Rangers Report Blog

The ticket contest is now open. However, one of the rules has changed. Please read the rules in the previous thread before you make your pick!

Only entries within the comments section of this thread will be accepted. Entries close when “It’s Go Time!” appears prior to tonight’s game, at around 6:30 p.m.

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Pre-game notes courtesy of the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY
Rangers: 33-12-5 (71 pts)
Devils: 30-19-3 (63 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Feb. 5

TONIGHT’S GAME
The Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), in their second meeting in a week. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 33-12-5 (71 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden for their fourth win in five games, and are now 16-4-1 in their last 21 games. New York has posted a record of 30-9-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Devils enter the contest with a 30-19-3 (63 pts) record to rank sixth in the Eastern Conference, and have won their last four games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to conclude their three-game homestand.

RANGERS vs. DEVILS:

• All-Time: 99-82-27-6 overall (54-29-20-2 at home; 45-53-7-4 on the road)
• 2011-12: Tonight is the third of six meetings this season, and the first of three at MSG. New York is 1-0-1 overall (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-1 on the road) following a 4-3 shootout loss on Tuesday at Prudential Center. The Rangers have out-scored the Devils, 7-4, in the series, including a 5-2 advantage in the third period. Marian Gaborik leads the team in scoring with five points (two goals, three assists) and a plus-four rating in two games. Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .968 Sv%, while Martin Biron is 0-0-1 in 2.77 GAA and .897 Sv%.
• Last Season: New York was 4-2-0 overall (2-1-0 at home; 2-1-0 on the road). The Rangers held the Devils to one or fewer goals in four of the six meetings, and out-scored New Jersey, 16-8, in the series. Brandon Dubinsky led the team with four goals and seven points, while Artem Anisimov tallied a team-high, five assists in six games. Henrik Lundqvist was 4-2-0 with a 1.44 GAA, .953 Sv% and one shutout.
• The Rangers are one win shy of 100 all-time against the New Jersey Devils’ franchise
• 10 of their last 14 meetings have been decided by two goals or less
• Martin Biron’s start in net on Jan. 31 at New Jersey ended Henrik Lundqvist’s streak of 32 consecutive starts against the Devils. The last Rangers goalie other than Lundqvist to start against New Jersey was Kevin Weekes on Dec. 17, 2006.
• New York ranks eighth with a 16-5-2 (34 pts) record at home; New Jersey is tied for sixth with a 15-10-1 (31 pts) mark on the road
• The Rangers are 10-2-1 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Devils are 7-5-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
• New York lists one former Devil on their roster: Mike Rupp (2002-03 – 2003-04, 2006-07 – 2008-09)
• New Jersey lists one former Ranger on their roster: Petr Sykora (2005-06)

(more…)

Our gracious and generous donor has given us another pair of tickets to give away, so we’ll have another contest tomorrow. The winner will get two tickets to the Feb. 19 Rangers-Blue Jackets game at Madison Square Garden.

So let’s review the rules, shall we? (answer: yes).

1) This is the easy part. You pick the score, then a bunch of tiebreakers: game-winning goal, Rangers shots, Devils shots. Your entry should look like this (with different numbers and names): Rangers 17, Devils 1. GWG: Avery. Rangers shots: 18. Devils shots: 44.

This is new!!!!: Don’t use NYR or Blueshirts or NJ or Debbies or anything other than Rangers and Devils when you make your pick. Don’t use abbreviations, nicknames, colons, dashes or semicolons or any other punctuation between the team name and the score. Just keep it very, very simple and do it exactly like this:

Rangers 17, Devils 1.

If there is anything other than the name of the team then a space then the score, as shown here, you may be disqualified. Then add your tiebreakers.

It just makes it much easier for me to scroll through all the entries that way. Thank you.

2) The score of the game must be exact. Not closest. Not margin of victory. You must have the exact score to move on to the tiebreakers, if needed. Note that the game-winning goal is the goal that provides the margin of victory, whether it be the second goal in a 17-1 game, or an overtime or (God forbid) winning shootout goal.

The Rangers’ shots tiebreaker shall go to the closest prediction without going over. If contestants are still tied, the Devils’ shots tiebreaker shall be used, and also will go to the closest prediction without going over. If all remaining contestants are over the number of Devils shots, the contestant closest to the correct total wins.

Finally, if still somehow tied, I will either give the tickets to Sally or flip a coin at Blog HQ … or I will wait for the next time I see the donor at a game and let him flip the coin.

3) The most important rules regarding entry into the contest: DO NOT EVEN DREAM ABOUT ENTERING MORE THAN ONCE. I will check IP addresses from any entrant whose screen name I do not recognize. Entries open when the Tuesday morning post goes up, usually before 5 a.m., and will close when the It’s Go Time! post goes up shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Only entries in the morning post Tuesday will count. In other words, don’t put your predictions in any other thread.

4) Don’t get me aggravated with dumb questions or details.

5) *-The judge’s decision on all issues will be final. (*-I am the judge).

Good luck, and have fun. And don’t make your pick until tomorrow’s pre-game notes thread.

I truly believe that these four wins over the Flyers won’t mean jack-squat if the Rangers wind up in a playoff series against them. It doesn’t work that way. But I also truly believe that the Rangers are better. And here’s the thing. The Flyers have more skill. The Rangers—can you believe this—are tougher.

Here are a few of my favorite lines from my story in The Journal News and on LoHud.com today:

The Rangers beat the archrival Philadelphia Flyers for the fourth time in four meetings this season, 5-2 at the Garden.

Beat them all over the ice. Beat them in a game of knuckles and stick-slashes, stitches and bandages and ice packs. Beat them in battles. Beat them in skill. Beat them in will. Had an enormous advantage in goal — what else is new?

OK, maybe that’s the bottom line. If you switched Henrik Lundqvist for Ilya Bryzgalov, maybe the Flyers win this game. Maybe.

But the East-leading Rangers, for all they did well, got a win they deserved. Again. When things got rough, even downright nasty, they thrived. Again.”

And this:

The thing is, the Flyers didn’t dress their muscle for the Winter Classic and lost to the Rangers that way, and Sunday went back to their blood-and-butter. The thing is, the Rangers are tougher — in the true sense — than the Flyers. And they also controlled most of the game tactically, at times pinning Philadelphia behind its own net with an aggressive forecheck.”

Thoughts:

1) The head coach made a couple of interesting decisions. He reunited the GAS line, and that sure worked. And he dressed Stu Bickel, even though Steve Eminger was healthy and cleared. That worked out, too. Kid’s got some onions. Keep him here. He doesn’t have to play every night, he doesn’t have to play in third periods. But he’s an asset. No doubt about it.

2) Does it just make you laugh when you think of Henrik Lundqvist vs. Ilya Bryzgalov? Could there be a bigger edge in a bigger role than the one the Rangers have there? Lundqvist made some monstrous saves in this game.

3) Maybe Brandon Dubinsky needs to play the Flyers every night. Maybe they should hypnotize him and tell him it’s the Flyers every night.

4) Saw some signs of a Brad Richards return. Baby steps, I guess.

5) You could say the same for the power play. A few good moments. Not nearly enough. But baby steps.

6) Do you love the way this team plays? And the way it talks about the way it plays? And the way it understands that this is how it has to play? And the way it sticks to that?

7) I was thinking this while the Giants were celebrating that Lombardi Trophy (no comparison to Lord Stanley’s prize). A bad team can’t get into the playoffs and win a championship. But a good team that gets in can run the table. Though I think it’s a lot easier to win four football games than it is to win four best-of-sevens. I wouldn’t dream of calling these Rangers favorites for anything this spring, and if they don’t have much success at all, that’s typical of the sport in which they play. But I also wouldn’t be shocked if this team ends up near the finals, and even in the finals.

8) The Flyers obviously didn’t think they could outplay the Rangers, so they reverted to their old ways. That Sestito is a total clown with no ability, and I’ll be very interested to see how Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Soft Fines and Alleged Player Safety treat his hair-pulling. And if he did indeed intentionally scratch at Brandon Prust’s stitches, that’s plain disgusting and an example should be made of him.

9) Speaking of which … That Rinaldo, who was fined the max $2,500 each for two separate incidents Saturday against the Devils, got away with about three uncalled charging penalties. He got away with about eight minors overall, and the one time he did get called, the refs let him veer from the penalty box and go commit another uncalled penalty. They’ll probably retire No. 36 in Philly one day.

10) Back to the GAS line. Marian Gaborik has become a guy—I’ve said this before—who gets fired up when he gets hit. He took a big one yesterday, then scored that late goal at the end of the period. Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov … same thing.

11) The grunt guys were sure incredible in this game. That includes, now, Dubinsky, Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko, Brian Boyle, John Mitchell (Mike Rupp’s hand was apparently too banged up for him to get too involved, but he played well). I always feel the need to point out some of the Boyle subtleties for some reason. There was a play along the wall. Jaromir Jagr had the puck and turned his gigantic backside so that Boyle couldn’t hit him. Boyle read which way Jagr would go, cut him off, and banged him cleanly into the wall.

12) I don’t even have to say how good The Captain was in this game, do I? Ditto for all the D-men … especially Michael Del Zotto, and Marc Staal in his best game of the season.

13) Now that football’s over, maybe some of New York might wake up and realize what’s going on at the World’s Most Famous.

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My Three Rangers Stars (could have been about 18):
1) Marian Gaborik.
2) Artem Anisimov.
3) Stu Bickel.
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AP photos, above.

 

 

 

 

Back to hockey …

Courtesy of the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 5, 2012 (Game 50, Home Game 23)
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY

1st   2nd   3rd   OT   Final
Philadelphia Flyers              0      1        1       –      2
New York Rangers                1      1        3       –      5

Team Notes:

-        The Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, today at Madison Square Garden for their fourth win in five games, and are now 16-4-1 in their last 21 games.

-        New York has posted a record of 33-12-5 (71 pts) on the season, including a 16-5-2 mark at home.  The Rangers have registered at least one point in 33 of their last 42 games (30-9-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark.

-        The Rangers’ .710 win% through 50 games is the team’s best start in 40 years, when the 1971-72 Blueshirts began the season with a 32-10-8 record (.720 win%), and is the second best start in franchise history.

-        The Blueshirts extended their winning streak against the Flyers to six games, dating back to a 7-0 win at MSG on Mar. 6, 2011. The Rangers have out-scored the Flyers, 24-8, during the streak.  New York improved to 4-0-0 against Philadelphia this season.

-        With the win, New York completed a sweep of their season series against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden, out-scoring Philadelphia, 11-4, in three games.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Rangers swept their home series against the Flyers was during the 1991-92 season, when the Blueshirts posted a 4-0-0 mark against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden.

-        The Rangers have posted a 9-3-0 record in their last 12 home games. The Blueshirts’ 16-5-2 (34 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 23 games since 1995-96 (17-2-4, 38 pts).

-        The Rangers improved to 10-2-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponent, 42-27, in divisional play.

-        The Blueshirts maintained their three-point lead over Boston for first in the Eastern Conference, and are now within one point of Detroit for first in the league overall.  The Rangers hold one game in hand over Boston, and have three games in hand over Detroit.

-        11 different Rangers tallied at least one point in the contest, including five different goal-scorers.

-        The Rangers were credited with 25 blocked shots in the contest, including four players who registered four or more blocked shots.

-        New York out-shot Philadelphia, 38-23, in the contest, including a 14-5 advantage after the first period.  The Rangers improved their league-best record to 17-4-0 (.810 win%) when out-shooting their opponent.

Player Notes:

-       Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves to improve to 24-10-4 overall, including a 12-5-2 mark at home this season.  Brayden Schenn’s goal at 12:02 of the second period was the first goal Lundqvist had allowed since 19:11 of the second period on Jan. 21 at Boston, and ended his career-high shutout streak at 182:33.  It was the 26th time this season Lundqvist has held opponents to two or fewer goals.

-       Artem Anisimov opened the game’s scoring at 1:04 of the first period, and added two assists for a season-high, three points, and posted a plus-three rating in the contest.  The Rangers improved to 12-2-2 when he registers a point this season.  Anisimov is now three points shy of 100 career NHL points.

-        Marian Gaborik notched a goal, tallied the primary assist on the game-winning goal, posted a plus-three rating and tied his season-high with a game-high, eight shots on goal to earn first star honors.  He has now tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last eight games.

-        Derek Stepan tallied two assists, four shots on goal and posted a plus-three rating in 16:43 of ice time.  He has recorded 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in the last 29 games, and has posted a plus-10 rating in the last nine games.

-        Brandon Dubinsky notched a goal and was assessed a fighting major in 15:42 of ice time to earn third star honors.  The Rangers improved to 13-2-2 when he records a point.

-        Michael Del Zotto registered the game-winning goal at 1:33 of the third period, was credited with four hits and four shots on goal, and posted a plus-two rating in 23:24 of ice time.  He has tallied 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in the last 31 games, including three points (two goals, one assist) in the last four games.

-        Ruslan Fedotenko tallied an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining in regulation to clinch the victory, and registered three shots on goal in 15:13 of ice time.  The Rangers improved to 10-1-1 when he records a point.  Fedotenko has now registered a team-high, 16 goals along with 27 points in 41 career regular season games against the Flyers.

-        Brian Boyle recorded the primary assist on Dubinsky’s third period goal, was credited with a game-high, five hits, tied for the game-high with five blocked shots and won a game-high, 13 face-offs in 22 attempts (59%).  He has now tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four games.  The Rangers improved to 12-0-1 when he registers a point.

-        Dan Girardi, Brandon Prust, Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin each recorded an assist in the contest.  Girardi also posted a plus-two rating, and was credited with two hits and two blocked shots in 25:28 of ice time.  Prust was credited with three hits and was assessed a fighting major in 12:15 of ice time.

-        Ryan Callahan tied for the game-high with five blocked shots, was credited with three hits, registered four shots on goal and led all forwards with 22:36 of ice time.

-        Ryan McDonagh was credited with four blocked shots, posted a plus-three rating and logged a game-high, 26:57 of ice time.

Post-Game Quotes:

-       Head Coach John Tortorella on the physical play…
“I think that’s a big part of our game.  That’s the way we have to play, and when another team joins in, it mounts.  Everybody gets involved in it.  We are sum of parts, that’s how we play and that’s the only way we can win when everyone jumps in all areas like that.”

-       Marian Gaborik on playing the Flyers…
“I think we know how important these games are. We come with a lot of energy and stick with our system. We have played very well against them this year and this game was one of them. Even though we took a lot of penalties, we shouldn’t do it against this team because they have a good power play, but Hank (Henrik Lundqvist) was strong in net and it was a big win.”

-       Brandon Dubinsky on the importance of today’s game…
“We have been neck and neck with those guys all year long. Every game we’ve played against them has been physical, a playoff type atmosphere and we knew it was going to be like that today. It’s just one of those unspoken things, we know that each guy is focused and is going to be ready to play and that’s the sign of a great team is being ready to step up and play against a challenging opponent. It’s always fun games against those guys.”

-       Henrik Lundqvist on the atmosphere today at Madison Square Garden…
“It’s a great feeling, the fans were ready to go and everybody was excited to play Philly again. Every time it’s a big battle and so far we’ve been successful against them and we’ve just been working really hard.”

Team Schedule:

–        The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, Feb. 6, is 12:00 p.m. at MSG Training Center. –        The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the second game of their three-game homestand.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

I’m on my way home, scrambling to get there in time for kickoff, but doubtful.

Doesn’t matter because:

A) I already know the outcome.

B) Mrs. Carp’s got some homemade rigatoni with meat sauce waiting for me.

As for the outcome, save yourself four hours. The Giants will definitely, undoubtedly win the football game 28-17. Book it.

And you’ll be so sick of NBC promos and the halftime show that you’ll be turning to Rangers in 60. Why not?

I’ll join youse during the game. Who brung the wings?

Anybody else got a pick? Let’s hear it now.

First this: The Rangers will (or maybe they have already) send tapes of Brandon Prust’s fight with Tom Sestito to the league for review. At the very least, they believe Sestito pulled Prust’s hair—which was pretty obvious from the replays. At the worst, there’s the possibity that Sestito actually pulled on the stitches in Prust’s face from an errant puck earlier in the game. Prust’s cut was obviously re-opened during the bout.

But of course it’s the Flyers, so there won’t be anything more than the wrist-slap $2,500 fine.

Here are the post-game interviews:

John Tortorella:

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Henrik Lundvist:

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Marian Gaborik:

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Michael Del Zotto:

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Stu Bickel:

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Brandon Dubinsky:

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Game 50.

The first meeting since the Winter Classic.

Ya boys are 3-0 against vs. the Flys, who are definitely annoyed by that. Despite that, the Rangers are only three points ahead of Philly in the standings, with two games in hand.

The Rangers are 3-0-1 in their last four, as they begin a three-game homestand and a stretch of seven games in 12 days—every other night.

Henrik Lundqvist, coming off his shutout in Buffalo, starts in goal.

Same lineup for the Rangers, which means Steve Eminger is prucha’d and tough Stu Bickel’s, ahem, assets could be valuable in a game like this.

Before you settle in to enjoy the game, pay some sort of personal homage to Ed Snider, Comcast, ankle-breaking Bobby Clarke and the Bullies. The NHL would want you to do that.

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Reminder: We will do an additional “It’s Go Time!” for that football game everybody’s talking about out in Indianapolis, this evening.

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Same lineup. Henrik Lundqvist starts in goal. Stu Bickel remains in the lineup, and Steve Eminger, now on the active roster and cleared to return, remains out.

Could be that some rough stuff is expected. Remember, Mike Rupp ticked off the Flyers with his Jagr Salute in the Winter Classic, and the Flys had all their knuckleheads in the lineup yesterday against New Jersey—the knuckleheads did not play in the Winter Classic.

Anyway, it can’t hurt to have Bickel in there, just in case, and to keep Eminger’s healing shoulder out of there.

But John Tortorella answered that question in a very brief presser—nobody had any questions:

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NEW YORK RANGERS vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Sunday, Feb. 5, 1:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY
Rangers: 32-12-5 (69 pts)
Flyers: 30-15-6 (66 pts)

• All information through NHL games on Feb. 3

  TODAY’S GAME:
  The Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden (1:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), to begin a three-game homestand. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 32-12-5 (69 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 1-0, in the shootout on Wednesday at First Niagara Center for their third win in four games, and are now 15-4-1 in their last 20 games. New York has posted a record of 29-9-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Flyers enter the contest with a 30-15-6 (66 pts) record to rank fourth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost two of their last three games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the second game of their three-game homestand.

  RANGERS vs. FLYERS:

• All-Time: 113-107-37-7 overall (59-47-23-4 at home; 54-60-14-3 on the road)
• 2011-12: Tonight is the fourth of six meetings this season, and the third and final at Madison Square Garden. New York is 3-0-0 (2-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) following a 3-2 win in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. New York has out-scored Philadephia, 9-4, in the series, including a 5-2 advantage in the third period. The Rangers are 2-7 (28.6%) on the power play in three games. 15 different Rangers have tallied a point against the Flyers this season. Michael Del Zotto and John Mitchell lead the team with three assists/points apiece, while Brad Richards and Mike Rupp have each tallied a team-high, two goals. Henrik Lundqvist is 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA, .958 Sv% and one shutout in the series.
• Last Season: New York was 2-4-0 overall (1-2-0 at home; 1-2-0 on the road). The Rangers power play was 4-19 (21.1%) in the season series. Ryan Callahan (four goals, one assist) and Derek Stepan (three goals, two assists) tied for the team-high with five points, while Callahan’s four goals led the team. Henrik Lundqvist was 2-3-0 with a 2.57 GAA, .908 Sv% and one shutout in five games.
• The Rangers enter the contest with a five-game winning streak against the Flyers, having out-scored Philadelphia, 19-6, over the span
• New York ranks 12th with a 15-5-2 (32 pts) record at home; Philadelphia ranks first with an 18-7-2 (38 pts) mark on the road
• The Rangers are 9-2-1 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Flyers are 6-5-1 vs. the Atlantic Division
• New York lists three former Flyers on their roster: Martin Biron (2006-07 – 2008-09); Steve Eminger (2008-09); Ruslan Fedotenko (2000-01 – 2001-02)
• Philadelphia lists four former Rangers on their roster: Blair Betts (2005-06 – 2008-09); Jaromir Jagr (2003-04 – 2007-08); Ian Laperriere (1995-96); Jody Shelley (2009-10)

(more…)

… or, not so Super. This three-day break seems longer, doesn’t it? But we won’t be bored after this. Starting tomorrow, games every other night, seven in 12 days. Then two days off, followed by five games in nine days. Then two days off and a ridiculous 17 games in 30 days in March.

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It is now official. Congratulations to our friend Koy for winning the ticket contest. We will have another contest soon, maybe as early as Tuesday’s rematch with the Devils.

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The Rangers never officially announced the Erik Christensen trade yesterday. Just sayin.’

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Sources tell me that, with the Winter Classic rematch tomorrow, the Empire State Building will be lit in Orange Crud tonight, to honor Ed Snider, Comcast, ankle-breaking Bobby Clarke and the rest of the Bullies. With the full approval of the NHL, of course. Then, to celebrate the Super Bowl tomorrow, it will be lit in Orange Crud, to honor Ed Snider, Comcast, ankle-breaking Bobby Clarke and the rest of the Bullies. With the full approval of the NHL again, of course.

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Also, tomorrow we’ll do the whole nine yards with the game against the Flys—a 1 p.m. start. Pre-game through post-game. Then, if you like, we’ll have a Super Bowl “It’s Go Time!” as we did last year, for any Boneheads who want to watch the game together. Who wants to bring the chicken wings and the little hot dogs?