Well followers there is a lot to talk about in regards to lasts night game, but truly not a lot to write about. The bottom line is it was a less then overwhelming performance by either team. I felt like I was watching a pre-lockout game where there was very limited space on the ice, the neutral zones were clogged, everything was kept to the outsides and the puck movement was less then spectacular.
With that stated, Hank out duels Marty again for his 8th Shutout of the season and he is well on his way to eclipsing his own personal record of 10 in a season. I thought the Richards line had a phenomenal shift which created the first goal and I am not sure Hags is getting enough credit for sneaking that shot past Marty, and Cally not enough credit for the pass.. You could see it in his eyes that he saw that opening in between the pipes and Marty's back and played it right off Marty knowing that he had no shot to actually stop it and would only help it in the goal when he moved. Very creative, quick thinking and move of all very well positioned, I guess they really are that smart at UM... Now as impressive as the first goal was to me, the goal on the empty net by Cally which was none of his doing was a thing of effort and determination. I can't say it enough how impressed I was with the effort that Hags gave to get to the puck after he was molested by Zidlicky's stick over and over again. He kept moving his skates and slide the puck over to Cally for the dunk, hag was well deserving of the first star of the evening for sure.. And Ryan Mac who played 95% of the game like a Mac truck was well deserving of the second star. All I want to say is the next time they play the Penguins he needs to do the same thing to Malkin. The key to shutting down those monster Russians like Ovie, Kovy, Malkin is to stop them from getting their speed up. If you watch them, they circle back a lot to get their speed and for the most part any d-man is literally scared to try to stop them and poke check all the time. If the forwards limit their speed and keep them to the outside, Mac and Girardi and Stall, etc. will have a better chance of riding them out of the play and ending that rush...
So we picked up the two points we needed to keep the lead in the conference and inch closer to Vancouver with two games in hand on them for the race for the Presidents Trophy.. To me personally and I went over this in yesterdays blog I think that it is not only necessary, but our only chance if we want to win the cup to get home ice.. The garden and New York City will be rocking in June if we are still in it and man I would love to see it. Unfortunately I am stuck here in South Florida until I find a job in NY which I have been diligently looking for over the past few months.. If anyone has a lead, please let me know.. Thanks again for coming to my blog, please become a follower and lets open the lines of communication and get this game going.. Till the next time, a few days off, Ahhhhhh...
E-No Out
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Remainder of the season...
So as we come onto 3:30PM, a full 30 minutes past the deadline and just about all the deals are done, how do we feel about our boys? I can go on and on about it, but I am in the minority and to be honest I am writing this to get my own stress out as no one really reads it nor gives two shits about it. That said, the NYR did nothing except get another goon on D who will probably go straight to Hartford and never see the ice as now we have 9 D-men and 10 if you want to count erixson. So on to the remainder of the schedule and where we finish in my eyes.
Devils, canes, TBL, Bruins, NJD, Ottawa, Hawks, NYI, Canes, Pens, Avs, NJD, Wings, Sabres, Leafs, Wild, Jets, Montreal, Bruins, Flyers, Pitt, Caps..
22 games- 11-11 equals 22 points or 106 points for the season- .500 Pace for Remainder
22 games- 14-8 equals 28 points or 112 Points for the season -Wins & losses as YTD numbers
22 games- 14-6-2 equals 30 Points or 114 points for the season- Exact % YTD for W,L,OTL
So of the teams we have to worry about for the Presidents Trophy
Vancouver would end the year at 52-21-9 for 113 Points based on their current pace.
Detroit would end the year at 53-25-4 for 110 points based on their current pace.
St. Louis would end the year 50-22-10 for 110 points based on their current pace.
So assuming and baring any natural disasters from the NYR we are on pace to win the presidents trophy and quite honestly that is our only chance of making a big run this year. If we stay on this current schneid( no regulation wins in the last 5 games and 5 out of 10 points) then we will be in a bit of trouble. Tonight is a big game, the devils have won the last two meetings and have our number a bit but are coming off 3 in 4 nights and second of back to back.. Clearsly its not a must win, but we have to show up, dubi must be prime for a break-out game, GAS line needs to heat up again, BR line needs top keep creating and the boyle line needs to chip in a bit more.. Here is to two points and a good old fashioned ass whooping for the devils...
E-No Out...
Devils, canes, TBL, Bruins, NJD, Ottawa, Hawks, NYI, Canes, Pens, Avs, NJD, Wings, Sabres, Leafs, Wild, Jets, Montreal, Bruins, Flyers, Pitt, Caps..
22 games- 11-11 equals 22 points or 106 points for the season- .500 Pace for Remainder
22 games- 14-8 equals 28 points or 112 Points for the season -Wins & losses as YTD numbers
22 games- 14-6-2 equals 30 Points or 114 points for the season- Exact % YTD for W,L,OTL
So of the teams we have to worry about for the Presidents Trophy
Vancouver would end the year at 52-21-9 for 113 Points based on their current pace.
Detroit would end the year at 53-25-4 for 110 points based on their current pace.
St. Louis would end the year 50-22-10 for 110 points based on their current pace.
So assuming and baring any natural disasters from the NYR we are on pace to win the presidents trophy and quite honestly that is our only chance of making a big run this year. If we stay on this current schneid( no regulation wins in the last 5 games and 5 out of 10 points) then we will be in a bit of trouble. Tonight is a big game, the devils have won the last two meetings and have our number a bit but are coming off 3 in 4 nights and second of back to back.. Clearsly its not a must win, but we have to show up, dubi must be prime for a break-out game, GAS line needs to heat up again, BR line needs top keep creating and the boyle line needs to chip in a bit more.. Here is to two points and a good old fashioned ass whooping for the devils...
E-No Out...
Sunday, February 26, 2012
I will be very quick on this one as I am in the middle of watching the Carling Cup final and its at half right now. Again we were quite lucky to get the two points last night and all the credit goes to Cally for that insane move on Kaleta in OT off a great dish from Mac. Overall if you other fans all 15 of you who read my blog are like me and you want to win this year, you can see what we need. We still have so much trouble finishing shots and producing goals.. I think we have seen how good Step, Mac, Hags, AA, Dubi are going to be in there careers and I believe they are all capped. That does not mean they have peaked, it just means to me that there skill level is capped and they are not All stars in my book, but very good pieces who can be a part of this team for years. I know Gabby scored again last night, but his inconsistency is scary and I will let BR get away with it for now because its his first year on Broadway and we know how that can go. So I will say it again, I think we need to make the deal for Nash unless Slats thinks he has the inside push for Parise in the off season... Right now we have to many pieces in the minors not to trade some of them for a run at the cup. Where are they going to fit in on this team in the future, guys like Miller, bourque, Krieder, Thomas, Other Mac, Erixson, Etc... Just a thought for you guys.. What are your thoughts??? Good win, will take the two points, and lets Kick the Devils asses on Monday night..
E-No Out
E-No Out
Saturday, February 25, 2012
NYI get the better of the NYR and Torts
I want to start this blog off and get right into it about Chemistry. Now all us fans out there, myself excluded have been talking about the proposed deadline moves as possible chemistry busters. I ask you this, where has the chemistry been in the last four games and even the win against Boston. One regulation win in the last four, 3 points total out of the four games and even in the Boston game which we won on the back of Hank's Stellar performance, we were outplayed. So screw chemistry, its clear to see that we need to make a deal, we need to get more skill on this team as grit, determination and hard work can only go so far. Look people, let me explain it to you this way, I am a huge soccer fan, I watch La Liga, BPL, Serie A, Bundusliga, and so on and simply put what separates the good teams from the great teams in the long run are the stars, the ones with all the talent that might not work as hard as the middle of the road guy, but were blessed with all the moves, speed, shot, etc in the world. In my book the same applies to the world of hockey. More to come on this at the end...
As for last night, I thought John Tavares imposed his skill on the rangers from the first whistle all the way through the shootout. Although he missed his shootout attempt I thought by far he was the best player on the ice all night and his line was insane all night long as well with Moulson get 1 and 1 and Parentau getting 2 goals along with JT 2 assists. Our defense had a tough time staying with his moves and ability to see the ice and move the puck. Ryan Mac made a terrible breakout pass that led to an attempted clear from the isles that hit JT and he made an insane between the legs pass to a streaking Parentau who whistled a slap shot over Biron's shoulder, bottom line is mac has to do better with that puck. The first unit again looked sluggish on the PP and the second unit was buzzing everywhere which was apparent with the goal from Marc Stall that I am sure Nabokov wants back... We started to calm down and play a bit better after this PP and took it to them towards the end of the first... I thought Dubi played a great game, he was all over the ice, skating well, hitting, making plays, proving to the coaching staff that he is worth keeping around although I don't think that will happen. The Isles got their 3rd goal on the PP which is something that has become a ritual for the rangers as of late, giving up PP goals. Clearly in the fits 55 games of the season we did not give up that many at all which is why we are 3rd in the league on the PK, but as of late, the defense seems to be, perhaps a bit tired, or mentally drained, I am not sure what it is, but we are giving up way to much as of late. The game changed when Biron stopped Grabner on a break-a-way attempt in the middle of the second and then only minutes later Gabby buried a break-a-way attempt of his own off a nice dish from AA off the boards. The 3rd goal was a fluke goal from a shot by Step on the PP which went in off the isles d-man... The bottom line is we were lucky to get a point out of the game for sure and need to do a lot better thins evening..
A lot was made after the game of how Torts kept saying the rangers played "sloppy", which is not wrong at all, but one has to ask the questioning why? Is Torts' message not getting to the players anymore? Is there a Bruce Boudreau type Washington thing happening in the Rangers locker room that we the public are not aware of? I remember saying to my cousin when watching the HBo series 24\7, I felt like this team was going to stop listening to the screaming and cursing of Torts after a while and that type of coaching in all but uselsss in the professional ranks. I love the fire he brings, but to me he doesn't bring enough ice to cool things down when necessary. Now I am not around the team like some of the reporters and blogers, and I am only judging on what I see and what I feel or have felt for the past few seasons, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. I worry that some guys just drown Torts out and to me rightfully so sometimes.. This will be an interesting sage to watch and see how it works out.. Tonight in my eyes is a must win game to get this team back on track and show they are ready to take on the eastern conference in the playoff run... A loss tonight and expect Nash ont he team for Sundays game, and honestly a win tonight you can probably expect the same.. Heave ho one in a row....
E-No Out..
As for last night, I thought John Tavares imposed his skill on the rangers from the first whistle all the way through the shootout. Although he missed his shootout attempt I thought by far he was the best player on the ice all night and his line was insane all night long as well with Moulson get 1 and 1 and Parentau getting 2 goals along with JT 2 assists. Our defense had a tough time staying with his moves and ability to see the ice and move the puck. Ryan Mac made a terrible breakout pass that led to an attempted clear from the isles that hit JT and he made an insane between the legs pass to a streaking Parentau who whistled a slap shot over Biron's shoulder, bottom line is mac has to do better with that puck. The first unit again looked sluggish on the PP and the second unit was buzzing everywhere which was apparent with the goal from Marc Stall that I am sure Nabokov wants back... We started to calm down and play a bit better after this PP and took it to them towards the end of the first... I thought Dubi played a great game, he was all over the ice, skating well, hitting, making plays, proving to the coaching staff that he is worth keeping around although I don't think that will happen. The Isles got their 3rd goal on the PP which is something that has become a ritual for the rangers as of late, giving up PP goals. Clearly in the fits 55 games of the season we did not give up that many at all which is why we are 3rd in the league on the PK, but as of late, the defense seems to be, perhaps a bit tired, or mentally drained, I am not sure what it is, but we are giving up way to much as of late. The game changed when Biron stopped Grabner on a break-a-way attempt in the middle of the second and then only minutes later Gabby buried a break-a-way attempt of his own off a nice dish from AA off the boards. The 3rd goal was a fluke goal from a shot by Step on the PP which went in off the isles d-man... The bottom line is we were lucky to get a point out of the game for sure and need to do a lot better thins evening..
A lot was made after the game of how Torts kept saying the rangers played "sloppy", which is not wrong at all, but one has to ask the questioning why? Is Torts' message not getting to the players anymore? Is there a Bruce Boudreau type Washington thing happening in the Rangers locker room that we the public are not aware of? I remember saying to my cousin when watching the HBo series 24\7, I felt like this team was going to stop listening to the screaming and cursing of Torts after a while and that type of coaching in all but uselsss in the professional ranks. I love the fire he brings, but to me he doesn't bring enough ice to cool things down when necessary. Now I am not around the team like some of the reporters and blogers, and I am only judging on what I see and what I feel or have felt for the past few seasons, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. I worry that some guys just drown Torts out and to me rightfully so sometimes.. This will be an interesting sage to watch and see how it works out.. Tonight in my eyes is a must win game to get this team back on track and show they are ready to take on the eastern conference in the playoff run... A loss tonight and expect Nash ont he team for Sundays game, and honestly a win tonight you can probably expect the same.. Heave ho one in a row....
E-No Out..
Friday, February 24, 2012
TGIF and bring on the Isles... Now most of this blog will be in reference to the latest rumors surrounding Dustin Brown being available and the NYR being hot on the trail Now all the lastest rumors from the inside guys have him as our second choice behind of course RN.. So with that said, I would like to give you my take on this and see where you all stand..
If and only if slats was in on a top two or four defenseman, if any are still available, I would go after Brown. I know the argument that he would fit in and play our system and is another Cally, but do we really need another cally? I would say the reason we are going after a guy like Rick Nash is because we need his firepower and bringing in a guy like DB would only slightly increase the offense assuming you don't give an AA or Dubi for him... With that said, if its a staright up Dubi for DB deal and a pick or mid level prospect and we all think Slats has the inside track on Parise or someone of that stature int he offseason, then by all means go for it, free up the extra million plus in cap space, rid yourself of the moderately bad contract given to Dubi and get Parise to come to Manhattan, and then you have the makings of a contender for years to come. I know I am thinking ahead, but isnt the job of a GM to be a master Chess player and see two or three moves ahead? Thoughts everyone??
I woke up this morning and thought of this crazy trade and I really want to know your thoughts. When I ran it by my cousin who has been a fan and season ticket holder for over 45 years, he asked if I had taken LSD last night.. What is the Rangers Traded Gabby and one of their D propects for Drew Doughty and some mid level proscpet. The LAK have always had a slight infatuation with Gabby and the money works out perfectly. Then Slats goes and gets Nash under the same deal as he is running now.. I know your immediate response is are you bleeping insane, but think about it. Would there be a better defense in the league? Girardi, Mac, Delz, Stall, Doughty, Sauer(when healthy), all I can say is good luck scoring on that... So in essence you are giving up gabby who we all know has been a stud at times this season and been wildly inconsistent at times as well. He has gone on goalless streaks of three games or more 7 times this season. That includes a seven game goalless streak and the current five gamer he is on now.. He is getting older and softer and will wear down before his contract is up in my eyes.. I know I am going to get hammered over this and I can't wait to hear it, but the numbers bear out my point and it might be something worth taking a look at...
So to summerize my thoughts, Go after Brown if you are getting a top four D-man to solidfy the Top to pairs, and only if you are getting a top four guy. If no top four guy, then get Nash, move who you have to and make it work and win the damn cup this year. However if you are moving brown for Dubi if the nash deal can't work, then I do it for the Cap space to go after Parise int he off season.. Also a little bit on gabby in here that I hope to get hammered about.. Bring it on folks, comments are always welcome and I will get back at you for sure... Let go Rangers Kick the shit out of the Isles tonight...
E-No Out
If and only if slats was in on a top two or four defenseman, if any are still available, I would go after Brown. I know the argument that he would fit in and play our system and is another Cally, but do we really need another cally? I would say the reason we are going after a guy like Rick Nash is because we need his firepower and bringing in a guy like DB would only slightly increase the offense assuming you don't give an AA or Dubi for him... With that said, if its a staright up Dubi for DB deal and a pick or mid level prospect and we all think Slats has the inside track on Parise or someone of that stature int he offseason, then by all means go for it, free up the extra million plus in cap space, rid yourself of the moderately bad contract given to Dubi and get Parise to come to Manhattan, and then you have the makings of a contender for years to come. I know I am thinking ahead, but isnt the job of a GM to be a master Chess player and see two or three moves ahead? Thoughts everyone??
I woke up this morning and thought of this crazy trade and I really want to know your thoughts. When I ran it by my cousin who has been a fan and season ticket holder for over 45 years, he asked if I had taken LSD last night.. What is the Rangers Traded Gabby and one of their D propects for Drew Doughty and some mid level proscpet. The LAK have always had a slight infatuation with Gabby and the money works out perfectly. Then Slats goes and gets Nash under the same deal as he is running now.. I know your immediate response is are you bleeping insane, but think about it. Would there be a better defense in the league? Girardi, Mac, Delz, Stall, Doughty, Sauer(when healthy), all I can say is good luck scoring on that... So in essence you are giving up gabby who we all know has been a stud at times this season and been wildly inconsistent at times as well. He has gone on goalless streaks of three games or more 7 times this season. That includes a seven game goalless streak and the current five gamer he is on now.. He is getting older and softer and will wear down before his contract is up in my eyes.. I know I am going to get hammered over this and I can't wait to hear it, but the numbers bear out my point and it might be something worth taking a look at...
So to summerize my thoughts, Go after Brown if you are getting a top four D-man to solidfy the Top to pairs, and only if you are getting a top four guy. If no top four guy, then get Nash, move who you have to and make it work and win the damn cup this year. However if you are moving brown for Dubi if the nash deal can't work, then I do it for the Cap space to go after Parise int he off season.. Also a little bit on gabby in here that I hope to get hammered about.. Bring it on folks, comments are always welcome and I will get back at you for sure... Let go Rangers Kick the shit out of the Isles tonight...
E-No Out
Thursday, February 23, 2012
With about an hour to go before the puck drops at the rock in NJ I wanted to get a quick blog up about tonight's game. To it will come down to and it quite obvious slowing down the praise line and especially limiting kovy's touches in mid ice and not allowing him to get a full head of steam going up the ice. Looks like emitter back in the lineup and cally might be back which is good, Scott out with woywitka and stralman whose play has slowed as of late will sit on the pine. Need continued production from the gas line and with cally back assume he jumps right back in with br and hags. I would like to see a good game from Dan Girardi for sure as he has had a few sow ones of late and it appears the fatigue has sent in a bit. With that said, stall can keep climbing up the ladder and getting better each game and Mac and delz can continue their solid play.. Here's to a good solid hard fought game with Hank outlasting Marty again.. 3-2 Rangers.. Lets go rangers.....
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Predictions for the rest of the season... oh yeah and my pregnant wife has bronchitis
I got back from the doctors office with my 13 week pregnant wife and she has bronchitis so I am down in my home office listening to her cough and I feel terrible. I am sure she will be better in a few days.
So back to a bit more about the game last night and what lies ahead for the rangers pre trade deadline.
We have the Isles on Friday night and the Sabres on Saturday night.. Which one do you play Hank in or both? I think we have to get wins in both games, get the offense back on track and really set a tone for the remaining 22 games after these two post deadline day..
3 vs NJD
2 vs Carolina
2 vs Boston
2 vs Pittsburgh
1 each vs caps, flyers, Montreal, Jets, Minn, Leafs, Sabres, Wings, Colorado, Hawks, Sens, Isles, and Bolts.
So assume we take the four points from the weekend games vs. NYI and Buff, that would put us at 85 points through 60 games. So here is my take and I would love to hear all your input on these predication's..
NJD- 3 points of a possible 6, 1 win and 1 reg loss with one OT shootout loss..
Carolina- Take 2 points- Split
Boston- Split and take 2 points.
Pittsburgh- Split and take 2 points
Loses to Montreal, Hawks, Sens in reg
Wins against Jets, Minn, Buff, Colorado and TBL equals 10 points
OT or SO losses to Philly and Wash equals 2 points
OT or SO wins against NYI, Tor and Wings equals 6 points.
This brings our season total to 112 points.. Do we finish the season 12-7-3 or better? Does 112 points get us the Presidents trophy? Do we need the PT to win it all? Can this team as its constituted right now win the whole thing? Only time will tell.. Would love to hear your comments and get to know my followers a bit better.. thanks everyone and can't wait to hear from you..
E-NO
So back to a bit more about the game last night and what lies ahead for the rangers pre trade deadline.
We have the Isles on Friday night and the Sabres on Saturday night.. Which one do you play Hank in or both? I think we have to get wins in both games, get the offense back on track and really set a tone for the remaining 22 games after these two post deadline day..
3 vs NJD
2 vs Carolina
2 vs Boston
2 vs Pittsburgh
1 each vs caps, flyers, Montreal, Jets, Minn, Leafs, Sabres, Wings, Colorado, Hawks, Sens, Isles, and Bolts.
So assume we take the four points from the weekend games vs. NYI and Buff, that would put us at 85 points through 60 games. So here is my take and I would love to hear all your input on these predication's..
NJD- 3 points of a possible 6, 1 win and 1 reg loss with one OT shootout loss..
Carolina- Take 2 points- Split
Boston- Split and take 2 points.
Pittsburgh- Split and take 2 points
Loses to Montreal, Hawks, Sens in reg
Wins against Jets, Minn, Buff, Colorado and TBL equals 10 points
OT or SO losses to Philly and Wash equals 2 points
OT or SO wins against NYI, Tor and Wings equals 6 points.
This brings our season total to 112 points.. Do we finish the season 12-7-3 or better? Does 112 points get us the Presidents trophy? Do we need the PT to win it all? Can this team as its constituted right now win the whole thing? Only time will tell.. Would love to hear your comments and get to know my followers a bit better.. thanks everyone and can't wait to hear from you..
E-NO
Pens beat us again
Have to make this one short as I have to take my pregnant wife to an urgent care facility just to be safe.. Last night I had the privilege of putting in a guest spot in Carp's Blog http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/ so you can see more of my critique there.. I will say this in my normal format, we did not come out physical enough, did not stop Geno from getting on the puck and creating and when we do that its simply put a recipe for disaster. I don't think we were heavily outplayed like we were in the first 10 minutes of the Hawks game (mind you the rest of the game we smashed them), but we just didn't have the quality of finishers as the pens do and that's what separates us from them.. As mentioned in Carp's blog, they don't fear us, the pens that is the same way it appears the Flyers and bruins do, the pens don't which scares me a bit... Will get back later and put some more thoughts down, but wanted to Thank Carp for the opportunity and get things rolling from here.. Till later...
E signing out...
E signing out...
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Preview of tonights battle!!!
The NYR make their way to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins tonight in an Atlantic division battle. The Pens are coming off a bad loss at the hands of the Sabres (6-2) and the NYR are riding into town off an OT win over the CBJ (3-2). Here are some key stats for three key players for each team:
Pittsburgh:
Malkin- 12 Points in last 9 games, but he has slowed a bit as of late with only 2 points in his last 3 games. He and James Neal have come together quite well since Sid went down so watch out for that line.
Stall-(Jordan)- 6 points in the last five games since returning from an injury in which Mike Rupp was the culprit. He is riding a three game goal scoring streak.
Fleury- After a dismal performance against Buffalo where he gave up 3 goals on 12 shots and was pulled after 37 minutes, One has to assume he will be back in Net more focused then before. MAF has not been on his game as of late surrendering 16 goals in his last 5 starts including the Buffalo game. The
New York Rangers:
Brad Richards- 1 Point in the last 3 games, but 5 in the last five games. He has found his skating legs again and has looked much better in the past 10 days then he did in the previous 8 or so games. His confidence is high and he has to continue to create opportunities for Cally and Hags.
Gabby- 2 Points in the last 3 games and 6 in the last 5 games. The GAS line is back to the level of play it had in the middle of the campaign and needs to continue that hot streak. He needs to keep skating hard, get around defenders more and use his hands to make plays...
The King- Has won Four Starts in a row and 8 of 9 going back to January 21st. He has only surrendered 11 goals in those 9 games..
Keys to Tonight's Game for a NYR Win:
- Need to physically set the tone of the game early. We don't necessarily need a fight, but rather some good hard neutral zone checks to make them aware we came to play.
- DO NOT let Geno get the puck in the neutral zone and get his skates churning. Step up on him and force a pass and DO NOT let him past center ice with the puck.
- Stay out of the Penalty box- Pittsburgh converts nearly 20% of all PP so its crucial to not take stupid penalties.
- The GAS and BR lines must continue to gel and creating chances. Get pucks at the net, good hard low shots to create rebounds...
Here is to two more points tonight by our NYR....
Pittsburgh:
Malkin- 12 Points in last 9 games, but he has slowed a bit as of late with only 2 points in his last 3 games. He and James Neal have come together quite well since Sid went down so watch out for that line.
Stall-(Jordan)- 6 points in the last five games since returning from an injury in which Mike Rupp was the culprit. He is riding a three game goal scoring streak.
Fleury- After a dismal performance against Buffalo where he gave up 3 goals on 12 shots and was pulled after 37 minutes, One has to assume he will be back in Net more focused then before. MAF has not been on his game as of late surrendering 16 goals in his last 5 starts including the Buffalo game. The
New York Rangers:
Brad Richards- 1 Point in the last 3 games, but 5 in the last five games. He has found his skating legs again and has looked much better in the past 10 days then he did in the previous 8 or so games. His confidence is high and he has to continue to create opportunities for Cally and Hags.
Gabby- 2 Points in the last 3 games and 6 in the last 5 games. The GAS line is back to the level of play it had in the middle of the campaign and needs to continue that hot streak. He needs to keep skating hard, get around defenders more and use his hands to make plays...
The King- Has won Four Starts in a row and 8 of 9 going back to January 21st. He has only surrendered 11 goals in those 9 games..
Keys to Tonight's Game for a NYR Win:
- Need to physically set the tone of the game early. We don't necessarily need a fight, but rather some good hard neutral zone checks to make them aware we came to play.
- DO NOT let Geno get the puck in the neutral zone and get his skates churning. Step up on him and force a pass and DO NOT let him past center ice with the puck.
- Stay out of the Penalty box- Pittsburgh converts nearly 20% of all PP so its crucial to not take stupid penalties.
- The GAS and BR lines must continue to gel and creating chances. Get pucks at the net, good hard low shots to create rebounds...
Here is to two more points tonight by our NYR....
Monday, February 20, 2012
Do we or Don't we, that is the Question???
So I'm glad to be back sitting at my desk, staring outside into the 75 degree heat of Sunny South Florida. To be honest with you all, its boring waking up to the same weather every day, I miss the seasonal change of NY and that's why we are planning on going back. With that said, I have to say I was not overly impressed with the game last night however we pulled out the victory and that it all that matters in the grand scheme of things. I thought we got excellent games from the GAS line who in my opinion were buzzing all night long, BR's Line played quite well also, and the D played a fairly solid game as there really was nothing they could have done differently on the goals.
Here is my take period by period. The first started with the rangers buzzing, creating chances all over the ice and the first two lines (gas and BR line) playing excellent. Hags and BR used there speed to create a beautiful give and go finished off by a beautiful slapper to the top right corner from BR. There is nothing else to report other then total dominance from the NYR. We got back to the basics of what shapes this team, fore-checking in the offensive end, hard checking all over the ice, getting in passing lanes and blocking shots on the defensive end. This is what is going to take us far in the playoffs.
Onto the second period and where we created a few chances early and didn't get anything out of it, that's a rarity with this team, HAHAHA.. Hags took a penalty early and we killed it off, but a few moments later, Gabby got stood up at the blue line trying to enter the zone and proceeded to slap the defenseman in the head with his stick and get another 2 minute penalty. Before going further, I want to ask you why a guy with the speed that Gabby has gets stood up at the line so much, he never seems to be able to squeak by the d-man and get into the play as of late. I know he is still producing and has a lot more good plays then bad, but he is getting beat off the puck a lot as of late and is showing some signs of weakness in his game. Will that be exploited in the playoffs when things get tighter or does he get a second wind? So back to the Columbus PP, Boyle gets beat of the face off and a slapper from the blue line beats Hank through a whole group of bodies. Just a bit of bad luck, but can't keep losing face offs at the rate we did last night. Now onto the beautiful thing known as the NYR Power Play, as you can ascertain I am joking with that. All season with the exception of that 4-5 game spell where we were like 6-15 or something like that, the PP has been a liability for us. 5-3 last night was obismal to say the least and to be honest it will be forever until we have someone with a hard slapshot from one of the points. To win it all and get deep in the playoffs we have to figure out what is going on with the PP and start scoring at least at a 17-18% clip as opposed to the 14% we are at now.. After the PP we did continue the pressure on the CBJ and Mason and a really high shot from Danny G took a very favorable bounce and AA pounced on it and put it in the back of the net. I thought he played a very good game and has been back on track in the last 10 days or so.. The only thing I can say about the official time clock is why is it not synched to the television broadcasts? The CBJ broadcast had .02 ont he clock where the MSG feed had .01, and then the official feed had .00, that should NEVER happen in this technological age we are in now... Hopefully that gets fixed in all the arenas in the near future...
The 3rd period started with The NYR coming out and playing well again, creating chances and playing a solid game while up 2-1. John mitchell was stoned by one of the d-men and overall the CBj were playing quite conservative and trying to pick their spots. Hank made a great save off a determined play from an otherwise unforseen Jeff Carter(more on him in a bit). Then the Wrist shot heard all the way through the NYR front office, another face off loss lead to a beautiful sniper style wrist shot from Rick Nash, man I dislike late goals, but at least we did not lose the game on that slapper, we just had to extend it a bit.
Not much I have to say about the play in OT expect WOW.. The play to get out of teh zone from Delz was classy, then the drive into the zone finding Gabby at the point, who found Delz on the wing, and once Delz realized he wasn't going to be able to shoot, he saucered a pass to Step who steamrolled it into the goal for a highlight reel goal. One has to ask themselves, why we don't score more goals like that, I know 4-4 there is more room, but we clearly have skilled guys and can clearly make plays like that more often, and perhaps we should..
Overall thoughts are as follows, solid win as I said we will take the two points. Solid play from the top two lines, but need more from the other two for sure. Can't get tired like we have done in previous seasons leading into the playoffs. Is it me or does the boyle line get caught in our end way to many times for long stretches. I feel like it happens at least once a game if not more. I know they give a lot on the other end and all over the ice, but they can't get caught like that, its nots going to be good.. I think its time to let Bickell sit a few games, I mean he and Rupp are playing like 5-6 minutes a night which is pointless. Torts has been doing so well rolling all four, keeping guys fresh and please do not let him revert back to his old ways of playing 3 lines and tiring out the boys to quickly.. Well with all that said and I could go on for more, heres to Pittsburgh on Tuesday and hopefully two more points, got to track down the Red Wings..... GO NYR......
Here is my take period by period. The first started with the rangers buzzing, creating chances all over the ice and the first two lines (gas and BR line) playing excellent. Hags and BR used there speed to create a beautiful give and go finished off by a beautiful slapper to the top right corner from BR. There is nothing else to report other then total dominance from the NYR. We got back to the basics of what shapes this team, fore-checking in the offensive end, hard checking all over the ice, getting in passing lanes and blocking shots on the defensive end. This is what is going to take us far in the playoffs.
Onto the second period and where we created a few chances early and didn't get anything out of it, that's a rarity with this team, HAHAHA.. Hags took a penalty early and we killed it off, but a few moments later, Gabby got stood up at the blue line trying to enter the zone and proceeded to slap the defenseman in the head with his stick and get another 2 minute penalty. Before going further, I want to ask you why a guy with the speed that Gabby has gets stood up at the line so much, he never seems to be able to squeak by the d-man and get into the play as of late. I know he is still producing and has a lot more good plays then bad, but he is getting beat off the puck a lot as of late and is showing some signs of weakness in his game. Will that be exploited in the playoffs when things get tighter or does he get a second wind? So back to the Columbus PP, Boyle gets beat of the face off and a slapper from the blue line beats Hank through a whole group of bodies. Just a bit of bad luck, but can't keep losing face offs at the rate we did last night. Now onto the beautiful thing known as the NYR Power Play, as you can ascertain I am joking with that. All season with the exception of that 4-5 game spell where we were like 6-15 or something like that, the PP has been a liability for us. 5-3 last night was obismal to say the least and to be honest it will be forever until we have someone with a hard slapshot from one of the points. To win it all and get deep in the playoffs we have to figure out what is going on with the PP and start scoring at least at a 17-18% clip as opposed to the 14% we are at now.. After the PP we did continue the pressure on the CBJ and Mason and a really high shot from Danny G took a very favorable bounce and AA pounced on it and put it in the back of the net. I thought he played a very good game and has been back on track in the last 10 days or so.. The only thing I can say about the official time clock is why is it not synched to the television broadcasts? The CBJ broadcast had .02 ont he clock where the MSG feed had .01, and then the official feed had .00, that should NEVER happen in this technological age we are in now... Hopefully that gets fixed in all the arenas in the near future...
The 3rd period started with The NYR coming out and playing well again, creating chances and playing a solid game while up 2-1. John mitchell was stoned by one of the d-men and overall the CBj were playing quite conservative and trying to pick their spots. Hank made a great save off a determined play from an otherwise unforseen Jeff Carter(more on him in a bit). Then the Wrist shot heard all the way through the NYR front office, another face off loss lead to a beautiful sniper style wrist shot from Rick Nash, man I dislike late goals, but at least we did not lose the game on that slapper, we just had to extend it a bit.
Not much I have to say about the play in OT expect WOW.. The play to get out of teh zone from Delz was classy, then the drive into the zone finding Gabby at the point, who found Delz on the wing, and once Delz realized he wasn't going to be able to shoot, he saucered a pass to Step who steamrolled it into the goal for a highlight reel goal. One has to ask themselves, why we don't score more goals like that, I know 4-4 there is more room, but we clearly have skilled guys and can clearly make plays like that more often, and perhaps we should..
Overall thoughts are as follows, solid win as I said we will take the two points. Solid play from the top two lines, but need more from the other two for sure. Can't get tired like we have done in previous seasons leading into the playoffs. Is it me or does the boyle line get caught in our end way to many times for long stretches. I feel like it happens at least once a game if not more. I know they give a lot on the other end and all over the ice, but they can't get caught like that, its nots going to be good.. I think its time to let Bickell sit a few games, I mean he and Rupp are playing like 5-6 minutes a night which is pointless. Torts has been doing so well rolling all four, keeping guys fresh and please do not let him revert back to his old ways of playing 3 lines and tiring out the boys to quickly.. Well with all that said and I could go on for more, heres to Pittsburgh on Tuesday and hopefully two more points, got to track down the Red Wings..... GO NYR......
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
So as we were on the eve of a potential great battle between the two teams that sit atop the eastern conference standings last night in Boston, those who watched I don't think were disappointed one bit. From the start you could see that this was going to be a playoff type game with the rangers playing like Bayer Leverkusen did against Barcelona earlier in the day(sorry for the obscure Soccer reference). With a very defensive posture and making sure not to make any mistakes, the rangers let the game come to them and really started to frustrate the Bruins. Then when we got a chance on the PP which has been much prettier of late since the boys started to move the puck, and oh yeah move their skates, we put one home on a beautiful cross ice pass from Gabby to Delz, then Delz to Cally for the tip in finish, almost the exact same play as they did against Philly on Sat. Then as we settled in with a one goal lead we kept frustrating the bruins by making all or most of their shots come from poor angles outside the circles. Late in the period after an excellent shift of pressure and more pressure, Ryan Mac threw the puck and the net and Big Z was too big for his own good. If it were any other player it hits him in the gut area and drops easily to the ice, but Z being like 7 foot tall on skates, it hit him in the leg\thigh area and careened into the net for a nice 2-0 lead going into the second..
The second period was a tough one, the Bruins came out flying, skating fast, taking shots from everywhere, had serious grit in their game, but through all of that, they could not score.. I texted my cousin saying I feel like the bruins look like we usually do or did last year, lots of shots, great control of the puck and nothing to show for it. Perhaps the counter attacking style truly is working,but living on the edge scares me more then I would like to tell you.. So we escape the second still up 2-0 and we know Boston is going to come out hot and bothered and we must hang on and counter as we see fit.. The third starts the same way as the second with Boston buzzing everywhere. Finally a little play from stralman up the boards to dubi who made a great play to get the puck to AA led to the third goal which was a beauty of a wrist shot past TT... I will say this, if AA were to put on 10-15 lbs, learn how to get his shot off quicker and not blocked so much, he would score 30 every year easily... As the period progressed I noticed lucic had came out with a nasty side to his game and really started to get physical, sometimes leaning towards the goon side, and sometimes looking legit. We withstood attack after attack, great puck possession from the bruins in our end, and shot after shot. Hank stopped a total of 42 shots from Boston with some beauty's down the stretch including a break-away attempt with about 45 seconds to go.. He lowered his league lead among full time starters in GAA to 1.77 and SP to .941%.. The real king in in NY, not MIA..... Lets go beat the Hawks at the garden tomorrow night, then get two much needed days off until the CBJ come to town.. Do we want to make a move for Nash? Do you give up CK for Nash knowing what you get out of nash and what the upside might be for CK? Tough choices ahead for Sather, hope he doesn't screw it up...
The second period was a tough one, the Bruins came out flying, skating fast, taking shots from everywhere, had serious grit in their game, but through all of that, they could not score.. I texted my cousin saying I feel like the bruins look like we usually do or did last year, lots of shots, great control of the puck and nothing to show for it. Perhaps the counter attacking style truly is working,but living on the edge scares me more then I would like to tell you.. So we escape the second still up 2-0 and we know Boston is going to come out hot and bothered and we must hang on and counter as we see fit.. The third starts the same way as the second with Boston buzzing everywhere. Finally a little play from stralman up the boards to dubi who made a great play to get the puck to AA led to the third goal which was a beauty of a wrist shot past TT... I will say this, if AA were to put on 10-15 lbs, learn how to get his shot off quicker and not blocked so much, he would score 30 every year easily... As the period progressed I noticed lucic had came out with a nasty side to his game and really started to get physical, sometimes leaning towards the goon side, and sometimes looking legit. We withstood attack after attack, great puck possession from the bruins in our end, and shot after shot. Hank stopped a total of 42 shots from Boston with some beauty's down the stretch including a break-away attempt with about 45 seconds to go.. He lowered his league lead among full time starters in GAA to 1.77 and SP to .941%.. The real king in in NY, not MIA..... Lets go beat the Hawks at the garden tomorrow night, then get two much needed days off until the CBJ come to town.. Do we want to make a move for Nash? Do you give up CK for Nash knowing what you get out of nash and what the upside might be for CK? Tough choices ahead for Sather, hope he doesn't screw it up...
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
So here we sit on the eve on a big game against Boston Tonight. We sit atop the Eastern conference standings with 77 points through 54, one point behind the Red wings who have 78 points, but have played 3 more games then we have. Coming off what can only be described as a majorly successful long weekend with wins over the TBL, Philly, and Washington, we no have Boston and Chicago to go to finish off this 6 game gauntlet. I said to my friends before the start of the game last Tuesday against the NJD that if we took 8 out of a possible 12 points I would be very satisfied. Right now as we sit, we have taken 6 out of 8 with 4 more up for grabs tonight and Thursday...
Here is the question that has been posed all over the blog, Newspaper, pre-game, etc world.. Do you mess with the chemistry to get a big name player like a Nash, carter, perry, Ryan, etc???? I will answer the way I have for some time, if you get a stud and its not going to cause any major cap issues from here on out, then you get him as long as it doesn't cost a kings ransom.. I would give Dubi, AA, and a first or Erixson for Nash or Ryan.. I would soften that up for Carter or perry.. Unless you flash an absolute stud in front of me, no way I get rid of Kreider, period.... I think miller, Thomas, McCaralth, and some of the other youngsters are trade worthy, but Kreider is not in my book... What is every ones thoughts???? Let's go NYR, kick some Bruin ass tonight....
Here is the question that has been posed all over the blog, Newspaper, pre-game, etc world.. Do you mess with the chemistry to get a big name player like a Nash, carter, perry, Ryan, etc???? I will answer the way I have for some time, if you get a stud and its not going to cause any major cap issues from here on out, then you get him as long as it doesn't cost a kings ransom.. I would give Dubi, AA, and a first or Erixson for Nash or Ryan.. I would soften that up for Carter or perry.. Unless you flash an absolute stud in front of me, no way I get rid of Kreider, period.... I think miller, Thomas, McCaralth, and some of the other youngsters are trade worthy, but Kreider is not in my book... What is every ones thoughts???? Let's go NYR, kick some Bruin ass tonight....
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Robbed not by the goalie but the Ref
So I want to welcome all the nearly zero viewers to my Blog. I have been trying to figure out how to get my feelings out for a while now and through the help of my cousin, I was able to figure out ho wot start this blog. This journey will take us through the end of the NHL season, giving my personal comments of the games I get to watch. This blog comes to you from Florida which shows how dedicated I am to making the best out of it. So this is it, lets get started and hopefully the zero viewers will turn into tens, then hundreds, then thousands, only time will tell..
I will be brief on last nights game, I believe it was a horrible call with 3.5 seconds to go. I think you have to take into affect the player that the penalty was called on. Is gabby someone who crashes the next on frequent occasions? Is gabby the big hard around the net pounding type guy who is going to run into the goalie like that? Oh and then when you have a 225 lb man behind you all over your back riding you into the goalie, what are you supposed to do? How do you stop even after clearly making the effort to stop? I think i stand alone on this one as it appears that all the experts(if we can call them that) say that the right call was made, I believe otherwise.. I think we were robbed of at least a point and I completely disagree with the call.. Well with that stated, we are now on our way to the second game of the the 6 in 10 night schedule against a gauntlet of opponents. In my view we have to get the two points out of this one for sure.. Let Go Rangers...
I will be brief on last nights game, I believe it was a horrible call with 3.5 seconds to go. I think you have to take into affect the player that the penalty was called on. Is gabby someone who crashes the next on frequent occasions? Is gabby the big hard around the net pounding type guy who is going to run into the goalie like that? Oh and then when you have a 225 lb man behind you all over your back riding you into the goalie, what are you supposed to do? How do you stop even after clearly making the effort to stop? I think i stand alone on this one as it appears that all the experts(if we can call them that) say that the right call was made, I believe otherwise.. I think we were robbed of at least a point and I completely disagree with the call.. Well with that stated, we are now on our way to the second game of the the 6 in 10 night schedule against a gauntlet of opponents. In my view we have to get the two points out of this one for sure.. Let Go Rangers...
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