Moments away (Updated)
I’m reluctant to say hockey is in the air seeing how it’s about 90 degrees outside, but at least in the bowels of the Garden, where players have returned to the familiar sounds of preparing their sticks in the hallway, the sense of anticipation is palpable.
As you might expect, the Garden has an elaborate video presentation planned for pre-game, and I caught a little bit just now. Other than the three-minute montage of Marek Malik icings (which I thought was a bit over the top) everything else looks good.
Meanwhile, some notes:
Update, 7:04: Hossa is scratched. Damn you, Tom Renney!
Update, first intermission: A Brian Leetch appearance, an early Michal Rozsival, and then….actually a pretty mediocre first period. I suppose you’re allowed some latitude for the first game, especially when you’re still winning. But it was sloppy nonetheless.
By the way, the winner of the goal pool was Dubi Silverstein, editor and publisher of “Blueshirt Bulletin”:http://ordinaryleastsquare.typepad.com/blueshirtbulletin/. Word is he is planning on moving to his own private island with his winnings. I don’t have the heart to break it to him that it’s only $20.
Update, second intermission: Florida leads 2-1 and yes, the Rangers have already been booed. The only highlight was the antics of former SNL star Jimmy Fallon, who, when shown on the scoreboard, sheepishly held up a picture of MSG CEO Jim Dolan. Needless to say, the camera didn’t stay on him long.
Update, post-game: Just like you planned it: Score early, completely fall apart, get booed by your own fans, then have Marek Malik (and oh yeah, Chris Drury) bail you out and go on to win with ease. Just a typical opener.
Meanwhile, you have to admire Drury, who speaks in such a hushed tone you’d think he had just won a game of rock, paper, scissors instead of scoring the game-winner in his Rangers debut at MSG. His explanation: “Right place at the right time. And I’m out there with two of the best players in the league right now.”
OK, so that explains it. Here I was thinking he was pretty good, too.
As for Malik, what else is there to say? Was he feeling the magic of Brian Leetch? Had he finally had enough of the booing and just flipped a switch we never knew he had?
“I ask him what’s going on and he said, ‘I have to do it all by myself,’” Jagr cracked.
So there you have it, Marek Malik, Norris Trophy candidate. Cast your votes now..
Print
| 
Email
Advertisements
go sam go!
here’s to a great season—you made rookie “blogger of the year” honors—now let’s see you take it to the next level!
best
E
Sam,
has this been the longest summer, or what?
Sam – Yikes, sounds like we might be related.
Damn its good to have Multiple updates in one day from this blog…Im still geting used to it…
nearly an hour away, i cant wait till gamenight, hopefully they have a funny video or something. Nothing can beat Kaspar Cam at the Olympics, or Beety’s and Cas’ 2 parter, preping for games. That was cool, it eas emotional when they said goodbye as Adam Hall departed from New York.
Good stuff.
Im a ranger season ticket holder and am stuck on business halfway around the world and will be missing opening night for the first time in 20 years. Thanks for making this a little easier Sam…Lets go Rangers….feels good to be saying that again
Radek Dvorak will score a shortie, just like the good old times.
It’s ok Sam I got a bad haircut last week and my wedding is in two weeks. But I’ve got tix to the game tonight so who cares. Let Go Rangers!!
A song I wrote to honor the season’s beginning:
“The Ballad of Big Cubano”
Al Montoya, you’re so fucking cool
You’re one of my favorites
In the Rangers’ talent pool (talent pool)
Valiquette is crappy
So you should have made the team
That salary cap is pretty mean (Gary Bettman sucks)
You fought with Rick DiPietro
And you hit him in the face
To borrow British slang,
That was pretty fucking ace.
The Nassau Mausoleum
Was full of orange swine
They’re all afraid of Number 29
ROCK OUT!
(solo, accompanied by improvised melodic shouts about how
the Islanders suck)
[Melenacholy section]
I couldn’t get enough
Of your pre-season play
I hope you are called up
On a not-too-distant day
Sadly, you’re in Hartford
That’s bad, ‘cause you’re the guy
Who should get a slice of Stanley’s Pie.
WTF, Hyena is seriously retarded scratching Hossa for Orr against a non physical team.
And why was Tyutin booed?
Wow I am REALLY digging John Ameronte’s new porcuipine toupea.
By the way DYKW4YIAP….., TYUtin (always boo with the low sounding names).
Anyways, Game On!!!—- GOALLL!!!!!!!!! ROSZII!!!!!!!!!
I think they were yelling “Toots”
Just like “Pruch” for Prucha
ROSIE~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!11
37 seconds from dury and jagr
Avery saved Staal’s ass
Straka the sucka
Man, Prucha got smoked. Bad penalty by Straka. Gotta work that stuff outta your game early.
Who was the mook that said Straka is our best 2 way forward?
except the first minute I thought Florida out played the rangers. I hope the rangers can pick it up. The rangers look a little disorganized at times. I know it’s only the first period of the first game, just an observation.
Man, could they look any worse in their own zone? Mara and Staal are both on one side of the ice, and leave Lundy out to dry.
lundy looked pissed at dubinsky after that goal
If I didn’t know anything about these teams I would think Florida is the team predicted to go far in the playoffs. Florida has been out playing the ranger for most of the game. Rangers can’t get anything going.
Girardi just showed whoever that was what’s up.
it was weiss
Jagr unintentionally threw the biggest hit of his career
Girardi has been throwing big hits with authority.
scumbag Malik does not take a hit to make the play
Now we see what happens when two Rangers don’t have sticks.
Lundqvist should have had that
Boy, the rangers are playing an el stinko of a game. I didn’t realize how good Florida is, there defense is young and big. Florida has a good young team. The rangers look like there skating in sand at times.
Jagr, Straka, Gomez, Shanahan, Drury, Malik are worth every penny.
I dont see how its legal for the Florida guy to take the stick out of the Rangers hand like that
The Rangers aren’t setting anything up in the offensive zone. If they wanna get back in this game they need to get things going and put the pressure on Vokoun.
Great defensive play by none other than Marek Malik. He’s so godly and gracious that he’s taking a penalty to give Florida a better chance to score.
Typical Rangers right now…look like they are barely trying. I dont get how their momentum can go from so great in the first half of the first period to this…they better not do this all season, i’m sick of teams not giving their all every second of every game
Nylander had the puck on his stick like a yo yo, but now no more great puck possession and Malik will be more and more exposed for a garbage that he is.
this is where we need someone like Ortmeyer!!
you can’t buy the Cup, trade idiot Gomez ASAP.
I think the Rangers finally remembered that there was a game going on.
This is truly embarrassing. The rangers actually look like the teams they had in the past, you remember those teams, the one they spent money to bring in free agents and look unorganized and slow.
Dubinsky got only 5 minutes of ice so far.
Paul Mara’s been taking exception to everything tonight, hasn’t he?
Renney getting outcoached like a mook that he is and it all started with scratching Hossa.
This ridiculousness has nothing to do with Renney….please
Damn, Gomez sure can move can’t he? Too bad he and the rest of the team do nothing once they gain the zone. I think I see Vokoun taking a little catnap in net.
MSG ANNOUNCERS!
What a joke!
Staal makes one mistake and we get replays and analysis.
Malik stinks up the ice, over and over and over, and they mention nothing. He finally clears the ice and the praise starts.
Tell me these shills aren’t under dolan’s little thumb!
“This ridiculousness has nothing to do with Renney….please”
a bad coach who yells a bunch nonsense from the bench like some tourettes case has everything to do with it and dressing an enforcer against a team that has no enforcers makes no sense at all.
Where did Jagr go tonight, he is nonexistent. Where is Nylander when you need him, ouch.
the point is that we are playing awful and still only down 2-1, i think that is a good sign. the good teams find a way to win even when they play bad, lets just see what happens in the third
Coach Starstruck he is nothing but bad luck
sooner or later Nylander will be re-acquired
4 years….you dont even make any sense
Matt- i agree with you but at the same time they should not play so unmotivated like that. I’m so sick of Ranger teams doing this every year. Its like they only play well in desperation. So hopefully they will come out with a good third and take this without going to any OT, but since its the first game of the season, it may not be desperate enough times.
Orr is very clueless defensively, nice job by the coaching staff
give Hyena the microphone to see what a blabbermouth idiot he is.
I think Renney is always worried about Orr no being in the lineup after the game against Philly when Fedoruk and Co. had a field day physically on the Rangers.
of course the line with the young guys is BY FAR the best line tonight…i wish some of the vet guys would play with this much energy and determination!
funny how the young line is the best line and will not get rewarded PP time, that’s some coaching
Jagr is a reluctant captain
GREAt play by Malik with that goal!
Prucharitis is there to save Hyena, that means he is going to be benched for most of the next game
Drury looks bad defensively by the way
good Hyena, good Hyena here is a treat for you, boy
Malik twice again, what a scum
What was that about drury, the boys have woken up, how we doing!!!!!!!!
Dubinsky already on the 4th line, good job Hyena
Yeaaaaaaaaaaah! The Rangers are lookin’ alive! Callahan’s picking up right where he left off last season.
The rangers are skating a lot better in the third – good coaching right troll-boy?
Betts is finally hurt. Shanahan can’t hit the net
I am really, really, REALLY liking this 3rd line.. you know, the one that follows our two all-star lines…
“I am really, really, REALLY liking this 3rd line.. you know, the one that follows our two all-star lines…”
but Renney doesn’t that is why he put Betts out there instead of Dubinsky
Malik is rewarded for his horrendous play with PP time, typical Hyena
Gomez is good he flies like he is skating in air.
The PP was looking better. They were starting to set up more chances. They weren’t finishing, but it’s better than getting no chances at all.
4 years…you need to chill
Malik has actually had a real good game tonight so why dont you zip it…your getting real annoying with your uneducated remarks
The boys have finally woke up and realize they were in a hockey game, this is more like it, blow out time.
The guys on HDNet are saying Malik’s pass to Straka was intentionally off the boards. I don’t think I’m gonna give him that much credit.
with a 3 goal lead Dubinsky is demoted to 4th line, I love this coach!!!!!!!!!! He can suck my dick anytime.
I’m so pissed that the rangers are winning I’m going to go curl up in my bathtub and cry like the little girl that I am. Heyenas scare me. I can’t even watch the Discovery channel.
You need another year in the Pschiatric hospital
hey, out of 5 goals Malik has 3 assists…let’s give the guy a freakin’ break eh? Since I don’t think anyone else watching this game, on this blog is a pro athlete…maybe all the negative posters should just sit back and enjoy this great start to the 2007-08 season! GO RANGERS!
Why must we bicker amongst ourselves? Can’t we all just get along and bask in the glory of a good game by the Rangers? Er, good third period?
right on!! sinbingirl
See? Malik is the Honda most efficient Ranger!!!! So There
I always thought Malik is given crap for nothing…he is a very efficient player he is just the new whipping boy
I hope the Rangers keep this up! I LOVE IT!
GO RANGERS!!!
3 stars:
lundquist
drury
malik
(prediction)
im surprised jagr was a star
like i said the good teams find ways to win games
Drury played 22 minutes
“im surprised jagr was a star”
I am surprised YOU are surprised
Who are those retards booing Malik after the excellent game he played tonight?
2 out of 3 aren’t bad, but I am pretty sure LQ outplayed Jags…
Jagr was pretty invisible most of the game until the end but as long as Malik was in there…And i agree Jordan, some Ranger fans are clueless, they just like to be angry at someone and boo them no matter what. Its real annoying
Angelus- I don’t know if Malik intended that pass to end up where it did, but it looked like he was aiming where he shot it due to the traffic in front. It didn’t look like a blown shot.
And we can’t get all just get along when a poster is intent on trashing every little thing the Rangers do from free-agent signings, roster assignments, NUMBER selections (WTF!) and water bottle colors.
Remember this date Ranger fans…it’s the only time that Marek Malik will ever have more points than Jaromir Jagr.
Henrik or even Cally deserved Jagrs star
Rangers threw 37 hits, guess how many were Malik’s? 6’5” 240 lbs is sure efficient with that size.
Oh man I just hear Hyena laugh it was very…authentic.
Hyena is sure laughing tonight, oh my
Why do people even respond to it, he has been doing this since the beginning of last year. Who cares, his comments are ridiculous, it appears he does need a head doctor because he has blown a blood vessel or two in the brain.
4 Years:
Drury had the game winner in his 22 minutes. We rolled four lines all night. Renney said something to them in the 2nd intermission. You are a dumb ass. Your comments are moronic. You are the “son of a motherless goat.”
Hyena is very happy with himself tonight. But mostly because he got the wireless mic during the game and could show off his blabbermouth.
Well, it was nice to see them “wake up”—credit the kids for a few energetic shifts to get things going in the 3rd.
I’ll not feed the troll, but I don’t necessarily think Betts getting more defensive PT towards the end of the game is a bad thing, especially if he’s going to take important face-offs.
Malik is on pace for +246 rating, wooooooooow
The reason he put Betts on the 3rd line is because that 3rd line was emberrassing the top 2 lines and he wanted to cool that line down. Renney is a low scum and a piece of shit.
we have 3 lines who control the puck well and can score!!!
I am psyched about that beyond belief
Hey, There’s something shiny over there! Look! Steve Reinprecht is playing! I’m going to go amuse myself some more. Maybe people will tell me how brilliant I am on the Coyotes board!
Dubi 71% on faceoffs
Avery 10 hits
Sam,
I think it’s time you change your policy and block this guy. You have the best Ranger blog on the web and the worst message board because of classless acts such as this one. The best posters on this blog are migrating to blueshirt bulletin, you deserve better than this.
Here’s to another great season
“we have 3 lines who control the puck well and can score!!!
I am psyched about that beyond belief”
I have a feeling you would be even more psyched if you got a free pedicure.
“The best posters on this blog are migrating to blueshirt bulletin, you deserve better than this.
Here’s to another great season”
so you saying you are not the best?
I have said it before. I hate the fact the Malik plays such a soft D but you cannot ignore the fact that he makes a great first pass, is confident skating and stickhandling with the puck for a man of his size, shows flashes of offensive brilliance and is on the ice much more when we score vs. when we are scored upon(+/-). There are a lot of Malik haters on this blog but lets face the facts, he’s an above average useful, heady defenseman and he clearly has some chemistry with Rozi.
Malik is a garbage player pure and simple, you put Pock in his spot and he will double Malik’s points and +’s
Yenner you fucking miserable pink wet twat, would you just off yourself already? Holy shit, you need to buy a bullet and rent a gun, and go BANG in your mouth.
That said…. tonight showed some…growing pains. We saw this coming fans…don’t sweat it.
Drury is awesome. Gomez FLIES w/ the puck. Jagr was invisible, I have no idea why he got a star besides marketing him. Henke was unreal.
CALLAHAN & GIRARDI = Prodigies
Okay, that 3rd period was sweet, even if the other two were ugly and painful. Hank kept em in and they didn’t get progressively worse. Jagr will hopefully cheer up and get over Nylander. The young guys looked alright. Malik deserves a break.
Now if Shanny and Avery could hit the net…
Also, hate to say I told you so, but I know one person who picked Rozsi as the first scorer of the year—this guy.
Let’s Go Rangers.
“Yenner you fucking miserable pink wet twat, would you just off yourself already? Holy shit, you need to buy a bullet and rent a gun, and go BANG in your mouth.”
This place is full of nice people who are so eager to assist others in suicide.
Malik is definitely not even close to being a garbage player but judging by your previous posts, I could have talked up Pock and you would have posted he’s garbage and Malik is much better so this is the last time I’ll be responding to your posts. I actually like Pock and would like to see him get a chance to play but it doesn’t look like there’s much room for him here. In case of injury or if Staal blows it, much rather see Pock than Strudwick.
I watched the game at a bar across the street from the garden. I’m REALLY drunk, so I’m only gonna post my two biggest thoughts of the game.
1) Avery should move to the third line. His offensive ability is not there. Either prucha or Callahan should move up to the 2nd line (Prucha is easier because he is also a LW, but Callahan is better defensively for balance – Shanny can switch back to left).
2) Staal didn’t have a good debut. Especially in the 2nd period.
I’m goin to go to a bar now to celebrate more
LETS GO RANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop booing Malik. What do you think it accomplishes? I’m sick of this garbage. Most NHL fans don’t see the need to boo one their best defensemen. And yes, he is one of our best d-men.
JUST BECAUSE HE’S BIG AND DOESN’T HIT DOESN’T MEAN HE’S WORTHY OF BEING BOOED.
So, if you’re going to home games, don’t boo. It doesn’t help.
“Stop booing Malik”
I couldnt agree more. The guy does not deserve it at all. But I love the fact that he skated out during the pregrame intros with a huge grin on his face, stick high in the air even though he knew he was gonna get booed. Good for Malik!
He did have that one scary moment in front of Hank in the 3rd period but he got it out of the zone and he was pretty great the rest of the time. BY the way, that was not a missed shit on Strakas goal. Im not gonna say Malik meant for it to deflect off the boards and onto Martys tape but he did have every intention for it to deflect off the boards and somewhere in front of the net. Marty just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Yep. He did not shoot the puck into the Panther d-men, as he saw that his shooting lane was blocked, so he shot the puck hard against the end boards, knowing that it would angle outward. Nice job. And a nice game by Malik. I thought he skated better than I’ve ever seen, especially with the puck.
GO RANGERS! DRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURY!
“JUST BECAUSE HE’S BIG AND DOESN’T HIT DOESN’T MEAN HE’S WORTHY OF BEING BOOED.”
he is not even worth being booed, people need to bring small bags of feces and throw them at the big ugly.
My moma always said: “life is like Marek Malik—you never know when you get hit with fecal matter(that’s why his face looks like he is expecting it any minute to hit him), but you can always count on Malik to screw up at least several times a game”
I will name Doodie Machetto tonight’s honorary fourth star of the game because he types well and spells words and names correctly when he’s drunk. Thumbs up.
“1) Avery should move to the third line. His offensive ability is not there. Either prucha or Callahan should move up to the 2nd line (Prucha is easier because he is also a LW, but Callahan is better defensively for balance – Shanny can switch back to left).”
good idea, I would wait another game though.
“2) Staal didn’t have a good debut. Especially in the 2nd period.”
aside from couple rookie mistakes he was pretty good.
LOL @ yenner trying to add his cute little opinions to the real hockey talk….
so warm. so pink.
i love it…. gimmie smoochez yenner
‘NIGHT REAL CREW
(NYR=Undefeated)
i guess sam did crash in the midst of the report, poor guy!
NHL Network just analyzed the Rangers’ 5th goal and they’re convinced that Malik intentionally aimed for the boards when he shot… I think I’m convinced!
GO Malik!!!
Little action on the blog tonight; looks like half our guys were at the game. I don’t blame you for drinking, Doodie, especially in the first two periods.
As I suspected, Dubinsky had less than 10 minutes on ice. As someone else suspected, another goal in the opening minute of the season.
A couple surprises: Orr playing, and, hello! Malik with three assists! WOW! And of course off to his great +/- rating again.
I’m hoping SportsCenter will actually show some decent highlights. I wish Versus did an NHL show since there is no NHL Network in the States yet.
SAM you need to get one of your posters help before he goes postal. That is one disturbed kid. And he’s a crybaby to go along with constant criticisms, sad.
WTF is up with SportsCenter showing the two early baseball games twice? I am in Rangers withdrawal here, needing highlights, please. Hopefully they’re extending this show a bit.
If you want Ranger highlights, go to http://www.tsn.ca
go to espn.com for highlights if you want to see them right away
what’s hockey?
who owns the chiefs?
Thanks Pierre, but between the TSN website and SportsCenter, I haven’t seen Malik’s brilliance before the fifth goal yet. hopefully it will be up on Yahoo or Youtube tomorrow.
great to see Leetch at the game tonight. loved the reaction of Shanny and Gomez to him. also happy Malik had a good game. it would help him and maybe get the fans off him. lots of stars in the 3rd period and Henrik played well to keep us in it before that. not let’s go to Ottawa and get the 2 points there.
Yenner if you off yourself can you have someone put that on utube and link it here. Thanks.
“OAAANNNS!”
“OAAANNNS!”
“Trade me right F**‘n now!”
In my brief professional career I was cut by one of the famous brothers, Steve Carlson, when he was coaching the JOHNSTOWN Chiefs. Besides the rink and training camp (more fights than you can imagine)I got to see the town square with the Dog that saved the town.
No fashion show, though.
“I’m gonna do, it. And with the exception of my wife everyone is going to be running for the exits!”
Whoops. The jig is up. I forgot to change my handle from Yenners. I’m not as practiced at changing my name as he is.
Hey, SpiderPig, check out NHL.com they should have good highlights including saves and big hits. They re-did the highlight reel and its easy to use now.
Forget moving Avery to the 3rd line. That line played great and shouldn’t have him brought into it or be broken up. And it’s a bit early to be panicking—the biggest problem is he had something to prove when he got here and now he thinks every single fan adores him. Him and Shanny need to tighten up their shooting and he should learn from Slat’s offseason move—the Blueshirts existed before you and will exist after you. Now go earn the Adam Graves treatment you want.
Malik needs a break. That 3rd period move was crazy, but he looked solid and I feel like giving him a lot of credit for playing through bandwagon level hatred from the fans.
Staal was exactly what he is—an excellent ROOKIE. He made bad plays that were plays he probably would have gotten away with anywhere but the NHL. I bet he learns quick and gets good fast.
Go Rangers.
Also, I think it’s a bit early to be badmouthing Sam Rosen. In the second period, and even some of the first, he was very vocal about what a bad game the Rangers were playing and it’ll be surprising if they don’t shut that up soon. But he tried.
Oh, how I have missed hockey…
BOBBY SANGUINETTI watch: D Brampton Battalion of OHL:
GP 4 G-A- PTS. = 6-5-11 +/- = +9 (Sensational Start, he turns 20 March 2008)
Source: thehockeynews.com 10-5-2008
What a game, i just got back a few hours ago. The place was loooud all night, im gonna nuse an earache for a few days..
Anyway..
EVERYONE LISTEN UP
If you all have any brains what so ever, you will do exactly what i do, and thats ignore Yenner from now on, if he says something about you, ignore it, if he says something like NYR sucks, ignore him, just quit talking to him and let him post to himself like the loser he is, because he has no life…He wont leave this blog but if we dont read his BS then it will be like he’s not here, or better yet he’s not alive. Yenner go die, and thats the last thing ill ever say to you….Go die!!
MIKE
Munchkin Dawes can enjoy a nice time with the Wolfpack, while our Cupcake Prucha enjoys a game tying goal. Another reason why we should keep him around instead of the real cupcake. I hope you choke on your words.
Dubi and Staal loooked alright tonight, all i seen were some rookie mistakes but thats alright, its a part of learning the game.
Drury and Gomez looked nice, Gomer was kept off the score sheet but thats no big deal, he looked good. Dru had a pretty good game obviously.
Malik really did two bad things i noticed…taking a bad penalty, and a minor give away. Thats all, other then that he played a decent game, and shouldnt have gotten boo’d, and that 3rd goal was a beauty, and YES he did hit it off the boards on purpose, Chelios does it all the time with the Red Wings…It was a sick move and one of the sickest plays so far in the last 2 days.
Shanny and Jagr, didnt have much time with the puck tonight which was a problem, but im not worried about that at all.
Callahan and Girardi….yeah there gonna have terrible rookie years…Pff…they were awesome tonight, Cally looked like he can score 30 goals easily, and with a wicked shot like that it is more then possible, and Danny was just physical, and played an awesome defensive game.
Orr/Hollweg/Betts played well, Betts came up with a nice block, and Orr and Holly threw a few hits, but Holly looked like he had Buttman on his mind, he backed out of a few hits, i think Sam got him nervous about hittting now, lol. BTW Horton knocked Orr’s stick out of his hands on purpose, that was pathetic and should have been an easy interference call.
Also the penalty Gomer drew, we should have gotten a PP, Mara got 4 minutes for doing nothing, he did exactly what the guy he was shoving did, except the guy had his gloves off and really instigated the fight and did infact throw a few shots, Pauly had his gloves on and got 4 minutes for doing nothing but pushing…BS..once again the refs called a bad game. Im not saying this cause im an NYR fan, ive seen it in a few games tonight and last night, the refs are getting soft and calling allot of BS.
In my opinion, it was most important for guys like Dru and gomer to get off to a good start, but most important to me is Cally and Pru, those are gonna be the 2 kids that need to step up this year, and can easily score 30 goals each.
And the FUGGIN NHL needs to stop hits to the head, it doesnt matter if the player doesnt get injured…the fact is…he CAN GET INJURED YOU STUPID IDIOT CAMBELL.
And Hank was great tonight, he saved our asses.
Now lets hand Ottawa there first loss of the year….cause all i can say is Druuuuuuuuuuuuury. and my favorite czech cupcake…Pruuuuucha…take that Mikey.
Staal looked a bit nervous, but had flashes. He will be very good. It is stunning what a tremendous skater Gomez is. In the new NHL, his speed and skill will be a tremendous asset this year. Callahan -Dubinsky-prucha will be the go to “energy” line with a penchant for scoring.
To all Devils and Icelander fans:
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
the MSG shilling is tough. Is this why JD left? Dolan-mania?
Malik, godawful, missed the net and DID NOT intend that shot. At our annual Ranger party EVERYONE laughed their arses off when the announcers called it intentional!
When he took the puck into the net, with Lundqvst gone, and two Panthers waiting for him, they could not contain themselves, momentarily, but then caught on and said, “he is confident with the puck”. What garbage.
I miss JD.
Kid line was flying…..great steal by Callahan…they are going to be fun to watch.
NOTE to Lundqvst: save the dirty looks for Malikenstein, not Dubinsky.
Richtersgirl October 4th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
I always thought Malik is given crap for nothing…he is a very efficient player he is just the new whipping boy
I hope the Rangers keep this up! I LOVE IT!
GO RANGERS!!!>>
Richter’s Girl,
you are old enough to remember Mike Richter so you are not a kid. Watch Malik’s play WHEN THE ANNOUNCERS aren’t saying anything, or better yet, turn off the sound. He is a TREMENDOUS liability to a real Cup Contending team. He got 3 assists last night. One pass was actually nice. His shot missed the net…..
I think if you really just watch him skate aimlessly around the net, or clear the puck in front of Lundqvst time and time again, avoid hits, be taken OFF the puck consistently…NOT use the body, NOT block shots,...etc. You might feel differently.
In my opinion, he is one of the worst players I have ever seen rewarded with so much ice time. His lazy penalties (if properly counted in the +/-) kill us. He is on the ice for Jagr goals, hence, the stat.
Although Kasperitis’ implosion in preseason was so very sad to watch, malik consistently makes us a worse team. This is OUR year to run for the Cup…we Have to move this guy and we have to find a stay at home, punishing defenseman. DO NOT listen to the MSG shills who say that no one in the East has a punishing defenseman. The devils defense will punish, even without big names. Philly will also. Even the icelanders will jar some bones.
Malik chooses not to hit, he chooses to clear the puck in front of Lundqvst, and now, apparently, he has such “confidence” that he will skate the puck in front of his own net, minus a goalie, and take on two opponents.
man, this is all too much.
“Seamus”
I agree with you on most of your Malik points and being a punishing defenseman myself, it annoys me to no end when Malik plays soft, avoids contact, etc. That being said, you are wrong about that play off the boards last night. He recognized that the shooting lane was taken and the shot would be blocked so at the last second he changed his angle and shot it off the boards with the intention of the puck ending up somewhere in front of the net. I have seen this highlight several times now but all I needed was the live version. Look at his follow through, that was not meant to be a shot on goal.
Wow, Cherepanov is slick. This video is in slo-mo, but there’s a different one you can click to in real-time, but it is a far away camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUw7lDVKI7M
Seamus – re Malik. it appears to me his teammates like him. being that their goal is to win the cup (and they are publicly stating it this yr) I don’t think they would support him if he was interfering with their goal. So I only hope most fans will be unlike you (at least the ones who go to the game). I’m not happy with every move he makes but I’ll support him and suffer in silence at times. But on balance he’s a contributing member to the success of this team. I go to approx 1/2 the games and have yet to boo him. I hope you don’t attend (nothing personal we just don’t need the negative energy affecting him and his teammates).
The only players I booed in recent memory were Ozo, Poti and a few like Kamensky who just stole money from us. Malik is not comparable to those in the negative way. Hopefully less and less will boo him. There were less booing him in the playoffs.
giving jagr 2nd star for that pitiful performance is a joke. this is what we mean, Sam, when we say the starstruck fawning by the media has to stop. No reasonable hockey fan would have given jagr a star for that invisible man, phone-it-in routine tonight.
it devalues a lot of media reporting, knowing that they can’t be honest when a bigshot doesn’t play well.