Another Weekend Victory

I did a little research and the Rangers record since January on the weekend (Saturday/Sunday) is 8-1-3 for a total of 19 out of 24 points. The Rangers played a wide open game in the first period and were able to stay in the game. As much as it was frustrating to watch the Flyers score all those goals at least the offense is at a level where they can win a high scoring game. Shannahan set the tone with a sick top shelf wrist shot in shootout and then Dawes with a sweet backhand in the five hole to clinch the win.

Quick Notes:

Henrik oh Henrik you let up another soft goal to make it 3-3 and take the heart out of the team. I mean Carter had no angle to try and go fore-hand as Malik was coming up the middle to cut that off and you get surprised by a weak floating backhand. I think Renney was correct in pulling The King and with Valiquette’s records against the Flyers he should have started. 20-20 hindsight obviously but Vali was steady and the Rangers d-shored itself up in the last 2 periods.

Backman and Sjostrom score and thank god Backman did, he was one bad play away from being booed every time he touched the puck. Sjostrom’s goal was a thing of beauty and he really has been impressive for the Rangers already. He showed speed to get to the front of the net and then determination by getting 3 shots off without being touched.

No respect for Channel 4’s coverage. Jagr was not playing well last 2 times Rangers were on national tv and the entire broadcast they are trying to show he does not care and is not the same old Jagr. Yesterday when he is back to top form there is not a mention at all by Milbury or highlight reel showing how well he is playing now. Just shows they were all about shock value and wanted to get the press going with does Jagr not care quotes.

Player of the Game:

Martin Straka- Big goal to get the scoring started and then a great rush and feed to Callahan for an easy band in goal. Love the way a different line every night is the big goal scorer for the game.

Rangers newbies one good one…not so good

Well the Sjostrom/Backman era began last night and it was to mixed reviews. This Sjostrom kid looks like he can play all aspects of the game. Orr/Holloweg better not play over this guy the rest of the season. He will bring a nice spark to that last line and when Avery goes off for a fight or a top forward gets banged up he can fill in as a formidable top line winger. The speed he showed on that break-in was nice and he did not make any mistakes when playing with Betts/Hollweg.

Backman on the other hand….Holy Shit he better have been nervous and trying to hard because, he was out of position all night and took 3 penalties (should have been a 4 minute high stick on top of that, but the refs called Staal). I agree with Brendan Shanahan (boy he will sleep well at night now) when he said it is much harder for a d-man to jump in and play over a forward, but this has to be one of the worst Ranger debuts ever. You have to give him a little lee-way but if we are paying 2.3 million next year for this type performance we are in trouble.

Quick Notes

Visions of Montreal were dancing in my head right when Sam Rosen said the same thing on the broadcast. Dawes set up Shanny for a perfect top shelf shot and a game clinching 4th goal. Rangers showed poise and got the job done.

Memo to Glen Sather SIGN AVERY NOW. This is 2 years in a row Avery shows he is not scared to play in big games and the big time of the season. His wrists must have really affected him the first half of the season. He is playing like a man possessed right now and the Rangers need that in a big way.

SIDE NOTE IN PITTSBURGH- Unreal for Marian Hossa and the Pens (not that I am complaining). He suffered a knee injury in there loss to the Bruins (do they ever lose) and early reports are a sprain/strain of the knee and out 1 week. It could be much worse but man that is a downer for the Pens.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Even though he did not get on the scoreboard last night, this player has been there all year night in and night out. He really is making me believe he deserves # 1 d-man money with his play. Should he shoot more, no doubt, but when the team needed him last night he was a monster on the penalty kill. Michael Rozival gets my player of the game for the 8 plus minutes Backman put them a man down. He intercepted about 2-3 passes and stood up 2-3 players at the blue line. The main reason the Rangers won was they killed off those penalties and allowed Shanny to ice it.

New Guy highlights

Josh Gratton, he does not win them all but man he lasts long (that is not gay is it):




Fredrick Sjostrom first one is all Doan but it was against the Flyers:



NICE SHOT and on the PP

A lot of Talk Not A Lot of Moves for Rangers

Most surprising thing to me was Marek Malik was NOT traded. He has played better over the last 1-2 weeks so maybe Renney told Sather we should keep him. Only reason I am glad they keep him is his salary is off the cap next year, so can slide some of that money to Rozie.

The biggest splash was made at 2:58 PM when the Thrashers traded Marian Hossa and Pascual Dupris to the Penguins for Colby Armstrong, Eric Christenson, 1st round pick and prospect Angelo Esposito. As much as Pens will be a force up front I think Atlanta held out and at least got players that can help them now and in the future. I just do not see how the Penguins will be able to pay Malkin, Crosby and Hossa for the next 5-10 years and still compete. Will the Rangers still have a shot at him next year? If this is a rental the Penguins gave up way to much.

Back to the Rangers and who they acquired. Christian Backman is 6’4” 200 pounds and has no real offensive stats. They say he is very similar to Marek Malik, he is a big man that can move the puck and tends to make the safe play. He does not hit and was actually last in hits on the Blues. I think he is a depth move and will allow the Rangers to sit Strudwick. He is a great team guy but he has played way to much.

The other trade annoys, not for what the trade was, but the fact that the Rangers knew they should trade Montoya and when he had value they did not pull the trigger. They waited until he was the backup goalie at Hartford to dump him. In essence they traded a 4th line (maybe 3rd line) type winger and there 4th best goalie and got something for it.

Fedrik Sjostrom (or however it is spelled) a 3rd-4th line winger right now with upside. Rumors are he was used as a defensive forward in Phoenix but given a little freedom he has the skills to score. The fact that he will break up the HBO line and give a little skill to that line I am happy. Playoffs there is not fighting so Orr just not needed, plus we have Dubi for fight?????

Jason Gratton is a tough guy and that is it. He would fill in for Orr if he went down on nights a fighter is needed. The goalie they received (Levaneau) has a good track record in the AHL and was a former pupil of goaltending coach Benoit Alare (again not idea how to spell our goaltending coaches name).

Overall the key word for the Rangers is Depth. They improved there depth big time and this Sjostrom guy has the potential to play on the 4th line and make them a line that can contribute a goal. I think it was a good day, but not a great day for the Rangers.

The one guy I think they missed the boat on was getting Hal Gill from Toronto for 2 picks. He is a stud stay at home defenseman that shuts down the other team’s top player. He is a thorn in the side of Jagr every time they play Toronto and he did not cost the Pens that much. I would have taken a guy like him over Backman.

Another Weekend Sweep

New York Rangers' Jaromir Jagr, of the Czech Republic, right, finds an opening and scores past Florida Panthers' goalie Tomas Vokoun, of the Czech Republic, during the second period of the NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Okay, new rule Rangers play one day during the week and then play 2 games on the weekend and sweep them. They will win 2 out of every 3 games. A clutch goal by Avery to beat Buffalo and avoid the 3 point games we all love. Florida stinks and was a possible trap game, but Rangers put up a 3 spot early and win 5-0.

Quick Notes:

Jagr is making Bryan, sorry Commander B (linger longerrrr), look like a prophet. Putting Dubinky in the middle and Avery on the wing has re-energized Jagr and the # 1 line. Avery looks like he is finnaly healthy and back to being the pest we all know and love. His antics are a lot easier to digest when he scores and makes unreal passes. That goal last night by Jagr was the best goal of the season. Jagr scored from behind the net. SICK.

After Dubinsky gets in a fight I heard some DU-BI…..DU-BI chants going up at the garden. I think this will be the norm for the rest of the season. NY fans love a guy that has skill and is not afraid to mix it up. He will not get the crowd going like Henrik and Avery but the fans are starting to love this kid.

The Kids are alright- Man you can not give enough credit to the draft scouts and Don Maloney for what he did for this team. If he does half of what he did for the Rangers for Coyotes they will be in good shape.


CASINO NIGHT- (thanks to Bob for this). Rumors are and from all the posts about this night the Rangers were all unreal and mingling with the fans….except one. Rumors are that Jagr was the only one with a personal bodyguard and was wisked away when ever the crowd around him got to large. Adam Graves was the best (isn’t he always) and had time for every single person that came over to him. Overall though all the Rangers really showed that Hockey players are by far the easiest guys to root for and be fans of.

Player of the weekend- Sean Avery was the key man this weekend. He waived to all the Buffalo fans after the Game winner and was just an overall pest on the ice. His antics are that much easier to take when he is playing the way he is right now. Memo to Sather lock this guy up right now, he is made for NY and he is a key to this team.

Boyle/Rucinsky Broadway bound????

Love the NY Post for Hockey news, Larry Brooks all over this stuff:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02212008/sports/rangers/rangers_hot_for_boyle_98556.htm

The age scares me a little(32) and they need to re-sign him. If they do not re-sign him or plan to just rent him they better not give up much. The Rangers have a ton of prospects right now and the rumors are they will not give up a Type A prospect for him, but the Rangers have some of the best Type B prospects out there (Maloney did an unreal job getting this team set in the minors).

Also Boyle has a no trade and is already on record as saying he will waive it to come to NY.

Avery and Sather are talking extension after Girardi/Tyutin and Henrik were locked up.

Even better news John Davidson like Marik Malik and would trade Martin Ruckinsky back for him. Only snag is Rangers need a D man back prior to trading Malik. So Boyle/Ruckinsky would be a great get at deadline and they keep all there top prospects.

We will see.

2 Games For the Price of One

New York Rangers' Jaromir Jagr of the Czech Republic skates past a jubilant Montreal Canadiens' Cristobal Huet, of France, after Huet made the final shoot-out save to win against the New York Rangers during NHL hockey action on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008 in Montreal

Words can not describe what just happened in Montreal last night. When the score went to 5-1, I thought ok we are fine no way Henrik is giving up 6 goals in one game. When the score went to 5-2 off the next draw, I knew this was going to be a battle. You just got the sense the Habs were not going to go away. Rangers got a much needed point but you can not lose this game, no way. I felt like someone punched me in the stomach when Kovalev scored to tie it. UNREAL!!!

Quick Notes:

Gordie Howe Hat Trick for Dubinsky- He said he would not take Komisarek’s shit and he stepped up and did not back down. On top of the fight he scores a goal and gets an assist. I will say it again we are watching a kid become a potential star in the NHL.

Reason # 1 Rangers lost this game was they decided to play a prevent defense in the third. Joe and Sam said 10 times in the first 5 minutes, great job just dump it in and make Canadians take it all the way up the ice. That is not what got the Rangers a 5-0 lead and it cost them the game. The Canadians have way to much speed and offense to just dump it and change, or dump it and just back out of the zone. I HATE PREVENT DEFENSE Hockey.

Jagr/Avery/Dubinsky- this is some line, it has all the pieces- Speed/Power and grit in Avery, Dubinsky youth/energy/skill and Jagr skill. Jagr is proving the last 2-3 games he is not done. He is not scoring, but he has set up some nice goals and is playing a great give and go game with his line mates. He is not carrying the puck for the entire shift like he used to, are we watching him re-invent his game?

Trade deadline- read an interesting article where they said Rangers should go get Bobby Holik for a discounted price (a pick or a low prospect) and move Drury to Gomez’s wing. I was ready to laugh my ass off, but if Holik is played at # 3 center he fits into a team. Rumors are, if he was not bought out, Holik was going to be named Renney’s captain his first year. Holik is not a # 1 center, but he brings a shut down center to this team and I would love to see a guy like him out there instead of the HBO line against teams # 1 lines. I love Drury on Gomez’s wing. These 2 play a very complimentary game and could be a Drury/Briere type combo that Buffalo had last year. All speculation but I love trade deadline time.

Player of the game (we did get a point no goat) - Brandon Dubinksy and Jaromir Jagr. These 2 have a great chemistry growing and I would love for Jagr to take a NY discount next year to stay and watch these 2 play an entire season together.