32-24-8: Pouncing On The Panthers

You know, it really didn't seem fair. Taking five goals from the clawless Panther kittens like that? I felt bad for them, really. Maybe, maybe two or three of the Florida players would be able to play for another NHL franchise but I am not so sure. Those kids were running all over the ice and the Rangers took their lunch money. The Blueshirts played with poise and stayed within their system to take two very necessary points. A fellow season ticket holder said after Straka's goal, "Oh no, the dreaded five goal lead!" But, luckily we were able to hold on, and Hank secured the win and the shutout and everyone left happy. Onto more of my happy reflections:

*Hank was barely challenged all night, and stopped 23 shots. He was a bit jumpy, but he got the W and the "Hen-rik" chants returned. It was nice to see but I still won't upgrade him back above pauper until he beats a real team and limits them to less than two goals.

*The young players on the Panthers were nothing compared to the Ranger youth. Brandon Dubinsky was a force, and all credit in the world to him for pulling off Sean Avery to take on Greg Campbell. It was a sloppy fight with a whole lotta dancing but kudos to the kid for stepping up and answering the bell. Both guys got 10 minute majors because the idiot linesmen jumped into the fray and decided the fight should end for no apparent reason, despite the guys still able to go. On a side note, Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan also threw their bodies around all over the ice and skated hard every second of every shift. The future looks good, let's hope Sather doesn't screw it up with some high-priced rental on Tuesday.

*But on the same note - just an observation here - the power play went 0-4.

*At one point I yelled, "Watch out! Olli (Jokinen)'s skates are sharp" and got a whole bunch of shameful looks. What, too soon?

*Girardi and Tyutin both played their best game in weeks. Hopefully that is a sign of things to come, rather than a fluke. Marc Staal had a solid, if unspectacular, game next to the mustache of Jason Strudwick. He plays more comfortably with the veteran than with Rozy, but takes less risks - which runs counter to how he should play as Rozy has been suspect in the Rangers end this year (and takes lazy penalties a la Jagr).

*Ok, I guess I kinda have to talk about it. The big fluke. The six-foot-six fluke. The lumbering, defensively inept fluke. Marek Malik, who played a remarkable game that included a goal AND a hit. To see one of those in a game is astounding, but both? I'm at a loss for words. Several people said that hell froze over, but I think he just saw the trade deadline coming so he saw it as his door out of town and stepped up his play. Then again, he victimized Florida for three assists in the home opener, so maybe they just suck.

*As for fellow Czech Jagr, he won't be traded. I think that the news has helped him find his comfort zone as he has stepped up his play this weekend. Granted, he didn't have to face any big shutdown defensemen in either game, but his second period goal tonight was very pretty and classic Jagr. By the way, if you go to that link and read the article, can you believe how Sather has actually fooled himself to believe that dealing Brian Leetch was a good thing?? Oh my ...

*HO-ssa! returned, and I really didn't have much of a problem with him. He certainly didn't fit on the right wing of the fourth line, but he didn't screw anything up so that is a plus. He will only work for the Rangers in the same capacity as Brad Isbister last year - either as a first line winger across from Jagr, or on the bench. I prefer the latter.

*Florida's Steve Montador tossing pucks to the few Panther fans in the crowd before the game. It is a rarity that visiting teams do that, but it is always appreciated. On the other side of the ice Avery also tossed a puck up and made sure it got to a little girl with a sign. She started jumping up and down and was so, so happy ... that's what its all about folks. I love hockey.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Scott Gomez - goal and two assists.
2-Malik - goal and an assist.
1-Hank - 23 saves for a shutout.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
(I'm warning you, I won't do it. I won't put him in here. Not a chance. No way. If he can play like that against the Panthers, why not against anyone else, where was he the rest of the year?)
3-Straka - had a goal and an assist while playing his usual responsible hockey, always appreciated.
2-Dubi - he likely won't get Calder consideration, but he deserves it.
1-Gomez - played a really quick game. He didn't make any huge highlight lays with blazing speed or stickhandling acumen but his quickness and hockey smarts got him into some good positions that he was able to take advantage of.

13-8-2: Rangers Blow Great Effort By Vally

A lil live blogging this evening of the Rangers game, why the hell not? Since there is a ton here from all of my ranting, I will emphasize the highlights.

Pregame:
*Jagr ... smiling??? Trippy. Who knew having Straka would brighten his outlook so much; now if would only improve his scoreline. It may take a while for Straka to get his timing back but who knows?

*Vally in net. I feel confident in him, you should too.

*Even though it was because of injury, maybe the game off will have the same effect on Rozy that it did for Malik. For those that don't pay as much attention, after being benched, Malik all of a sudden was solid defensively. And no matter how many goals he scores, Rozy's job is to play D.

*Sam and Joe are pointing out Olli Jokinen as the Panther to look out for but I think it will be the combination of Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton that will prove to be trouble. We'll see ...

First Period:
*Why is Hossa in the lineup over Greg Moore? Hopefully he will be gone when Cally comes back. I really, really hope ...

*All of Dubi's speed will seriously go wasted now that Straka is opposite from Jagr as both love to slow the game down.

*I hope that post shot by Mezei wakes up the Rangers and tells them they need to actually play tight defense, because Shanny gave him a ton of room.

*Quick glove by Vally on the pk. I told you to have faith in him.

*I think Blair Betts may have as many saves as Vally right now. If only he could score ... ever.

*I had no idea Bobby Orr was Marc Staal's agent. That is awesome. Orr won eight consecutive Norris Trophies. What a fantastic mentor for our prize prospect. Thus far this season I would say that Staal has definitely earned himself a spot on the All Rookie team ...

*Shocking, no call when Pru was abused on a break down the wing. That guy takes more abuse than anyone, including Jagr.

*The Panthers uniforms really look ridiculous, what with the vertical stripes down the sides of the sweater and the horizontal ones on the socks.

*Please, someone put Hossa out of my misery.

*Florida is playing a really tight box+1 defense (almost like a trap) keeping the Rangers out of the scoring lanes. Best way to beat that is to dump and forecheck hard. Somehow I don't think Jagr's line will be doing that. Guess we will just have to wait for special teams.

*I just realized that this live blogging thing needs some point of reference so I will try to put game times in with each of these rants.

*4:30: King who? Its certainly nice to be able to give Hank a rest without being worried.

*4:20: I hate how MSG misses play for replays, especially when they are covered by idiotic comments by Joe.

*3:25: This Strudwick/Mara pairing isn't working all that well right now. The Panthers keep pouncing on them and getting scoring opportunities.

*2:38: Greg Campbell of all people just walked around Rozy. Guess the time off didn't help his defensive acumen.

*2:38: Now there are audio issues? MSG has technical problems almost every time they go to Florida. Remember when we nearly missed Dom Moore's goal with three seconds left to force overtime two years back because MSG lost signal? That was annoying.

*7.7 seconds: Holy Sh-t!!!!!!!!! Chris Drury scored with 7.7 seconds left. Again. But for the Rangers this time. Oh my god!!!!!! 1-0 Rangers

Second Period:
*14:38: So I had to work through the intermission and the first five minutes of the period but I saw that Vally was stellar. Ho hum. Told you so.

*11:00: Wow is this puck possession power play nonsense not working. Shocking that once the Jagr unit goes off the Rangers get into the Panthers zone and get a chance. No, not really all that shocking.

*9:20: What a fantastic sequence by Staal - great shot from the wing then he skated all the way back to cover his man to negate a Florida 2-on-1.

*9:07: Joe and Sam are raving at how great Booth is to get the game-tying goal but it was more Girardi's blown coverage than Booth's incredible skills. 1-1

*4:10: Jokinen was right, there should have been a penalty.

*3:50: Straka is still shaking off some rust but he is definitely showing signs that he will be huge for us.

*3:10: Cullimore is draped around Jagr and yet there is no holding or interference call. As bad as Jagr has been, the refs are certainly not helping.

*2:29: Have I mentioned lately that Hossa sucks? Cause he does. Two open chances and he blows both.

*2:20: Either these refs are dropping the pucks inordinately fast or MSG is doing a terrible job as they've missed multiple faceoffs in this game.

*1:05: I just heard a Potvin Sucks whistle and chant. That is awesome. In Florida, where Potvin does colour commentary. Fantastic. Let's Go Rangers!

Third Period:
*18:54: Wow. That goal by Weiss was pretty damn impressive. He wasn't even looking at the net. Hmm, who said it earlier that the Rangers had to look out for him? Oh, that would be me. 2-1 Florida

*15:30: There really is no reason for Colton Orr to be playing in this game. I don't think Florida has any big brawlers playing so what's the point? You can't tell me that his spot wouldn't be better served going to G.Moore or Dawsie.

*14:25: My dinner tonight consisted of some pretzels, popcorn and a Mrs. Field's cookie. If I was 10 years old this would be heaven but now I just feel sick.

*13:40: Why are the Panthers dictating the tempo of play? Don't they realize who they are playing? Wait a second, oh yeah, that's the best way to beat the Rangers as they let it happen more often than not.

*9:30: It would be a damn shame if Marty Straka is hurt again, if only because it prolongs Hossa's time with the team.

*7:17: I hate listening to Joe. His astute commentary included 'he (Staal) has a broken blade, yeah, he probably has a broken blade.' Then they show that Staal is getting his skate reedged, so it wasn't broken. Moron. Don't say something if you have no idea. Its my job to speculate, not yours. You are supposed to analyze.

*5:52: What a pass by Toots to find Girardi coming out of the penalty box. Ah, the benefits of no red line. Too bad Dan got hauled down. And no matter what Joe said, it wasn't a penalty shot deserving infraction.

*There is no difference between Bryan Allen's slash on Sean Avery's skate than there was on Mattias Ohlund's on Mikka Koivu except Allen's slash hit lower. That play had better be reviewed by the league and a suspension issued.

*4:35: 5-on-3 and the other team gets a breakaway. For shame. Get Jagr off of the ice. I mean it, this is ridiculous. Not every play has to go through him.

*3:50: The Little Leaguer pulled his Captain Clutch act out again to tie the game, thank goodness for Sather signing him. Notsomuch for Gomez, but for him. 2-2

*2:15: Sean!!!! Goddammit, dude, how do you miss an empty net!?!?? Yes, some nice work by Jagr to set it up but he shouldn't be picking his spots. He should play this way all game long. "Captain Superstar."

*0:00: Vally was great, the Rangers should give him a raise or get him a hooker for his performance bailing them out tonight.

Overtime:
*4:37: There was another Potvin Sucks! How great!

*2:40: Haha, Richard Zednik. Former Islander scum. Gotta appreciate him negating the game-winning goal.

*1:50: Jagr, Shanahan, Drury and Gomez out on the ice. Two, probably three future Hall of Famers. And they can't score. Jesus.

*0:45: Two shorthanded breakaways for Stumpel this game. Unreal. Thank goodness he blew both.

*0:00: I don't know if I can take more games like this. If it was in the Garden, I would probably have an ulcer.

Shootout:
*They just showed a tight shot of Vally and it looked like there was a goal judge behind him. I thought they got rid of that? Maybe it was just an old guy in a suit.

*Peltonen has a ton of skill and tried to be all fancy but Vally wasn't having it.

*Shanny shot wide, MSG matted a graphic over it as he skated. Idiots.

*Vally huge save on Horton. Giving a lil glove! Oh baby! (I miss JD)

*Wow, Hossa missed. I'm surprised. (No, not really).

*Stumpel blew his shot, thats three breakaways he blew in the game.

*Jagr is actually taking the shot when there is no pressure, what surprise. And he did a halfhearted fake and was stopped. Really kids, at one time, he was an incredible player.

*Glove take 2. Olesz was going 500 miles an hour and was stopped by Vally's glove. Awesome!

*Pruuuu, tried to go fast and blew his move.

*Olli scores on a weak wrister five hole. Sad. I wonder if Vally's left skate got stuck since he didn't go down in a full butterfly like he should have.

*Captain Clutch, can he do it again??? Nope. Why the hell did every Rangers shooter try to go low glove-side on Vokoun? Especially when he stopped it every damn time.

Postgame:
*PHW Three Stars
3-David Booth - for one goal? meh.
2-Drury - two clutch goals.
1-Olli - the shootout winner, big deal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Weiss - what a incredible goal.
2-Drury - so clutch, so cool. Team USA's future captain in 2010.
1-Vally - much like with Hank game after game, he bailed out some piss-poor play by the Rangers with a stellar performance. I don't care that we lost, we got a point because he was so good.