26-18-4: All's Well That Ends Ok

The Rangers completed their regular season schedule by beating a dead horse, destroying the lifeless, already-eliminated New Jersey Devils 4-0 in a game that really wasn't even that close.

The Blueshirts pressed the action from the opening puck drop and the final result was really never in doubt. The Devils' season was done, and they knew it. For the Rangers, it was good to spread some of the ice time around - Nash and Richards got less than 15, Chris Kreider way up to 15:05. Hell, Dan Girardi only saw 22:39 of ice time, the lowest in over a month and eight minutes less than last game.

Hard to say if the win will have an effect on the team heading into the playoffs, they did just lose to the worst team in the league a few days prior. But it is always a plus to beat our Hudson River rivals. Now it is on to the Capitals, yet again. Oh boy. (More on them in an upcoming post.)

Late Hits:

*The "We Want Marty!" chants were awesome. The "Mmmmmmaaaaaarrrrrrrtttttttyyyy"s notsomuch. Legitimately believe that much of the Garden believed that it was Fatso filling the New Jersey net instead of Moose.

*Love Hank and congratulations to him for his 51st career shutout but I'd like to see him get even one nono without wearing a mask. Bet he wouldn't be as willing to play shots off his head ...

*The continued disgrace (and likely fatal flaw) of this franchise: an 0-6 power play.

*Four minor penalties taken, two hooks, a trip and an interference - all lazy calls that come from being out of position.

*Step, Cally and Hagelin. What do they all have in common? They're all Ranger draft picks who spent time in Hartford, are selfless in their play and willing to do anything for the franchise. It is of little wonder they are working so well together, we've seen 'Pack' players click consistently over the last few years only to have the head coach break them up. Remember Dubi/Prucha/Dawes? Perhaps it is time to leave them alone.

*Man, would Cally's shorthanded breakaway in the first period been a wonderful goal. Damn.

*On the first Nash goal Richard$ lost the faceoff but hustled after the puck and got it out to Nash for the easy finish. The second saw him perfectly pick Zuke out on the far side for the fast feed to Nash for another gimme. Having two playmakers provide the puck to the sniper is a nice luxury, but come the playoffs even the fearless Norwegian will find it tough carrying the physical load for the line.

*With Ryane Clowe out, Taylor Pyatt has to be tougher. He has the size, he has the ability ... he played nearly 18 minutes and was invisible.

*Haven't seen Kovalchuk castrated like that since the days of Sean Avery.

*Del Zaster, geez. It was comical watching him fumble the puck and fall all over himself. It won't be as amusing in the playoffs.

*Dammit, yet another season without receiving Blueshirts off our Backs. I wonder why? I think it woulda been quite amusing to hand my Scotty Hockey sweater to either Asham or DZ.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 20 saves.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal and one assist.
1-Rick Nash - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Richard$ - One of his best performances of the season; not like that is saying much, but still worthy of recognition.
2-Cally - Love the Adam Graves comparison made by the NBC crew. I've always said it was a MASSIVE mistake to give Brian Leetch the post-Messier captaincy. Incredible player, not a leader.
1-Step - He doesn't wear a letter ... yet. 

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. 

15-12-2: Back-To-Back

The Rangers followed up Monday's dull, ugly victory over the Carolina Hurricanes with a dull, ugly victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. As in the front half of the back-to-back, the homegrown Blueshirts powered the team to victory, but this time no shootout was needed as they defeated their Hudson River rivals 3-2 in regulation.

The main factor in this one was the goaltending: in the Ranger net was the Swedish King, the Devils an old Swedish sieve. Rick Nash broke a two-all tie with a softball past Hedberg, and Hank survived the siege over the remaining 32 minutes to turn the lead into two points. The King's kinda good, and he will have to keep it up until Richard$, Nash and Gaborik regain their skills and start scoring with some regularity (if they ever do).

I'm low on time so right into the Late Hits:

*The first few minutes were shaky but there were no penalties taken and no goals against. Definitely an improvement.

*As with Monday's game, the best Blueshirts were homegrown; the Stepan-Hagelin-Callahan line was outstanding. We need to come up with a good name for the tenacious trio, should Torts keep them together for any real length of time ...

*Few things are better to me than shorthanded goals and Del Zaster's was delightful. Derek Stepan, by far the best Ranger not named Lundqvist, created and DZ completed a work of art. Devil fans wailed and whined it was a high stick but some nicely inconclusive replays let it stand to open the night's scoring.

*But, easy come, easy go. DZ had his first assist of the night when he kindly kicked the puck right to Travis Zajac to score the equalizer. The kid is decent on one side of the ice, subpar on the other. He has to be better on both.

*DZ's second assist was a feed through the neutral zone moments after Hank saved his bacon back in the Blueshirts' end. Nash adjusted to the wild pass to pick it up in stride and snapped it past Hedberg, who didn't even bother to move. He was quite like a soccer goalkeeper who stands still while someone blasts a kick past him from the penalty spot.

*I think Hedberg and Anton Volchenkov were the only ones on the ice not screening Hank on Volchenkov's equalizer.

*No fights, few hits, little physicality. There was some intensity as the Rangers went into their usual cling-to-the-lead shell but it didn't really feel like a rivalry game.

*A large factor for that was the smaller portion of Ranger fans inside the Rock. The Cup run last season clearly brought in a bandwagon full of fans. They're not the brightest - I'm unsure how many words they know aside from "sucks" - but they are far louder than the formerly usual fare in Newark. They loved to bellow "Mooooose" for Hedberg but not one knew why he was called that (he had a Manitoba Moose mask when he was called up by Pittsburgh years ago and the yinzers started calling him that).

*Those same fans ripped Hank for diving early in the second period. After I said, "oh, because you've never seen Brodeur dive," I realized that most have not - Fatso has hardly played this season.

*Hit. The. Net.

*The Rangers have to stop with Roman Hamrlik already. The team needed a defenseman, he was out there, the move made sense. But he is too old, too slow of skate and mind, his time is past. The trade deadline is rapidly approaching and surely someone better is out there.

*So glad David Clarkson and Adam Henrique were nonfactors.

*Dan Girardi had a big hand in negating that hated duo while playing half the damned game. If Sather can shore up the blueline with better defenders, Torts can cut Girardi's ice time so he won't be exhausted come playoff time - like he was last year.

*Brian Boyle has been atrocious. He is dragging Pyatt and Miller down, and that is a shame. At some point that oversized reclamation project needs to be scrapped - it had some moments of success but they have been few and far between for too long.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Travis Zajac - one goal.
2-Rick Nash - one goal.
1-Michael Del Zotto - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Zajac - For years he toiled in Parise's shadow but now that Zach chased the money to Minnesota, Zajac's all-around ability is more apparent.
2-Stepan - Another outstanding game by the Badger.
1-Lundqvist - The Devils had their opportunities but Hank shut them down. The two goals against were hardly his fault and he was a wall the rest of the night. 

4-5-0: Rock Bottom?

In the wee hours of the fall mornings, while waiting for the KHL games to kick off, I swore that I would not be as wrapped up in the NHL again if they ever did come back. I also swore I would stop blogging about the Blueshirts because, dammit, if they didn't care about me, I wouldn't care about them. Well, we all know how that worked out.

Games like last night's 3-1 utter debacle against the Devils reinforced my reasoning. It has been a battle of mine for years and years to acknowledge that the players will never care about their on-ice fortunes as much as we fans care about them. But last night was a win for the bad guys, as the lackluster display proved that they just don't have that passion. Or any passion, as near as I could tell from the (literally) last row of the Rock.

The Rangers played a poor, predictable brand of puck at the Prudential Center that was easily countered by Lou's Losers. New York's caustic coach is left looking clueless as his yelling, screaming and atrocious sense of accountability has badgered his boys into being the Skating Dead. They are too afraid to take penalties that their offensive edge is gone and the defensive shell they fall back into fails when the best defenseman is missing and the goaltender is off his game. And let's just not mention the power play ...

Last night's gutless garbage begs the question, has this team hit rock bottom? Or are we going to see something worse on Thursday against the Isles? Is that even possible? I shudder to think of the reply ...

Late Hits:

*Ok, let's mention the power play. The one time when it should be alright for the players to be creative, for Richie to be fancypasser, Nash to showboat and Gabby to shoot the wheels off. Instead, the utter lack of a quarterback has led to the same predictable passes through the same predictable lanes to the same predictable players standing in the same predictable positions. And, last night, that led to New Jersey having more of an advantage shorthanded then they did anytime else.

*The Devils did their best impression of last year's Rangers - blocking shots, stepping up, being daring - to smack down the ineffective offense of this season's edition of the Blueshirts.

*It was nights like that that reinforce my belief that Brodeur is the most overrated player in NHL history. The PHW made him the top star of the game, a game where he wasn't tested for the majority of the night. He made one save of any importance, which he did by flopping his fat rear end down on the ice. The only sweating he probably did was in anticipation of his next alimony payment. And yet he was feted like he did something special. Ridiculous.

*That being said, he was still better than Hank. The King has not been himself, likely due to a combination of factors - he didn't play during the lockout despite Frolunda bending over backwards to be able to afford him, and he became a dad. Not that I am one, but supposedly that changes ones perspective on what is important in life.

*Wasn't big on JT Miller when he was drafted, wasn't big on him when I saw him in Hartford, wasn't big on him when I watched the WJCs. But he was the best Ranger on the ice against the Devs. Of course, sadly, that isn't saying a helluva lot but kudos to the kid for a strong debut. He made some smart little plays and never stopped skating. Impressive stuff.

*Kreider looked more comfortable as the game went on, and it was nice to see him score. At the outset, it was clear he was afraid to get checked but, by the third period, he was more involved and more willing to take a hit to make a play. At the time his goal seemed to be a fluke, but replays show it was one helluva shot.

*Del Zaster: 37 minutes and 51 seconds of power play this season. No goals, one assist. And I'm not even going to address his defensive delinquencies on this evening.

*Arron Asham is close to being the most despicable, senseless signing by the Rangers all-time, getting close to Donald Brashear territory. Asham, a long time villain in these parts, was supposed to add his aggressive edge to the Rangers and instead plays like a pu... poorly, he plays very poorly.

*Which, of course, leads so some of my usual rhetoric - rhetoric that will be heavily denied in some circles, utterly ignored in some more and agreed with in others: the Rangers chances were ruined by Tortorella chasing Sean Avery out of town, yet again. There were dozens of games last season, last playoffs and on several occasions so far this campaign that the Grate One would have helped.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Patrik Elias - three assists.
2-David Clarkson - two goals and one assist.
1-Martin Brodeur - 24 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Adam Henrique - Damn do I loathe this guy. Rapidly reaching the upper levels of most-hated Devils alongside Claude Lemieux, Scott Stevens and Mmmmmaaaarrrrtttyyyyy.
2-Elias - Ole Hepatitis himself is still kickin', still one of the more underrated players in the NHL.
1-Clarkson - The "bonehead minor leaguer" was allowed to run roughshod around the Ranger end and he made the most of his moment to shine. What a shame. 

R3, G6: So That's That, I Guess

The Rangers finished off pissing away a perfectly good season on Friday night by losing their third straight game to the New Jersey Devils, failing 4-2 in the best-of-seven conference final. In those three of those losses combined, the Blueshirts spotted New Jersey a 7-0 lead in the first periods and - not-so-shockingly - couldn't rally to win a single one. Unlike Wednesday's late lapse, they forced an overtime in this one but simply blew it a minute into the extra period and lost 3-2.

Really not sure what else to say at this point, I'm more shell-shocked than anything. I stood in my spot unmoving from the second the puck went in until the security started pushing people out of the arena and I'm still dazed. It is hard to accept that the season is over. And it ended like that. To them. Soul crushing.

The Devils weren't the better team, they were the better coached team. Their OHL bench boss set steady lines that played the same way shift in and shift out and period in and period out and that consistency carried them past the erratic and exhausted Rangers. Mmmaaarrtttyyyy was handed his redemption for '94, he hardly earned it - especially in this series-ender. Half the Blueshirts blueliners were exhausted, the other half incompetent. And the NYR high-priced help was no help at all while both Kovy and Parise played a part in their victory. But no matter the rambling reasoning, the simple fact is that the Devils won and the Rangers lost.

Go Kings Go.

No Late Hits tonight.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Martin Brodeur - 33 saves.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal.
1-Adam Henrique - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Kovy - The Russian was a factor, the Slovak was not.
2-Cally - Really hard to imagine that this was his first season as captain.
1-Henrique - As a friend joked, Henrique said he would give his left nut for a chance to play in the Cup Final and he nearly did.

Programming Note: The annual report card should be done in the next week. There may also be a retrospective on the season as I experienced it at some point, as it started in Europe and (hopefully) will end in L.A. I'm not sure if I will bring back the Facts of Life series again, I may just do a longer, more detailed report card. Right now it is hard writing about this team.

R3, G5: It Ain't Over, But It's Close

The Rangers moved one loss away from summertime on Wednesday night, losing 5-3 to the Devils in Game 5 of the best-of-seven.

In typical fashion, the Rangers stumbled out of the gate and gave up three quick goals to fall behind the eight ball. In typical fashion, the Rangers got their act together to mount a rally. They even tied the game ... before blowing it.

Supposedly it was wildly entertaining, but that is not what I would call it. I found it like many of the games this season: infuriating, and ultimately heartbreaking. The coach can't get the guys to show up on time, they struggled to establish their forecheck and for long stretches they made it all too easy for the opposing goaltender to make saves. But when they got their act together, the Blueshirts looked great - they looked like a team that could challenge Los Angeles for the Stanley Cup. The inconsistency killed them and it put the franchise in a perilous situation.

As someone said after the game (apologies to whoever it was), 'I look around out there, and I don't see any Messiers to make any guarantees. And that sucks.' It does, but this team doesn't need a singular saviour, they all need to step up their game and play the way that they can. For 60 minutes. For once.

Late Hits:

*The Mmmaaaarrrrttttyyyy chant after Gabby's game-tying goal was perhaps the loudest ever, definitely the loudest I ever bore witness to. So awesome.

*Finally saw the replays, shocked that Cally's goal counted. Absolutely shocked. Happy! But shocked. He clearly kicks that puck in with his left skate. Guess it just goes towards the whole 'going to the net is good' thing ...

*How did Cally not score on that power play?!? Damned post, helping out Brodeur. Red post, red jersey. Coincidence!?!?

*The power play went 0-for-2. Ugh. The Devils' kill is at 72.9% - 13th out of the 16 playoff teams.

*Not sure what was funnier, Brodeur's whale out of water flop on the Prust goal or Pruster's second period dive. The replay showed he kinda fell over the skirt on the net but, still, that looked hilarious.

*Hagelin is goal-less in his last 28 games.

*Rupp is pointless in his last 45. Check that, he has always been pointless.

*Richard$ doesn't have a goal in this series but damned if he didn't try to get one. On Henke. Whoops.

*Don't get the decision to start Stu over Eminger, as Torts' reasoning to insert Eminger still stood - Stu is so slow.

*After the 2-0 timeout, the Rangers had two exceptional chances keyed by Ruslan Fedotenko. The first he fed a sneaky, sneaky Gabby but the Slovak sniper was off the mark. The second he just shot the damned puck and forced a rebound that neither Kreider nor Gabby could jam past the girth of the goaltender. Despite seeing those chances squandered, the Ukrainian later threw the puck into space and Prust picked it up to score. Feds has more than earned his season salary with his performance in these playoffs.

*For all those who hold +/- in high regard, your hero was a Del Zastrous -3. But, unlike the last game, all was not entirely his fault. He went in for an unnecessary hit, abandoning his position on the 1-0 Gionta goal - which could also be hung on Step for giving up on the play after taking a stick to the face. On the 3-0 Zajac goal he was trying to help guard the 3-on-2 and Travis just blew it past him and Hank - Hank has to stop that. And DZ won the race to the puck on the game-winning goal but didn't bother addressing it with Kovalchuk coming. He took his hand off his stick to try to hold off Kovy, the stick came up and he didn't make any contact with the puck at all, allowing Gionta to feed it to Carter - a feed that went past Girardi and Richard$ to a player who got a step on Hagelin. Plenty of blame to go around for all. But I still hang him for two of the three (not the Zajac) and for the fact that, despite being an "offensive defenseman," DZ pissed away two minutes of power play time, wasn't on for a single goal for and didn't get a single shot on net.

*Saw that Boyle won 13 of 14 faceoffs. Honestly, didn't notice. Good for him.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ruslan Fedotenko - one assist.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal.
1-Ryan Carter - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Elias - Sure his goal was a fluke but he was involved all night. Have to hope that doesn't jumpstart the Czech back into being his usual Ranger-killing self.
2-Feds - Aside from Hank and mayyyybe McD, the best Ranger of these playoffs. There's no panic in his game, just all-out effort.
1-Little Gionta - Little Gionta, that's redundant. Stephen channeled 'big' bro Brian to actually be relevant for the first time in his NHL career. Nice timing. Jerk.

R3, G4: The Double Edged Sword Of Truculence

Not to get all Brian Burke on you but truculence is one of the pillars of this sport of hockey that we love (and a fun word to say). It is a byproduct of the passion that its players have for winning. 'I want to win more than you do and I will do anything and everything in my power to do it.' When truculence is harnessed, it is as powerful as a slapshot. But when it gets loose, it hurts more than it helps.

In the first period Ryan McDonagh battled with Adam Henrique and was goaded into fighting. The Rangers have needed a good fight or three in recent weeks but never got it. And they didn't get it this time either. McDonagh lost his mind and his gloves and got 5 minutes for his trouble. The shame he was feeling in the box was heightened when the Devils scored a few minutes later, all but sealing their victory given the circumstances - the zombie-like effort given by the Blueshirt offense.

But, as mentioned, truculence is a tool for good as well and it was used as such in the third period. Mike Rupp, likely the best Ranger all night (man it pains me to write that), capped off his performance with a great hit on Peter Harrold. The ref inexplicably called a rough on the clean check and, perhaps responding to a wisecrack from Brodeur, Rupp gave the goaltender a little shove. Brodeur did his usual acting routine and a scrum broke out. Torts went nuts on the Devils' OHL coach and, of little surprise, the team responded soonafter by breaking Brodeur's shutout. It was not a coincidence, and it should have came two periods prior.

No matter how the media want to build shot blocking up, the success secured by the Rangers so far this season has been through the proper use of truculence, whether it be Prust fighting to set the mood or Callahan hitting everything that moves. The Blueshirts win when they channel that violence and use it to dictate play. Recent games have seen them reacting, not acting - and they have indeed escaped with a few wins - but they will not get the big win unless they start using that truculence again the right way.

The only way.

Late Hits:

*Del Zastrous. If the excuse is indeed a death in his family then he shouldn't have been playing. As the saying goes, if you aren't all there you shouldn't be there at all. And if he took the night off to mourn, no one would have blamed him for it (not even me, grandmas are special). But this begs the question, what is his excuse for making those same mistakes throughout the season?

*DZ's benching was a major topic of conversation but where was Arty Anisimov in this one?

*And, hell, where was Brad Richard$? Twenty quiet minutes of ice time. The best players need to be the best players and Parise was the Devils' best player. As mentioned above, I believe Mike Rupp was the best Ranger. Ugh.

*Have to ask again, why would Prust have headhunted Volchenkov? The Devils defender opened the door for a Ranger comeback at the end of the first period with a bad penalty. Sadly the Rangers were only able to get one good chance in the two minutes - from Kreider (who else?) - and Brodeur made his best save of the night.

*Carl Hagelin, the Swedish Scourge of the NHL. A serial offender! Credit to the Ranger PK for killing both ridiculous, fabricated penalties off. Wonder what would have happened had he scored off of the Salvador turnover in the first period, as Zajac made it a 2-0 game a minute or so later.

*Might be nice for Boyle to recapture whatever magic he had before the first round headshot right about now. He hasn't been using his size, he hasn't been going to the tough parts of the ice, he hasn't done much of anything. Except grow some great facial hair. So at least he has that going for him.

*Said for a long time that the Rangers are the Kings East or the Kings are the Rangers West as the teams have such similar constitutions. Sutter pointed out the other day that L.A. scores a lot of goals off deflections and through traffic - which is clearly the case with the Rangers as the Blueshirts D keeps putting up points. Feds got his goal by using a Devil D as a screen, Gabby would be wise to follow suit. Brodeur is easily getting a bead on the puck as it leaves the Slovak's stick.

*Anyone want to go fish Sean Avery's skates out of the Hudson for him? But seriously, if Dubi and Zuke are able to take contact, they should certainly be given a shot in Game 5 - this team needs some fresh legs.

*Saw that Ranger fans were allowed to skate on the Garden ice ahead of the viewing party. That is awesome, credit to the team for finally being fan-friendly. That being said, I'm quite glad I didn't use a vacation day from work to go either to the game or the Garden.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Bryce Salvador - one goal and one assist.
2-Martin Brodeur - 28 saves.
1-Zach Parise - two goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Zajac - Travis has chemistry with Parise thanks to spending many seasons together. There is little to no chemistry among the Ranger forwards.
2-Salvador - Turnover to Hagelin aside, solid game from Salvador. Three goals in the playoffs, none in 82 regular season games.
1-Parise - Don't care what team he ends up on next year as long as it is out West.

R3, G3: Just do it, right?

"I said to you guys who aren't used to covering hockey or watching playoffs a lot: the most important part of the playoffs are goaltending, special teams, how your top players play. So just do it, right?" --Darryl Sutter, May 20th

Well, the Rangers got it done in Game 3 against the Devils with two of the three. Hank was his sovereign self with 36 saves - mostly tough ones - and the special teams came through with a power play goal and five kills. As for that last part, well, Marian Gaborik and Brad Richard$ had largely forgettable afternoons. So there's that left to do.

The game as a whole was, as everyone was readily pointing out afterwards, a mirror of the series opener: atrocious open, middling middle and exciting end. Girardi scored, then Kreider, then someone added an empty net, and then thousands of Ranger fans went home happy.

Late Hits:

*The Devils' act is getting old. Zubrus did it last round, Volchenkov did it yesterday. Go down, act like you've been bludgeoned and pray for a big call. Then get right back on the ice because you weren't actually injured at all. New Jersey's OHL coach is making his players act like children, whining and crying over every little thing and the sad part is that it is working. And DeBoer's ludicrous claim that Prust was headhunting? Who in their right mind would go after Anton Volchenkov of all people? Especially when he has been the Devils worst defenseman these playoffs. But it must be said that DeBoer's tactics have worked, as Prust has been suspended for one game ... by a man who owes the start and the end of NHL career to the New Jersey franchise. What a farce.

*How is it that this Kreider kid knows more about scoring from the tough areas then his older teammates? He slides through the crease and scores while Boyle and the other guys continue to play on the outskirts. Buzz around Brodeur and things happen. They have to pretend they are bees going after a picnic meal, which should be easy because Brodeur probably smells like sandwiches.

*Heard various stories about fights going on around the arena but there were none in the sections around me (118). Saw one going on downstairs in the third period that was quickly diffused with the Ranger fan, of course, being the one getting tossed.

*Do Devils fans know any words aside from 'sucks'? That seemed to be the insult of choice of the Jersey Mensans. It was so cute that they figured out how to spell their team's name - that's progress for the New Jersey public school systems.

*Loved participating in the Mmmmaaarrrtttyyyy chants, especially the one after the empty net goal. That was just rubbing it in, which is delicious.

*Brad Richard$ stupid interference penalty with four minutes left gave the Devils a golden chance to get back into the game and they came inches away from doing it, ringing a puck off the iron. All season long the Blueshirts have talked about being more disciplined and yet they took some horrid, unacceptable penalties.

*Mike Rupp took one, of course, because how else can he prove to his family that he is actually playing in this series? He can't skate, he can't stickhandle, he won't fight ... really, what's the point? He has the size, he showed he has a shot back in the Winter Classic (and that hat trick he scored against us), and yet he bounces around doing nothing.

*Steve Eminger actually looked better than expected, for his six minutes of ice time.

*Sorry, I don't pay as much credence to Torts' time out as the turnaround point, there was no sudden injection of energy or anything like that. The team that came out for the third period was different than the one that did for the first two.

*Fedotenko continued to be one of the most valuable Rangers of the playoffs, grinding, hitting, working the puck out of trouble areas. It was his work that led to Cally grabbing the empty net, just the usual soldier stuff from the Ukrainian. That's what you're paid for Braden.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Martin Brodeur - 19 saves.
2-Dan Girardi - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 36 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Kreider - So, working around the net is a good thing?
2-McDonagh/Girardi - Offense, defense, whatever. Just hope that they can survive all of these minutes ...
1-Hank - Yep. Again.

R3, G2: Terrible Twos

I'm not a parent or anything, but I believe that the Terrible Twos are when screaming, squirming toddlers learn to use the potty. Well, the Rangers certainly soiled the bed on Wednesday night, their third straight unpleasant Game 2 performance.

As with the previous two series, the Blueshirts followed up a stellar opener with a stinker. They came out flat, they were not physical, they were not willing to pay the price to win. And they didn't. And it was thanks to John Tortorella, again. For all of his hollering on the bench (and obnoxiousness off it), the clueless head coach couldn't motivate his players to play the right way and his idiotic intimidation tactics backfired.

While letting Stepan and Del Zaster (among others) skate despite severe, unacceptable defensive gaffes, Torts decided to pick out another player - he benched Marian Gaborik, while his team was desperate for a goal. The head coach's ideas of accountability have been screwed up from the start of his tenure on Broadway (Sean Avery, need I say more?) but that he feels the need to push buttons and give lessons with his team in Game 2 of the conference finals is just asinine. Or perhaps that is just another instance when his ego takes center stage - he feels like his team can piss away a home win because they can prevail in the end.

Personally, I feel that belief is idiotic because the team that Torts insisted was not tired is clearly skating at a quarter of the speed that they were and they are playing a different style than the one that made them first in the East this season. They are far, far, far less physical and far more willing to sit back and block shots than to challenge the shooters.

But, hey, the Rangers prevailed in the last two series despite the different philosophy and obnoxious head coach so perhaps the trend will continue and the Blueshirts will survive. Perhaps.

Late Hits:

*After Game 2 of the Washington series I wrote, "the Blueshirts made little effort to get rebounds and barely had any bodies around the net ... the one time someone actually set up in front they scored." Same thing this time around. Instead of doing a flyby like Richard$ or Cally or Boyle or any of the other guys, Kreider actually set up and tipped in Anton Stralman's shot. The kid is continually proving that the Nash non-trade was the right move - Nash wilted in his first trip to the playoffs while Kreider is coming of age.

*For the second straight game, serious credit to Mmmaaaarrrtttyyy - this time for an amazing kick save while lying on his prodigious gut. Perhaps, like some kind of sick cannibalistic Highlander sequel, he ate Dominick Hasek and gained the Czech's power to make these sprawling, last second saves. Whatever it was, these saves were outstanding.

*Mmmaaaarrrtttyyy did his best beached whale impression multiple times and yet the Rangers were only able to take advantage once, with the ricochet off the end boards. The distended Devil is opening the door but the Blueshirts weren't bothering to walk through it. They were outhustled and outmuscled and they made Fayne, Greene and Salvador look like Robinson, Savard and Lapointe. That trio is not Robinson, Savard or Lapointe. Not even close.

*Now, on to someone who could have entered that pantheon of Habs blueliners: Ryan McDonagh. My exhausted memory recalls McDonagh having himself one heroic shift in the second period. First he hurt his hand blocking a shot with his glove, then he went to hit someone along the boards, then he took the puck off his skate and was still in the play basically on one foot. He soldiered through until the whistle, went to the bench and didn't miss a shift. Just outstanding to see.

*A note on Torts' idea of accountability: Mike Rupp played like he was petrified to take a penalty. Saw him skating behind a Devil at one point with his hands raised, to ensure that the refs saw that he wasn't hooking or holding or doing anything. But that is exactly it, he wasn't doing anything. Rupp couldn't goad Clarkson into a fight jawing across the red line and then did little to get the Devil or, frankly, any of the Devils off of their game. Having him slowly lumber around like a dinosaur isn't doing anyone any good. And Torts continually putting him on the ice immediately after a Ranger goal is utterly baffling.

*Brandon Prust was probably the best Ranger in the first period. Sadly he then saw just four shifts in the second period and couldn't keep momentum going.

*Saw Hagelin lose his lid, letting those magnificent locks flow free. And what a sight to see. Ron Duguay who? That interference penalty that was called on him in the first period was a farce. But the officiating in general was amusingly bad so whatever.

*As my buddy Lazz said, they ought to buy Stephane Matteau a seat on either side of the rink so he can sit right behind Mmmmaaaarrttttyyy all game. That ought to get into the goaltender's head a bit.

*Another friend of the blog, Joakim, was remarking to me on the weird career Stralman has had - from Sweden to failing on three poor NHL teams to rumours of a return to Sweden to decent minutes on the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He now has three goals and three assists in these playoffs - twice as many points as Feds and Hagelin, five more then Prust, Mitch and McD and six more than Rupp.

*Utterly Del Zastrous night. The team got stuck in their own zone during many of his 30 shifts, he was largely useless on the power play, he was on the ice for the last two goals against and he shoved a Devil directly into Hank. Taking out your own goaltender is a bad thing kiddo. As near as I can tell, when chasing for a puck, he would rather be beaten there, ignore the thing and make contact - so he doesn't get hit himself. Sometimes you have to pay the price to make the play and he should realize that. Also counted twice that he was farther in the opposition zone than the Ranger forwards, both of which plays ended up coming back the other way.

*Is Fedotenko snakebitten or what?

*The penalty box door getting stuck was outstanding. Talk about a player having to feel shame, Travis Zajac had to stand around the entire time. It was laugh out loud funny watching him as the staff tried everything to open the door.

*Kovalchuk's game-opening power play goal was bad. Real bad. Hank's angle was off, opening up the far side and the Russian sniper, of course, sent the puck right in there. Not the world class goaltending we've come to expect from the King.

*When they showed that hot chick Kate Upton on the big board, did I see it right? Did she have the rally towel upside-down?

*Clarkson scoring ... ugh. Need Dubi or Avery to come back and kick his ass (won't happen, but a nice thought).

*PHW Three Stars
3-Bryce Salvador - two assists.
2-Chris Kreider - one goal.
1-David Clarkson - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Marek Zidlicky - The former Ranger draft pick was everything that Del Zaster wasn't: calm, poised and capable carrying the puck.
2-Adam Henrique - Solid two-way play and success inside the circle gives him the edge over fellow rookie Kreider, who was perhaps the best Ranger forward in the losing effort.
1-Marc Staal - The Blueshirt blueliner played a game-high 27:26, wasn't on the ice for a single goal against, attempted six shots - more than any other Ranger - and scored.

R3, G1: Another Game 1 Win

While it is truly delightful to defeat Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils - as the Rangers did 3-0 on Monday - any enjoyment must be tempered due to the other Game 1s the Blueshirts went through this spring. New York came out on top in the series openers against both Ottawa and Washington only to put forth an atrocious performance in the follow up.

Besides, it isn't like the Rangers blew out the Devils in any way. The first period was the two teams feeling themselves out and the second saw the Blueshirts sleepwalk their way to the buzzer, as Hank saved their bacon. They woke up in time for the third period and grabbed the momentum with Dan Girardi's goal in the first minute.

The trick now will be to carry that momentum to Wednesday. The Devils were a bit rusty at the outset of this one and were far from the physical team that stood up to the Bullies, you can be sure that won't be the case again so the Blueshirts had better bring it.

Late Hits:

*Always loathe to give Fatso any credit for his goaltending - most of his career numbers are a facade - but his diving glove save on Staal was outstanding. Good thing Steve Bernier boarded Girardi seconds later, eliminating any boost that the Devils may have gained.

*And the penalty resulted in a power play goal. Scored by Chris Kreider. How about that? A young scorer on the power play. The man advantage had been so poor the previous three attempts that people were actually calling for John Mitchell to get on the ice. Love Ranger fan sarcasm.

*The saddest thing about the Ranger special team is that Hank's best saves of the game came while the team had a man advantage - the back-to-back-to-back stops on Zach Parise in the second period. He had three straight shots on Hank, because Del Zaster completely botched the play. No shock there. For a few seasons now, when the opposition gets a penalty, I rock in my seat and rant 'no shorties, no shorties, no shorties ...' And DZ nearly handed one to the Devils on a silver platter in the Eastern Conference Finals. Gross incompetence. (BTW, the rant came thanks to that scarring Mike Richards three-on-five goal way back when.)

*And before anyone throws DZ's secondary assist on the first goal out there in his defense, it was actually a bank off the boards right to Bryce Salvador. Luckily the Devils defender turned his body sideways and missed it, allowing Kreider to streak in and take control. The kid then fed the puck back to Girardi, and Dan-O threaded his shot though traffic - two Devils skaters and Derek Stepan.

*Step was a soldier in this one, recovering from one painful-looking shot block in the first period on Kovalchuk. He has just one goal in his last 20 games but he has been doing the little things that help the team win. While he did not experience a sophomore slump this season - he actually increased his point total - the former Badger went through small stretches of invisibility. Once he puts everything together consistently, he will be one hell of a player.

*Really question if two of the Rangers' regular warriors Cally and Prust are battling injuries. Given the wear and tear they suffered this season, it would be no surprise. They are working as hard as ever but the level of play is not at the high standard they have set. Luckily Hagelin and Fedotenko have stepped in to lead the forecheck in their place.

*Hockey fans in New York must really feel that this series is something special, because there were far fewer Devil fans at MSG than usual. Most of those that were there were sadly subjected to scathing belittling and berating. Just because these people have no taste in hockey teams (and likely suffer from some sort of mental disability) doesn't mean they should be called, pardon me for repeating, "pussies and faggots." The part-timers and bandwagoners need to learn that they should have some class, they aren't from Philadelphia. We are New York Ranger fans, Original Six diehards and have the nobility to go with the history.

*That being said, the crass, classic "Uncle Daddy" chant right at the start of the night was fantastic.

*Anyone see David Clarkson? Did he go back to the minor leagues?

*And on that topic, yes the Rangers won and yes they did not need him tonight but I still missed Sean Avery. Well, more than usual. He and the injured Dubinsky always brought a snarl to the rivalry games that was absent last evening.

*It was nice to see Arty and Kreider click, but they had better be prepared for the physical assault that is surely coming. The Devils gave the kids a lot of room and DeBoar will certainly stop that going forward.

*Vince Vaughn hanging out at the game? He jumped on the Blackhawk bandwagon, will he now move to the Blueshirt one?

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ryan McDonagh - very good defense.
2-Dan Girardi - one goal and one assist.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 21 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Staal and McD - Third star gets split between the two because they were both solid on both sides of the ice. They, along with Girardi, did quite well in keeping Kovy and Elias quiet.
2-Hank - Sure he made just 21 saves thanks to the Blueshirts blocking 26 more shots but of those 21 at least 10 were really solid saves. The crowd in front is a help as well as a hinderance and yet he still came through to pitch the clean sheet.
1-Girardi - An undrafted free agent, the best defenseman in these NHL playoffs. Saw him with the HNIC towel after the game, which must have been a dream come true for him - well deserved.

45-20-7: Delightful Defeat Of The Devils

Opponents of puck fisticuffs will claim that the game is good without the pugilism, for there is a poetry in the motion of skill - in, say, anything Pavel Datsyuk ever does.

But there is a beauty of another kind in the game, the kind that comes with the pure hatred of rivalries. Seeing the players' seething dislike for the opposition is positively heartwarming - because it is one of the rare moments when you can actually believe that they care as much as you do. The Mona Lisa moment of last night's game came off of the initial faceoff with it's trio of bouts.

These were no nonsensical staged bouts to justify the neanderthal goon culture, as many of the fights between these two teams have been this season. This was a statement by both squads, a warning that neither would be an easy opponent - especially with the playoffs coming and despite recent disappointments. And, unlike the February 7th game between the teams that also started with pugilism, the Rangers actually responded in this one with a spirited performance and they went on to defeat the Devils 4-2.

Now the trick of it will be gaining some momentum from the win. The schedule lends well to it as five of the next six games are against teams out of playoff position but that also means that they are all the more dangerous. The one that is against a playoff team is vs. Detroit but the Wings have melted without injured Nick Lidstrom; you'd suck too without the second- or third-best defenseman of all-time in your lineup. So we'll just have to see, but the win against New Jersey was a nice step forward.

Late Hits:

*Should rumours be true and Martin Brodeur was thinking of calling it a career after this season, he might be reconsidering now. There is no way a competitor like he supposedly is would want to leave the lasting memory of this game as his final on Garden ice. Although he did manage to punctuate his performance with one of his signature flops; while his antics won't be missed, the serenades of Mmmmaaaaarrrrtttyyy from around the arena will.

*While mocking Mmmaaarrttyyy is always a fun pastime, it must be mentioned that his Ranger counterpart was not particularly good in this one either. Both goals against were uncharacteristically awful. As I tweeted, one has to wonder if he is playing himself out of his long-deserved Vezina. Pekka Rinne and Nashville are as good as ever while chinks are starting to appear in the King's armour. There is still time to get things back together but there is also enough cause for concern.

*French playwright Pierre Corneille wrote "to take revenge halfheartedly is to court disaster: Either condemn or crown your hatred." Brandon Dubinsky donned the crown on this night, with a little help from his friends. First Bickel battered Carter, and when that idiot Bryce Salvador tried to get involved Dubi was the first one over to intervene. Luckily Dubi escaped penalty himself as less than a minute later he converted a feed from Step for just his second goal in his last 20 games. And, to top it off, he fired the shot that Step tipped past Fatso for the game-sealing goal. It was good to see 17 step up and show he still can be a big part of this team, after more than a few nights of nothingness.

*Dubi's goal came after Step shanked his first pass attempt. The mistake drew the defender towards Step, opening up the lane for Dubi. Love when that works out that way. His own assist was just as fortuitous as it appeared like he was heading back to the bench when Hagelin's pass came from down low.

*Quickly on the fights, Stuuuuu vs Carter was clearly the top tilt of the three - even if most of the injury came from the fall to the ice. Rupp beat up Boulton, who seemed like he didn't want to fight. And poor Prust clung on to Janssen for dear life. Ever since that Barch fight earlier this season he simply has not been the same.

*Not sure how much credit should be given to the Devils but Marian Gaborik was limited to just two shots and missed the net on both. Gabby was largely invisible all night aside from one sexy shift with Hags and Richard$ where they kept the puck deep in the Devils end but ultimately came up empty.

*Seeing Kovalchuk get frustrated during the Devil power play in the third period brought back memories of the sweep of the Thrashers several years back. Delightful. It is amazing for as good a player as he is, how easy it is to knock him off his game.

*Yet another evening where Tim Erixon looked capable. The extra time with Wade Redden and JJ Daignault has certainly helped the Swedish youngster as he is stronger and more decisive. That being said, Torts clearly doesn't trust him and is trying to shield him from tougher opponents - tougher physically and skillfully. And yet Torts trusts Del Zaster despite being burned again and again. Ah well.

*Love everything that Zuke is doing right now. The Norwegian registered three hits - one of which was outstanding on Volchenkov in the corner - and he added a power play goal, one from going to the net and being in a position to pounce when the puck went his way. It is clear that the kid has done all that he has to in his own end to gain Torts' trust and earn more ice time. Now whether it will earn him a new contract is something else ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Mats Zuccarello - one goal.
2-Brandon Dubinsky - one goal and one assist.
1-Ryan Callahan - two assists.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hagelin - Bork bork bork.
2-Cap'n Cally - He leads, they follow.
1-Dubi - Nice to see him again, eh?

42-16-7: Rocked

The Rangers have won most of their games this season through a combination of hard work and good luck. As the idiom goes, one begets the other and against the Devils the Blueshirts didn't have much of either in the match. The result was a poor one, a 4-1 loss to their cross-river rivals.

It was awful at the start, as the Rangers played one of their worst periods of the year. They got their game together for the second period before falling apart in the finale. Lack of consistency has been a killer at times and it certainly proved fatal in this one. But at least they weren't consistently bad. The success during the second showed that they can get their act together under duress and that perseverance should prove to be a powerful quality during the postseason.

Late Hits:

*Poor Brandon Dubinsky, he really is trying. So Chris Higgins-ish. After the top unit completely fell apart in the first minute, Dubi tried to jump-start his teammates by tussling with Ryan Carter. Too bad the former Duck channeled Hurricane Carter and kicked the hell out of him.

*Tortorella's line juggling was just as hurtful to the Rangers as the punches Dubinsky took to the face. No one had any clue as to where they were going or who they were playing with (especially in the third period) and the lack of chemistry killed.

*The coach's call to dress 'toughness' was also a massive mistake in judgement. Keeping goons John Scott and Mike Rupp in the roster while dropping grinder John Mitchell and selecting Steve Eminger over Anton Stralman both backfired. Scott lost a fight to a guy nearly a foot shorter than him, Rupp achieved absolutely nothing (as per usual) and Mitchell's energy was missing. Eminger couldn't do a single thing right, while Stralman's puck skills could have helped get the team out of their own end once or twice. The devil is in the details and the Devils managed their details better than the Rangers did.

*It is astounding how the Rangers have yet to learn that dumping the puck around the boards and chasing doesn't work against Mmmaaaaarrrrttyy? The tubby tender has always gotten his exercise ranging out of his crease, it is no revelation that he will beat the Blueshirts to puck after puck - even with a speedster like Hagelin heading into the Jersey end.

*Bork bork bork! The youngster's set up to Step was simply stellar: he won a battle behind the net against two Devils and threaded the needle through the slot to Stepan. Beautiful stuff, and we are only scratching the surface of the Swede's talent. Adam Henrique may be more of a Calder candidate, but Hagelin can be better down the line.

*Del Zastrous. In his own end. Along the boards. On the power play. Just Del Zastrous.

*Dan Girardi was almost as awful. Ok, no, not really. But he wasn't his usual solid self. While he may have physically survived to this point of the season the many minutes that he has played have taken a mental toll and he is making uncharacteristic mistakes.

*Thankfully Marc Staal is raising his game. He was strong, confident and decisive on both ends of the ice. Frankly, Staal had his best performance in a long, long time - a throwback to the pre-concussion kid who rose to become the Blueshirts' best blueliner.

*Timing is everything. During a game where Sean Avery's presence would have helped immeasurably, news came out that he has been told to not come back to the Whale. Not sure if I have another post in me lamenting Avery's fate but the gist of it would just be a sad, slow shake of the head.

*Man do I hate David Clarkson. That's all, just wanted to say that.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ryan Carter - one goal and one KO.
2-Martin Brodeur - 25 saves.
1-Ilya Kovalchuk - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - A ton of astounding saves to keep the Rangers close. Sure he probably coulda grabbed one or two of the goals against, but many of his 25 stops were just stellar.
2-Carter - Eight minutes, four shots, one goal, one demolition of Dubinsky. Not bad.
1-Kovy - New Jersey's top skill player was their top player, shaming Gaborik and Richard$.

40-15-6: Gut Check

It is a rare thing when you can reflect upon a game that featured all of 27 shots and realize that it was actually exciting. That was the case on Monday night as the Rangers edged the Devils 2-0.

The Blueshirts avenged their 1-0 defeat 20 days prior by playing more physical and having the crutch of the best goaltender in the NHL in their goal. The Rangers stood up their rivals and gave back as good as they got. And there was none of the scrambling that was seen when Biron was in the paint. Hank continued to provide evidence for his MVP candidacy with a fantastic performance under odd circumstances - he made just 13 saves but at least six of them were on stellar scoring chances for the Devils.

So, as usual, the King came through to protect the castle, defeating the Stay Puft Marshmallow goaltender and his evil henchmen from across the river. It was a good gut check to end February and send the team into a packed March where they will play 17 games in 30 days.

Late Hits:

*It is good but saddening to read Carl Hagelin's postgame quote: "Richie has been on me a lot about things I need to work on and things I need to do. It's important for me to have a veteran like him telling me and leading the way." On one hand it is a great thing that B-Rich is sharing his experience - it can only help kids like Hagelin (and Step and Arty, etc.) in the long run. On the other, Richard$ really should be worrying about his own game right about now. The big-money game-breaker has been a nonfactor far too often this season - even with his seven game winners - and that largely helped Sather justify that ridiculous big push for Nash.

*Loved that Hagelin/Callahan pairing though. The two epitomize the current Ranger: fast, relentless, unselfish and capable.

*The Ranger power play went a typical oh-fer, blowing two opportunities. The three usual suspects were at fault, John Tortorella, Richard$ and Del Zaster. Torts allows the guys to change their entire outlook when there is a man advantage and B-Rich was on for 3:12 and DZ 3:23 of the four minutes. Love that the guy has seven game winners this season but getting this much power play time should translate into more than one goal in his last nine games and no ppgs in his last 34.

*Mmmmaaarrrttyyy pulled one of his classic flops in the third period, which the ref luckily ignored. Brodeur just needs to disappear into fat air already.

*Kovalchuk fired off 10 shots - four were blocked, four were wide and just two made it on net. An impressive showing by Girardi, McDonagh, Callahan and the rest of the boys to shut down the Devil. And did Parise even play?

*Nice of Pruster to answer the bell, again. Luckily he escaped injury against the bigger Boulton and inflicted some damage of his own.

*On one hand you shouldn't want a $4.2m forward fighting. On the other hand Brandon Dubinsky has had serious struggles this season so at least he is trying to contribute something. But, as we saw with Chris Higgins, effort only goes so far ... Dubi needs to get his act together before the end of the season or one of those many trade rumours will come to pass at the draft.

*Even before the acquisition of John Scott Mike Rupp was useless. Now his existence is utterly unnecessary. Whether the Devils dodged him or not, he is not intimidating in the least and he has few hockey skills. Two goals in one ridiculous should-be-exhibition game do not make up for 30-plus games of ineffectual play. Hopefully the next tilt against New Jersey will feature Scott ending David Clarkson's career.

*Sorry, but I really missed Sean Avery in this one. Well, for every one - but especially those against Mmmmaaarrrttyyy, Avery's fat foil.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 13 saves.
2-Ryan McDonagh - no points.
1-Carl Hagelin - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hagelin - Bork bork bork!
2-Cally - The captain set the tone and set up the Swede's goal with hard work behind the net despite a double team. And the kid returned the favour by feeding Cally for the empty netter. Beautiful.
1-Hank - Where Mmmmaaarrrttyyy used to rack up win after win with low shot totals like this, rarely did the Devils' system give up as many scoring chances. Hank hung in there and came through when called upon.

33-13-5: Terrible On Tuesday

Tuesday night's terrible display by the Rangers showed, in a nutshell, why we have every reason to worry about the team as it heads towards the playoffs. They came out utterly flat against a major rival. They struggled to adapt their game to their opponent. They lost puck battles all over the ice. They made a mockery of the power play.

After the initial ridiculousness that was the opening faceoff fisticuffs, the Rangers ghost-skated through the remainder of the frame. Dump and chase doesn't work against a goaltender who comes out of the net, so of course the Rangers relied upon that for more than two periods of play. The Devils supported their puck carriers so even then the puck was knocked away, the team was able to retain possession. And the Blueshirt power play, well, it keeps finding new ways to fail. They finally realized that shooting the puck was a good thing but somehow missed a target that is four feet high and six feet wide time after time after time.

There are 31 games left, plenty of time to fix these problems. Seeing as the team has a nice cushion of points at this point, they can experiment with various solutions. They have to, or else all of this season's success will be washed away all-too-quickly in the playoffs.

Late Hits:

*This game was a clear example of why the hype around Mmmaaarrtttyyy's numbers is just that. Fatso made one good save all night. One. And it was on a clean shot from Gabby that he saw the entire way. The rest of the inflated shot total for the Rangers were right into his inflated torso. The one rebound the Rangers got to ended up in the net, but had to be waved off.

*Yes, I believe that the call was necessary. While Gabby was indeed slowing, he made no attempt to dodge around Uncle Daddy. The NHL as it is now protects goaltenders the way the NFL does quarterbacks so you had to know they were going to make the call. A recent play to hold up for comparison happened in Toronto on Monday. Ryan Smyth was on the edge of the crease and was shoved into Devan Dubnyk by a pair of Leafs as he scored what would have been Edmonton's go-ahead goal. The referee didn't see it that way and called him for goaltender interference. It was a bad call; the contact had little relevance to the puck going in, while Gaby's contact with Tubby allowed the puck to get in the goal.

*Stick with an undisciplined player and you get burned. Stu Bickel took a series of bad penalties against the Flyers and he took one tonight. And, of course, the Devils scored on the ensuing power play.

*David Clarkson's goal came because both Ranger defensemen (Dan-O and McD) abandoned the front of the crease, leaving Step to chase the 'minor leaguer.' Love Step but the kid is outmatched there and Elias made a great feed to get the puck in the right spot for Clarkson to score.

*Saw Arty set up in the slot a few times, which was nice. Too bad he had no idea what to do once he got there. He did get the Gabby rebound late but there were several opportunities sitting around for him far earlier than that.

*So Eric Boulton slashed Mike Rupp, right? So why did Prust fight him while Rupp battled Cam Janssen? The swap created a pair of mismatches that did not benefit the Blueshirts. It would have been nice if it jumpstarted the Ranger attack, but as mentioned up top, that was DOA for the first two frames.

*Brad Richard$ is looking more and more like MexiCan't Scott Gomez, floating around the ice not getting his nose dirty - all he needs to do is start smirking through interviews and the resemblance will be uncanny. Remember when us Ranger fans were salivating at the thought of Richard$ setting up Gaborik for 60+ goals? Seems so long ago. Last night he was skating alongside Mike Rupp for a while. Ugh.

*Did Kovalchuk even play? Great work by Girardi and McD.

*Bork bork bork! Carl Hagelin came to play. And he looked even better when he was reunited with John Mitchell. As predicted. Red Berenson taught him well - Hags handed his stick off to Stralman to save a goal in the second period. Sure Stralman then got called for a penalty seconds later, but at least the PK had the chance to work their magic.

*Oh Dubi, so close and yet so far, far away.

*PHW Three Stars
3-David Clarkson - one goal.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - 21 saves.
1-Martin Brodeur - 30 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Mmmmaaarrrttyyy - Rangers dump it in, Fatso dumps it out. All too easy.
2-Hank - The King kept the Rangers in the game when they came out oh-so-flat. He had no chance to stop Clarkson's goal.
1-Clarkson - It would have been nice if a certain Ranger sparkplug had been around to distract this guy ...

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.

19-8-4: Beating Brodeur

As a Ranger fan, there have been few things as delightful in recent seasons as the sheer domination of Henrik Lundqvist over Mmmmaaaarrrtttyyy. Hank has been largely lights-out while Fatso has been finding life against the Rangers difficult without the stellar defenders who made his career at the turn of the century.

On Tuesday, after watching his team dominate for 37 minutes, Mmmmaaaarrrtttyyy melted like the marshmallow man he resembles. The Rangers rallied from down 1-0 to defeat the Devils 4-1 in the opening game of the season series between the Hudson rivals. Henrik was outstanding, stopping 30 of 31 shots and standing tall as his team was outworked for two periods. And he did it behind a piecemeal defensive corps, making it that much more remarkable. But we call him the King for a reason and he showed it on this night.

Late Hits:

*There aren't many more ardent supporters of fighting in hockey then me. That being said, Mike Rupp vs. Cam Janssen three seconds into the game was horrifying and unnecessary. There was no reason for it other than to justify the salaries of those cement-headed neanderthals. This was the first meeting of the teams this season, there was no carry over bad blood between the two teams or the two fighters. It was pointless. And it is exactly the kind of ammunition that the doves crave to push their pacifistic agenda. Dubi fighting Clarkson wasn't part of the game either but at least those guys have been immersed in this rivalry for years and have genuine on-ice dislike for each other.

*Given all of the ice time he eats up and the top assignments he has so often taken on, it has been easy to forget that Ryan McDonagh is just a kid. McD has been helped by stalwart work by Dan Girardi, who seemingly wants to play all 60 minutes alongside Hank. So far the pair haven't shown many signs of grinding down but the team has to be wary - this is a loooooong season. But back to McD for a second - this was just his 72nd game in the NHL. Can you believe that? I can't. It is unfathomable to me considering his level of play 95% of the time. But that five percent does remind you on rare occasion like the performance against Tampa and his catch and throw of the puck in the third period tonight. That was comical.

*Also funny? The majority of the Devil fans. All 4,000 of them. They seemingly have embraced their role as second-class citizens, aping other team's chants and celebrations while knowing virtually nothing about the game. There are a few knowledgable, intelligent members of the so-called Devil's Army but most are ignorant cannon fodder.

*Despite being on the bad side of the battle for two periods, the Rangers could easily have had the lead if their three shots off the iron found the back of the net. They were good shots each, but with Mmmmaaaarrrtttyyy's girth there wasn't much to shoot at.

*Del Zastrous performance. Counted four times that he couldn't hold the offensive blue line, two defensive zone turnovers and a few blown coverages.

*The pairing of Tim Erixon and Stu Bickel wasn't bad but it was clear that Torts was trying to shelter them. Bickel looked better than he did in preseason but is still not quick enough for regular NHL action. Erixon didn't look particularly comfortable but his decision making with the puck was good.

*Bork, bork, bork! Young Carl was the only Ranger aside from Hank to play great buzzer to buzzer. And it paid off in his shorthanded goal. As I said to a friend the other day, shorthanded goals are some of my favourite things in hockey and to see Hagelin score one was wonderful. It was also nice to see the guys try to reward his effort by setting him up for an attempt at the empty net time and time again but it didn't work out. Still, a steller effort from the Swedish Chef.

*Brian Boyle really has been bad of late and has not shown any signs of getting better. The third line center has one goal in his last 27 games and just two this season.

*Dubi has been snakebitten as well but he has been improving the last two games. This game against the Devils may have been his best so far this season, even if he didn't get a single shot on goal.

*Do you think Sean Avery would have been able to wake up the Rangers earlier in the evening? I'd like to think so. He certainly would have been better than Rupp was all night long (all night). That being said, there is no way he would have taken the opening faceoff bullet for Prust the way Rupp did ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Carl Hagelin - one goal.
2-Artem Anisimov - one goal and one assist.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 30 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Derek Stepan - What a set up to Arty, wow. His second assist on Gabby's go-ahead goal was ridiculous as the Slovak did a give-and-go with Arty but hey, if Del Zaster can inflate his numbers with them so can Step.
2-Gabby - The Slovak absorbed one helluva hit on the play that led to Arty's game-tying goal and went on to pot a pair of his own. Usually little credit would be given for an empty netter but after the Keystone Kops routine that led up to it, we'll take it.
1-Hank - The King kept the Rangers in the game despite some serious scrambling in front of him.