Welcome to the newly improved, revamped New Blue Review - one fan's take on the New York Rangers and the National Hockey League in general. After attempting to start this last year, I had a few personal things that got in the way of keeping up with it, but no more. This season, you will get a game preview and review for all 82 New York Rangers games and some other tidbits thrown in throughout the year. Even if you are not a Rangers fan, I encourage you to read, because you may find out that there are things about your team I actually respect and admire.
The Rangers season starts on October 9, and it will do so without many familiar faces. Joining Ryan Callahan in Tampa Bay are Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, After a very surprising season which saw him mesh beautifully with Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard, Benoit Pouliot received a (what I feel is) ridiculous offer to jump to Edmonton. Derek Dorsett is now a Vancouver Canuck thanks to a draft day deal, Daniel Carcillo is on a Professional Tryout with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Brad Richards was bought out and is currently a Chicago Blackhawk.
New faces donning the Blueshirt this year are Dan Boyle, who comes to New York as a free agent after stops in Florida, Tampa Bay and most recently San Jose. Tanner Glass takes on the Dorsett/Carcillo role after doing so for Pittsburgh last year, Lee Stempniak also joins New York after his most recent stop in Pittsburgh. Matthew Lombardi returns from Europe to try and nail down a roster spot.
Unfortunately, the Rangers will be starting the season without projected first line center Derek Stepan. #21 suffered a broken leg and is out 4-6 weeks. Stepan has never missed a regular season game in his NHL/NYR career until now, and the only time has missed was in the playoffs last year after the Brandon Prust cheap shot that broke his jaw.
Of course, the King returns to his throne as Henrik Lundqvist will once again be the primary goaltender for the Rangers. After taking the team to the Stanley Cup Final last year, Lundqvist now knows what the biggest stage feels like and no doubt has a renewed focus to get there and take the "Final" step.
As the season opener draws closer, and the roster takes shape, I'll have more in depth reports.
Get your Blueshirts ready - it's almost time to take up residence in Rangerstown once again.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Thursday, October 17, 2013
SHUTDOWN IN WASHINGTON! Game #6 - New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals
The Rangers and the Capitals have met in the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, including last year when the last visit for New York to the Verizon Center yielded a 7-0 victory that propelled them past the Capitals. On Wednesday night, pleasantries were renewed as the 1-4-0 Rangers faced the 2-4-0 Capitals and for the third straight appearance against Washington, Henrik Lundqvist registered a shutout as the Rangers won 2-0.
The first period saw the Rangers play perhaps their best period of the year at even strength. They did give up a few chances shorthanded, but that's to be expected when you're facing the league's top power play and you end up down 5 on 3. Anton Stralman and Taylor Pyatt took successive hooking penalties, but the iron three of Dan Girardi, Brian Boyle, and Marc Staal stood firm and the Caps, thanks to Joel Ward missing and whiffing on a goal mouth chance, came up with nothing.
The Rangers had a few opportunities, none better than a 3 on 1 that Derek Dorsett fired a shot into Caps goaltender Braden Holtby. However, the period ended in a scoreless tie.
The second period finally saw the score change, and for the first time since their only win of the year in Los Angeles, the Blueshirts took the initial lead of the game. John Moore, who looks and plays more and more like a Second Ryan McDonagh, fired a laser of a wrist shot that somehow evaded the glove of Braden Holtby and ripped iron, then net. A sneaky pass from Brad Richards set up the goal for the young defenseman, his second goal in a New York Rangers uniform.
It took the Rangers a whopping 1:46 to double their lead as the Captain, Ryan Callahan worked a gorgeous cycle down low with Derick Brassard and once again, Brad Richards, with Richards throwing the puck in front, Callahan tipped it into the air, and smacked it home out of mid-air. The goal was incredibly talented, but the celebration was fantastic as Callahan threw himself into the boards and glass in front of a bunch of Capitals fans who slammed the glass and yelled back at him, as if he had just rubbed an open cut with a giant alcohol swab.
The third period saw no offense, but a scary moment in the first minute of the third period had all Rangers fans holding their breath, Derek Stepan, as he was backing out of the zone, was blindsided by the Capitals' Troy Brouwer and took a shoulder right to the head. As I discussed earlier today with fellow Ranger fan and future Blue Reviewer Jamie Robinson, this hit was completely avoidable, but chances are will go unpunished. In fact, as Jamie told me today, the NHL ruled it "an accident" and a "hockey play". IF that's a hockey play, then someone did not learn how to properly play hockey. Brouwer heads to his bench for a change, Stepan is backskating and never sees him coming. Instead of speeding up or slowing down to adjust to Stepan, Brouwer raises his arms to appear as if he is defending himself and nails #21 in the brain bucket. Stepan was on the ice for a good long while, then went for what I can only assume are the standard battery of concussion tests. Luckily for Rangers supporters, after about eight minutes, Stepan was back, took four more shifys, and was on the ice as the game ended. I'm sure he'll be re-evaluated, but with Rick Nash already suffering from a concussion, the Blueshirts can ill afford to have #21 out of the lineup.
That being said, I just got a notification from ESPN that somehow Ryan Callahan has a broken thumb and will now be out 3-4 weeks. This is a huge blow, but maybe another young player gets a chance to shine. I was thinking again of Chris Kreider, but I see again through ESPN that the Rangers have sent down Cam Talbot - wait, what? - and recalled Jason Missiaen, who is a 6'8 goalie and to replace the captain.....welcome back to New York.......Darroll Powe. Wait......WHAT??? You could have given me 10 guesses and I wouldn't have guessed Darroll Powe.
Oh well.......the Rangers take the ice again on Saturday against the Devils. Look for the first fully acknowledged non-friendly preview before then, because if my kid had a choice of being caught with a Hustler magazine or a Devils hat.....I'd buy a subscription. In case you can't tell, I.....BLEED BLUE.
The second period finally saw the score change, and for the first time since their only win of the year in Los Angeles, the Blueshirts took the initial lead of the game. John Moore, who looks and plays more and more like a Second Ryan McDonagh, fired a laser of a wrist shot that somehow evaded the glove of Braden Holtby and ripped iron, then net. A sneaky pass from Brad Richards set up the goal for the young defenseman, his second goal in a New York Rangers uniform.
It took the Rangers a whopping 1:46 to double their lead as the Captain, Ryan Callahan worked a gorgeous cycle down low with Derick Brassard and once again, Brad Richards, with Richards throwing the puck in front, Callahan tipped it into the air, and smacked it home out of mid-air. The goal was incredibly talented, but the celebration was fantastic as Callahan threw himself into the boards and glass in front of a bunch of Capitals fans who slammed the glass and yelled back at him, as if he had just rubbed an open cut with a giant alcohol swab.
The third period saw no offense, but a scary moment in the first minute of the third period had all Rangers fans holding their breath, Derek Stepan, as he was backing out of the zone, was blindsided by the Capitals' Troy Brouwer and took a shoulder right to the head. As I discussed earlier today with fellow Ranger fan and future Blue Reviewer Jamie Robinson, this hit was completely avoidable, but chances are will go unpunished. In fact, as Jamie told me today, the NHL ruled it "an accident" and a "hockey play". IF that's a hockey play, then someone did not learn how to properly play hockey. Brouwer heads to his bench for a change, Stepan is backskating and never sees him coming. Instead of speeding up or slowing down to adjust to Stepan, Brouwer raises his arms to appear as if he is defending himself and nails #21 in the brain bucket. Stepan was on the ice for a good long while, then went for what I can only assume are the standard battery of concussion tests. Luckily for Rangers supporters, after about eight minutes, Stepan was back, took four more shifys, and was on the ice as the game ended. I'm sure he'll be re-evaluated, but with Rick Nash already suffering from a concussion, the Blueshirts can ill afford to have #21 out of the lineup.
That being said, I just got a notification from ESPN that somehow Ryan Callahan has a broken thumb and will now be out 3-4 weeks. This is a huge blow, but maybe another young player gets a chance to shine. I was thinking again of Chris Kreider, but I see again through ESPN that the Rangers have sent down Cam Talbot - wait, what? - and recalled Jason Missiaen, who is a 6'8 goalie and to replace the captain.....welcome back to New York.......Darroll Powe. Wait......WHAT??? You could have given me 10 guesses and I wouldn't have guessed Darroll Powe.
Oh well.......the Rangers take the ice again on Saturday against the Devils. Look for the first fully acknowledged non-friendly preview before then, because if my kid had a choice of being caught with a Hustler magazine or a Devils hat.....I'd buy a subscription. In case you can't tell, I.....BLEED BLUE.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Blue Preview - Game #6 New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals
The slightly new-look Rangers head back to the ice tonight as part of the NBC Sports Network's "Rivalry Night" as they take on the Washington Capitals. The puck drops at 8:00 PM EST.
"Rivalry Night" is appropriate as the Rangers and Capitals have met each other in the playoffs four of the last five years. These two teams are certainly no strangers to each other, and usually play a spirited, entertaining brand of hockey against each other.
The Capitals come in to tonight with a record of 2-4-0, two points ahead of the Rangers who are 1-4-0. The Caps recipe for success hasn't changed much over the years, and here are the reasons why:
WHO TO WATCH
ALEX OVECHKIN - FORWARD. The Great 8 is at it again, leading the Capitals with 6 goals and 9 points. He has never met a shot he didn't like, so look to him to have at least 10 shots on goal. He also seems to really like to play physical against the Rangers, and will look to do so at home to get the crowd into it.
NICKLAS BACKSTROM - FORWARD. Ovechkin can't pass the puck to himself, so look for Backstrom to feed the beast. The Swede leads the team with 7 assists, but can also score if left alone in scoring areas.
MIKE GREEN - DEFENSE. Green is the quarterback for a very scary Power Play and has torched the Rangers many times in the past. He isn't very good defensively, so look for the Rangers to exploit him in his own end of the ice.
BRADEN HOLTBY - GOALTENDER. The Rangers have beaten Holtby in the playoffs each of the last two years, but it hasn't been easy. He always seems to play well against New York, and though his numbers are very pedestrian right now (3.56 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage of .886), look for him to be ready to stone the offensively-challenged Rangers again. If somehow he doesn't get the nod, the backup is Michal Neuvirth.
Also tonight, the Rangers welcome back J.T. Miller, recalled along with newly minted backup goalie Cam Talbot when Arron Asham and Martin Biron were waived and subsequently sent to Hartford. Miller had an injury that delayed his camp, but once he was there, he was very impressive. He'll start on the 4th line tonight but look for him to log plenty of power play time if the Rangers get a call or two.
Until tonight at 8:00 PM EST....BLEED BLUE.
"Rivalry Night" is appropriate as the Rangers and Capitals have met each other in the playoffs four of the last five years. These two teams are certainly no strangers to each other, and usually play a spirited, entertaining brand of hockey against each other.
The Capitals come in to tonight with a record of 2-4-0, two points ahead of the Rangers who are 1-4-0. The Caps recipe for success hasn't changed much over the years, and here are the reasons why:
WHO TO WATCH
ALEX OVECHKIN - FORWARD. The Great 8 is at it again, leading the Capitals with 6 goals and 9 points. He has never met a shot he didn't like, so look to him to have at least 10 shots on goal. He also seems to really like to play physical against the Rangers, and will look to do so at home to get the crowd into it.
NICKLAS BACKSTROM - FORWARD. Ovechkin can't pass the puck to himself, so look for Backstrom to feed the beast. The Swede leads the team with 7 assists, but can also score if left alone in scoring areas.
MIKE GREEN - DEFENSE. Green is the quarterback for a very scary Power Play and has torched the Rangers many times in the past. He isn't very good defensively, so look for the Rangers to exploit him in his own end of the ice.
BRADEN HOLTBY - GOALTENDER. The Rangers have beaten Holtby in the playoffs each of the last two years, but it hasn't been easy. He always seems to play well against New York, and though his numbers are very pedestrian right now (3.56 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage of .886), look for him to be ready to stone the offensively-challenged Rangers again. If somehow he doesn't get the nod, the backup is Michal Neuvirth.
Also tonight, the Rangers welcome back J.T. Miller, recalled along with newly minted backup goalie Cam Talbot when Arron Asham and Martin Biron were waived and subsequently sent to Hartford. Miller had an injury that delayed his camp, but once he was there, he was very impressive. He'll start on the 4th line tonight but look for him to log plenty of power play time if the Rangers get a call or two.
Until tonight at 8:00 PM EST....BLEED BLUE.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Off-day opinions and Roster News.
So, as we wait for Wednesday night, we have some roster moves to talk about - which will lead to more moves down the line.
Today, the Rangers waived Arron Asham and Martin Biron. I can't say I'm surprised about the Biron move, as he started camp late, never looked overly comfortable in either of his two appearances, and basically completely got posterized by Tomas "Teenage Mutant Ninja" Hertl on the between the legs goal of the year in the NHL. Then, when the team needed a jolt, he handed St. Louis three goals. The Rangers are also very high on Cam Talbot, and are looking for him to grab the reins and learn from Henrik Lundqvist. Combine those factors, and this is an easy decision.
The Arron Asham move puzzles me slightly only because he was waived in the offseason, earned a job in camp, and had played well in his chances, sticking up for teammates and basically fighting for his NHL livelihood.
The waiver rules are that players are on waivers for 24 hours and can be claimed by any team. If so, the Rangers are completely off the hook for their salaries against the cap. If they are NOT claimed, they can be sent to Hartford of the AHL and have a much smaller percentage of their salary counted against the cap. This also leads to roster adjustments. My hunch is that along with Talbot, the Rangers will more than likely recall Chris Kreider. my only problem with that is that recalling Kreider and playing him 4th line minutes does nothing for the kid. Perhaps he takes the place of Rick Nash during his injury and another recall comes up to the 4th line. If it were me, I'd send down Jesper Fast and let him learn the defensive side of the puck, and recall two players. Brandon Mashinter can effectively be a younger version of Asham, and to replace Fast, there are a few options. Danny Kristo may be the most NHL ready, but the other options that may present themselves are Marek Hrivik and Oscar Lindberg.
For my money, there should be one more roster adjustment. The first resident of the New Blue Review Chateau Bow Wow is Derek Dorsett. When he was acquired last year, we were told "Ranger fans are going to love him - he'll be a replacement for Brandon Prust." He's replaced Prust at the top of the NHL penalty minute list...and nowhere else. The difference is Prust take fighting majors and not many minors, and as such is noted as a valuable penalty killer. Dorsett takes undisciplined minor after undisciplined minor, and when your team defense is suspect and your offense has been fairly anemic, you can't afford those mistakes, because the stupid penalties always seem to end up in the back of the net.
We'll know more in a few hours. Until then....BLEED BLUE.
Today, the Rangers waived Arron Asham and Martin Biron. I can't say I'm surprised about the Biron move, as he started camp late, never looked overly comfortable in either of his two appearances, and basically completely got posterized by Tomas "Teenage Mutant Ninja" Hertl on the between the legs goal of the year in the NHL. Then, when the team needed a jolt, he handed St. Louis three goals. The Rangers are also very high on Cam Talbot, and are looking for him to grab the reins and learn from Henrik Lundqvist. Combine those factors, and this is an easy decision.
The Arron Asham move puzzles me slightly only because he was waived in the offseason, earned a job in camp, and had played well in his chances, sticking up for teammates and basically fighting for his NHL livelihood.
The waiver rules are that players are on waivers for 24 hours and can be claimed by any team. If so, the Rangers are completely off the hook for their salaries against the cap. If they are NOT claimed, they can be sent to Hartford of the AHL and have a much smaller percentage of their salary counted against the cap. This also leads to roster adjustments. My hunch is that along with Talbot, the Rangers will more than likely recall Chris Kreider. my only problem with that is that recalling Kreider and playing him 4th line minutes does nothing for the kid. Perhaps he takes the place of Rick Nash during his injury and another recall comes up to the 4th line. If it were me, I'd send down Jesper Fast and let him learn the defensive side of the puck, and recall two players. Brandon Mashinter can effectively be a younger version of Asham, and to replace Fast, there are a few options. Danny Kristo may be the most NHL ready, but the other options that may present themselves are Marek Hrivik and Oscar Lindberg.
For my money, there should be one more roster adjustment. The first resident of the New Blue Review Chateau Bow Wow is Derek Dorsett. When he was acquired last year, we were told "Ranger fans are going to love him - he'll be a replacement for Brandon Prust." He's replaced Prust at the top of the NHL penalty minute list...and nowhere else. The difference is Prust take fighting majors and not many minors, and as such is noted as a valuable penalty killer. Dorsett takes undisciplined minor after undisciplined minor, and when your team defense is suspect and your offense has been fairly anemic, you can't afford those mistakes, because the stupid penalties always seem to end up in the back of the net.
We'll know more in a few hours. Until then....BLEED BLUE.
Weekend Recap - 2 More "L"'s and more questions.
Hello all - after a long weekend of weddings and refereeing the Review is up and running again. Unfortunately, the pattern is still the same as we have two more losses to talk about.
First is the follow up from the Sharks debacle - which was just as much of a debacle in Anaheim. The Rangers basically slept though an ugly, listless 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Ducks. As has become a pattern in every loss this year, someone on the oppostion had a multi-goal game. On this night, it was Jakob Silfverberg. Also, as has become the norm, Henrik Lundqvist tried to play the puck, and ended up somewhere in Sweden, and gave up the entire net for a cheapie. At that point, the game was out of reach because the Rangers were offensively inept again.
PLUS/MINUS
There were no pluses from this game at all for the Rangers. Coming into this game from a shellacking 48 hours before, they were unprepared, uninspired, and completely outclassed.
The Minuses have to start with the coaching staff. How does a team not come in ready to play? Everyone in uniform gets a minus for this one.
On Saturday, the Rangers actually played much better than in Anaheim. To be honest, the Pee Wee game I refereed yesterday featured two teams that played better than the Rangers did in Anaheim. As a change of pace move to get their team out of their funk, Henrik Lundqvist started the game on the bench, and Martin Biron got his first start of the season. Unfortunately, he about 5 minutes in, he gave up a big juicy rebound that Alex Steen pounded home for a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until the fading moments of the period, when the Captain, Ryan Callahan scored his first of the season on the Power Play with 6 seconds left. He took a slick feed from Derick Brassard, who had taken a slick feed from Derek Stepan.
So with that momentum, you'd expect the Rangers to continue in the 2nd period. However, there's a reason that backup goalies are backup goalies, and in the span of 20 minutes, Martin Biron proved that he is indeed a backup. St. Louis Captain David Backes, who plays like our Captain, ripped a wrist shot off the rush to give the Blues a 2-1 lead and give the Rangers the blues. That goal was bad enough, but the next one was unexcusable. Derek Roy came in on a 1 on 4 rush as the Blues were changing power play lines, and ripped a slapshot past Biron that as the announcers diplomatically put it, "he would like to have back". The 3-1 lead was cut to a 3-2 lead as Brad Richards notched his 4th of the year on a rebound of another Brassard shot. Again as the Rangers looked to build, Biron was caught too deep in his net and couldn't stop a deflected shot from Backes again that made it 4-2, and for the 4th time in 5 games, the Rangers give up a multi-goal game to a player on the other side.
The 3rd period was a wash - but Henrik Lundqvist was in the pipes for an early return from Club Pine. Less than three minutes in, Ryan Callahan popped in his second power play goal if the game, literally. He swung his stick and popped the puck about 15 feet in the air, and it bounced down behind Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak and into the net. Unfortunately, the final goal of the game was not a tying goal, but a St. Louis insurance goal as Vladimir Tarasenko rifled a wrist shot on the power play past the artist formerly known as the King, and that was all she wrote.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - RYAN CALLAHAN. The Captain is rounding into form, scoring two power play goals that combined didn't travel more than 5 feet combined. He's in the crease, scoring Adam Graves-ian goals.
PLUS - DEREK STEPAN. #21 is starting to round back into form as well, and with his two assists, leads the team with 5 helpers and is tied for the team scoring lead with 5 points.
PLUS - BRAD RICHARDS. Another goal for #19. He now has 4 on the season. The rest of the team has 5 combined.
MINUS - MARTIN BIRON. His team and his coaches counted on the veteran for a spark, but there was no spark. More like a fizzle. Biron gave up two bad goals, and one slightly less shade of bad one. The difference between a 5-3 loss and a 3-2 victory.
MINUS - DEREK DORSETT. In 11 minutes of Ice Time, Dorsett took three penalties. He now leads the league with 32 PIM's - and all three of his penalties on this night were bad, and two ended up in PPG's against.
So now the Rangers must wait until they head back to the East Coast and face the equally disappointing Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. Until then....BLEED BLUE
First is the follow up from the Sharks debacle - which was just as much of a debacle in Anaheim. The Rangers basically slept though an ugly, listless 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Ducks. As has become a pattern in every loss this year, someone on the oppostion had a multi-goal game. On this night, it was Jakob Silfverberg. Also, as has become the norm, Henrik Lundqvist tried to play the puck, and ended up somewhere in Sweden, and gave up the entire net for a cheapie. At that point, the game was out of reach because the Rangers were offensively inept again.
PLUS/MINUS
There were no pluses from this game at all for the Rangers. Coming into this game from a shellacking 48 hours before, they were unprepared, uninspired, and completely outclassed.
The Minuses have to start with the coaching staff. How does a team not come in ready to play? Everyone in uniform gets a minus for this one.
On Saturday, the Rangers actually played much better than in Anaheim. To be honest, the Pee Wee game I refereed yesterday featured two teams that played better than the Rangers did in Anaheim. As a change of pace move to get their team out of their funk, Henrik Lundqvist started the game on the bench, and Martin Biron got his first start of the season. Unfortunately, he about 5 minutes in, he gave up a big juicy rebound that Alex Steen pounded home for a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until the fading moments of the period, when the Captain, Ryan Callahan scored his first of the season on the Power Play with 6 seconds left. He took a slick feed from Derick Brassard, who had taken a slick feed from Derek Stepan.
So with that momentum, you'd expect the Rangers to continue in the 2nd period. However, there's a reason that backup goalies are backup goalies, and in the span of 20 minutes, Martin Biron proved that he is indeed a backup. St. Louis Captain David Backes, who plays like our Captain, ripped a wrist shot off the rush to give the Blues a 2-1 lead and give the Rangers the blues. That goal was bad enough, but the next one was unexcusable. Derek Roy came in on a 1 on 4 rush as the Blues were changing power play lines, and ripped a slapshot past Biron that as the announcers diplomatically put it, "he would like to have back". The 3-1 lead was cut to a 3-2 lead as Brad Richards notched his 4th of the year on a rebound of another Brassard shot. Again as the Rangers looked to build, Biron was caught too deep in his net and couldn't stop a deflected shot from Backes again that made it 4-2, and for the 4th time in 5 games, the Rangers give up a multi-goal game to a player on the other side.
The 3rd period was a wash - but Henrik Lundqvist was in the pipes for an early return from Club Pine. Less than three minutes in, Ryan Callahan popped in his second power play goal if the game, literally. He swung his stick and popped the puck about 15 feet in the air, and it bounced down behind Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak and into the net. Unfortunately, the final goal of the game was not a tying goal, but a St. Louis insurance goal as Vladimir Tarasenko rifled a wrist shot on the power play past the artist formerly known as the King, and that was all she wrote.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - RYAN CALLAHAN. The Captain is rounding into form, scoring two power play goals that combined didn't travel more than 5 feet combined. He's in the crease, scoring Adam Graves-ian goals.
PLUS - DEREK STEPAN. #21 is starting to round back into form as well, and with his two assists, leads the team with 5 helpers and is tied for the team scoring lead with 5 points.
PLUS - BRAD RICHARDS. Another goal for #19. He now has 4 on the season. The rest of the team has 5 combined.
MINUS - MARTIN BIRON. His team and his coaches counted on the veteran for a spark, but there was no spark. More like a fizzle. Biron gave up two bad goals, and one slightly less shade of bad one. The difference between a 5-3 loss and a 3-2 victory.
MINUS - DEREK DORSETT. In 11 minutes of Ice Time, Dorsett took three penalties. He now leads the league with 32 PIM's - and all three of his penalties on this night were bad, and two ended up in PPG's against.
So now the Rangers must wait until they head back to the East Coast and face the equally disappointing Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. Until then....BLEED BLUE
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Blue Preview - Game #4 New York Rangers @ Anaheim Ducks
The Rangers, fresh off of the Shark Attack in San Jose Tuesday night, face off in Anaheim against the Ducks tonight. They do so without the services of Rick Nash, who was sent back to New York after suffering a head injury from the Marc Stuart "check" in the first period that earned him a three game vacation (unpaid) from the NHL.
The Rangers are a panic-inducing (to the fan-base) 1-2-0 coming into tonight. The Ducks are 2-1-0.
WHO TO WATCH
COREY PERRY/RYAN GETZLAF - FORWARDS. Both players were very young in the league when Anaheim won the Stanley Cup back in 2007. Each got huge contract extensions in the off-season and are being counted on to deliver.
JONAS HILLER/VIKTOR FASTH - GOALTENDERS. Anaheim uses a two-headed monster in goal. Fasth manned the net in their last game so look for Hiller to get the nod tonight. Hiller also is a goalie who catches with his right hand - see if the Rangers pick up on that.
Puck drop is 10:30 PM EST. See you tomorrow after the game. BLEED BLUE.
The Rangers are a panic-inducing (to the fan-base) 1-2-0 coming into tonight. The Ducks are 2-1-0.
WHO TO WATCH
COREY PERRY/RYAN GETZLAF - FORWARDS. Both players were very young in the league when Anaheim won the Stanley Cup back in 2007. Each got huge contract extensions in the off-season and are being counted on to deliver.
JONAS HILLER/VIKTOR FASTH - GOALTENDERS. Anaheim uses a two-headed monster in goal. Fasth manned the net in their last game so look for Hiller to get the nod tonight. Hiller also is a goalie who catches with his right hand - see if the Rangers pick up on that.
Puck drop is 10:30 PM EST. See you tomorrow after the game. BLEED BLUE.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Feeding Frenzy - Game #3 New York Rangers @ San Jose Sharks
If you've ever wondered what happens when you throw tired swimmers in the water around a bunch of bloodthirsty Sharks, you got your answer at the SAP Pavilion on Tuesday night as a group of men dressed in Rangers uniforms took the ice for the second time in two nights. I am not sure they were even the same guys from Los Angeles, but either way, the Rangers got curb-stomped by the Sharks to a tune of 9-2.
Believe it or not, the Rangers actually led this game 1-0 as the Brad Richards Reclamation Project continues. #19 scored his 3rd of the season on a 5 on 3 power play to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. That's it for your Rangers highlights of this game.
Rick Nash took an elbow to the head from San Jose's Marc Stuart in the first period, and that ended his night. Let's just hope there's no concussion involved, because although it was never stated last year, you, me and the lamp post all know he had one.
Henrik Lundqvist was bombarded. Entering the 2nd period down 2-1, the Rangers gave up 2 quick ones to fall behind 4-1. As coaches do to shake up their team, AV pulled Lundqvist in favor of Martin Biron, who gave up a goal on the first shot he faced, and ended up giving up 5 in all. An unconfirmed report states that the Rangers team bus nearly hit both Lundqvist and Biron after the game, but that got by them like everything else did last night.
The story of the game for the Sharks was young Tomas Hertl. The rookie, who I correctly predicted would be "one to watch" in the preview, lit the lamp four times. The 19 year old from the Czech Republic looked like a young Jaromir Jagr as he ripped the goal nets. However, and 19 or not, I can not give him a pass on this, in a 7-2 game, the kid pulled a video game move and shot the puck between his legs to beat Biron. As far as I could tell, he didn't see the ice after that, which is good because he probably would have ended up swallowing teeth. I understand young players make flashy plays, but you have to expect retribution if you embarrass a professional like Biron.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Brad Richards. Goal #3 in 2 games. #19 is definitely playing his way back into good graces.
PLUS - Derek Dorsett. #15 got his first goal in a Ranger uniform to make it 7-2. Which is kind of like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
PLUS - Justin Falk and Jesper Fast. They were scratched, so they had nothing to do with this shellacking.
MINUS - Everyone wearing white. The entire team. You're professionals. I understand it was back to back games, but you got outshot 17-4 in the second period alone. The goalies couldn't stop a beach ball. Nobody flattened the little hot dog Hertl after his showboat goal.
Next game is Thursday night. The Rangers have 48 hours to lick their wounds and take on the Anaheim (Don't Call Us Mighty) Ducks.
Even after last night's thrashing, I still......BLEED BLUE.
Believe it or not, the Rangers actually led this game 1-0 as the Brad Richards Reclamation Project continues. #19 scored his 3rd of the season on a 5 on 3 power play to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. That's it for your Rangers highlights of this game.
Rick Nash took an elbow to the head from San Jose's Marc Stuart in the first period, and that ended his night. Let's just hope there's no concussion involved, because although it was never stated last year, you, me and the lamp post all know he had one.
Henrik Lundqvist was bombarded. Entering the 2nd period down 2-1, the Rangers gave up 2 quick ones to fall behind 4-1. As coaches do to shake up their team, AV pulled Lundqvist in favor of Martin Biron, who gave up a goal on the first shot he faced, and ended up giving up 5 in all. An unconfirmed report states that the Rangers team bus nearly hit both Lundqvist and Biron after the game, but that got by them like everything else did last night.
The story of the game for the Sharks was young Tomas Hertl. The rookie, who I correctly predicted would be "one to watch" in the preview, lit the lamp four times. The 19 year old from the Czech Republic looked like a young Jaromir Jagr as he ripped the goal nets. However, and 19 or not, I can not give him a pass on this, in a 7-2 game, the kid pulled a video game move and shot the puck between his legs to beat Biron. As far as I could tell, he didn't see the ice after that, which is good because he probably would have ended up swallowing teeth. I understand young players make flashy plays, but you have to expect retribution if you embarrass a professional like Biron.
PLUS/MINUS
PLUS - Brad Richards. Goal #3 in 2 games. #19 is definitely playing his way back into good graces.
PLUS - Derek Dorsett. #15 got his first goal in a Ranger uniform to make it 7-2. Which is kind of like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
PLUS - Justin Falk and Jesper Fast. They were scratched, so they had nothing to do with this shellacking.
MINUS - Everyone wearing white. The entire team. You're professionals. I understand it was back to back games, but you got outshot 17-4 in the second period alone. The goalies couldn't stop a beach ball. Nobody flattened the little hot dog Hertl after his showboat goal.
Next game is Thursday night. The Rangers have 48 hours to lick their wounds and take on the Anaheim (Don't Call Us Mighty) Ducks.
Even after last night's thrashing, I still......BLEED BLUE.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)