Henrik Lundqvist made i through the Olympics and is getting a little rest... Marian Gaborik of course... did not. He left Slovakia's loss to the Canadiens last night in the second period with a lower body inury. Being that no one has said he was reinjured, this is something new... or old depending on how you look at. It could be his groin (awesome).
The Rangers have also claimed Goaltender Alex Auld from the Dallas Stars on re-entry waivers. He became expendable with the addition of Kari Lehtonen and also because the Stars didn't want to carry 3 goalies.
More on Gaborik (the whole team) as it becomes available...
Showing posts with label Henrik Lundqvist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henrik Lundqvist. Show all posts
2.12.2010
(Sather Really Knows What He's Doing!)
*** 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.
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.
2.04.2010
Get it done...
Turns out my proposed deal would've gotten it done. Ilya Kovalchuck was moved tonight... to the Devils... for nothing. The Devils gave a bottom 4-6 defenseman with a third or fourth line forward, a prospect and a draft pick and that got it done. Niklas Bergforss, Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and a draft pick is all it took to get one of the most explosive forwards in the NHL. They'll have him for a few months as there's no way he signs in Jersey.
For the Rangers, they continued losing. They finally figured out a way to score but their goaltender decided not to show up tonight. Henrik Lundqvist returned from being sick and gave up two questionable goals to Alexander Ovechkin and one to Tom Poti. The Rangers held a 5-3 lead late in the second only to lse 6-5. Simply unacceptable but for a team going nowhere... I guess it's par for the course.
The Blueshirts went ahead 2-1 in the first on a power play goal by Ryan Callahan and a goal by Vinny Prospal. Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin responded in the second putting the Caps up 3-2. The Rangers then responded with 3 power play goals by Olli Jokinen (first as a Ranger), Vinny Prospal and Brandon Dubinsky. A 5-3 stranglehold would be critical going into the third... but they blew it. With under :10 to go in the secong Michal Rozsival was simply afraid of Ovechkin, as was the King. Alex the Great put a one handed effort somehow over Lundqvist and won the game in the second.
I say he won the game because the Rangers didn't show up for the third. They simply waited for the game to be taken from them and it was. A 5-3 lead turns into a 6-5 loss in the blink of a eye. A season high 4 power play goals... completely useless. They skated with the best tonight but were clearly not on the same rink... and they won't be. Kovalchuk may have helped this team but he is gone. As is any excitement that may have been generated toward this team. They simply dont have the firepower to do anything this year.
Notes:
Vinny Prospal had 2 goals and 2 assists... The Rangers power play got going with 4 goals... Niklas Backstrom was incredible with a goal and 5 assists... the Caps have won 12 straight.
For the Rangers, they continued losing. They finally figured out a way to score but their goaltender decided not to show up tonight. Henrik Lundqvist returned from being sick and gave up two questionable goals to Alexander Ovechkin and one to Tom Poti. The Rangers held a 5-3 lead late in the second only to lse 6-5. Simply unacceptable but for a team going nowhere... I guess it's par for the course.
The Blueshirts went ahead 2-1 in the first on a power play goal by Ryan Callahan and a goal by Vinny Prospal. Mike Knuble and Alex Ovechkin responded in the second putting the Caps up 3-2. The Rangers then responded with 3 power play goals by Olli Jokinen (first as a Ranger), Vinny Prospal and Brandon Dubinsky. A 5-3 stranglehold would be critical going into the third... but they blew it. With under :10 to go in the secong Michal Rozsival was simply afraid of Ovechkin, as was the King. Alex the Great put a one handed effort somehow over Lundqvist and won the game in the second.
I say he won the game because the Rangers didn't show up for the third. They simply waited for the game to be taken from them and it was. A 5-3 lead turns into a 6-5 loss in the blink of a eye. A season high 4 power play goals... completely useless. They skated with the best tonight but were clearly not on the same rink... and they won't be. Kovalchuk may have helped this team but he is gone. As is any excitement that may have been generated toward this team. They simply dont have the firepower to do anything this year.
Notes:
Vinny Prospal had 2 goals and 2 assists... The Rangers power play got going with 4 goals... Niklas Backstrom was incredible with a goal and 5 assists... the Caps have won 12 straight.
2.01.2010
He's just the man...
It's no surprise the Rangers' five-game losing streak came in conjunction with them not standing up for each other as a team. Daniel Girardi stood by and let Marian Gaborik get pummeled by Flyers enforcer Dan Carcillo. The team lost that game and 5 more. Without Gaborik, this team would have 5 to 7 victories this year.
Gaborik came up with a natural hat trick to lead the Rangers over the Colorado Avalanche 3-1. He literally is the whole team. For the second straight night Henrik Lundqvist sat out while Chad Johnson made a strong bid for his first NHL shutout and ended up with his first win. He played very well especially during a 18 shot barrage in the third.
Ales Kotalik was sent home before the game as GM Glen Sather is trying to move yet another of his free agent mistakes. 3 years at $3 million per has been another disaster just a few months in. Aside from Gaborik's contract, Sather has not given out one that makes sense since before the lockout. It's a constant struggle for this guy to erase his mistakes but then he goes ahead and makes them again (See Donald Brashear, Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Chris Drury, and Kotalik to name a handful). It's ok though because he has a job for life.
Word on the street is the Rangers are getting ready to send Kotalik and Christopher (another disaster) Higgins to Calgary for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust. I'd rather see them trade Kotalik and Higgins for just Prust because he's a tough kid but that can't happen. This deal is in a holding pattern though. The Blueshirts are also heard to be trying to get in on the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes. Not sure how that could possibly happen salary cap wise unless Jokinen and his over $5 million per is flipped.
Gaborik came up with a natural hat trick to lead the Rangers over the Colorado Avalanche 3-1. He literally is the whole team. For the second straight night Henrik Lundqvist sat out while Chad Johnson made a strong bid for his first NHL shutout and ended up with his first win. He played very well especially during a 18 shot barrage in the third.
Ales Kotalik was sent home before the game as GM Glen Sather is trying to move yet another of his free agent mistakes. 3 years at $3 million per has been another disaster just a few months in. Aside from Gaborik's contract, Sather has not given out one that makes sense since before the lockout. It's a constant struggle for this guy to erase his mistakes but then he goes ahead and makes them again (See Donald Brashear, Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Chris Drury, and Kotalik to name a handful). It's ok though because he has a job for life.
Word on the street is the Rangers are getting ready to send Kotalik and Christopher (another disaster) Higgins to Calgary for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust. I'd rather see them trade Kotalik and Higgins for just Prust because he's a tough kid but that can't happen. This deal is in a holding pattern though. The Blueshirts are also heard to be trying to get in on the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes. Not sure how that could possibly happen salary cap wise unless Jokinen and his over $5 million per is flipped.
1.21.2010
Let's fight..
Something may be happening with this team. Though we had no reason to think this was coming... the Rangers are scoring goals. They scored 8 goals for the first time since 2002 when they beat the Boston Bruins 8-4. The Tampa Bay Lightning were annihilated 8-2 at the Garden, which came on the heels of a 6-2 demolition of the Montreal Canadiens. And the outburst has nothing to do with Marian Gaborik scoring... well not goals anyway.
Gaborik tied a career high with 4 assists the other night but Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Vinny Prospal and even Chris Drury are all heating up. 8 goals from 8 different scorers the other night. This team needs everyone to be involved and that may be starting to happen. Of course they could come out in Philly tonight and score 1 goal again... but there's always hope and cautious optimism. More goals equals less pressure for Henrik Lundqvist, who continues to be stellar.
Anyone else find it interesting that since they started defending themselves and each other they started playing harder scoring? Anyone surprised Donald Brashear has NOTHING to do with it? I'm not. Aaron Voros dropped the gloves :10 in with Zenon Konopka and although he lost, the building was still electric. Voros, who has been good, was rewarded with some power play time late in the game and converted a beautiful feed from Brian Boyle. Ryan Malone kicked the shit out of him later but that's ok. Brandon Dubinsky also dropped em' with Jeff Halpern with under two minutes to go.
Bottom line and memo to Gary Bettman... Fighting works.
Notes:
The Rangers suffered their most embarrassing loss to the Flyers in the Garden 6-0 last time they faced each other... Gaborik has a goal and 6 assists in the last two... Dubinsky has 3 goals and 3 assists in the last 2.
1.15.2010
Cassee Was Angry 2day...
Rangers got embarrassed on home ice by the Ottawa Senators 2-0 and here's why...
1.13.2010
Marrrr-tyyyyyyy.....
Vinny Prospal returned for the Rangers and the offense exploded on the Devils with a season high 51 shots. Unfortunately, Martin Brodeur was standing in front of them and nothing got by. I guess you can give them an "A" for effort though as they do salvage a point (9-1-3 in last 13).
Henrik Lundqvist and Brodeur were fantastic in this game. It was about as exciting as a 1-0 game could be. Back and forth action and spectacular saves at both ends. Brodeur was just better stopping every shot he faced all night and adding to his constantly growing NHL record of 107 career shutouts.
The difference for the Blueshirts this year is the shootout has become a weakness and is losing them games. You can almost feel every player sawing his stick off in his hand skating in. Erik Christensen, who is supposed to very good at it, didn't even get a shot off. I've never seen a team that doesn't get shots off in a shootout as much as this one (see Kotalik and Callahan the other day against Atlanta). John Tortorella continues to trot Marian Gaborik out there but he's been awful in his career and this year going 1 for 5 so far. But really who else can he send out there?
The problem remains scoring and where is it going to come from? Prospal played 21:14 in this one and Gaborik was good... but no goals. When will someone else step up for this team? It just can't be that they're running into a hot goaltender every time out... it just can't.
Notes:
The Rangers have lost 6 straight overtime/shootout games since beating Florida in a shootout November 25th... Fans chanting "Marrrr-ttyyyyy" before the shootout apparently didn't bother him.
Henrik Lundqvist and Brodeur were fantastic in this game. It was about as exciting as a 1-0 game could be. Back and forth action and spectacular saves at both ends. Brodeur was just better stopping every shot he faced all night and adding to his constantly growing NHL record of 107 career shutouts.
The difference for the Blueshirts this year is the shootout has become a weakness and is losing them games. You can almost feel every player sawing his stick off in his hand skating in. Erik Christensen, who is supposed to very good at it, didn't even get a shot off. I've never seen a team that doesn't get shots off in a shootout as much as this one (see Kotalik and Callahan the other day against Atlanta). John Tortorella continues to trot Marian Gaborik out there but he's been awful in his career and this year going 1 for 5 so far. But really who else can he send out there?
The problem remains scoring and where is it going to come from? Prospal played 21:14 in this one and Gaborik was good... but no goals. When will someone else step up for this team? It just can't be that they're running into a hot goaltender every time out... it just can't.
Notes:
The Rangers have lost 6 straight overtime/shootout games since beating Florida in a shootout November 25th... Fans chanting "Marrrr-ttyyyyy" before the shootout apparently didn't bother him.
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.
12.24.2009
Streaks...
The Rangers are on a good streak going and continue to end bad ones. They won their fourth in a row last night beating the Florida Panthers 4-1 last night. Henrik Lundqvist was the focal point again making two sparkling glove saves on Nathan Horthon in the first and Michael Frolik in the third, among others. The King has simply been on fire for the last 10 games or so. He was beaten early ona rebound he had no chance on but stopped the next 33 shots.
As for the streaks ending... Vinny Prospal snapped a 14-game goal-less streak with a power play goal in the second and one in the third. The Blueshirts broke a 5-game losing streak at home and 7 out of 8 with a complete effort last night. Chris Drury scored his third goal in four games and was fantastic all around. Enver Lisin made great hustle play to negate an icing before feeding the Captain in the slot to tie the game just 2:13 after Victor Oreskovich opened the scoring for Florida. Drury also added an assist after stealing the puck short-handed in the neutral zone. Drury was taken down but rewarded for his effort when Marian Gaborik came flying off the bench to beat Tomas Vokoun on a bad angle back-hander. Gaborik who leads the league with 26 goals.
Ryan Callahan is scoring again and had a beautiful assist on Prospal's first goal. His stick was tied up in front so he kicked it to Prospal. Callahan has 4 goals and 5 assists in his last 7 games. Hey... Wade Redden even tried to hit a player. He got laid out by Mike Duco but oh well... at least he tried. Redden did make a great play earlier in the first sliding to take away a 2-on-1 opportunity. Michal Rozsival has been much better since Redden was sat down and played well again despite not being able to clear the rebound on Florida's only goal. He played 23:18, second only to Staal's 24:50.
Marc Staal and Dan Girardi were reunited for the first time since the Detroit game and absolutely shut down the red hot Michael Frolik-Stephen Weiss-Nathan Horton line. The bottom line is when this team gets a complete effort, they look like a team that can make some noise. Can they keep the effort going? We'll see on Saturday when the Islanders return to the Garden. That last 2-1 loss the to the Isles and meeting after seems like the wakeup call this team needed.
Notes:
For the second straight game the Rangers responded to a goal against quickly. Marian Gaborik scored in Raleigh :28 after the Hurricanes had taken the lead... Brandon Dubinsky looks to be getting his legs back with 3 points in the last 2.
As for the streaks ending... Vinny Prospal snapped a 14-game goal-less streak with a power play goal in the second and one in the third. The Blueshirts broke a 5-game losing streak at home and 7 out of 8 with a complete effort last night. Chris Drury scored his third goal in four games and was fantastic all around. Enver Lisin made great hustle play to negate an icing before feeding the Captain in the slot to tie the game just 2:13 after Victor Oreskovich opened the scoring for Florida. Drury also added an assist after stealing the puck short-handed in the neutral zone. Drury was taken down but rewarded for his effort when Marian Gaborik came flying off the bench to beat Tomas Vokoun on a bad angle back-hander. Gaborik who leads the league with 26 goals.
Ryan Callahan is scoring again and had a beautiful assist on Prospal's first goal. His stick was tied up in front so he kicked it to Prospal. Callahan has 4 goals and 5 assists in his last 7 games. Hey... Wade Redden even tried to hit a player. He got laid out by Mike Duco but oh well... at least he tried. Redden did make a great play earlier in the first sliding to take away a 2-on-1 opportunity. Michal Rozsival has been much better since Redden was sat down and played well again despite not being able to clear the rebound on Florida's only goal. He played 23:18, second only to Staal's 24:50.
Marc Staal and Dan Girardi were reunited for the first time since the Detroit game and absolutely shut down the red hot Michael Frolik-Stephen Weiss-Nathan Horton line. The bottom line is when this team gets a complete effort, they look like a team that can make some noise. Can they keep the effort going? We'll see on Saturday when the Islanders return to the Garden. That last 2-1 loss the to the Isles and meeting after seems like the wakeup call this team needed.
Notes:
For the second straight game the Rangers responded to a goal against quickly. Marian Gaborik scored in Raleigh :28 after the Hurricanes had taken the lead... Brandon Dubinsky looks to be getting his legs back with 3 points in the last 2.
12.20.2009
Gilroy back...
The Rangers have a 2-game winning streak and that's due mostly to the play of Henrik Lundqvist. Chris Drury and Artem Anisimov both scored again on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2-1 win. Drury has handled his demotion to the fourth line with class, shutting his mouth and scoring in consecutive games. But the King continues to be the story as he was simply incredible stopping 36 shots.
Coach John Tortorella had some harsh words before the game. "There's going to be no entitlement around here and I think that's what kind of stinks of that around here." He added, "We'll go through some bumps in the road with kids, but not with underachieving veterans." It's about time.
Michal Rozsival must be listening as he had the best effort he's had in a while... no one better than him at being an 'underachieving veteran'. Marc Staal played over half the game (30:45) basically because Bobby Sanguinetti and Ilkka Heikkinen barely played. They were both sent down after the game while Matt Gilroy was called back up. That obviously means Wade Redden will be back in the lineup tomrrow night in Raleigh against the Hurricanes. It'll be interesting to see how Redden, who's been a baby so far, will respond.
Coach John Tortorella had some harsh words before the game. "There's going to be no entitlement around here and I think that's what kind of stinks of that around here." He added, "We'll go through some bumps in the road with kids, but not with underachieving veterans." It's about time.
Michal Rozsival must be listening as he had the best effort he's had in a while... no one better than him at being an 'underachieving veteran'. Marc Staal played over half the game (30:45) basically because Bobby Sanguinetti and Ilkka Heikkinen barely played. They were both sent down after the game while Matt Gilroy was called back up. That obviously means Wade Redden will be back in the lineup tomrrow night in Raleigh against the Hurricanes. It'll be interesting to see how Redden, who's been a baby so far, will respond.
12.17.2009
Another one...
The Rangers fell again at the Garden 2-1 to the Islanders last night and now have lost 8 of 9 in the World's Most Famous Arena. The good thing for them is they only had to play 2 periods. They didn't show up for the irst at all getting out shot 10-3. They were outworked all night. Strange effort from a team that is now rocking a 5-game losing streak going to the Coliseum tonight.
John Tortorella threatened that change are coming. "There has to be something done and we'll see along the way here before [tonight's] game what we go with." Not sure what there is he could do but one thing I can think of is sitting down Sean Avery. Avery lazily tried to handle a Henrik Lundqvist rebound of a Matt Moulson shot. Problem is Blake Comeau was next to him and literally shot the puck from Avery's stick into the top corner for what became the game winner.
Of course the Rangers got a goal late as you knew they would to get it close. Enver Lisin, who only played 9:14 got the goal.But this team just doesn't have enough. That's thanks to their General Manager Glen Sather, who is responsible for the 5 worst contracts in the history of the sport. Somehow it's never even talked about that he should lose his job.
John Tortorella threatened that change are coming. "There has to be something done and we'll see along the way here before [tonight's] game what we go with." Not sure what there is he could do but one thing I can think of is sitting down Sean Avery. Avery lazily tried to handle a Henrik Lundqvist rebound of a Matt Moulson shot. Problem is Blake Comeau was next to him and literally shot the puck from Avery's stick into the top corner for what became the game winner.
Of course the Rangers got a goal late as you knew they would to get it close. Enver Lisin, who only played 9:14 got the goal.But this team just doesn't have enough. That's thanks to their General Manager Glen Sather, who is responsible for the 5 worst contracts in the history of the sport. Somehow it's never even talked about that he should lose his job.
12.16.2009
Freefall...
Despite pumping a season high 48 shots on net against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Rangers only scored 2 goals... again. Marian Gaborik still is the only scorer on the team until you put him in a shootout (1 for 16 in career). The Rangers are now 7-17 after opening 7-1. Yeah I know technically they're 7-14-3 but who cares? Overtime/shootout losses are still losses.
Now enter the Islanders who are supposed to be horrible but have 31 points... just like the Rangers but with a ton cheaper payroll. They're rebuilding but competitive. The Blueshirts are competing sometimes but are not scoring or winning... nice combo. We shall see if the Islanders can bring something out of this team. Rivalries are pretty much dead in this game anyway and even if they weren't, there's no good fighters on either of these teams.
There is some good news in Rangerland in that Brandon Dubinsky is back and Ryan Callahan may be heating up. But a 4-game losing streak can very easily become 6 by tomorrow night if the Rangers can't find a way to score more than 2 a game.
Notes:
The record is 7-8-1 at home and 7-7-2 on the road.... They've lost 7 of 8 at the Garden and haven't won since Marian Gaborik beat Columbus 7-4 with 4 points... Henrik Lundqvist will start... Bobby Sanguinetti has been called back up.
Now enter the Islanders who are supposed to be horrible but have 31 points... just like the Rangers but with a ton cheaper payroll. They're rebuilding but competitive. The Blueshirts are competing sometimes but are not scoring or winning... nice combo. We shall see if the Islanders can bring something out of this team. Rivalries are pretty much dead in this game anyway and even if they weren't, there's no good fighters on either of these teams.
There is some good news in Rangerland in that Brandon Dubinsky is back and Ryan Callahan may be heating up. But a 4-game losing streak can very easily become 6 by tomorrow night if the Rangers can't find a way to score more than 2 a game.
Notes:
The record is 7-8-1 at home and 7-7-2 on the road.... They've lost 7 of 8 at the Garden and haven't won since Marian Gaborik beat Columbus 7-4 with 4 points... Henrik Lundqvist will start... Bobby Sanguinetti has been called back up.
12.09.2009
Rangers-Hawks Thread...
FIRST PERIOD
Game opens with Michal Rozsival giving the puck away twice for quality scoring chances. Pretty bad turnover by Ales Kotalik leading to Andrew Ladd blowing by Rozsival but Henrik Lundqvist looks sharp.
Vinny Prospal at the end of a shift tried to clear the puck and it took a Ranger bounce to Marian Gaborik. He fed Rozsival who dropped it back to Gaborik and what a pass to Christopher Higgins who buried his second goal in 3 games. Rangers being outshot 16-5.
Rangers lead 1-0...
SECOND PERIOD
All Henrik Lundqvist in the second period and little else. Rangers being outshot 14-10 and 30-15 for the game.
Rangers still lead 1-0...
THIRD PERIOD
2 huge penalty kills with outstanding work from Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle. Then a ridiculous call on Dan Girardi ultimately doomed the Rangers... for the second time in the game Patrick Kane looks like the most unbalanced skater in the league and falls over. Penalty of course and I wrote this before Chicago just popped it in as you knew they would. Jonathan Toews got it as Brian Boyle just stood there in a goal mouth scramble not picking anyone up.
1-1 as the refs tie it... Just a matter of time before the Hawks win this one... Rangers had no business in this one anyway...
Yep... they lost. Dustin Bfyuglien, a third liner, beats Gaborik and Matt Gilroy up the ice and embarrasses The King. The Rangers did not match Lundqvist's effort and he was pissed, slamming his stick against the glass. He was the only one who played tonight. The funny thing is Gaborik could've caught Byfuglien in his sleep but didn't start skating until the red line. They just find ways to lose and have no one to score... EVER.
Rangers had one shot in the third lose 2-1, as predicted during the game right here... They were outshot 41-18 for the game. What an embarrassment.
Game opens with Michal Rozsival giving the puck away twice for quality scoring chances. Pretty bad turnover by Ales Kotalik leading to Andrew Ladd blowing by Rozsival but Henrik Lundqvist looks sharp.
Vinny Prospal at the end of a shift tried to clear the puck and it took a Ranger bounce to Marian Gaborik. He fed Rozsival who dropped it back to Gaborik and what a pass to Christopher Higgins who buried his second goal in 3 games. Rangers being outshot 16-5.
Rangers lead 1-0...
SECOND PERIOD
All Henrik Lundqvist in the second period and little else. Rangers being outshot 14-10 and 30-15 for the game.
Rangers still lead 1-0...
THIRD PERIOD
2 huge penalty kills with outstanding work from Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle. Then a ridiculous call on Dan Girardi ultimately doomed the Rangers... for the second time in the game Patrick Kane looks like the most unbalanced skater in the league and falls over. Penalty of course and I wrote this before Chicago just popped it in as you knew they would. Jonathan Toews got it as Brian Boyle just stood there in a goal mouth scramble not picking anyone up.
1-1 as the refs tie it... Just a matter of time before the Hawks win this one... Rangers had no business in this one anyway...
Yep... they lost. Dustin Bfyuglien, a third liner, beats Gaborik and Matt Gilroy up the ice and embarrasses The King. The Rangers did not match Lundqvist's effort and he was pissed, slamming his stick against the glass. He was the only one who played tonight. The funny thing is Gaborik could've caught Byfuglien in his sleep but didn't start skating until the red line. They just find ways to lose and have no one to score... EVER.
Rangers had one shot in the third lose 2-1, as predicted during the game right here... They were outshot 41-18 for the game. What an embarrassment.
12.07.2009
King Without a Crown..
Maybe he was just tired playing the second night of back-to-backs... maybe he slipped... or maybe he just sucks. Henrik Lundqvist has been staying on his feet more lately and not surprisingly, has been better. The King saved the worst for the last 2:03 when he let up maybe the softest goal I've ever seen from him.
The Rangers lost 3-1 to a Red Wing team decimated by injuries and sits last place on the road in penalty killing. The deciding goal came on a cross ice pass from Henrik Zetterberg to Daniel Cleary, whose shot from about the goal line somehow got through Lundqvist. Kris Draper added an empty netter.
The Blueshirts didn't really go out and try to win this game. They seemed to be waiting to lose. Ryan Callahan missed a penalty shot and Christopher Higgins missed a breakaway. Other than that the power play was dreadful against the league's worst. 3 power plays in the third produced nothing but a few shots and very little set up time. The first unit, which had been so cohesive before John Tortorella started messing with Ales Kotalik, was terrible. The second unit generated a 2-on-1 down low in the third. Higgins fed Sean Avery for a wide open net but he didn't even get a shot off.
Marian Gaborik needs to be able to shoot but had no shots in the game for the first time this season. Niklas Lidstrom and Brian Raflaski had something to do with that but if he doesn't score a point, they have no chance.
Brian Boyle opened the scoring tipping in a Higgins feed after a nice rush. But Jimmy Howard was made to look like Patrick Roy the rest of the way. A little over a quarter of the way through the season, this team appears to be headed nowhere. They are an average team who can't make much noise in the playoffs... if they get there at all.
12.06.2009
Back on the horse...
The Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist made a first period goal stand up til :59 left. Fortunately Ryan Callahan had added another one in the third banging in a Sean Avery rebound in a 2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres last night. The Sabres had been on a four game winning streak.
The first period was extremely boring but ended with Marian Gaborik feeding Christopher Higgins for his 3rd of the season. Gaborik and Artem Anisimov made good defensive plays on Tyler Myers to get the play started. Gaborik has scored points now in 23 of 26 as a Ranger.
The King played the best he's played in a long time aside from the Jason Pominville goal. It was simply a puck that has to be stopped from a terrible angle. Thankfully the Blueshirts still had a goal to play with as they continue to miss open nets. I've never seen a team struggle so mightily to score in an empty net. Brian Boyle and Callahan both missed good chances.
Chris Drury was very good on both sides of the ice and won 13 of his 21 faceoffs. He still has a tendency to make dumb decisions with the puck though as he did on a second period power play. The Buffalo penalty killers were completely out of gas as Drury controlled the puck in the neutral zone. Instead of walking the puck back in he sent it over to his bench where his team was changing. Eventually he got what he was after when the Rangers were whistled for too many men. This could've been a huge turning point but thankfully wasn't.
Notes:
Ilkka Heikkinen made his debut and played well in 9:27. On his first shift he put a solid shot into Patrick Kaleta in the corner... Erik Christensen made his debut also and was a non-factor... Rangers get right back at it tonight against the Detroit Red Wings at the Garden.
The first period was extremely boring but ended with Marian Gaborik feeding Christopher Higgins for his 3rd of the season. Gaborik and Artem Anisimov made good defensive plays on Tyler Myers to get the play started. Gaborik has scored points now in 23 of 26 as a Ranger.
The King played the best he's played in a long time aside from the Jason Pominville goal. It was simply a puck that has to be stopped from a terrible angle. Thankfully the Blueshirts still had a goal to play with as they continue to miss open nets. I've never seen a team struggle so mightily to score in an empty net. Brian Boyle and Callahan both missed good chances.
Chris Drury was very good on both sides of the ice and won 13 of his 21 faceoffs. He still has a tendency to make dumb decisions with the puck though as he did on a second period power play. The Buffalo penalty killers were completely out of gas as Drury controlled the puck in the neutral zone. Instead of walking the puck back in he sent it over to his bench where his team was changing. Eventually he got what he was after when the Rangers were whistled for too many men. This could've been a huge turning point but thankfully wasn't.
Notes:
Ilkka Heikkinen made his debut and played well in 9:27. On his first shift he put a solid shot into Patrick Kaleta in the corner... Erik Christensen made his debut also and was a non-factor... Rangers get right back at it tonight against the Detroit Red Wings at the Garden.
12.01.2009
Just Not Good Enough...
After winning back-to-back games for the first time since October the Rangers have dropped the next 3. The Penguins got a hat trick from Mike Rupp and 2 more from Sidney Crosby winning 5-2 at the Garden. The only guy playing for the Rangers offensively... AGAIN... was Marian Gaborik. His 2 goals gave him 21 to lead the league and tied him with Joe Thornton for the league lead in points with 37. Imagine if he had some other people on this team...
The officiating was downright embarrassing as it always is with a Sid The Kid game. That is not what doomed the Blueshirts though. What doomed them was Henrik Lundqvist who was awful at a key time again. If you just shoot high on him and hit the net... it's going in 80% of the time. He needs to be good enough to steal some games and he is not able to do that right now. Mike Rupp's go ahead goal in the third simply cannot happen and neither can Crosby's in the first period :11 after Gaborik gave the Rangers the lead.
The Rangers responded, battled and still came up way short as they will continue to do against most decent teams. They're just not built correctly. Brian Boyle made his way back in the lineup and Enver Lisin was out. Ales Kotalik is also in the doghouse. He was not used on the power play and played only 3:14. Donald Brashear was on the third line tonight... are you kidding me?
Somehow I don't think 'ol Glen Sather is going to be able to fix it with a deadline deal. Even if they make the playoffs, this is not the kind of team that can go deep. Right now they're boring to watch... they can't score... and they just suck. Their coach would tell you that too.
Notes:
The team doesn't play again til Saturday and will have tomorrow off. I'd like to say they need it but they certainly don't deserve it... Bobby Sanguinetti was returned to Hartford meaning Wade Redden should be back against Buffalo on Saturday.
The officiating was downright embarrassing as it always is with a Sid The Kid game. That is not what doomed the Blueshirts though. What doomed them was Henrik Lundqvist who was awful at a key time again. If you just shoot high on him and hit the net... it's going in 80% of the time. He needs to be good enough to steal some games and he is not able to do that right now. Mike Rupp's go ahead goal in the third simply cannot happen and neither can Crosby's in the first period :11 after Gaborik gave the Rangers the lead.
The Rangers responded, battled and still came up way short as they will continue to do against most decent teams. They're just not built correctly. Brian Boyle made his way back in the lineup and Enver Lisin was out. Ales Kotalik is also in the doghouse. He was not used on the power play and played only 3:14. Donald Brashear was on the third line tonight... are you kidding me?
Somehow I don't think 'ol Glen Sather is going to be able to fix it with a deadline deal. Even if they make the playoffs, this is not the kind of team that can go deep. Right now they're boring to watch... they can't score... and they just suck. Their coach would tell you that too.
Notes:
The team doesn't play again til Saturday and will have tomorrow off. I'd like to say they need it but they certainly don't deserve it... Bobby Sanguinetti was returned to Hartford meaning Wade Redden should be back against Buffalo on Saturday.
11.29.2009
Wow..
Last time the Rangers were in Pittsburgh, they were in it til the end. This time they were done in the first. As predicted here on the Beat yesterday, The Rangers did in fact get obliterated by the Penguins with a final of 8-3. Sidney Crosby led the way with a hat trick and 2 assists.
Steve Valiquette got the start and was awful. Not sure why he started being that Henrik Lundqvist got the early hook the night before but he gave up several goals a good men's league goalie could've stopped.
Matt Cooke took Artem Anisimov's defenseless head off in the third period and got 2 minutes. Donald Brashear tried to go after him but was prevented by the refs and Cooke's fear. They gave him 4 minutes. I just don't get how you're allowed to injure someone, get only 2 minutes and then be suspended 2 games. This league is an absolute embarrassment as is Matt Cooke. Later Ryan Callahan was able to drop the gloves with this pussy but you'd rather someone who can fight go after him. Now Cooke gets protected by the league and will not be in the lineup tomorrow in the rematch at the Garden.
John Tortorella adressed it angrily after the game, "To me it's pretty simple, change the rule book. Some of these guys that go about doing that and have no fear at all as far as maybe a little retribution, it'll continue and that's why our game is more violent now because I think guys hide behind that rule book." He also referenced Brashear's effort to get to Cooke, "The linesman jumps in when someone is trying to take care of business that should have been left alone. This is where our game is screwed up as far as I'm concerned, there's just no respect, no respect in these types of situations and I think the rule book has a little bit to play with that." You can watch it all here:
http://rangers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=765&id=52817
The team seems to be trying to stick up for each other more now but they're just not a very good team. Normally I'd be excited to see what kind of response the Rangers would have on Monday night but I'm sure there will be none. That's just what this league is now.
Steve Valiquette got the start and was awful. Not sure why he started being that Henrik Lundqvist got the early hook the night before but he gave up several goals a good men's league goalie could've stopped.
Matt Cooke took Artem Anisimov's defenseless head off in the third period and got 2 minutes. Donald Brashear tried to go after him but was prevented by the refs and Cooke's fear. They gave him 4 minutes. I just don't get how you're allowed to injure someone, get only 2 minutes and then be suspended 2 games. This league is an absolute embarrassment as is Matt Cooke. Later Ryan Callahan was able to drop the gloves with this pussy but you'd rather someone who can fight go after him. Now Cooke gets protected by the league and will not be in the lineup tomorrow in the rematch at the Garden.
John Tortorella adressed it angrily after the game, "To me it's pretty simple, change the rule book. Some of these guys that go about doing that and have no fear at all as far as maybe a little retribution, it'll continue and that's why our game is more violent now because I think guys hide behind that rule book." He also referenced Brashear's effort to get to Cooke, "The linesman jumps in when someone is trying to take care of business that should have been left alone. This is where our game is screwed up as far as I'm concerned, there's just no respect, no respect in these types of situations and I think the rule book has a little bit to play with that." You can watch it all here:
http://rangers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=765&id=52817
The team seems to be trying to stick up for each other more now but they're just not a very good team. Normally I'd be excited to see what kind of response the Rangers would have on Monday night but I'm sure there will be none. That's just what this league is now.
11.26.2009
Two in a row... (UPDATED)
The Rangers won consecutive games for the first time since the 7-game streak at the beginning of the season. They did need the shootout and the King to beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 last night.
Chris Drury returned from his concussion and was solid. I get aggravated with him at times as everyone does. It isn't his fault Glen Sather was dumb enough to pay him Marian Gaborik money. He is the same player he always has been and that is not a scorer. Drury wins faceoffs, kills penalties and has the abiltity to score in big spots.
The Rangers opened the scoring with Drury on the power play point in place of Ales Kotalik, who is nursing an injury. The Captain took a good, low, hard shot Gaborik effortlessly tipped in for his league leading 19th goal of the season. He has now scored in 20 of 22 games as a Ranger.
You knew the refs would have to make their presence felt in this one and they did. Victor Oreskovich had already knocked Wade Redden out of the game with a clean hit in the first. He drilled another Ranger later and when Matt Gilroy, of all people, stepped in and dropped the gloves they gave him 17 hysterical minutes in penalties. That left the Blueshirts with only 4 defensemen for most of the third period and overtime. Of course that never would have happened if Oreskovich had fought Donald Brashear when challenged but he was afraid.
Sean Avery missed a perfect outlet pass just inside his blue line in the third that Dominic Moore turned into the tying goal. Henrik Lundqvist was screened by Dan Girardi on the play and had no chance. He did have a chance in the shootout stopping Nathan Horton, Steven Reinprecht and Stephen Weiss. P.A. Parenteau won it for the Rangers on a beautiful drag move out waiting Tomas Vokoun.
Notes:
Wade Redden is expected to be out a week with an upper body injury. According to Arthur Staple of Newsday Bobby Sanguinetti has been called up and will make his debut tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning... Michal Rozsival will be the only defenseman over 25 in the lineup Friday night... Ales Kotalik will be a game time decision with a rib injury. If he does play, P.A. Parenteau better not be the man sitting.
***Update
Kotalik will play tonight in place of Aaron Voros which is obviously the right choice.
Chris Drury returned from his concussion and was solid. I get aggravated with him at times as everyone does. It isn't his fault Glen Sather was dumb enough to pay him Marian Gaborik money. He is the same player he always has been and that is not a scorer. Drury wins faceoffs, kills penalties and has the abiltity to score in big spots.
The Rangers opened the scoring with Drury on the power play point in place of Ales Kotalik, who is nursing an injury. The Captain took a good, low, hard shot Gaborik effortlessly tipped in for his league leading 19th goal of the season. He has now scored in 20 of 22 games as a Ranger.
You knew the refs would have to make their presence felt in this one and they did. Victor Oreskovich had already knocked Wade Redden out of the game with a clean hit in the first. He drilled another Ranger later and when Matt Gilroy, of all people, stepped in and dropped the gloves they gave him 17 hysterical minutes in penalties. That left the Blueshirts with only 4 defensemen for most of the third period and overtime. Of course that never would have happened if Oreskovich had fought Donald Brashear when challenged but he was afraid.
Sean Avery missed a perfect outlet pass just inside his blue line in the third that Dominic Moore turned into the tying goal. Henrik Lundqvist was screened by Dan Girardi on the play and had no chance. He did have a chance in the shootout stopping Nathan Horton, Steven Reinprecht and Stephen Weiss. P.A. Parenteau won it for the Rangers on a beautiful drag move out waiting Tomas Vokoun.
Notes:
Wade Redden is expected to be out a week with an upper body injury. According to Arthur Staple of Newsday Bobby Sanguinetti has been called up and will make his debut tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning... Michal Rozsival will be the only defenseman over 25 in the lineup Friday night... Ales Kotalik will be a game time decision with a rib injury. If he does play, P.A. Parenteau better not be the man sitting.
***Update
Kotalik will play tonight in place of Aaron Voros which is obviously the right choice.
11.24.2009
For one night the offense was there... thank goodness there was no one in net for Columbus as the Rangers blew out the Blue Jackets 7-4. It was much of the same with the Blueshirts playing a couple of good stretches of hockey through the game.
The game started with two defensive breakdowns leading to two goals from Columbus' fourth line. Coach Tortorella called a timeout after the second one and the Rangers woke up led by... all together now... Marian Gaborik. He did have help from Steve Mason who was awful for the Jackets. Mason had no chance on Artem Anisimov's 5th on a deflection. Michael Del Zotto made a nice rush right after and a simple wrist shot eluded the net minder letting the Rangers walk out of the first with a 3-2 lead.
The Rangers scored 7 straight including 3 in 1:11 (2 by Sean Avery and another by Gaborik). Gaborik finished with 2 goals and 2 assists and is now tied for the league lead in goals with Dany Heatley. Of course Gaborik doesn't have Joe Thornton passing him the puck but he still has scored a point in 19 of 21 games as a Ranger. Christopher Higgins was the new winger with Gaborik and Vinny Prospal on the first line and had one of his best games of the year. He had 2 assists and hit the post, of course.
Matt Gilroy capped off the scoring off a beautiful no look cross ice feed from P.A. Parenteau. Gilroy abused backup goalie Mathieu Garon going forehand-backhand-forehand. Parenteau has played very well and when the time comes he should be playing over Enver Lisin. The scoring was there... at least for one night.
Notes:
Artem Anisimov was great getting a goal and 2 assists and the third star of the game... Aaron Voros did well for a second fight in a row with Jared Boll who ealier went hard at Marc Staal... Rangers with a concerted effort to get in the face of anyone who went near Henrik Lundqvist but he eneded up getting run over by Rick Nash anyway. Someone should have punched him in the face but instead the Rangers were happy to take a power play... which is ridiculous.
The game started with two defensive breakdowns leading to two goals from Columbus' fourth line. Coach Tortorella called a timeout after the second one and the Rangers woke up led by... all together now... Marian Gaborik. He did have help from Steve Mason who was awful for the Jackets. Mason had no chance on Artem Anisimov's 5th on a deflection. Michael Del Zotto made a nice rush right after and a simple wrist shot eluded the net minder letting the Rangers walk out of the first with a 3-2 lead.
The Rangers scored 7 straight including 3 in 1:11 (2 by Sean Avery and another by Gaborik). Gaborik finished with 2 goals and 2 assists and is now tied for the league lead in goals with Dany Heatley. Of course Gaborik doesn't have Joe Thornton passing him the puck but he still has scored a point in 19 of 21 games as a Ranger. Christopher Higgins was the new winger with Gaborik and Vinny Prospal on the first line and had one of his best games of the year. He had 2 assists and hit the post, of course.
Matt Gilroy capped off the scoring off a beautiful no look cross ice feed from P.A. Parenteau. Gilroy abused backup goalie Mathieu Garon going forehand-backhand-forehand. Parenteau has played very well and when the time comes he should be playing over Enver Lisin. The scoring was there... at least for one night.
Notes:
Artem Anisimov was great getting a goal and 2 assists and the third star of the game... Aaron Voros did well for a second fight in a row with Jared Boll who ealier went hard at Marc Staal... Rangers with a concerted effort to get in the face of anyone who went near Henrik Lundqvist but he eneded up getting run over by Rick Nash anyway. Someone should have punched him in the face but instead the Rangers were happy to take a power play... which is ridiculous.
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.
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