You Know Your Franchise Is In Trouble When ... 2

New York Islanders Holiday Pack
Pick 3 of the 7 Games Below!
Plus Receive a $50 Debit Card!

Date Day Time Opponent
12/26 Fri 7:00PM MAPLE LEAFS
12/31 Wed 2:00PM* PANTHERS
1/13 Tue 7:00PM RANGERS
1/15 Thu 7:00PM BRUINS
1/17 Sat 7:00PM DEVILS
1/19 Mon 2:00PM* CAPITALS
1/21 Wed 7:00PM DUCKS

Features:
Receive Over 50% Off of Box Office Prices!
Great Gifts Included with Package…
$50 Debit Card!
Islanders Team Duffle Bag!

Prices are based on two seats
2 seat $299.00 $249.00 $199.00
4 seats $598.00 $498.00 $398.00
6 seats $897.00 $747.00 $597.00
8 seats $1,196.00 $996.00 $796.00

So with the card, you essentially get two tickets to three games for $150 and not have to pay ticketmaster fees or anything? You also get a team duffle bag that you can give to charity - this being the holidays and all. And, it being the Islanders and all, you surely can move to better seats with no problem ... such a deal!

Peepin' Foes: Ottawa Senators

In the back half of a almost home-and-home with the Senators, the Rangers will be in Ottawa on Saturday. For those not paying attention, the Blueshirts beat the Sens 2-1 in a boring shootout on Monday. The Senators were tired and the Rangers were uninspired, leading to a dull couple of periods, a few minutes of excitement, then five listless minutes of overtime before a shootout. But the Rangers won, so yay! Maybe they can do it again at 3 pm tomorrow.

Where We Are: The Rangers are coming off one of the most embarrassing beatings they have taken since last season. But they are still in first place, wooo! It won't last unless they bounce back in a big way. Michal Rozsival, who sucked against the Sens, was even worse against Canucks and has the most to prove both to his teammates and the fans.

Where They Are: Ottawa has lost six in a row, including the last two in a shootout. First there was blowing a 1-0 lead to lose to the Rangers, then Thursday they lost the lead twice on their way to losing in the fourth round of the shootout to Montreal. The Sens gave the Habs just one power play in the game, which they scored on. With the Ranger power play being what it is, Ottawa's discipline may prove to be a good thing.

Who To Watch For: Young defenseman Alexandre Picard stepped up his game against Montreal and collected to assists. Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson are still incredible and all were strong; Heatley scored in regulation and Spezza scored in the shootout.

What To Watch For: Ottawa's Mike Fisher and Chris Neil are both out with injury so there will be some new kids out trying to make names for themselves. Without a designated goon, Cody Bass battled Steve Begin in Montreal so who knows who will answer the bell when the Rangers come ringing for Jarkko Ruutu, because you know sure as hell that Ruutu won't. The Sens will have four straight days off after the afternoon tilt so they may make a huge effort, knowing they have time to relax afterwards.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: The Rangers coming out of the locker room flying, their defense a smooth, puck moving wall and Ruutu getting what he deserves.

Also Check Out: Sens Army and SENSHobo.

As always, I recommend people check out Sam Weinman's Ranger Report for up-to-the-minute updates on our boys.

Respecting Two Rivals

Two former NHL warriors are getting their numbers raised to the rafters by their respective teams on Saturday: Montreal's Patrick Roy and Toronto's Wendel Clark.

By my quick research, Roy finished his career 21-10-4 against the Blueshirts, with the highlight being the victor against Vezina winner John Vanbiesbrouck and the Rangers in the 1986 playoffs on the way to the Stanley Cup.

Here is a classic Roy moment against the Rangers:

I don't know what is more impressive, that Roy would try that or just how much fun Sam and J.D. had calling the play. (Joe Micheletti has got to go.)

Quick great story: my dad met Roy back in the early 90s at a Canadiens practice right before my birthday and he asked for an autograph for me. Roy signed a sheet of paper wishing me a happy birthday (which I still treasure) and my dad told him that I wanted to be a goalie one day. Roy's response? "Why??" Priceless.

The way Clark played was far from priceless - the bruising winger made his opponents pay the price every game. Clark played Old Time Hockey the way it was meant to be done and had a strong NHL career. Everyone remembers his rough and tumble work for Toronto, but he did spend some time on Long Island.

Clark was traded to the Isles before the '95-96 season by Quebec and had 43 points in 58 games with 60 PIM. Two of those points came in the three games that he played against the Rangers but both were assists despite putting 10 shots on goal. Clark was shipped off of the Island before the end of the season to his old team of Toronto along with Matt Schneider in return for Kenny Jonsson and the first round pick that turned out to be Roberto Luongo of all people. Trippy, right?

If that doesn't make you dislike him, then perhaps his demolition of Ranger defenseman Mark Hardy will in some classic Youtube gold:

Sadly injuries cut his career short but his reputation was cemented and he is a god in Toronto. And despite the harsh end to Roy's time in Montreal, he is still loved by the hardcore Habs fans. That kind of respect can't be quantified but it can be appreciated so congratulations to both of them for being recognized for all they gave to their teams; I am just glad we don't have to face either of them ever again ...

14-6-2: Don't Believe The Hype

The standings show the New York Rangers in first place of the Eastern Conference. While I have pointed out the deficiencies of this team, people keep throwing that fact right back at me - first place, first place, first place. They neglect to point out that the Rangers have played at least two, if not three games more than anyone else. They neglect to point out that most of those points have come from beating bad teams.

Tonight the Rangers played a good team. Not a great team. A good team. And they were blown out of the water 6-3 in a game that wasn't even that close. Vancouver even had a clear goal waved off by the officials due to a bad call by the ref and a replay that didn't prove beyond a shadow of the doubt that the puck went across the goal line. But they didn't need it. The Canucks put the Rangers on their heels early and dictated the play for much of the night on their way to a solid win to bounce back from their defeat at the hands of the Islanders. That's right, the Islanders beat the Canucks and the Canucks hammered the Rangers. Not good. So, so very not good.

*The crutch was kicked out from under the Rangers as Henrik Lundqvist played a pedestrian game. Hank gave up five goals before giving himself the hook and heading to the bench. It is hard to blame him for at least three of those five but with a incompetent defensive corps and a offense that has trouble scoring, Hank has to be great - and he wasn't. It is a shame that he will shoulder so much of the blame for this loss but the Rangers need perfection from him to succeed and they didn't get it.

*Apologists for the offense will point out that the power play went 2-6 in this one but the turning point came in the first period. Shane O'Brien took the first of his many penalties in the game and the Ranger power play couldn't put the puck in despite getting acres of landscape to shoot at. Instead, Alex Burrows scored a shorthanded goal and the snowball started rolling down the mountain.

*Chris Drury did what he could to stop the avalanche but even his pretty goal wasn't enough. What gets me is that he was signed for his leadership, not because of his scoring ability - where are the guys who were signed for those skills??

*Willie Mitchell had a helluva game - six blocked shots, four hits, and +1 in 25:23 of ice time. He makes $3.5 million a year. Think they will trade him? We could use an actual defensman ...

*That is because the Rangers waste salary cap space and roster spots on Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden - the two biggest wastes of money in the NHL. Neither one proved to be capable of anything in this game, failing on both sides of the ice. When you invest $10.5 million in two players, you expect some things in return and three shorthanded goals against on their turnovers certainly isn't one of those things. They are horrid and yet Tom Renney does nothing to motivate them. I was asked if it was too early to buy out their contracts and I tendered the idea that they should be lent to the Russian League, just to get them out of the Garden. Neither one is a realistic option and we will just have to sit and hope that they remember how to be top flight defensemen - even if neither one ever achieved that level of skill.

*Nik Zherdev's level of skill is scary. Z made some stellar moves, as per usual, but either he deked around two guys just to lose the puck to a third or he couldn't get off a shot after making a stunning move.

*The heavyweight battle between Darcy Hordichuk and Colton Orr never materialized. The two chatted over the red line during warmups but Orr took a bad penalty with the team down 4-1 in the second period and never saw the ice again. Why carry an enforcer if you aren't going to use him to spark your team when needed?

*Why haven't the Canucks retired Pavel Bure's number? Even without it being in the rafters, I was surprised to see No. 10 out on the ice (Ryan Johnson? who?).

*The game started at 7:30 to accommodate Canadian broadcaster TSN and that led to the sign of the night. There was a woman holding an oaktag that said:
Thank you
So very much
Nazzy!!
There was a surprising number of Vancouver fans and they all seemed to be cheering for their former captain in addition to their own team. Seeing that kind of love and respect makes you appreciate having him more. I just hope he shows us the kind of effort that he gave to them; he hasn't come close yet. He had a few good moments, skating nearly 23 minutes, but doesn't have the jump or strength that he once did and had trouble getting into good scoring positions.

*What also was odd was the complete inability of the Rangers connect on their passes and get out of their zone in the first period. It looked like the Canucks were playing the little Rangers, completely dominating the Rangers. Maybe it was that 7:30 start: the Rangers just thought it was the second period so they didn't really try.

*Is Dmitri Kalinin the best Ranger defenseman right now? Rozy and Redden are awful, Mara is playing frustrated, Dan Girardi and Marc Staal are trying to do too much ... while Kalinin has been almost solid. I'm scared!!

*There was a new logo on the ice - that of Vitamin Water. They have tried to do more subtle advertising before by getting Hank to wear their hat during interviews but now there is a bottle painted on the ice. It looked quite weird and, unfortunately, didn't make me want to drink their product seeing as the Rangers soiled the ice it was advertised on with this stinker of a game.

*Why would Tom Renney call a timeout with two minutes left in the game trailing 5-3? Wouldn't it have made more sense earlier, when the Rangers actually had a realistic chance of catching up?

*The kids - Lauri Korpikoski, Dan Fritsche, Nigel Dawes and Brandon Dubinsky - all put together mediocre, inconsistent efforts and the door is now open for Petr Prucha to return to the ice.

*Speaking of returns, when Scott Gomez "returns from his vacation" (as my buddy Jay phrased it), here is a thought: play him on defense. Gomez knows how to play in his own zone - thank you Lou - and he can skate the puck across the neutral zone to jumpstart the rush. He can't be any worse then Redden or Rozy in the Ranger zone and his passing and skating skills are miles above both ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Jannik Hansen - two assists.
2-Kyle Wellwood - one goal.
1-Alex Burrows - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Stephen Valiquette - Valley came in and stopped all 15 shots he faced to give the Rangers a chance to battle back. They didn't, but it wasn't his fault.
2-Burrows - Burrows is a role player but man can his wheels roll. He showed off lightning fast speed that allowed him to blow by the slow, soft, out of position defenders.
1-Hansen - The Dane, a 2004 9th round draft pick, continued his stellar start to the season with a few points but the reason he gets the top star is because he also went down to block a big shot in the late second period and got nailed up high. But, like Braydon Coburn in that Versus commercial, he came back.

Peepin' Foes: Vancouver Canucks

Two of the best goaltenders, probably the two best goaltenders in the NHL will stare at each other across the Garden ice tonight as Captain Roberto Luongo leads the Vancouver Canucks against King Henrik Lundqvist's New York Rangers. Seeing as a King is better than a captain, we should be in good shape ...

Where We Are: The Rangers have won three straight games including back-to-back shootouts. Monday's was a boring affair that saw more power play woes and more late heroics - and, of course, more stellar goaltending. Nik Zherdev and Aaron Voros were chastised for lack of effort, while Colton Orr, Fred Sjostrom and Nigel Dawes were rewarded for their play.

Where They Are: Vancouver has lost two shootouts in their last three games and are coming off of the second one - a 2-1 loss to the Islanders. (What is it with the Rangers picking up their trash?) The Canucks are 10-6-2 and trail the Wild by one point in the Northwest (but Minnesota has two games in hand).

Who To Watch For: Pavol Demitra returned from a rib injury and collected four points in his last two games - if he wasn't so fragile, he would be a top player in the league. The Nucks also have the creepy identical Sedin twins, the speedy Mason Raymond and the resurgent Kyle Wellwood. I always liked Wellwood in Toronto but the Leafs let him go and all he has done for Vancouver is score seven goals in 13 games. Luckily they are without defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who broke his foot, and they will have a tired Alex Edler, who went out in the storm last week to start his car without his jacket on and missed several games with the flu.

What To Watch For: The Vancouver line of Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler and rookie Jannik Hansen plays with an edge and can get creative at times. They will certainly press the action and keep the inadequate Ranger D on their heels. At the same time, they will run into Hank and that should be that. The Sedin twins may beat him for one or two but, with Callahan playing the Burrows role for the Rangers, the Blueshirts should be able to cause enough chaos in front of Luongo to tame the former Panther.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: The Ranger power play do something, anything good. A standout performance from former Canuck captain Markus Naslund (preferably on the aforementioned power play). Michal Rozsival remember how to play defense and not get booed the entire night. A heavyweight bout between Colt and Darcy Hordichuk and a middleweight between Pyatt or Burrows and Voros. Voros had three fights with Canucks last year but all three opponents are no longer on the team.

Also Check Out: Waiting For Stanley and Canucks and Beyond.

As always, I recommend people check out Sam Weinman's Ranger Report for up-to-the-minute updates on our boys. Sam really is the best of the beat guys covering the Blueshirts and today he took a deserving look at the relationship between Travis Roy and Chris Drury. Thanksgiving may be a week away but if Roy's story doesn't make you appreciate all you have, I don't know what will.

14-5-2: *Yawn* Another Shootout ...

For the second straight game, the Rangers came from behind to win in a shootout, as they beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1. While that sounds like a tightly, played battle to the buzzer, it wasn't. There were people outright sleeping in the stands for stretches of the game as the teams went back and forth afraid to make mistakes and unable to get into scoring positions.

There appear to be two schools of thought among Ranger fans right now: the ones who are happy and content with the team since they are indeed in first place and the ones who feel that this team is vastly underachieving and playing some crappy hockey. Regular readers know I am in the latter but I am attempting to dance along the fence a la Garfield in the moonlight. This team is in first, and all of the points that have been accumulated will be huge when the season hits its doldrums in January. However, passes aren't finding sticks, the team has trouble working into good positions to shoot, the power play is an utter joke and none of the so-called stars have been any good (except for Hank).

So any optimism has to be tempered at this point as it is still quite early in the long, long regular season.

*First things first, how is it that the NHL claims to want to protect their players and outlaw hooliganism? The lip service they give it is utterly shocking considering Jarkko Ruutu is allowed to have a career in the league. Ruutu goes out on the ice with the sole purpose to hurt other players. He doesn't try to score. The classless clown tries to elbow, board, hook and slash the people who are actually out there playing. Is there some offensive upside there? Perhaps; he was selected to go in the shootout over Dany Heatley, but whatever talent he has is utterly outweighed by his desire to inflict injury. Hey Gary, get this goon off of the ice! And if you don't, then stop telling anyone who listens that you care about the well-being of your players.

*While I am addressing our fair commish, something has to be done about the point system. This is old news but watching the Rangers just reinforces the need for a change. Why not make it three points for a regulation win, two for a overtime win and one for a shootout win? Henrik Lundqvist has been incredible in the talent competition and it has led to the Rangers playing defensive, boring hockey in the four-on-four overtime. They put one man deep and keep three high to bide their time until Hank can bail them out in the breakaway contest. Bor-ingggggg.

*It was nice to see the Make a Wish kid drop the puck before the game. I am a sucker for that kind of thing and everyone should donate some money to a charity as they get ready to give thanks later this month.

*I got home to turn on Rangers in 60 just in time to hear Joe Micheletti thinking that the Rangers were arguing where a faceoff would be when in actuality, Wade Redden had clearly shot the puck right over the boards. How is it that he misses that and my entire section sees it?? Sam saw it, and he was sitting right next to him! How this guy keeps his job is beyond me.

*Ah Rozy, you stink. Rozsival was picked off of his coverage of Daniel Alfredsson down low, allowing the Ottawa captain to score the first goal of the game. If Rozy played with any kind of strength, then Alfredsson wouldn't have been able to get off of the boards, much less use a pick to get into the slot. You just can't use the sumo-style defense of pushing people around. Unlike the fat Japanese wrestlers, these guys have a considerable amount of agility and they can get around your pathetic shoving.

*There was nothing pathetic about the hard work of the Rangers fourth liners. Freddie Sjostrom had the game-tying goal, Blair Betts wore the A better than Scott Gomez ever did yet again and Colton Orr's sheer effort resulted in him getting a power play shift (even if his teammates couldn't get into the Ottawa zone and give him a chance to work the paint). The young Rangers seem to be picking up on how these three are playing and now you see them step up their games. The epitome of that is Nigel Dawes, who even handed out a few hits in this one. If he keeps battling out there like that, we will have to start calling him Rutiger after the Notre Dame hero - "he's so little!!"

*Nik Zherdev should start watching those guys because he coasted his way through regulation, despite having an opponent that was ripe for the picking with his spectacular stickhandling. As my buddy Hockey John pointed out, he was benched for a while in the second and third periods but more has to be done to reinforce that coasting is unacceptable. That is called accountability ... hold on ... never mind, Tom Renney doesn't know what that word means. If he did, how could you explain Rozy's place in the lineup?

*Wade Redden faced his old team and he played an acceptable, yet unspectacular game. It is nice to see steady play from him but let's face it, for six-million-plus dollars a year you expect a bit more than that. Another friend pointed out that for the amount of money and the return that we have gotten, Redden and Rozy are the two most over-paid players in the NHL.

*Stat of the night: The Rangers recorded 53 (!) hits, led by Ryan Callahan's six. The only players without one were Zherdev and Lundqvist.

*Second stat of the night: Ottawa out-blocked the Blueshirts 19-5. And, believe it or not, Rozy had a team-high two. This isn't a bad thing - it means the guys are getting out of the way to allow Hank see the puck cleanly.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Fredrik Sjostrom - one goal.
2-Nikolai Zherdev - shootout game-winner.
1-Henrik Lundvist - 27 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Marc Staal - The kid has Norris-type potential and is slowly growing into the man who will bring home that hardware.
2-Jason Spezza - Spezza was clearly the most talented skater on the ice. His skills are scary good and he showed them off in flashes tonight.
1-Hank - As always, the Swedish sensation was stellar. If not for his big saves - on redirects, on Volchenkov's breakaway, in the shootout - the Rangers lose this one big.

Peepin' Foes: Ottawa Senators

The beautiful Canadian national anthem will again be sung in Madison Square Garden as the Ottawa Senators come to town tonight.

Where We Are: The Rangers have won back-to-back games against the Devils and the Bruins. Both were emotional, both were impressive in their own special way. While it was nice to beat up on Jersey, the win against the Bs is definitely bigger considering they are a better team playing better hockey right now and the Rangers were able to rally to win the game.

Where They Are: Ottawa are the losers of four straight games including disgraceful back-to-back failings against the Islanders. They have averaged a goal a game over that span while getting pretty solid goaltending from Alex Auld, who has taken over the starter position from Swiss Miss Martin Gerber, and played three of those four games. They remain a one-line team of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany "I used to drive a Ferrari" Heatley and Jason Spezza.

Who To Watch For: Any of those three guys. I happen to be a big fan of Spezza's and have been since watching him play for Binghamton and seeing what I think was his first pro fight (bottom of the page), even if he didn't get a major for it. He was standing up for a teammate despite being an underweight 'talent' forward. And man, does he have talent (and one great move that seems to keep working). The same goes for Heatley, who is clearly better on the ice then behind the wheel of a car. And Alfredsson has probably suffered a little because of living in the shadow of the other Swedish captain, Mats Sundin, but he has been one of the better all-around forwards of this decade. Also watch out for Filip Kuba - he took over for Redden and has collected 15 points in 17 games despite notching just one goal (10 points were on the power play).

What To Watch For: Jarkko Ruutu will inevitably attempt to injure a Ranger. He does it every time he plays the Blueshirts (and apparently most other teams as well) and yet has been allowed to keep a job in the NHL. He got a two game suspension for this, which should have been at least five but probably more considering his history. For shame.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: Just like Joe Corvo in the first game of the current Senator slide, hopefully Redden will step up his game against his old team (Corvo scored the game-winner). Now you would also like to imagine Michal Rozsival bouncing back from his disgraceful performance on Saturday but with the Garden crowd sure to be on his back, it is highly unlikely. He has the same Czech sensibility that Malik did and that bum just kept digging his grave.

Also Check Out: Sens Army and SENSHobo.

As always, I recommend people check out Sam Weinman's Ranger Report for up-to-the-minute updates on our boys. Sam really is the best of the beat guys covering the Blueshirts.

13-5-2: Lucky Number 13

The NHL is veering very close to NBA territory and I hate to say it, but it is making for some exciting hockey. Team A comes out strong and takes a lead. Team A then backs off. Team B picks up their game and rallies. Ignore the first 40+ minutes but make sure you catch the ending because anything can happen. There were several games in the NHL like that tonight but, of course, we'll focus on the one in New York where the Rangers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to come back and win 3-2 in a shootout.

It was a helluva game and after a late evening of celebrating, I apologize for the lack of photos and I am just going to get right into the game:

*Original Six hockey is just something special and it would be something really sweet (and something really nerve-racking) to see these two teams meet in a seven-game series in the playoffs.

*Tom Renney/Glen Sather have to, HAVE TO bring in a seventh defensemen. Having no accountability has led to sloppy play and it nearly cost the Rangers the game. Michal Rozsival needs a taste of humility and fast, because he is simply horrible. For four million dollars you can't have a defenseman who can't be trusted with the puck. It is time to make up one of the NHL's new 'upper body' injuries (he's lost his head) and send him to the Pack for "conditioning."

*Perry Pearn has to take a road trip himself. Maybe there is somewhere wonderful where he can go and learn how to plan a power play and get the players to buy into it. They went 0-6 on the special team including two 5-on-3s and they were horrid. Putrid even. Another shorthanded goal against? Oy!

*It is amazing how the Rangers can spend so much time not playing their game, and all of a sudden turn things on. Naslund's game-tying goal was perfect Ranger hockey - Dubi draws the attention of the defenders as he breaks into the zone before sending it across to an unmarked Naslund for an open shot that found the back of the net. Beautiful.

*The hard work that led to the first Ranger goal was pretty too. Dan Fritsche and Lauri Korpikoski did all of the tough stuff along the endboards and Korpikoski sent a seeing-eye puck through traffic to Nigel Dawes in the slot for a one-timer goal. As I am big in saying I told you so, I told you so: Korpikoski has a lot to contribute but there will be growing pains and Dawes is at his best when he battles into the middle, rather than letting himself be marginalized on the wings.

*I also have to point out that I called a 4-2 Ranger win. Pretty close, aye?

*Credit can go around and Dubi deserves some for his work early in the third period. When Hank made an ill-advised foray out to play the puck, he lost his stick and Dubi was there to give him his. Smart move by the youngester.

*A guy in the section next to me recalled the Zdeno Chara shootout blast that beat the Blueshirts last season. It was a helluva shot and I gotta ask, why wasn't he included in Boston's shootout list?

*The so-called "fight" between Paul Mara and Chuck Kobasew was a joke. Kobasew chose to hug Mara and try to grind into the boards rather than fight him like a man. Granted, he likely would have gotten his hat handed to him, but at least he would have went down with some class. I still don't understand why, with the Rangers down 2-0 Colton Orr didn't take on Shawn Thornton. Orr, by the way, got a criminal 5:13 of ice time. He has worked hard to earn more and the coaching staff didn't deliver. Put him on the power play already!

*Speaking of trying to find ice time, my buddy Greg brought up a great question - when Gomez comes back on Monday, who comes out?? The Fritsche/Korpikoski/Dawes line was the Rangers best, how do you bench any of them??

*With Gomez out, his A for assistant captain went to Blair Betts for the second straight game and I have to say that it looked good there.

*Number of the night: 75. The two teams combined for 75 recorded hits. Tell my why we need to play Altanta four times ... ??

*PHW Three Stars
3-Lauri Korpikoski - One assist.
2-Chris Drury - Shootout game-winner.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 23 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - Let's face it folks, the Bruins had the game won in regulation but they hit the post. They had the game tied in the shootout but they hit the post. Good luck helped out a great effort by the King.
2-Drury - Is there anyone else out there paying the same prices he is? Drury battles for every inch of space, nearly came up with a breakaway goal and scored his first shootout goal to win the game for the Rangers. Yeah Dru!
1-Tim Thomas - 29 saves and it is hard to fault him on the two others that went into the net. Thomas is really unorthodox, but he really get's the job done.

That Lasted Long ...

TAMPA, FLORIDA (TICKER) —In a stunning move, the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday fired head coach Barry Melrose.

Associate coach Rick Tocchet was named as Melrose’s replacement.

I said he wouldn't last the season, but I thought he would make it through Christmas. Oh well. Hopefully he won't take Barnaby's job back at ESPN.

Keep an eye out on BMR for a suicide watch ...

It is indeed official.

Peepin' Foes: Boston Bruins

Ah, nothing like a little old time hockey! An Original Six matchup at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Wow, can't wait!

Where We Are: There are few better feelings than spanking one of your biggest rivals in their own building, so the Rangers are coming off of a real high. It will be a huge test to see if they can keep the momentum up ...

Where They Are: The good thing is that the Bruins will be doing pretty much the same thing after dismantling the Canadiens 6-1 Thursday night. Their power play clicked to the tune of three goals in four tries and their goaltending held the line when pressed.

Who To Watch For: Milan Lucic. He is definitely one of the most exciting players in hockey not named Ovechkin. I was impressed with him the first time I watched him play last year and he only has gotten better since then. His bout last night, if it can be called that, was out-freakin-standing to watch if you are a Bruins fan. Aside from him, Patrice Bergeron is finally healthy, Marco Sturm has seven points in his last five games, Marc Savard is shamefully underrated and Zdeno Chara always hurts the Rangers.

What To Watch For: It is really hard to judge if this will be a goaltender battle between two guys who will sit side-by-side at the All Star Game (Thomas and Lundqvist) or if it will be a sloppy shootout between two teams coming off big games where they spent most of their energy. Flip a coin and tune in!

What We'll (Hopefully) See: Orr vs. Lucic, center ice Madison Square Garden. That would prove to be better than last Saturday's Jones/Calzaghe bout and more people would be there to witness it ... Beyond that, we would hope for a continuation of the Ranger power play success (no Gomez!), the Betts line to successfully keep the Savard line in check and Nik Zherdev to turn Chara inside out with some slick stickhandling.

Also Check Out: Hub Hockey - fan sites don't get much better than that.

As always, I recommend people check out Sam Weinman's Ranger Report for up-to-the-minute updates on our boys. Sam really is the best of the beat guys covering the Blueshirts.