocent collision with Blair Betts, it served as a reminder of the fragile nature of a team's success, and how quickly and unexpectedly disaster can strike. And I'm not going to say another word.

Haven't You Heard? No Ties in Hockey

2005-12-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

- An article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday speculated that last night’s game could be Jaromir Jagr’s final appearance there, since due to the unbalanced schedule, it’s possible the Rangers won't make another appearance in Chicago for five or six years. That would be a shame, as would the prospect of our not seeing the Blackhawks or Red Wings at the Garden for a similar period of time. I know I’m sentimental about the Original Six, and that fans in the other 24 NHL cities, as well as anyone born after 1957 or so, probably couldn’t give a rat’s ass about it. But personally, I’d like to see an arrangment akin to that in baseball, in which traditional and/or inter-city rivals such as the Mets and Yanks are guaranteed to meet in a home-and-home series each year. (I’m actually strongly opposed to interleague play in baseball, but that’s a subject for another blog.)

I know that could create some competitive disadvantages (or advantages), as this year, for example, the Rangers would have to play the Red Wings twice, while most other teams would not. But I’d still be in favor, in an attempt to preserve just a little of the history and tradition of the sport. And no third jerseys allowed.

- OK, officially, it’s a “loss,” but check out other sites if you’re looking for a lot of negativity. It sucks that the Rangers couldn’t get the extra point; sucks that they lost in the overtime, that Rucinsky got that double minor, and it especially sucks that the power play sucked; clearly, that was the main reason for only getting a point. However, in this case, I’m going to try and keep the proper perspective here. Other than the power play, I have nothing to complain about. The Blueshirts played at a high level throughout, with crisp and clever passing, consistent pressure and solid defensive play. They hit three posts, and Khabibulin was pretty spectacular in the nets, especially in the third period, when the Rangers out shot the Hawks 15-5; he robbed Tom Poti, who made a nifty move in front after some excellent work along the boards by Nylander, and stopped Jason Strudwick point blank from the slot.

I was quite surprised to see Renney break up Blair Betts and Jason Ward, but the combos of Ward-Nylander-Prucha, and even Betts-Hollweg-Orr functioned well; the latter was even on the ice in the last 90 seconds of regulation! Hollweg made a nice play on his breakaway in the second, but Khabibulin came up big. And the fact that Kondratiev, who is getting better and better, was a healthy scratch, is a testament to the depth of a defense corps which was widely perceived to be the weak link of the team before the season.

And I’m not even going to criticize Poti for rushing up ice while shorthanded in overtime, even though the visitors couldn’t recover in time to prevent the winning goal. This is the one situation in the new NHL that a team can truly settle for a point – being on the road against a Western Conference team in the 30th game of the season, there’s little risk involved in taking chances to win even if it leads to ceding a point to the other team (unless you think the Rangers are likely to face the Hawks in the finals). It’s been said that 4 on 3 can be even more dangerous than 5 on 3, and facing that situation for four minutes in overtime, I thought Poti did nothing wrong by trying to generate a scoring chance; disagree with me if you’d like. The prospect of beating Khabibulen on this night in a shootout even if they somehow managed to survive the power play was iffy at best. So it’s too bad that it didn’t work out, but in this case, save the Poti venom for another time.

- At one point in the game, Sam Rosen said “Babcock shoots it in, and John’s cellphone rings!” I thought he’d announce a big trade or something newsworthy, but it was a big letdown. Rangers Game Log has learned that it was actually his wife, who had just, for the first time, seen Bobby Granger cutting her favorite tie in half.

- Facing the three road games in four nights, I figured before the trip that I’d be happy with three out of six points. Having gotten one last night, and with the awful Blues coming up on Saturday, tonight’s game against Nashville is NOT that big of a game. Well? Not every game on an 82 game schedule is a must-win. A loss tonight would be rendered meaningless by a win on Saturday, so my advice is this (especially considering that the Predators have lost only four times in regulation this year): If you need to show your significant other that he or she is really more important than your favorite hockey team, this is the night. Take him or her to that special restaurant or romantic film, tell them how special they are and shower them with affection. “What? A stupid hockey team more important than you? HA!”

That should carry you through at least until the new year. I’ll find another game for you after that.

Whatever Happened To.....

2005-12-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

Anyone seen him around lately?

Trap This

2005-12-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

- Jacques Lemaire will never meet a set of new rules he can’t trap. With monsters such as 6’7” Derek Boogaard, 6’5” Alex Henry, 6’5” Marc Choinard on his roster, the Man Who Ruined Hockey has a veritable redwood forest with which to clog the neutral zone, and in a 1-1 game in the third, the Wild (one of three NHL teams whose team name doesn’t end with an ‘s) was sticking to the game plan.

But what’s this? The Broadway Blueshirts picking and wading their way through center ice with clever passing and skating patterns as if they’ve actually practiced this before!? After years of being jealous of teams that are 'well-coached,' the Rangers, under Tom Renney and his staff, finally qualify as such. We may get frustrated at times watching the power play, but at least it’s obvious that these guys are practicing this, and that in itself is a huge improvement from past years during which the team played very much like the random assortment of players that they were. Throw in fundamentals such as going to the net, and you have two Peter Prucha power play goals, and a big 3-1 win.

Yes, a big win. A must-win in my book. Oh man….a must-win in game 29 of a rebuilding season? In the context of a first place team that had gone off its game recently (though only losing once), and is going off for three road games in four nights, yes. And it was a full house at the Garden on a Monday night against a faceless, nameless, and downright boring opponent with perhaps the blandest uniforms in the league, yuck. You see? We told you we’d support a rebuilding team! :-)

- A lineup change, and as so often has happened this season, Tom Renney pushed the right buttons. The top line of Jagr-Straka-and Rucinsky replacing Nylander was buzzing around the net all night and, much to the chagrin of at least one fan I know, on the ice in the final minute of the game. Prucha joined Betts and the indefatigable Jason Ward to form what could be an intriguing combination, as Prucha could fit in well to their checking scheme as well as add some scoring punch on the third line. Nylander started out with Rucchin and Hossa, but he and Hossa took a seat for much of the third, as Renney shortened up and used Rucchin on the wing with Moore and Ortmeyer.

The penalty killing excelled again with five kills in as many tries, including an outstanding effort on their only one in the third period, with Rucchin getting a shorthanded chance, Ortmeyer taking the puck away in the offensive zone, and Kasparaitus, physically dominant all night, delivering one of his eight hits.

- Lundqvist seems to like playing at home. Here’s hoping that Weekes makes it back for at least one of these next three on the road.

- The Garden seems determined to milk every ounce out of the Malik shootout goal. Are you getting sick of it yet? Last night, it was one of three goals displayed on the scoreboard for fans to “vote” for as goal of the year, or something nonsensical like that, on their cellphone. Though that goal naturally won, I would have voted for Dominic Moore’s bank-in from behind the net with three seconds left in Florida, propelling the Blueshirts to a shootout win. It followed a depressing home loss to the Penguins, started the five game road trip on the right note, and was the beginning of nine wins in 11 games. The biggest goal of the year thus far, for sure, doncha think?

Sudden Change of Perspective

2005-12-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

- Everything seemed fine as I awoke on Saturday morning, despite the recent wins earned with less than completely satisfying performances because, really, winning is the bottom line (something I wouldn’t have written at the beginning of the year). I don’t spend much time agonizing over games that are wins, because hockey is not a game of perfection, and you rarely if ever see a team play a flawless game. I think back to watching the Islanders’ championship teams and recall how many times their goalies would stand on their heads to keep them in the games long enough to summon up the big plays needed to get the win. And I’d think, “jeez, they’re so lucky!”

But goaltending is part of the game, and if ours were good enough to steal some points in games in which the overall performance was lackluster, then so be it. It’s a long season, and every team has ebbs and tides that can vary according to the frequency of games, injuries, or just the slumps and streaks that inevitably come with an 82 game season.

So, riding a six game winning streak, I didn’t have a care in the hockey world, until I stumbled across this article by Steve Zipay in Newsday on Saturday morning.

…troubling signs are surfacing for the Rangers…….. teams are figuring out how to counter the system and style of the 17-7-3 Rangers…. There's the possibility that fatigue - both mental and physical - might be starting to affect some players…..And there's another road-heavy schedule looming..

And that wasn’t all – Rucinsky’s knee was still sore, the goaltending situation is precarious with Weekes (and Al Montoya) out, Jagr’s hip flexor… And suddenly, in the minute that it took me to read this piece, everything seemed less rosy than it did before….the result, I’m sure, of the years of misery that makes ones’ confidence easy to rattle, even with just some written words.

Now I didn’t feel too hot about the upcoming game in Washington that night, fears that were confirmed by the 5-1 loss which, fortunately, I didn’t get to see that much of. I can easily just chalk it up to “due to lose,” but being nine games over .500 doesn’t seem as great now as it did before they went ten over...how quickly I get spoiled! A Fish Stick win in Detroit only added further ruin to my psyche.

So now, we turn to the mysterious Western Conference, in a stretch that feels like that of interleague play in baseball given the rarity of the matchups and their concentration into short periods of time. A win against the Wild tonight would make Saturday’s loss meaningless, but despite their three game “losing” streak (they went to a shootout in New Jersey), the Blueshirts will have to solve Jacques Lemaire’s defensive system, and Manny Fernandez, the leading goalie in the league in terms of save percentage.

- It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd gathers at the Garden for this one. It’s a Monday night, on which we saw the smallest crowd of the year when the Panthers were in a few weeks ago. All the recent games have been full, but tonight we’ll see if the sellouts for the Penguins were to see Sid the Kid or a first place hockey team in New York.

- It’s been thirty years since Brad Park, Jean Ratelle, and Joe Zanussi were dealt to the Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais in what to this day remains the most shocking Rangers trade I’ve ever seen. I was actually in Philadelphia that day, and couldn’t believe what I heard. I saw a fellow Rangers fan that day, the biggest Jean Ratelle fan of all time. I remember that he had “19” written all over his sneakers…and I got to tell him about the deal. He didn’t react that well. Neither did Park. He tells NHL.com "I'm still ticked!"

Why Leetch?

2005-12-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

Still reading stories like this speculating on a possible return of Brian Leetch.

I'm going to try and say this as gently and diplomatically as possible in deference to one of the greatest players ever to don a Rangers' jersey. Brian Leetch was the leading ice-time getter and the quarterback of their star-studded but sputtering power play throughout most of seven miserable losing seasons that we all want to forget. So, forget it. Period.

Henrik the Katt

2005-12-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

- I’ve been around for awhile, but fortunately not long enough to say that I saw Emile Francis tend goal for the Rangers. I don’t know how he got the nickname of “The Cat,” whether it was reflection on his goaltending style or perhaps because he drank a lot of milk and purred if you rubbed his neck.

But Henryk Lundqvist, solid in the nets for the Blueshirts’ 2-1 win over the Pens on Thursday night, is reminding me of the first Rangers coach I ever remember (OK, I’m old enough for that) with his play. Crouched low, like a cat, or perhaps we should say, katt in honor of his Swedish roots, waiting to pounce, Lundqvist stopped 35 Penguins shots to outduel the Penguins’ young goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with Katt-like quickness, flashing his glove, his blocker, and his pads and skates, all with equal effectiveness and flash. He seems to know when to gobble up the rebounds, and when to kick the puck clear. He protects the net less economically in terms of movement than Kevin Weekes, more of the stoic, positional type, and thus projects the kind of visual panache that has made him the favorite of the fans.

Fleury was perhaps the second best player on the ice. His circus save on Darius Kasparaitus was followed by a minute of sustained Pittsburgh pressure that led to the tying goal early in the second, and he kept his team in the game in the third, as the home team revved up their play to protect their lead.

Face-offs were a topic of discussion during the off days, as the team had slackened off in that category of late. But Martin Straka, taking his only draw of the game after Nylander was tossed from the circle, battled Mark Recchi, the Pens’ best player last night, to a draw on the draw. Nylander however was able to sweep the puck back to Roszival, who passed it across to Marek Malik. If you think this guy isn’t blessed these days, take a look at how the ice parted biblically as he skated in with a clear look and an absolute clear path before beating Fleury with a wrist shot for the winning goal.

On the other hand, we saw perhaps the worst face-off effort in NHL history. With the Blueshirts briefly down two men, Dominic Moore, who continued to struggle on draws, was tossed, and Roszival stepped in to face Mario Lemiuex. Roszival made like a little point guard in a jump ball against a seven foot center, making hardly an effort at all before dropping back into position. A true defensive defenseman indeed, Roszival logged a team leading 24:51 of ice time, and was one of the keys in the Rangers’ holding Sid the Kid and Mario to a single shot apiece; that’s pretty impressive.

- Team effort in compensating for the absence of Jed Ortmeyer, as no less than 14 Rangers registered at least one blocked shot.

- I’ve been calling for Kondratiev to get a shot on the power play point, and he scored from there last night. However, a shot deflecting off of two different Penguins isn’t exactly what I had in mind.

- Energetic game for the Betts-Ward-Niemenen line. Ward throws in some nifty moves from time to time, as he did early in the second, faking Brooks Orpik out of his uniform pants and cutting towards the net for a shot. Betts outhustled Orpik to the puck in the third, and despite being hooked got the puck over to Rucinsky for a shot, and drew a key penalty with just eight minutes left.

- A funny phenomenon I’ve noticed so far this year at the Garden is that despite the team’s success, the fans are still hooked on stars of the past. Walk through the building and notice what jerseys people are wearing and you’d think it was still 1994. 11….2…..9…..35…..those are the numbers that still dominate. (One recent night, I saw two Walt Tkaczuks.) But I did see one Lundqvist jersey last night, and no doubt we’ll be seeing more of those. When I see someone wearing a Marek Malik sweater, I’ll know that this team has truly arrived.

Don't Blame Me

2005-12-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

- Saturday’s epic shootout victory against the Caps seems to have changed the landscape of hockey in this town and perhaps beyond as well. Besides vaulting the team and the sport into the public consciousness here and apparently leaving yours truly completely speechless, it may very well, as Larry Brooks speculated the other day, be the beginning of the end of the multiple overtime playoff games that have created legends out of players like Stephan Matteau and Peter Stemkowsi, and made for long nights and mornings that none of us will ever forget. While I fervently hope that is not the case, it’s hard to argue with Brooks' idea that the league would happily sell out its tradition and its fans for a favorable TV deal.

The five days since the game has allowed it to crystallize into an instant NYC sports classic. You can be sure during the next lockout, we’ll see it replayed countless times on MSG, even though the game itself is hardly worth watching again. And when the team takes to the ice tonight against the Penguins, the bond between the players and the fans will seem as if it’s been present for years. Marek Malik is now as firmly ingrained in Rangers history as Jim Dorey, even if he too never plays another game for the team.

As for me and this blog, my original concept was, obviously, to post entries after, and only after, each game. However, this has proved to be a daunting task. Those of you who are familiar with my “full-time” blog know that I devote much time to it, and between that and my real job and family duties, I’ve failed at my original goal and find that I cannot keep up with the pace. In truth, I never imagined that the team would be winning like this, and figured I could instead go off on slightly related topics such as the threat of avian flu. So, while not abandoning the blog entirely, I will change the format, as well as the name once I think of one, and check in periodically and as often as I can. Besides, my more esteemed Ranger blogger colleagues, some of whom are listed in the links section on the right, provide ample post-game commentary.

One of those bloggers, the usually irascible Hockey Rodent, after and despite describing how he spent much of Saturday’s game tossing his TV Brick at the Blueshirts for their lackluster performance, proclaimed: Despite my skepticism, despite my cynicism, I am slowly accepting what I've been denying for a third of the season. They are for real.

Surely, the occurances on Saturday night give me a sense that the magical spirits that visited the Garden some 11 years ago are still lurking somewhere in the building. Perhaps they were waiting for something, like the sound of fans cheering, to awaken them from their long slumber. However, I’m still afraid to make a proclamation like that of the Rodent, fearing the consequences of jumping on the bandwagon too soon, like the stock market bulls just before the bubble bursts. Glad that someone else did it first….now you can’t blame it on me.

Game 24 - Rangers 3 at Buffalo 2 (Shootout)

2005-11-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Record: 14-7-3, wow!
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Conference Standings: Tied for second with Montreal; four point lead over Flyers, losers at home to Tampa Bay
Islanders: Man, these turkeys got to rest at home and host the Sabres, who played an energetic game in "defeat."

“It’s not hockey.” Steve Yzerman is the latest to express that opinion. He hasn’t yet been fined as Pat Quinn was last month. Both of them explained that they were talking about the close officiating and resulting power plays. Quinn noted that five-on-five was going the way of the dodo bird. But given Quinn’s rough and tumble history, one could surmise that what he really misses is the hitting and fighting that seems to be in short supply these days.

Defenseman Lyle Odlein (can you believe this guy is still around?) was more direct when he said "It's not a man's game anymore." Hmmm, what exactly is manly about grabbing and hooking an opponent? Lack of hitting is a complaint I’ve been hearing a lot at the Garden this year, and we’ve certainly seen our share of “no-hitters.” (I’ve heard unsubstantiated rumors from the Far West, which we haven’t yet seen this season, that there’s more hitting out there.)

The fact is that there’s nothing explicitly in the new rules to outlaw hitting, unless you considered cross-checking players in the back to clear them out of the crease as a “hit.” In fact, the rules should actually increase the amount of hitting if anything. Brendan Shanahan was one of the players on the competition committee that came up with the new rules.

In October, he told the [Detroit] Free Press that the new rules, "are not an invitation for soft hockey. We felt that hooking and holding was preventing body checks. There was no need to body-check anymore when the smartest thing to do was just go put a stick on a guy."

One obvious example is the fact that a player can no longer hold up an attacking forward to prevent him from smashing a defenseman who is back behind his net retrieving the puck. [Aside: As we know, a lot of these new rules have been tried before and aren’t really new. In fact, back in 1995, Neil Smith, in explaining the second worst trade of his tenure, raised the specter of Sergei Zubov being battered into submission behind his net in the playoffs by Flyers forwards that could no longer be held up. As it turned out, the Rangers instead faced free-wheeling Quebec and Pittsburgh squads, and ten full years later, the team STILL has never replaced the offense and power play skill that Zubov provided.]

So what’s the explanation? Perhaps, as Shanahan pointed out, hooking and holding was the easy way out, and it’s just too much to ask of a team physically to sustain hitting for 82 games a year. Or maybe it’s simply a case of players becoming timid by the tight officiating. In either event, one would think that physical play will be more intense come playoff time, as is always the case.

Here’s a more radical hypothesis: During Thursday’s game in Carolina, I saw something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before in nearly 40 years of watching this sport (other than Lundqvist giving up five goals). And not only once, but twice! I saw Rangers and Hurricanes exchanging words --- pleasant ones --- in the midst of the game! In fact, I caught Nylander exchanging a smile with a Carolina player, and then Marek Malik catching up with an ex-teammate. Huh? Hockey players fraternizing during a game? Football players pummel each other for three hours, yet after the games they shake hands graciously, often embrace, and converse easily with each other. In hockey, we make this huge deal of players shaking hands after a playoff round, even as many of them just go through the motions without ever making eye contact. So what’s going on here?

Maybe, just maybe, a year of being locked out together by the league, and having to make the shared “sacrifices” (if you call making millions instead of gazillions a “sacrifice”) in the new CBA has created a sense of camaraderie amongst the players, and has actually caused them to have some respect for one another and not try to lay each other out on every shift. In addition, perhaps the players are being more mindful of the consequences of their actions on the game that still provides them a lucrative income, given the fact that more people probably watch stuff like horse racing than the NHL on TV at this point. As I said, maybe this is just a nutty idea, and in any event, it too shouldn’t really cut down on clean hitting. But perhaps at the very least, we can hope for no more scenes like the one on the ice in Vancouver in March, 2004.

- I agree with the dissenters that shootouts are not hockey. They're nothing more than a gimmick, though an effective one as far as getting the fans excited. I say this despite the fact that the Rangers are now 3-1 in them after last night's win in Buffalo. But in this case, the shootout result was justice served. The Rangers wuz robbed in regulation; Mika Noronen's ridiculous backhand kick save on Martin Straka while on his stomach is something that should certainly be outlawed by the competition committee! Roszival, who logged 26 solid minutes, made a gorgeous outlet to Jagr to start that rush. Noronen also made huge saves on Niemenen's 3rd period breakaway and a Jed Ortmeyer rebound attempt.

Oh, and those posts. Jagr hit the inside of the post right after the save on Straka, his third clank of the game; Niemenen made it four posts when he beat Noronen cleanly too. The Blueshirts also had to survive the late regulation power play after the disgraceful non-call on Mike Grier's major penalty boarding of Kasparaitus just before. Did you notice a Buffalo player, I believe Daniel Briere, bop Darius on top of his helmet as he was hunched over? So much for my theory of players having respect for each other...

Jason Strudwick's solid hit kept the puck in the zone, leading to Nylander's clutch tying goal. I mean, did you really expect them to win this game at that point, after all the posts and saves? For a guy who often can't seem to be able to put the puck in the ocean, he sure threaded a needle to get that one in.

- Oh, how we lamented the loss of Martin Rucinsky. Still a week to ten days away, this is longer than the 2-4 weeks predicted. But tell me now, who exactly in the lineup is he going to replace at this point?

Games 21 - 23

2005-11-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

Game 21: Rangers 1 at Carolina 5
Game 22: Carolina 3 Rangers 4
Game 23: Boston 2 Rangers 3
Record: 13-7-3, 29 pts
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Conference Standings: Three way tied for second
Islanders: Lingering a bit like the stench at Fulton Fish Market, having benefited from a soft stretch in the schedule.

- If I hadn’t been away for the weekend and neglected my blog, I would have, after the loss in Carolina, made the following observation regarding a 3-2 road trip that we would have been thrilled with had the two losses not come after three wins to open the trip: If they sweep the two home games over the weekend, then those two losses are meaningless.

And so, the ‘2’ in 3-2 becomes nothing more than part of the record from a successful road trip, rather than the start of a backslide into the general population of the Eastern Conference. I drove four hours back from southern Vermont on Sunday afternoon, arriving home with little time to rest before loading a reluctant Head Chef, who still doesn’t grasp the fact that a trip to a Rangers game can actually be entertaining after four years of putting up with them…..and with me putting up with them, into the car for the drive to Manhattan.

To show you how little of the perspective that I’ve urged us all to keep I still retain after merely seven measely regulation losses in 23 games, I actually found myself a bit disappointed that they weren’t more dominant against a struggling Bruins’ squad that has now lost six in a row. It certainly wasn’t a bad game for the Blueshirts, and Henryk Lundqvist made just one memorable save (though what a save it was, robbing 20 year old Patrice Bergeron), but I’d told the Head Chef that I was expecting something along the lines of a 4-1 triumph.

It was a bit of a strange game. The Garden was full once again, and with the Thanksgiving holiday upon us and old rival Boston in town, I sensed a real buzz in the air. Tom Renney is unpredictable if nothing else, and did not return to the formula of starting the 4th line which proved so effective in setting the tone the day before. The home team still got off to a quick start, but the game slowed down pretty quickly, and we never saw much of the wide open play that has become more commonplace in this latest era of the NHL. But all four lines – and when’s the last time that we’ve seen this kind of stability in the line combos – and the defense played fairly soundly in the team’s third game in four days, and tenth in 18.

The power play, which accounted for three goals on Saturday and one on Sunday, remains a bit of an enigma. The situation on the point has not been resolved despite Roszival’s goal on Saturday, and when they failed to convert and add to a 1-0 lead on three chances in the second, it brought a sense of dread which was verified when the Bruins tied the game early in the third. Then Jagr’s power play goal got the Rangers back on track. What an amazing little backhand shove-pass to Niemenen he made on the eventual winning goal.

A word on Maxim Kondratiev, about whom I seem to have a different opinion than some others; guess I’m noticing the good, while others notice the bad. He did seem a bit shakier to me last night, but still chipped in with four hits, and is consistently amongst the team leaders in that category. I would still like to see him get a shot at the point on the first power play unit. Going back to the first period of Thursday’s game, a low, on-net bee-bee on a one-timer indicates to me that he could possibly supply some of the shot threat that the team needs in order to help relieve some of the pressure teams are putting on Jagr.

- Five hits for Ryan Hollweg. An off night on face-offs for Betts and Moore, who dominated them the day before. The team could use a rest, but they hit the road for two more games this week, including a Thanksgiving night game in Atlanta, what the hell is up with that? Remember, when the Wednesday night before was a traditional home game and major party night? The marijuana smoke in the stairwells was particularly thick on those nights… Yet another game, at home, on Saturday night, and then a much needed four day break.

Game 20 - Rangers 1 at Toronto 2

2005-11-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Game 20 – Rangers 1 at Toronto 2
Record: 11-6-3, 25 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Conference Standings: 4th
Islanders: Idle

- It was an increasingly rare Original Six matchup for the Broadway Blueshirts, as the Rangers are the only one of the six who do not play in a division that has at least another one. So as opposed to Montreal, Boston, and Toronto, who all play each other eight times and are surely sick of each other, these games still seem a little special to me; especially with the two teams in their classic jerseys. Is anyone else out there old enough to remember the time that the Rangers would have tons of fans rooting for them at the old Maple Leaf Gardens? As a kid I used to keep a collection of reel-to-reel tapes of radio and TV play-by-play calls of goals, and I specifically remember one game in which Win Elliot’s calls of Ranger goals on channel 9 were drowned out by the cheers from the Toronto crowd.

The explanation was always that the Blueshirts had gained a following there from playing many of their “home” playoff games there. That’s right; the team played second fiddle in the Garden to the circus, was banished from their home ice come playoff time, and found a second home in Toronto, apparently gaining significant support there. Those who ridicule the team’s paltry Cup-winning record conveniently ignore this fact. I imagine the Islanders wouldn’t have won their four Cups if they played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover.

- Big Plays: Well, once again I’m forced to point to two questionable (and in one of those cases, ‘questionable’ doesn’t even begin to apply) penalty calls as big turning points in the game. It seemed the team was a bit awestruck in their first game in Toronto and it was a decidedly shaky start, and the visitors dodged a bullet on Matt Stajan’s early miss of a wide open net. But they were settling down as the period went on, thanks in part to hard work by the 4th line, and let’s once again mention Maxim Kondratiev. I am extremely impressed by this guy; he may look a bit lumbering at first glance, but he’s quick with his feet and hands, shows excellent instincts, and seems to thrive on physical play. When the Leafs were hitting early, he was one of the guys who was taking it and dishing it out as well, even delivering a ferocious open-ice hit on Darcy Tucker.

It was Tucker who shot the puck in at the Ranger blue line late in the first and after one of three failed power plays; Roszival hit him just after he released the puck and was hit with a ponderous interference penalty. When Dominic Moore was whistled for a hook which was minor but consistent with the calls we’ve seen this year, the Leafs already dangerous power play went five-on-three, leading to McCabe’s first goal.

After Jagr tied the game in the second, the Blueshirts threatened to take over this game. The line of Rucchin-Hossa-Niemenen was particularly effective on this night. Niemenen may have lacked conditioning at the beginning of the year, and is skating much better now; and Hossa, who has been a fixture on the second line all year, is showing grit and determination, and was relentless in his best game as a Ranger with four shots and a disallowed goal after he knocked the puck down with a high stick. The momentum continued early into the third and it seemed just a matter of time. Until….

The 4th line was pressing deep; Ortmeyer skated out from behind the net and cruised by Belfour, who was way out of his crease. As he went by, it looked like Belfour stuck out his skate into Ortmeyer’s path, and they grazed without much incident. Yet the Ranger forward was whistled for an absurd interference call that I don’t even know what to say about. Not only did it lead to the winning goal, but the Blueshirts never were able to regain their flow. Now yes, blame the team for not converting on a subsequent power play of their own (on a dicey elbowing call on McCabe), but that call on Ortmeyer completely changed the game. And if I sound like a homer….well, I am!!

When Martin Straka took Jagr’s perfect breakaway pass with around six minutes left, and grazed the inside of the post after beating Belfour cleanly, I suffered my first major meltdown of the season, leading the Head Chef to make sure I was OK. The team seemed to sag as well, spending the next minute running around in their own zone and leaving it to Weekes to keep them close, and were never able to mount another serious threat, despite Blair Betts’ two super-clutch faceoff wins (against Sundin) in the final minute.

- Betts was 14-4 on faceoffs; Nylander was 2-10.

Game 19 - Rangers 6 at Pittsburgh 1

2005-11-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

Record: 11-5-3, 25 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Conference Standing: Tied for 3rd with Carolina
Islanders: A perfectly good night at the Mauseleum watching their garishly orange-clad heros ruined by the incessant sight of the Rangers winning, and maintaining their nine point bulge.

- Things have now gotten to the point at which I’m actually worrying about when to schedule a late winter vacation so as not to miss a possible dramatic playoff run, oh man. The Head Chef and I like to go away sometime in March, and I haven’t lost much sleep over the timing the last few years. In 2002, I was in Jamaica when the team acquired Pavel Bure from the Panthers, yet still lost at home to Vancouver in his debut and then were humiliated by a pitiful Atlanta team 5-2 at home (and if I’m not mistaken, that was the game in which Richter suffered a fractured skull); two of seven losses in eight games that doomed their playoff hopes.

In 2003, we were in Grenada and only missed three games at the beginning of March. The team went 2-0-1, including a resounding 5-1 win against the Flyers at the Garden in which they scored four goals in less than a seven minute stretch in the first (Holik, Nedved, Lundmark, Dan LaCouture – do we miss any of those guys?). But when I returned, they dropped their next three in a row on their way to oblivion. 2004 was too pitiful to even remember, and last year was, of course, a free pass.

Going back just a little further, I was actually in Florida the night in February, 1979 that Denis Potivn hit Ulf Nilsson, breaking his leg. I remember trying to tune the game in on radio, and between the signal fading in and out, caught something about the Islanders being held shotless in the second period, and about some kind of injury… To this day, I have still never, ever seen that play. So when everyone goes “Potvin Sucks,” I’m not really entirely sure why, and in my more mature days, I would substitute Nystrom, by far, in my opinion, the most despicable of the Islander players during that time oh so long, long ago, when they used to be good.

Coming into this season, in which the team would rebuild and not even be concerned with a playoff spot, the last thing I thought I’d be worrying about is when to go away. Now, with their gaudy 11-5-3 record, I find myself consulting the schedule, and thinking which week I’ll miss less games. Even worse, I must admit that the thought has crossed my mind that by then, they'll have a playoff spot virtually locked up. A sure sign that I’m getting quickly sucked in. Rebuilding? Now?

- I wondered after the Tampa Bay game what would happen if, in addition to the supporting cast continuing to produce, Jaomir Jagr regained his touch. The answer is Saturday’s facile 6-1 win in Pittsburgh. Amongst all the fine efforts in that game, I noticed that of Maxim Kondratiev, who is showing more confidence with each game, keeping the useful Jason Strudwick out of the lineup. He moves the puck with alacrity and confidence, isn’t afraid of the physical stuff, and could prove to be an asset on the power play in time. And he’s just one half of the return for the now-injured Brian Leetch. The other, Jarkko Immonen, currently leads the Wolfpack in scoring with 7 goals and 6 assists in 15 games.

Game 18 - Rangers 5 at Tampa Bay 2

2005-11-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Record: 10-5-3, 23 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen: On MSG
Conference Standings: Tied for third with Carolina, who have four games in hand.
Islanders: Fail to provide help for the Rangers by wasting a 2-0 lead in Philly, how's that for optimism? And for losing perspective? The Flyers have not lost at home since dropping the season opener to the Rangers.

- I find myself kinda at a loss for words this morning in the wake of the Rangers’ 5-2 win on the road against the defending Cup champs. A double digit win total puts a team in the league’s elite at this time of the year, so what’s going on here? In the space of 24 hours, they went from the brink of a disheartening second loss in a row to pulling away to a relatively easy 4th win in five games. The team didn’t get their tenth win last season until Dec 4, 2003, in their 26th game.

So, I thought I’d turn to the vanquished Lightning to provide their impressions of the surprise leaders of the Atlantic Division, the Flyers' four games in hand be damned.

"We sucked," Lightning coach John Tortorella said after watching the Rangers score four goals in the third period. "This game is different from the other ones. I don't think we played as poorly in the other losses." [Tampa Tribune]

Oh. OK, let’s see what the papers there had to say.

The Lightning coughed up a fur ball that would have choked Garfield during Thursday night's dreadful 5-2 loss to the Rangers…

First there were the missed scoring chances. Then the sloppy turnovers that helped serve up goals to New York on a silver platter.

To borrow an old joke, look in the dictionary under How to Lose and there will be a team picture of the Lightning.

And the Lightning might have hit bottom. [St. Petersburg Times]

Post-game assessments in any sport can be a funny thing; you rarely hear anything beyond a biased assessment of one’s own team’s performance, and one can often think that they’re reading about two different games based on the quotes coming out of the locker rooms and from the respective beat reporters.

In this case, it was obvious that the Lightning were sluggish in their fifth loss in a row. The contrast between them and the hard-charging though less talented Panthers from the night before was obvious. Yet, consider this: The visitors won despite perhaps the most ineffective game of the season from their top line and premier player. Jagr was credited with just one shot on goal; and not even any missed shots. Was I imagining that Renney replaced him with Petr Prucha in that familiar spot at the right faceoff circle on the Blueshirts’ final power play? Michael Nylander couldn’t finish a connect-the-dots puzzle these days. The top power play unit was awful again, with the only extra-man goal scored by Dominic Moore.

So just how impressive is it that the slack was ably picked up by guys like Moore, Prucha, plus two and an incredible sequence in which he made two sprawling blocks on three sprawling attempts, Maxim Kondratiev, displaying a strong physical element to his game, Fedor Tyutin, plus three on the night, Ville Niemenen, burying his breakaway opportunity, and Ryan Hollweg, with three hits and boundless energy that made it seem like he played more than the 6:45 he was credited with. And that they were able to overcome that disheartening sequence in which Nylander's double miss was followed by Leclavier's tying goal? Plus the usual flawless penalty killing by Ortmeyer, Betts, Rucchin and company. The team is getting scoring from all four of their lines across the board, and who would have thought that? A testament to the team effort is that the most memorable aspect of Lundqvist’s performance was the long pass he made to Marcel Hossa to set up Niemenen’s tally.

So what happens when Jagr starts to play well again? What’s going on here anyway?

- Now that Moore has already scored the three goals on this trip that I predicted, let’s try again. Despite the woes of the top line described earlier, Martin Straka is showing some good jump, and should net at least a pair before the Blueshirts return to MSG next Saturday. In addition, Marek Malik has been absolutely robbed on at least two occasions I remember, and seems to have a decent low shot that he gets on goal. Look for him to score one before the end of the calendar year.

- I hope this isn’t a bad sign, but the 2001-02 edition of the Broadway Blueshirts also won their tenth game on November 10th in their 18th game. It was a 4-2 win in Buffalo, the 4th win of a six game winning streak, as Mike York broke a 2-2 tie with second and third period goals, and Don Blackburn stopped 29 shots.

Game 17 - Rangers 4 at Florida 3 (shootout)

2005-11-10T06:31:00.000-08:00

Record: 9-5-3, 21 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen: On MSG and Fox Sports Florida
Standings: 4th in the conference, but beware the four games in hand enjoyed by Philly and Ottawa; three by Carolina
Islanders: Tied for 10th with the Devils

- There was a point during this game at which I started to experience a real sense of dread. Trailing a hard-charging Panthers team in their first game of a five game road trip after dropping the last one at home, I peeked warily at the upcoming games and started, for the first time this season, to have my doubts. I had already tabbed tonight’s game in Tampa against the slumping Lightning as a “must game.” There’s nothing more that can, at times, make this all seem like a house of cards than the nominal number one defense pairing of Michael Roszival and Marek Malik, and the pair was again caught standing motionless in their own zone as, at one point, Nathan Horton was left alone for one, two, three shots on goal, with time to scan through the latest issue of Hockey News in between.

I thought an early turning point was the clean and unpenalized hit on Branislav Mezei by Ryan Hollweg that put him out of the game with an apparent knee injury. The check seemed to energize the Panthers, and they started to skate with purpose and take the play. The visitors were somehow able to weather the storm and find themselves tied at two midway through the game, and the tide seemed to be turning in their favor. Then came one of two awful calls, or non-call in this case, each of which helped to stop their momentum cold. Petr Prucha was at it again, battling in the corner with a much larger player, yet coming away with the puck. The fact that it was against veteran piece of shit Eric Cairns made it only a bit less impressive. Cairns reached out and pulled Prucha down, and incredibly there was no call, even though one of the clueless officials was right on top of the play. Soon after, Malik did his best statue imitation at the blue line as Olli Jokinen whizzed by and he pulled him down, leading to the Panthers’ only power play goal in 11 attempts.

Again in the third, it was the Blueshirts taking the play after killing off a double minor to start the period, as Renney looked to prod the tying goal out of his gritty squad. At one point, after an energetic shift by the 4th line followed by a TV time out, he left Moore and Ortmeyer on and brought out Jagr, who took that shift and then was joined by his regular linemates. When Jay Bouwmeester, who would ultimately turn out to be the goat of the game, took a tripping penalty at 8:47, things were really looking up. For 31 seconds anyway, before Nylander was penalized on an absolutely awful goalie interference call on a play on which he was clearly pushed into Luongo. Not only did it end the power play, but two subsequent Ranger penalties had them shorthanded for much of the next five minutes. Y’know, I’m not one to generally blame the officiating, but these were not only inept decisions, they both came at times at which the Rangers were taking the play to the home team and helped to completely stall their drive.

- The power play clicked on its first attempt, getting much better point play with Martin Straka, whose shot was converted on the rebound by Rucchin. But it proved inept the rest of the night, and once again, the Rangers had that first power play team on late in the game – twice - but couldn’t convert. What exactly was Roszival doing on the ice on the final one in the last minute? He fumbled Jagr’s picture perfect pass in the high slot and then took a penalty to neutralize the advantage with 21 seconds to go.

But credit Renney with having Dominic Moore on the ice at the end. I’m sure that he put him out there specifically so that he could lose the ensuing faceoff cleanly, allowing Bouwmeester to stupidly ice the puck and set up the tying score. Moore did the smart thing – really, the only thing he could do – in throwing the puck at the net, and after nearly two full games of bad bounces, lousy calls, and sticks breaking at the wrong time, the Rangers finally got the break they needed.

- Perhaps the deftest maneuver of the night was the one by Cablevision to scramble and pick up the Fox feed from Florida when MSG lost transmission just after the overtime.

- Sal Messina was in the booth on this night, and when asked before the game what he thought of Lundqvist, he emphasized that he’s great “down low.” Indeed, the Panthers beat the rookie up high for their three goals.

Game 16 – Penguins 3 Rangers 2

2005-11-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

Record – 8-5-3, 19 pts.
Last Year – 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen From: Sec 422/D/7
Islanders: Resting on the laurels of their 6-8 start.

- It was a full house at the Garden, and a lively Monday night crowd at that. Was the crowd there to see Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux? Or was there the kind of big walk-up crowd that reflects a growing excitement with a team that is winning? The first Monday game of the season, against Florida, was one of the smallest regular season crowds in memory; but now, the seats were filled and the fans were fully engaged. While I suppose that Crosby had something to do with that, I highly doubt the place would have been nearly as full if the Rangers were 3-12.

As far as the game goes, I'm putting this one in the "mama told me there'd be nights like this" category. While the execution at times left something to be desired, the team played hard and never quit after going down 3-0 against a fired-up Penguins squad that has now won three out of four on the road. They had 37 shots, and seemed to have to work hard for every one. The puck just was not bouncing their way on what seemed to be a very bad ice surface (though apparently not for Crosby), especially for Tom Poti, who drew the wrath of the crowd, for a change, for letting two dribbling pucks hop over his stick at the point.

Both occurrences came, of course, at the most inopportune of times for the luckless defenseman. The first time was off of a clean face-off win by Blair Betts at the start of a crucial power play with 3:47 left and the home team having drawn within one. It was a bad start, and it took around 50 seconds for the team to finally set up. Only Jagr got a shot on goal and as he did all night, Sebastian Caron gobbled it up without a rebound to spare. The second miscue effectively ended the game, coming with 12 seconds left and the Rangers scrambling for the tie with the extra attacker (Petr Prucha, in his only appearance of the third period).

It wasn’t only Poti the puck was bouncing around for. Seconds after the Blueshirts’ second goal, Jagr was fed a perfect pass in the slot for what looked like would be the equalizer, only to have the puck hop right over his stick. They would not have a similarly glorious chance for the rest of the night, but again, not for lack of effort.

However, it was another good night for Tom Renney, who did everything he could in the third period to try and bring his team back, and he pushed all the right buttons and almost pulled it off. He benched Prucha, who didn’t seem to have nearly the jump he did on Saturday, and replaced him with Ryan Hollweg, a dynamo all night, on the Rucchin line with Marcel Hossa. Hollweg responded with a goal and an assist; how’s that for bench coaching? He got his first NHL goal on an impressive one-time low screamer right through the five hole to get the home team on the board and back in the game soon after Weekes stopped Ziggy Pallfy on a penalty shot. And there he was, deservedly, on the ice in the final minute of the game.

Ville Niemenen was back and was moved up to the Jagr line in the third, with Straka moving alongside Blair Betts and Jason Ward. Dominic Moore still hasn’t scored against anyone other than Montreal, but had good jump and showed some nifty stop-and-go moves. I predict that he’ll score three goals on the upcoming five game road trip.

- As far as Poti goes, I'm usually willing to overlook the occasional miscue of a young defenseman who shows skating, stickhandling, and offensive potential. But this guy is now 28, and if he's not going to score 10-12 goals, chip in at least 25 helpers, and help direct the power play then I don't really see what the point is. He shows no signs of doing any of the above, and looks like a guy who could use a fresh start somewhere. Again.

- An ugly minus three for Michael Roszival. Hollweg had six shots on goal and was credited with four hits, though it seemed as if he had more. Moore was 8-4 on faceoffs.

Game 15 - Rangers 3 Devils 2 (Shootout)

2005-11-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

Record: 8-4-3, 19 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen From: Sec 422/D/5
Islanders: It must have been a particular sense of dread for Islander fans with which they headed into an almost unwinnable game in Ottawa after seeing their hated rivals win once again. They lost 6-0

- Big Plays 8-4-3 seems like pretty lofty territory, doesn’t it? The Blueshirts got two points by virtue of Petr Prucha’s shoot-out goal and they haven’t lost to the Devils in regulation in four games now, earning ~~11 out of 12~~ seven out of eight (long weekend) possible points, wow.

It was only fitting that Prucha scored the winning tally, as his hard work helped to lead his team out of a funk that led to a 2-0 deficit midway through the game. Weekes was beaten on a perfect ringer off the post by Gionta, his third goal in two games against the Rangers’ netminder, who as otherwise solid and in no way deserved the handful of derisive cheers that greeted his next save...I mean, please!

Besides his flashy offensive talents, Prucha shows a remarkable ability to come out of the corners with pucks won from much beefier opponents. The mood at the Garden was grim as the Rucchin-Hossa-Prucha line came on following the Devs’ second goal. Roszival, who played a great game, shot the puck in and Prucha, with help from Marcel Hossa, who had his best game in weeks, went to work. Prucha pursued the puck into the corner and took a stiff check from six-foot-three, 215 pound Sean Brown. Yet with his legs always churning he managed to come away with the puck, shaking off another attempt by the frustrated Brown, and eventually helped set up a scoring chance when he took a run at Erik Rasmussen, who gave it away right to Rucchin for the shot. Though they didn’t score (and in fact Weekes had to stop Rasmussen on an ensuing two-on-one), it was a portent of the hard work that the home team displayed for the rest of the game.

On the next shift for this line, Brian Rafalski beat Prucha to the puck in the corner of the Devils’ zone, but Prucha smacked the veteran defenseman to the boards, bounced off and fell. He got himself right up, went back and picked up the puck kinda like ‘oops, forgot something,’ and again came away with clear possession. Some additional good work by Hossa led to the first of two penalties that would give the Blueshirts the five-on-three on which Prucha converted Jagr’s pass to get them on the board.

- I haven’t been as down on Niemenen as many others seem to be, at least stupid penalties aside. But it took me a long time to think of who was scratched in order to dress Strudwick as a forward, so I guess I didn't miss him. Renney seems to be making those little moves that help the team win. Kondratiev had a solid game, and Strudwick played a key role in the hard work tying goal, crashing the net (which I guess isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be) and getting his stick on the puck before Betts found it for the score.

- Sign of the times: The New York Times is no longer printing NHL box scores other than for the three local teams. So while you’ll still be able to see who led the Sacramento Kings in offensive rebounds, forget about seeing who scored the winning goal in any hockey game not involving a local team. I wonder if they’ve gotten a single complaint.

- I still think shootouts are stupid, but the crowd was on their feet throughout, and the roars and groans were resounding. Weekes looked like Mike Richter on his contortionist stop on Langenbrunner, and Jagr ran into bad luck for the second time in his two shootout attempts.

- The game started a grueling week. Yes, it's true, the Rangers DO play teams other than Montreal, New Jersey, and the Islanders. Monday’s game against the Pens is the first of four games in six days; with road games in Florida, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh on Wed, Thurs, and Saturday nights, eek.

Game 14 - Rangers 4 at Devils 2

2005-11-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

2005 Record: 7-4-3, 17 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Days In First Place: [gulp]
Islanders: Crushed at home 5-1. Hey Islander fans, aren't you happy that hockey is back?

- Petr Prucha and Ryan Hollweg were back in the lineup as the effect of the injury to Martin Rucinsky continued to ripple through the lineup. During neither of Rucinsky’s two prior stints with the team, when he was a lesser light than many if not most of the other players on the roster, would his being hurt have nearly such implications, which shows how much things have changed. Whatsmore, the angst caused by the injury, particularly amongst those loudly questioning why Prucha wasn’t called up for Monday’s game (and I’m sure they feel vindicated by the way he played in this one) shows, I think, that the impressive start of the season has us all pretty hepped up, and thinking in terms that we’re not really supposed to this year.

Because, really, a two- to-four week injury to a 34 year-old signed to a one-year contract on a team in the first year of what many have projected to be a long rebuilding program is really a non-event in the long-term scheme of things, which is what this season is supposed to be about. A 7-4-3 start has us all dreaming of hockey in springtime, and why shouldn’t it? Damn it, I’m SICK of missing the playoffs and I don’t want to wait another three-four years; I’m tired of the taunts by Islander fans who haven’t seen their sorry-ass franchise on the winning side of a handshake line since 1993. But I think things need to be kept in perspective here. If the Blueshirts were 4-7-3 instead of 7-4-3 with the same effort and spunk they’ve shown for most of their games, we’d have to be happy with that, right? And ditto if they continue to display effort and grit but fail to qualify for the post-season, because in the big picture, making or missing the playoffs this year isn’t supposed to be the point as long as young players develop and grow throughout the year, giving us hope for the future.

There’s years and years of damage to be undone, and it’s natural to be skeptical of roster moves and non-moves because of the demonstrated incompetence of Sather. But the fact is that we’re stuck with him for now, and as another inept leader who somehow still has his job recently said: we have to fight with the GM we have, not the GM we wish we had (or something like that). So I’m putting my trust in Tom Renney and his staff, and if they felt that Prucha would better benefit from some ice time in Hartford – and who’s to say that his stint there didn’t contribute to his performance in Jersey - or if they want to soon take another look at Fedor Fedorov (who I’m not quite as down on – yet – as others seem to be), I’m not going to question it. In the long term picture, the question of who is playing wing on the second or third line in a game on Halloween night is just a tiny part of a rebuilding process that certainly isn’t supposed to produce the results we desire overnight. Even if a good start has us thinking (and hoping!) that it just might.

Big Plays - Kevin Weekes had little chance on Langenbrunner’s perfectly placed roofer to open the scoring, but he served notice of his sharpness during an ensuing two minute five-on-three five early in the game. It helped that Kozlov missed a wide-open net, and Roszival was splendid in the last thirty seconds with a block and two clears. Weekes made a huge save late in the game after the Devs cut the lead to 3-2, when Mogilny fed a streaking Gionta in front as Malek lost his stick trying to check the latter. On the radio pre-game show, I heard Don LaGreca say that Weekes, being a “big goalie,” is the type that gives the Devils trouble. What the hell does that mean? Perhaps the Rangers should dress Channing Frye on Saturday?

With the Blueshirts up 2-1 with 14 minutes left in the second, the Jagr-Nylander-Straka line, left intact all night, had a dominating shift resulting in some good chances foiled by Devils goalie...who the hell was that guy anyway? That led to a TV time out, and after a brief shift by the Rucchin line, Renney rolled the big guys right back out. It was well into the second minute of that shift that Jagr demanded the puck behind the Jersey net, stood there unchecked for what seemed like a minute, came out, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing when he lobbed the puck off this strange goalie’s mask, right to Nyalnder, who knocked it down and stuffed it in for what would turn out to be the winning goal.

- I know this is a totally incongruous comparison, but Prucha reminds me a bit of Mario Marios. Probably just the uniform number 25 and the slight build; certainly Marios had none of the Czech’s considerable offensive skills. But perhaps it’s Prucha’s fearlessness too, venturing into the corner against Dan McGillis and coming away with the puck; or gliding into the crease against Malakhov and putting a perfect tip on net.

- Straka looked like Stevie Wonderboy streaking from nowhere to get back and help break up what looked like a sure two-on-one; man, he can skate. He added another assist and now has 14 on the year. That’s also Jagr’s goal total. He just shrugged off a helpless Richard Matvichuk on his first tally and added the empty net goal.

- A graphic after the game said that it’s the first time the Blueshirts have defeated the Devils twice in one season since 1996-97, when they also took Jersey in five games in their last playoff appearance.

Game 13 - Montreal 4 Rangers 1

2005-11-01T04:45:00.000-08:00

Record: 6-4-3, 13 pts
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts
Seen From: Sec 422/D/7
Islanders: For Halloween. Islander fans generally dress up as Islander fans. Pretty scary, I say.

- A very, very long time ago, when I used to bet on creatures with less than four legs, one of my favorite angles was betting the visiting team in the second half of a home and home series when that team had dropped the first game at home. I think the road team has a big psychological advantage in those cases - pissed off after losing at home, while the home team has to have something in their subconscious telling them 'well, if we beat them on the road...' So, I was expecting the worst when I entered the Garden last night, especially with the Canadiens having lost at home on a Saturday night, a defeat which drew howls of despair from the press, fans, and coaching staff alike.

And for the most part, my fears were well-founded. The Canadiens were a determined bunch, playing with intensity and determination that were noticeably lacking from the home team. As if Montreal needed any further inspiration, I cringed during an early time out when, instead of the usual blaring music – heaven forbid we should ever have a couple of moments of silence to gather our thoughts! – they showed highlights of Saturday’s game, with the narrator loudly pointing out that it was a “shaky Jose Theodore” in the nets. Oh man. Did they really need to rub it in like that? Theodore was not shaky at all last night, repelling every Ranger shot in the first two periods, when they actually had some good scoring chances.

Yet, with nine minutes left, there we were, on our feet celebrating a tying goal. How did that happen? Henryk Lundqvist was outstanding once again keeping the game scoreless through two, frustrating Les Habs late in the second when they were two men up, showing his uncanny anticipation to thwart Richard Zednik and Pierre Daganais with quick skate saves and drawing two standing ovations from the adoring crowd. But after Koivu tipped in a Craig Rivet point shot as the power play continued early in the third (thanks to Kasparaitus’ double high-sticking minor), the Rangers evaporated and the Canadiens picked up their play. They thwarted every attempted Rangers rush with a tenacious neutral zone……dare I say, trap? It sure looked like “old hockey” – not to be confused with “old-time hockey,” when there were things like hitting and retaliating for dirty hits that leave key players injured.

Finally, it was Ville Niemenen who gave the Blueshirts a shot with some hard work in deep that led to a penalty, and Theodore who gave them some life with a touch of the puck outside the trapezoid. It was apparent that the Rangers would need to have a five-on-three to score, and Jagr did on his usual one-timer. But when play reverted back to mere five-on-four, the Canadiens quickly took charge as Niklas Sundstrom stripped the puck from a sub-par Michael Nylander and fed Steve Begin for a short-handed goal that you could see coming from a mile away.

- Rucinsky’s absence was apparent from the first shift, on which Dominic Moore, who led the team with 23 minutes on ice, replaced Straka on the top line. The latter was shifted down to Rucchin’s line to try and spread the offense a bit. Moore also replaced Rucinsky on the top power play unit; as much as we love Moore, the fluid Czech connection on that unit is a dangerous asset and will be missed. Fedor Fedorov again showed flashes of strength and skill, but sat for most of the third.

- While Lundqvist can’t be blamed on any of the goals, the loss opens the way for Renney to give Kevin Weekes a start in New Jersey in Thursday night.

Game 12 – Rangers 5 at Montreal 2

2005-10-30T18:29:00.000-08:00

Record – 6-3-3, 15 pts.
Last Year – 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen: On tape; out to dinner. Penance for the Head Chef coming to the Breeders’ Cup.
Points out of 8th: Lead Devils by three for first.
Islanders: Lose 6-4 at home, as scoreboard shows Blueshirts ahead. You gotta love that.

- Big Plays – Forget about the goaltending controversy – Henryk Lundqvist has put Tom Renney into a situation in which he has little choice but to ride his hot streak as long as it goes. No way Weekes starts at home for the time being; imagine the crowd reaction Monday night if he started and gave up an early softie. While Lundqvist made a few saves in the ‘dazzling’ category, he seems to position himself in anticipation so well that he makes many of them look routine. Late in the first, with the Blueshirts up 3-0 and the Habs on a power play, Kasparaitus made a terrible clearing attempt that was intercepted and sent to Saku Koivu in the slot. He faked a shot and made a nifty move to get off a backhand shot but Lundqvist was just waiting for it, like “get that crap outta here.”

His most spectacular and crucial saves of the game came shortly after the Canadiens cut the lead to 3-2, with the home team buzzing and the crowd howling. On a play virtually identical to Montreal's second goal, Pierre Dagenais was left all alone at the top of the slot; he one-timed a perfect feed that Lundqvist came out to stop; the rebound came right back out to Dagenais and this time Lundqvist stuck out his right skate and kicked it to the boards. When the puck was slid back towards the net, Lundqvist was there waiting.

The saves occured four minutes before the Blueshirts regained control on one of the nicest goals of the year. Ortmeyer, moved up to the second line for defensive purposes (Fedor Fedorov had a much better effort, showing strength and registering four hits), tipped the puck in and hustled around the defenseman to be the first to the puck behind the net. He gave it to Rucinsky, who did a great job eluding a defender to feed to Ortmeyer along the boards. Ortmeyer, almost doing a Jagr imitation, one-timed a picture perfect pass right to Rucchin, who had established position in front of the net and was able to swipe it in on the backhand.

Ortmeyer and Dominic Moore continue to impress beyond our expectations. Moore once again showed a deft pair of hand with his quick shot off a rush to the net for his first goal; and on his second, it was like ‘ready, aim, fire’ as he picked a spot up high and was bulls-eye for the fifth goal that sealed the game for the spunky visitors.

- Al Montoya stopped 51 out of 53 shots to lead the Wolfpack to victory Saturday night; and Petr Prucha, who perhaps will be recalled to replace Rucinsky, who was unfortunately injured Saturday on a hit well after he’d passed the puck that wasn’t called as a penalty, had a goal and an assist. Jarkko Immonen continues to excel with four goals, three assists, and a team leading plus five after eight games. Hugh Jessiman has no points and a minus two rating; oh man.

Game 11 - Islanders 1 Rangers 3

2005-10-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Record - 5-3-3, 13 pts.
Last year - 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen From - Sec 422/ Row D/ Seat 7
Points out of 8th - I know that the minute I eliminate this category, bad things will happen.
Islanders - With all the talk of their "sweep" last week, they got 3 pts and we got 4 in the three games.

- We had an extra ticket for the game, so I put this ad on Craig’s List:

I have one extra for tonight. Section 422 (center ice). Season ticket price of $22.50. ($25 for Islander fans; $50 for Islander fans wearing the orange third jersey; $100 for Republican Islander fans wearing the Fishstick jersey)

It was just a little good-humored banter, but I received in response the usual tired “1 since 40” and “let me know when you win 4 cups in a row” crap from humorless Icelander fans. One guy responded

I am wearing an Islander jersey with the gormans fishsticks logo and you are still wearing the jersey of a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in seven years.

How much for the ticket?

I’ll tell you man, those jerseys are like John Kerry’s “I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it” gaffe, which was described by some in the GOP as “the gift that keeps on giving.” We wouldn’t have the “We Want Fishsticks” chant if not for those uniforms. And besides having very bad taste in fashion, did this guy actually think I was going to sell him the ticket?

- Big Plays - Hockey’s a funny game indeed. Just a week after the Rangers carried the play to their rivals at the Garden but came away with a "loss," it was the opposite scenario for most of this one, except this was a real loss for the visitors. Having 11 power plays, including four consecutive ones in the third period helped their cause to be sure, but other than an initial burst out of the gate off the layoff, the Rangers seemed to be a step behind all night, and most of the penalties were chasing infractions. They didn’t seem as cohesive as they’ve been prior, and newcomers Fedor Fedorov and Jeff Taffe didn’t add much.

With the home team up 2-0 but back on their heels a bit midway through the second, Jagr had the puck behind the net and tried to bank it off DiPietro. It almost worked too, but the puck fell short of the line as D.P. (do they really call him that?) scrambled to cover up. Suddenly, the puck squirted free and Tom Poti (T.P.), lurking on the other side, was looking at an open net with the Isles’ goalie sprawled helplessly. However, his shot struck the leg of Trent Hunter, who had plunged into the net to cover, and bounced away. Replays showed that Hunter barely managed to stop the puck just on the line, keeping his squad in the game.

However, in the commotion over determining whether the puck went over the line, what was overlooked was the play that Jagr made to set up Poti for the shot. Despite being shoved and pinned at the back of the net by Alexei Zhitnik after his bank attempt, Jagr saw the puck sitting along the goal line, somehow managed to wrap his stick around the goal post and poke at the puck with a backhand tip, directing it across the goalmouth and right to the luckless Poti. It was a truly remarkable play, demonstrating his extraordinary strength and vision, and was inches away from being his third point of the night.

- All too often, the person who selects the three stars is obviously looking only at the score sheet. Yes, Jagr, awarded the first star, set up both first period goals, but during the crucial third period in which the Rangers were constantly shorthanded, he was barely on the ice. It was the penalty killing duos of Ortmeyer-Moore, Betts-Ward, and Rucchin-Rucinsky, and all the D that combined to block 25 shots in a penalty killing performance that was more scrambly than anything else, and to me, Ortmeyer was the standout and deserved some post-game honors for his relentless effort. He had four blocked shots, a big clear with three minutes left, and his check on Satan in the last minute dislodged the puck and led to Betts’ clinching empty-netter.

- Former Hartford Wolfpack goalie Jason Labarbera is 5-0 for the Kings, with a 1.4 goals against and a save percentage of 94.7%.

2005-10-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

Game 10 – Rangers 1 at Buffalo 3

Record – 4-3-3, 11 pts.
Last Year – 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen: On MSG
Points out of 8th: Still hanging on to first because of extra games played
Islanders: Heartbreaking loss in Montreal, that's more like it.

- Here are some things we know about the New York Rangers after the first ten games:

They’ve played a lot of games, which means they’ll play less games than every other team will for the rest of the year. There’s no doubt they were a very tired hockey club their last two games.

The goalie controversy that we all expected to develop at some point is already here.

The defense, which was projected to be the weakest part of the team, doesn’t look too shabby at all. It helps when the forward lines help out too. Michael Rozsival and Marek Malik may not be the ideal guys you want to see on the point during power plays, but they’ve constituted a solid number one defense pairing, logging 25 minutes a game, and are both plus (three and two, respectively) on the year.

Jagr is pretty good. Better yet, he seems totally into the games, directing other players on the ice, and barking at them at times.

Dominic Moore is becoming a real revelation – fast, tough, and relentless, and he shows some decent hands at times as well.

This ~~might be~~ is the best coached Rangers squad since Colin Campbell took them to the 1997 semifinals. That's not saying much, really.

- Big Plays – We wuz robbed. MSG’s replays with sound clearly showed Jason Ward raising his arms to celebrate a goal before the ref blew the whistle and the play. It was a tired and rather sloppy team that came on the ice for its tenth game in 18 days against a Buffalo team that’s unbeaten at home. Yet it was a game they easily could have won, even without Ward’s goal. The Sabres’ second goal was another own-goal off of Kasparaitus, this one off his glove. And shortly after Ward’s goal was disallowed, the Rangers were awarded two power plays, creating a 47 second five-on-three on which they failed to register a shot. As I’ve written before, the Blueshirts can’t ask for more than to be close late in the game with the first team power play on the ice, and they have to take advantage of those situations. Even after the two man advantage expired and it was five on four, Rucinsky set up Steve Rucchin all alone in the low slot with what looked like a lot of net to shoot at, but he flubbed the shot off the outside of the left post. Buffalo’s rookie goalie Ryan Miller made just 22 saves, but made several big saves, and robbed Jagr twice in a single power play sequence earlier in the third.

- I'm seeing some calls in the press and the blogosphere calling for the recall of Ryan Hollweg, whose speed and feistiness would be helpful.

- The Rangers have not had a fight since Garth Murray battled the Sabres' Adam Mair in the first period of Messier's farewell game on March 31, 2004.

- Jarkko Immonen, acquired in the Leetch trade along with Kondratiev, was one of the last cuts in training camp, and he leads the Wolfpack in scoring with 4 goals and an assist. Fedor Fedorov is tied in total points with a goal and 4 assists.

2005-10-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

Game 9 - Rangers 4 at Islanders 5

Record: 4-2-3, 11 pts
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts
Seen: Not
Points out of 8th: You may not want to hear this, but if every team in the conference were to win all their games in hand, the Rangers would be in 11th, ugh.
Islanders: It’s humbling indeed to be (kind of) swept by the Fish Sticks. The consolation is that I seem to recall, way, way back when the Rangers last lost to them, that they generally go into a tailspin after beating us. So we’ll have that to look forward to, hopefully.

- I went to see Death Cab for Cutie at Hammerstein Ballroom last night. The opening act, the excellent Canadian band Stars, was scheduled to come on at eight, so the plan was to catch the first period at one of the bars around the Garden before heading into the nearby concert venue. So I walked over to 8th Avenue, where the venerable Charley O’s has been relocated, and headed in. But much to my surprise, the TVs were all tuned to college football on ESPN. Huh? Where’s the Rangers game? I mean, this is Charley O’s, where I used to hang after games and see some of the players come in as well. Why, I once had a face-to-face encounter right there with a young player in his first NHL season named Wayne Gretzky. Yes, there I was, with a chance to speak to the future greatest player of all time, whose Oilers had tied the Rangers after beating the Isles the night before, and all I could come up with was: “So who’s better, the Rangers or the Islanders?” It’s obvious that I should have been getting out more often to stuff like concerts over the last quarter century or so.

So I headed into Penn Station, where the cleverly named bar Cabooz had a big sign outside - “Welcome Back Ranger Fans!” OK, this should do it. But no, they were watching college football too! I tried Houlihans’ – “Welcome Back Hockey Fans!” – but they were watching freaking CNN! What’s going on here? The whole city wasn’t consumed by the rematch of the two bitter rivals that had staged such a gripping battle just the night before? You mean, people DON’T CARE ABOUT HOCKEY?? It was a bit of an eye-opener to be sure, a harsh reminder about the state of our favorite team sport. Here I was, practically in the Garden itself, and I couldn’t find anywhere to watch the home team play.

And when I did, I wished I hadn’t. When I finally found a TV in the back of TGIF’s, it was 3-0 only three minutes in. What the fuck! I was honestly shocked – I expected the Blueshirts to win, possibly in dominant fashion. I was in an optimistic state I guess, but who wouldn’t be after watching Wednesday’s game. I later saw a stat showing that besides the 35 shots on the Fish Stick goal that night, they had around 25 wide and the same number blocked! And now again I watched as Poti fed a perfect feed to Rucinsky, who was stopped by DiPietro, who’s starting to really annoy me. Then Dominic Moore made a terrific play to get a shot right off the faceoff, kicked out by DiPietro. Ortmeyer had a wide open net on the rebound but couldn’t convert. It was like déjà vu all over again and too much for me to bear. I left to grab a bite.

When I checked again before leaving for the show, I saw it was 3-2 after one, that’s what I’m talking about, a team that won’t quit! I would have been clueless about the rest of the game if not for the fact that my new Sprint cell phone has one month of free internet access (which I’ll DEFINITELY be canceling before I start getting charged for it!) and I just could not resist checking the score periodically, at least until Death Cab for Cutie made me (almost) forget about it. They must be a really good band.

Big Plays - I dunno, can you even blame Weekes on those goals? But if you go on the road, hold the home team to 21 shots, score four goals, including three from your best player, you should come out with a win. I’m depressed, and that’s all I have to say. It’s so early, yet that break after Saturday’s game can’t come soon enough.

2005-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Game 8 – Islanders 2* Rangers 2
Record – 4-1-3, 11 points
Last Year – 0-0-0, 0 pts
Points Out of 8th – Nah, still in first
Islanders – Off since Saturday, dressed down by the coach and GM, driven through two punishing practices, with talk of revenge for the season sweep in 2003-04, and the best they could come up with is to have their goalie stand on his head to bail them out?

* I think shootouts are stupid, so I won’t be acknowledging their result, unless the Rangers win.

- Two songs come to mind today. One, the Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It's Worth’, goes “There’s something happening here….What it is ain’t exactly clear.” And the other is the theme from the Twilight Zone. October 19, eight games into what is supposed to be a rebuilding season, and the Garden was as tense as the White House as they await the Plamegate indictments. What exactly is going on here? I know, we’re supposed to be happy just to see a young team with a future coming out and giving it all every night, but I guess earning at least a point in six of the first seven games can get people thinking. And it didn’t hurt that the despised rivals were in town, because who could possibly stomach the bubble being burst by the Fish Sticks?

With both teams outfitted in their classic jerseys, it seemed like old times, as the action rocked back and forth (mostly forth, in the Rangers’ case), with the crowd inflating and deflating accordingly along with the plot twists. After a first period in which the home team dominated to the point where I found myself laughing at times, but found themselves down 1-0 (for the first time this year), I saw Ranger fans slumped in their seats with their familiar expressions of impending doom. That was actually nice to see, because the cause had been so hopeless in past years that too many times the prevailing mood was one of apathy.

Big Plays: It seemed like the same ~~old~~ new story in the first, as the Blueshirts spent virtually the entire first fifteen minutes in the Fish Stick zone, only to be frustrated by Rick DiPietro. For the second game in a row, Marek Malik was absolutely robbed on what should have been a simple stuff-in off a cross-ice pass. Half the crowd had already started to celebrate, but there was to be no Rangers Goal song. (NOTE: Can we PLEASE get rid of that fucking thing already?) Malik must be wondering if he’ll ever score. Besides the 35 shots fired on DiPietro, the Rangers shot wide or fanned on a multitude of others, not to mention Jagr breaking his stick on his shootout try.

The own-goal off of Jagr’s pass/shot was a crucial one, getting the team back into the game immediately after they seemed to be taken out of it. But the Isles were able to settle down and take the crowd out of the game after that, using an aggressive deep forechecking scheme to repel the Blueshirts’ attack over the next 12 minutes or so. Jason Blake was by far their best player besides DiPietro, and on one power play, he pinned the Rangers in their own zone virtually single-handedly for the first 30 seconds. Thus it helped that it was Blake who was penalized when the power play finally clicked late in regulation after seven failures as Petr Prucha, seeing ice time at that crucial stage of the game despite getting less than eight minutes total for the game, stood his ground in slot traffic to tip in Tyutin’s low shot toward the net.

- The Rangers had two shots in OT, and Prucha and Tom Poti were robbed by DiPietro, the latter after a great spin-o-rama move from the point. Prucha will likely see more ice time, as Renney hinted post-game of some lineup changes for tonight’s rematch.

- Lundqvist probably played his best game of the season in “defeat.”

- Doesn't it always seem like the Rangers play more games than anyone else early and that other teams always have games in hand?

2005-10-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Game 7 – Panthers 0 Rangers 4

Record: 4-1-2, 10 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen From: Sec 218, Row C, Seat 14
Points out of 8th: N/A. First Place.
Islanders: Licking wounds from latest lopsided loss

- Many Islander fans on LonGisland unfortunately were unable to watch the game and have their hopes for an imminent Rangers collapse deflated again, since OLN is withholding the games from Cablevision. Larry Brooks in the Post today reiterates something I’ve read several times about the situation – that the NHL has the contractual right to direct the Outdoor Life Network not to black out Cablevision subscribers on exclusive telecasts.

That's an interesting point considering that a spokesman for the NHL told me yesterday that that is not the case, and that the dispute is strictly between OLN owner Comcast, and the particular cable and satellite providers. As a Dish Network subscriber, I am being blacked out myself, and it took two letters and two phone calls (the second one of the angry/nasty/sarcastic variety) to get the league to return my call. So what then, is the truth about this? Can the league direct OLN to stop the blackouts? Call the NHL at 212-789-2000 and ask them what the real scoop is. I placed a return call about Brooks' article to the gentleman I spoke to before and I’ll let you know if he returns my call.

- We weren’t in our regular seats last night as my seatmate was entertaining a client and wanted “good” seats. So we moved down and sat in the old yellow section, where leg space is scarce compared to upstairs, and in a corner. You can’t see about a quarter of the face-off circle from there, and players who go into that corner disappear from sight faster than the Astros will after last night’s disaster. I’m old enough to remember flyers advertising the “unobstructed view from 19,000 seats” before what was referred to then as the “new “ Garden opened. Unfortunately, someone forgot to take the seats and peoples’ heads into account.

Big Plays: Welcome to the post-lockout NHL; there were thousands of empty seats with empty patches in all the levels – it looked like a snowstorm game, or a game on the night of a Yankees’ Game 7. Perhaps years from now 100,000 people will claim to have been at Lundqvist’s first NHL shutout, just like all of those who say they were at the weekday afternoon game that Tom Seaver struck out 19 Padres and the last ten in a row.

But it was a lively crowd who saw the unlikely juggernaut continue. I think Gilles Gratton could have earned the shutout last night; in fact, I’d have given Roberto Luongo a star before Lundqvist. Luongo signaled his sharpness in the first period, frustrating the first line on their first power play, and then robbing Marek Malik on what should have been a simple stuff-in. The home team led by just 1-0 despite outshooting the Panthers by 30-12 when they were given their first five-on-three power play of the year late in the second. Sensing that this was the big opportunity, Renney called time and sent out five forwards including the top guns. Luongo had no shot on Jagr’s bullet off Straka’s feed. And when the Panthers cooperated with another quick penalty, the same five-on-three configuration resulted in a nearly identical goal, Jagr from Straka. The latter hasn’t yet scored a goal, but is second in the league with nine assists. He was put back on the Jagr line, as Renney continues to shuffle the combos. Ville Neimenen moved to play with Betts and Ward; Prucha skated on the 4th line and scored the 4th goal on a two-on-one on which he had no intention whatsoever of passing the puck.

- 25 minutes plus each once again for what I guess is the #1 defense combo of Marek Malik and Michael Rozsival. Who woulda thunk?

- Jamie McLennan relieved Luongo and stopped all 11 Rangers shots in the third. McLennan was in goal for the Blueshirts in Washington on April 3, 2004, the last game before the lockout and of the Sather era. Oh. He's still around?

- ~~One year~~ Two years ago today, the Rangers tied the Carolina Hurricanes (with Kevin Weekes in goal) 2-2. On the ice for the Blueshirts were Matt Barnaby, Joel Bouchard, Anson Carter, Greg deVries, Jan Hlavac, Bobby Holik, Kasparaitis, Alexei Kovalev, Dan LaCouture, Eric Lindros, Vladamir Malakhov, some guy Messier, Boris Mironov, Petr Nedved, Tom Poti, Martin Rucinsky, Chris Simon, and Jamie Lundmark.

2005-10-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Game 6 – Atlanta 1 Rangers 5

Record: 3-1-2, 8 pts
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts
Seen: Sec 422/Row D/Seat 7
Points Out of 8th: N/A. First place in the division
Islanders: Crushed 5-1 in Philly as Garth Snow, looking like Frodo after shedding all that equipment this year, is bombarded with 46 Flyer shots.

- The Blueshirts made their first appearance of the year in their third jerseys, the so-called ‘Statue of Liberty’ uniforms that were instituted during the Neil Smith regime in the 1996-97 season. I’m as traditionalist as one can get - I’m opposed to regular season overtime, no less shootouts. In the dark John Ferguson era in the mid-70s when the team was outfitted in those hideous uniforms with the crest on the front, I was plunged into drugs and despair, and I placed an emergency call to my therapist upon seeing them revived on occasion last season.

But I’ve always liked these third jerseys (not so much the year they wore them in a white version), and I do particularly enjoy it when they hit the ice in them. Maybe it’s because it reminds me of something called ‘playoffs,’ as the team wore them frequently during the 1997 playoff run.

- Big plays: “What team is this?” asked a fan in my section last night. Another night of spunk and hustle from all four lines against an Atlanta team that they rarely beat even before they added a major Ranger killer in Peter Bondra. The hard work was never more apparent on the big second goal. Despite all the energy on a rare, though no longer unprecedented Saturday night home game, as well as the presence of the Thrashers’ 4th string goalie, it was just a 1-0 game midway through, and the home team was spending some time in its own zone against what should be a dangerous offensive team. Jed Ortmeyer had drawn a penalty by going to the net, and after Kasparaitus, who set the tone with some early hits, kept the puck in at the point, the Rangers controlled and Ortmeyer nudged the puck to Dominic Moore along the boards. Moore outhustled and absolutely undressed Bondra with a nifty move and got the puck around to Straka who found Nylander, on as the extra man. His low shot was stopped but Ortmeyer was one of three blueshirts right in front and he tapped it home. It was Straka's 7th assist.

Thirty seconds later, the Rangers scored with some flash instead of grit. Steve Rucchin started the rush with a nice outlet pass to Hossa from his own zone. He fed Rucinsky on the left wing, who pulled up and made a gorgeous backhand flip pass to Rucchin, joining the play, who scored on his second shot after the first was blocked. Perhaps this team has a bit more talent than many thought. I don’t think that before the season one would expect them to win 5-1 without Jagr (who had two assists) scoring a goal.

- The crowd alternated chants of “Hen-reek” and “Lund-quist” as the Rangers’ goalie put on a show in the third. The rookie who really isn’t one made some nifty saves as the Thrashers pressured (too) late. He seems to have a particularly quick stick hand and uses his blocker deftly to steer shots away. He stopped every shot the Thrashers threw at him, losing his shutout on an own-goal off Kasparaitus’s skate. I prefer the “Hen-reek” myself, but the fact is that some goalies’ names are just not that suitable for chanting. Take Kevin Weekes for example. Lundquist’s style is more flashy and crowd-pleasing, both between the pipes and otherwise, as he was flamboyant when acknowledging the crowd’s cheers when coming on the ice as the game’s first star. Woe be to Weekes the next time he allows a soft one at home; it’s the type of situation that can be tough on the first-string goaltender.

- Renney continued to tinker with the top line, trying Niemenen in place of Prucha in the third period; a combination which resulted in the Finn’s second goal in two games.

2005-10-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Game 5 – Devils 1 Rangers 4

Record: 2-1-2, 6 pts
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts
Seen: Partially, on MSG
Points out of 8th: N/A. First in the division, but sixth in the conference
Islanders: Won 5-3 at Washington, making the Rangers’ loss there even more unacceptable

- Well, I was traveling down and up the east coast this week, and arrived in Albany, NY on Thursday evening. Was pleasantly surprised to see that the hotel I checked into had MSG, and even more so when I flipped it on in time for the beginning of the second period to see that the Rangers were ahead 3-0. Cool. It was a tumultuous week of travel, and circumstances made me unable to pay more than scattered attention to the rest of the contest. I later saw the ultimately decisive first period action on that ‘Rangers in 60’ thing they run on MSG now, in which they compress the game into an hour. Many times in the last few years, I watched games in far less than that time; having taped it and then ended up running through it in via fast forward in short order after the sad outcome became apparent. There were many games I ended up scanning in their entirety in 15 minutes or less, pausing just to see any fights.

- I saw some of the post-game show. If you turn on the TV with no sound and see the Devils and Islanders announcers doing their wrap-up, you can tell whether their teams won or lost just by the look on their faces. You tune in and see either the grim looks and head-shaking, or a pair of grinning idiots. What a bunch of shills. Emrick and Chico Resch came on and immediately lamented how the Devils “weren’t ready to play” and that this was a case of only “one team showing up to play.” Gimme a fucking break. The Rangers have solidly outplayed this team for most of six periods now. Then Howie Rose and Joe Micheletti were all smiles as they raved about the Isles’ play. Micheletti doesn’t bother me that much, but Rose has lost any credibility as a broadcast journalist he may have had, shilling for a mickey mouse club that hasn’t won a single playoff round since the year before the spring that Rose reached the peak of his profession with his landmark Matteau Matteau Matteau call.

- Big Play - Tom Renney spoke after the game of his decision to move Petr Prucha up to the Jagr line, talking about his resiliency, which was noted here after the last Devils game. By moving Rucinsky down to the Rucchin line, and, in turn, Straka down to the third line, suddenly the offense seems to have the potential to go deeper than we once thought.

Of course, if a team works hard all night, even the 4th line will create opportunities. Right after the first Rangers goal, Renney rolled it out. Jed Ortmeyer, whose diligent work habits compensate for his occasional gaffes, took a hit along the boards, got up and battled for the puck in center ice, practically willing it into the Devils zone on sheer desire alone, without actually ever getting a stick on it. The puck still hadn’t settled down when Niemenin burst in and was somehow able to get a backhand flip onto the bouncing disk and send it past Brodeur for a second goal in 17 seconds.

- Ryan Hollweg was sent down to Hartford and Lundmark was banished from the lineup for the second time in three games. You wonder what Sather could even get for him at this point. Let’s hope we see Hollweg again soon.

- Michael Rozsival continues to lead the team in minutes played, logging 25:29, more than five minutes more than Jagr.

2005-10-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Game 4 – Rangers 2 at Washington 3

2005-06 Record: 1-1-2, 4 pts.
Last Year: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
Seen: On tape, MSG
Pts out of 8th: Here we go…Tied in points but behind several teams based on one less win
Islanders: Lose listlessly at home to Florida 3-1 on a Monday afternoon in front of 47 laid off investment bankers and John Spano impersonating an usher.

- In all of my years following the Rangers, and that’s a lot of years, I never, ever recall missing a game because it was on a weekday and I was at work. Columbus Day? Who is off besides schools and the post office? I spent a couple of years living in Philly in 1980-1 and Jay Greenberg, the snide columnist for the NY Post, was then a beat writer covering the Flyers for the Philadelphia Daily News, and a member of a press corps that took every opportunity to blast New York City and its fans. In 1981, the Rangers hooked up with the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs, and the Garden had a scheduling conflict with the Knicks. There was speculation that perhaps the Rangers would have to play a weekday afternoon playoff game, a plan that was eventually scuttled. Greenberg wrote that the Garden nixed the idea because too many fans wouldn’t be able to get out of their prison work-release programs to attend the game. Ha ha, very funny.

The NY Times estimated the crowd in Washington on Monday to be around 5,000. Given the arena’s proximity to our nation’s capitol and the current corrupt Republican administration, perhaps Greenberg’s words ring truer in this case.

As for me, I wanted to watch the game without knowing the score, such is the heady excitement of this early season. No problem in this office; I don’t think anyone knows what hockey is. And given the current standing of the sport here in New York, the chance of me walking down the street and hearing someone go “Hey, the Rangers lost!” is about the same as the chance of hearing someone go “Hey, Bloomberg lost!” come this November 2. The only problem is there are some taxis these days that have these damn ESPN sponsored scoreboards on top of their cars; this has caused me to see a score I didn’t want to on more than one occasion. So here I was, a grown man (in some peoples’ opinions), walking around Manhattan late yesterday afternoon with my head down so as not to see any traffic. Walking around this city with one’s head down is not recommended, even in these days of reduced crime.

Big Plays: An unbeaten in regulation streak can quickly become a losing streak. That’s three in a row, though this was the first one with no points earned. It was the team’s sloppiest game of the young season, with odd man rushes and awful own-zone giveaways by the D galore. Bryce Lampman dressed in place of Jason Strudwick who was gone with a death in the family, and his shaky play made his uniform number 33 reminiscent of Bruce Driver in more than one respect.

I guess the big play was the Caps’ goal right at the end of the second period, though in my opinion, the awfulness of giving up a late period goal is sometimes overrated. There are some times after surrendering a goal that a 17 minute time out is exactly what a team needs. As the period ticked down, Jagr made a nifty move into the attack zone, went behind the net, and got rocked by Brian Sutherby, wow. At the same time, Nylander fell in front of the net, and the Caps were off to the races three on two. Tyutin and Kondratiev backed up faster than the moving vans at Yankee Stadium today, and while Weekes stopped the initial shot, Steve Eminger scored on the rebound to tie the game. In fact, all three of the Caps goals came on rebounds of tough first stops. Weekes doesn’t show much in the way of directing rebounds out of harm’s way, and his D was certainly no help on any of the goals; the others were scored on a 3 on 1 break and a 5 on 3 power play.

Yet with all the ragged play, the game was the Blueshirts’ to win, as they had three full power plays and part of another in the third period. Jagr was stopped on 8 out of nine shots and seemed to get frustrated towards the end, taking shots that had no chance to get through. Kolzig made two big skate stops on him in the third, one of them with Nylander lying on top of him, I have no idea how he did that. He made a Hasek-type stop on Jason Ward off a scramble in front, and took care of his rebounds all night.

- Ville Niemenen dressed for the first time and didn’t seem to have much jump coming off a groin injury. Ryan Hollweg sat; don’t know if he would have anyway with Niemenen’s return, or if it was due to the late penalty he took in New Jersey. It’s good that Renney holds players responsible, but personally, I loved that hit on Paul Martin, and his feistiness was noticeably absent in this game. Let’s see if Kasparaitis sits for his awful penalty that led to the five-on-three and the losing goal.

- No fights in the first four games. Come to think of it, with Purinton suspended, just who is going to drop the gloves on this team? Is fighting still permitted?

- I hate the shootouts. Caught the OT of Leafs-Sens and the wide-open back and forth four-on-four play was breathtaking. To me, the shootout was just anticlimactic and a farcical way to decide a game.

2005-10-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

Game 3: Rangers 2 at Devils 3 (OT)

Seen: On MSG, Mike Crispino sitting in for Sam Rosen
Record: 1-0-2
Last Year: 0-0-0
Points out of 8th: N/A
Islanders: Won, luckily, in their puerile third jerseys. Pelted with 44 shots by a Carolina squad that played the night before. Islander fans, many of whom were out of their homes or office for the first time in 18 months, are delirious but distracted throughout by the Rangers score, their smug assurance as to their rivals' ineptitude starting to waiver ever so slightly.

- I’m trying to get used to this idea that you can no longer settle for a tie. What’s wrong with settling once in a while? It always seemed rather comforting to think that you could just hang on after playing 60 or 65 tough minutes in a hostile building, get the point on the road and go home. Yes, they did get the point, but had to suffer the indignity of watching the home team and fans celebrate, as well as seeing a division rival earning an extra point. This one seemed less tolerable than the one on Thursday, both because of the opponent and the fact that the Rangers were arguably the better team.

The Head Chef and I were invited to go to the game with a couple of dear friends, but she was busy feeding clients and I was stuck home with kids. I’ve only been to one Rangers game at the Meadowlands since Game 4 in ’94, the loss in which Keenan benched Leetch and pulled Richter. I was also at Game 3, Matteau’s first double overtime winner, which to me is the real overlooked great game of the championship season. Of course games 6 and 7 are the ones that will always be remembered, but game 3 was a classic in its own right. The winner was such a quick shot by Matteau that I still really have to concentrate to see it unfold. A guy with his size and those flashes of quick hands....you’d think he would have had a more productive career

I could have gone to Game 6 too, but I plain chickened out, I admit it. I was a wuss. I just couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the dream end in that wretched building and in front of those fans. So I didn’t go and missed personally witnessing perhaps the most dramatic Rangers moment of my lifetime. Until Game 7, that is.

- Big plays: Peter Prucha and Maxim Kondratiev dressed in place of Lundmark and Poti. The latter may be the most unpopular defenseman at the Garden since Rod Seiling. The Devils had tied the game on a fluky goal early in the third, and it was uh-oh time. When you outshoot a team by 13-1 and then 26-8 after two but only have a one goal lead, it’s never a good sign. With about 15 minutes left, the Devils were surging and they were getting physical too. Within seconds, Kasparaitus got nailed by Grant Marshall, and then Prucha got absolutely hammered by Eric Rasmussen at center ice. The usually catatonic crowd was into it and I started to fear the worst.

But Prucha got himself up, shook out the cobwebs and pursued the puck in the Devils zone. He swooped in and picked up the puck behind the net, outbattled Paul Martin along the boards and was able to kick the puck to a teammate, allowing the Rangers to retain possession, which then led to a cross-checking penalty on Dan McGillis. Though they didn’t score on the power play, they had chances and put the crowd back into their usual stupor. The Devils never got any physical play flowing again and in fact, Ryan Hollweg made a statement when he rocked Martin later in the period. He drew a questionable penalty, but it became one of those good bad penalties when the Rangers, led by the energetic Blair Betts, killed it off.

Brodeur was really, really good; he stole two points for his team and one from mine. He made great glove stops on Malek and Jagr late in regulation, the latter on a power play. The Rangers can’t ask for anything more than being tied late in a game and getting that first power-play unit on the ice. They need to cash in when they get those opportunities, and their failure to do so led to the OT and the "loss." Lundqvist shows confidence handling the puck; he wanted to play it on the ~~winning~~ losing goal but pulled back because it was outside the trapezoid, then didn’t seem to be in position when Rafalski’s shot whizzed by, damn these new rules. Ironically, it was in large part because of Brodeur that the trapezoid was instituted.

- If Zach Parise is so great, why did 16 teams including the Rangers pass on him in the draft?

- What does it say about the Devils defense that Vladimir Malakhov played thirty minutes? Rozsival led all Blueshirts D at 25:33.

2005-10-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Game 2 - Canadiens 4 Rangers 3 (OT)

Record – 1-0-0-1, 3 pts.
Last Year – 0-0-0-0, no pts.
Watched From – Section 422/Row D/ Seat 7
Days in First Place – 2
Points out of 8th – N/A
Islanders – Idle, winless, tied for worst goals-against average in the league. Islander fans returning from nighttime botox appointments curse under their breaths when they see the ‘OT’ designation following the score of the Rangers’ game, but assure themselves that they have a game in hand.

- I hadn’t picked up my tickets until tonight, as I skipped all the preseason games. Actually, there’s no longer a need for the tickets at all. You can just email them to yourself or anyone else. You print out a barcode that’s scanned at the gate, and the real tickets are voided. Soon they’ll probably have an EZ Pass system in place; you can get a chip in the shape of the Rangers insignia implanted into your butt. But then I would have missed the silver paint can that the tickets come in, with the greeting We are honored to welcome you home. Of course, it also meant that I had to walk around the rest of the night with a silver paint can filled with tickets, confetti, jellybeans, and a T-shirt compressed into the shape of a puck (I kid you not).

Ah, the sight of the Rangers’ blue uniforms. For many years it was a rare sight to see in person, as teams wore their dark jerseys on the road. It used to be a special feeling at the Spectrum or the Mauseleum when the Broadway Blueshirts took the ice. Now, they wear them at home, but I for one never tire of seeing them. I walked down to the ice to get a closer look during the warmups, and when I did, I discovered to my horror that instead of the diagonal R A N G E R S the jerseys instead read T H A N K Y O U.

I could no longer concentrate on the players and the drills, as I was fixated on the ridiculous sight of grown men wearing sports jerseys that say THANK YOU. And while I’m at it, why don’t they cut out the ‘thank you’ bullshit. We’re hockey fans – you play the games, and we’re going to come. If racetracks closed down due to, say, insolvency, and they reopened a year later – would you have to thank the people for coming back?

I was becoming concerned that they would wear the jerseys in the game, but thankfully they didn’t. Instead they gave them away, autographed, to some lucky fans that, as usual, didn’t include me. So if you’re on Ebay, and see blue hockey jerseys with THANK YOU written diagonally down the front, you’ll know what it is.

- Big plays: Teams that are short on talent as the Rangers are presumed to be must at least play smart to stay in games, and being shorthanded 21 times in two games does not qualify. Down 3-2 late in the second period, the home team found themselves two men down for 1:08, and whereas in past years that might produce a potential Hall of Fame threesome of Bobby Holik, Mark Messier and Brian Leetch, instead we saw Blair Betts, Marek Malik, and Michael Rozsival. The trio performed superbly, with Malik and Rozsival blocking the passing lanes with their long reach and keeping the unguarded Canadiens at the side of the net too deep to be effective (it helped that Alexei Kovalev was one of them.)

Midway through the 3rd, with the score still 3-2, once again the Rangers were two men short, this time for 1:05. Again, Tom Renney rolled out the three and again they kept the team in the game. I don’t really recall Weekes making any particularly spectacular stops (and that goes for the entire game). The penalty-killing heroics allowed the home team to tie the game on a power play of their own and earn a point before an enthusiastic crowd with just over 2 1/2 minutes remaining. It was a well-executed play starting from their own zone with a neat outlet from Rozsival that allowed Kasparaitis to enter the attacking zone with speed, backing up the defense, allowing Rucchin to nudge the puck back to Tyutin, whose low shot was deflected in by Dominic Moore, who was going to the net. Perfect.

- Rozsival led the team with 22:34 of ice time, while Jamie Lundmark took two penalties and skated for only 8:16.

Game 1 - Rangers 5 At Flyers 3

2005-10-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

2005 Record: 1-0
Last Year: 0-0
Seen: On OLN
Points out of 8th: N/A
Islanders: Lost

- So, 18 months after Bobby Holik scored in OT to defeat the Caps to end the 2003-04 season, what was another 20 agonizing minutes of the OLN pregame show? It was ironic that Neil Smith, who would always tell us that you can't rebuild in New York, was on hand in the studio to see the first game of the process he refused to initiate. About the time that Donald Trump was telling us how much he loves the rules changes, dinner was served, and I put the game on pause. How did I ever live without a DVR?

Back to the action, and Sam and J.D. were trying so hard to pretend to be objective for the national TV audience that they were talking only about the Flyers and not identifying the unidentifiable Ranger players. So I went to the Rangers website to pull up the roster. But, I forgot that I watching the game on a half hour delay, and the main page flashed the score - Flyers 2, Rangers 1. So, since the worst scenario of that score would be the Rangers scoring first, this is how, after an entire season of no hockey, the new season started for me: rooting for the other team to score first. When Jason Strudwick scored the first goal of the season, I pretended to cheer because I was embarrassed to admit what I had done.

- Big Play: Did that second period remind you of something? It was noted that for the first time since they won the Cup, there were no members of the '94 team on the roster. Yet, second period, down two goals in a game you thought they were going to lose from the start, being peppered in their own zone, one goal away from the game being effectively over, goalie standing on his head.... Well, no, the team captain ~~Jaomir Jagr~~ ~~Darius Kasparaitus~~ ~~Steve Rucchin~~..... er, no one guaranteed a win in this case and Alexei Kovalev is gone, but it seemed vaguely familiar nonetheless.

I had just uttered "you suck, Lundmark" (how's that for patience?) after a cross-ice pass to no one, and then a fumble in the Flyers zone which led to a clear as a rare power play ticked down with the score still 3-1 after Nylander's penalty shot hit the crossbar. Martin Straka made a nice back checking play and Fedor Tyutin, who looks like he's grown about a foot since last we saw him, made a nifty move to evade a checker and a nice two-line headman pass to Rucchin, who dumped it in. Lundmark was backing up when the puck came bouncing out and did a good job setting himself and getting much of his small frame into the shot.

- Violent hockey clips interspersed with Survivor and Ted Nugent; musical accompaniment for every instant replay; welcome to the NHL on OLN. I found myself longing for the days of glowing pucks.

- Not only did the Islanders lose, but I was pleased to see them relegated to a small AP box in the Times this morning. The only thing better than seeing them suck is to see them be irrelevant.