33-12-5: Beating Up The Bullies (Again)

The Blueshirts continued their domination of the bad boys from Broad Street this season by beating the Bullies 5-2 on Sunday. It has been delightful to see the tables turn in this rivalry after so many years of Philadelphia superiority.

That being said, the Rangers sank down to the level of an tired team of thugs that was missing their top defenseman and any semblance of competent goaltending. It was not pretty and, in many ways, pathetic. The current beast of the East should have more discipline and play a far smarter game. Oh yeah, and they should have a power play that isn't an utter abortion. The display put forth on Broadway during the matinee match will not get the Blueshirts very far against a playoff opponent. The second season is approaching and the Rangers should be perfecting their form, not playing sloppy, undisciplined hockey.

Late Hits:

*Had this convo yesterday: Someone said 'if the Flyers had Henrik, they would be a great team.' To which I replied, 'if the Rangers didn't have Henrik they would be worse than the Flyers.' Despite the gaudy shot numbers in the first period, the Flyers had the better scoring chances. It was something like 17-5 and Hank had made three fantastic saves while Bryzgalov had time and space to make his stops and still ponder the wonders of the universe. The King has carried the team to date and hopefully can continue to do so for another few months.

*Why fight? The Flyers feed on fisticuffs and tough play so why would you play right into their hands and give them what they want? I adore hockey fights, I do. But I loathe hockey fights when they are A- to solely justify a goon's salary or B- to help spark the opposition. Philadelphia was desperate for a spark down 1-0 in the first period so the Rangers filled the Flyer dance card with a pair of bouts before the frame was over. It is no coincidence that Philly's first two shots came seconds after Stu fought Simmonds. And in the third the Blueshirts took a 3-2 lead on a goal from Del Zaster and then Prust agreed to spar with Tom Sestito on the ensuing faceoff. The Flyers started flying, amped up their attack and earned a power play less than a minute later - it is no coincidence. So why keep playing into their hands?

*Seriously, why allow a cement-headed minor leaguer like Tom Sestito goad you into fighting not just once but three times?? He has no other purpose playing than to throw down and three different Rangers justified his existence - Stu, Dubi and Pruster. And for one of the Rangers' better penalty killers to be cooling his heels for five minutes early in the third period when his teammates can't stop taking stupid penalties is really not a bright move.

*Stu Bickel has the ability and the tools to be the physical stopgap on the blueline until Dylan McIlrath is ready. He has shown it from time to time. But definitely not in this one. After weeks of being Tortorella's personal punching bag and with Steve Eminger ready to return, Bickel was willing to do anything to keep his job. Sadly Bickel tried to do too much and what he did wasn't the right things - he ended up with two fights for no reason and three bad penalties. He spent almost two times his ice time in the penalty box and should spend the rest of this season down in Hartford because of it.

*The excuse I heard for why Mike Rupp didn't do his job and fight was that he had a broken thumb. Ok. Fine. So why bother dressing him? He can't score one of his fluke goals with a broken digit and he wasn't about to throw down so what purpose did he have playing? Not that he played much, clocking 4:41 with just one shift in each of the second and third periods. Why keep the oafish fourth liner around if he was incapable of contributing anything?

*Rupp's spot would have been better filled with someone capable of helping the power play like Zuke, JAM or even the recently acquired Casey Wellman. The man advantage unit continued to be inept at giving the Rangers any kind of advantage. They wasted nearly nine minutes of ice time against Flyer foursomes that didn't include Chris Pronger.

*Still not a fan of the Winter Classic sweater but the team is 2-0 while wearing them so it is hard to hate on them too much. Can't argue with success.

*Sell high with Arty. A team that just looked at the scoresheet would see his goal and two helpers and think he was worthwhile. They wouldn't have noticed that Dan Girardi's shot just happened to deflect off of an overmatched Anisimov who was being manhandled in front. They might even miss that both of his other points were secondary assists. Of course, for once the PHWs weren't blinded by numbers and Anisimov's three point game didn't make the cut when it came to selecting the three stars. Dammit, that might have been enough to fool some other team. But still, a young guy like Arty - who does have some ability - should be enough to bring in someone who can actually contribute when times get tough.

*Feel the same about Boyle but credit must be given for his beautiful feed to Dubi on the 4-2 goal. It was a sexy set up, just like Gabby's gift to Del Zaster. It was one of the Slovak's best performances this season and it just happened to come against a team with Jaromir Jagr on it. Hmmm ...

*The other high priced Ranger, Brad Richard$, was barely there. Yet again. It is hard to keep blaming Olivia Munn for his failings because he is a professional, and a well paid one at that. He needs to get the razors away from his wrists and find a way out of this funk because the Blueshirts need him. If he can get his game together in time for another Conn Smythe performance this spring all will be forgiven.

*Dumb fight with Sestito aside, Dubi had one of his better games. He seems to play his best hockey when he is angry, like he's the Hulk or something.

*Was that a Ruslan Fedotenko sighting? Wow.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brandon Dubinsky - one goal.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - 21 saves.
1-Marian Gaborik - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Simmonds - The Flyer kept pushing the Ranger buttons and had an impact every shift. He also added a power play goal. Imagine that, a power play goal in MSG. Weird.
2-Gabby - Marian took plenty of punishment and still made plays. He ventured into the tough areas of the ice and came out with two points, an impressive performance.
1-Hank - The King's serfs did all they could to keep the Flyers in the game and yet he held firm. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Sayonara Softie

The Rangers rid themselves of Mr. Softie The Backstabber today, dealing Erik Christensen to the Minnesota Wild for Casey Wellman. Sure they had to sweeten the deal with a seventh round draft pick but, hey, even the sanitation workers need to get paid for taking the garbage.

This is another win by Obi-Wan Sather. Glen turned a waiver acquisition into a decent scoring prospect who, at the very least, will be a huge help for Hartford. And he got rid of Christensen. Woo ha. It is absolutely delightful to see yet another smug, self-serving, slothful, so-called scorer dealt away for a useful asset. While Wellman is no Ryan McDonagh (not many are), he is quite capable.

Wellman - who scored in his lone career game in Madison Square Garden - can put the puck in the net. He will come to Connecticut well aware of the organization, having been a teammate of our boy Jed Ortmeyer in both Houston and Minnesota. On the other side of the equation, the Rangers are well aware of him and his abilities. They saw him long ago, back in his UMass Amherst days while watching his teammate Danny Hobbs - who they drafted back in 2007. Like the man he was dealt for, Wellman is a top-six or nothing guy - there is no point burying his ability on the third or fourth lines. It will be quite interesting to see what the Whale power play looks like with him on the same unit as Zuke and JAM.

Said it before, will say it again: Trader Sather is a genius. Signer Sather not so much, but Trader Sather = brilliant!!!!!!!!!

32-12-5: Points Are Points

The Rangers edged out the Sabres in the fifth round of a shootout on Wednesday night for a 1-0 win in Buffalo. It was the second straight shootout for the Blueshirts and their second straight disappointing effort.

The biggest difference between the game against the Devils and the one against the Sabres was the goaltending. Instead of having sieves on either side of the ice, there was one former and one future Vezina winner. Ryan Miller and Henrik Lundqvist held their ground unlike the two Martys and both skated away with shutouts.

The first place team in the East faced the 14th and the first place side needed a breakaway contest to earn the W. It would really be sad if it was not foreseeable. This Ranger team has worked their way to the top of the conference with tough, lunch-pail hockey. But when the opposition has brought their hard hats to the job site, well all bets are off. In games like those the top end talent needs to shine and just one of the New York stars came through - Lundqvist. The rest of the high priced city socialites need to do some soulsearching soon because it is only getting tougher from here.

Late Hits:

*The Ranger specialty teams are so good they kill their own penalties and those of the other team too. They took care of seven in all on this night, five of their own and two of Buffalo's. The Blueshirts have to be more disciplined and they absolutely have to learn to score when up a man - this is getting ridiculous.

*Brad Richard$ saw as much ice time as Brian Boyle ... I don't think I need to point out what travesty that that is. Sure plenty of it had to do with all of the penalty killing time but still, the former Conn Smythe winner has to earn more minutes than the biggest waste of size since Willie Huber.

*Boyle did have one good moment: when he shoved Patrick Kaleta. Kaleta embodies the NHL's need to eliminate the instigator penalty. A weasel like that who tries to injure other players should be put in his place, instead of being allowed to keep his gloves on and jaw away. At least Avery would throw down on occasion ...

*Del Zastrous. A step behind in his own end. Pinched too much. Panicked and threw the puck over the glass. Somehow missed the net on a breakaway with a shot five feet from the cage. Simply Del Zastrous.

*And yet he won't taste the lash that continually bites poor Stu Bickel. Bickel is constantly been abused by the coach, a favoured whipping boy now that Avery has been banished. Sean at least deserved it at times, Bickel was playing in the ECHL not too long ago and hustles his ass off every one of his all-too-rare shifts. Torts has to either learn to live with the gaffes or bench him because status quo right now is a waste. Of course the kid will make mistakes, he jumps on the ice cold and knows his continued employment hinges on his every action.

*Had no idea that Arty even dressed for this game, much less played 16 minutes. Ever since the sniper incident he has been awful, perhaps a trip to Hartford could be enough to re-ignite his game.

*The Sabres Zack Kassian is going to be a beast in this league if Buffalo doesn't ruin him. Size, power and decent hands? Nice combo right there.

*Seven games without a point for Brandon Dubinsky, in case you were wondering.

*Had hoped that the All Star break would help Marc Staal further his recovery but two games back and he still looks like an entirely different player than the one that ended last season. No way they shut him back down but there is definitely something still wrong.

*There is more worth ranting about but it is late and, frankly, the Rangers still escaped the back-to-back with three out of four points. The guys need to get their acts together if they are to compete come April but for now, points are points - no matter how hideously they are earned.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ryan Callahan - shootout winning goal.
2-Ryan Miller - 29 saves.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 34 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Cally - Of course the Captain is going to play well with his grandma around ...
2-Miller - After a performance such as this it is hard to imagine the many Buffalo fans who were calling for him to be traded not too long ago.
1-Hank - Your goaltender is your best penalty killer and the King stood tall while his teammates were forced to sit down time and time again.

Ice Hockey In Harlem

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31-12-5: Terrible Return To Action

The Rangers played their first game after the All Star break and it was an utter failure. Ok, not an utter failure - they did escape with a point - but it was a pathetic display against a rival that does not bode well for the near future.

It was back-and-forth, entertaining hockey - which would be great except when you consider it was the supposed first place team against a shell of a hockey club without their top two centers and with a has-been goaltender. The Blueshirts blew three leads on their way to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Devils. How a team could fail so spectacularly after taking a few days off is astonishing and utterly disappointing. That being said, the Rangers need to shake this one off because if this is a sign of things to come they will be the pathetic ones clinging to a playoff positing instead of rightfully challenging for home ice.

Have to keep this short so right on to the Late Hits:

*John Tortorella put the Rangers behind the eight ball at the outset by starting his former Flyer goaltender against a team that his starter has truly starred against in recent years. There is a reason why Hank played every game against the Devils since 2006 but Torts thought he knew best and he blew it. The Blueshirts backup might have put together a decent performance against the 14th place Sabres - another of his former teams - but against the Devils he was made to look the fool. All three goals in regulation were immensely savable, with Biron getting clear looks at the shooters. And yet he blew it again and again and again. The Kovalchuk shootout goal is the only that is hard to blame him on, if only because Kovy has been world class in the skill competition and Biron once played for the Islanders. But there are no excuses for giving up a goal short side and two open shots from the slot. Atrocious.

*On the other side of the ice it was blatantly apparent that Mmmmmaaarrrtttyyyyy is done. Not that he was particularly good in his prime - I attribute all of those inflated numbers to systems and star defensemen - but the sister-in-law lover can hardly play. And the Rangers beat him just three times. He didn't make a single good save all night and his pathetic whale-rolling-around-in-the-surf display on the Brian Boyle goal was positively comical. Not to mention the fact that he gave up an open shot to Del Zaster of all people. Blissfully terrible.

*But as bad as he was Brad Richard$ still couldn't score against him. My guess is that Richard$ spent the time off listening to old Cure records and crying about Olivia leaving him. Because he surely didn't move on and get his head right - he was all but invisible. He lost faceoffs, he was a step slow and he had no impact in the power play.

*Of course, no one else did either. Three power plays for the Rangers expertly killed by the Rangers. Typical.

*Two assists. Bork bork bork. And yet Hagelin didn't get a single second of power play time.

*Two assists for the Slovak Sniper too. Marian made two nice passes to set up Ranger goals, clearly showing he didn't lose his game in the casino in Gatineau.

*The Devils didn't dress Cam Janssen and used Eric Boulton sparingly. And yet Mike Rupp didn't use his size and physicality to help his team at all. So what is the point of playing him?

*In the Puck Central round table I floated the idea that the Rangers should deal Arty but his recent performances has led me to believe that there won't be many/any teams willing to take him. Since his infamous shooting celebration against Tampa Anisimov has been atrocious.

*Facing a team with just two offensive players with any kind of ability, Dan Girardi played 33 minutes and McDonagh played 29. Welcome back to the grind boys.

*David Clarkson scored to tie the game at three in the last minute and Chico said it was one of the biggest goals of his career. That pretty much says it all for just how embarrassing a night it was for the Rangers.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Michael Del Zotto - one goal.
2-Zach Parise - one goal.
1-David Clarkson - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Adam Larsson - The young Swede is exceptionally talented. It is a real shame he is a Devil.
2-Gabby - The Slovak's low, hard shot created the rebound that Stralman scored on and that beautiful cross to Del Zaster helped the kid snap a 11 game goal drought.
1-Kovalchuk - Loath him as we may, Kovy is so very skilled. Remember the days when Sean Avery used to throw him off his game? They seem so very long ago.

Photo Of The Day

Courtesy of the Whale, a certain favourite of the blog scoring last night (moments before getting 14 min in PIM and getting benched for the rest of the game):

31-12-4: Boring But Effective

On Tuesday night the Rangers defeated the Jets 3-0 in the last game before the All Star break.

Yawn.

It was a boring affair before a quiet crowd that - as someone said to me - seemed like it was watching the Rangers being blown out rather than winning. The only non-goal moment to spur any kind of reaction was the showing of the idiot kicker on a New Jersey-based NFL team on the big screen. Several times the crowd actually had to be shamed into chanting "Let's Go Rangers" by a small group of Winnipeg fans filling the silence with "Go, Jets, Go!"

But in everyone's defense, it is hard to get excited watching the grinding game that was presented to them. It was a lot like many of the other wins so far this season where the team stacks its own zone to keep the other team from scoring and hopes and prays for a mistake or a good bounce to get them a lead they can cling to. There is no killer instinct, just basic survival. Get the two points and get out. And that sucks to watch but is fine, for now. As the idiom goes (and has been repeated to me many a time), you have to first get to the playoffs before you can fight for the Cup. That being said, if the Blueshirts are cowering in front of a 10th place Winnipeg side without three of their top four offensive talents in January, what will happen in the second season against actual teams?

Late Hits:

*The Rangers have to grind because their talent is far too unreliable. Marian Gaborik has three goals in his last 13 games - quieting that talk that he would reach 50 this season. Brad Richard$ snapped a seven game goal drought with his third period goal but it was just a simple shot thanks to the stellar set up by Cally. Stepan and Arty are both snakebitten. Hagelin is experiencing the ups and downs that go with being a rookie. Dubi is ... whatever. And, frankly, the power play sucks.

*The unit went 0-4 in this one without getting a sniff of a goal. As my buddy Matt pointed out, it simply kills all momentum. It is stagnant, predictable and inept. Winnipeg's guys were at least willing to shoot the puck into traffic while the Rangers kept trying to make a perfect pass. With an opposing player in the penalty box the Blueshirts should increase their pressure and instead they let their foot off the gas. Cycling is great when you are a telepathic, redheaded Swedish twin but not for the Rangers. Each guy seems to consider his options for an extra second, allowing the defenders to get over and set up in front of him. The few one-timers are telegraphed something fierce and are easily blocked away. No one kills Ranger power plays like the Rangers.

*Despite getting massive minutes with the man advantage Del Zaster is pointless in the last 13 and has just eight assists (six of which were secondary) and zero goals this season. Richard$ has one power play goal in his last 27 and Step sees second unit time and he doesn't have a single power play goal in his last 34.

*With all of them slacking off, at least the captain came through. Cally scored by lurking around the crease and then he pulled a Datsyuk with an amazing steal and dangle to set up Richard$. That. Was. AWESOME!

*Hopefully John Mitchell's goal ensured that Erik Christensen won't be seeing the Ranger lineup for the rest of his time under contract. Mitchell has been quite the revelation, to be sure, and he cost the team just a seventh round draft pick. Interesting note: do you know who Toronto picked in the seventh round of the 2005 draft? Anton Stralman.

*Used the word 'momentum' before, which brings me to Mike F-ing Rupp. What is going through his thick skull? For the second straight game he opened the door for the opposition by accepting an invitation to dance with a fellow neanderthal soon after the Rangers scored. And, as if the first tilt wasn't enough, Rupp went after Thorburn again for another pointless bout. Yu would think a veteran would have an understanding of when to fight and when not to but I guess getting punched in the head a lot takes its toll. But some of it is on Torts, who shouldn't put him out on the ice in the first place.

*It's an empty net guys, the puck should go inside it.

*Credit to Hank for playing on an expected day off but it wasn't like he was particularly challenged on his way to the shutout. Winnipeg hit the iron once and had one, maybe two other real scoring chances but that was it. Still nice to see the clean sheet.

*Because of the Knicks, Rangers in 60 just came on (at 3am). And Micheletti, paraphrasing what Marian Gaborik explained to him about Zdeno Chara said, "Even though we are country mates he pounds me every chance he gets." Somehow I doubt Gabby said that word for word. Ya never know, but I doubt it.

*It is remarkable how glaring the errors are that Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh make but it is likely a symptom of their success the rest of the time. So many thankless minutes in the trenches but when that one bad pass is made, wow do we see it.

*Marc Staal played just 12:06 - his lowest total since his return. Wonder if it was because of the match ups or because of some regression with his head or what. Having a full week off should be really good for him.

*PHW Three Stars
3-John Mitchell - one goal.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal and one assist.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 22 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - Easy shutout by the King against a bunch of guys who barely belong in the NHL.
2-Richard$ - B-Rich dominated on faceoffs and finally snapped out of his post-Munn funk.
1-Cally - Cap' may not be playing on Sunday but Callahan has been an All Star for us to be sure.

30-12-4: Hey, look - a PPG!

Of all things, who would have thought that a power play would save the day for the Rangers? Certainly not I but it was indeed the case on Saturday afternoon as Marian Gaborik capitalized in overtime to defeat the Big Bad Bruins 3-2.

The way the Rangers won was just as surprising as the actual fact that they ended up victorious. The Blueshirts spent much of the afternoon crushed in their own zone while the Bruins dominated play. When they finally went on attack, it was one-and-done as the Bs quickly recovered to come back the other way - they are the reigning Stanley Cup champions for a reason. And, like the Rangers, they didn't play close to their best game. That is the remarkable part and it should make the remaining three meetings really special.

Late Hits:

*Truly hope Ryan McDonagh is alright.

*That being said, I still don't think Andrew Ference deserved a five minute major for the hit. McDonagh saw him coming, skated straight at the boards and presented his back at the on-coming Bruin. For some reason he decided to try to hit the breaks instead of cruising straight around the net and it cost him. Ference barely made contact but McD went flying. There was no intent to injure there. If anything, it should have been a two minute call but the refs saw McD on the ice and upped the punishment. Lucky for the Rangers, who needed the extra time to come though after wasting the first two minutes of the man advantage.

*Dan Girardi played more than Zdeno Chara. Let that one sink in. Dan-o was out there for 33:31 while the ginormous Slovak skated 'just' 32:19. Girardi didn't come close to murdering a few of his foes with his slap shot but still - that's crazy.

*How much had that shot hurt to send Brandon "It's Only Pain" Prust down the runway? And he returned to the game, what a warrior. And that diving call on him later on was total rubbish - one of the worst calls made on the Rangers this season.

*Speaking of the worst, Mike F-ing Rupp. How stupid do you have to be to accept an invitation to dance seconds after your team takes the lead on the road? Rupp could have skated away, and maybe even drawn a penalty to really put the Bruins on their heels. Instead he entertained Shawn Thornton and re-energized the entire Bruin team while bringing the building back into the game. He won the fight but lost the battle. Stupid.

*Ryan Callahan really is the right choice to be captain of the Rangers. Remember the debates we all had over the summer, whether it would/should go to him, Dubi, Staal or Richard$? They just seems so silly now because he has more than lived up to the letter. He gives his utter best every shift, no matter the cost on his body. That was one helluva shot to open the scoring and he was far and away the best Ranger not named Lundqvist.

*Carl Hagelin came close. The Sveedish Wolverine put in a lot of tough minutes and did not look the least bit out of place. While I still believe he should be reunited with John Mitchell, one thing is for certain: this kid will have himself one heck of a career. Bork bork bork!

*Brian Boyle really tried to play well, that was clear. It just didn't work out. In addition to his usual shortcomings Boyle was too late on his forecheck to stop the rush that resulted in the first Boston goal and he tipped the second past his own goaltender.

*Really had hoped Dubi would have been better against the Bs. He took an unfortunate penalty, was on the ice for both goals against and didn't get a single shot on goal. He has the body and aptitude to play a Boston-style game but he just didn't seem into it.

*Also lackadaisical was Richard$ - to the point where he reminded me of the other over-priced No. 19 who used to wear blue. He spent too much time out on the periphery and only got his assist on the game-winner because the rebound of his half-hearted backhand ended up on Gabby's stick. I imagine him listening to the Cure before the game, insisting that Boys Don't Cry.

*Del Zaster showed why he has no place playing big minutes against good teams. He couldn't create any offense, he couldn't handle the stronger forwards, he turned over the puck in his own end ... DZ seems to think that throwing his body across the ice is a good go-to move to break up plays while it should be nothing but a desperation move. On the first Boston goal he simply stood there while Krejci took his time and set up Ference.

*Arty should realize that with the trade deadline approaching he is rapidly becoming nothing more than trade bait. Anisimov barely saw action and for good reason - he couldn't match up in intensity or ability.

*The music played in TD Garden put the MSG selection to shame. Great songs and a well-played, beautiful old organ helped amp the intensity even further. Hearing Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" - one of the signature songs from Slap Shot - played on the organ was incredible. Perfect hockey music.

*Nice to see Marc Savard again, too bad it was under the unfortunate circumstances. Liked him as a Ranger waaaay back when and will forever remember the classy tap on the pads after he was stopped by Lundqvist (I was at that game in Boston and utterly lost my mind when Hank made the grab).

*Thought Rich Peverley had a really, really good game for Boston. To think that Nashville gave up on this guy years ago is astounding.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ryan Callahan - one goal and one assist.
2-Andrew Ference - one goal and one assist and one major penalty - proof the PHW puts these stars in too early.
1-Marian Gaborik - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Gabby - Two lucky bounces got him the puck and two lightning-fast releases got him goals.
2-Hank - The King made a lot of point-blank saves and kept the Rangers in it despite the Bruins pressure.
1-Cally - If only the captain could get all of his teammates to play with his intensity and dedication ...

29-12-4: Hit Him!

Amid all of the celebrations over the last few months, this space warned that things would not be the same once the Blueshirts faced better competition. On Thursday night the Rangers faced a higher level of opponent and were found lacking. The Crosby-less Penguins were better coached and worked harder in what would be a 4-1 victory over the Rangers. The Pens fought for pucks, won the little battles and had their star center show up as they broke the deadlock and pulled away in the third period.

As Mr. X from the Blue Seats astutely observed, Pittsburgh imposed their will right at the opening faceoff of that final frame and they did not relent. John Tortorella did not change his tactics and did not find any combination of forwards to spark his team. Pretty sure he didn't even bother to use his timeout at all either, even though Bylsma's boys scored twice in less than five minutes.

Just looked at that opening line again and it reads like a big fat 'told you so,' which was honestly not the intention. But even first place teams have flaws and - especially after those teams rise to the top - the other sides will work harder to exploit those flaws. The Rangers always had to take on the MSG factor, where visitors would want to impress on the best NHL stage in America. Now that the hype machine has gotten going and the owner shot off his big, ignorant mouth rivals will take things to an even higher notch. The Blueshirts have to respond in kind. Hopefully this loss will work as a gut check and the Rangers will reply with their best game of the season in Boston on Saturday. They certainly will need to.

Late Hits:

*The Rangers had two recorded hits on Geno Malkin, and both were in the first period. Two. They made contact with the top player on the opposing team twice. They had 38 hits in all and, for comparison's sake, they hit Deryk Engelland five times. Malkin was given free reign to run around the Ranger end and it ultimately cost them. Crosby at least had to work to escape his coverage, his Russian companion was able to cruise his way to two goals (and he likely would have had the hat had anyone but Lundqvist been in the Ranger net). Malkin was given way too much room to work - I believe it was the second period where he literally skated around the entire Ranger zone without being touched. Unacceptable.

*Bet Hank wants that Richard Park goal back. Park has played 38 games against the Rangers in his career, the most against any team he faced in the NHL. Park also has 18 points in those games, the most against any team in the NHL. Former Islander. Ugh.

*Even with the loss Hank is the best goaltender in the NHL, or at least top three. So why does Torts insist that all five of his skaters collapse in the face of the opposition attack? Couldn't count the number of times the Rangers gave up the blue line and then had five skaters below the top of the circles and between the dots. Hank doesn't suck and he doesn't need his sight line filled with skaters standing around watching the opposition work.

*BTW - Major kudos to Lundqvist for hosting a Q & A with people who bought Crown Collection gear. While he didn't break any real news (some twit from ESPN the Magazine "interviewed" him with the same softball questions we've often heard in the past), he faced the small crowd with a thankful smile despite the loss.

*I'm not a girl and I'm not into the other fellows so I can't judge Brad Richard$ looks but surely his bank account is enough to attract Olivia Munn's replacement. Where the star center of the Penguins stepped his game up, the Rangers' version played like he would rather be somewhere else. While Richard$ absolutely dominated on draws, he was found lacking in all of the other aspects of his game and is now pointless in his last six (over which time he made $731,707.32 - more than what Mitchell, Woywitka and Bickel will make the entire season).

*Marian Gaborik at least made an incredible pass to Carl Hagelin for the lone Ranger goal and he managed to get six shots through to Fleury despite tough checking by the Pens. Not sure Step and Hagelin are the right linemates for him in the long run but it worked in this one.

*Hagelin, called out for going dry in the Nashville postgame blog, snapped his eight game goal drought. Bork, bork, bork!

*While I'm no fan of Mike F-ing Rupp, Tortorella should have let him play more, and in better spots. His size would have been useful to keep the Pens in check but instead we got to see Willie Huber Brian Boyle get beat all over the ice. Rangers are down 3-1 so Torts puts Boyle on the ice - he of one goal in 25 games. And he rewarded the coach's dubious decision by losing the draw, missing a hit on Letang, blocking his own teammate's shot and standing atop the crease, watching the play around him. He seems to be trying hard but whatever magic that he had in the first half of last season is gone. And he has two more seasons left on his deal after this one ...

*In ripping on Del Zaster in the past (which I will do again momentarily), I pointed out the difference between hitting to make contact and hitting to win the puck. Through much of this game the Rangers were sadly just trying to get body on body, and not particularly violently. Brandon Prust's first period hit was one of the few that made the boards rattle and got the crowd going.

*Ah, Del Zaster. The kid just doesn't have a clue how to play in his own end. That flailing fall on Malkin's first goal would have been embarrassing had it not been so entertaining. He just has no idea. And for all of those who went on about how wonderful he was because of his big +/- number, he is -5 over his last five games - getting negative numbers in each of the Ranger losses.

*At least Stuuuuuuuuuu won his fight. Bickel beat up on Eric Tangradi in a battle of two guys bound for the AHL once their NHL teams get healthy. Guess they just were trying to do something, anything to try to sway their GMs' impending decisions.

*Paul Martin is awfully tough while wearing that Cobra Commander faceshield, eh?

*PHW Three Stars
3-Kris Letang - one assist.
2-Marc-Andre Fleury - 30 saves.
1-Evgeni Malkin - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Letang - Why does everyone have to return from injury just in time to face the Rangers?
2-Chris Kunitz - Kunitz played the gritty, effective kind of game we'd have hoped came from Cally.
1-Malkin - The slew-footing, fight-starting, hit-dodging superstar came though without Crosby yet again.

29-11-4: Saw This Story Before

It is nice to see other teams have the same trouble with playing a full 60 the way the Rangers do. For the second straight game Nashville played for just one period but this time the result did not go in their favour. The Preds scored three goals in the first period against the Isles Monday and cruised to a 3-1 win. Well, Tuesday they faced a real franchise and found Henrik Lundqvist more than up to the challenge in the first period. Hank held tough and Preds retracted their claws the rest of the way, gifting the Rangers a 3-0 win.

The Blueshirts seem to be in a little cycle - they played terribly against Ottawa and bounced back against a tired and largely uninterested Toronto team. Then they played terrible against Montreal and bounced back against a tired and largely uninterested Nashville team. Where the Rangers amped up their checking to wear down the Leafs early, they just let the Preds punch themselves out before going on to the win.

We just have to hope that they can break the cycle and crush the injury-ravaged Pens on Thursday.

Late Hits:

*Very interesting that the Predators decided to start Rinne against the Isles and Lindback - he of the .893 save percentage - against the Rangers. They put their starter in to get the 'guaranteed' points while playing the backup in the game with more of a dubious outcome. Plenty of teams do that - Carolina did it last year for one - and it showed that the Ranger reputation has grown.

*Most of the Ranger success this season can be attributed to Henrik Lundqvist and yet again the Rangers stood by when their goaltender got ran. Marty Erat hit the King and no one did anything other than offer some (likely) harsh words. Erat was called for goaltender interference. The Blueshirts were up 2-0 and their power play is terrible, so there shouldn't have been any fear of negating the call - which ended up happening thanks to a poor high sticking call for what actually was Predator on Predator violence. Hank got hit a few times in Montreal too, and has taken plenty of contact this season. I thought having a goon on the team was supposed to discourage that kind of thing but so far Mike Rupp has only fought to justify his fellow neanderthals' careers. (Shocked he didn't take on Brian McGrattan, who took a few spins looking for a tussle.)

*Big, big fan of Carl Hagelin - as is well known - but he extended his goal drought to eight games. He got a charity assist on Girardi's fluke goal but he hasn't been able to put the puck in. His speed is tantalizing and he has worked hard to move up the lineup but perhaps it is time to put him back with John Mitchell full time, as the two worked quite well together. In fact, it was Hagelin's forecheck that set up the play that Mitch scored on.

*That defensive play Del Zaster made in the second period? Best play he has made the entire season. Credit definitely due and given. No credit for the other 23 mediocre minutes he played though ...

*For the Swiss out there, Roman Josi was nothing special. Sorry. I watched him and rookie Ryan Ellis closely and came away unimpressed. Both have talent, but neither have tapped it yet and it is hard to say if they will be able to in Nashville's system.

*Oh, Brad Richard$. He has to realize that his ex was one of the most unfunny, uninteresting people to contribute to the Daily Show ever and get over her already. Another sub-par performance by the big-money signing.

*Brian Boyle played a motivated game but still choked when he had a chance to score. Old school Ranger fans, help me out here - is Boyle indeed the biggest waste of size since Willie Huber?

*Dubi made his return and was largely silent. But the two or three times he did get involved (that blocked Weber shot for one) the Garden crowd was quick to recognize his contribution with Duuuuuuubbbbbbbbs. Ruslan Fedotenko did not receive the same recognition.

*Saw the Garden put tweets up from people claiming there was a playoff-like atmosphere and that the place was going crazy. Um, no. Was the building dead? Far from it. Was it electric? Not even close.

*Arty and Stuuuuu were both in the doghouse and for good reason. Poor Stu made a poor play early on that gave Nashville a good scoring chance and Arty was a whole lot of nothing yet again. Guess after playing him up and down the lineup Torts decided a benching might be a better motivator. Not so sure that will work with him but we will find out soon enough.

*There was a guy in my section (329) wearing a yellow Preds jersey with Mike Fisher's #12 and the Underwood nameplate. Ridiculous. I did not get a good picture, sorry, but I did yell "Carrie, sit the hell down" at one point.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brandon Prust - Um, nothing.
2-Dan Girardi - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 27 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hagelin - Bork, bork, bork.
2-McDonagh - One of Mac's best performances in a month. He probably played a little too much but with Staal slowly rounding into form his minutes will go down and this experience will only help.
1-Hank - The King helped the Rangers survive the early onslaught and avoided allowing any soft goals.