Rangers Report Blog

(Ed. note: Eric Nova writes his own Rangers blog which you can see at http://www.ericnyr.blogspot.com)

Thoughts:

1. Teams with lots of highly skilled and speedy players have proven to be very dangerous to the Rangers. NYR’s grinding and fore-checking game is a great thing when run right. There were glimpses of that last night, but not enough. The problem is when the NYR play skilled teams like the Pens; they tend to get pushed away from their game and don’t control the puck enough. When the NYR set the tone of the game with a physical start they tend to control the game. This could be a big problem in the playoffs depending on matchups.


2. We have to ask whether the team as currently constituted would beat the Penguins in a seven game series. Do their playmakers trump our grit and goaltending? Malkin is one of those guys who can take over a series. Do the Rangers have that? Hard to say. In theory, Gabby is that guy. But one worries if he has the strength, durability to dominate game after game, series after series. You have no doubt about that with Malkin. He is simply a beast. I am not saying we can’t or won’t beat them. But they have won two in a row, including a dominant game in MSG. Unlike the Flyers and Bruins, the Blueshirts are not in the Pens’ heads.


3. 3. Give Marc-Andre Fleury the Academy Award for best theatrical goalie!!! First, he acts like he has made highlight saves on none too difficult shots. He has these exaggerated flourishes after making glove saves like he snared a guided missile out of the air. Add to this his sell-it acting job leading to goalie interference and it is fitting this game was a week before The Oscars. That said, he played a very strong game. He was quick, didn’t give up rebounds, he seemed to see everything. Give credit where it is due but please, stop with the theatrics. By the way, how out of control is this goaltender interference penalty now? …the league has to address it in the off season…they are treating goalies like they are all Golden Boy Tom Bradys.


4. Anisimov played very well again. He was even able at time to slow Malkin when they were paired. He showed grit all night and was more physical than usual. Since that debacle of a 17-game stretch in the middle of the season, he has picked up his play with 7 points in his last 8 games and 4 goals. Where was this AA from the start? He may be playing himself out of a trade.


5. PP continues to be a problem and arguably a liability. True, they did generate some chances, and if Mac buries that shot instead of posting it maybe this game turns around. The puck control is better but it’s always to the outside, and passes and shots continue to be a split second too late. Add to this the absence of a net presence to screen the goalie, no bomber from the blue line and it spells trouble with a capital T. Of course, this is hardly a new area of concern but in a tight game when you give up a PP goal and go 0 for 3 on the PP, that‘s all she wrote.


6. The King played yet another stellar game. Needless to say he has been nothing short of amazing this season and always comes up big in these types of games; however the continued pressure from Pittsburgh was too much to handle. Hank seemed to be very downcast in the postgame, reflecting on what he described as breakdowns in his technique at times, offering that he was fighting the puck in the second but felt more on his game in the third. The guy is his toughest critic and you gotta love that he never seems satisfied. Now, if he could only start handling the puck better! Speaking of Hank, have you ever seen Torts pull him with two minutes left? I liked the move, but it seemed out of character.


7. The progression of Michael Del Zotto continues to be apparent. He has been great in jumping into the play and reading when to do so. No question he made a dumb play leading to the first goal with what Torts called a “dumb” backhand flipper. Bad enough on its own but when his defense partner had also jumped up and both were at the end of the shift, it was poor judgment. But hey, the guy has been a force and let’s be honest, who among us thought he would be one of the top plus/minus guys in the league, and such a good playmaker? Good to see that Torts coupled his “dumb” comment with one noting that MDZ has been great all year. No need to drill the guy for one poor play. In fact, one could argue that it was Brad Richards’ pinch, or whatever that slide was, which really opened that play up and turned it into a goal.


8. After the embarrassment against the Hawks (who, mind you, have won four in a row) and the almost humiliation against the Jackets, coupled with this loss, is there cause for concern in Blueshirt Land? Well, the easy answer is there is always cause for concern in Blueshirt Land but the truth is this was not a blowout, we ran into a goalie playing what Dave Maloney said was his best game of the year, and we did have chances. Worth noting this was game 9 in 17 days against some pretty tough opponents, and it was on the road against an inconsistent but elite level team (I do not want to imagine how good these guys will be if and when Sid returns although I will say Geno plays better w\o the Kid.). That said, there are no softies in this league and you only need to look at the Devils to see how quickly a team can rise or fall.


9. What does Sather do now? It is clear to me that some added fire power is needed. Does he go for it all this season or continue on the current path of internal growth?


10. The penalty on Marc Staal was questionable at best.  Bottom line is it led to a goal and effectively ended the game. The team really needed to clamp down and kill that one.


11. How much do you want Jordan Staal on the Rangers in two years or less? That guy played with an edge and with skill. I say unite all the Staal brothers on Broadway. A man can dream can’t he?

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Eric’s Three Rangers Stars
1) Artem Anisimov.
2) Henrik Lundqvist.
3) Brian Boyle.

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AP photos, above.

The NHLPA has posted its players poll. You can see it here.

In it, Henrik Lundqvist is voted the hardest goalie on whom to score (though not in proper English). Marian Gaborik is voted the best skater and the fastest skater.

John Tortorella is voted the most demanding coach, and is in the top five coaches for whom players most would like to play. Imagine? Yeah, that’s what I’ve been telling youse.

 

 Thoughts:

1) How the byfuglien are the Byfuglien-less Blackhawks where they are? … and how did they lose nine in a row? … Not that they were great in this game. They sure weren’t. They got a bunch of gifts in the first period, the benefit of some calls, a quick whistle, a ridiculous new rule that allows an offending team to choose whether it will face a four-minute 5-on-4 or a two-minute 5-on-3  Still, they sure have a bunch of talent and some grinders. Kind of like the Philly predicament, I guess.

2) How the bryzgalov do you give the offending team that choice when it takes two minors on the same play? The team that was fouled should make the call—5-on-3 for two minutes, or 5-on-4 for four, right?  I think the Rangers would have taken the 5-on-3, and would have had a chance to get one and maybe get back into the game. This new rule makes absolutely zero sense to me, that the team that committed the penalties can choose the situation that most benefits that team. But a lot of stuff the NHL comes up with makes zero sense to me. I should be used to it. It’s ludicrous and I don’t mean the rapper. The Rangers sure made the Blackhawks pay on the power play, didn’t they? Probably the easiest four minutes Chicago has faced this season.

3) I agree with John Tortorella (again) that this isn’t solely on Martin Biron. He wasn’t good, and his five-hole has been big enough for Brad Marchand’s nose lately. But, come on. Penalty shot, breakaway, screen shot, breakaway. Hard to say it’s all on the goalie. And though Tortorella said he never considered pulling him because he deserved to fight it out, it also would have made no sense for Henrik Lundqvist to come cold into a game in which the Rangers were playing defensively as they were.

4) I didn’t get a good look at the Brandon Dubinsky elbow, so I have no idea if he made contact with the head, and thus no idea if it will be reviewed? Oh, right, Brendan Shanahan and the alleged Department of Player Safety have already legalized elbows to the head. Or maybe Dubinsky elbowed the guy’s stick and his stick hit his head.

5) You talk about the Rangers being entitled to have one of these once in a while after, remarkably, losing just 13 times in the first 55 games, and they sure are. But even more so, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, for all the hard minutes they play against all the top players, have to be forgiven for one like this. Boy, were they bad. At least they got a night where their minutes didn’t pile up, for what that’s worth.

6) I imagine all those scouts in the building went away thinking, um, geez, do we really want to trade a good player for some of these guys?

7) That John Scott, 6-8, 270-pound enforcer=Godzilla.

8) Now about some of the calls … first, the penalty shot. I am not sure Girardi ever actually covered the puck in the crease. It looked to me that he put his hand on it and swept it just outside the crease. He might have covered it, and it might have been in the crease. But I can’t say he did for certain.

9) Second, the waved-off, quick whistle goal. I didn’t have a problem at all with that call. Corey Crawford’s skate had the puck pinned on the goal line for quite some time. At what point do you blow it dead when a goalie has control of the puck? I thought he had it long enough for a whistle to blow, and the whistle absolutely did blow before Ryan Callahan’s sixth-effort knocked it in. If you want to complain, complain that the ref who blew the whistle was coming around from the other side and probably couldn’t have seen what we saw on the replay and maybe shouldn’t have blown the whistle. And complain if he really said he lost sight of it, or if he said he saw it under the goalie’s pad.

10) What would the score have been with Rick Nash and Pavel Kubina? I don’t think Kubina’s coming here. The Rangers really don’t want to give up assets to get a fifth or sixth defenseman who might not be as good as Bryan McCabe on the power play. Plus is sounds like Kubina is being dealt soon, and I don’t think the Rangers have anything imminent. I could be wrong (again).

11) There was a lot of red in the building. To be expected with Chicago and an Original Six. And I didn’t mind it, because that red classic Blackhawks jersey (0r Black Hawks) is awesome. I was talking to a guy with an old-school Bobby Hull No. 9 jersey, and was on the train with a Chelios No. 7, complete with the “C.” I think Bobby Hull’s mother used to take Bobby and Dennis by the hand to see Chelios play.

12) I thought we might have a Bickel vs. Bickell fight. Dammit.

13) Really, really nice standing ovation for Gary Carter when they announced his passing during a TV timeout. I got to know the Kid a little bit, actually had the opportunity to have lunch with him a few years ago. I know, people say he had an ego and liked the attention. But he played the game the right way, the way all pro athletes should play—all-0ut, 100 percent, and with joy. And another thing. He started the Game 6 rally in ‘86, when some of his teammates were in the clubhouse getting undressed.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Carl Hagelin.
2) Marc Staal.
3) Steve Eminger.
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AP photos, above.

 

Well, we’re sure going to have a lot to discuss today. So close your door and make believe you’re hard at work while you join the Live Chat today at noon. Bring questions and comments about the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Boston, or about the Rick Nash trade talk (it’s no longer rumors, folks), or about the season so far and the season that’s left, or about, dare we say, the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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I’m not saying the Rangers are better than the Bruins, or at least not that much better. Roger Neilson used to say, it’s not who you play as much as when you play them. The Bruins are going through a rough patch right now. Right now, Feb. 14-15, 2012, the Rangers are much better than they are.

Does that make sense?

Thoughts:

1) The best part, maybe, is that the Rangers didn’t think they played great, and they all said it. Brandon Dubinsky (though swollen, bloody, stitched-up lips and chipped teeth) said the coaches are sure going to point out where they need to be better. Says a lot about this team, and about its coaches … the head coach should walk away with the Jack Adams Trophy, though I’m sure he couldn’t care less.

2) Even the best team in the East has rough patches during the course of games, and when they do, their best player is at his best almost every time. Henrik Lundqvist is the best goaltender in the league, and probably doesn’t even get enough credit for why the Rangers have won so many games … or lost so few. There probably aren’t enough intelligent voters for Lundqvist to win the MVP which he certainly deserves as the No. 1 reason for the best team being the best team, and there sure are enough clueless voters among the GMs who select the Vezina, so there’s a chance he will win neither. But he should win both. Seven shutouts! Seemed he was just showin’ off against Krejci on the PP breakaway in the final minute.

3) This game was not nearly as brutally physical as last time they met.

4) Rangers: 5-1 in last six vs. Boston; 7-0 in last seven vs. Flys.

5) The Rangers defensemen—and I’ve been meaning to say this for a while—don’t slide around on their knees nearly as much this year. Which is why they clog the front of the net as well as they do, why they block passes across the front, why they take the man and let Lundqvist handle rebounds … and limit the number of rebounds he has to handle. I like it that Marc Staal’s starting to get a little ticked off during games. He plays better that way.

6) Milan Lucic=Monster.

7) Yeah, the Rangers didn’t have the puck enough, and didn’t create a lot. But, geez. There was that tic-tac-toe Ryan Callahan PPG, which was identical to one he scored on the weekend. This is why the PP should be better. Marian Gaborik, Michael Del Zotto, Derek Stepan and Brad Richards are all exceptional passers. Del Zotto moving in from the left poiint is a new wrinkle lately. Reminds me of last year when, until teams figured it out, they had Marc Staal circling into the slot, and a forward moving to the left point and cheating into the circle.

8) Stepan made a really good play against Johnny Boychuk along the back wall that allowed the flukish Ryan McDonagh goal late in the first. Game-changing goal.

9) How about the Captain with six goals in the last four? He did absolutely everything, didn’t he? Again. And Richards looks like a completely different player the last four or five games, doesn’t he?

10) I know that the Rangers are looking to land Rick Nash, and not sure if they can or will. One of the guys in the talk is Artem Anisimov, who continues to show in spurts that he’s still a very promising work in progress. On his goal,  I thought he was going to pass it, and I was already thinking in my head how I was going to rip him for forcing the pass.

11) We sure had some fun with the nose jokes regarding Brad Marchand—the Bruins’ Callahan-type. When I spoke with Pat Verbeek the other night, he sounded ticked that they’re calling Marchand “the Little Ball of Hate.” But Marchand is that.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Henrik Lundqvist (duh!).
2) Ryan Callahan.
3) Dan Girardi.
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AP photos, above.

 

 

Thoughts:

1) This sure wasn’t the most exciting game ever played. But you know what? Ya boys don’t mind that either. Want to grind? Want to make it a battle for chances? Fine with them. Afterwards, John Tortorella said this is the type of game the Rangers expect to have to fight through this last third of the season—like the game against the Devils—where scoring is low, games are tight. Again, that’s OK with these Rangers.

2) I did complain yesterday about the lack of noise in the building, and there was silence at times. I ducked for cover when I suggested that Knicks games are louder. But it was a matinee and it was kids’ day and there were sure a lot of youngsters in the building. And when the kids’ folks got going, the kids got into it, too, especially late.

3) I thought at times that the Rangers—even though there was no nasty to this game, and it wasn’t exceptionally physical—kind of dampened the Capitals’ compete level. It sure looked like some of them weren’t interested in getting involved in all of that, including, at times, Mr. Ovechkin, former monster. Ovechkin (on some shifts)=glider.

4) The first period was kinda like the all-star game, minus the offense.

5) How about this statement start: Dan Block Ness Monster Girardi takes an Ovechkin bomb right off the melon? Fortunately it caught all helmet. And Block Ness laughed all the way to the bench.

6) Nobody was laughing at Ryan McDonagh when he scored that goal and fell in a heap, holding his left knee. Apparently McDonagh has this trick kneecap that acts up, or moves, or tweaks every once in a while throughout his career. It hurts for a while and then he gets through it. McDonagh didn’t miss a shift, played an amazing game, and finally—despite all the great games and big goals he’s had this season—got to wear the Broadway Hat for the first time.

7) Tortorella also pointed out the group of five in front of Henrik Lundqvist who did such a number on Ovechkin’s line: That being Brandon (game-winning, 48-game-slump-busting, short-handed goal) Prust, Brian Boyle and Brandon Dubinsky, Girardi and McMonster. And that their best defensive work was owning the puck. And they did. One of the Washington writers sitting next to me said a couple of times in the first two periods, “My God, they’ve spent the whole game in their own end.” Again, maybe that’s not thrill-a-minute, but boy is it effective.

8) And while the grinders won this game, the Rangers got yet another goal from their heart, soul and captain Ryan Callahan, who lost his balance kicking a pass to his stick, and while falling scored a beauty of a goal. And they got another really good game from the GAS Line, especially that No. 10 guy who could have had a bushel of goals with a little luck.

9) You know whose game I’ve really liked a lot lately? John Mitchell’s.

10) The Caps really might not make the playoffs this year, and the Rangers will, and that trading place wasn’t lost on a  lot of people. Prust said, “I guess it’s a little different. They were the team with the bull’s eye on their back. Now it’s kind of us. It’s definitely a little different … I like it this way a lot better.” Washington really misses Nick Backstrom (concussion) and Mike Green (sports hernia surgery). Backstrom might not make it back this season. And Mike Knuble was a healthy scratch (deadline deal candidate?) All of those guys and Ovechkin and the Caps’ stars have been in the lineup together for eight games this year, and they’re 8-0.

11) Saw two of my favorite size small ex-Rangers tough guys: George McPhee (the Capitals GM) and  Pat Verbeek, scouting for Tampa Bay. I was able to clear up an argument that was ongoing up in Canada recently, when somebody suggested Ray Ferraro was the original “Little Ball of Hate.” Verbeek insisted that he was the original. That’s what I had thought all along.

12) I said so yesterday, that I thought it was a great idea to play Lundqvist back-to-back … and I’d certainly play him in Boston tomorrow. The guy’s a horse and a competitor and he wants to play every game, and there’s nothing wrong with letting him do it and feeling pushed once in a while. God knows he excelled when he had to play every game after the deadline last year, and he’d happily play every game from now on out, and he will be playing every game when the tournament begins.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Brandon Prust.
2) Ryan McDonagh.
3) Dan Girardi.
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Here is my column from the game, in The Journal News and on LoHud.com today.

AP photos, above.

 

Thoughts:

1) So the Flyers are frustrated, losing seven in a row, including all five this year, to the Best Team in the East? Well, maybe they should stop playing all those idiots and understand that the Rangers not only won’t be intimidated, but they’ll be happy to play that type of game, any day, anywhere. And beat them at it. And that the Rangers’ bottom six forwards are better than the Flyers’ bottom six, by a lot. And that the Flyers’ best game in the season series was the Winter Classic when those clowns didn’t play. I’d love to see behind-the-scenes footage of the Rangers celebrating when they get the official lineup and see Sestito’s playing.

2) Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. The Rangers power play  has been making small improvements the last few games. I appreciate that some of you guys didn’t want to hear that, only wanted to see results. But it’s getting better. Having said that you might want to discount the two PPGs scored on the rush, because, well, that’s man-advanatge, but that’s not drawn-up PPs. Moving feet, moving pucks, and moving toward the net, and not away from it. In those areas, they’re getting better.

3) Marian Gaborik loves playing the Flyers. So does Brad Richards. And Brandon Dubinsky. Heck, all of them. The thing with Dubinsky is he’s so good on the PK, why can’t he figure it out that he needs to play that same way, always moving, at even strength? I guess you have no choice but to move on the PK.

4) The Flyers did the Rangers some favors with all those shots from above the circles, especially on their PP. With all those Block Ness Monsters and Henrik Lundqvist in goal, that’s not going to work. Speaking of whom, how good, again, were Lundqvist, Ryan McMonster and Block Ness Monster Girardi? Jaromir Jagr spent a lot of time up there above the circles. Looked like he wasn’t interested in competing. But we’ve seen that with him during his career.

5) The Claude Giroux goal was total FUBAR (military term, google it; and in the glory days of John Muckler’s reign here we in the pressbox called it MUBAR). But first you had Staal in way deep and flat-footed. Then you had guys changing, with the longer second-period change, and doing it poorly. Then you had Artem Anisimov trying to play defense, and playing the puck against, of all people, the Flyers’ best offensive player. On top of that, you had Lundqvist making what would have been a sensational save if he had any help coming back to prevent Giroux from jamming the loose rebound and Lundqvist’s arm into the net. Fortunately all those things only added up to one goal.

6) I thought this was one of those rare games when you couldn’t blame the Philadelphia goalie.

7) The game looks a lot different for the Rangers, a lot easier, and they look a whole lot better top to bottom, when the top two lines knock in a couple of goals.

8) I think Anisimov plays a really good game away from the puck, and he’s been physical lately and using his size, and he’s a terrific skater. But this is why Anisimov needs to get to areas where he can score more goals: His GAS linemates, Gaborik and Derek Stepan are such good passers.

9) That neutral-zone penalty on Steve Eminger vs. Wayne Simmonds: Pansification.

10) Once again, here’s a shining example of why +/- is a useless stat.  Gaborik—one goal, three assists, minus-1. So those PP points don’t matter? Those four goals for which he was more than partly responsible? Don’t mean as much as a goal-against on which he was nowhere near the play or a factor in it being scored.

11) Some of you will probably hate me for suggesting this. You guys would love Scott Hartnell if he was a Ranger. Simmonds, too. Hartnell’s a bigger, better Sean Avery, minus the off-ice baggage and the polarizing effect in the room. He also, in his own annoying way, really enjoys playing hockey.

12) The last two games, we’ve seen the difference Richards can make, haven’t we? And why the Rangers (over)paid him to come here.

13) Isn’t it nearly impossible to believe that the Flys, with all their goalie issues, with their losing streaks, and their 0-5 record vs. the East Beasts, are still so close to the Rangers in the Patrick Division?

14) Let’s do this again today at 12:30. For the record, I’d start Lundqvist again. And in Boston Tuesday. Why not? You know he wants to play.

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My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Ryan Callahan.
2) Marian Gaborik.
3) Henrik Lundqvist.
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AP photos, above.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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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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.

 

 

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.