11-9-1: Reboundin' Like Rodman

After the Rangers choked in the thin air of Denver on Friday night, hopes were not particularly high for Saturday evening's tilt against the Minnesota Wild. As the Rangers often prove, if you set the bar low then they can mostly get over it. But on this night, it wasn't even close as the Blueshirts blew out the Wild 5-2.

Now, It would have been nice for Gabby to return to the Xcel Energy Center and put up five but it was just as enjoyable to see the Rangers as a team do it, in a much-needed victory. Everything went right for the Rangers and they head back to the Garden on a high note. This win was huge because they will face a desperate Calgary team before heading out on another short road trip to complete a six-games-in-nine-days rip.

Some notes:


*One of the best parts of this win? The goals didn't come from the team's primary scoring. No Gabby, no Boyle. (Yes, I just included Brian Boyle in the team's primary scoring but that is how things have fleshed out so far. He did get an assist, his first of the season.) The Pack guys accounted for a pair, Ruslan Fedotenko was finally rewarded for his hard work with a goal and MDZ and Frolov set pigs'a flyin' with a goal apiece.

*Brandon Prust = Warrior.

*Mike Sauer was the guest during a intermission and he spoke just like he plays - calm, cool and to the point.

*Micheletti and Kevin Weekes both attributed the Arty goal to Boogaard's big hit - something the big man should have been penalized for. He nailed Robbie Earl high, something that surely should have been penalized. But, perhaps O'Halloran received an e-mail after the Pittsburgh affair so he swallowed his whistle. In fact, O'Halloran (along with partner O'Rourke) called four of the first five penalties against Minnesota ... hmmm ... how about that? What a co-in-key-dink.

*Not that there is any competition or anything but Minnesota's official scorer gave Cally just one hit in the game while awarding Cal Clutterbuck with six. And it was enough to put Clutterbuck in first in the NHL by two hits over - who else but - Cally with a total of 82 in 19 games.

*The Rangers still suck on faceoffs.

*How great was it to hear Micheletti rave about Del Zotto being the 'best player on the ice' right before he helped Matt Cullen (of all people) break Biron's bid for a shutout with his missed hit and then took a late penalty? MDZ did score a goal - something to be thankful for - but it really wasn't anything special as Backstrom was caught grossly out of position. The kid is still struggling in his own end, he is struggling making passes and one goal into a mostly empty net doesn't change that. Even with the goal, he still finished a -2 in a 5-2 win.

*Alex Frolov scored on a wrap-around. That pretty much sums up just how woeful Backstrom was in this one.

*As mentioned on twitter, "Can't decide who is/was more despicable - Matt Cullen or Aaron Ward ... no love lost for either."

*For all of the talk about how great the fans are in Minnesota, that building sounded dead - even before the Rangers went up four-zip. Were they all in awe that they received Gaborik bobbleheads? I know I would be, our owner is too cheap to give those out nowadays.

*Now there is no reason to demean Derek Stepan's mother by subjecting her to a physical review but she deserves inclusion in this because her presence at the games clearly has an impact on her son. Stepan is simply more comfortable playing with her in attendance. He doesn't seem to grip his stick as tight and just plays, and the Rangers are a better team for it. Perhaps the team should give her one of those season tickets that they are still advertising in late November.

*Matt Gilroy, frankly, was hardly noticed despite playing more than 16 minutes and getting the helper on the Arty goal. And that is a good thing.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brent Burns - one assist.
2-Marc Staal - no points.
1-Dan Girardi - two assists.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Greg Zanon - Zanon is just so insanely underrated that it is criminal. He blocks shots, he makes good hits and he is right where he needs to be. And, on a night where the usually-stable Nick Schultz is a minus-three and the team allowed five goals, Zanon skated off with a plus-two rating.
2-Fedotenko - The Ukrainian foot soldier keeps fighting the good fight, continually proving the Ranger brass right to have given him a training camp tryout. He goes to the tough parts of the ice and often comes out with the puck and on this night came out with a goal.
1-Staal - Staal didn't score, he didn't even collect an assist in his 25 minutes of work. But he did play some strong hockey on both sides of the ice. Staal showed he can be part of - if not lead - the rush while still making it back to keep up his defensive responsibilities. Last season he over-extended himself trying to do both but he is gradually finding the right balance and is morphing into the No. 1 defenseman he has been forced to be the last few seasons.

Thanks, Dude ...

Because of my unhealthy jersey habit, I am a huge fan of the blog Third String Goalie. Jeff does a helluva job with hockey history and linking it to the massive sweater collection he owns (and dreams about owning). He puts up a new post every day and is the first blog I check every morning afternoon when I wake up.

He is a Minnesota man, something I would not have a problem with ... except that in today's case, he selected a special moment in Wild history to honour: the anniversary of Marian Gaborik's five-goal game.

Bastard.

Funny how my (now pic-less) take on it back then hasn't changed. But then again, how can I be mad? Gabby is ours now, so we've won in the end. Right??

Gaborik Is Broadway Bound

TSN is reporting that the Rangers signed Marian Gaborik to a five year deal, $7.5M per. If Gabby managed not to injure himself signing the contract, then the Blueshirts finally got their Jaromir Jagr replacement. The dude is a Fabergé egg. Stunningly beautiful and expensive, yet ridiculously fragile. Goal scoring is not a problem with him (who will ever forget the five-goal game?) but staying healthy is.

Sather is a gambler, especially when playing with someone else's money. And today he spent it on Gaborik. High risk/high reward, no guts/no glory Sather is going for it. And we will just have to sit back and pray that it pays off.

Honestly, this does little to make up for the Brashear signing to me, but it will certainly make for an interesting time. We will enter every game with baited breath - what will Gaborik do tonight? What kind of goal will he score? Will his groin go again or will it be something else? Gabby is not a Tortorella-type player, he is too soft and has little idea of defense - even coming from Minnesota. But he can score goals and now that he is reunited with Aaron Voros, the sky is the limit.

NHL Four-cast: Minnesota Wild

1 - Why is this team worth watching? Marian Gaborik can put the puck in the net, at least when his groin is feeling alright, Brent Burns is growing into a all-around defensive dynamo and you just can't beat the Boogeyman.

2 - Are they better or worse than last year? Worse. Andrew Brunette is solid but no Brian Rolston and they didn't even bother replacing Pavol Demitra - a player who Gabby clearly enjoyed playing with. Marek Zidlicky should add to an already mobile defensive corps but who knows, he could get injured early and often like Kim Johnsson or Kurtis Foster. Antti Miettinen, Mark Parrish and Owen Nolan will be fine additions to their system but none of them bring anything new to the table. Edmonton should give them a run for the division title this season.

3 - Who should YOU draft in fantasy? Even without Demitra, Gabby is good for a point per game. He has all-world talent and one shudders to think what numbers he would put up away from Lemaire's system. Burns will get you points and PIMs from the blueline, while Zidlicky and Foster should just get points (figure 40 or so each). Mikko Koivu was headed for a huge season before the Ohlund incident last year so who knows just how high he can go? I will definitely be targeting him in some of my drafts. Pierre Marc Bouchard also has a ton of offensive skills but he signed a big deal so beware of complacency. Niklas Backstrom is one of the top goaltenders in the game and has the assistance of the Wild's not-so-wild system so he should be among the first goaltenders taken (Brodeur, Giguere, Lundqvist, Nabokov, Osgood and then him).

4 - Will the Wild ever be as beloved as the North Stars? Inside Minnesota, sure. The team sells out every game with what I hear is a fantastic crowd of hockey fans. But outside of Minnesota? Notsomuch. They play some pretty boring hockey and have no characters. There is no boy model Modanos, no gold medal Brotens, no missing Links and no tit f--ker Bellows. Sorry guys, we still love the North Stars.

17-14-3: Marian Gaborik Goes Wild

So I am really not sure how I can sum up the Rangers 6-3 loss. I will try, in one word ... undisciplined? nah ... Oscar-worthy? nah, just Josh Harding is deserving there ... exciting? mmmm, not if you were a New York fan, since it was obvious the outcome early ... ok, I have it ... Gaborik!

*Dude, Marian Gaborik had a six point game with five goals. Wow. He played a helluva game, and I don't want to take anything away from that, but at the same time, it was Ranger breakdowns that put him in the position to rack up that many points. He just took advantage of the situation ... again and again and again and again and again.

*Jagrsupporter, MinnesotaMatt, all of you blind supporters of the Rangers fair captain: OPEN YOUR EYES. Jagr's laziness and lack of passion for play embodied itself yet again, as he gave the puck over to the Wild and then stood there as they scored their first goal of the game. I can overlook a captain who doesn't speak much if they lead by example - Steve Yzerman, Nick Lidstrom, Joe Sakic, Brendan Morrow, Guy Carbonneau, etc. But I can't find anything of worth in Jagr's game and thus his leadership. Wearing the C brings with it responsibility and yelling at Rozy once and sulking the rest of the time doesn't quite do the trick.

*Ok kids, for those youngsters out there, take a look at the performance by Gaborik. Jagr used to be able to do that. A long, long time ago. Nowadays Gaborik is a dynamic scorer while Jagr has to rely on lucky bounces to put up points. No, I am not giving him any credit for his assist on the Rangers second goal, I don't think he was trying to get it to Straka, just to the crease. Straka did the work on that one.

*I said it many times at the end of last season and the beginning of this one, I am definitely in the Dan Girardi fan club. I will be getting a jersey of his in the near future (once I get some overtime pay for these holidays). I still have love, even if he blew it in front on Gabby's fourth goal. But that was as much Drury's fault as Girardi's.

*I have had this battle a number of times, but I really do think that Minnesota's Christmas coloured jerseys are rather awesome. They look like old school sweaters and go well with the wilderness-themed squad ...

*You know, I already can't stand Joe Micheletti but for MSG to waste trivia with such a stupid question as who scored more as a Gopher - him or his two brothers - really, really pisses me off. Trivia has become a tradition with my dad and I but we didn't even waste our time on this one. Who cares? Its a Rangers game, not the Joe Micheletti show.

*Poor Petr Prucha. The guy can't find his scoring touch yet continues to excel in his role as the NHLs punching bag. Even though Renney actually yelled at the refs for once, he was wrong, there was no intentional elbow on the play. Its nice that Renney did it, but it cost the Rangers a stupid penalty and a second stupid power play goal.

*Brent Burns, who hammered Pru, showed the entire NHL how to beat the Rangers. He used his big size to his advantage, knocking the puck off Rangers sticks with ease while hitting everything that moves. As the Isles showed earlier this year, if you are more physical than the Rangers it takes them out of the game. Burns did it by himself, standing out on every shift.

*You know, you have to admire Jason Strudwick's heart and dedication. I really think he should be made a player/coach. But I do think that its sad that he is the one who has to stand up for his teammates, especially as he isn't much of a brawler. His battle with Voros was painful as Voros clearly didn't want to fight.

*I'm happy for Nigel Dawes, he scored with his dad in the crowd. That must have felt nice for them.

*Keep an eye out on The Dark Ranger's "Tom Renney Danger Meter" because it is going to go up. The Rangers took a ton of terrible penalties and undisciplined play like that is the fault of the coaching staff. You have to keep your team composed and he could not do that. He did have them playing solid hockey at even strength but at the end of the day the Rangers are the team that gave up five goals in one game to one guy.


*If Gabby can put up six points, I am scared to think about what Paul Stastny will do tomorrow ... oy ...

*And for once, these stars lists are nearly the same:
PHW Three Stars
3-Burns - one assist, one helluva hit on Pru
2-Demitra - two assists
1-Gabby - five goals, one assist

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Demitra - picture perfect passes, all night long.
2-Burns - singlehandedly got the Rangers off their game and sparked his team.
1-Gabby - he got six points in one game. SIX!!!!!