2-2-2: Coming Up Dry

The Rangers went to Edmonton for the penultimate game of their massive season-starting road trip and showed that they had absolutely nothing left in the tanks to take them to victory. Or even to make them competitive. But the travelling is not to blame, the players and their leadership are.

The players made bad decision after bad decision. Their shot selection was atrocious, when they deigned to shoot at all. They were outworked so they took penalties. They looked lifeless while going through the motions, like a horse that has been whipped just a few too many times. And that is likely the root of their failure - their head coach all fire and brimstone so where else is there to go? The guys are burned out on the same old message that wasn't working to begin with. We can hope and pray that they will get a boost out of playing in front of us for the first time this week but how long will that last?

One thing is for certain: all of Tortorella's jackass-ery isn't helping. He was an umprofessional dick to the media after the game so he didn't have to be held accountable for his many mistakes. He grimaces, groans and yells on the bench but all of his petulant pouting isn't getting the team anywhere.

Tom Renney didn't work in this town because he was too nice to a lackadaisical superstar and his cronies. But at the same time helped shape the young players that have become the cornerstones of this franchise. They listened to him and they respected him. How can anyone respect John Tortorella? The awe of his one ring only goes so far, especially when the accepted story is that the Tampa team won to spite him. This group of Rangers is simply not talented enough to do that. If things fall into place they can certainly win some games but they can not compete with the top tier of the NHL. Those teams are better built, with bench bosses who know that a season is a drawn-out war, not a nightly nuclear attack.

Late Hits:

*I'll just get this out of the way right away, to satisfy the haters who know that is coming - Sean Avery would have been a big help in this game. The Rangers were lifeless, the Rangers appeared afraid to go to the net and they couldn't keep up with the quick young Oilers. Avery could have helped all three calamities.

*Did Brandon Dubinsky even play? How about Artem Anisimov?

*Ryan McDonagh's success may have gone to his head - he is trying to do too much. Hopefully Sauer's impending return will help him simplify things again.

*A neanderthal like Mike F-ing Rupp shouldn't be skating against a team without a goon. He couldn't keep up and took a bad penalty that resulted in the nail-in-the-coffin power play goal by Corey Potter. If Prust feels that he has to defend himself against that headhunting idiot Andy Sutton, then there really is no reason for Rupp to play.

*Sutton is an expert of the high elbow to the head and shouldn't be allowed to play in the NHL. It is a matter of time until he faces Shanahan's wrath.

*I'll be honest, I was happy for Potter. The kid never was given a good chance by the Rangers despite all of his efforts and he came back to shove it in their faces. Good for him.

*Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle are scary good. When they get more experience under their belt, the Oilers will be one wonderful team to watch. Eberle, by the way, was drafted two spots after Del Zaster in '08.

*Hard to tell who was worse, Del Zaster or Bell. Both should be in the AHL. Del Zaster got more than six minutes of man advantage time and the best scoring chance during that span was for the Oilers. Bell's bad pinch handed Edmonton their opening goal.

*No use ranting more with a game in Winnipeg a day away. Let's all just pray that Torts comes to his senses and starts Biron this time so we won't see Hank limping off again any time soon.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Taylor Hall - one assist.
2-Nikolai Khabibulin - 19 saves.
1-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Eberle - No wonder there is no panic over the fact that he hasn't scored yet, he does everything else so well.
2-Potter - Calm, capable defense and a power play goal. The Rangers could have used all of that on this night.
1-RNH - Amazing skill well worthy of his draft position. But Edmonton does face a real question: can the slight kid keep it up for a full season or will he be better off dominating the WHL while adding muscle?

Peepin' Foes: Edmonton Oilers

The Rangers walk through the west continues Saturday night in Edmonton as they take on Tom Renney's Oilers at 10 pm (MSG).

Where We Are: Shocking shape considering how the team is missing two of their top three defenders and the second line can't score. Wins over Vancouver and Calgary almost wipe away the disgrace that was the loss on the Island. Almost.

Where They Are: Edmonton is 2-2-2 but has just one win in their last five games. They ended up losing on Thursday in a shootout to Minnesota despite leading 1-0 with two seconds left in the third period. Dany Heatley tied it with two seconds left. That's good but that's not 0.5 good (or 0.1 like the Corey Perry on the Ducks).

Who To Watch For: Ole Twitchy Nikolai Khabibulin has a 0.95 GAA in three starts this season. When he gets hot, he gets hot and he was on fire a few years back when he was Tortorella's goalie in Tampa. Nowadays he backstops a young team that is paced by the last two first overall draft picks - Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (who might not play). Another youngster, Jordan Eberle, leads the team in shots with 19 in six games but is goalless, as is the overhyped Magnus Paajarvi. The kids are being tutored by the big crybaby Ryan Smyth, Capitals cast off Eric Belanger and the injury-prone pair of Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky (but, of course, Hemsky is out until November). Speaking of injuries, Ryan Whitney is still trying to get his timing back after last year's ankle surgery. Former Ranger Corey Potter is finally getting a real chance in the NHL at the expense of tough defenseman Theo Peckham, who is in Renney's doghouse.

What To Watch For: Who starts in net for the Rangers - perhaps Torts will finally come to his senses and put Marty Biron in - no use burning out Hank against Western Conference bottom feeders. Seeing as Sean Avery isn't around, the likelihood of the Oilers looking for revenge for the Ladislav Smid incident last season is slim. The Rangers' discipline level. How the Rangers fare with faceoffs - Edmonton is oddly even at 179-179 on the season.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: Ben Eager get beaten to a pulp for what happened last year when he was on the Sharks. How about someone getting the expert Andy Sutton for his pair of head-hunting hits (1, 2) on Ryan Callahan? Cally getting his own revenge with a goal or three. Dubi to break through for a few. Del Zaster not to do anything too stupid, like overhandle the puck around Hall or RNH. A game that won't go to a shootout because Linus Omark is just sick.

Also Check Out: Oilers Nation, Lowetide, SBN's Copper & Blue and Oil on Whyte.

9-7-1: What The ... ???

The two big topics that are sure to be talked about are Avery's antics in the 8-2 Ranger win over the Oilers and Colin Campbell's idiocy with e-mails. Seeing as the big picture stuff is best left to big picture people, you will not find reaction on our former coach's stupidity here (really, it is just more of a continuation from his tenure here). As for Avery, well, many points need to be made but first off, if you haven't seen it, this is a must watch. Here are a half dozen thoughts:

1- Above everything, this incident proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that fight belongs in hockey. All of the tree-hugging pacifists out there that cry over it aren't the ones roaring their approval. The Garden was far from capacity and yet it was louder than it has been all season long. And you know what? Not one of the many (many) little kids ran crying out of the place. Not one parent in the general vicinity of section 329 shielded their children's eyes. The emotion of the moment energized the place like nothing else has outside of the rare playoff victory.

2- This space has been very favourable for Avery but he needs to be called out in this instance. If you are going to fight, fight like a man. Jumping some soft, stupid European is not honourable. Even if said Euro literally asked for it. And after a perfectly legal hit.

3- That being said, Avery attacking Smid did not cause the brawl. Tom Renney's inability to control his players did that. As Copper & Blue lamented before the game, the Renney that is "leading" Edmonton is not the Renney that ran the Rangers. Our head coach kept the team on a tight leash, one that at times strangled the life out of Colton Orr and the team. If you think, for one moment, that Renney would have allowed a Ranger to skate the length of the bench and try to run down the runway after an opposing player, you never watched him coach. As soft of a touch that man had, he was in full control.

4- Theo Peckham deserves more of a beating than Boyle gave him in that wrestling match and Colin Fraser should be fined for going after Dubinsky, who was on the Ranger bench. No wonder Chicago had no qualms with dropping the affordable Fraser ...

5- The NHL On The Fly crew went off about how Avery is forcing his teammates to fight his battles for him, an utterly illogical assumption based upon their predetermined loathing for him. Hey guys, sticks and stones. Avery was pulled off the ice by a smart linesman while he was still yapping but the petulant children on the Oilers were responsible for losing their temper and getting physically out of control. And to say that Brandon Prust solely squared off with Huggy Bear Zack Stortini because of Avery is ridiculous as the two have a history and you could see it coming earlier in the game.

6- The NHL schedule-makers suck. As detailed in No. 1 on this list, people enjoy fighting. Bad blood sells. Too bad these teams won't face each other again for a year, year-and-a-half and even then, it will likely be in Edmonton, not MSG.

Now there was indeed a full hockey game played so other notes:

*Since the adrenaline is still flowing, Boogaard vs. MacIntyre I and II weren't bad fights. Sure they were pre-ordained but they happened in the flow of play. Both battles featured too much clutching and grabbing for my tastes and too many helmet hits but it is about time we get to see a real heavyweight fight. That being said, neither battle compared to the Erskine/Boulton tussle in the Caps game.

*For all of us who dropped Alex Frolov in fantasy hockey, we just have to shrug. Two goals, two assists, five shots and +5. Dammit. Maybe Gabby makes all the difference, maybe Edmonton just sucks that bad. Personally I think the latter as it did not appear that the Rangers changed any of their tactics, it was just that all of them worked.

*Gabby's three goals marked the first hat trick at the Garden in nearly two years. I know this because I looked it up because damned my memory, I couldn't remember the last time I had seen one in person. And, unfortunately, I was wearing a hat that was too meaningful to me to throw (not that Versus would understand that). Fantastic moment after the game: a little girl talking through one of the photographer portholes to one of the ice crew guys asking if she could get her daddy's hat back.

*It was unfortunate that Magnus Paajarvi didn't dress, it would have been nice to see that young talent in person. Apparently people think that that Taylor Hall kid and that Jordan Eberle kid have some kind of ability but whatever they possess was easily suffocated by Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.

*Derek Stepan didn't face anything resembling a tough defender and played his best game in weeks. Hopefully it will be a confidence boost going forward for the youngster.

*Someone shoulda told Ole Twitchy Nik Khabibulin that playing puck hung over is a bad idea. The drunk driver seemed to give in to the headache after the melee, allowing three bad goals.

*It was very nice for Arty to score a goal - and a nice one at that - but please, someone teach him how to take a faceoff.

*Do you know why Boyle keeps scoring goals? It isn't necessarily because of his much-publicised skating lessons. It is because, finally, it appears Brian Boyle realizes he is Brian Boyle. He has broken his game waaaay down and is keeping things simple. See the net, shoot at the net, go to the net if the last step didn't work.

*Hank had better get well soon because Marty Biron is not particularly good. The first goal was not his fault - Matt Gilroy really should learn how to play defense one of these days - but the second was abominable. And it clearly got to him as he wiffed on a swing at the puck behind the net soonafter, resulting in a turnover. You can take the guy out of the Island(ers) but you can't take the Island(ers) out of the guy.

*Remember when Ales Hemsky was a world-class player? If so Oiler fans (if you are out there), you should remind him.

*And it's late - or early depending on how you look at it - so no Peepin' Foes for the Pens, sorry. Just know that that Crosby fellow is despicable but good, the Pens have scored no less than four goals in each of their last four games (while winning three of them) and the ice sucks in Pittsburgh.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Erik Christensen - three assists.
2-Alex Frolov - two goals and two assists.
1-Marian Gaborik - three goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Frolov - Did you see that goal he scored falling down at the end of the second period? It happened because he went to the front of the net, not the back of it.
2-Christy - Last season we saw flashes of the chemistry he had with Gabby and when you add in Frolov and face a team like Edmonton, it is a caustic mix that just results in goals. Christensen had his head up and made some great passes. He also had a takeaway that looked positively Datsyukian - it was that kind of highway robbery.
1-Gabby - Sure Khabby had given up long before Gaborik completed his trick but to see three goals by a Ranger (in one game) was just awesome. Gabby is one dangerous fella and he makes his magic look so easy ...

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Edmonton Oilers

The other franchise that Glen Sather screwed up will play their annual game against the Rangers in November, their first visit to New York since November of 2008 - a shootout loss. In that recap I wrote, "Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden are the biggest waste of money since the pet rock. Neither one has been remotely competent in the Rangers zone." Oh how little things change ...

Familiar Foes: Tom Renney is now officially the head coach and he will lead a young team into the Garden. No matter how hard they tried to trade them, Sheldon Souray and Andrew Cogliano are still Oilers. They are just two of the few veterans on the Edmonton roster nowadays. Shawn Horcoff keeps playing out his contract, Sam Gagner was inexplicably extended and Ales Hemsky is coming off injury. Dustin Penner was one of the few bright lights of last season, showing incredible hands of a player with his size. Huggy bear Zack Stortini is the defender of the franchise while our old friend Jason Strudwick is the extra voice in the locker room. Nik Khabibulin is still on their roster but good ole Twitchy is as good as gone after he gets out of jail.

N00bz: Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk have taken over the crease but neither one has really shown the capability to pull away and be a NHL starter - Deslauriers did it last season but most Oiler fans don't see him as the starter to lead the team into the future. That future is bright as the Oilers should start to reap the benefits of failure. Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi and Jordan Eberle are all set to step into the lineup and they are studs. Other youngsters worth watching will be Theo Peckham, Linus Omark, Liam Reddox and Ryan O'Marra. Not surprisingly, Edmonton was quiet in the free agent market. They added Martin Gerber for some goaltending insurance and made a stellar signing in Kurtis Foster.

Last Year: Thursday, November 5th, 4-2 Ranger win.

This Year: Sunday, November 14th at MSG.

What They Mean To Blue: One of just two or three 'easy' games in a busy November. It is a 12:30pm Sunday afternoon game that will surely see the Garden full of kids - on the ice in the Oilers themselves and off it in those children dragged by dad as part of a fun day in the big city. Plus, in Hall, the Rangers can see what they missed out on by making that futile late season surge at the playoffs.

10-6-1: And It's A Power Play Goal!!

The Rangers rebounded from the loss in Vancouver with a 4-2 win over the Oilers tonight in Edmonton. It is nice to play a team in more disarray than you are and even nicer to come out of it with a win.

The Blueshirts still took their usual slew of bad penalties, but without their big gun on the back line, Edmonton couldn't take advantage of them. Ales Kotalik did his best Sheldon Souray impression and the Rangers were the benefactors. The big (injured) Souray always slaughtered with his booming shot on the power play and Kotalik wielded his cannon just as well. First he just blew the puck through Twitchy's legs and then his hard blast trickled through and Gabby chipped it home. Playing on away ice you have to take advantage of what the home team gives you and the Rangers did that to win.

Some other stuff before an early bedtime:

*Chris Higgins took a few shots in the early going and my buddy Pete texted to say that "Higgs has a new-found confidence, eh?" to which I replied, "we'll see". Well, we did. His give-and-go with Gilroy was deftly finished with a shot shortside on Twitchy for the first goal of the night. Not bad, not bad at all. And you could see how he had that extra jump in his skates the rest of the game - let's hope he keeps it up.

*Now that Higs has snapped out of it, how long before Chris Drury does? Dru has been great on the penalty kills but can't win a faceoff for his life and can't score - he's become a lesser version of Blair Betts. But Dru wears the C and has an ungodly countract ...

*Fellow BU alum Hobey Gilroy was outstanding for another game. It is disgusting how good he and MDZ are playing compared to Redden and Rozy. The veterans are atrocious; Redden swung his purse at Mike Comrie, allowing Mrs. Duff to get his usual goal against us. Considering how well the kids are playing and how smart Staal and Girardi have been, you would think that the veterans would be shamed into being better. Guess their shame is blocked by their wallets.

*An actual interaction I had during the game with my buddy Eric: 'where is Arty? Boyle is getting all of his ice time.' 'no late edm goals please.' Twenty seconds go by and Arty's giveaway sets up Visnovsky's goal - one that Valley should have stopped. Damn goaltender didn't even flinch as the puck sailed over his shoulder.

*I thought Valley, overall, was mediocre. Like Andrew Raycroft in Vancouver, he gave up some bad rebounds but the defense in front of him did well to clear the puck. I thought he hardly moved around the crease, getting that massive frame in the way when he needed to. Maybe it was good positioning, maybe it was luck, but it was a win without Hank in the net and that's what we needed.

*Jason Strudwick, without a mustache, is funny looking.

*Those throwback Oiler uniforms were not. Classic design and sharp colours; glad they went back to them.

*Sean Avery needs to step up his game - especially heading into Sloppy Seconds Calgary. Avery looked lost out there on the fourth line; he simply does not belong with the grinders. Granted, he hasn't deserved much more of late, but how can he snap out of a slump playing alongside Brian Boyle and Aaron Voros?

*Voros ... well, we have to be thankful. His horrible play should ensure that Dane Byers gets another go. What a waste of a jersey. And I had such high hopes for him when he was signed last year; it's a damn shame that he is hardly a NHLer at this point, if at all.

*They say that the Edmonton ice is the nicest in the NHL and you could see how smooth it was in the reflection of the lights at the beginning of each period. It is far, far better than the MSG ice - skating on that two weeks ago you could feel the bumps and grooves.

*You know how the Rangers can best sell ticket plans? Point out that you don't have to listen to Micheletti if you are in the building. I hate away games, having to listen to Joe is just infuriating.

*I may be mistaken but I thought I heard him say that Edmonton picked up Dustin Penner as an unrestricted free agent. Notevenclose. Penner, btw, blew me away by having such great hands for someone his size. Too bad it seemed like he was the only Oiler out there playing hard.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Stephen Valiquette - 26 saves.
2-Patrick O'Sullivan - one assist.
1-Marian Gaborik - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Gilroy - Confident, intelligent and capable, Hobey has the skills to be a helluva player and is certainly showing the signs at this early stage.
2-Kotalik - How many times am I going to type this? What. A. Shot.
1-Ryan Callahan - Maybe we should stop calling him Cally and steal Pete Rose's 'Charlie Hustle' for him. Hard work and dedication pay off, that simple. Cally goes into the tough parts of the ice and pays the price to get the job done.

Peepin' Foes: Edmonton Oilers

Well, it is 7am and I just got home from work (damn Yankees) so I will make this fast - the Ranger road trip continues in Edmonton tonight, 9:30pm on MSG.

Where We Are: On the Can't Score Express to No-Playoffville.

Where They Are: Trying to find their game. Edmonton has lost six of their last seven games, but the win was a wild one against Detroit. They scored five goals in that loss and three goals in the six losses - total. The last loss was 3-1 on the Island and I went. Frankly, they were horrible. After the game I heard that the entire team was battling the flu and I wouldn't be surprised. They were slow, they couldn't connect more than two passes together and showed zero cohesion. And they lost. To the Islanders. Blech.

Who To Watch For: Ales Hemsky deserves a better fate than to be tied to the Oilers. Hemsky has all-world speed, all-world vision and a pretty good shot that he is reluctant to use. On another team, he could be a real star. Instead he toils among the wreckage of youth gone wrong. After everyone jumped on the Edmonton bandwagon at the end of the '08 season, these kids - Gagner, Cogliano, Nilsson, etc - started to believe their own hype and stopped working. Now that they have Tom Renney co-coaching, they have even less ambition. Dustin Penner has stepped up to the plate, likely at Pat Quinn's urging, and become the man. Midget Mike Comrie is in copper and blue as well, and he is always an annoyance to the Blueshirts.

What To Watch For: Twitchy Nik can win games on his own. Luckily for the Rangers, he hasn't lately but if he gets hot, even Gabby won't be able to save us. Penner to go hard at Hank, using his big body to cause havoc around the paint. Comrie to be his regular pestering pop-up-for-a-goal self. Sean Avery's attitude - this swing is right in his wheelhouse. he should be in his element pissing people off. He got Shane O'Brien in big trouble, so why not harass old friend Jason Strudwick into doing something dumb?

What We'll (Hopefully) See: Goals. A lot of them. By the Rangers preferably. The Ranger penalty kill to be strong - no Sheldon Souray for Edmonton so that is a huge bonus for the Blueshirts, especially seeing as they can't stop taking or being called for lame penalties. Joe to make an ass out of himself mispronouncing Grebeshkov and Visnovsky. Aaron Voros vs. Jean-Francois Jacques in the battle of wanna be tough guys who just aren't tough. And maybe, just maybe Zack Stortini to give someone a kiss after he hugs them to death, oh, I'm sorry, I mean 'fights' them.

Also Check Out: Oilers Nation, Lowetide, SBN's Copper & Blue and The Battle of Alberta.

What The ... ?

Everyone said that the hold up in getting Blair Betts reunited with Tom Renney in Edmonton was money. I guess everyone was wrong. Betts is headed to Philly's camp to try out for a spot - which he doesn't seem to think he will get - and the Oilers signed Mike Comrie for $1.25 million.

The same Mike Comrie who failed on the Island, the same Comrie who stumbled to the end of last season in Ottawa. The same Mike Comrie who is far better known for his girlfriend than anything he has ever done on the ice. An undersized, underachieving 'skill' forward joining an undersized, underachieving roster of skill forwards.

Yet again we are left thinking what Renney is thinking and yet again his mistake may come back to bite us in the end. Blair Betts, Philadelphia Flyer ... *shudder*

11-5-2: Not So Slick Vs. Oil

Since I have been told I complain too much, I want to start this off on a positive, happy note!

The Rangers rallied to gain a point despite trailing 2-0!

Wooo hooooooooo!!!

Yippieeeeeeeee!

Ok, enough of that crap, let's get back to reality. The Rangers salvaged one point against a inexperienced, out-of-conference team playing the seventh consecutive road game on the second night of back-to-back games. They were outskated, outworked and seemingly intimidated by a rookie goaltender on their way to their fourth loss in five games. And that is not good. Not good at all.

Everyone aside from the Rangers seem to notice that their habit of cruising over the blueline and dumping the puck into the corner - even on the power play - isn't working. It just isn't, so why don't they actually keep their feet moving?

I don't know, I am asking ... anyone? While I wait for an answer, and I don't think there really is one, let's get started:

*Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden are the biggest waste of money since the pet rock. Neither one has been remotely competent in the Rangers zone. Rozy has actually been an outright detriment to the team. He is atrocious on the power play, incapable of playing physical against attacking skaters and now lazy. On the special team he hesitates at the point looking around for Jagr. Here is a hint dude, HE ISN'T ON THE TEAM ANYMORE! Move the puck, shoot the puck, block the puck from going out of the zone. His indecisiveness is remarkable and it is killing the Rangers. Redden can pass the puck, but makes regular gaffes and is often invisible out there. For $10.5 million neither one did anything to help the power play avoid another inefficient night (0-4) or stop the Oilers from getting at Hank.

*On the other side of the coin, Paul Mara has truly delivered of late. He jumped up into the offense tonight to score and was the closest thing to a physical defenseman on the roster (sorry Danny, even with six hits tonight you were still unable to clear the middle).

*Just seconds before Mara's goal, the guys up in section 426 started doing the goal song Heys ... (Hey! Hey! Hey hey hey!). It was utterly unreal and prophetic. So cool ...

*No Ranger blueliner has been willing to clear the crease and the result was two goals against tonight. Meanwhile the Rangers didn't too many good chances on Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers. Jason Strudwick was particularly impressive in the first period holding his ground and ensuring that his rookie goaltender could see the shots coming at him.

*Even though he could see it, there was no way he was stopping Chris Drury's goal. After his disappointing showing in Washington, the New York captain played a tough game and paid the price. He took a beating up front and earned his goal, and also stayed in the game despite a puck to the ear.

*Sam Gagner may be the fastest skater I have ever seen. Including Mike Gartner.

*Colton Orr fought Zack Stortini for seemingly no reason. And, when Stortini showed weakness and backed away, Orr didn't take advantage of it. Either you want to fight, or you don't; enough of this MMA submission garbage.

*For all of the skill on the Rangers and the speed on the Oilers, there wasn't a whole lotta flow out there. The puck was bouncing and pass after pass seemed off the mark.

*Oh, Glen Anderson was inducted into the Hall of Fame this evening but really, who cares? No matter how often the team wants to show him off as an alumni, he wasn't really a Ranger. He showed up to ride Messier's coattails to another Cup and frankly wasn't needed. Gartner got robbed of a ring so this clown could skate for 35 games and collect all of 12 points despite getting good ice time.

*Did Tom Renney really think Lauri Korpikoski would do some kind of magic in 7:40 tonight?

*Stat of the night: Ryan Callahan had seven hits. And an update from the stat of the night from the last game, Dubinsky improved from 1-12 on faceoffs to 5-9. It's a start ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Chris Drury - one goal.
2-Ales Hemsky - one shootout goal.
1-Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers - 40 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - Lundqvist made 29 saves with little to no assistance from the defensemen in front of him.
2-Sheldon Souray - The former Hab defenseman was intimidating: he played really physical down low to get Deslauriers more room and time to make saves and his slap shot earned his teammates more room to move the puck around the ice on the other end.
1-Drouin-Deslauriers - The kid played like a rock solid veteran and his quick reflex to reach back and grab Ryan Callahan's shot saved the game.

Peepin' Foes: Edmonton Oilers

You guys asked for it in the poll so here is the first official game preview at Scotty Hockey. I can't guarantee that I will be able to do it for every game, but will certainly attempt to (my apologies already for missing some, since I am pretty sure it will happen). So without more blathering, here is the first edition of Peepin' Foes:

Where We Are: Coming off of a disappointing result in DC, the Rangers will be back on home ice where they are 7-3-0 this season. Lauri Korpikoski has been recalled so his return to the show should help motivate the boys. Well ... one could hope.

Where They Are: Edmonton is 7-6-1, having only played three games on home ice. The Ranger game is the seventh and final game of a long road trip for the Oilers that saw them go 3-3. They played in Newark last night and beat the Scott Clemmensen-led Devils 2-1 despite being outshot 38-28. Ales Hemsky had a goal and an assist, Sheldon Souray got the game-winner and rookie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 37 saves. JDD is the third goaltender on the Edmonton roster but don't be shocked if he moves up to the starter by the end of the year with Roloson being trade bait and Garon struggling. Roloson, by the way, will likely start against the Rangers.

Who To Watch For: Hemsky is one of the top talents in the NHL and he is pacing the Oilers in points. Right behind him is a pretty healthy Souray - he of the killer slap shot that you remember from Montreal. Lubomir Visnovsky was a fanastic addition from L.A. and he remains dangerous on the blueline even after seven seasons with the Kings. As you guys know, I like to keep an eye on the lunch-pail players and Edmonton has one of the best, Ethan Moreau. They also have former Ranger Jason Strudwick, who has done well this season and is getting some solid ice time.

What To Watch For: The young Oilers that stunned so many people late last season with a speedy attack that nearly got them into the playoffs are greatly underachieving so far thus season. They are quick though and if the Rangers continue to have so many problems passing, the Oilers will jump all over them. And if the Rangers continue to struggle in the faceoff circle, Souray could hammer Hank for a goal or two.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: The Rangers should rebound nicely from the loss and beat the Copper and Blue. Edmonton's youth often scrambles around their own goal so some hard work in front should earn the Rangers some good garbage goals.

Also Check Out: Oilers Nation, Lowetide and The Battle of Alberta.

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

Congrats Jason!

I know it's just exhibition, but congratulations go out to former Ranger Jason Studwick for having a helluva game for Edmonton tonight. Struds was always a class act for the Blueshirts who did anything and everything that was asked of him. It is nice that the Oilers are giving him a real shot to be a roster regular and it's even better that he is playing well.

Tonight he slapped around BJ Crombeen minutes into the game:


And then he scored the game-winning goal in the third period:

Great work Struds and continued good luck in Edmonton!!

NHL Four-cast: Edmonton Oilers

1 - Why is this team worth watching? They are young, they are fast and they have skills. However, you may want to wait to tune in as they headed to shootouts 19 times and won 15 of them. That's insane, but so were some of the moves that were made. And just look at/listen to the crowd, purely amazing.

2 - Are they better or worse than last year? Better. They picked up a great puck mover in Lubomir Visnovsky, who will join a healthy Sheldon Souray on what should be a top flight power play. Erik Cole replaces the grit lost in the Raffi Torres-for-Gilbert Brule deal and adds skill and experience. Brule was a top draft pick but has yet to show that talent in the NHL so I wouldn't expect much there. As this is a Ranger blog, I am of course going to mention Jason Strudwick. Struds may not play regularly, but he is a classy, intelligent veteran who will add poise and character to a pretty young roster.

3 - Who should YOU draft in fantasy? Ales Hemsky has the skill and now the support to pick up 80, 90 points and he will be probably still be available in the late second or third round. Shawn Horcoff will be with him every step of the way, as long as he can maintain his health. Souray, who got hurt early last season should be back with his incredible slapshot in tow. Visnovsky will also get a good number of points from the point, as will Tom Gilbert, who is only getting better. As for the kids - Gagner, Cogliano, Penner and Nilsson - they may all get 50, 60 points but they are still learning so those numbers come at the cost of plus/minus. Garon will probably be the clear-cut starter this year, instead of platooning with Roloson but who knows how he will handle the workload? He is stellar in the pressures of the shootout but when given the chance to start back in Los Angeles ... well, he was notsogood.

4 - Are the Oilers the hippest team in the league? Very debatable, but they do go a long way with their awesome Oilers Guitar Hero Summer Tour. Rock out and get a chance to hang out with a player, how cool!

20-17-5: Rangers Disappoint Yet Again

I had a busy evening at work so I had taped the game. When I went to grab the reel from the kind fellow who recorded it for me, he so nicely said "Yeah! What a game! A Shootout! ... Uh, oh man, sorry." Please applaud me for not strangling him with my bare hands. Instead, I am pretending like I didn't hear him and will watch it now, blogging along the way:

*This MSG, MSG2, FSN nonsense is annoying. I mean, its great that we get to see the games no matter what, but it does make it difficult for some to find the game. And just add in Versus and NBC and no one has a clue. The sad thing is that often the announcers don't have a clue either (I'm lookin' at you Joe), but that is something else entirely ...

*Yeah Jason Strudwick! That means no Malik and you just can't go wrong there. That guy is a disaster. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt coming into a fresh season but he has been just as stupid this year as last. Time to make a deal ... anyone have a bag of pucks to offer?

*On the subject of line-up changes, I understand Ryan Callahan hasn't been playing up to take him out of the lineup and keep Marcel Hossa is ridiculous, especially after he took dumb penalties against Vancouver. And he proves it by missing an empty net with five minutes left in the first, and three minutes into the second. Great. Super. Terrific. Superstar.

*Wow, already one minute in and the Rangers have already made six bad passes. That can't be a good thing. Midway through the season the chemistry should be there, there is no excuses left anymore. It isn't like they are trying to pass through little snowbanks like the Penguins did on New Years.

*As everyone knows, I am all for fighting but this is just stupid - Colton Orr taking on Zach Stortini. First off, its five minutes into the game so there is no reason for it, and secondly, the refs watched Stortini come across the imaginary line before the puck was dropped, which is illegal. Orr connected with a few more good shots but seriously, it was just a waste of time.

*Wow, Edmonton's power play is as bad as ours. I feel for their fans.

*I just want to take a second and point out that the Oilers have some great fans, several of whom have good blogs. Feel free to check them out.

*I've gone off on him before and everyone leaps to his defense, but Rozy just have to get his head screwed on right. He is tentative with the puck in his own zone, fumbles it when trying to make the all-important first pass, and takes stupid penalties, like the boarding call in the first on Ethan Moreau. C'mon, its Ethan Moreau ... he really isn't good.

*I included Edmonton defenseman Tom Gilbert in my 2010 (-2) Team USA and he showed why: he is young, plays with poise, makes few mistakes and moves the puck well.

*You all harassed me for it, so here it is: Scott Gomez is looking good. He is finally looking comfortable carrying the puck and he does it well. Happy now?

*The in-house music in Rexall Place actually included Billy Talent, a Canadian punk rock band. Why must the Garden stick to the same boring tracks they've played for the last five years?

*Through a period and a half Jagr hit two posts and blew a gimme one-timer with a low shot into the sprawled goaltender. I look forward to the day when he isn't in the Rangers lineup. Yeah, I said it. He has no heart, no dedication and it looks like his hands are going. C'mon, remind me again that he put up over a hundred points two years ago and is nearly at a point per game this season, yeah yeah. What has he done for the Rangers lately, especially when he is/was needed? This guy is supposed to be one of the best in the world. He hasn't been. Not even close.

*Oilers take a 1-0 lead as Rozy stands still in front, leaving a screen in front of Hank so he can't see a fluttering deflected puck. Someone call Columbus and get Adam Foote here pronto.

*Gotta love how Sam and Joe are talking up Mathieu Garon so much, like his is the second coming of George Vezina. Now, seriously, the guy is barely moving around the crease and the Rangers are shooting it right into him. I know Edmonton's logo is a circle, but it isn't a bullseye.

*Prior to the game Don Cherry talked about how stupid the touch-up icing was and watching Dustin Penner go flying after Marc Staal before losing his edge and slamming into the boards only serves to reinforce that (near the end of the second period). Could you imagine what would happen if the Oilers lost their five-year, $21.5 million investment over something so silly?

*Hahaha, Dan Girardi ties the game at one with a fluke goal not unlike the one that went past Hank, except Hank had an excuse (he was screened).

*So I talk about how bad it would be for the Oil to lose Penner and then the little bastard nails Shanny (incidentally). He came back but he better be ok in the long run; the Rangers need him desperately.

*I have been a huge advocate for Ryan Hollweg, but boarding Shawn Horcoff in a tie game is insane and dangerous. He absolutely deserved the major and misconduct.

*After the pointless holding penalty by Straka, the Oilers take a 2-1 lead but actually shooting on the power play. Maybe theirs is better than ours ...

*Hahaha, after killing the rest of Hollweg's major Jagr takes a lazy penalty. Please, someone tell me again that he deserves that "C" that he wears. I dare you.

*That is funny, in a sad way: the Rangers tied the game to force overtime on a power play (that shouldn't have been a power play). Captain Clutch scores the equalizer - maybe someone can keep yelling in his ear 5! 4! 3! ... throughout the game so he actually steps things up ahead of time instead of waiting for the last possible second.

*I feel bad for laughing now, Marty Straka spun himself into the boards and banged his head on the glass. It looks like a concussion from here but we will have to see.

*They mentioned before the game that Sheldon Souray has a bum shoulder and if not for that, he would have ended the game in overtime with that spectacular slap shot of his. Instead it went right into Hank and the game went on ...

*The Rangers went all the way to a shootout with the Edmonton Oilers and lost. I am going to need to bust out the thesaurus to find more ways to say "embarrassed."

*So the Rangers went out for a three game trip, played one decent team with a great goaltender and lost, then played an all-around good team and lost, and played one of the worse teams in the league and barely get a point out of it. Disgraceful. I hope The Dark Ranger has a ball with this one, because I am speechless at this point.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Sam Gagner - shootout goal (that barely went in, the PHWs are morons).
2-Jagr - one assist, one terrible/halfhearted shootout try and what, three posts?
1-Horcoff - goal and an assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Jarrett Stoll - he kept shooting and shooting and shooting. Granted he didn't score but, being someone who has watched the Rangers so much, I appreciate anyone who isn't afriad to shoot.
2-Dan Girardi/Marc Staal - best Rangers on the ice all night long, bar none.
1-Garon - despite not making a single big stop in the game, walks away with a 29 save win.

Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Baaaack

No, I'm not singing to welcome back that '70s shmuck Cotter, I am happy to say that Fernando Pisani returned to the Edmonton Oilers tonight. After a horrible flare up forced him to lose 30 pounds and miss the first two months of the season, Pisani gave the finger to colitis and worked his way back to the NHL. He played just 12:43 but it was enough to inspire Edmonton to actually win a game. The Oil beat the Quack attack 4-0 in Anaheim.

Pisani is a hard working player who came through in the clutch for Edmonton - helping them to the 2005 Stanley Cup Finals where they so narrowly lost to Carolina. On the way he scored 14 goals, five of which were game winning, one of which was shorthanded in overtime and caused many Alberta babies to be born nine months later.

As with anyone who battles a terrible disease and wins, we here at Scotty Hockey couldn't be happier seeing him back on the ice and are heartened by his drive to live his life.

Go Go Fernando; welcome back!

Edit: The Edmonton Sun has a really nice article on his return, check it out!

Another Edit: You know, being out on the freezing plains of Alberta must really get to people. As much as I appreciate Fernando, he is no Chuck Norris, but apparently one Edmontonian thinks he has the same powers ...

Please Stop The Insanity!!!

The Edmonton Oilers offered Dustin Penner a $21.25-million, five-year offer sheet and I want to hunt down Charles Wang and beat him over the head with a hockey stick.

The deal would pays Brown $4.25 million in each of the next five seasons ... that is ridiculous. This is Dustin Penner we are talking about ... he had 45 f-ing points last season. If this sort of thing continues, and I think it will, the league will be headed to a labor dispute again around the time of the 2012 Olympics. Teams cannot keep offering ludicrous contracts to mid-level talent. Edmonton already tried to pull this garbage on Buffalo for Thomas Vanek (and failed), resulting in another prematurely-deserved high money contract. But at least Vanek averaged a point per game this last season.

Don't think I am attacking this just because it is the Oilers; I think the deal the Rangers gave Scotty Gomez was stupid as well - too many years, too much money after a poor season. I do blame it all - of course - on the Islanders and the farce of a contract they handed to DP, thus the stick to the head of Wang comment.

Offer sheets themselves have always been troublesome - the Rangers helped speed the league towards chaos when they gave an offer sheet to Joe Sakic back in '97. But again, at least Sakic was a somebody who had proven his worth, not some kid who may turn out to be something someday.

Sooner or later the league will have to step in, if only because they will lose hold of the salary cap that they were so easily able to force upon the players. I don't want to have to spend another season driving two, three hours to watch UHL or AHL hockey.