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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Rangers Ice Devils in Jersey


King Henrik Outplays Marty Brodeur Yet Again


Despite being depleted by injuries on defense, the Rangers used grit and determination (and Lundqvist) to keep the game close going into the 3rd period when their offense kicked in. As Hank kicked out pucks and took some of the Devils' best chances from Kovalchuk, Parise and Zajac, the Rangers heated up with the G.A.S. line providing the fuel. Once Anisimov tapped in a great centering feed from Step, it seemed like the trio was on the ice at all time, jumping on loose pucks and churning scoring chances in the offensive zone. Gaborik's tap in rebound on a strong Anisimov play gave him 600 career goals, and his empty netter (19) later in the game put him one tally behind the league leader, Steve Stamkos (20).

Carl Hagelin continued to find chemistry with Brian Boyle due to their combination of speed and strength as well as both having a knack for the net. An aggressive penalty kill and an Ilya Kovalchuk misplay at the blueline led to a 2 on 1 where Hagelin looked off Boyle then snipped shortside on Marty, who continued his streak of never missing a Ranger game; though at what point do they forget posterity? The aging goaltender had trouble keeping up with some pucks, especially McDonagh's rocket one-timer that dinged off the crossbar, and would've put the game out of reach in the 2nd period.

I liked the Rupp fight at the beginning of the game but I give Jansen a lot of credit for hanging in there against a bigger guy and actually thought he was coming on when the refs broke it up. I feel like Rupp, with his size and strength, is hungry to get involved physically and wants to be a contributor on the team. He skates around with a chip on his shoulder, which is a good thing, and while not a goon he definitely works an intimidation angle on younger players. I think his return to the lineup will help Prust's game stay sharper better rested.

Nice to see Stu Bickel get some quality minutes in his first game. Kind of a bummer that Giannone overshot the interview with his parents and as it extended beyond the tv timeout the Devils scored. Good to see their son get on the board with a helper though.

All in all good W for the Rangers with the Richards/Cally line having a fairly quiet night. Was it because they were emotionally drained from the final tenth of a second win in Phoenix or because Dubi jinxed them? Time will tell. I still thought Dubi played well down low and in front of the net but he just can't seem to put it together. With a Rangers win I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he breaks out against the Islanders and Flyers Thursday and Friday.

Lets Go Blue!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Ain't No Cure For The Wintertime Blues

Being that NOTHING happened in last night's Ranger game against St. Louis I figured I'd show you this Patrick Kane highlight reel shootout goal from Wednesday night in Minnesota.



Frustrating game to say the least. Like playing in Montreal, we have a tough time matching up against the Blues for whatever reason. Lundqvist has never beaten St. Louis in his career and last night the Ken Hitchcock coached club clamped us down with a defensive strategy that we could not penetrate. Even when we had good offensive zone time, we didn't put any pressure on the goalie, and couldn't generate many quality scoring chances. We didn't battle for the difficult areas of ice, and we lost the physical battle along the boards. David Backes was a physical force, tossing Anisimov, Callahan, McDonagh and Gaborick around with relative ease, and we weren't able to get our hits in. While Dubi may've led the team with 5 shots on goal and got a nice primary assist on Del Zotto's goal, he missed the net on so many point blank attempts you have to figure he's back to doing pushups at practice.

Need to regroup our energy for Saturday in Phoenix.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Rangers Shut Out At Garden, But Not By Much

Dropping a 1-0 game to a team that sits atop a division in the opposing conference is frustrating, but not at all devastating. Especially when you note that the Dallas Stars didn't exactly outplay the Blueshirts, just cashed in on an opportunity and we couldn't. We had some chances on the PP, and even though our zone time was impressive, we didn't seem able to generate enough dangerous scoring chances (rebounds, 2 on 1s down low, point blank shots). On top of that their call-up goaltender Richard Bachman was up to the task, stopping 34 shots for the shut out on the road. He's a Colorado College grad, as am I, so I'll give that to Dallas.

During the game my roommate txt me "He's no Jeff Sanger." To which I have to agree. That kid was one of a kind.


Tiger Hockey

The Dallas goal was crafty, began with a giveaway by Woywitka on a clearing attempt where the puck unfortunately seemed to die on the boards. Ribero made a nice feed to Daley who out-waited Lundqvist until he found some room 5 hole.

The most exciting part of our attack was probably Hagelin colliding with Bachman who came way out of his crease to chase a puck. Shouldn't have been called a penalty, but the refs were in no position to make the right call. Not sure how that happens. Maybe it has something to do with the recent contact on Ryan Miller from Lukic and Tootoo?

Regardless, need to regroup for the road trip ahead of us as we tangle with St. Louis, Phoenix and the Devils. We recalled Tim Erixon for the voyage, probably just to spot some of our D on the road.

Monday, December 12, 2011

4 Point Weekend For Blueshirts


Stevie44.com Steps Up Into Bigger Minutes And Proves Himself


"Alright, Who Sat On The Broadway Hat On The Plane From Buffalo?"


Everybody was Working for the Weekend as the Rangers picked up 2 points in Buffalo and then returned to the Garden where they exploded on Florida for a 6-1 W. Both goalies won, we racked up shorthanded goals, PP tallies, even strength scores, Del Zotto improved his (+-) to plus15, Gaborik hit lamplighter 15, and the Blueshirts picked up win 2500 in franchise history.

So much for an awkward let down after the quote/unquote AnisimovCelebration Distraction.

The team effort was strong in both games, but it was the Individual Extra Effort of a few key players that earned the Rangers 2 wins.

RYAN CALLAHAN--Captain digs for extra juice while shorthanded-- a long 1 on 1 ends with a cut up spinarama and a backhand that slips beneath the Enroth's pad. Rangers never relinquish the lead.

CARL HAGELIN--Exceptional speed, quickness in the corners, tenacity and 2 laser-like shots against the Sabres put the game away.

MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO--Joins rushes (huge assist on Step's 2nd goal against Sabres and Anisimov's shortie against Tampa), works the powerplay with great vision and quick hands, and improved his defensive game to a plus 15. Possible comeback player of the year.

DEREK STEPAN--like Cally, his late shift extra effort shorthanded goal spurred on a Ranger victory, tilting the momentum of the game in our favor for good. When analysts talk about Hockey IQ, they don't mean how strong a player is in each facet of the game, but how well that player understands the game and how effective he is at applying that understanding to his advantage. Step isn't the strongest skater, but he knows where to go and gets to where he needs to be. Combine that with a growing durability against tough NHL opposition, exemplary passing skills, vision and you have a clutch hockey player much like Chris Drury at the beginning of his career. Gamer. Big goal type of guy. 20 years old.

With 4 games coming up this week, the Rangers will need to continue to get extra efforts from their whole roster. I was psyched to see Christensen back in the lineup and coming up with a big assist on an Anisimov powerplay tally, if only to use this picture again:


Hopefully we'll see a Twisted Wrister sometime soon.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Rangers Drop One Late To Lightning


The Star Of Anise Outshines The Old Time Hockey Code. Live And Learn

Tough loss at home for the Blueshirts, but we did grab the regulation point. We DOMINATED the overtime, but Garon stood tall for them and made his best saves in the 5 minute sudden death, not to mention Cally hit a post. The truth is we should've never let this game go to the extra frame, and despite all the time spent in the penalty box and the lack of shots we put on net, we had this game in our grasp. Unfortunately we sat back on the last PowerPlay and it was probably our least aggressive look of the whole season. Amidst the lackadaisical atmosphere, pesky ex-Ranger Dominic Moore took advantage of the situation, grabbed a puck near our bench, gained a step on McDonagh and ripped a perfect backhand over Lundqvist's shoulder. Harvard guys are pretty smart I guess.

The real controversy of the game was obviously the Anisimov celebration and the melee that followed. Let me say this: AA got excited after he scored a goal. He's been getting excited lately. He's been scoring lately. His Kneeling Marksman/Front Line Civil War Soldier celebration was probably a bit excessive, but I would bet anything that he wasn't taunting Vinny Lecavalier, who took offense to the gesture and charged Arte, along with the Lightning players on the ice and Downie, who jumped off the bench to get in his two cents in the form of a left handed shot to the head. What is that all about?

At first I thought he was going for this:


I could see him taking this approach next time, classier:


OVie took a lot of heat for this one, baa ziiiiinnng!


At least it wasn't this:

BASEketball Opening Scene from Christopher Corpening on Vimeo.



It was only a celebration. Calm down. He didn't run any goalies, or cheapshot anyone. And it's not like we're in Tampa. We're at the Garden, OUR HOME. If Anisimov crossed the line, and LeCavalier's pride was offended then Vinny should've taken care of it 1 on 1 if he could--I'm an advocate of the players policing themselves. Of course maybe he was too winded from getting dusted by Del Zotto on a full ice sprint that resulted in a great assist on the goal. Other than that though, deal with it. That Downie can jump off the bench and join in, or Stamkos can take a cheap shot with the refs holding Anisimov is just wrong.

Regardless of the celebration, or the momentum shift that may've taken place, the Rangers didn't play a full 60 and that's too bad because we had this game in hand with the 45 or so minutes we did play. Rough night for Ryan McDonagh on defense, but I know he'll bounce back. In fact in the post game, Torts remarked that he's only played in about 45 NHL games which is incredible when you think about how solid he has been for us.

On to Buffalo this Saturday.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Rangers Ready For Rematch With Leafs


Derek Stepan wears the Broadway Hat for the second time.

Following a persevering rally in Tampa, the Blueshirts return to the Garden for a rematch against the highly touted Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. They gave us a good beating earlier in the season, but that was before this Ranger team got its engine in gear. Not only do we have 33 pts to the Leafs' 30, but we've played 3 less games. And we're going for our 6th win in a row, 8th in front of our fans. I, for one, would really like to make a statement in this original six matchup.

Step's gutsy performance coming off an ankle injury in Carolina (blocking a shot, guts) to not only get a key assist on the game tying goal, but bang home the go-ahead earned him game mvp, but how impressive was Anisimov all night? AAs point totals are jumping and he's getting to the net to make the most of playing with Step and Gabbi.

I think we'll see more of the Dubi, Avery, Prust line tonight as they were well-rested in Tampa and I think the physical rivalry of this matchup will benefit them. Of all our lines, they are struggling the most to make an impact and you figure if the game gets rough, these 3 can really shine.

Either way, it's a Garden game and we need to come out hitting and flying. Toronto is quick and they obviously have Kessel and Grabovsky so let's take the game to them, hunt down pucks and bodies in the offensive zone and not give up too much space in the neutral zone to oncoming rushes.

Let's go Blue!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Rangers Sweeten Record With 5-3 Win Over 'Canes


Sauer gets his first goal




I love how pumped Avery gets after scoring this goal. About 2 seconds before we went on this 3-goal surge I txt my brother: "let's bury these guys.". It seemed like they were hanging in with us, but we were a much better team and we weren't really flexing our muscles. Then Gaborik took his game to another level and we were able to blow the game open a bit. Still felt we could tighten up defensively, which is something I'm sure the coaching staff will want to work on before our Saturday Night fight with Tampa Bay because they have Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier who can make you pay.

By the way, Stamkos is leading the league along with Phil Kessel with 16 goals apiece, but Gabbi is keeping a steady pace with 12. Just throwing that out there.