Well after the trade made news on Sunday, it finally went through early Tuesday morning. The Rangers traded Ales Kotalik (3 years at $3 million) and Christopher Higgins to Calgary for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust.
Kotalik started off a house on fire this year with 12 points in his first 12 games only to sizzle out. He's been a healthy scratch for 8 of the last 9 games. Kotalik wound up with 8 goals and 14 assists in 45 games. He was also a minus 18 which is stellar. Higgins worked hard but has been snake bitten all year. Just 6 goals and 8 assists to go with a minus 9.
Jokinen will be the first number 1 type center to play with Marian Gaborik this year. Gaborik is the whole team so you might as well build around him. Jokinen's $5.25 million dollar salary also is up at the end of the year. Jokinen has a pretty bad reputation of not being a team guy but he could put up number playing alongside Gaborik. It's hard not to except for the guys on this team. The underachieving Jokinen is now third in Ranger scoring with 35 points. GM Glen Sather has tried to fix ANOTHER one of his free agent signing disasters and something tells me he's not done. He wants Ilya Kovalchuk... who wouldn't?
To be honest I'm more excited about Brandon Prust, who is second in the NHL with 18 fighting majors... it's about time. Aaron Voros has tried to be the enforcer when he plays but he can't fight. Donald Brashear should retire so there pretty much has been no one to defend anyone the whole year. Prust is a good middle weight fighter who will hopefully infuse some life into this lackluster lineup.
Sather has built a disaster. Every free agent contract he's given out has been awful except for Marian Gaborik. Has there been another free agent signing in the last 10 years you can remember that was good? I can't... Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, Bobby Holik... those were great ones. Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Donald Brashear... the list goes on.
The greatest part of this story is that although no one in their right mind would have paid a player like Kotalik $3 million... Sather somehow did it AND gave a 3-team no trade clause. Are you kidding me? Calgary was on that list... guess that worked out for you Ales... have fun bud...
Showing posts with label Ales Kotalik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ales Kotalik. Show all posts
2.02.2010
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.
1.13.2010
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.
1.07.2010
Wake Up Call
The wake up call Sean Avery needed arrived last night in the form of the Dallas Stars and the Rangers won back-to-back games at the Garden for the first time in over 2 months. Number 16 was simply awesome with a goal and 3 assists, but he was all over the ice and in everyone's face.
Avery's old teammates weren't too happy to see him. “I would have loved to have seen that delinquent do that for us last year,” Stars goalie Marty Turco said. The Stars threw Avery away 23 games into a four-year $15.5 million contract after comments about an ex-girlfriend among other things. Sweet revenge for Avery who also received the most ridiculous 10-minute misconduct I may have ever seen. More on that later.
Avery popped into third-person... which is always great, “It was the way that Sean Avery needs to play. I’ve been thinking about it a lot... I’ve got to stay consistent". That's the thing I don't get with him. He is fast, explosive in his stride, has a good shot and is a pretty good passer. You'd think he could put up 40 points every year in his sleep but that consistency has never been there. The most he ever had was 39 for the LA Kings in 2005-06.
The Blueshirts got goals from Marian Gaborik (tied for league lead with Patrick Marleau at 28), Ales Kotalik (second in 2 games), Chris Drury and an empty-netter from Ryan Callahan. Marc Staal was amazing again and Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves.
Notes:
Special new podcast called "Cassee Was Angry That Day..." coming later. I'll give you a hint of what's angered me...The idiots wearing referee uniforms.
Avery's old teammates weren't too happy to see him. “I would have loved to have seen that delinquent do that for us last year,” Stars goalie Marty Turco said. The Stars threw Avery away 23 games into a four-year $15.5 million contract after comments about an ex-girlfriend among other things. Sweet revenge for Avery who also received the most ridiculous 10-minute misconduct I may have ever seen. More on that later.
Avery popped into third-person... which is always great, “It was the way that Sean Avery needs to play. I’ve been thinking about it a lot... I’ve got to stay consistent". That's the thing I don't get with him. He is fast, explosive in his stride, has a good shot and is a pretty good passer. You'd think he could put up 40 points every year in his sleep but that consistency has never been there. The most he ever had was 39 for the LA Kings in 2005-06.
The Blueshirts got goals from Marian Gaborik (tied for league lead with Patrick Marleau at 28), Ales Kotalik (second in 2 games), Chris Drury and an empty-netter from Ryan Callahan. Marc Staal was amazing again and Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves.
Notes:
Special new podcast called "Cassee Was Angry That Day..." coming later. I'll give you a hint of what's angered me...The idiots wearing referee uniforms.
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.
12.29.2009
Prospal out
Vinny Prospal had arthroscopic surgery this morning on his right knee, which was injured in Saturday night's loss to the Islanders. The Ranger's second leading scorer will be gone for 2-3 weeks. Just what a team struggling with scoring needs.
Christopher Higgins will get a shot with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik. Ales Kotalik will move up to one of the top 3 lines and Eric Christensen will probably play. He's shown enough to make you want to see more of him but he hasn't gotten a chance to play. Not sure why you'd sign a guy like this if you won't even look at him for more than 5 minutes a game. The power play has been struggling and Christensen has a good shot... why not give him a try? Maybe he gets a chance now in the absence of Prospal.
We'll see where the scoring will come from but it wasn't exactly coming in droves with Prospal out there.
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.
12.18.2009
The Return...
The word in New York yesterday was that if the Rangers had lost the second of their home-and-home with the Islanders, Glen Sather's job could be in jeopardy. Hard not to root for a loss with that news but the Rangers won 5-2.
John Tortorella flipping out may have had something to do with that. He sat Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik in an attempt to wake these guys up. Chris Drury did wake up with his first goal since October 19th. Ryan Callahan continued his hot play with 2 goals and 2 assists (5 goals in last 7). Marian Gaborik assisted on both of Callahan's power play goals and added one of his own. Vinny Prospal fed Gaborik for a one-time canon on a 5-on3. Whenever Tortorella employs the 5 forward look, Prospal and Gaborik always line up on the off point, unable to shoot the puck off the pass. Thankfully for once they switched and the puck was in the net :03 later.
Michal Rozsival led the team with 26:37 of ice time and had 2 assists. Artem Anismov added a beauty in the third going wide and powering his way in front to slam it past Dwayne Roloson. But it was Henrik Lundqvist who set the tone again. The Rangers took two early penalties and were out shot 14-4 in the first. He made the saves he had to and gave the Blueshirts a chance to ease into this one.
So for one day talk of Glen Sather being fired will die down... but hopefully only for a day.
Notes:
Donald Brashear took another stupid penalty and played only 4:36. Another Sather special at $1.4 a year... Bobby Sanguinetti was shaky playing just 8:46 and did take a penalty... Rangers face the Flyers in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.
John Tortorella flipping out may have had something to do with that. He sat Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik in an attempt to wake these guys up. Chris Drury did wake up with his first goal since October 19th. Ryan Callahan continued his hot play with 2 goals and 2 assists (5 goals in last 7). Marian Gaborik assisted on both of Callahan's power play goals and added one of his own. Vinny Prospal fed Gaborik for a one-time canon on a 5-on3. Whenever Tortorella employs the 5 forward look, Prospal and Gaborik always line up on the off point, unable to shoot the puck off the pass. Thankfully for once they switched and the puck was in the net :03 later.
Michal Rozsival led the team with 26:37 of ice time and had 2 assists. Artem Anismov added a beauty in the third going wide and powering his way in front to slam it past Dwayne Roloson. But it was Henrik Lundqvist who set the tone again. The Rangers took two early penalties and were out shot 14-4 in the first. He made the saves he had to and gave the Blueshirts a chance to ease into this one.
So for one day talk of Glen Sather being fired will die down... but hopefully only for a day.
Notes:
Donald Brashear took another stupid penalty and played only 4:36. Another Sather special at $1.4 a year... Bobby Sanguinetti was shaky playing just 8:46 and did take a penalty... Rangers face the Flyers in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.
12.14.2009
Frustration...
It's frustrating to watch this team and it was again the other night in a 3-2 loss at the Garden to the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres got 2 goals from fourth liner Patrick Kaleta (never had 2 before in a game), including the game winner on a short-handed breakaway. Henrik Tallinder's clearing attempt skipped past Ales Kotalik, who had an awful night against his former team. He took two penalties and failed to take a third that would have prevented Kaleta from walking in alone... much rather have him take a penalty shot.
It's frustrating because the power play was starting to work again... or Marian Gaborik was starting to work again. He assisted on Ryan Callahan's tying goal in the first and scored his league-leading 22nd shortly thereafter. But there's just not enough on this team. They can't score more than 2 goals. Sound familiar?
Sean Avery, Christopher Higgins, and Marc Staal have all been noticeably better... but they're not scoring. You just can't win if you don't score... period. And with the contractual problems you have on this team, you can't go out and get scoring. Brandon Dubinsky appears close to a return but guess what? He doesn't score either. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this team because right now the season appears over.
It's frustrating because the power play was starting to work again... or Marian Gaborik was starting to work again. He assisted on Ryan Callahan's tying goal in the first and scored his league-leading 22nd shortly thereafter. But there's just not enough on this team. They can't score more than 2 goals. Sound familiar?
Sean Avery, Christopher Higgins, and Marc Staal have all been noticeably better... but they're not scoring. You just can't win if you don't score... period. And with the contractual problems you have on this team, you can't go out and get scoring. Brandon Dubinsky appears close to a return but guess what? He doesn't score either. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this team because right now the season appears over.
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.
11.26.2009
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.
11.25.2009
The Captain Returns...
Chris Drury returns from a five game absence tonight. Hard to tell who the odd man out will be but it could be Ales Kotalik who got drilled the other night. He evidently has some sort of "body" injury... good to know that it is in fact a portion 0f his body that is in pain.
Rangers look to win back to back games for the first time since mid October. Florida is 5-0-2 in their last seven including a 3-2 win last week at the Garden.
Rangers look to win back to back games for the first time since mid October. Florida is 5-0-2 in their last seven including a 3-2 win last week at the Garden.
11.17.2009
Rangers-Caps Thread...
Boy talk about boredom. The Rangers came out solid with a goal by who else? Marian Gaborik scored his 14th of the year. Then from 4:35 into the first the Rangers didn't get a shot again til 3:51 into the second. They did let Henrik Lundqvist get run into again, this time by Jay Beagle (real tough guy) with no response and no call.
Alex Ovechkin responded with his 15th on the power play in the first. He also helped set Brooks Laich's PPG in the second. A period in which I don't remember seeing one good chance other than a quick shot by Ales Kotalik. John Erskine gave a lesson to the Rangers when Sean Avery went near Semyon Varlamov. He was immediately drilled and put down Erskine. I wish the Rangers had one tough guy who would protect his goalie.
And in a great end... Aaron Voros won the first fight of his life leaving Matt Bradley bloodied. Bradley came back and won the game with 4:51 to go.
The Blueshirts had 5 shots in the first and exploded for 6 in the second. They're getting blown out 21-11 in shots and dominated in the game.
2-1 Washington through 2...
Gaborik ties it on the second of back-to-back power plays in the third. Great play by P.A. Parenteau to drive the puck to the net with Gaborik pumping in the rebound from a near impossible angle. Funny moment as right after this a scrum ensued which reulted in Niklas Backstrom punching Ryan Callahan in the face and him not doing anything. I sat here and guaranteed matching minors and got them. You knew the clowns couldn't feel comfortable calling 3 in a row in the third on Ovechkin's Caps... especially on a nationally televised game on a hunting channel.
Aaron Voros won his first fight of his life in this one leaving Matt Bradley a bloodied mess. But Voros still can't win as Bradley came back to score the game winner with 4:51 left in the third. Beagle added insult to injury adding an assist on it. The Rangers are still seemingly unable to see their franchise goalie getting run over.
Alex Ovechkin responded with his 15th on the power play in the first. He also helped set Brooks Laich's PPG in the second. A period in which I don't remember seeing one good chance other than a quick shot by Ales Kotalik. John Erskine gave a lesson to the Rangers when Sean Avery went near Semyon Varlamov. He was immediately drilled and put down Erskine. I wish the Rangers had one tough guy who would protect his goalie.
And in a great end... Aaron Voros won the first fight of his life leaving Matt Bradley bloodied. Bradley came back and won the game with 4:51 to go.
The Blueshirts had 5 shots in the first and exploded for 6 in the second. They're getting blown out 21-11 in shots and dominated in the game.
2-1 Washington through 2...
Gaborik ties it on the second of back-to-back power plays in the third. Great play by P.A. Parenteau to drive the puck to the net with Gaborik pumping in the rebound from a near impossible angle. Funny moment as right after this a scrum ensued which reulted in Niklas Backstrom punching Ryan Callahan in the face and him not doing anything. I sat here and guaranteed matching minors and got them. You knew the clowns couldn't feel comfortable calling 3 in a row in the third on Ovechkin's Caps... especially on a nationally televised game on a hunting channel.
Aaron Voros won his first fight of his life in this one leaving Matt Bradley a bloodied mess. But Voros still can't win as Bradley came back to score the game winner with 4:51 left in the third. Beagle added insult to injury adding an assist on it. The Rangers are still seemingly unable to see their franchise goalie getting run over.
11.15.2009
Parenteau's Patience...
The Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1 in a shootout yesterday. P.A. Parenteau, despite missing an open net in the closing minutes of regulation, won it it in the seventh round of the shootout.
The usual suspects showed up again as Marian Gaborik fed Vinny Prospal for the first short-handed goal of his career, 894 games. Prospal, Ales Kotalik and Parenteau beat Brian Elliot who was solid. And hey... even Sean Avery decided to show up for this one.
Parenteau said before the game, "I'm planning on making a point here [Saturday] afternoon and sticking here as long as I can." He made his point in the shootout going backhand forehand top shelf on Brian Elliott for the win. Nice moment for him as his family was looking on. He's been good and noticeable with the ice time he's received this year.
Notes:
Thw Washington Capitals come to the Garden on Tuesday night. Last game in the Garden, Ilya Kovalchuk returned to the lineup for the Thrashers and basically won by himself. Now Alex Ovechkin will return from a 6 game absence with an upper body injury... awesome...
The usual suspects showed up again as Marian Gaborik fed Vinny Prospal for the first short-handed goal of his career, 894 games. Prospal, Ales Kotalik and Parenteau beat Brian Elliot who was solid. And hey... even Sean Avery decided to show up for this one.
Parenteau said before the game, "I'm planning on making a point here [Saturday] afternoon and sticking here as long as I can." He made his point in the shootout going backhand forehand top shelf on Brian Elliott for the win. Nice moment for him as his family was looking on. He's been good and noticeable with the ice time he's received this year.
Notes:
Thw Washington Capitals come to the Garden on Tuesday night. Last game in the Garden, Ilya Kovalchuk returned to the lineup for the Thrashers and basically won by himself. Now Alex Ovechkin will return from a 6 game absence with an upper body injury... awesome...
11.05.2009
Oilers Wrap...
The Rangers had their most complete effort in weeks in a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Steve Valiquette gave up a couple of soft goals to Lubomir Visnovski and Mike Comrie but otherwise was solid in his third start of the year.
Chris Higgins got it started on a pretty give-and-go with Matt Gilroy for his second in as many games. Higgins was all over the ice tonight. The Rangers had 14 shots in the first and second. They wound up with a season high 39 shots to Edmonton's 28.
The power play returned tonight and was nasty. Michael Del Zotto hit Ryan Callahan cruising through the middle on the rush for the first of 3 power play goals. Later in the second Marian Gaborik threaded a beauty from the right corner to Ales Kotalik on the left point for a one-time canon through the legs of Nikolai Khabibulin. "The Bulin Wall" was incredible keeping his team in the game.
In the third, Kotalik (1 goal, 2 assists) unleashed another power play rocket that got through Khabibulin and was tapped in by Gaborik who now has 12 goals and 9 assists. The Rangers needed a solid effort and played their most complete game in weeks against a depleted Edmonton team that was without Sheldon Souray and Shawn Horcoff. Tom Renney had said he wanted to beat the Rangers but was left with a sour taste in his mouth. Who cares? We don't miss ya Tom... but we'd probably grab a beer with you though.
Notes:
Dan Girardi was all over the defensive zone blocking shots... Donald Brashear was scratched again... Aaron Voros played 1:00 in the first and took two idiotic offensive zone penalties.... AGAIN. He sat for a while and saw only 2:39 the rest of the way... Higgins played his best game as a Ranger.
Chris Higgins got it started on a pretty give-and-go with Matt Gilroy for his second in as many games. Higgins was all over the ice tonight. The Rangers had 14 shots in the first and second. They wound up with a season high 39 shots to Edmonton's 28.
The power play returned tonight and was nasty. Michael Del Zotto hit Ryan Callahan cruising through the middle on the rush for the first of 3 power play goals. Later in the second Marian Gaborik threaded a beauty from the right corner to Ales Kotalik on the left point for a one-time canon through the legs of Nikolai Khabibulin. "The Bulin Wall" was incredible keeping his team in the game.
In the third, Kotalik (1 goal, 2 assists) unleashed another power play rocket that got through Khabibulin and was tapped in by Gaborik who now has 12 goals and 9 assists. The Rangers needed a solid effort and played their most complete game in weeks against a depleted Edmonton team that was without Sheldon Souray and Shawn Horcoff. Tom Renney had said he wanted to beat the Rangers but was left with a sour taste in his mouth. Who cares? We don't miss ya Tom... but we'd probably grab a beer with you though.
Notes:
Dan Girardi was all over the defensive zone blocking shots... Donald Brashear was scratched again... Aaron Voros played 1:00 in the first and took two idiotic offensive zone penalties.... AGAIN. He sat for a while and saw only 2:39 the rest of the way... Higgins played his best game as a Ranger.
10.26.2009
No Need To Panic...
The difference between this year's Rangers and last is clear... this team has scorers. How many times last year did they dominate in shots and put up 1 goal... maybe 2? They didn't dominate in shots tonight, but did on the scoreboard beating the Phoenix Coyotes 5-2 at the Garden. The Yote's came in as one of the hottest teams with a 6-3 start.
Marian Gaborik continued his assault on the score sheet with 2 goals and and an assist. He is second in the NHL in scoring. Gaborik (10-8-18) has scored in every game as a Ranger but one. He did give us cause for panic though when he left the ice flexing his right leg in the third and headed to the locker room. Thankfully, Steve Zipay of Newsday is reporting that it is not thought to be serious. Gaborik said "It's nothing related to my groin or hip or torso." He continued, "We'll see how everything is in the morning. I collided with one of their players, but it's nothing major. It happened with about five minutes left and the game was pretty much over." Hey maybe there is a God.
The Fourth line got the scoring going again for the second straight game with Artem Anisimov converting a give-and-go with Brian Boyle with a nasty spin around wrister past Ilya Bryzgalov just 2:31 in. They deserved it after good defensive work and another good all around effort.
Marian Gaborik sandwiched setting up Vinny Prospal for his 4th of the season between 2 beautiful power play goals. Coach Dave Tippett removed Bryzgalov with the score 4-0 in favor of former Ranger Jason LaBarbera. His team responded. Ed Jovanovski scored followed by Vernon Fiddler getting the first short-handed goal against the Rangers this year.
Phoenix carried much of the play and out shot the Rangers 32-24. They couldn't break Henrik Lundqvist in the third though. The only goal of the frame came when Enver Lisin flew down the left side and ripped a slap shot past LaBarbera. Lisin (1 G, 1 A) had his best game as a Ranger and also had the satisfaction of scoring against his former team.
Notes:
Vinny Prospal has scored in all but 2 games as a Ranger. He had a goal and 2 assists tonight giving him 4 goals and 12 assists on the year... Michael Del Zotto (4-8-12) was great again adding two assists and you can see this kid getting better every game... Aaron Voros good hard work was rewarded with a seat on the bench as Donald Brashear returned... Is Sean Avery on this team? I was wondering when he'll be coming back and doing ANYTHING. If someone can tell me that'd be great.
Marian Gaborik continued his assault on the score sheet with 2 goals and and an assist. He is second in the NHL in scoring. Gaborik (10-8-18) has scored in every game as a Ranger but one. He did give us cause for panic though when he left the ice flexing his right leg in the third and headed to the locker room. Thankfully, Steve Zipay of Newsday is reporting that it is not thought to be serious. Gaborik said "It's nothing related to my groin or hip or torso." He continued, "We'll see how everything is in the morning. I collided with one of their players, but it's nothing major. It happened with about five minutes left and the game was pretty much over." Hey maybe there is a God.
The Fourth line got the scoring going again for the second straight game with Artem Anisimov converting a give-and-go with Brian Boyle with a nasty spin around wrister past Ilya Bryzgalov just 2:31 in. They deserved it after good defensive work and another good all around effort.
Marian Gaborik sandwiched setting up Vinny Prospal for his 4th of the season between 2 beautiful power play goals. Coach Dave Tippett removed Bryzgalov with the score 4-0 in favor of former Ranger Jason LaBarbera. His team responded. Ed Jovanovski scored followed by Vernon Fiddler getting the first short-handed goal against the Rangers this year.
Phoenix carried much of the play and out shot the Rangers 32-24. They couldn't break Henrik Lundqvist in the third though. The only goal of the frame came when Enver Lisin flew down the left side and ripped a slap shot past LaBarbera. Lisin (1 G, 1 A) had his best game as a Ranger and also had the satisfaction of scoring against his former team.
Notes:
Vinny Prospal has scored in all but 2 games as a Ranger. He had a goal and 2 assists tonight giving him 4 goals and 12 assists on the year... Michael Del Zotto (4-8-12) was great again adding two assists and you can see this kid getting better every game... Aaron Voros good hard work was rewarded with a seat on the bench as Donald Brashear returned... Is Sean Avery on this team? I was wondering when he'll be coming back and doing ANYTHING. If someone can tell me that'd be great.
10.22.2009
Ranger-Devils
FIRST PERIOD
The Rangers came out sloppy again and lost 17 of 21 faceoffs. The Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Zach Parise and Niklas Bergfors. The first line was intact but new lines featuring Lisin-Anisimov-Higgins and Callahan-Drury-Avery. No Donald Brasheer in this game either... I guess there is a God.
Rangers very easily could have been down 4 or 5 nothing. Henrik Lundqvist made some big saves to keep them in it. I'm pretty sure Coach Tortorella was not pleased with the effort to say the least.
2-0 after 1.
SECOND PERIOD
Definite difference in battle level and it was evident from the start. They were helped out by an early high-sticking call to Mike Mottau. Vinny Prospal won the draw with help from Marian Gaborik. Ales Kotalik took the puck at the point and returned it to Gaborik who snapped right in through a screen
Later Marc Staal (shaky tonight) turned the puck over in his own zone resulting in a great save by Lundqvist on Dainius Zubrus. Dan Girardi gathered the rebound and sprung Kotalik on a breakaway that he buried low glove side on Marty Brodeur. Rangers won 12 out of 16 faceoffs in the second. They were helped out by Prospal (won 5 of 7) who was switched to center.
Second period lines:
Lisin-Prospal-Gaborik
Kotalik-Drury-Avery
Callahan-Dubinsky-Higgins
Voros-Anisimov-Boyle
2-2 after 2.
THIRD PERIOD
Lundqvist gave up a terrible goal as Zach Parise flung it on goal and apparently Dainius Zubrus got a little piece of it. Dan Girardi was standing nearby doing nothing, as he and Marc Staal have all night. Best chance was Ryan Callahan's breakaway with a couple of minutes left. As he went to tee up the shot though Colin White made a fantastic poke check. Parise adds an empty netter after a missed interference call on the Devils against Prospal.
Rangers lose 4-2.
The Rangers came out sloppy again and lost 17 of 21 faceoffs. The Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Zach Parise and Niklas Bergfors. The first line was intact but new lines featuring Lisin-Anisimov-Higgins and Callahan-Drury-Avery. No Donald Brasheer in this game either... I guess there is a God.
Rangers very easily could have been down 4 or 5 nothing. Henrik Lundqvist made some big saves to keep them in it. I'm pretty sure Coach Tortorella was not pleased with the effort to say the least.
2-0 after 1.
SECOND PERIOD
Definite difference in battle level and it was evident from the start. They were helped out by an early high-sticking call to Mike Mottau. Vinny Prospal won the draw with help from Marian Gaborik. Ales Kotalik took the puck at the point and returned it to Gaborik who snapped right in through a screen
Later Marc Staal (shaky tonight) turned the puck over in his own zone resulting in a great save by Lundqvist on Dainius Zubrus. Dan Girardi gathered the rebound and sprung Kotalik on a breakaway that he buried low glove side on Marty Brodeur. Rangers won 12 out of 16 faceoffs in the second. They were helped out by Prospal (won 5 of 7) who was switched to center.
Second period lines:
Lisin-Prospal-Gaborik
Kotalik-Drury-Avery
Callahan-Dubinsky-Higgins
Voros-Anisimov-Boyle
2-2 after 2.
THIRD PERIOD
Lundqvist gave up a terrible goal as Zach Parise flung it on goal and apparently Dainius Zubrus got a little piece of it. Dan Girardi was standing nearby doing nothing, as he and Marc Staal have all night. Best chance was Ryan Callahan's breakaway with a couple of minutes left. As he went to tee up the shot though Colin White made a fantastic poke check. Parise adds an empty netter after a missed interference call on the Devils against Prospal.
Rangers lose 4-2.
10.16.2009
Mr. Softie
When the Rangers signed Ales Kotalik for 3 years at $3 million per, I was skeptical. The word out of Buffalo was that he was soft... takes nights off... he won't go in the corners. He's basically the older poor man's Nikolai Zherdev (talk about a guy that takes nights off), without the "upside". When Vinny Prospal joined the team and Brandon Dubinsky signed the glut at forward was obvious.
Coach John Tortorella won't allow Kotalik to take nights off here. Players will be held accountable and they will sit if they do (see $5 mil a year Michal Rozsival). In an earlier post on The Beat (Rangers Trying to Ground A.O.) I guessed that Enver Lisin would be the odd man out when Sean Avery came back. I didn't think Tortorella would put a player making $3 million on the fourth line... he surprised me again. Although no one else covering the Rangers seems to be aware that Lisin and Kotalik have rotated on the fourth in every game since Avery returned.
Kotalik has responded by doing the opposite of what I heard of him. He's working hard every shift... He's throwing hits... he's going in the corners, winning battles and when you put him on the power play he's scoring. He's helped change the dynamic of the power play and that's what he was brought here to do.
He has 3 goals and 4 assists in 7 games as a Ranger. Asked to play on the fourth line he has put his head down and done what has been asked. You don't hear any complaints from him and you won't. People can say Kotalik is making too much but he's doing exactly what he was brought here to do so far... with a lot less ice time than he's used to.
10.14.2009
Sometimes It Takes One...
Coach John Tortorella's style of play leaves teams out of gas in the third period... that's when the Rangers turn on the after burners. They have outscored the opposition 12-4 in the third coming into tonight's game against the Los Angeles Kings. But tonight, the afterburners didn't fire. The Blueshirts managed 1 shot on goal in the third... but boy was it an incredible shot.
The Rangers were outplayed tonight by a young and hungry King team. They looked like a tired team in playing their third game in four nights. "You just find a way to win when you're not on-and we were not on. We were behind in every facet of the game but we still found a way to win". Coach Tortorella added, "That's a good sign". Especially against one of the hottest teams in the league that also hadn't lost since opening night.
The problem for the Kings was that they were facing "The King". Henrik Lundqvist again was fabulous but again was run over 2 or 3 times. Would've been nice to have Donald Brasheer go after someone but he was a late scratch with an undisclosed injury. Make no mistake, Lundqvist stole this game for the Rangers and was named the first star. He made several beautiful saves highlighted by robbing Teddy Purcell point blank on a rebound with a seemingly wide open net in the first.
Vinny Prospal got the night started with a power play deflection of Michael Del Zotto's shot for his 200th NHL goal. Ryan Smyth came back with a deflection of his own just 1:10 later. A two man advantage and a brilliant Prospal feed left Ryan Callahan with a wide open net but the pass surprised him. He had a couple of whacks at it before Prospal slid around back of the net and popped it in off Kings goalie Erik Ersberg. But other than the power play (odd to have the PP be a strength) the Rangers could get little going in this one.
Brian Boyle opened the second period scoring against his former team off a nice feed from Michal Rozsival, who was otherwise disastrous. Boyle rang his first as a Ranger off the post, then Ersberg and in. Aaron Voros immediately dropped the gloves at the side of the net with Sean O'Donnell and had one of his patented throw 4 punches and fall over fights... it was a good one. The Kings answered again as Michal Handzus deflected Jack Johnson's wrist shot in for a power play goal and the score was 3-2 heading into the third.
Now the 1 third period shot I was talking about... yeah that was taken by Marian Gaborik so it wasn't really so much of a shot but a canon. Gaborik made a play in the defensive zone to get the puck around to Dan Girardi, then flew the zone. Vinny Prospal blindly threw the puck toward Gaborik who calmly gathered the puck with one hand as the pass was behind him... strolled down the left side to the hash... and unleashed one of the sickest snap shots I've ever seen. Top right corner in the blink of an eye. You pretty much felt bad for Erik Ersberg as no one could've stopped this thing. One big shot and one huge goal. The Rangers held on despite being outshot 10-1 in the third to win their 6th in a row, beating the Kings 4-2.
Notes:
Marian Gaborik made sure to pick up the puck on Prospal's 200th. Later while shorthanded on an empty net elected to be unselfish and slide the puck to Prospal for his hat trick but Jack Johnson swatted it out of mid air. Marian Gaborik is looking to be your other assistant captain and should be... Would've been nice if Brian Boyle had gotten a star in this game being that he scored against his old team and it was the game winner... Ales Kotalik had two assists and hit the post again... Michael Del Zotto leads all rookies in points with 2 goals and 5 assists... Gaborik leads the team with 6 goals, all scored in the third.
The Rangers were outplayed tonight by a young and hungry King team. They looked like a tired team in playing their third game in four nights. "You just find a way to win when you're not on-and we were not on. We were behind in every facet of the game but we still found a way to win". Coach Tortorella added, "That's a good sign". Especially against one of the hottest teams in the league that also hadn't lost since opening night.
The problem for the Kings was that they were facing "The King". Henrik Lundqvist again was fabulous but again was run over 2 or 3 times. Would've been nice to have Donald Brasheer go after someone but he was a late scratch with an undisclosed injury. Make no mistake, Lundqvist stole this game for the Rangers and was named the first star. He made several beautiful saves highlighted by robbing Teddy Purcell point blank on a rebound with a seemingly wide open net in the first.
Vinny Prospal got the night started with a power play deflection of Michael Del Zotto's shot for his 200th NHL goal. Ryan Smyth came back with a deflection of his own just 1:10 later. A two man advantage and a brilliant Prospal feed left Ryan Callahan with a wide open net but the pass surprised him. He had a couple of whacks at it before Prospal slid around back of the net and popped it in off Kings goalie Erik Ersberg. But other than the power play (odd to have the PP be a strength) the Rangers could get little going in this one.
Brian Boyle opened the second period scoring against his former team off a nice feed from Michal Rozsival, who was otherwise disastrous. Boyle rang his first as a Ranger off the post, then Ersberg and in. Aaron Voros immediately dropped the gloves at the side of the net with Sean O'Donnell and had one of his patented throw 4 punches and fall over fights... it was a good one. The Kings answered again as Michal Handzus deflected Jack Johnson's wrist shot in for a power play goal and the score was 3-2 heading into the third.
Now the 1 third period shot I was talking about... yeah that was taken by Marian Gaborik so it wasn't really so much of a shot but a canon. Gaborik made a play in the defensive zone to get the puck around to Dan Girardi, then flew the zone. Vinny Prospal blindly threw the puck toward Gaborik who calmly gathered the puck with one hand as the pass was behind him... strolled down the left side to the hash... and unleashed one of the sickest snap shots I've ever seen. Top right corner in the blink of an eye. You pretty much felt bad for Erik Ersberg as no one could've stopped this thing. One big shot and one huge goal. The Rangers held on despite being outshot 10-1 in the third to win their 6th in a row, beating the Kings 4-2.
Notes:
Marian Gaborik made sure to pick up the puck on Prospal's 200th. Later while shorthanded on an empty net elected to be unselfish and slide the puck to Prospal for his hat trick but Jack Johnson swatted it out of mid air. Marian Gaborik is looking to be your other assistant captain and should be... Would've been nice if Brian Boyle had gotten a star in this game being that he scored against his old team and it was the game winner... Ales Kotalik had two assists and hit the post again... Michael Del Zotto leads all rookies in points with 2 goals and 5 assists... Gaborik leads the team with 6 goals, all scored in the third.
10.06.2009
The One That Got Away...
At the end of last season, the Devils went after Hobey Baker Award winning defenseman Matt Gilroy with essentially the same package the Rangers offered. The 25-year-old was enthralled with John Tortorella's attacking style of play and that the coach would challenge him every day. He opted for Broadway and stuck it to the Devils last night (again) scoring his first NHL goal, the game winner, with 2:10 left in the second period.
The turning point in this game happened 1:24 in though. The Devils came out flying with Jay Pandolfo outworking Marc Staal in the corner. He fed Rob Niedermeyer who went top shelf on Henrik Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead 1:10 in. The Blueshirts were sloppy on the next shift that ended with Dainius Zubrus losing an edge and crashing into Lundqvist. That was all for John Tortorella. He called a timeout and laced into his team with some choice words... they listened.
The Rangers got their first power play goal of the season shortly thereafter from Michael Del Zotto, who scored in his second straight game. He later added an assist on Ales Kotalik's (first as a Ranger) one time slap shot power play bullet to tie it at 2 after Travis Zajac had given the Devils a 2-1 lead. David Clarkson made a pretty no look pass to Zajac giving Lundqvist no chance. It was 2-2 after the first.
The Rangers settled into their game from then on in this penalty filled game. Due to the 36 minutes in minors in a 60 minute game, there wasn't much flow in this one. 36 minutes is a joke with not one fighting major. Speaking of fighting though, Donald Brasheer and his fourth line of Brian Boyle and Aaron Voros were fantastic again with Boyle also getting important penalty kill minutes.
Late in second, Gilroy skated into the Devils zone and the Rangers went to work. Vinny ProspalGilroy but before it got there Marian Gaborik made a terrific play lifting Nicklas Bergfors' stick allowing the puck through. Gilroy creeped in, took his time and let go a low slap shot that went under Martin Brodeur's left pad.
The Rangers played a solid third period led by Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival who continueRenaissances this year. Gilroy played regularly in the third though Tortorealla curbed Michael Del Zotto a little. Del Zotto ended up with the least amount of ice among defenseman with 11:42 but has 2 goals and an assist in his last 2 games. got the puck on the left hash and attempted a cross ice pass to Matt their
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