15-12-2: Thrashed

As I am home and on my laptop, this post will be a laundry list of rants as the game goes on rather than my postgame wrap:

*MSG = horrible. Aside from the fact that they still have Joe on the broadcasts, the video levels are terrible - none of the camera's match and the main camera keeps drifting to a bright shade of blue. Oh, and they missed the tussle between Strudwick and Thorburn, which is always annoying. Cablevision seriously blows; losing two of the final three minutes because the game ran past the length of the window is inexcusable. Its one thing to have technical problems, its another to be incompetent.

*I am shocked that Steve Valiquette is in goal. Last night's disaster must really have shaken Hank. It must also have gotten to Renney, he actually benched Malik!?

*Sweet goal by Atlanta to open the game. Mara cheated high, Rozy never tried to cover the shooter, and Vally gave up a bad rebound. Nice work fellas. Great start. It still amazes me that Eric Boulton is in the NHL. I covered him when he was with the Binghamton Rangers and let's just say that he never looked like a major league player.

*That jackass Exelby is in the lineup for Atlanta, the one thing I hope we get out of this night is someone beating the hell out of that guy.

*As I typed that, he creamed Hossa as Hossa scored. That's pretty funny. Speaking of the Hossa goal, that was just the Moose out of position rather than a pin-point shot by the lesser of the two Slovak brothers. How is he still on the Rangers while Nigel Dawes is in Hartford? The coaches said Dawes needs to be consistent, but it has been Hossa who has been consistently bad.

*Congrats to the Little Leaguer for #200. Drury's goal was much like Atlanta's first: a put-back on a bad rebound.

*Nice try by Dubi to kick that puck in early in the second period. It clearly shouldn't be goal but Joe threatened to quit if it counts so I pray that the officials make a mistake and call it in. Yahoo! Sports even counted the goal. The review somehow took several minutes but eventually it was called off. Dammit, guess we are stuck with Joe. Ah well ...

*I can't think of a more unremarkable team/roster than the Thrashers. Without expansion, I really do think that all but maybe two players on their roster wouldn't be good enough for the NHL. They still look like an expansion team eight years into their existence. Its pathetic. BTW - for those of you who are into NHL history - here is a good page with an NHL franchise timeline.

*Former Ranger Pascal Dupuis and his eyebrows scored for Atlanta to even the game at two on a nice play ... for them. The Rangers were caught flatfooted. For all of that talk of how Straka makes Jagr feel more comfortable, he really has shown no chemistry with him on the ice and seems to scramble to try to keep up.

*I dig the leadership that Jason Strudwick brings to the team but his, shall we say, lack of wheels?, proves costly every now and then ... then again, I would rather have him than Malik any day so I can't complain there.

*Hmm, which defenseman do I hate more - former Thrasher and current Isle Andy Sutton or current Thrasher Garnet Exelby?? Now that is a tough call. I think I have enough hate to go around ... =op

*Its pretty damn funny that one of the referees looks like he could be Brendan Shanahan's son he is so damn young. Talking about Shanny, we all keep pointing the finger at Avery being out for the lack of passion but where is Shanny in all this? Granted, I really appreciate him speaking out after the games and playing the role of veteran, but he used to bring quite a spark to the ice. What happened to it?

*Thank goodness for YouTube, because you can go there and actually see that Jaromir Jagr was truly a world-class player. Granted, there aren't goaltenders like Tommy Soderstrom or Chris Terreri in the NHL anymore, but he used to use his size and range to get chances through hooks and holds. Now he gets held off by players like 5'10, 175 pound Tobias Enstrom who a) can't hook and hold like the players used to, and b) is a midget compared to him. Brings a tear to my eye ...

*I wish I could expound more on the game but things are really quite droll - neither team wants to lose and are playing like it. Here is a telling sign that the game is boring: my dad, who I rarely get to watch games with anymore, is snoring his way though the third period.

*Man, that shiner on Colton Orr's left eye is gnarly. I still call his fight with Belak yesterday a draw. But still, chicks dig scars so good for him.

*Whew, a super-fast whistle by the refs took back what could have been the game-winning Thrashers goal. It came on a horrible defensive play by Rozy (tell me, are there any other kind nowadays) and by their Hossa playing better than ours (not like that is saying much).

*Ain't karma a bitch? Atlanta turns up the pressure on the Rangers and they get the go-ahead goal. Rozy gave Kozlov a lot of room to shoot and it sailed through a screen and Vally and into the net. A seeing-eye puck, if you will.

*After an empty net goal, the Rangers lost 4-2 to mark three losses in a row. And its not just that the Rangers lost, its that they didn't even show up. If this keeps up another game or two, I think that Tom will be gone by the All Star break ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Moose Hedberg - 30 saves, admittedly very few challenging ones.
2-Jim Slater - two assists. I admit it, I am a Slater Hater.
1-Slava Kozlov - goal and an assist. But you could hardly tell when he was on the ice so who cares.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Vally - the game-winning goal was soft but he made a few big saves and let's face it, he had little help all night.
2-Nick Havelid and Enstrom - solid defense marginalized the Rangers attack all night.
1-Rozy/Straka/Jagr - their lackluster play handed the Thrashers an easy victory.