Oh Scotty...

The Rangers are in Montreal tonight and they have to be careful not to let 2 losses in a row turn into 3. They face Scott Gomez and his tiny little new team. Gomez so far has respectable numbers with 2 goals and 3 assists. Not bad for a guy making $91,463 per game. Contrast that to the guy you replaced him with (monetarily) in Marian Gaborik with 7 goals and 6 assists and you see why I told you no one would miss Gomez... he's garbage. Christopher Higgins is in the worst slump of his career and only is 3 points behind ol' Scotty.

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi look to bounce back collectively from their worst effort of the year. They were on the ice for all 3 Devils goals and missed assignments. The worst coming when Staal let Niklas Bergfors break past him for an easy tip it goal that Henrik Lundqvist had no chance on.

The Canadiens have won back to back games and the Rangers haven't lost 3 in a row in regulation since 2007. The King will start for the Blueshirts while the Habs should be starting Jaroslav Halak (2 GA in last 2) if Coach Jacques Martin has a functioning brain in his head. He hasn't committed to a starter yet though.

Domintation...

The Rangers absolutely demolished the Anaheim Ducks tonight at the Garden. The final was 3-0 but the score was not reflective of the play. The Blueshirts hit 3 or 4 posts and the Ducks were never allowed in this game.

What can you say? Every player did their job tonight including backup goalie Steve Valiquette, who got his first start of the season. His biggest test came after a Marc Staal (first bad play this year) turnover in the second left Todd Marchant walking in alone. Valiquette calmly turned it aside in route to the shutout.

The third period began scoreless though the Rangers had outshot the Ducks 24-12. Marian Gaborik continued his point streak carrying the puck on the power play from the right corner to the point. He made a sick move and pass to Michael Del Zotto who slid it down to Ales Kotalik in the bottom left circle for a one timer. Though he didn't get all of it and Scott Niedermeyer deflected it, it had enough to get through J.S. Giguere for a 1-0 Ranger lead.

Sean Avery also made his season debut and was solid. He played on the third line with Enver Lisin and Ales Kotalik taking turns with the fourth line in Aaron Voros' place. Avery saw some power play time in the third and made a play to Vinny Prospal from behind the net. Prospal fed Artem Anismov on a bang-bang play for his first NHL goal.

Dan Girardi and Marc Staal (except for the turnover) were just dominant in their own zone. Girardi added a short-handed empty netter from the corner of his own ice. He deserved it. Wade Redden played solidly again in what could be a statement year for him.

It's so refreshing to watch a team that is coached the right way. The Rangers just never stopped coming. Even with a 2-0, they turned up the heat. Anaheim did not have one quality scoring chance in the third. The Rangers are really starting to look like a team and one thing is for sure... they will not be outworked.

Notes:

Gaborik has scored a point in every game as a Ranger (4 goals, 3 Assists)... Brian Boyle continues to impress and be a good penalty killer... Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net against Toronto at the Garden tomorrow... Michal Rozsival responded from his benching with a strong effort... Refs believe it or not called a good game... amazing.

You Get What You Pay For...

What an effort by Rangers at the Verizon Center against Alexander Ovechkin and company. The Blueshirts dominated at even strength... but unfortunately this is the NHL so there was no even strength play. I'm amazed they still can call this mess hockey. If someone skates by a stick and falls... penalty. And they wonder why no one watches their "big time" coverage, which takes place on a hunting channel that no one has ever heard of.

Embarrassingly bad calls to Brandon Dubinsky and Daniel Girardi (creating a 5 on 3) in the first provided some good laughs. Then an equally embarrassing non-call in the second when Brooks Laich water-skied off Michal Rozsival with a hook that was somehow deemed a clean play. It directly resulted in a quality scoring chance for the Caps. Rozsival's turnover in the first led to Alexander Semin's goal. He took a holding penalty 6:45 into the second... and didn't play another second. That's accountability.

Without Rozsival, the 5 man defense was incredible. Dan Girardi (24:04) and Marc Staal (23:57) were lights out holding Alex Ovechkin scoreless for the first time this season. He had been averaging 3 points a game coming in. Matt Gilroy was fantastic logging the most ice he has so far with 21:33. Wade Redden continues to be solid and logged 20:46. You just can's say enough about the poise and skill of Michael Del Zotto at 19 years old.

Ryan Callahan had an upper body injury earlier in the day and was questionable but played... and boy did he play. He was killing yet another power play in the second and was exhausted. With no gas in the tank he took the puck away from Alex Ovechkin and beat him and Semin down ice for a beautiful backhand goal through the legs of Jose Theodore. The penalty had just expired so it was not a short-handed goal.

The third line apparently has heard Sean Avery is coming back. With limited ice tonight, they were solid. They had great down low work in the second that resulted in a close quarters tic-tac-toe goal from Enver Lisin to Artem Anisimov to Ales Kotalik, who went back hand top-shelf. It was Anisimov's first NHL point. No one wants to sit on Sunday.

900 penalties in the game (2o minutes in minors through 2 or one period gone)... At one point Joe Micheletti couldn't even locate the Christopher Higgins penalty on replay. The Rangers were pressuring early in the second when Tom Poti stuck his stick through the legs of Dubinsky and blatantly took him down.. no call.

The Rangers handled adversity not only from the refs but from their goalie. Nicklas Backstrom got his first goal of the season with a harmless dump in that Henrik Lundqvist flat out missed. Backstrom later scored on... you guessed it... Washington's 90th power play of the night to put the Caps up 3-2.

Perfect excuse for the Rangers to collapse no? No... It's not a problem when you have Marian Gaborik. He responded :18 seconds later with a slap shot through the legs of Theodore. Gaborik scored again and essentially ended it 2:33 later on the power play after Del Zotto fed him perfectly through center. A wicked wrist shot through Theodore's legs again and the Blueshirts win 4-3. It ends up being as huge a win as you can have in October as this team continues to be resilient and build character.

Notes:
John Tortorella went with two forwards and one defenseman on 5 on 3 disadvantages... Donald Brasheer and Aaron Voros both took dumb penalties in the third... Chris Drury was amazing in this game doing all the things a leader should do (even though he's making $86,585 per game)... Christopher Higgins is getting stronger and more comfortable each game he plays... Vinny Prospal doing all the little things.

How's That For Openers?

The faithful got a glimpse of what John Tortorella's Blueshirts can be tonight at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2 in their home opener. Up and down the lineup, almost every player did their job and did it well.

Michal Rozsival played his best game in over a year. Wade Redden looked good for a second straight game (forget what he makes... we're taking baby steps here). 19-year-old Michael Del Zotto scored his first NHL goal. Matt Gilroy has not been as agressive as he was in preseason. Gilroy (3:09) and Del Zotto (1:33) didn't see much ice in the third. Dan Girardi continued his strong start after facing questions in the preseason.

The first line combination of Brandon Dubinsky centering Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal was electric creating chances almost every time on the ice. Prospal and Dubinsky opening the scoring in the second with two top-shelf rockets. Prospal's goal was his 600th career NHL point. A bad Ranger change left Matt Gilroy on his own against Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson with the former feeding the latter alone in front cutting the Ranger lead to 2-1.

Enter Ryan Callahan whose relentless work ethic is on display every night. In the last minute of the second period, he dumped the puck in and took two Senators out of the play allowing Christopher Higgins to feed Michael Del Zotto. His wrist shot through a screen with under a minute in the second was a huge goal for the team, as well as himself. His parents and brother were there to watch the moment, with his Mom moved to tears. And oh by the way, it was Ryan Callahan who after setting up the play from the corner battled his way in front to screen Pascal Leclaire.

A neutral zone turnover in the third allowed Enver Lisin to spring Dubinsky on a breakaway. He rang a laser off the crossbar but Marian Gaborik followed the play and pounded in the rebound. Gaborik has 2 goals and an assist in 2 games while Dubinsky has 2 gols and 2 assists. He added a short-handed empty netter outworking Alexei Kovalev.

Though he didn't score, Chris Drury played much better tonight then he did last, as did linemate Ales Kotalik. Promising effort from the fourth line particularly from Brian Boyle, who was fantastic on the penalty kill. Donald Brasheer and Aaron Voros both had fights though Voros

A good bet that last years weakness will not be this years. The power play did everything but score... and they will. They're generating chances, clanging posts and it's just a matter of time.

The Rangers were outshot 20-13 in the second period but outscored Ottawa 3-1. They tightened up defensively allowing only 5 in the third. Peter Regin scored for Ottawa with :06 left. Mike Fisher bodied Del Zotto off the puck feeding Regin in one of the only instances a Ranger was outworked tonight.

With all the new faces on this team it's easy to take Henrik Lundqvist for granted. Whenever there was an odd man rush "The King" was there. He was fantastic again particularly in the second period when he stopped 19 opf 20 shots. He closed the door on a breakaway by Milan Michalek :15 in and Ryan Shannon on one later. Lundqvist was named the game's second star.

Tonight, the Rangers took chances but the balance not to take reckless ones. Tonight, they did not get outworked, they supported each other. Tonight... this team gave you some hope.