Photo of the Day: What a Babe ...

I know more than a few girls that would love to play some puck with the Rangers and tonight I came across a photo of one who actually did: Babe Didrikson Zaharias. A multi-sport star during the golden age of sports (20s, 30s), the Babe is one of the all-time greatest female athletes. Below is a cool shot of her at a Blueshirts' practice about to take a shot at Andy Aitkenhead.

Original source is here.  

Guest Post: A Red, White & Blue Blueshirt

The Pundit was kind enough to pen this for me last summer for a project since abandoned and I felt it would be good to go up today: he remembers a New York Ranger who has faded into the past, one who happens to be a U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer. USA! USA! USA! -Scotty

by Mike Savino, aka the Ranger Pundit

Bill Moe came back on my radar in a rather strange way. My Grandson, Nicholas, had just secured a spot on his High School freshman team and was issued a jersey with a number 21 on it. Dad and Nicholas then did a search of Ranger jerseys, past and present to find a #21 to relate to a Ranger. Naturally, Gramps, the Ranger Pundit, came up with the perfect #21. Since Nicholas is a defenseman it was a natural that the #21 would be one of my favorites, the hard checking Bill Moe.

Moe played with the Rangers from 1944-45 to 1948-49. He played with Don Raleigh for two years. He was one of three American players in the NHL. One was Frankie Brimsek, the Bruin goalie also known as Mr. Zero. The other was John Manucci.

Moe was a hard luck player in his five years with the Rangers. He played in only one playoff game and suffered a fractured vertebrae on a check to Detroits Bill Quackenbush. In 1948-49 Moe was involved in an auto accident with four other players prior to the season opener. He suffered a concussion but still managed to play in 60 games. After the season the Rangers traded him to the Bruins who assigned Moe to their AFL affiliate. That ended Moe’s NHL career. In 1974 Bill Moe was installed in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Moe had a unique style of checking. He lined up a player and went low to the ice and clipped him below the knees. The crowd roared at t he sight of players doing cartwheels and landing on the ice on their backs. That kind of check is now outlawed. Its amazing, slewfooting, elbows to the head, sticks across the face are all minor type penalties but the artistic checks of a Bill Moe are outlawed.

I’ll never see another Bill Moe again just as I will never see another “Bones” Raleigh again. I guess I’m an old fogey and a traditionalist as I’m starting to look back more than I am looking ahead. But I look at the Rangers now and we are run by a GM who is in hiding and will start his 14th year without a reasonable run for the Cup. I see a disagreeable coach who wont be happy til one of his players gets disfigured by a shot. The hockey today is boring and well, I digress.

Boy, do I miss Bill Moe, who passed away in 1996 at the age of 80. But he is in hockey heaven where he skates to meet “Bones” Raleigh and his other team mates from the 40’s. God Bless Guys!

Random Rangers: A MSG Moment

Last week Madison Square Garden's brass unveiled Garden 366, an interesting way to pay lip service to the great history that has taken place within the walls of the various buildings to wear the MSG monicker. The SNY guys published the various Ranger-related events that will be included on the new sixth floor wallpaper.

While that list does encapsulate some epic events in Blueshirt history, there are so many more. From time to time I hope to publish them here - whether they are firsthand accounts from fans and the famous or are accounts found in books and other materials.

We'll start with the latter, an excerpt from Scott Young's Hello Canada! The Life and Times of Foster Hewitt, which was published back in 1985. Foster, as you should know, was THE MAN when it came to broadcasting hockey. His radio calls helped entrench the sport in the very being of our northern neighbors and many of his idiosyncrasies have been passed down to broadcasters today: "he shoots ... he scores!"

Foster covered the Leafs and was there when the Buds came up against the Blueshirts in the 1932 Stanley Cup Final. I'll turn it over to Mr. Young, who turns it over to Foster himself:

"When the teams skated out in New York's Madison Square Garden on the night of 5 April 1932, more than sixteen thousand were in the rink, breaking the fire marshal's capacity limit. The New York crowd was always one of hockey's rowdiest, and that night they were definitely up for the game. Newspapers had been feeding the fans every extra bit of animosity that existed between the teams. A few years earlier (Lester) Patrick had decided that (Lorne) Chabot had lost his nerve after a bad eye injury. (Conn) Smythe had crowed ever since that he'd practically stolen Chabot in return for a goalie he didn't want, John Ross Roach, always soft-pedalling the fact that to make the deal he'd also had to give up Butch Keeling, who had become a mainstay of the Rangers.

Back in Toronto, Foster's dramatic account - still only on a local network - had the faithful on the edges of their chairs. Foster, later, eyes shining, smiling and sometimes laughing at some memory, often used the phraseology familiar to his broadcast listeners:

Never, before or since, have I seen such tenseness, or such a brilliantly played, wide-open game. The Cooks were tremendous. Lorne Chabot in the Toronto goal was magnificent. Red Horner was knocking them high, wide and handsome on defense. And every time the Kid Line went out there they seemed to be able to take charge.
Along in the second period, the Leafs were ahead 5-2 when Coach Dick Irvin put a rookie defenseman out on the ice for the first time. Bill Cook went around him like a rocket the first time he came down the ice, and scored. The crowd had been noisy before. But with that goal they let out a roar that never stopped until the end of the period. And they kept right on roaring right through the intermission! When the Rangers came out they'd been listening to that roar from the dressing room and it doubled and tripled and quadrupled when they hit the ice.
It set them on fire. They scored again and made it 5-4. But from then on, the couldn't beat Chabot. And near the end of the period Horner, of all people, broke away and scored the Leafs sixth goal to take the heat off. That game was almost the ultimate in hockey. I'll never forget it."

Ah, the power of loud and proud New Yorkers has virtually no bounds. While that particular moment did not have a happy ending, the Blueshirts were able to recover. They made the Cup final again the next year and avenged their loss with a victory over those same Leafs. It marked the second time Stanley came to the greatest city on Earth, the second of just four. But that is a story for another time.

Random Rangers: Catching Up With Kevin Miller

Rangers have drafted seven players with the last name Miller, including brothers Kevin and Kelly (the third brother, Kip, was picked by Quebec). Kevin was selected in the 10th round of the 1984 draft - 202nd overall - and he went on to have a 620 game NHL career, 103 of them in a Blueshirt. He compiled 57 points before being dealt to Detroit in March of '91 alongside Jim Cummins and Dennis Vial for none other than Joey Kocur and Per Djoos. 


Kevin, who works in finance now, is also the vice president of the Greater Lansing Amateur Hockey Association. The GLAHA is currently holding a fund-raising raffle, with the prizes being several hockey jerseys. Info on that at the bottom but before we get to that, Kevin took some time to answer some e-mailed questions about his career:

SH: You got your start in the Ranger organization, what was that like?

KM: It was Great! The City and the Fans were Awesome. Definitely one of the best places to play in the NHL!!

SH: You were part of a youth movement that saw a number of guys grow in the system and graduate from the IHL to the NHL, including that Mike Richter fellow. There wasn't another real group of home-grown guys like that for 15 or so years and now, the son of one of your teammates (Brad Stepan's boy Derek) is at the forefront of another. What was it like being part of that and what is it that creates classes like that - drafting, coaching, luck, timing?
KM: Whenever you have a group come through with that type of progress it usually comes down to drafting and not trading away your drafts. Of course I was a late draft so the scout either was very good or they got lucky.

SH: You eventually played for the Islanders, why would you do such a thing?
KM: If I had a chance to do that again I would not sign with them!!

SH: Near the end of your playing career you spent three seasons in Davos - Rick Nash is currently killing time during this lockout with that club. Did you enjoy your experience?
KM: It was Great and one of my best hockey playing experiences! The town and the fans are awesome. It is beautiful and I loved playing there.

SH: Aside from the NASCAR-ish, ad-covered sweaters, what differences did you find in Swiss league play as opposed to NHL?
KM: Bigger ice surface so less physical. Very talented and speedy players. Great flow to the games.

SH: And what do you think about NHLers heading overseas during negotiations? I just saw that your cousin Drew (Red Wings forward and brother of Buffalo goaltender Ryan) has already headed to Scotland ...
KM: Guys don't want to sit around so they are taking jobs and going to have fun. It is very sad the owners have taken this position. The game was really growing and this will be another set back!

SH: One of the issues to be addressed in the current CBA battle is NHL participation in the Olympics. You played for Team USA when it was amateurs, what is your opinion - go back to that or stick with the current brand of stars?
KM: If they could have all teams use non professionals then I say go back to the college players, but most Europeans are paid very early!

SH: You went through the 1994 lockout, as a player what was that like?
KM: It was Brutal! Players like the money, but more importantly love to just play!

SH: What differences do you see between that one, 2004's and the current situation?
KM: No Different! No Hockey = CRAP!! 

SH: Honest opinion - when do you think this lockout will end and why? 
KM: Thanksgiving

SH: And I end every interview with a variation of the same question: over your NHL career, how much fun did you have?
KM: It was awesome and would do it all again if I had another chance. The sweat and pain paid off and was really worth it!


Kevin has mentioned the raffle on his twitter account but I borrowed the info from Off-Ice Instigating:

To benefit the Greater Lansing Amateur Hockey Association (GLAHA) the drawing will take place on December 15th (2012) and you DO NOT need to be present to win (so those not in Michigan can still enter). Here are the prizes up for grabs:

1st Prize: Signed Ryan Miller (Sabres) Jersey
2nd Prize: Signed Drew Miller (Red Wings) Jersey
3rd Prize: Michigan State University Jersey (In case you did not know 10 members of the Miller family have played hockey for MSU). All proceeds from this raffle will go to help support youth hockey in the great Lansing area. Checks can be made out to GLAHA and mailed to:

Kevin Miller
1475 Lake Lansing Road
Lansing, MI 48912

Please be sure to include:
Your Phone Number
How Many Tickets for Each Raffle
A Self Addressed Stamped Envelop (so Kevin can send you your raffle tickets)

So good luck!

Russian Ranger Draft Picks

With Gordie Clark telling all of the beat writers that he thinks quite highly of Vladimir Tarasenko as a possible selection next week at the NHL Draft, I figured I would go through the Rangers' history of Russian draft picks. I think I covered pretty much every one and ran it through Russian hockey writer Dmitry Chesnokov of Puck Daddy/Sovetsky Sport just to be sure I got things right. As with picks from any country, it is a mixed bag at best. Of the 29 players, 20 have yet to play in the NHL and only five (of the other nine) have played more than six games for the Rangers.

1982
7th round, 141st overall: Sergei Kapustin (LW): At 29 years old, Kapustin was in the prime of his career but never made it to North America. A shame, as he was a true winner with the USSR dynasty of the 70s.

1989
10th round, 202nd overall: Roman Oksiuta (RW): Had not made it to North America before he was traded to Edmonton in 1992 as part of the Kevin Lowe deal.

1990
5th Round, 85th overall: Sergei Zubov (D):Perhaps the most underrated Ranger ever, Zubov averaged nearly a point per game over his time on Broadway before being unceremoniously dealt with Petr Nedved to Pittsburgh for over-the-hill Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson. After going on to win a second Cup with Dallas in '99, Zubov left the NHL in 2009 and racked up 42 points in 53 games over the KHL last season. He played 1,232 NHL games including playoffs - over a 1,000 of them after leaving the Rangers (1,035 to be precise).

12th round, 244th overall: Sergei Nemchinov (C): Sarge was a rock solid center who could be counted on defensively while adding a little bit of offense. He lasted nearly six seasons on Broadway before going to Vancouver with Brian Noonan for Esa Tikkanen's second Ranger stint and Russ Courtnall.

1991
1st round, 15th overall: Alexei Kovalev (LW): Speaking of two stints, Kovalev played 536 games in all as a Ranger tantalizing and frustrating us fans. Kovy was the first-ever Russian selected in the first round of the NHL draft and he showed why with stellar play in 1994. Eventually, however, his inconsistency sent him packing. Twice. The second being one of Sather's worse trades, dealing him for Josef Balej and a second round pick (that never panned out). He is still playing and pissing off fans, just up in Ottawa.

9th round, 191st overall: Vjateslav Uvaev (G): Uvaev never made it to North America, spending most of his career in Russia before a span in Italy.

11th round, 235th overall: Vitali Chinakhov (C): Never a big point scorer, Chinakhov spent his career in Russia.

1992
5th round, 120th overall: Dimitri Starostenko (W): Two seasons after Starostenko was drafted, he came to the States and gave the NHL a shot. He never made it. The Belarussian (close enough) spent parts of three seasons in Binghamton - and 11 ECHL games (where he had nine goals and two assists) - before giving up and going home. Having lived there, I don't blame him.

10th round, 240th overall: Vladimir Vorobiev (W): When I was in Binghamton I covered Vlad, and saw firsthand his size and ability. At 6'3. 200, Vorobiev had a nice package of skills and some good hands. He just didn't have that x-factor, the push to make himself great. He would get to the show - 31 games over two seasons with the Rangers - but was eventually dealt to Edmonton for Kevin Brown (who?). Vlad was still playing in Russia last year.

1993
3rd round, 61st overall: Maxim Galanov (D): Another guy I would later see in Binghamton, Galanov spent three seasons in the A. He got a six game stint in the show, which was enough for Pittsburgh to decide they wanted him when the Rangers put him on waivers; he went on to play 122 games in the NHL in all and is still playing in Russia. Galanov had good size and skated well but wasn't gritty enough

4th round, 86th overall: Sergei Olumpijev (C): Six-foot-four, 220 pound winger was drafted and came to North America to play in the O. After two seasons of juniors, he started on a minor league career that saw him play on seven teams in four leagues over five seasons. I had to have seen him when he was with Muskegon of the UHL but don't remember; I do recall seeing him with the RHI Sacramento River Rats, where he had just 19 points in 27 games (by comparison his teammate Gerry St. Cyr had 89 points in just one more game).

7th round, 162nd overall: Sergei Kondrashkin (RW): Never came to North America and was out of hockey five seasons after being drafted.

10th round, 242nd overall: Andrei Kudinov (C): Like Starostenko, Kudinov came over to play in Binghamton for a few seasons before going home. He scored 76 points for the baby Rangers in 155 games but, back in Russia would play his final season alongside Oksiuta of all people (kinda interesting coincidence).

11th round, 261st overall: Pavel Komarov (D): Komarov played four games over three seasons for the Binghamton Rangers. The only mention I could find of him with the Blueshirts was getting cut during training camp one season. Judging by his numbers, he was a defensive defenseman who wasn't a fighter but took a lot of bad penalties.

11th round, 268th overall: Maxim Smelnitski (C): Like the last five Russian Ranger draft picks, Smelinitski came over, saw Binghamton and left for home. His tenure was the shortest - just one game.

1994
4th round, 100th overall: Alexander Korobolin (D): At 6'4, 225 you had to think he had some grit but he managed to make it through 21 games in Hartford before running home to Russia. He had one point (a goal!) and 22 PIM.

6th round, 135th overall: Yuri Litvinov (C): Litvinov never played on this side of the world and didn't play much on the other side either; he managed just 133 games over six seasons in Russia before quitting.

9th round, 209th overall: Vitali Yeremeyev (G): Ok, he is really from Kazakhstan but I had to include him. Yeremeyev was the first pick of the 9th round; following him in the same round were Tim Thomas, Johan Hedberg, Evgeni Nabokov, Tomas Vokoun and John Grahame. Yeah. Four games as a Ranger, four losses. He returned to Russia after that and became a cult hero for Dynamo Moscow fans (according to Dmitry, himself a diehard Dynamo fan). Yeremeyev won the championship in 2005 alongside some guy named Ovechkin and is still playing at a good level - 16-11-2, 2.37 and .920 last season for the 10th place team.

1995
5th round, 110th overall: Alexei Vasiliev (D): Like Yeremeyev, Vasiliev is still contributing in the KHL. Before going back there, he played 171 games for the Wolf Pack and helped Hartford win the Calder Cup in 2000. Unfortunately he didn't show he could help the big boys, going pointless with one minor penalty in his one game on Broadway.

8th round, 195th overall: Ilja Gorohov (D): Gorohov played one game here in America, and it was with the Las Vegas Thunder in 96-97. The defenseman returned to Russia and has steadily played there ever since. He played last season with Salavat alongside Vorobiev, Max Kondratiev and Dmitri Kalinin (as well as other familiars NHL renegade Alex Radulov, Viktor Kozlov and Oleg Tverdovsky).

1995
3rd round, 76th overall: Dmitry Subbotin (F): A career Russian-leaguer, Subbotin never came to play for the Rangers or their affiliates and was actually selected off our roster by Columbus in the 2000 expansion draft. He didn't play for them either.

1999
8th round, 226th overall: Evgeny Gusakov (LW): Gusakov is a curious case. He showed up to camp in '99, showed off his massive frame (6'6, 210 lbs) and was promptly sent to Baie-Comeau of the QMJHL. He had a decent time (53 points in 67 games) and would get one scoreless game in Hartford before the end of the season. Gusakov went back to the Q the next season, had 31 points in 32 games and then essentially fell off the map. He went to Belarus in 2001 and played 44 games, then managed 15 games over the next two seasons in Russia. Injuries maybe?

9th round, 254th overall: Alexei Bulatov (LW): Bulatov was on the '99 training camp roster as well but I guess he didn't like it here and the team had no qualms with letting him go home afterwards. He played 21 games for three different teams that season in Russia.

2001
2nd round, 40th overall: Fedor Tyutin (D): Oh Toots. Dealt to Columbus for flash-with-no-substance Nik Zherdev, Tyutin was a strong defensive player and he complimented Dan Girardi well. He actually hit players around the Ranger net and was smart on both sides of the ice. And Glen, in his wisdom, replaced the youngster with Kalinin a day later. Ugh.

8th round, 230th overall: Leonid Zhvachkin (D): Selected right after Aaron Voros of all people, Zhvatchkin went to training camp and was assigned to Hartford but never played in the A. He ended up with Guelph in the OHL alongside Tyutin. Where Toots was gone the next season, Zhvachkin or Zvachkin or Zhvachin (depending on where you look) stayed another year, was traded and went home in the offseason not to return to North America.

2006
2nd round, 54th overall: Artem Anisimov (C): It is fair to say that the jury is still out. After pathetically tepid play for much of this season, Anisimov found his game with Prust and Shelley during the stretch run. Arty said he felt more comfortable on the ice with them there, so of course John Tortorella has already said he will break up that line this fall.

2007
1st round, 17th overall: Alexei Cherepanov (RW): RIP. Cherry dropped down the draft board for some reason and everyone was happy to see a Jagr replacement. But whether it was heart problems (myocarditis) that killed him or alleged steroids, we'll never know if he would have come over here to play and if he would have been any good.

2008
3rd round, 75th overall: Evgeny Grachev (C): After being hailed as another big Russian who will swoop in and save us, Grachev made the jump to the AHL last season and was underwhelming by all accounts. He managed 28 points in 80 games and was accused of disappearing many nights. Whether we chalk it up to a transition season or his true colours has yet to be seen.

2009
7th round, 200th overall: Mikhail Pashnin (D): Pashnin was also drafted first overall by CSKA Moscow and went on to collect five points in 44 games with them. He is signed through next season but will come to the summer prospect camp and the Rangers are still quite high on him.

2010
????

Happy 81st!!

Happy Birthday to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. Howe turned 81 today and is remains venerated as one of the greatest to ever put a skate on NHL ice. And to think, he could have been a New York Ranger ...

Blueshirt Brawlers

Talk about limiting and even eliminating fighting is everywhere nowadays and I am not about to get into just how stupid I see it (very, very stupid). Instead, I wanted to take a look at a half dozen of the top tough guys in Ranger history. These are guys who made sure that the other team stayed in line - no, Aaron Voros didn't make the cut. I know you are shocked. It wouldn't be right to rank them, as one could hardly compare Ching Johnson to Tie Domi as they played in two entirely different eras and had different roles.

There are some players well worthy of consideration that I omitted, I know - feel free to make their cases in the comments. I admittedly leaned upon the stellar writing of hockey historian Joe Pelletier for Johnson. Every Ranger fan should spend some time reading his profiles of Ranger legends - it is a wonderful history lesson about all of the guys that the franchise has undeservedly forgotten about (and some they haven't). It was a little surprising that Joe didn't have Lou Fontinato but Leapin' Louie made my list:

*Ching Johnson - Ching played defense in the early days of the Blueshirts and by all accounts was the best defensive defenseman in team history. Partnered first with Taffy Abel and then Earl Seibert, they gave the Rangers a shutdown pairing that has been unseen in the Garden henceforth and rarely rivaled around the NHL. Ching's real name was Ivan, and he earned his nickname "Ivan the Terrible" by being the toughest sonofabitch on the block (50th and 8th). He was the backbone of two Stanley Cup winners and assuredly would have won the Norris Trophy if it existed back then (the first was awarded in 1954). The closest players in recent history to compare to him that I can imagine would be a Scott Stevens or Zdeno Chara.

*Lou Fontinato - He may have looked like a frail old man a few weeks ago at Bathgate/Howell night but Fontinato was a big time tough guy. He fought everyone from Gordie Howe to Rocket Richard to Frank Mahovlich and apparently even the fans (2:05 mark).

*Nick Fotiu - Mr. X from the Blue Seats, who is admittedly older than dirt calls Fotiu a no talent clown (among other things) but there is no denying that he was one of the most popular Rangers. The fans loved him and he loved the fans - when it comes down to it, every player could learn something from that. The first ever New York born-and-bred Ranger, Nicky kicked some serious ass and even had legendary goon Dave "The Hammer" Schultz scared to fight him. While I don't think his number should go in the rafters, I still think the team should honour him (among others).

*Tie Domi - Domi's battles with Bob Probert, the arguable best fighter in NHL history, were legendary and deservedly so. Domi had cement for a skull and took his share of beatings but he won a few despite having a size disadvantage most of the time.

*Joey Kocur - Here is a quick disclaimer: Joey is one of my five favourite players of all time so this has just a little bit of hero worship. Kocur's poor knuckles were completely abused as he beat the living hell out of any and all comers. While guys like Adam Graves and Mark Messier were certainly capable of defending themselves, Kocur rode shotgun to make sure they didn't have to. He dressed for 20 games in '94 and earned his first Cup ring. You just didn't mess with him.

*Colton Orr - Ridiculous pick? Perhaps right now, but we'll see. Orr already has a career high in points and is two minutes off his high in penalty minutes. He went from a one dimensional punching bag who with a decent right hand to one of the most dangerous and exciting heavyweights in the NHL. And he learned how to skate too, playing a big role on the shut-down fourth line. Don't let the -14 fool you, most of the goals against haven't been his fault and, let's face it, neither he nor Blair Betts are goal scorers so there are few pluses to offset the opposition's tallies. Another summer like the last one and we may be talking full fledged grinder or even power forward (gotta work on that shot).

Other considerations - Ted Irvine, Phil Watson, Ed "The Turtle" Hospodar, George McPhee, Chris Nilan, Troy Mallette, Kris King, Rudy Poeschek, Darren Langdon, Matt Barnaby.

31-23-7: Legendary Blue/Not-So-Legendary Loss

There is a whole lot to talk about after Sunday night's 3-2 overtime loss to Toronto so let's just get right into it, and I apologize in advance for the randomness but I tried to keep it mostly chronological:

*One of my favourite hockey memories is sitting in my grandparents' bedroom as a kid and watching as Ray Bourque skated over to Phil Esposito and removed his No. 7 jersey to reveal the 77 he willingly took to honour the Boston great. It provides a great contrast to the rain of boos that showered down on Michal Rozsival as he skated onto the ice during the ceremony wearing 33. And was it somehow poetic justice that after a night of turnovers and boos, Rozy scores the last minute goal to force overtime? Hmmm ...

*Speaking of Boston greats, why were there none included in the Howell/Bathgate ceremony? The other Original Six teams were represented, but no Bruins??

*Somehow Chicago's Stan Mikita received the largest ovation of anyone introduced during that ceremony who were not Ranger retired numbers. It is sad when the majority of the fans have never heard of great players for their own franchise like Andy Hebenton but acknowledge another team's alumni.

*But then again, I said "majority of the fans" and there weren't many of them during the ceremony. At the time that it started, I would say that there were close to 8,000 empty seats. The building filled out for the game, which is just sad - man, do people have their priorities mixed up.

*Ranger Rewind completely eliminated the long, rambling drunken speech by Rod Gilbert. Gotta love Rod but, wow, he made virtually no sense.

*He did make mention that the honour for Bathgate and Howell was well overdue, and he was completely correct. Had these two been raised to the rafters 20 years ago, they would have gotten the full ovations they deserved. To their credit, neither one made any mention of the slap to the face and neither one looked the least bit disappointed by the poor showing by the fans.

*It was also poor of the Garden to give away a piece of crappy paper - I'm sorry, a Ranger Timeline - instead of replica banners as they had for the '94s.

*If the Islanders can recognize Bill Torrey with a banner, the Rangers should do something for Emile Francis. It was a shame he couldn't take part in this evening's festivities and you have to hope that everything is ok with his family.

*Was it me or did Lou Fontinato look like death warmed over? Give that man a gray robe and a sickle and watch out.

*There is just something right about hearing "Oh Canada" before a hockey game.

*After a strong first shift to start the game, the Rangers then proceeded to play not to lose for the next 45 minutes. It wasn't until Toronto was finally able to exploit one of the many Blueshirt blueline mistakes and score that the Blueshirts woke up and played hockey.

*The fans were quick to boo Tom Renney for the two Too Many Men penalties but blame should go solely to Wade Redden for the first one. Redden, who had just served his senseless interference call, was supposed to go right for the bench out of the box and he started to. But, alas, the play came by and he turned away from the bench to make a hit and his replacement had already jumped the boards. It is stupid plays like that that help get your coach fired. And if anyone needs to be removed from the Rangers, it is not Tom Renney, it is Wade Redden.

*When he goes, you can also throw out the garbage - Aaron Voros. I was admittedly one of his biggest advocates when the Rangers signed him and he is continually proving me wrong. His purpose now seems to be to get his face beaten in and take bad penalties. That Renney felt the need to put him on the power play is just plain stupid. But then again, Redden got power play time too so maybe it is just a reward for players who were able to fool Sather into giving them contracts that they do not deserve.

*Getting back to Redden for a second, there was a great shift late in the third period when the Tom Renney Line Generator put together Callahan, Sjostrom and Korpikoski and the diaper dandies pressed the Leafs deep into their own end. That was until they passed the puck out to Redden and he had a soft shot blocked out of the zone. And those kids have five more seasons of having that idiot ruin their plays ahead of them ... if Sather doesn't trade them first.

*Chris Drury had 25 minutes of ice time in which he did ... well, did he do anything? I think he helped kill a penalty and a power play or two. But other than that, not much of anything. In fact, Drury was on the ice as Toronto took a 2-1 lead and when they won in overtime. Meanwhile Colton Orr had less than four minutes (in which he drew a penalty) and was quite cold when he was on the ice as John Mitchell scored the first goal of the game.

*Not that the Leafs' opening goal was Orr's fault. Mitchell was left standing alone between Marc Staal and Dan Girardi to scoop up and rebound and deposit it over the sprawled Lundqvist. It was almost as bad as the second goal when Ian White just decided to score and the Rangers decided to let him do it.

*As White scored, they were still announcing Scott Gomez's game-tying tally which was honestly an absolutely stunning goal that just makes you wonder why he doesn't do it more often. Gomez absolutely flew into the Toronto zone, went around the defense and slipped the puck under Toskala. It was gorgeous. It was about damn time. And it had better happen again ... soon.

*Gomez scored that on the rush, Rozy scored the second goal with Hank pulled, and yet the power play still went an impotent 0-3. However, there were no shorthanded goals against so we have to be happy about that. Dan Fritsche scored a power play goal for Minnesota tonight - just thought I would throw that out there.

*Stat of the night - the statistician somehow saw 41 shots by the Rangers. No way. But still, if he did see that many, how come Rozy only had three count? I saw him fire at least eight, most of which made it through to Toskala.

*Here is an idea for the next poll - who is more frustrating to watch, Zherdev or Naslund? Nazzy gets into better spots and then screws things up while Z makes great moves and loses the puck before he even gets to good spots. My money is on Z.

*They announced on MSG that it was Jim Ramsey's 1,500th game. The Garden did not recognize it inside the building - that is ridiculous and sad. Ramsey is more of a Ranger than any of the meatbags currently wearing blue, red and white and he deserved some kind of public acknowledgment of his milestone.

*I am not sure I can emphasize this enough - Wade Redden = BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

*And finally, you guys are quick on me when I don't properly address anythign negative done by my boy Betts so I have to mention it - Bettsy took a stupid, stupid penalty in overtime that led to the game-winning goal. Yep, it was dumb, yep, it cost them the game. But they still got a point they didn't deserve so the result is far better than what I expected. I'm still disappointed in Bettsy though.

*PHW Three Stars, which were clearly submitted before the end of regulation:
3-Ian White - one goal.
2-Vesa Toskala - 39 saves.
1-Pavel Kubina - three assists.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Rozy - Sure he was booed, sure he had a turnover or two, but he finally got the memo to shoot the damned puck and he secured a point that his team didn't deserve.
2-Kubina - He is everything Redden was supposed to be - smart, poised and capable.
1-Harry Howell/Andy Bathgate - Two true blue Ranger gentlemen got their just reward, after all these years. Their candor, wit and grace was a pleasure to behold.

Sunday, Sunday, Sundaaaaaaaaaay

And I keep getting e-mails that there are tickets still available. For shame. These guys were just as great and just as important to Blueshirt history as Richter, Graves and Leetch.

Quick Hits

Just a few items of interest for the moment:

*Courtesy of the NHL: Today in 1917 the National Hockey League was founded. The original teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Arenas, and Quebec Bulldogs (who announced that they would not operate during the inaugural season). The first game wasn't played until December 19th.

*Also 33 years ago today the MSG ice was the site of Bobby Orr's last game with Boston. And, of course, he had a goal and an assist as the Big, Bad Bruins beat the Blueshirts 6-4. Many folks forget that Orr went to Chicago to hobble around on his bad knees for 26 games.

*The NHL's media update e-mail today also included a link to the ECHL's announcement of their Hall of Fame Class. The minor league's Hall is actually virtual but it still counts. The reason I point it out is because John Brophy is being inducted in this class and Brophy was the inspiration for Reg Dunlop in "Slap Shot."

*Speaking of "Slap Shot," do not, DO NOT waste your time seeing the straight-to-dvd sequel that is coming out. While Puck Daddy was almost kind in Greg's review, this movie sucked. Granted, it was better than the Baldwin abortion that was "Slap Shot 2," but it was more like a bad "Mighty Ducks" sequel with worse acting. Yes Mark Messier pops up with a cameo, but he even seems to be laughing at how bad it is.

*If you want a good story - nay, a great story - head over to the Times today for their look at Robert Müller, the goalie with brain cancer. It is a touching story that luckily has yet to come to an end.

*And finally, I will be heading to the Islanders/Penguins game tonight with camera in hand. That means I will be catching Rangers in 60 later on to do my game report for Rangers/Bolts so feel free to check in and point out all that I missed. Let's Go Rangers!

Rangers Time Machine: 1983

The 4-0 Rangers are off to their best start since they went 5-0 in 1983-84. With the Blueshirts battling the Devils tonight, let's turn the clock back and look at the team we are trying to match.

Here is how they got their five wins:

Game 1: 10/5/83 vs. New Jersey 6-2
Game 2: 10/7/83 vs. New Jersey 3-1
Game 3: 10/8/83 vs. Pittsburgh 6-1
Game 4: 10/10/83 vs. Los Angeles 2-1
Game 5: 10/13/83 vs. Washington 4-3

On that win over the Caps, Lawrie Mifflin wrote in the New York Times that "The Rangers are off to the best start in the team's 58-year history, thanks to a victory last night that set the Madison Square Garden crowd to roaring as if it were playoff time."

Mark Pavelich had two goals and an assist and Dave Maloney scored the game winner. There were also a pair of injuries in the game - New York's Mike Allison sprained his knee while Scott Stevens - yes, that Scott Stevens - suffered a charley horse. But the big deal apparently was the penalty kill. Where the current Rangers have killed off all 18 power plays through their first four games, the '83 Rangers killed 33 through five and scored four shorthanded goals to boot.

Thanks again to the Times for the info here - their archives are a treasure trove of wonderful info and stories; you just have to pay for it if you aren't a subscriber. I'm not, so that is all you get (it costs four bucks an article!).

Those aforementioned Caps, by the way, would get 101 points and featured three award winners: Bryan Murray won the Jack Adams, Rod Langway took the Norris and Doug Jarvis won the Selke. I still think the NHL needs to name a best defensive defenseman award after Langway, but that is another rant so let's move on to more facts about the Rangers:

*After losing the sixth game, a 6-5 barn-burner to St. Louis, the Blueshirts rattled off four more wins - including two over the evil Islanders.

*Herb Brooks (RIP) was starting his third full post-Miracle season as the Rangers head coach under his former assistant, Craig Patrick, who was the general manager.

*The man, the myth, the hair Ron Duguay left New York in the offseason in a trade to Detroit with Eddie Mio and Eddie Johnstone for Willie Huber, Mark Osborne and Mike Blaisdell. And O-Pee-Chee did a horrible job doctoring a photo of him to put him in a Red Wings jersey.

*Glen Hanlon made the transition from Mio's backup to the starter on Broadway. He played 50 games, going 28-14-4 with one shutout and a 3.51 g.a.a. I like to believe that we will get a better season out of our stopper this year.

*Pierre LaRouche was signed just before the 83-84 season started - September 12th - to provide some scoring. He would go on to finish second in team scoring, one point behind Pavelich with 81 through 77 regular season games.

*Not a single player picked in the 83 draft made the roster, but rookies Peter Sundstrom and Jan Erixon both made the team. Youngsters James Patrick and John Vanbiesbrouck even got looks but would not see regular action until the next season.

*Brian Leetch was still several years away so it was Tom Laidlaw who was the Ranger blueliner wearing the No. 2 jersey on the cover of that $2.50 program.

*Eight of the current New York Rangers team had yet to be born. Oh man do I feel old.

Well, the Rangers lost in the second round of the 1983 playoffs four games to two to the Islanders, who went on to win their fourth and final Stanley Cup. The '84 postseason saw the Rangers bounced in the first round by - who else - the Isles. The Blueshirts blew a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and lost the clincher 3-2 in overtime. Thankfully the Isles would go on to fall in the Finals to Gretzky's Oilers in the birth of another dynasty.

Here's to hoping we don't face the Islanders in the playoffs this year and, as always, Let's Go Rangers!

Today In History ...

Courtesy of the NHL Media folks:

April 18, 1994 - The New York Rangers posted their second consecutive 6-0 shutout against the New York Islanders to open the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers became the first club to open the postseason with consecutive shutouts since the Buffalo Sabres defeated Montreal 1-0 and 3-0 in 1983.

Today In History ...

Courtesy of the NHL Media folks:

April 14, 1928 - In only their second season as an NHL franchise, the New York Rangers captured the 1928 Stanley Cup with a 2-1 triumph over the Montreal Maroons in the final game of the best-of-five title series. The Rangers became only the second American team in history to win the Stanley Cup, joining the 1917 champion Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.