NBC back for more
Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that the day after the NHL secures what has to be an ideal second-round match-up—its biggest media market against a team featuring one of its biggest stars—it announces a contract extension with NBC for next season.
The game of the week ratings were up 11 percent this season, and the valued demographic of men 18-49 was up 33 percent.
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It doesn’t happen often, but I gotta give it to philthy fans on this one…everyone hates a crybaby.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7e0xc-mJNQU
Repost
I think the contributing player will be Jagr, Shanny, Gomez, Drury, STraka, Avery, Dubi, Dawes, Calihan, Sjo, Betts, Orr, Rozsival, Staal, Girardi, Tyutin, Backman, and Mara. ANd defintily Hank. I think the others may be non factors!
Just kidding I think Jagr (I say that every game) and Drury will come up big on offense (if not in points then in play- Jagr controlling the puck and Drury returning to dominant form in face-offs). Staal and Rozsival will get big minutes including a lot of pk time. And Hank is Hank so we know he will be a difference maker.
haha Beer Me. I reposted that one on myspace, thanks!
I can’t stand NBC. I understand you don’t wat to root for a team but can’t we be fair ad not absolutley hate a team. And MIlbury is just flat out annoying.
In the daily news it said all their games will be starting at 12:30.
I see Jagr feeding of the “boooos” of penguins fans and having a great series…....similar to how Gomez was feeding off the “boos” in dirty Jersey…..
Wow beer me thanks you just made my day! And thanks to all the Flyers fans who made that possible!
I think so to Kris! Jagr has been really skating and moving well.
Sean Avery makes the pages of The New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2008/04/28/080428ta_talk_paumgarten
I see Jagr feeding of the “boooos†of penguins fans and having a great series
......
I don’t see it. It hasn’t happened yet. I think the crowds really do actually get to him, he even had the math worked out that there was a 66% chance that he’d be getting booed…he’s well aware of it.
Greg M…..I have to disagree with your analysis of the Avery incident on the last blog page.
Drury said, “He’s a Ranger. I would take a bullet for him any day. Any of us would.”
For a guy who leads by example and doesn’t speak all that much, it speaks volumes.
The guys on the team love him for taking some attention of the other team away from Jags, Gomer, Drury, and putting it on Avery.
This is old news though, so moving on….
We need our D to clamp down and chop wood in front of the net. That is the key to this series, in my view.
Salty – do you get used to hearing booo’s everywhere you go? ;)
I think our speedy line of Drury, Dawes and Callahan will be huge, Pittsburgh D is the weak link and if our speedy wingers can capitalize with a strong cycle and win the battles in the corners they can be dangerous.
We also have to hit hard and finish our checks.
and obviously Hank has to be huge…
” His peers have voted him, by a wide margin, th most hated player in the league, and the dirtiest. In a milieu known for swallowe words and held tongues (to go with surreptitious elbows and deployable fists) hockey players occasionally open up on the subject of Sean Avery. As Gar Roberts, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, said of him, after a tussle earlier this season for which Roberts received four penalty minutes and Avery got none, “He is a idiot.”
First off while he does dive and such I don’t think I have ever seen him referred to as one of the dirtiest players… that is territory reserved for people who injure I thought… Secondly if Roberts allowed hismelf to be goaded into taking four penalty minutes which one is the idiot??
Avery chatters and dives, but as for slashing there are a hell of a lot dirtier players (and Marty is even a worse diver)
Dirty players are the likes of Cote, Neal, Simon, etc. Avery is not dirty…
“We need our D to clamp down and chop wood in front of the net. That is the key to this series, in my view.”
From mine too. 1/2 their team can bury pucks from the slot. If they aren’t allowed time in the slot, that’s a huge chunk of their attack gone. But they can kill us with speed up the middle. Best watch out for the odd-man rush.
I wouldn’t even call Avery a “diver.” I’d call him “dramatic.” But I’m probably just playing semantics and drinking the Kool-Aid…which is well within my right as a Ranger and Avery fan!
I just hate that people, both Ranger fans and haters, overlook Avery’s hockey abilities. Sure people throw in the token compliments about his skating and the Rangers record with him in the lineup, but watch just Avery on a shift or two. He moves to the right spots without the puck. He often makes an EXTREMELY SMART pass to open up ice for teammates or lead to a good breakout. He seems to be in the right place at the right time when he scores his goals. That’s hockey sense. Avery has a lot of it, and it may be his own fault, but no one ever talks about it.
Against Pittsburg for his career JAgr has 36 games played, 17 goals, 19 assisits- for a total of 36 points. He is a +3 with 6 pp goals and 3 game winning goals. He has a 11.3 shooting percentage.
But I don’t know what he did in Pittsburg versus MSG.
Calder trophy finilist announced. Its BAckstrom and the Chicago kids.
I thought Dubi or Staal had a chance.
Avery definitly embellishs some thngs (Go on youtube and look up the night JAgr almost killed Sean Avery). But he definitly isn’t dirty.
Avery dives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B53W-7tk4Uw
but like I said other players do it more often. ANd yes he has hockey skill but he also makes bad turnovers and blind passes as much and more then plenty of others. I don’t discount his skill, but he wouldnt be on the first line on any other club for a length of time like he was here, and the seocnd line might be questionably on most club’s as well.
But still that doesn’t make him dirty Ruutu Simon Pronger those guys are dirty half the FLyers team…
Salt – I have to agree with that. Jagr is a sensitive guy.
I see the series going 7, we need to steal 1 in Pitt and win all our home games.
I’m voting for Taews. Ive heard about these two all season even with them in the other conference. THe only time I heard about Backstrom was when he put the puck in his own net…
Funny thing about the Calder nominee’s. I had all 3 of them on my fantasy team. The youth movement paid off.
Toews will prob win. Though I’d like to see it be Kane. Towes is probably the better of the 2, but he missed 6 weeks or so with a knee injury and finished behind in pts. Backstrom started slow, and will keep him from winning this one.
So we only get Sam and Joe for game 3 (and 6 and 7 if necessary), huh? Not sure about the rest of you guys, but I hate the coverage on NBC and Versus, particularly the announcers. Mike Emrick is definitely doing games 2 and 5. They might get that idiotic Caps play-by-play guy to do games 1 and 4. Oh, and let’s not forget Pierre McGuire “inside the glass” – what a pompous moron.
msg network gets game 3 and the last 2 games only. besides the biased coverage its not good for home games where game is on versus and post game is on msg – for taping purposes when at the game.
ante – If you missed my post yesterday, Maguire was on XM, ALL OVER the Rangers junk. Says they’re the ‘team to beat’. Picks the Rangers to play Det in the finals. Agreed on hating Emerick though.
I hate Mike Milbury more than any other sports commentator person ever!
Its not fair. We are being robbed. Gonchar should be up for the Norris Trophy. Its ridiculous that he wasn’t chosen. If he played in a Canadian market like some of the other defenceman nominated ahem Phaneuf ahem then Gonchar would be winning it.
And now Kristopher Letang is left out of consideration for the Calder Trophy. Its an outrage, everyone should acknowledge the superiority of the Penguins. The league does, thats why they give us the calls they do, its just recognizing whats right. I mean I’m on the team and I am the next best thing. All young players should look up to me!
New video with Game one pictures
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HvSSodWrLg0
It is set to Rita Ford’s Gotta LEt GO.
Have to thank Jo for this she was cruising in our Ranger mobile and heard this song! Just liek when I was at Physical Therapy and heard the I’m In Love With My Car song.
Get a load of this backhanded swipe at the intelligence of hockey fans from the New Yorker: “Meanwhile, on a farm in Regina, Saskatchewan, the just retired N.H.L. referee Mick McGeough (whose name, pronounced “Magoo,†is so perfect for a ref that even hockey fans, no great ironists, managed to work the joke hard during his twenty-two-year career)”
Are you trying to tell me that Beer Me! isn’t a “great ironist?” I beg to differ. Puckhead yourself, Nick Paumgarten.
Maguire definitely has been playing the Ranger trumpet for a while now.
Bring on Cindy and his four hench-man in black and white. By that, I don’t mean Malkin, Hossa, Gonchar, and J. Staal. Rather, the 2 zebra’s wearing the orange bands and the other two who seem to conveniently officiate icings against the Rangers more often than the Penguins.
I look forward to Crosby’s diving and hope he breaks his ankle when he flies into the boards, the high-sprain was just a taste.
Anybody remember the goal Crosby scored last year, against the Rangers, where he was skating behind the net and caught the puck (behind the goal line), dropped it in the crease, and tapped it in?! Now, why wasn’t that considered “closing the hand on the puck,” because doing so gave him a significant “territorial advantage” (the wording from the rule-book)? Oh wait, it’s because it was a Cindy Crybaby hand, i forgot about that clause in the rule book.
LGR! It’s going to be a tough series. We need our defense to finally play some sound hockey, in addition to Hank keeping up his superior end-season goaltending. I think we only win if Hank stands on his head and steals 3 games on his own.
formerly,
yea I just got angry reading that guys article… I thought it was insulting and ridiculous
Their ratings were up because the Rangers were on almost every time. End of story.
Let it go guys/gals. That’s written buy a guy that did his research on wikipedia. The guy that wears a scarf/hankerchief thing around his neck and walks his chiuaua named ‘hot bitch’ to work. Drinks his 1/2 caff, mocha-chocha, 1/2 skim, 1/2 man-cream chai while getting a manicure. The guy knows crap about hockey. Just let it be. Sometimes it’s unfortunate that everyone has a voice, and too many have access to mass media.
Who do you all think is a better team. Last years Sabres or this years Pens?
Last year’s Buffalo team was better IMO. More rounded. There was no question marks. Hot or not, Fluery (to me) is a question mark. Especially if we play around that crease the way we did around whiner’s in rnd 1.
lol Beer.
Nasty I honestly don’t know…
Beer Me I would agree but I think that the Penguins this year have more fire power… I guess better team was the Sabres but more power right now on the Penguins.. more guys that absolutely must be shut down.
I hope FLeury cooled off with this break…
I give Buffalo the edge too. And those games were very close. Like I said earlier, I like our chances this series, a lot!
guys how does Fluery play in goal, is he aggressive like Brodeur or does he stay back like Hank?
If he plays like Marty, Avery and others are gonna make it a long series for him.
update on the voting for Calder
52.9%Patrick Kane, Blackhawks
39.1%Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals
8.0%Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks
I am surprised Backstrom has that percentage, I figure the Chicago boys will hurt eachother some what, but not to that degree… I thought they would remain close
My son was up all night screaming his brains out because he has an ear infection. My allergies are fuggin killing me and I am exhausted! I took a picture of my beard and mood this morning right when I got in the car. It is now up for your viewing pleasure.
Staal I don’t know or I would have answered before. I think he plays out but I could be wrong.. if he does play out we can expect mroe goalie interference calls when we are outside the crease thogh…
They are surprisingly similar teams. The Sabres were more sound all-around, faster, and with deeper offensive talent. That being said, the Penguins who can score are more potent. The backline for the Penguins is weaker than what the Sabres had. If Fleury continues his recent play, he’s similar to Miller. If they faced off (2007 Sabres vs. 2008 Pittsburgh Punks), I think it would be an OT nail-biter won by the Penguins on a powerplay goal.
Anyone catch Tom Poti last night cripple the Caps? Goodness, is he awful.
My bad Beer, did not see your post from yesterday. I still dislike him though. He should just join the others in the play-by-play booth – he just talks too much. Going back to Versus for a sec, I don’t have Versus-HD and watching a game on regular Versus just sucks. Time Warner is actually putting Versus-HD in Queens and Brooklyn as of Apr 30th, but not Manhattan yet!
I wonder if the “impartial” guys in the media share the same fear about the one sided officiating sure to happen in this upcoming Pens/Rangers series. I’d like to know Sam’s opinion or expectations “off the record”
TSN Says:
Goaltending
A case could be made that Fleury was the best goalie for the entire first round and appears to have shed his reputation as a goalie who cannot be counted upon in the clutch. Henrik Lundqvist was good for the Rangers, but was not forced to be great in the first round. He’ll have to be at the top of his game against the Penguins, who averaged 40.2 shots per game in the first round. Edge: Pittsburgh
Then they choose Pitt in 6.
*wait sorry, Hockey News..my bad.
It’s not the Penguins that worry me, it’s the incompetent refs
that will be calling the games that worry me.
ante – No sweat dude. My bro heard it and relayed it to me. Sounds like you may see Pierre in a Rangers jersey between benches! I kid.
Do yourselves a favor and DO NOT read thn’s look at rnd 2. I’m not giving you a link, I’m protecting you.
Sabres were definitely better.
Miller over Fleury any day of the week.
Drury/Briere/Vanek/Hecht/Pominville/Roy/Afinogenov/Connolly/Mair is much deeper than Sid/Malkin/Hossa/Sykora/Malone.
Defensively Gonchar has had a great year but is nowhere near Brian Campbell. The rest of Pitts’ D is pretty suspect to me.
At the veryt most the two teams are roughly equal but this year’s Rangers are MUCH better and deeper than last year’s team with 3 new centers (Dubi/Gomer/Drury), a new and much better #1 defenseman (Staal), and more depth on the wing with Cally and Dawes playing more prominent roles (especially on the PK where with Gomez and Callahan there’s now a more valid scoring threat shorthanded). Plus Sjostrom gives the fourth line at least a chance of scoring.
I think it’ll be a great series….
S – That’s funny, as you were typing that, I was saying to NOT read it. HAHA! now you guys know not to go read the rest!
I almost like that not alot of people think we will win. The team usually does a lot better when there no or low expectations.
tomg- I completely agree the officiating will be a member solely of the Pens that’s for sure.
“Goaltending
A case could be made that Fleury was the best goalie for the entire first round and appears to have shed his reputation as a goalie who cannot be counted upon in the clutch. Henrik Lundqvist was good for the Rangers, but was not forced to be great in the first round. He’ll have to be at the top of his game against the Penguins, who averaged 40.2 shots per game in the first round. Edge: Pittsburgh”
That kind of assessment makes them lose all credibility in my mind. If you think Pittsburgh will win in 6, great. Find a real reason, then. To first say that Fleury was the best goaltender after facing down a tanking team that was also without its top 2 centers as opposed to Lundqvist who was “hardly challenged” and then give Fleury the edge over the 3-time Vezina finalist is completely off base.
Wow. What a woefully inaccurate article from that New Yorker writer. Nick Paumgarten probably got turned down by several hockey players, and is taking his sexual frustration out with this article.
I wouldn’t be too sure of that. If you watched the Washington game last night, there was about 3 non calls on Philly in the 3rd that were definitely penalties. Then, in OT they called a pretty lame call on Poti. If the league wanted the Caps vs. Pens so bad, that would not have happened like that.
Screw the refs. They tried to screw us in round 1 and it didn’t work. We just have to play smart and not doing anything questionable and also not retaliate.
For your viewing pleasure….
Kinda cheesey, but amuzing.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9aAixYvqgfw
ANTE – I live in nyc and I have vs-hd – its on channel 794… it says vs hd golf but they are showing all the games. had the boston game on monday and both game 7’s last night.
No two ways about it… this will be a test for this squad. The firepower (on the Pens), the Refs, their own tendancies to sometimes beat themselves.
If we play “our” game and Hank plays out of his mind we can win. I feel a 7 gamer coming… big time.
One thing I’d like to see is our shots getting on goal… I know that we were trying to beat a great-ish goaltender with pinpoint accurate shots in the last round… but we missed the net quite a bit. Love to see those hit twine or keeper in this series.
It’s going to be a battle. I really feel like game 1 is the most important… if the Pens smell blood winning game 1 we could be in trouble.
NEW POST
New post.
We have to keep them to the outside. We did a pretty good job of that against the Devils.