Paying $65 to watch the Rangers lose 6-3 to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night was a bargain. Ticket prices for perspective playoff games at the Garden will run $88 so I saved $23 to see an extra game this season. There is no way this sorry group of losers wearing Blueshirts are making the playoffs so I figure I am coming out ahead. Sure I showed up for 60 minutes and the Rangers 30 against a major rival, but that's par for the course, right?
There was a good atmosphere at the Rock, I was with good friends, we had a good time despite the result - and at a cheaper cost than an inevitable embarrassment should the team stumble into the second season. I just had to smile as I walked out because there was nothing shocking about this loss, nothing heartbreaking. It was a prototypical Ranger failure where the stars can't score when they need to, the blueline is afraid to make contact with the opposition and no one is willing to step up when they need to. This team doesn't play for the coach, they don't play for each other and they barely play for their paycheques. Sure there have been some great moments this season where the guys show up, but let's face it, those are few and far between. So why cry over spilled milk from a cracked glass?
A few random rants:
*At no point after the Rangers went down 5-3 did anyone think they could mount a comeback - not even the players, judging by their performance. Good teams never say die, the Rangers, well, they don't seem to care either way.
*It was no wonder that Torts pulled Hank; the coach knew he couldn't motivate his team so why keep Hank on the ice only to lose? Alex Auld did ok in relief but the goal he allowed was as soft as Mmmmaaaaarrrrttttyyy's gut.
*We have four more years of Wade Redden. Yeah. *Hopefully Jody Shelley played himself out of the lineup with his disastrous display on this night. After forehecking well the last two games, he seemed to be a a step slower, he took a dumb penalty and he got beaten up by a Frenchman with six career NHL fights. Sure he landed a few big ones but this should have been a easy KO for the big man. It was a draw at best.
*I haven't seen the post-game or read the beat guys blogs but I am sure the old "sometimes the bounces go our way, sometimes they don't" cliche was used. The funny thing is that the bounces go your way when you are working hard and doing things the right way. Then you are just flailing your stick around, crawling along the ice chasing after an opposing player or just skating around aimlessly, the bounces aren't going to go your way.
*Erik Christensen's goal was sexy. I mean, just wow. What a skill play slicing through the Devil defender before beating Mmmmaaaaarrrrtttyyyy.
*John Tortorella kept flipping and changing his lines, as he always does. If the coach can't find chemistry after 66 games, what makes him think he can do it down by two goals in the third period of game 67?
*Earlier in the day I pointed out that Dan Girardi was in the top 10 of blocked shots in the NHL, as a way of defending him. There is no defending him on this night. He was almost as bad as Wade Redden. Yeah, that is bad.
*Said it before, will say it again, Arty Anisimov has no place in the NHL. He can't skate with the big boys, no matter how many big minutes his coach has decided to give him nowadays. You could sneeze at him and he would give the puck up.
*Don't be surprised when Henrik Lundqvist requests a trade. He is wasting away here in Loserville and there is no hope on the horizon. You would think that a good looking guy in New York would be set with sponsorships and would want to stay for the money but outside of a minor deal with Vitamin Water, what has being in New York gotten Hank aside from migraines?
*Sean Avery could have and should have done much more in this one. How disappointing.
*Even worse? I have to give Fatso credit: his reach-back save on Gabby with the game tied at one was fantastic. At least Christy's goal left the large one looking for his jock strap. *There were a few minor scuffles in the Rock crowd but it was overall a low key affair. How can you get worked up rooting for these Rangers? The Devil fans, however, are the most unoriginal fans I have ever seen. They rip off chants from the Rangers, chants from the Islanders and really play the part of annoying younger brother that no one cares about. If a Cup was won in New Jersey and no one that means anything were there to witness it, did it really happen? Ok, so I may not be heartbroken but I am a little bitter. Just a little.
*PHW Three Stars
3-Zach Parise - one goal and one assist.
2-Brian Rolston - one goal and one assist.
1-Jamie Langenbrunner - one goal and one assist.
Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Andy Greene - The young defenseman plays a smart game and makes good passes. He was rewarded with two assists in just over 21 minutes. It would be nice to see Ranger blueliners contributing again.
2-Langenbrunner - One great deflection goal and a full game of top-flight effort.
1-Rob Niedermayer - In the Peepin' Foes I said that the player to watch "will probably be Rob Niedermayer" and I was proven right. Scott's brother isn't nearly as skilled but he skates his ass off and does what most Rangers will not: he pays the price to make plays.
14 comments:
What I read
"Devils fans Wahhh I wish I rooted for a team that could be considered at least good but I root for the Rangers so I'll cry Wahhh"
what a fucking joke of a game, were was the defense we are fucked
What? No Avery in Scotty's Three Stars? My my, did you two have a lover's quarrel?
your about as sharp as mike milbury when it comes to assessing talent scotty
and shelley was picked as the winner of the fight by most on hockey fights
do you watch the games or just pretend to?
This weekend it is supposed to rain in the tri-state area. I think they said it is from the Rangers fans tears.
Shelley was picked as the winner on that fight on hockey fights because people follow Jody fights and they root for him. Anyone objective would agree that that fight was a draw. I mean, other than landing about 3 big bombs to the guy's helmet, what exactly did Jody do that makes anyone say he won that fight? The jabs to the face? One shot on Jody had the big guy nearly doubled over! Nope, that fight was a draw. I hope to see better out of Jody, the kind of stuff that made Columbus fans love him. Maybe if we had a captain like Nash to inspire this team...
Hmmm...think Columbus would give us Nash and Tyutin in exchange for Drury, Redden, Rozy, $1 million in cash, a 3rd round draft pick, and a roll of stick tape?
"...but outside of a minor deal with Vitamin Water, what has being in New York gotten Hank aside from migraines?"
How about $6.5 million a year and access to just about any kind of woman he could ever want?
Unless you work for Isaiah Thomas, no one asks to get traded OUT of NY, but even the best athlete from Bumsville wants to get traded in. It's the #1 media market in the world.
The free food in the Club Seats was the highlight of the night at THE ROCK. Not only did the Devils show us how to win last night, the new arena shows up the Garden in a big way. A sad, sad display of goaltending by The Prince and an incompetent coaching job by Torts. Before you know it, we'll have a "John Tortorella Line Changer" roaming the internet, just as the once 'get us into the playoffs' Tom Renney had before his eventual demise in NY.
It's one of the first times I can remember that the Rangers fans - even on a loss - didn't exit THE ROCK chanting pro-Rangers. We in Blue quietly bowed our heads in embarrassment, got the hell out of there and took the "Marty's Better" Joi-sey chants, and maybe for a mili-second, agreed with them (at least for one night only).
tdr
what a disgrace
this team just gets worse and worse.
and that imbecile meathead tortelini just keeps changing lines and pitching his useless no-hockey-knowledge bullshit on a team of inferior overpaid washouts.
chico resch made a good point about the Rangers, that instead of worrying about doing "the little things" they need to score goals. seemed to be a dig on tortoretard who is always so focused on doing the little things.
the same questions keep coming up game after game including the continual question:
why is redden playing?
sad
sad
sad
embarrassing
pathetic
thank god i wont have to shell out for playoff tickets.
Sather's death in a fire would be a welcome report.
TDR, it sounds like you were at the game, so you may not have seen the replay, but on the broadcast it was clear that both the first goal and the last goal scored on Hank were deflections off of Rangers players. Girardi deflected the shot that went 5 hole on the 4 on 1 mess that got Hank pulled. I don't know if that changes your opinion but I really can't blame Hank on this one...
I was thinking about the fact that I didn't see much of Avery last night and I thought it was due to a lack of effort. It seems like it was also a lack of TOI. As reported by Brooks:
"Sean Avery, who got two shifts for 2:00 in the third, finished with 10:56 after being benched for the final 13:24. Avery, who was not on the ice for a goal either way, led the Rangers with four hits"
Correction...second and last goals were Ranger deflections. That first goal against was just a sweet shot.
Can't see how Hank gets fault for that. Dude faced a 3 on 1/4 on 1 (girardi was out and deflected it). Others were deflections and the one nice goal. He had shit in the way of defense all game. As usual, there will be idiots who see 5GA and claim HANK SUCKS!
Gabs-Prospal-Jokinen looked good. That Christensenn goal was pretty too. Other than that, they looked like asshole.
-j0ehoe
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