24-17-4: Season's Over!

What a wonderful meltdown we were fortunate enough to witness on Sunday afternoon. Porous defense from the New Jersey Devils (of all teams), whining and crying to the referees by formerly respectable NHL citizens, boneheaded minor leaguers playing like they're boneheaded minor leaguers ... and another win by the New York Rangers.

The Blueshirts beat their Hudson River rivals 4-1 to eliminate their awful opponents from the playoffs and keep their own roll through terrible teams going.

It's always a delight to see Brodeur properly humbled - especially when the stakes are high - so this was a fulfilling victory. But there was room for improvement (as there always is) and the Rangers need to keep this streak going if they are to make the playoffs and avoid the ignominy of ended up below the Islanders.

Late Hits:

*Hepatitis Elias whining, DeBoer screaming and swearing, Adam Henrique being a complete nonfactor, David Clarkson not trying to injure anyone ... what has this Devils team come to? And how can we ensure they keep it up?

*The Martin Brodeur that is without stellar defenders and a capable system in front of him is an utter failure, and thus he is the most overrated player in NHL history. While all signs show he should call it a career before more folks see his failures, his alimony payments continue for another seven years so it's almost certain he'll be back next fall. As long as he keeps playing like he did, we should encourage him to keep kicking the can.

*When big players screen goaltenders, your team has a better chance to score. Amazing, right? Clowe did what Brian Boyle has refused to do throughout his Ranger career and stood right in front, allowing Step to redirect McD's shot past Mmmmmaaaaarrrrttttyyyy.

*On big players, nice to see Taylor Pyatt again. Two goals in his last 41 games is ridiculous but he does now have a three-game point streak.

*As I posted on Twitter, the Rangers are 6-1 without Boyle this season and have outscored opponents 32-14 during those seven games. He may win some faceoffs but he unbalances the lines while playing on the periphery and is a black hole with the puck.

*Twenty-seven minutes of ice time for Dan Girardi against a team with exactly one real offensive threat (Kovalchuk). If G can still stand by next Sunday, much less still play, I'll be surprised. He ranks 14th overall in the NHL in total ice time, having played at least two - if not three - games less than 12 of the 13 ahead of him. And, he averages less power play time (2:04) than 18 of the top 21 ice time leaders with only Jay Bouwmeester (1:42) and Ryan McDonagh (0:36) below him. BTW, McD ranks 17th overall.

*Pointed it out a long time ago but it always strikes me as awesome when the American boys stay on the blue line after the anthem until the flag exits. This time it was Step left standing by himself, which was even more impressive.

*"Season's Over! Season's Over!" After much of the afternoon was spent in long stretches of silence interspersed by goal celebrations and the ensuing Mmmmmaaaaarrrrttttyyyys, that chant thundered around the arena in the third period. Delightful.

*Asham is such a waste of a sweater. He intimidates no one, he can't handle the puck, he takes stupid penalties, he puts forth a substandard effort against his former teams ... really, what's the point? Was that 10 minutes for chopping at Ryan Carter or just being a Rhodes Scholar?

*Torts gave Kreider more ice time but it was on the fourth line, not exactly putting him in a situation where he can succeed. Guess the bench boss wants the kid to fail, and will hold up his lack of production as 'proof' that he can't play in the NHL.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Derek Stepan - one goal and one assist.
2-Brad Richards - two assists.
1-Ryan Callahan - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Richard$ - Seven points in his last three games. That's what yer paid for Braden!
2-Step - He keeps playing like this, he will have to be considered for Team USA next year.
1-Cally - The captain made Fatso look the fool. Love it.