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. 

1-3-0: So That's Over ...

All good things come to an end, but this one shouldn't have. This one is hard to let go. The Rangers' eight game undefeated streak against the Flyers was snapped on Thursday night in a 2-1 tilt that didn't remotely match the scoreline. And there is no excuse for it.

Well, there is an excuse, but it is hard for most to accept: despite claims to the contrary, the slavedriver head coach didn't aptly prepare his team for the season and the early grind has already worn them down. The supposedly torturous Camp Torts supposedly insured that everyone would not just be in shape, but be in peak physical form. Because it was shortened, the players claimed they came prepared. Thursday's loss showed that that was certainly not the case.

The Blueshirts looked slow, incapable, inept and just plain awful for the majority of the evening. They were outplayed by a poor, injury-riddled opponent. Simply said, the inferior Flyers should not have been able to skate away with their first victory of the season.

Late Hits:

*Seriously, how the hell did the Rangers let them win?!? Philly was without both Babyface Briere and Sideshow Bob Hartnell ... and they still won!! Inexplicable. Inexcusable. Infuriating!

*Not only were the Rangers unable to take advantage of a lineup that had fewer familiar faces, but they were unable to take advantage of that lineup when they had less actual players on the ice. Mike Sullivan is doing his best to challenge Perry Pearn's resume of power play failure. What horrible coaching.

*Stop with Del Zaster already. Yes, he has offensive ability. But he is clearly incapable of quarterbacking a power play. Try other guys. Give Anton Stralman a chance, hell, give Matt Gilroy a chance. Give the peanut vendor a chance. Yes, it is so bad that even Hobey's horrible play is preferable to watching more of the same. Five-on-f-ing-three. Again. Are you kidding me?

*Have to thank Kris Newbury for coming up and proving yet again why he is a AAAA player (and why he would survive a zombie apocalypse): no brains. With his team already trailing 1-0 the Whale-r took a high stick and sought revenge after a whistle. He started a senseless fight with Tye McGinn - another AHL nobody, one wearing plexiglass to boot. Newbury was tabbed with the extra penalty and Voracek scored what would be the game-winner. Stupid and selfish minor leaguer.

*Happier thoughts: Taylor Pyatt came through again, goals three games in a row. Better than even I dreamed he'd be. Doubt he will be able to keep up the scoring touch but if he keeps the effort going that guy with the Pyatt sweater at the home opener will be joined by many others.

*As has often been the case over the last few years, the King kept the Rangers in the game. There is definitely something about the Flyers that brings out the best in Henrik, it is just a shame they completely wasted his best effort of this shortened season.

*Nice of Arron Asham to beg out of facing his friends. Gutless puke.

*Rupper played almost 10 minutes? Instead of being a Neanderthal he was the Missing Link, didn't notice him once. That isn't a bad thing.

*And thankfully there were no fights off the opening faceoff like some freakshow. Sure Stu Bickel's bout came early in the evening but he threw down the gloves to defend Jeff Halpern against Fantasy Camp Sestito. And he won. Good job Stuuuuuuuuu.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 31 saves.
2-Ilya Bryzgalov - 18 saves.
1-Wayne Simmonds - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Sean Couturier - Knew he would be trouble for the Rangers the second Philly got him sixth in the '11 draft (thanks to Columbus). The legacy knows the game and, despite being just a sophomore, capably plays in all situations.
2-Hank - This game shoulda been 6-1. After his iffy start to the season, maybe a visit with the Swedish Chef was exactly what he needed ...
1-Simmonds - Loved this kid on L.A., hate him now. All because he plays the game the way it should be played. 

Yes Glen, It Is Time For A Change (Again)

Back when Tom Renney got canned at the end of February '09, I posted a list of Glen Sather's track record and in honour of his 10 year anniversary today, I felt it was worth re-posting. Mind you, since then Glen signed Donald Brashear and Ales Kotalik but also added Marian Gaborik, Jody Shelley and Brandon Prust - earning a C from me since I saw it as a season where he broke even - after all, the horrific signings of John Tortorella, Chris Drury and Wade Redden were all prior to July 1st, the date the new season begins (for me at least).

Well, now that Glen Sather has managed to shove the blame for his failings upon someone else yet again, I figured it might be good to look at just what he has done. Sather was officially hired by the Rangers June 1st, 2000. Let's take a look at some of his more memorable works - both good and bad - using Outside The Garden's transaction listings ...

July 1st, 2000 - Signed Vladimir Malakhov for four years for $14 million

June 24th, 2001 - Traded Adam Graves to San Jose for Mikael Samuelsson

August 20th, 2001 - Traded Jan Hlavac, Kim Johnsson, Pavel Brendl and 2003 3rd Round Pick to Philadelphia for Eric Lindros

March 18th, 2002 - Traded Igor Ulanov, Filip Novak, 2002 1st Round Pick, 2002 2nd Round Pick and 2003 4th Round Pick to Florida for Pavel Bure and 2002 2nd Round Pick

March 19th, 2002 - Traded Mike York and 2002 4th Round Pick to Edmonton for Tom Poti and Rem Murray

June 26th, 2002 - Traded Theo Fleury to San Jose for a 2002 6th Round Pick

July 1st, 2002 - Signed Bobby Holik for five years for $45 million

July 2nd, 2002 - Signed Darius Kasparaitus for six years for $25.5 million

December 12th, 2002 - Traded Tomas Kloucek, Rem Murray and Marek Zidlicky to Nashville for Mike Dunham

January 8th, 2003 - Traded 2004 4th Round Pick to Chicago for Boris Mironov

February 10th, 2003 - Traded Samuelsson, Joel Bouchard, Rico Fata, Richard Lintner and cash to Pittsburgh for Alexei Kovalev, Dan Lacouture, Janne Laukkanen and Mike Wilson

March 11th, 2003 - Traded Radek Dvorak and Cory Cross to Edmonton for Anson Carter and Ales Pisa

August 14th, 2003 - Re-signed Tom Poti for two years at $5.9 million

September 3rd, 2003 - Signed Boris Mironov for one year at $1,925,000

January 23rd, 2004 - Traded Anson Carter to Washington for Jaromir Jagr and cash

March 2nd, 2004 - Traded Alexei Kovalev to Montreal for Josef Balej and a 2004 2nd Round Pick

March 3rd, 2004 - Traded Briant Leetch and a Conditional Draft Pick to Toronto for Maxim Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen, a 2004 1st Round Pick and a 2005 2nd Round Pick

March 3rd, 2004 - Traded Petr Nedved and Jussi Markkanen to Edmonton for Dwight Helminen, Stephen Valiquette and a 2004 2nd Round Pick

March 6th, 2004 - Traded Chris Simon and Conditional 2004 7th Round Draft Pick to Calgary for Jamie McLenna, Blair Betts and Greg Moore

March 8th, 2004 - Traded Matt Barnaby and a 2004 3rd Round Pick to Colorado for Chris McAllister, David Liffiton and a 2004 2nd Round Pick

March 8th, 2004 - Traded Vladimir Makarov to Philadelphia for Rick Kozak and a 2005 2nd Round Draft Pick

March 9th, 2004 - Traded Martin Rucinsky to Vancouver Canucks for R J Umberger and Martin Grenier

March 9th, 2004 - Traded Greg de Vries to Ottawa for Karel Rachunek and Alexandre Giroux

August 10th, 2004 - Signed Michael Nylander for three years for $8.9 million

July 29th, 2005 - Paid out Bobby Holik

August 2nd, 2005 - Signed Marek Malik for three years for $7.5 million

August 2nd, 2005 - Signed Martin Straka for one year for $3 million

October 7th, 2005 - Traded Jozef Balej to Vancouver with conditional pick for Fedor Fedorov

January 8th, 2006 - Traded Maxim Kondratiev for Petr Sykora and 2007 4th round pick

March 9th, 2006 - Traded 2006 3rd Round Pick to Anaheim for Sandis Ozolinsh

July 1st, 2006 - Signed Matt Cullen for four years for $11.2 million

July 3rd, 2006 - Signed Aaron Ward for two years for $5.5 million

July 9th, 2006 - Signed Brendan Shanahan for one year for $4 million

February 5th, 2007 - Traded Jan Marek, Marc-Andre Cliche and Jason Ward for Sean Avery and John Seymour

July 1st, 2007 - Signed Scott Gomez for seven years for $51.5 million

July 1st, 2007 - Signed Chris Drury for five years for $35.25 million

July 17th, 2007 - Traded Matt Cullen to Carolina for Andrew Hutchinson, Joe Barnes and a 2008 3rd Round Pick

February 26th, 2008 - Traded Al Montoya and Marcel Hossa to Phoenix for Fredrik Sjostrom, Josh Gratton and David LeNeveu

February 26th, 2008 - Traded 6th Round pick to St. Louis for Christian Backman

July 1st, 2008 - Signed Aaron Voros for three years for $3 million

July 1st, 2008 - Signed Wade Redden for six years for $39 million

July 2nd, 2008 - Traded Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman to Columbus for Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche

Tom Renney came in just prior to the lockout to finish off a terrible season, and then guided the franchise through the "new" NHL and into the playoffs three straight years. If/when John Tortorella fails to bring in a even playoff team this year he will be let off the hook. But no Cup by 2012? Let's hope that Sather is the one to take the fall then ...

Remarkably, Torts got the team to the playoffs (and knocked them out of them himself) in '09 and then failed to make the postseason by a point in '10 and was let off the hook both times. It is the Garden's MO to turn a blind eye to pathetic administration but how could they possibly ignore no playoff revenue?

Well, easily.

Sather starts season number 11 under seemingly the same accountability his coach demanded from his players: none. Looking back at the last decade of epic disasters, I can't imagine what the next 10 years will hold for us. But, that being said, we keep buying tickets for this ride aboard the Hindenburg, despite the fact we've been going down in horrible, burning flames for years so the question is who is the bigger failure - Sather or us?

29-17-4: A Tale of Two Games

I wish I could make this up but I stayed late at work to watch the Ranger game and left right after the second period. I was taping the game at home so I figured I would watch it when I got in. Leaving work I thought 'wow, this may be the best-played game of the season, I can't even make fun of Redden.' So after commuting home, I threw the tape in and some interference made it unwatchable. As MSG+'s replay wasn't until 12:30am, I figured I would just check out the final box score and kill the suspense.

Yeah.

Well, I guess the band-aid theory is a good one - just rip it off and get a quick little pain, as opposed to slowly peeling it and drawing out the agony. For you folks who sat through it, I feel for you - I stayed up to watch the replay. For those that didn't, the Rangers fell apart in the third period and allowed a 1-1 game to turn into a 6-2 loss.

It was pathetic, it was disgraceful and it was more than enough proof that Tom Renney is not the man to get the Rangers to the Cup. As I have pointed out multiple times this season, this coach cannot motivate his players, makes imbecilic roster moves and cannot adapt to game situations. Sure he is nice, but a coach isn't supposed to be the players' friend, a coach is supposed to be a ruthless dictator who demands victory and is relentless in the pursuit thereof.

When a team is as infuriatingly inconsistent as the Rangers are, a change has to be made. Let's face it, you and I both know that the coach won't go but the topic deserves to be broached as this rollercoaster ride is making me ill.

Some notes:

*Was the Colton Orr vs. Eric Godard tilt off of the opening faceoff an ominous sign of things to come? Both goons traded solid punches for the majority of the bout before Orr faded and Godard beat him down to the ice. It certainly seems like a harbinger in hindsight as Renney stupidly put Orr out for the opening faceoff opposite Godard - a flaw in his gameplan. The risk/reward of the staged buffoonery simply wasn't worth it, especially on the road.

*Granted, as I said at the top, the first two periods of play were as good as any that the Rangers have played. Of course, their power play went 0-for-3 and they outshot the Pens 18-8 in the second period without scoring but that kind of thing has to be expected of this Ranger squad. Sadly now monumental collapses are also to be expected ...

*But hey, Aaron Voros got himself a point! Somehow Voros was awarded with an assist when Brandon Dubinsky's feed hit him in the back but hey, it will be something bandied about by Tom Renney when he defends the slow-footed, cement-handed idiot's place in the lineup. To include him on a team that has problems scoring is just foolish. When Callahan came down with the flu, there should have been a call made to Hartford to bring up either PA Parenteau (if he doesn't have to make it through waivers) or AHL All Star Artem Anisimov. Both of them are averaging a point per game - something NO Ranger is currently doing. Voros can't score, he can't fight - that's him getting knocked over by Cindy Crosby ... what can he do aside from collect the salary that my season ticket money is paying?

*Now this may be considered heresy but perhaps it is time for the King to rest. After the game Henrik Lundqvist told the AP that "I just lost my game in the third, totally, and that’s definitely not good enough." It isn't good enough and it isn't like this is the first time this has happened this season. Actually, by my count, it is the fifth. When you consider that Stephen Valiquette has had it happen just once and that one time was as much as the rest of the team's fault as it was his, perhaps it is time for Valley to get a few more starts - even on back-to-back nights.

*Jordan Staal's goal was a terrible goal for Hank to allow but the worse part of the play was watching Michal Rozsival give Staal several feet of room in the corner to make the play. He should have hammered him through the boards but Rozy isn't that kind of defenseman. Sadly, none of the Ranger blueliners are that kind of a defenseman.

*A crease-clearer perhaps would have also helped out on Wang-Tang Letang's first goal of the night as Hank was clearly distracted by Malkin wandering about the crease, allowing Letang to fire it past his glove. Letang's second goal wasn't much better as he forced Kalinin to turn over the puck then took advantage of the room Paul Mara gave him to fire another puck past the Ranger netminder. Another complete failure by the Ranger back end.

*Do you think it is coincidence that Redden and Kalinin were both in the penalty box when Sykora essentially iced the game with his second goal of the night (making it 4-1)? We have gotten spoiled as Ranger fans seeing Blair Betts and Chris Drury all too-often bail out the boys when they are down 5-on-3 but when you have a sniper like Sykora on the opposition, a goal is all but a given.

*Crosby's goal on the other other hand was pure luck. He had a ton of room and time to throw the backhand at the net (thanks for nothing Redden) and frankly, you could have beaten Hank with a beachball by that point of the game.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Petr Sykora - two goals.
2-Sidney Crosby - one goal and three assists.
1-Kris Letang - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Ryan Whitney - His injury, much like Gonchar's, will likely prove to be quite the boon for the Pens as he will be fresh for the playoffs. He grabbed two assists, blocked five shots and skated for 25 minutes - not a bad stat line for someone who has played a month.
2-Malkin - Yes Cindy came out of this one with four points but he wasn't as good as Gina, who seemed to continually press the Rangers deep into their end. Crosby has the flash, Malkin has the substance.
1-Jordan Staal - Talking to some friends a few months back I said the Pens ought to let Staal go. He had the sophomore slump and slow start this season but he proved tonight that he has the potential to be a top flight power forward.

Renney = FAIL

According to Sam Weinman, Tom Renney has scratched Lauri Korpikoski for tonight's game and is dressing Aaron Voros in his place.

“Getting Voros back in, getting his game back into the lineup, and his presence at the net to help our power play,” Renney said when explaining his rationale.

To help the power play? The power play that Voros was incapable of helping prior to his benching? The power play that Voros scored one goal on in his last 33 games?

Renney went on to acknowledge that Voros, who has been a scratch the past two games in part because of a drop-off in his fitness level, has worked his way back into shape; and that the move tonight was an effort to reward that.

So Renney will reward players who work out off the ice but he won't punish the ones who don't work on it ...

Fixing MSG's Mistakes

Buried in the Post this weekend was a very interesting little tidbit on MSG's programming.

Phil Mushnick write in his column that:

"MSG, NY," the nightly catch-all studio show, as well as "Inside the Rangers" and other shows, will be kaput, as of Jan. 1. All were bleeding bucks while registering no ratings. MSG will expand Knicks and Rangers pre and post-game shows.

Cablevision, as always when it loses expensive programming, will pass some of the savings on to subscribers. Sure it will.

While I am slightly saddened because a friend of mine will lose some freelance work, the demise of "MSG, NY" and "Inside the Rangers" has been long coming. Both shows royally stunk, which is why the ratings were so bad.

I pointed out how poor "MSG, NY" was eight months ago and will not shed a tear now that its gone. It was a poor concept from the start. In this day and age where there is so many tools available to test show concepts before they go to air, I am just curious why the MSG bigwigs didn't use any of them before flushing so much money down the tubes. Music updates are great. Sports highlights are great. Together? Not so great. Not even so good. Actually ... really, really bad. The show had no flow and was a public relations vehicle for the Garden's properties rather than an actual news show.

And the same goes for "Inside the Rangers." Instead of being an actual look inside the locker room, it was a glossy advertisement. Rarely was there any candor from the players, everything seemed droll and rehearsed. Sure there was a gem or two, but overall it was frankly boring. And, let's face it, the host, Scott Lasky, was a tool. This show could have been great - look at Islanders Insider on MSG-Plus - but instead it was a benign, boring commercial for the team.

On the other side of the coin, MSG has done pretty well to address the need for a good hockey show with its "Hockey Night Live" panel program. I don't necessarily agree with the folks on the panel - Ron Duguay, Ken Daneyko and Butch Goring - but the concept is a good one. I just ask that they remove part-time host Deb Placey from it as she clearly acts the fool most of the time and is known to many as more of a puck bunny than a journalist. No complaints about Al Trautwig, as he does a solid job. He knows what he is talking about and when he doesn't, he admits it and asks the smart questions that other fans like himself would be asking.

Mushnick joked that the savings from these cuts would be passed on to the customers but even if a small portion was used to improve the actual game broadcasts and the pre- and post-game shows, then this is a win-win situation. The production folks who work on-site at the games know what they are doing and it shows. The only negative side is more face time for Joe Micheletti; perhaps he will go in the next wave of network cuts and Dave Maloney can take his spot in the booth.

One can only hope ...

Many thanks to my friend Greg for pointing out the Post piece; I would have totally missed it.