Rangers Report Blog

Game 49.

First, about the ticket contest. I’m still tabulating the results. Looks like we had two contestants with 4-3 Devils, and neither had Kovalchuk with GWG. Hope to make it official shortly.

Next, we’re planning a live chat tomorrow, Thursday, at 11:30 a.m. So plan on bringing questions/comments and pretending you are working while at your computer. Also, please use a screen name when you ask/comment.

Ya boys, thanks to the BCATHGE (breakaway contest after the hockey game ends), are NHL-undefeated in their last three (2-0-1).

In case you missed it, the Devils’ Eric Boulton was fined the max $2,500 for his slash that stung the left hand of Mike Rupp in the second period last night. Tortorella was livid when it happened, but said that Rupp is fine.

Henrik Lundqvist in goal tonight against the Buffalo Baby Buffaloes, puck drop around 7:37 on NBCSports. Same lineup, meaning Erik Christensen and Wojtek Wolski—BCATHGE specialists—remain prucha’d.

 

It’s a 7:30 start for Vers … er, I mean, NBCSports.

Pre-game notes courtesy of the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS at BUFFALO SABRES
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 7:30 p.m.
First Niagara Center — Buffalo, NY
Rangers: 31-12-5 (67 pts)
Sabres: 21-24-5 (47 pts)

• All information through NHL games on Jan. 31

  TONIGHT’S GAME:
  The Rangers will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center (7:30 p.m.; TV: NBC Sports Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), in the second game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 31-12-5 (67 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 4-3, in the shootout  last night at Prudential Center, and are now 14-4-1 in their last 19 games. New York has posted a record of 28-9-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Sabres enter the contest with a 21-24-5 (47 pts) record to rank 14th in the Eastern Conference, and have won their last two games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, Feb. 5, at Madison Square Garden (1:00 p.m.), to begin a three-game homestand.

  RANGERS vs. SABRES:

• All-Time: 58-71-25-5 overall (33-27-15-3 at home; 25-44-10-2 on the road)
• 2011-12: Tonight is the second of four meetings this season, and the second and final at First Niagara Center. New York is 1-0-0 (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) following a 4-1 win on Dec. 10 at First Niagara Center. The Rangers were 1-4 (25.0%) on the power play, while they held the Sabres scoreless in three shorthanded situations. Carl Hagelin notched two goals in the contest, and Michael Del Zotto and Steve Eminger tallied two assists apiece. Martin Biron made 32 saves.
• Last Season: New York was 2-2-0 overall (1-1-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road). Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal, including a 3-2 overtime win on Nov. 11 at MSG. Artem Anisimov led the team in scoring with four points (three goals, one assist) in the series, while Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi tied for the team-high with three assists apiece. Henrik Lundqvist was 1-2-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .928 Sv% in three games, and Martin Biron was 1-0-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .935 Sv% in one game.
• Derek Stepan recorded a hat trick while making his NHL debut in their 6-3 season-opening win on Oct. 9, 2010, tying the franchise record for goals in a season opener and becoming the fourth player in NHL history and first Ranger to register a hat trick in his NHL debut
• Six of the last nine meetings between the Rangers and Sabres have been decided by one goal
• New York ranks second with a 16-7-3 (35 pts) record on the road; Buffalo ranks 25th with an 11-9-5 (27 pts) mark at home
• The Rangers are 5-5-1 vs. the Northeast Division; the Sabres are 2-7-1 vs. the Atlantic Division
• New York lists one former Sabre on their roster: Martin Biron (1995-96 – 2006-07)
• Buffalo lists no former Rangers on their roster

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What can you do? The Rangers sure have gotten their share of last-minute wins this year, and a few bounces along the way.

This one was one horrible bounce, then a puck sliding across the goal line, then one of those unfortunate breakaway contests they sometimes hold after the hockey game is over and done.

Thoughts:

1) I expected some sloppiness after the All-star break—which, by the way, is now one day longer than it needs to be because of that silly TV-themed choose-up they do on Thursday. And there was some sloppiness. Or lack of sharpness. Or whatever you want to call it. The Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk and Martin Brodeur both made horrendous giveaways in front of their own net in the first eight minutes—in the Devils heyday you wouldn’t see two plays like that for months.

2) … and the Rangers weren’t without their own gaffes, the biggest perpetrated by guys with letters on their sweaters. Their captain (Ryan Callahan)  and alternate captain (Marc Staal) each coughed up a hairball that ended up in the back of the Rangers net.

3) The Rangers should be better when the other alternate captain gets back. What’s that? He is playing. I know, that’s a cheapshot. But what is wrong with Brad Richards? Is he hurt? He’s not only not producing, but he’s been brutal on faceoffs, has done diddly to help the PP, and looks soft. Maybe he is hurt.

4) When you see a couple of goalies like the two Martins and the way they handle the puck, or at least when I do, I wonder why more goalies aren’t good at it? I mean, how much practice would it take to become adept at shooting the puck with a goalie stick? I did it.

5) Ah, the breakaway contest after the hockey game ends. It’s keeping the Devils (9-2 in BCATHGEs) in the playoff race. Tell me you wouldn’t rather have had the one point for a tie, and just one point for the Devils, than a win and two points for them, and what feels like a loss to you.

6) I’m not going to say what I really think here—I usually don’t pull punches—but what could the Devils organization possibly be thinking with those dancers?

7) The game was announced as a sellout, despite a lot of empty seats (it filled up a bit, but at the start of the game there were seas of empties) and although a ton of the fans in the house wore blue. I thought it was a bad idea moving to a new arena and thinking that was going to fix the attendance, and thus the financial problems, etc. I don’t pretend to have any clue about how things work in the accounting department. But I saw a team that couldn’t draw when it was winning Stanley Cups and sharing a perfectly good arena with an NBA team. And now it was going to move into a new arena, as the only tenant, in the same general area of New Jersey and all of a sudden draw and survive?

8) What was Brodeur doing on Brian Boyle’s goal? Snow angel? Break dance?

9) The power play. Oy. Now they’re using Artem Anisimov, and then John Mitchell on the PP? How bad does it have to get? Why not Stu Bickel? Seriously, I thought the best of a bad lot was the PP with Ryan McDonagh on the point. But it’s not going to matter what personnel they use if the forwards don’t move, and if they don’t try to get pucks to the net and create. I know, that’s all cliche, but they sure aren’t doing any of it.

10) You have to admit, Kovalchuk can sure play when he wants to.

11) How about that near tuck by Derek Stepan in OT? Kid’s got some mitts. Great pay by Andy Greene—he of the dump-in off the stantion—in OT, because as he swept Stepan-wolf’s stuff try off the goalline, Marian Gaborik was crashing. And I thought Gaborik and Carl Hagelin were really strong in this game.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Michael Del Zotto.
2) Marian Gaborik.
3) Brian Boyle. 

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AP photos, above.

 

 

From the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
January 31, 2012 (Game 48, Away Game 26)
Prudential Center — Newark, NJ

1st   2nd   3rd   SO   Final
New York Rangers                1      0        2       0      3
New Jersey Devils                 0      1        2       1      4

Team Notes:

-        The Rangers were defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 4-3, in the shootout tonight at Prudential Center, and are now 14-4-1 in their last 19 games.

-        New York has posted a record of 31-12-5 (67 pts) on the season, including a 16-7-3 mark on the road.  The Rangers have registered at least one point in 31 of their last 40 games (28-9-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark.

-        The Rangers have registered at least one point in six of their last seven road games (5-1-1 over the span), and are 11-3-1 in their last 15 games away from MSG.

-        The Blueshirts maintained a one-point lead over Boston for first place in the Eastern Conference, and are currently tied with Detroit for first in the league overall with 67 points.  Detroit is in action tonight at Calgary.

-        10 of the Rangers’ last 14 meetings with the Devils have been decided by two goals or less.

-        The Rangers are now 18-7-3 against the Devils since 2007-08, including a 9-4-2 mark on the road, dating back to a 2-0 win on Oct. 25, 2007.

-        Martin Biron’s start in net tonight 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.

Player Notes:

-        Michael Del Zotto notched a goal, was credited with three hits and three blocked shots, and posted a plus-two rating in 25:21 of ice time to earn third star honors.  He has tallied 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) in the last 29 games, including two points (one goal, one assist) in the last two.

-        Marian Gaborik tallied two primary assists and logged 18:00 of ice time in the contest.  He has now recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last six games, and leads the team in scoring with 41 points on the season.

-        Carl Hagelin tied his career-high for assists/points in a game with two assists, and logged 13:14 of ice time in the contest.  He has tallied 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the last 15 games.

-        Anton Stralman opened the game’s scoring with an even strength goal with 0:33 remaining in the first period, and was credited with two blocked shots in 19:28 of ice time.  He has tallied a point in each of the last two games (one goal, one assist).

-        Brian Boyle notched a goal, was credited with two blocked shots, tied for the team-high with four shots on goal, and led the team with nine faceoff wins in 17 attempts (53%).  He has recorded a point in each of the last two games (one goal, one assist).

-        Martin Biron made 26 saves through regulation and overtime, and stopped two of three in the shootout.  He has now posted a record of 9-2-1 overall, including a 5-2-1 mark on the road.  Tonight’s contest is only the fourth time this season he has allowed more than two goals.

-        Stu Bickel and Brandon Prust each registered an assist on Brian Boyle’s third period goal.  Prust has now recorded two assists in the last three games.

-        Dan Girardi led all skaters with a career-high, 33:46 of ice time, tied for the team-high with a season-high, four shots on goal, and was credited with two blocked shots.  Girardi has now logged 30:00+ of ice time 11 times in his career, including seven times this season.

Team Schedule:

–        The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow, February 1, at First Niagara Center (7:30 p.m.), to conclude their back-to-back set.  The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

Here’s some post-game audio following the bad-bounce loss:

John Tortorella:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Martin Biron:

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Game 48.

The ticket contest is now closed. Thank you for playing. And a special thank you to the guys who did it wrong (deep exhale of exasperation). 

And may I just say that it’s going to be really easy to judge the contest if the Devils win the game, because you guys were relatively wildly optimistic.

In case you forgot, since it’s been a while, ya boys have won two in a row, three of their last four, and 14 of their last 18. They have won five of their last six road games, and 11 of 14.

The Rangers are 9-2 in Patrick Division games, and are unbeaten in regulation (6-0-1) in the first of back-to-backs (5-1-1 in the second game of back-to-backs).

They are 18-7-2 against the Devils since 2007-08, including 9-4-1 at the Rock.

The Devils have lost three in a row, all at home, the last one in a shootout.

Battle of the Martins: Biron vs. Brodeur, which means Henrik Lundqvist starts tomorrow in Buffalo. Otherwise, same lineup, so Wojtek Wolski and Erik Christensen are prucha’d

 

The contest for two tickets to the Feb. 12 game begins now, and ends when the “It’s Go Time!” thread is posted prior to tonight’s game (approx. 6:30 p.m.).

Only entries within this thread will count. Please scroll down to the previous thread to read the rules before entering. AND DO NOT EVEN DREAM ABOUT ENTERING TWICE.

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Pre-game notes, courtesy of the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS at NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7:00 p.m.
Prudential Center — Newark, NJ
Rangers: 31-12-4 (66 pts)
Devils: 26-19-3 (55 pts)

• All information through NHL games on Jan. 25

  TONIGHT’S GAME:
  The Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG 2; Radio: 970 The Apple), in the first game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 31-12-4 (66 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 3-0, on Jan. 24 at Madison Square Garden for their third win in four games, and are now 14-4-0 in their last 18 games. New York has posted a record of 28-9-2 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Devils enter the contest with a 26-19-3 (55 pts) record to rank eighth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost their last three games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at First Niagara Center (7:30 p.m.), to close out their back-to-back set.

  RANGERS vs. DEVILS:

• All-Time: 99-82-27-5 overall (54-29-20-2 at home; 45-53-7-3 on the road)
• 2011-12: Tonight is the second of six meetings this season, and the second of three at Prudential Center. New York is 1-0-0 (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) following a 4-1 win on Dec. 20 at Prudential Center. The Rangers tallied four unanswered goals, including three in the third period, to overcome a one-goal deficit after the first. Marian Gaborik (two goals, one assist) and Derek Stepan (three assists) each registered three points, while Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves in the win.
• 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 season series. Brandon Dubinsky led the Blueshirts in scoring 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.
• Nine of their last 13 meetings have been decided by two goals or less
• Henrik Lundqvist has started in 32 straight games against the Devils
• New York ranks second with a 16-7-2 (34 pts) record on the road; New Jersey ranks 25th with a 12-9-2 (26 pts) mark at home
• The Rangers are 9-2-0 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Devils are 4-5-0 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)

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From the Rangers:

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR NEW YORK RANGERS ANNUAL CASINO NIGHT PRESENTED BY UNILEVER TO BENEFIT THE GARDEN OF DREAMS FOUNDATION
Full Team Event on Tuesday, February 28 – Gotham Hall

New York, January 30, 2012 –The New York Rangers announced today that tickets to the team’s annual Casino Night presented by Unilever are now available for purchase. The fundraising event to benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation will take place on Tuesday, February 28th and will feature the entire New York Rangers team, coaching staff and select alumni for an evening of casino games at Gotham Hall hosted by MSG Network analysts Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti. The players will deal cards, join guests for a buffet dinner and host a live and silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind Rangers experiences and memorabilia. To purchase tickets, visit newyorkrangers.com or call 1-877-MSG-GOAL.

All net proceeds from the event will be donated to the Garden of Dreams Foundation; a nonprofit charity that works closely with all areas of The Madison Square Garden Company, including the New York Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Network, MSG Entertainment and Fuse to “make dreams come true for kids facing obstacles.” Garden of Dreams partners with local children’s hospitals, “wish” organizations and community-based organizations to build on-going, unforgettable programs for children in the tri-state area who are suffering from devastating illness, homelessness, abuse, hunger, extreme poverty and tragedy.

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OUR TICKET CONTEST RULES:

Our gracious and generous donor has given us two more pair of tickets to give away, so we’ll have two upcoming contests. The first involves tomorrow’s game at Newark, and the winner will get two tickets to the Feb. 12 Rangers-Capitals matinee 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 something like this (with different numbers and names): Rangers 17, Devils 1. GWG: Avery. Rangers shots: 18. Devils shots: 44.

(Do me a huge favor, please. Don’t use NYR or Blueshirts or anything other than Rangers when you make your pick. 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 between 5-6 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’m back from my little, ahem, vacation. Got the cleanest garage in the Northeast.

Anyway, I guess the All-star game was as good as it could have been from a Rangers standpoint, with all ya boys—MVP Marian Gaborik, Henrik Lundqvist, Dan Girardi, Smilin’ John Tortorella and Carl Hagelin—front and center throughout the weekend.

I’m not reviewing the game, but I must say that once again the NHL has proven to be completely inept at finding pre-game and/or between-periods entertainment for its big events. How else do you explain the selection of those two clowns yesterday, two fine young men whose top songs contain some of the most vulgar lyrics possible? I guess there are no other entertainers in Canada or America.

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We’re going to do another ticket contest tomorrow, thanks to our generous Bonehead donor. We’ll review the rules later today, and entries will open and close on the morning thread tomorrow.

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While I was away, I read a story about goalies in Sports Illustrated, by my friend Michael Farber, who is, IMO, the best hockey writer on this hemisphere.

At one point he was talking about some of the insane long-term contracts given to NHL goalies, when he came up with this paragraph:

The eternally goalie-bereft Flyers, belatedly embracing a Neale-ist approach, signed the chatty Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year, $51 million contract last June after his four seasons in low-pressure Phoenix. He has rewarded their faith with a save percentage of .891, well below the modern Mendoza line of .900. Goalie. Nine years. Philly. Nothing possibly could go wrong here.”

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Here is the transcript from Gaborik’s post-game press conference, courtesy of ASAP Sports:

Q.  Marian, this game was supposed to be all about Swedish guys and Alfredsson and so on.  It ends up being all about Slovak guys.  How satisfying is that?
MARIAN GABORIK:  I think it was about Swedish guys, you could hear it out there.  I think, you know, there are more Swedish guys than Slovak guys.
But, overall, I think we had a lot of fun.  I’m glad I could play along with Marian and Pavel Datsyuk, and I was glad that he picked me in the draft.  He got me sweating there a little bit at the draft, picking me late.
But it was a fun event.  And I had a lot of fun.

Q.  Why do you think it’s so easy to score on Henrik Lundqvist?
MARIAN GABORIK:  It’s not easy.  I was just fortunate to be lucky against him.  But I think he’s one of the best, if not the best, goalie in the league, but I am glad I could get a couple of goals against him.

Q.  What was that goal celebration after your first one?
MARIAN GABORIK:  I was thinking about before the game if I score on Henrik, I wouldn’t do it any other way, but I wanted to do it against Henrik to get a celebration there.  So I don’t think he was too happy about that.

Q.  Was the thought to get into his mind early, I think you were tugging at him behind the net earlier in the game?
MARIAN GABORIK:  I was trying to get into his mind over the whole weekend.  And I think it was a pretty good challenge against him, and worked a little better for me.

Q.  What was it like to play on the line with Datsyuk and Hossa?  Looked pretty natural.
MARIAN GABORIK:  Marian, we played together on the international level.  But with Pavel, he’s one of the best.  You can just see pure talent, and he’s got all it all and just to be playing also with all the other guys was a lot of fun.

Q.  Do you think Torts will be okay with your celebration?
MARIAN GABORIK:  He was just jealous we won the game.

Q.  Will the Twitter war with Lundqvist continue after this weekend?
MARIAN GABORIK:  I don’t think so.  I posted up a picture hugging him during the skills last night.  So I think we’re good.  But it was friendly and it’s always?? we always have a good competition, even in practice.
And it’s challenging to score on him.  So as I said, he’s one of the best.

Q.  In regards to the Twitter war, was there any like prize outcome for the winner or loser that they’d have to do?
MARIAN GABORIK:  We haven’t talked about it.  So, no.

Q.  Do you think you did that celebration as well as Anisimov did?
MARIAN GABORIK:  No, way.  Did you see him doing that?  No.  It was?? I just wanted to it if I would score on Henrik.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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AP photo, above.

And to celebrate the All-star game in Kanata, Ontario, the Empire State Building today will be lit completely in Orange crud to honor Claude Giroux, Kimo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, and of course Ed Snider and Comcast and the Broad Street Bullies. … with the complete approval of the NHL, of course.

The game today, obviously, will be awful hockey. But better than the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which they have to hold in Hawaii to get all the players (some of whom are actually not felons) to show up.

Ya boys will be an interesting watch. Foremost, Marian Gaborik has exchanged a lot of twitter trash talk with Henrik Lundqvist, who remembers giving up five in one game to Gaborik when he was in Minnesota. And what the heck is Dan Girardi going to do in a game like this? Hope he scores a goal. And, is John Tortorella really not going to do any coaching? Is he going to leave the bench to Todd McLellan of the San Jose Soft-shelled Jumbo Shrimps?

Then we can get away from all this silliness and back to the season, which resumes with visits to Newark Tuesday and Buffalo Wednesday.

Meanwhile, here is Girardi’s blog from NHL.com, and here’s a twit pic tweeted by Gaborik last night: