*** Parenthesis means sarcasm from now on
The Rangers face the Penguins tonight in Pittsburgh. They're coming off a very disappointing 2-1 l0ss to Nashville the other night.
"We need to play hard. I'm not going to get into defining how. That's between the team and I," Coach John Tortorella said yesterday. They haven't seemed to listen to him all year. Let's see if the latest pep talk does anything.
The hits keep coming from GM Glen Sather as he continues to show he doesn't understand the value of players. $1.4 a year Donald Brashear has been placed on waivers. He's been utterly useless and still has another year on his deal, meaning it's not likely anyone picks him up.
*** Update: Brashear clears... (big surprise)
The Olympic roster freeze kicks in at noon today and the Rangers should be sellers. They're going nowhere and I'm not sure what anyone would want from this team other than Brandon Dubinsky, Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal or Marian Gaborik and it's not likely any of them move. I would give up Dubinsky to a team provided they take Wade Redden or Chris Drury. They don't even have to give anything back... just take them.
We'll see if Sather can fix more of his mistakes today... but don't hold your breath. Updates throughout...
Notes:
The swelling in Gaborik's leg is down. He will test it in practice to see if he can go tonight. It doesn't seem likely being that he has 21 stitches in his leg... This will be the last regular season appearance for the Rangers at the Igloo.
Showing posts with label Donald Brashear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donald Brashear. Show all posts
1.21.2010
Rangers-Flyers...
Well the boys have reverted back to getting pushed around embarrassed. The second period got really going when Dan Carcillo went after Marian Gaborik from behind him. Gaborik was just trying to push him back and defend himself but ended up having to drop the gloves and get the living shit kicked out of him by the Flyers' best fighter... hysterical. Gaborik didn't throw a punch but got 5 for fighting and the Flyers wound up with a power play somehow.
Joe Micheletti was going crazy that the Rangers will respond... my question was with who? Donald Brashear played two games and fought so he's out for a month. Sean Avery dropped the gloves with Scott Hartnell and his visor... Avery demolished in 3 punches.
Sam Rosen made the game almost unwatchable as he went on about how it's a one goal game with a division rival... this being a reason the Rangers should not go after Carcillo... and Joe SOMEHOW AGREED with him. Absolutely unbelievable. We all know Sam doesn't condone fighting but as a team can you stand there and do nothing when MARIAN GABORIK is getting killed by their best fighter? Dan Girardi could watch it and ought to be embarrassed. Sean Avery could not and thankfully he was not listening to Sam or Joe.
Right after the fight, Gaborik tried to stick check Mike Richards but that's not allowed anymore. Though the league knows these sticks break when accepting passes, if it breaks when another stick touches it, it's an automatic penalty. And of course, Richards scored with 2.5 left off of Marc Staal's Skate. You can't make this stuff up. Hope you enjoyed the 2 games of goals. Now watch them go get pushed around some more in the third... wouldn't want to go after anyone and take a penalty with this "important" game so close.
It's 2-0 Flyers but it might as well be 12-0. They showed support for each other and won... seems they forgot about that and are just afraid.
Joe Micheletti was going crazy that the Rangers will respond... my question was with who? Donald Brashear played two games and fought so he's out for a month. Sean Avery dropped the gloves with Scott Hartnell and his visor... Avery demolished in 3 punches.
Sam Rosen made the game almost unwatchable as he went on about how it's a one goal game with a division rival... this being a reason the Rangers should not go after Carcillo... and Joe SOMEHOW AGREED with him. Absolutely unbelievable. We all know Sam doesn't condone fighting but as a team can you stand there and do nothing when MARIAN GABORIK is getting killed by their best fighter? Dan Girardi could watch it and ought to be embarrassed. Sean Avery could not and thankfully he was not listening to Sam or Joe.
Right after the fight, Gaborik tried to stick check Mike Richards but that's not allowed anymore. Though the league knows these sticks break when accepting passes, if it breaks when another stick touches it, it's an automatic penalty. And of course, Richards scored with 2.5 left off of Marc Staal's Skate. You can't make this stuff up. Hope you enjoyed the 2 games of goals. Now watch them go get pushed around some more in the third... wouldn't want to go after anyone and take a penalty with this "important" game so close.
It's 2-0 Flyers but it might as well be 12-0. They showed support for each other and won... seems they forgot about that and are just afraid.
1.04.2010
A Garden win?
Somehow the Rangers won a game at MSG tonight beating the Boston Bruins 3-2. They did what they could to lose it though, including another 5-on-3 featuring Marian Gaborik and Ales Kotalik lined up incorrectly. The Blueshirts entered the third with a 2-0 lead but it unraveled quickly as Matt Hunwick and Blake Wheeler scored 1:26 apart to tie it.
A first period blast on the power play by Ales Kotalik put the Blueshirts up 1-0. It was Kotalik's first since November 5th which is not a bad stretch. Erik Christensen doubled the lead in the second on a beautiful backhand through the legs of Tuuka Rask off a brilliant breakout. Brandon Dubinsky assisted on both goals.
With 1:29 left, the last guy on the ice you thought would score did. Christopher Higgins caught Rask leaning and put the puck in on the backhand from the side of the net. It was Higgins' first goal at the Garden all year and proved to be the winner. This had all the makings of another home loss and you were just waiting for it to happen. Maybe a win like this can turn the tide at home.
Notes:
Watching Donald Brashear tonight in his 5:51 of ice time I realized he hasn't made one productive play all year. I could do what he does for $1.4 million a year. This guy even had the nerve to turn down Dan Carcillo who was challenging him in the 6-0 blowout to the Flyers last week. Brashear skated away as if he NEEDS to be on the ice for offense or something other than fighting, which he's also not very good at any more. I never thought I'd say this but Aaron Voros deserves to be out there more. What a joke... Rangers outshot the Bruins 35-28... Eric Christensen has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 3 games.
A first period blast on the power play by Ales Kotalik put the Blueshirts up 1-0. It was Kotalik's first since November 5th which is not a bad stretch. Erik Christensen doubled the lead in the second on a beautiful backhand through the legs of Tuuka Rask off a brilliant breakout. Brandon Dubinsky assisted on both goals.
With 1:29 left, the last guy on the ice you thought would score did. Christopher Higgins caught Rask leaning and put the puck in on the backhand from the side of the net. It was Higgins' first goal at the Garden all year and proved to be the winner. This had all the makings of another home loss and you were just waiting for it to happen. Maybe a win like this can turn the tide at home.
Notes:
Watching Donald Brashear tonight in his 5:51 of ice time I realized he hasn't made one productive play all year. I could do what he does for $1.4 million a year. This guy even had the nerve to turn down Dan Carcillo who was challenging him in the 6-0 blowout to the Flyers last week. Brashear skated away as if he NEEDS to be on the ice for offense or something other than fighting, which he's also not very good at any more. I never thought I'd say this but Aaron Voros deserves to be out there more. What a joke... Rangers outshot the Bruins 35-28... Eric Christensen has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 3 games.
12.26.2009
The Islanders just kept coming... well not really but Henrik Lundqvist didn't have enough. The Rangers lost to the Islanders for the second time in 10 days at the Garden, 3-2. The Isles were very good defensively in one of the most boring "rivalry" games I've ever seen. Brandon Dubinsky led the way for the Rangers with 2 goals including the game-tying goal with :47 left. But Kyle Okposo was just better than him on this night.
The MSG crew couldn't stop talking about Okposo's 18-game goal-less streak. They completed their objective of waking him up as he won it in overtime on a weak wrist shot from just inside the blue line. It was a shot that simply has to be stopped by The King. Okposo had a goal and 2 assists and was by far the best player on the ice.
The Rangers showed some good fight being 2-0 and seemingly out of this game. In the end they came up short but stole a point. It's hard to be positive about a loss especially when Christopher Higgins missed a wide open net in overtime. Wide open... unchecked... doesn't even get a shot off.
Notes:
Michal Rozsival had another 2 assists... Vinny Prospal made a huge play batting the clearing attempt out of mid-air at the blue line prior to the tying goal... Donald Brashear continues to be absolutely useless... Ales Kotalik embarrassed himself on Blake Comeau's short-handed goal taking himself out of position to throw a hit... that never landed. Somehow he was still on the power play unit later in the game... Rangers don't play again until Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The MSG crew couldn't stop talking about Okposo's 18-game goal-less streak. They completed their objective of waking him up as he won it in overtime on a weak wrist shot from just inside the blue line. It was a shot that simply has to be stopped by The King. Okposo had a goal and 2 assists and was by far the best player on the ice.
The Rangers showed some good fight being 2-0 and seemingly out of this game. In the end they came up short but stole a point. It's hard to be positive about a loss especially when Christopher Higgins missed a wide open net in overtime. Wide open... unchecked... doesn't even get a shot off.
Notes:
Michal Rozsival had another 2 assists... Vinny Prospal made a huge play batting the clearing attempt out of mid-air at the blue line prior to the tying goal... Donald Brashear continues to be absolutely useless... Ales Kotalik embarrassed himself on Blake Comeau's short-handed goal taking himself out of position to throw a hit... that never landed. Somehow he was still on the power play unit later in the game... Rangers don't play again until Wednesday in Philadelphia.
12.09.2009
Questions...
The Rangers are in Chicago tonight to take on the Black Hawks who are best in the NHL at home at 11-3-1. A lot of question marks going into tonight and the foreseeable future for this team. Will Wade Redden play? Donald Brashear? Will we get another look at Erik Christensen?
The answer is who cares? None of these players will make any difference and that's exactly the problem with this team. There are no difference makers on it except for Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist. And now with the King faltering and letting in the most ridiculous goals I've ever seen late in games, you're down to one guy.
John Tortorella may want to play up-tempo but he doesn't have the players to do it. Now they just play boring, almost unwatchable hockey and win a few games 2-1 or so. I thought it was Tom Renney's fault but it's Glen Sather's. He built a team with (yes I know this is recurring) 4 marginal players at best taking up $26 million in Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden. He somehow moved Gomez but there is no hope for this team when you are unable to get secondary scoring with no money. Not to mention the millions he threw away on guys like Patrick Rissmiller (3 years at $3 million), Tyler Arnason ($700,000), Aaron Voros (3 years at $3 million) Donald Brashear (2 at $1.4) and now Erik Christensen.
Somehow it's never even mentioned that Sather should be fired. Think about it... $3.4 MILLION on 3 guys that don't play (Brashear, Voros, Rissmiller). At least Voros and Brashear are with the club but they're invisible when and if they play except for always taking dumb offensive zone penalties. I'd love to say the future looks bright but boy... what a disaster.
The answer is who cares? None of these players will make any difference and that's exactly the problem with this team. There are no difference makers on it except for Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist. And now with the King faltering and letting in the most ridiculous goals I've ever seen late in games, you're down to one guy.
John Tortorella may want to play up-tempo but he doesn't have the players to do it. Now they just play boring, almost unwatchable hockey and win a few games 2-1 or so. I thought it was Tom Renney's fault but it's Glen Sather's. He built a team with (yes I know this is recurring) 4 marginal players at best taking up $26 million in Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden. He somehow moved Gomez but there is no hope for this team when you are unable to get secondary scoring with no money. Not to mention the millions he threw away on guys like Patrick Rissmiller (3 years at $3 million), Tyler Arnason ($700,000), Aaron Voros (3 years at $3 million) Donald Brashear (2 at $1.4) and now Erik Christensen.
Somehow it's never even mentioned that Sather should be fired. Think about it... $3.4 MILLION on 3 guys that don't play (Brashear, Voros, Rissmiller). At least Voros and Brashear are with the club but they're invisible when and if they play except for always taking dumb offensive zone penalties. I'd love to say the future looks bright but boy... what a disaster.
11.13.2009
No Defense...
The Rangers lost another one last night 5-3 to the Atlanta Thrashers. The first line of Ilya Kovachuk (goal, 2 assists) with Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov skated circles around them. Marian Gaborik (goal, assist) kept them in it for a little while and a late goal by Brian Boyle made it close until Afinogenov sealed it with an empty netter.
The Thrashers struck :19 in when Evander Kane made Michal Rozsival look like an old man. I know the kid is fast but it looked like old Rozy was out of gas :19 in. Is there any upside to this $5 million dollar defenseman? Kane fed Colby Armstrong who had beaten Michael Del Zotto for a tap in.
No one was in the stands to see how exciting Atlanta can be. Or how bad Henrik Lundqvist can be when he handles the puck. He put the game away when he played the puck away from everyone on his team. They were all next to him when he fired it around the boards to Rich Peverley who fed Kane wide open in front to put the Thrashers up 4-2.
With no Chris Drury or Brandon Dubinsky, Coach Tortorella rode Vinny Prospal (27:52) and Marian Gaborik (26:02) all night. Not sure how long that can last. What's Evgeny Grachev doing? He free? Something must change as the Rangers are now 3-7-1 in their last 11.
The roster and score sheet continue to have Sean Avery on it but I have yet to see him this year. He has become the most invisible player on the team. Aaron Voros has even been better than him this year. If Avery is not agitating and doing what he does best he is useless to this team. He has golden opportunities to lay people out each game with the fans just yearning to explode... but he just shies away. I'd sit him down and put Dane Byers in his place. At least you know you'll have some effort.
Notes:
Donald Brashear returned and fought Eric Boulton's helmet. Brashear didn't land one punch but peppered the helmet to oblivion. The helmet was able to return and said after the game, "I'm fine". They build them stronger than the human hand nowadays which is odd.
The Thrashers struck :19 in when Evander Kane made Michal Rozsival look like an old man. I know the kid is fast but it looked like old Rozy was out of gas :19 in. Is there any upside to this $5 million dollar defenseman? Kane fed Colby Armstrong who had beaten Michael Del Zotto for a tap in.
No one was in the stands to see how exciting Atlanta can be. Or how bad Henrik Lundqvist can be when he handles the puck. He put the game away when he played the puck away from everyone on his team. They were all next to him when he fired it around the boards to Rich Peverley who fed Kane wide open in front to put the Thrashers up 4-2.
With no Chris Drury or Brandon Dubinsky, Coach Tortorella rode Vinny Prospal (27:52) and Marian Gaborik (26:02) all night. Not sure how long that can last. What's Evgeny Grachev doing? He free? Something must change as the Rangers are now 3-7-1 in their last 11.
The roster and score sheet continue to have Sean Avery on it but I have yet to see him this year. He has become the most invisible player on the team. Aaron Voros has even been better than him this year. If Avery is not agitating and doing what he does best he is useless to this team. He has golden opportunities to lay people out each game with the fans just yearning to explode... but he just shies away. I'd sit him down and put Dane Byers in his place. At least you know you'll have some effort.
Notes:
Donald Brashear returned and fought Eric Boulton's helmet. Brashear didn't land one punch but peppered the helmet to oblivion. The helmet was able to return and said after the game, "I'm fine". They build them stronger than the human hand nowadays which is odd.
10.20.2009
Problems...
I don't want to go too crazy over one game but there were some things in this one that made your head shake. The Rangers got beat 7-3 by the San Jose Sharks last night at the Garden. I didn't expect them to go 82 and 1 but it's the way they lost that is the problem. They lost every single battle last night.
First off, I have a problem with John Tortorella starting Steve Valiquette. The Rangers have been playing well and so has Henrik Lundqvist. Why not have started Valiquette in Toronto? He could have given The King a break and then had him for Monday against one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Next game is Thursday so another couple of days of rest. I don't get it.
I have an even bigger problem with Tortorella going to Lundqvist in the third. That defeated the whole purpose of him not playing in the first place. I know it is an Olympic year and they don't want him playing 70 games but gimme a break.
I hope it's just one game but Donald Brashear appears done. He is not a good fighter, doesn't hit as much and is outworked all over the ice. He looked very old last night. Could be another "Sather special" as we have him for 2 years at $1.4 per. Not even 10 games in and the guy needed to sit out already from soreness. Worst of all... no one is scared of him anymore as evidenced by the Leafs repeatedly running Henrik Lundqvist over... IN THE GARDEN... with no response.
The team is taking too many penalties in the offensive zone and just too many in general. I wrote last night that if they continued into the box, the game was over and it was. It needs to be corrected.
There was a positive though... Michael Del Zotto has continued to be awesome... scoring his 4th on the power play.
First off, I have a problem with John Tortorella starting Steve Valiquette. The Rangers have been playing well and so has Henrik Lundqvist. Why not have started Valiquette in Toronto? He could have given The King a break and then had him for Monday against one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Next game is Thursday so another couple of days of rest. I don't get it.
I have an even bigger problem with Tortorella going to Lundqvist in the third. That defeated the whole purpose of him not playing in the first place. I know it is an Olympic year and they don't want him playing 70 games but gimme a break.
I hope it's just one game but Donald Brashear appears done. He is not a good fighter, doesn't hit as much and is outworked all over the ice. He looked very old last night. Could be another "Sather special" as we have him for 2 years at $1.4 per. Not even 10 games in and the guy needed to sit out already from soreness. Worst of all... no one is scared of him anymore as evidenced by the Leafs repeatedly running Henrik Lundqvist over... IN THE GARDEN... with no response.
The team is taking too many penalties in the offensive zone and just too many in general. I wrote last night that if they continued into the box, the game was over and it was. It needs to be corrected.
There was a positive though... Michael Del Zotto has continued to be awesome... scoring his 4th on the power play.
10.17.2009
And The Response Is?
The Rangers meet up for the second time this season with the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the Air Canada Centre. The Rangers kicked the shit out of them at MSG last week 7-2 without playing the second period... but the story was the running Henrik Lundqvist.
Donald Brashear will be back in the lineup tonight but having him last time didn't deter Jamal Mayers from blatantly running Lundqvist. Amazingly the two morons posing as referees somehow missed this call. If Sean Avery did this to a goalie he's be suspended 50 games.
Coach Tortorella responded saying, "I don't believe we should go as far in protecting goaltenders as the NFL does in protecting quarterbacks, but if it's blatant, the way it was Monday with Jamal Mayers, that needs to be called,". Let's just hope that Tortorella is saying the right things... but will also do the right thing. The coach holds his players accountable but will he hold the opposition's?
My answer... there must be a response tonight either against Mayers or whatever goalie the Leafs start. The message needs to go out loud and clear that "The King" is untouchable. I don't need to see Brashear fight Colton Orr... go get Mayers. If the Rangers win and nothing is done about this... it will go down as a loss in my book.
Donald Brashear will be back in the lineup tonight but having him last time didn't deter Jamal Mayers from blatantly running Lundqvist. Amazingly the two morons posing as referees somehow missed this call. If Sean Avery did this to a goalie he's be suspended 50 games.
Coach Tortorella responded saying, "I don't believe we should go as far in protecting goaltenders as the NFL does in protecting quarterbacks, but if it's blatant, the way it was Monday with Jamal Mayers, that needs to be called,". Let's just hope that Tortorella is saying the right things... but will also do the right thing. The coach holds his players accountable but will he hold the opposition's?
My answer... there must be a response tonight either against Mayers or whatever goalie the Leafs start. The message needs to go out loud and clear that "The King" is untouchable. I don't need to see Brashear fight Colton Orr... go get Mayers. If the Rangers win and nothing is done about this... it will go down as a loss in my book.
10.13.2009
Rolling...
The Rangers won their 5th in a row last night beating a win less team in blowout fashion. They pummeled the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-2. The last time the Rangers scored 7 goals was on April 1st, 2007 against the Leafs with the identical score (been a while since we've seen goals... it's nice). Sean Avery had two goals in that one... he went to work in this one too. The Rangers scored them all while taking the second period off and being bailed out by the fantastic goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist.
"We were dominant from the start and came out strong in the second but then we stopped playing, so Torts wasn't very happy," said Vinny Prospal. Whatever Tortorella said in the locker room... and I'm sure he said a bunch... worked because the Blueshirts came out and just buried the Leafs with four goals in the third. Two by Sean Avery giving him 3 points two games since returning from a sprained knee.
Wade Redden continued his resurgence with a goal and two assists. He's been very good this year so far... not $6.5 million good... but good. Dan Girardi is the playing the best he has in a while and scored 2 more giving him 3 in his last 2 games. Marian Gaborik continued his torrid pace with another goal and assist giving him 9 points in his first 6 games.
The L.A. Kings are coming in tomorrow and it will be a much bigger challenge for the Rangers. I will be there in the blue seats in section 403.... gettin' after it. Expect the Blueshirts to maintain their focus in this one...
Notes:
Colton Orr returned and went at it with Donald Brashear 10 minutes into the first. It was a good scrap with the edge going to Brashear.... Christopher Higgins continues to play well but can't score but I expect a breakout from him soon.
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