21-16-4: Rope-A-Dope

Dan Girardi's overtime goal gave the New York Rangers a much-needed victory over the evil Islanders on Saturday night in Nassau. After watching that at the Flying Puck I ventured up to Radio City to watch some boxing, Nonito Donaire vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux. Rigo ended up winning by decision, an upset to uninformed fans of the fight game.

Heading home from the bout I began thinking of the Ranger game as a boxing match and found the best characterization was the classic rope-a-dope. For those who don't know the sweet science, Wiki explains what the rope-a-dope is:

"The rope-a-dope is performed by a boxer assuming a protected stance while allowing his opponent to hit him, providing only enough counter-attack to avoid the referee thinking the boxer is no longer able to continue and thus ending the match via technical knockout. The plan is to cause the opponent to 'punch himself out' and make mistakes which the boxer can then exploit in a counter-attack."

Pretty much sums up the Ranger/Islander game quite well. The Blueshirts largely sat back, outworked and outchanced by the Isles. Hank absorbed punch after punch until the ice opened in OT and Girardi slid down the wing, exploited Josh Bailey's blunder and scored the winner.

It was the necessary result, but it sure wasn't pretty and it doesn't bode well for the future - as we saw last season, all of those punches take their toll. Hank, McD, G, Cally ... all of the principle players are getting ground down long before the final bell and an ugly knockout is on the way unless Torts finds a new philosophy that works.

Just a few Late Hits:

*Both pugilists were saved by the bell once, or rather the ringing of the puck hitting the iron. Ok, I'm done with the boxing analogies - but they do work.

*Girardi's goal came after Derick Brassard gained the blue line and threaded the needle to the defenseman skating down the wing. Re-read that again. Brassard gained the blue line. He didn't throw the puck in the corner, he didn't go for a change ... he used his skill to skate in, draw the defense and make a great feed. Imagine that, a Ranger making the most of his ability rather than letting himself be shackled by the unimaginative system.

*Colin McDonald nails Steve Eminger, Taylor Pyatt comes by and bumps McDonald to let him know it wasn't cool. Penalty is called on McDonald, whistle blows. So my Tw-enemy Arron Asham skates in and slams him against the boards. Doesn't fight him, just gives a late shove. Two minutes for roughing. The message is not sent, the power play is negated. Remind me again what the point of Asham's presence is?

*Then again, the Ranger power play went 0-4. Maybe giving Brian Boyle - he of zero power play goals in his previous 170 games (including playoffs) - three minutes of ice time wasn't a wise move. An aside: why won't Torts try the great-skating John Moore on the man advantage unit?

*Notice that the second period Ranger post hit came off the rush, not once they got established in the zone with their usual tired, predictable power play.

*Love Cally: Lubo nailed Hagelin on the endboards as the first period buzzer sounded and the captain goes over to him. He didn't pull an Asham and do something stupid like slamming the guy from behind, he just let the Slovak know it was uncool. Lubo didn't lay another hit the rest of the night.

*How is Kyle Okposo allowed to talk trash to anyone? He plays on the Islanders, and is not a particularly good hockey player. Just shut up dude. His entire career has been a joke since he left the USHL.

*Darroll Powe really is Blair Betts II. Tenacious, good wheels and absolutely no luck around the net.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Evgeni Nabokov - 19 saves.
2-Dan Girardi - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 29 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Tavares - Ok, maybe this guy has some skill. Maybe.
2-G - Over 29 minutes of ice time, helped Hank shut the Isles out, had the awareness to break down the wing as Bailey stumbled and scored the game winner.
1-Hank - Any other goaltender and the Rangers lose this one 5-0. Easy. 

12-8-2: Edging The Isles

On Thursday night the Rangers faced the Islanders for the third of four times this season and barely edged the blue and orange, taking a 2-1 overtime win from the Mausoleum.

As has often been the case in matches between the two rivals, the Islanders played above their ability and the Rangers played below. The Blueshirts were largely outhustled and outskated, their team defense resembled Swiss cheese and their offense poor and predictable.

But, blissfully, they managed to edge the Isles in the end and extended their winning streak to four games. Rick Nash's return has powered the Rangers past lesser sides, collecting much needed points along the way. With this asterisk of a season, just making the playoffs gives the team a great chance at making the Cup Finals and the Rangers sit in eighth, two games away from the midway mark.

As mentioned last match, this is just the warm up to the real race. It is a shake-down cruise where we see the problems and work to fix them. As this game showed, there are a lot of issues to deal with but they can win despite them. The trick will be to keep doing that as the opponents get better and the games become more important ... just 26 games to go.

Late Hits:

*After putting together another completely forgettable performance, Marian Gaborik gained redemption by scoring the game-winner in overtime (courtesy of a Ryan Callahan screen). It was his eighth goal of this season, and it snapped an eight game goal drought. Interesting fact, Gabby has 37 points against the Isles in his career - the most against any single team other than Edmonton. He has 45 points in 47 games against the Oilers, 37 in 30 against the Isles. Can't hate on anyone who owns the Islanders ... except for Charles Wang.

*Astounding how many times the Rangers aimed for the logo on Nabokov's chest. They made the Kazakh look excellent until Rick Nash managed to deflect Step's shot down between the goaltender's legs. Great hands by Nash after he wasted a number of good chances earlier on. It appears that, like the Borg of Star Trek, NHL goaltenders are adapting to his one lethal move.

*Nash was one of those responsible for the Grabner goal - along with Eminger, Del Zaster and Hank. But Sather didn't trade for him for his defense so whatever. At least he didn't take any bad penalties for once.

*Stop with the blind passes already. All of you.

*Welcome to the Rangers Vlad Malakhov Karel Rachunek Sandis Ozolinsh Christian Backman Dmitri Kalinin Roman Hamrlik. The Capitals' castoff played his first game as a Ranger and brought exactly what was expected of him - bad decisions, poor positioning and zero offense. Putting him with Steve Eminger was a mistake, as Emmy can't skate particularly well and the Isles abused them both. It was only the fifth appearance of the season for the 38 year old, who was right when he said that time was his enemy during the lockout - the years have not been kind and he has his work cut out to get back into NHL form.

*If Staal can't regain his full eyesight and recover from whatever concussion issues he may have incidentally suffered, the Rangers are screwed. Can't go very far with just two competent defensemen on the roster.

*J.T. Miller looked pretty good with Cally on his wing. Has to be quite the boost for the rookie to look over and know he has the captain at his side.

*A sellout was announced but the Mausoleum looked pretty damned empty on tv. For those that were there, how bad was it? Heard plenty of "Let's go Rangers" chants, heard there was at least one fight in the audience. Anyone get touched inappropriately by that clown Goldie? Or was he being touched inappropriately himself in prison, where he belongs?

*Still sad that the linesman broke up the Bickel/Finley bout; few things are more wonderful to watch than an Islander getting his ass kicked. (Although Stu woulda had his work cut out for him, Finley rag-dolled Pruster earlier this season.)

*Another game against a former team of Arron Asham's. Another game Arron Asham didn't play. Would have liked to see Haley run wild for a while but, after Grabner's early goal, you knew Torts wasn't going to allow that. Too bad.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Evgeni Nabokov - 35 saves.
2-Michael Grabner - one goal.
1-Rick Nash - one goal and one assist.

Scott Hockey Three Stars:
3-Grabner - The Austrian scored the first goal and had several other great chances but his abominably penalty in overtime opened the door for the Rangers.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - Sure Nabby made more saves but Hank had to stop far better chances.
1-Stepan - Step not only fired the shot that Nash deflected for the regulation goal but he had a huge hand in the OT winner. He won the offensive zone faceoff (AMAZING!) and he controlled the rebound of Gabby's initial shot that was blocked.

7-5-1: Taken Down By Torts

You had a team that stumbled out of the gate finally getting their game together. They'd won three games in a row and had a softball of a foe ahead of them, a glorified AHL team. So do they keep things rolling?

Nah.

The head coach tinkered with lineup and put in his backup goaltender, decisions that doomed the team to an unacceptable failure. It is one thing to blow a 3-0 lead to the best team in the Eastern Conference, it is another to blow a 2-0 lead to the bunch of pathetic losers from Long Island. What a disgrace.

Why would you want Chris Kreider out on the ice to create offense and combine with Cally and Miller to form an energy line when you can dress Brian Boyle?! Boyle, who's demotion to the press box spurred the win streak. Boyle, who can't skate, can't shoot, can't pass and can't fight. Boyle, who was given 17 minutes in ice time, including shifts on the power play and in overtime.

Why would you want to start Henrik Lundqvist when he is finally getting his game in motion after a inactive offseason when you can start that shaky sieve of a backup Marty Biron. Biron, a former Islander. Biron, who stood still while the Islanders won the shootout.

Torts is the boss, and he will do what he wants. And what he did caused his team to not just sink to the level of their inferior foes, but drown below them. This simply can not happen. Just past the quarter mark of this asterisked season, the Rangers lie four points from first place and four points from last place in the Eastern Conference. Anything can happen and giving away points to piss-poor opponents is very, very dangerous. Luckily Sunday will bring a woeful Washington team to town, giving the Blueshirts have two days to learn how to hold a lead. Not nearly enough time.

Late Hits:

*One of the highlights of the evening was at the outset, when John Amirante did the anthem. Rumour had it that he had pneumonia when the season started, keeping him from his duties. Glad he is better and back to form, he's truly a Garden institution.

*It was an honour to have a Medal of Honor winner in attendance, Sergent Clinton Romesha. Great ovation from the Garden faithful.

*My new twitter friend Arron Asham had himself a banner night, with less than three minutes of ice time and a fight (that he lost). What a great tough guy for this team to have, really inspires the troops.

*The cheap-ass Rangers gave out an advertising booklet, I mean calendar, to all fans in attendance. It ranks up with the horrible Hummer calendar from years past. No pictures of players but plenty of ads for Foxwoods. Weak. Oh, and it is the middle of February - what a good time to give out a calendar.

*Saw a few fights in the stands, always love the passion that this rivalry brings. Really wish the players had one iota of it.

*Hagelin's goal (off the rush) aside, the power play continued to be a disaster of Hindenburg proportions. So glad to see Del Zaster back out there, killing time and momentum.

*Loved Jeff Halpern's play. Super Jew won a whole slew of faceoffs and skated hard all evening. Too bad he has zero offensive ability at this point in his career. Shocking to think he had 18 points in 19 games for Tampa after being part of the Brad Richard$ deal way back when.

*Maybe Richard$ picked up some kind of fungus while he was helping folks clean up from Sandy. Gotta be some excuse for his horrible play and that is as good as any.

*Hoped for more from Taylor Pyatt against the team that drafted him, but he seemed to be one of those who fell victim to Tortorella's chemistry-killing line juggling.

*Happy birthday Gabby, thanks for giving us a present. Very Jagr-esque play by the Slovak, displaying serious skills in regulation before stumbling in the shootout.

*Michael "Rico Fata" Grabner struck again, blowing another breakaway for the blue and orange. It is truly amazing how he earns so many good opportunities and utterly wastes them.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Carl Hagelin - one goal and one assist.
2-Marian Gaborik - one goal and one assist.
1-John Tavares - one regulation goal, one shootout goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Lubo Visnovsky - Mark Streit play more minutes but Lubo was clearly in control whenever he was out on the ice, making things happen like a proper quarterback should.
2-Hagelin - BORK!
1-Tavares - Someone should Dale Hunter that kid. 

5-5-0: Miller's Moment

The one singular test result that counts - the final score - shows that the Rangers fared better on Thursday then they did Tuesday: they defeated the Islanders 4-1. But it is incredibly hard to say if there was any improvement in their game against the Isles then they did against the Devils. The Isles are a far inferior team to the Devs in terms of quality of players and coaching, and they made more mistakes and weren't as tough defensively.

This was a good win, this was a necessary win and this was a tough win. But, while quality of opponent certainly muddied up the metric a bit, it was clear to see that the Rangers were outplayed physically (despite the ridiculous home hit count), they took bad penalties and gave up a bad goal. Defeating the Isles is always cause for celebration in my book - few folks loathe them as much as I do - but it is worrisome to think that, had the Rangers played a real side we'd be looking a yet another loss.

But they didn't, they defeated the opponent that was set in front of them. Now the trick will be to build upon the victory; the Rangers have gone win/loss/win/loss/win over their last five games. They need to carry the confidence, and the fearlessness of youth, into Sunday night's home leg against the Lightning to buck that back-and-forth trend.

Late Hits:

*Slam the Isles for their awfulness but take nothing away from JT Miller's effort. As I just mentioned, the fearlessness of this youth carried his team to victory. Miller hasn't been cowed by Tortorella's screaming and carrying on yet, the kid just went out there and played his game. He followed up his strong debut at the Rock with another at MSG - a far more intimidating venue. His two tallies were wonderful, and hopefully the first of many. I'm delighted, thus far, to be proven wrong. Miller will just have to keep the wheels going, even after Torts turns his temper in his direction.

*A mistake by the Blueshirt brass not to give him sweater No. 64. Imagine the sales ...

*Miller's second goal came on a power play, off a rush. For years and years - especially those with Perry Pearn in charge - my lament over the man advantage was how stagnant and predictable it was once it got set up in the zone. The smart pass by McD to find Miller was the catalyst, that first feed is just so important and no one has been able to do it well with any regularity since Sergei Zubov was shipped out of town.

*Sure he had nothing to do with the power play goal, but Stralman over Del Zaster on the point? A definite improvement. I was shocked - but delighted - to see DZ didn't have a single second of man advantage time. Let's keep it that way.

*Welcome back Cally, everyone missed you.

*Rick Nash was ineffective, held in check by Travis Hamonic of all people. That is the super power forward who was brought in to save this franchise and bring it the Stanley Cup. Completely rubbed out by a guy who couldn't make a real NHL team's roster. Nash has to be better than that; he should be able to score goals like Miller's on a nightly basis. Size, power, speed and hands.

*Yep, Potvin still sucks.

*Stupid, sloppy penalties. Somethings never change. While Del Zaster is expected to do something stupid, like jumping over the boards early, Darroll Powe can not. Like Bettsy long before him, shorthanded specialists simply can not afford to be stupid.


*Arron Asham needs to follow Rupp out of town, Sather needs to rectify yet another of his signing mistakes. Hagelin was hammered and Hank was slashed and no one bothered to do anything about it, least of all the one clown who's job it was. MSG's cameras even caught him giving Marty Reasoner a pat on the behind after one whistle. Are you kidding me?

*On the other side of the coin, the Taylor Pyatt acquisition is still a winner. Loving this guy, absolutely adoring him. He's big, he plays big, he plays tough, he's effective ... he's everything Brian Boyle has refused to be.

*May Boyle never rejoin the Ranger roster ever again.


*The Rangers lack of injury info is infuriating. What is really wrong with Dan Girardi? Just how bad is  Mike Sauer's situation? Has there been any progress, at all? This team can't take many more nights of Hobey and Eminger dressing and getting so few minutes. It is ridiculous, but absolutely plausible, to think that Torts already burned Girardi out, overplaying him immediately after a lockout where the defenseman was completely inactive.

*Still don't get the Martin holding penalty in the second period. Given Del Zaster's history, you'd think opposing teams would encourage him to play the puck in his end.

*Marian Gaborik's goal? Made me think of this. Haha.

*Can't forget: the Rangers could have signed Mark Streit but instead went with Wade Redden. Whoops.

*Always rail against how horrible Joe Micheletti makes MSG, but serious points to John Giannone for taking one for the team and never stopping. Ripped him a few weeks back for a softball question during an intermission interview but he more than made up for it by still commentating with blood pouring down his face. Beauty.

*PHW Three Stars:

3-Ryan McDonagh - one goal and one assist.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - 27 saves.
1-JT Miller - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Cally - At no point did you think the captain just came off of a serious shoulder injury, and he clearly made the youngsters more comfortable when out on the ice.
2-Marc Staal - Concussion? What concussion? Staal looks like he's back to the elite level that put him in the Team Canada conversation.
1-Miller - Go kid, go. Now do it again.

Bye, Don't Let The Door Hit You ...

By now you've heard the news: come 2015 the Islanders will be moving to Brooklyn. While it does not bring the sheer joy that folding the franchise or moving it to Quebec or Kansas City would, it is still quite the delight.

This weird feeling I have now - happiness, I believe it is called - is making it hard to compose all my thoughts into one cohesive post so I will just go with my Late Hits-style bullet points:

*First off, if anyone gets on the demolition crew for the Mausoleum, let me know. I will pay top dollar to be the one to press the button to implode that dump.

*They are replacing one vile fanbase with another, as the Jersey Shore wannabe's that wandered the Coliseum concourse will be replaced by Brooklyn hipsters. That is actually great news for the Isles, as hipsters do things ironically, like adoring such awfulness as PBR and UCB. So they should come in droves for at least the opener, before they realize that irony is one thing and idiocy is another. But if Wang decided to bring back the Fisherman sweater? He may have a top seller!

*The stink - and not just the one of failure - may remain the same. The Coliseum had many problems with its piping and many parts of Brooklyn already smell like sewage. Tasty.

*In all seriousness, this could hurt the Rangers a little bit. If the Isles keep prices low to attempt to actually fill the 14,500 seat Barclays Center, it would draw many of the disillusioned hockey fans that have been ostracized by Dolan and company. Bringing in those Blue Bloods - and not just for games against the Rangers - would help a franchise that averaged 13,200 announced fans last season and just 10k two years ago. (In fact, not including last season, the Isles had the lowest attendance in the NHL since the lockout - lower than the Devils, Thrashers and the Coyotes.) I, for one, will be attending more than my usual half-dozen Islander games a year now that the train goes right to the building ...

*But those cheaper prices will be key - the Devils play in a nice new building that is easy to get to but they still barely pull in warm bodies. Then again, they are the Devils and no one wants to go to New Jersey if they don't have to so perhaps that is not the best comparison.

*Sure the Isles have a legitimate superstar and a legion of high draft picks in the pipeline but the odds of Charles Wang and his sycophant staff figuring out how to develop those kids into winners is about the same as me replacing Del Zaster on the Blueshirt blueline. The one plus now is that free agents will more more willing to come to town, seeing as they can live in a real city and avoid the traffic on the Meadowbrook.

*But more mercenaries won't be the key - as we've seen with the Rangers. Growing those aforementioned kids into a competitive team is what will truly help the Islanders. They'd be able to fill the falling-apart Fort (UsedTo)NeverLose if the team wasn't such a failure. Hell, they wouldn't need to move to Brooklyn as it would be easier to attract fans, sponsors and voters to help buy Wang that new building he initially wanted.

*The new proximity to the Garden is meaningless for the rivalry - plenty of puckheads rate the Pens and Flyers as the Rangers biggest rivals nowadays over the Isles and Devils. Many times over the last decade it seemed like I was the only one left who still truly loathed the Isles with every fiber of my being.

*This is another slap in the face to Canada, for several reasons. If I recall, Bettman made True North guarantee that they would have 13,000 season tickets sold in Winnipeg before allowing Atlanta to relocate. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that the Isles could pull that off now. Both Quebec and Toronto could sell 20k tix a night and Bettman would rather wait to rape them for expansion fees rather than give them a broken down, underperforming, mismanaged joke of a franchise.

*It is worth noting that the franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro will still be under contract for the first six seasons that the team is in Brooklyn. DiPietro is currently spending the lockout in the German second division - a league so simple that plugs Chris Stewart and Wayne Simmonds laughed and left to upgrade to the mediocrity that is the Czech Extraliga. And, while in that piss poor German league, DP has played two games and allowed eight goals. Yep. Wonder which will be more rusty in 2015, DP or the exterior of the arena he plays in.

*Bettman saying in the presser that things are coming full circle with the Isles coming into Brooklyn after the long folded Americans (who never played there) is hilarious. The NHL and the Rangers colluded to ensure the Amerks never came back after World War II. The terrific Third String Goalie did a great piece on the history of that franchise.

*This dashes my hopes of a return of the Rovers. The Rangers long-time minor league team used to share the Garden before going the way of the dodo. With the XL Center's lease and AEG's contract to run the building set to expire in August and Barclays sitting empty the elements were there to bring the baby Blueshirts back to the city. Sadly Barclays will instead host a bush league franchise in 2015, rather than a minor league one.

43-18-7: Slump-Buster

After losing three straight road games the Rangers returned to the Garden on Sunday to see if they could snap out of their slump. The evil Islanders stood in their way but proved unable to extend the Blueshirts' run of futility, ultimately falling 4-3 in overtime.

The match was a big test for the one true New York team and they came out of it with solid marks. Sure this one should have been a definitive demolition of Wang's minions but it isn't often that a team simply snaps out of a funk. After the loss to Chicago, I wrote how the Ranger "skill guys rarely come to play, their power play is atrocious, and their grit - their wonderful, endearing and enduring grit - only goes so far." Well, the skill guys came to play, the power play worked and their grit matched that of the Islanders.

Now the trick of this will be for all of those things to keep on clicking so the Rangers can find their groove and stride into the playoffs firing on all cylinders. What a trick that would be.

Late Hits:

*Boyle using his freakish size for once was nice. Twice in the same game? Wonderful! Amazing the things that happen when someone stands in the slot.

*"Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!" Hilarious. This team spends too much time trying to be too cute too often. They aren't good enough to be doing behind the back passes and other nonsense - just shoot the damned thing and good things happen. Look at the mistake that was the Mark Streit shot: the damned thing caromed oddly off of the glass and Moulson was positioned well to pounce on it.

*It is good to know that other teams' tv analysts are as brain dead as Joe Micheletti. About six minutes into the first period Butch Goring said: 'Michael Del Zotto is out and the Rangers really miss that young man - he is a plus 24. The Rangers have so many positive players and Callahan and Richards are minus two and minus three. They need to be worried about how those guys are playing.' Yeah, definitely need to be worried about that Callahan guy...he's like, totally incompetent. Methinks Goring suffered a few too many hits to his head when he played.

*Del Zaster wasn't missed in the least, again. Bickel answered the bell against Haley, Stralman rebounded from a rough start with some of his most solid play in a while and Eminger managed not to suck. And I'd say that the power play was able to survive without Del Zaster, wouldn't you? It was amazing what a decisive, skilled passer could do with the extra ice.

*Speaking of such, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke. The nano-sized Norwegian was greeted by the fans on his first shift and most of his others as well. The kid needed to be a factor if he was to save his NHL life and he did just that. He skated hard, he was defensively responsibly and his passing was quick and decisive. That being said, the big knock that knocked him into the AHL was his reluctance to shoot and that still remains.

*Andrew MacDonald's breakaway goal ranks among the worst that Hank has allowed this season. The King is definitely slumping of late, hopefully not enough to take away the Vezina Trophy that he worked so hard to earn.

*Hank overcommitted on P.A. Parenteau's initial shot and Dan Girardi's poor positioning gave Tavares the slot, where he was able to kick the rebound in. Like Hank, Dan-O has not been himself of late but at least there has been no let down in his partner's play. Ryan McDonagh had himself yet another solid outing, playing major minutes and coming through with big plays on both sides of the ice. Have to hope that he doesn't burn out the way Landon's dad has.

*Proof that the official scorer is a giving soul? Brad Richard$ skated the entire length of the ice and beat Nabby for the Rangers' first goal and yet the scorer awarded two assists on the play - one to Stralman and one to Hank. Technically they were indeed the last two to touch the puck before RIchard$ but that is just silliness, they had nothing to do with the final result of the play. Actually, I'm surprised DZ wasn't given a helper on that from the press box.

*Asked an Isle fan why Travis Hamonic was wearing a cage and got this reply: "I donno, cause he's gay?" These people are the worst form of life on earth.

*Too many Islander sweaters in the Garden. The ever increasing prices allow that to happen, sapping out the home ice advantage of the building. While that is utterly infuriating, I must admit the Portland Winterhawks Nino Niederreiter sweater I spotted was pretty cool.

*Not saying that Nabby deserved to be Malarchuked for his blocker punches to Prust's head at the end of the second period but he should at least have been ran the way Lucic destroyed Miller, with a nice high head shot. Eye for an eye, if there is to be no proper punishment. Head punches with blockers are pretty far from being ok - that is assault with a weapon. But the NHL is not that serious with their concussion consciousness and Brendan Shanahan doesn't have the gall to make a call on that. Neither did the game's officials, who came up with a mythical slashing penalty on Prust to match the roughing they gave Nabby. Roughing? Should have been attempt to injure. If the Kazakh keeper wants to try to injure a Ranger, a Ranger should try to injure him.

*Shoulda sent Rupp to do it. He was good for nothing (as per usual) and had four minutes of ineffective ice time. Once Cally comes back it should be Rupp who sits, not Zuke - at least the mighty midget can be useful in certain situations.

*And finally: why yes, Potvin does suck.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Marian Gaborik - one goal and one assist.
2-John Tavares - one goal and one assist.
1-Brad Richards - two goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Bork Bork Bork - Hagelin couldn't get the puck past Nabby and he wasn't on the ice for a single goal for or goal against. But he was utterly relentless every second that he was out there. Would have loved to give this to Zuke but the little guy was saddled with some poor linemates during five-on-five play.
2-Tavares - His goal was nice, his assist was nice, his dive to draw a boarding call on Boyle was nice.
1-Richard$ - That's what you're paid for Braden.

38-15-6: Meek In The Mausoleum

The way I see things, if you grew up in the 80s you despise the Islanders. 90s, Devils. Millennium Flyers. And if you found your fandom post-lockout, Pens. I grew up in the 80s. If the Rangers lost 76 games in a season but still won all six against the Islanders I would be fine. Well, maybe not fine but not as crazed as I could be.

In recent seasons it has been hit or miss, with the Isles often playing above their ability and the Rangers sinking below theirs. That happened again on Friday, as the Blueshirts fell 4-3 in a shootout - they were lucky to escape with a point.

As the anger and disgust are making it hard to maintain any kind of cohesive thought, I'll just jump into the Late Hits:

*John Tortorella put the team behind the eight ball to start by going with Marty Biron in net. As with his decision of starting Biron against the Hawks rather than the Jackets, this one backfired on the Rangers. As he did in the Chicago game, Biron was caught sleeping at the start and allowed early, easy goals. No matter how good a guy he is, if he can't stop the puck he shouldn't have a job. He is not Henrik Lundqvist - that is accepted - but he can't be spotting the opposition 3-0 and 2-0 leads in the first 10 minutes of games. Biron was bailed out by an equally poor performance by Nabokov, nothing more.

*Del Zastrous. Utterly Del Zastrous. At this point all I can do is shake my head because I've already said it all. Stupid, stupid mistakes night after night, year after year.

*Ryan McDonagh played 29 minutes and Dan Girardi played 30. Against the Islanders. If Torts was worried enough to work his top pairing into the ground, he should have been worried enough to start Henrik.

*John Mitchell, he of no goals and one assist in his last 11 games, was on the ice in overtime and he got a shot in the shootout. Sure he drew a penalty - the result of the stupidity of Milan Jurcina - but to have him out on the ice with Gaborik skating four on four is ridiculous. Mitchell and Hagelin worked great together and both could use the jumpstart of a reunion. You would think Hagelin's wheels would be an asset in the open ice of OT but Torts left him on the bench the entire time.

*Surprisingly Mitchell was the long Ranger not to record at least a single hit. Another statistical oddity? Stu Bickel was the lone Ranger to have a positive +/- with a +1.

*Very happy to see Marc Staal score. Infuriated to see Martin go after him at the end of the second period. Utterly disgusted not to see any Ranger seek revenge the rest of the way.

*Bickel fought Martin, but that was well before the minor leaguer nailed Staal. Boyle hid behind a linesman so he wouldn't have to fight. And neither Bickel nor Brandon Prust nor Mike Rupp were anywhere to be found. Given the lack of intensity in the third period - when the teams seemed more than happy to get their point and run - there was ample opportunity to seek vengeance. Despite the Blueshirts leading the NHL in fighting majors, there is no one is scared of the Rangers. No one has to think twice that there will be some kind of retribution for taking liberties. Unacceptable.

*Aside from taking a terrible penalty and drawing another, Brad Richard$ was invisible. Meanwhile, John Tavares was outstanding. It is amazing how that kid has turned Kings cast-off Matt Moulson and minor leaguer PA Parenteau into actual NHL players. Meanwhile Richard$ hasn't shown much chemistry with anyone and hasn't become the power play quarterback everyone had hoped.

*Anton Stralman - three straight games with stupid minor penalties. Three more days until the deadline when he will hopefully be replaced. Greg Zanon or Shane O'Brien would be nice ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-John Tavares - two assists.
2-Marian Gaborik - one goal and one assist.
1-P.A. Parenteau - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Parenteau - Hardly given a chance with the Rangers, PA has ridden Tavares' coattails to a NHL career.
2-Tavares - I'm loathe to give any Islander credit for anything ever but man is this kid good.
1-The Slovakian Sniper - One even strength goal, one power play assist and one goal in the shootout. Not too shabby Gabby.

22-8-4: Two Points

Monday night's match between the Rangers and the Islanders was largely lifeless and dull. The Blueshirts were outworked most of the night, pinned in their endzone time and time again and terrible with the man advantage. It was not pretty. But it was two points.

The Rangers managed to get just two pucks past Evgeni Nabokov, a guy who left all of his ability in San Jose. They barely challenged him, putting shot after shot after shot into the round logo on his chest. They didn't just play down to the level of their opponents, they played below it. It was not pretty. But it was two points.

Late Hits:

*Henrik Lundqvist made his case for the Vezina and Hart trophies in this one. Hank was left utterly alone as the inept, exhausted players in front of him were steps slow covering the more-active Islanders. Torts inexplicably kept matching the Boyle line to the Tavares unit even though they couldn't keep up and were left standing around their own end. And yet the King came through with a shutout. All hail.

*Wouldn't be shocked to find out that Prust had re-injured his shoulder in that fight against Krys Barch a few weeks back. He has not been the same player he used to be, definitely not the guy who scored five shorties last season. It is hard to take his grit and determination out of the lineup but perhaps he needs a real break to fix his wing.

*No one kills Ranger power plays like the Rangers.

*Anton Stralman is +10 in his last six games, so clearly he is deserving of massive accolades. After all, everyone is heaping praise over that one-way Del Zaster of a defenseman who plays alongside him. DZ is just atrocious in his own end - I mean, at least he isn't passing directly to the opposition anymore but he continues to get beaten in footraces and board battles.

*That being said, as my buddy Eric pointed out, the Rangers were beaten in board battles all night long (all night).

*I do give Del Zaster credit where it is due and it is certainly due for his feed to Hagelin for the second Ranger goal. It was a fantastic give-and-go with Callahan that left the Swede open in the slot for the one-timer. A truly beautiful play. His schoolyard toe-drag earlier was ridiculous but the puck ended up in the net thanks to Cally, who crashed the net to get the rebound off of Nabby's chest.

*Disappointing crowd at the Garden. Multiple times over the night you could hear the players yelling from the upper reaches of the 300s. For a packed house, it was pretty dead in there ... at least until the fan fight down in 113. That Garden roared for that but, from my vantage point, it looked like a bout between Ranger fans - utterly unacceptable when there were so many idiots in orange around.

*The crowd did manage a pair of chants for Sean Avery though. After such a torpid display by the Blueshirts, we were begging for the sparkplug player - even up 2-0.

*Instead of Avery we had Mike Rupp lumbering around like Frankenstein's monster for eight minutes (more than Avery got in 10 of his 15 starts). Seeing Rupp too tired to move in the Ranger end during one Islander push was just pathetic. And he was a real deterrent out there, he really stopped Michael Haley from giving Bickel a black eye.

*Haley is one of the one-dimensional goons who has no place in the NHL. The neanderthal jumped Stu Bickel two minutes into the game, pounding the Ranger defenseman. The only possible cause I can imagine would be the Wallace incident where Bickel beat on him before he could get his visor off - but if that was the case, why didn't Wallace take care of business himself? It is not like he is some kind of skill player who is better served being on the ice than in the box. He is a coward, just like Haley. Guys like Haley just keep giving ammunition to the pacifists and we all will wake up one day with a fighting and checking-free NHL. Terrible. Four seconds of ice time, 17 minutes in penalties.

*I said 'checking-free' because these players are intentionally positioning themselves where if they get hit, there will be a penalty. Frans Neilsen did it several times, once with Ryan Callahan all over him. Neilsen faced the boards and kept his numbers straight back so the second there would be any contact, he could have drawn a boarding call. It is as much a disgrace to this game as Haley's animal antics.

*If that was the quality of the ice after one NBA game, we will be completely screwed for the rest of the season. The puck took several bad hops and there were guys tripping all over the place - although Nabby taking a tumble was chuckle-worthy.

*Hmm, rewatching the game right now and Sam just pointed out that McDonagh hasn't played a full season worth of games yet - a stat I pointed out the other day. That combined with his usage of my Prust stat leads me to believe that someone is ripping me off without giving credit ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Michael Del Zotto - two assists.
2-Carl Hagelin - two goals.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 28 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Bork Bork Bork - Hagelin was in the right place at the right time to collect two more goals. Definitely had high hopes when he got called up and he has even surpassed those expectations.
2-Cally - The captain saw just 13 minutes of ice time (interestingly none on the PK) but he made them count. Callahan came to Girardi's aid after the defenseman was jumped when Tavares took that dive, and he collected assists on both Hagelin goals.
1-Hank - The King protected the Kingdom yet again. With the injuries to Staal and Sauer, there truly isn't another player in the entire league who has been more valuable to his team.

20-8-4: Beating The Isles Is Always Awesome

You know, defeating the Islanders never gets old. The latest edition of the rivalry saw the Blueshirts beat the Fishermen 4-2 at the Garden Thursday night.

It was not a convincing victory but it was a victory nonetheless. The Rangers beat a rival, they earned two points and they didn't lose anyone to injury. There wasn't the usual battle that the Islanders bring, leaving the team in good shape to play the bumper game of the back-to-back tonight against Philly.

If they are to win that one, they will have to be better. After going up 3-1 against a clearly inferior team Thursday the Blueshirts took their feet off the gas and allowed the Isles to dictate play and get back within a goal. Had Jack Capuano been a good coach and had his team possessed more than one line of offense, the result likely would have been different.

Late Hits:

*Seriously, what was Capuano doing pulling Nabby that early, with the puck not even close to the Blueshirts blueline?

*Ranger-killer Blake Comeau scored for Calgary against Detroit Thursday night. Haha.

*Always give credit where it is due and Del Zaster deserves some. He had a nice save behind Biron and several energetic shifts. DZ still has no idea to hit for puck possession but his positioning was better and he actually battled instead of floating around looking for hits. His goal was - like Dubinsky's - immensely savable by a capable goaltender but Nabby is just not capable anymore. Still, it is always nice to see the Rangers score.

*The Ranger power play went 0-3. They had six full minutes of man advantage time, Del Zaster was on for 5:24 of it and the unit managed three shots on goal. Three. The kid can jump into the attack all he wants during regular strength but he simply has no idea how to QB a power play.

*For all of the hype around the Brad Richard$ signing, could anyone have imagined that he would not be on the Rangers top line? He has been a nice addition to be sure but, man, has the Step-Arty-Gabby unit been good. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the chemistry going.

*Anton Stralman has been surprisingly solid, and the credit should go to Tortorella who has sheltered the Swede from tough assignments. For all of the mistakes Torts makes - and there are many - he has used Girardi's durability as a tool to help his patchwork defense survive so far.

*Stu Bickel appears to be standing at a crossroads. He could work on his skating and become a Beukeboom-type sturdy defenseman or continue to defy the Code and end up like Dale Purinton. His 'double-rough' against that minor league nobody Tim Wallace showed it quite clearly: Wallace came in from behind to jump Dubinsky, who was going at it with Hamonic in a scrum. Bickel pulled Wallace free from Dubi but then when Wallace went to fight honourably and take his visor and helmet off, Bickel just started throwing. I think he has the ability to take and hold Dylan McIlrath's spot until the kid gets here but it is up to him.

*His partner, Tim Erixon, did not look comfortable. There is definitely skill there but he is clearly not yet ready for prime time. I think another 10, 15 pounds of muscle would do him well.

*Tim's dad Jan was in attendance and it was incredibly disappointing how little of a reception he got when shown on the big board. He was such a favourite and such a hard worker for so long that the lukewarm reception only served to highlight how few diehards there were in the building. I know some folks that sold their tickets for this time of year to help pay for the rest of the campaign but Dolan has certainly priced many of the True Blue out of the building.

*There were surprisingly few Islander fans at MSG. I mean, there are few Islander fans in general but those bottom-feeders usually come out in better numbers. I heard that there was one fan fight over near 103 but that is it.

*Ruslan Fedotenko's hard work is appreciated but in the last few weeks, has he really added much? No points in his last nine games and he got just nine shifts for 5:32. Perhaps it would be best to give the soldier a few nights off to rest and recuperate.

*Feds' linemates Mike Rupp and Brandon Prust also saw Sean Avery-level ice time but let's hope that was just to keep them fresh for tonight.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Artem Anisimov - one assist.
2-Marty Biron - 24 saves.
1-Michael Del Zotto - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Gabby - The Slovak was an offensive threat throughout the game and his willingness to go to the net paid off in a goal. By the way - Arty took just four faceoffs in the game and lost two of them, but one of the wins was in the offensive zone. He pushed it forward, allowing him to get the puck across to Gabby in the slot.
2-Dubi - Thought Brandon played his best game of the season against the Devils and he followed it up with another strong effort all over. Always held the belief that he could be an Arnott-esque force but to do that he has to be physically involved, which he did these last two games.
1-Biron - Marty made several big stops while continuing his domination of the Islanders. Love it. have to admit he has been far better than expected - especially after Zug.

10-3-3: Surviving The Cesspool

Maybe it is seeing Brad Richards' new girlfriend Olivia Munn as Princess Leia but the best analogy I can make for the Rangers right now is the Millennium Falcon: "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

The Rangers definitely do not look like much - that is for sure - but where it counts is on the scoreboard and the Blueshirts have won seven straight. On Tuesday they just barely beat the Islanders 4-2 in a game that was far too close. The Isles had lost nine of 10 and played quite poorly. The Rangers weren't much better but they still found a way to win, something they have done game after game on this run. It is frankly stupefying but hell, it has been fun. Now, after surviving the decrepit dump the Isles call a hockey arena, the Rangers will really put their luck to test in the House of Horrors that is the Bell Centre on Saturday.

But first things first, Late Hits for this one:

*Hey Richard$, nice looking girlfriend and nice looking goal. Fate certainly is smiling on him right about now, eh?

*For all of the hand wringing over the lines Torts set before the game, they didn't even make it through the first period. So many words typed on so many blogs and message boards for no good reason.

*No matter who he is with, it seems like Ryan Callahan is skating alone out there. It is quite sad to see him go in one on three or four so often.

*Maybe the Rangers should rename the power play unit to the waste two minutes unit or the antagonize our fans unit or something. How do they not score five-on-three? Or even come close? Especially against a kill that is ranked 20th in the NHL ... If the Ranger power play came through on two man advantage - or the ensuing power play just seconds after that ended - then the Blueshirts wouldn't have been a post away from going to overtime against the last place team in the Eastern Conference.

*A part of the power play problem is Del Zaster. The kid is not capable of quarterbacking a NHL power play and yet he eats minutes away. He takes too long to make decisions, he doesn't shoot enough, he can't hold the blue line, his passes do not put his teammates in good positions ... he just has that one back-door move that other teams are clearly aware of now. MDZ completely losing track of a puck that was right behind him was just infuriating. Making things even more maddening is that the kid did have at least two good defensive plays in the game, but they are just outweighed by his many shortcomings.

*Oh Arty, following a two-on-one breakaway with an offensive zone penalty. This kid is just so frustrating.

*AVERY *clap, clap*, AVERY *clap, clap*, AVERY *clap, clap* ... on Long Island. That was awesome. The Hockey News had a poll a few weeks back where 85% of hockey fans said they wouldn't want Avery on their team. The other 15% must have been Ranger fans. Said it before, will say it again: all Avery does is play his ass off for the Blueshirts. And we love him for it. It is pathetic that that he is still getting reputation penalties called against him - the unsportsmanlike at the end of the first was a farce. But that didn't dissuade him from playing his game and earning more than 12 minutes of ice time. For him to come away with his second goal in as many games ... just wow. AVERY *clap, clap*, AVERY!!

*The Mausoleum staff played "Shipping Up To Boston" during the Avery/Mottau fight because, I guess, because Mottau is a Masshole from Quincy. So the Isles have theme songs like pro wrestlers now? How white trash of them. And then they later played the Dancing Larry song ... awful.

*Love that the Isles honoured a serviceman - the one time the entire building cheered together. (The nat'l anthem was fractured as several people *cough, cough, not just me, cough* yelled "Let's Go Rangers!" mid-song.)

*Also deserving of appreciation was the Islanders WAGs as they were selling Love For Lokomotiv bracelets. I already had one but bought another for a friend.

*Brandon Prust should smack Steve Eminger in the back of the head for having to fight his battle for him. Eminger took exception to getting hit, picked a fight and then let Prust step in for him. There was no need for Prust to lower himself to Martin's level and get suckered into a wrestling match with that minor leaguer. Of course, Eminger made up for his act of cowardice by scoring the goal to make it a 2-1 game but still, Prust needs to save his fights for the first two minutes of big games.

*There were at least three fights among the fans, with one being particularly gnarly. A guy got thrown down the stairs of the 300 section only to take a few more punches from security once he reached the bottom. Poor bastard.

*Oh Henry! It really is amazing watching Lundqvist play hockey. He had an utterly incredible sprawling save midway through the second period and made several other top notch stops over the course of the night. But then again, his various wanderings away from the crease were heart attack-inducing and that Frans Nielsen goal against was atrocious. We can't do anything easy, can we?

*Anton Stralman had better finish learning the Ranger system soon because Dan Girardi isn't going to last much longer. By the middle of the third period Dan-O could hardly move. He ended up with almost 28 minutes of ice time while Woywitka and Eminger both played less than 10. If Stralman doesn't figure the system out, get into game shape and earn Tortorella's trust, then Girardi might not even make it to the All Star Game that we are trying to write him into.

*How great is it that the Islanders suck? Seriously. Too bad the NHL will reward them with another top pick. But then again, maybe whoever they draft will end up like Kyle Okposo, who was a healthy scratch. Haha.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Evgeni Nabokov - 26 saves.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - 31 saves.
1-Brad Richards - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Frans Nielsen - As bad as his goal was for Hank to give up, the Dane was a constant threat for the Isles.
2-Cally - The Captain put forth a complete effort yet again.
1-Hank - Had the King not come through during the second period siege the Rangers would have had their streak snapped by the last place Islanders. Last place Islanders - what a delight to write. Last place Islanders.

Peepin' Foes: New York Islanders

The Rangers head to MSG East for the second time this young season for a bout against the Isles on Tuesday (7pm, MSG for the many mistakes of Micheletti, MSG-Plus for the far-too-concussed-to-know-where-he-even-is Butch Goring).

Where We Are: I didn't see the first meeting with the Isles but have to imagine that the Rangers are in far better shape than they were during that loss. The Rangers have remarkably won six in a row despite many, many flaws in their game and their roster.

Where They Are: The Isles have just one win in their last 10 games (1-6-3) so they are, of course, more dangerous than ever. Despite an alleged three-headed goaltending monster, they have given up 14 goals over their last three games.

Who To Watch For: The Isles are hoping for another Swiss savior in rookie Nino Niederreiter, who they just called up in time for the game. The other native of the neutral country on their roster, Mark Streit, is the cornerstone of their defense (while Wade Redden, the guy we got instead, is in the AHL). That John Tavares nerd doesn't suck while P.A. Parenteau is still proving the Rangers wrong by showing that he can indeed play in the NHL - he has 12 points in 15 games. Michael Grabner and Matt Moulson have been mediocre at best while Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau have been positively terrible. The Isles don't have a single player on the positive side of their plus/minus.

What To Watch For: A loud, pro-Ranger crowd. The Rangers' intensity and discipline levels. Comeau - if he plays - to break out; he could be scratched since he is pointless in 12 games this year but he does have 18 in 19 career games against the Rangers. Rickie D to try to step up his play - seeing as Nabby gave up this hilarious atrocity in the Isles' last game, DP is sure to get the call. Or maybe it will be Monty. Whichever one of them ends up starting, the guy has cause to hate the Rangers.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: The Rangers make Jay Pandolfo and Brian Rolston miss their years on the Devils. Dan Girardi playing less than 26 minutes, Sean Avery playing more than 10. Andre Deveaux beating up meathead Matt Martin. The Rangers not giving up any shorthanded goals to Frans Nielsen. The GAS line getting back to their scoring ways. Brian Boyle following his new linemates' (Cally and Dubi) lead by starting to play as hard as he can. Dubi starting a goal-scoring streak now that he broke his donut.

Also Check Out: Schultzy took over Point Blank so head over there to make fun of him.

0-1-2: Rangers' JT < Islanders' JT

I did not see the game and won't even pretend to. The box score, the lowlights, the post-game quotes and actions taken by the Rangers paint a grim picture, one that is only amplified by the utter shame that is a loss to the Islanders.

Hatred of our rivals aside, it is time to admit that the Isles are a young, hard working team that has lost enough to accumulate some decent talent. John Tavares is coming into his own and Mark Streit has always been a solid offensive defenseman (one the Rangers should have signed instead of Wade Redden). Once the incapable, glass-jawed Rick DiPietro removed himself from their crowded crease, they were bound to improve.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are a cobbled together collection of semi-capable players led by what has been an incapable coach. The failings of this franchise this season (and the last two) have little to do with the guys wearing the sweaters. Rant about the shortcomings of guys like MDZ, Arty and Gaborik (as I often do), the sum of the parts should be far better than the results they've gotten.

We were sold on a rebuilding team last year and that was fine ... hell, it was wonderful. We finally had the chance to see youth blossom on Broadway. Well, so much for that. I agree with Larry Brooks, Torts had his team picked long before camp opened. Several guys played well enough to make their way onto the club but saw their jobs go to other guys because, as Torts told Brooksie, "there's a bank account." Dale Weise, Sean Avery and Mats Zuccarello have all been banished because they didn't have enough 'banked' with the head coach.

At what point should the bank fire its branch manager for poor decisions that don't pay off?

Since singlehandedly driving the Tom Renney-built team out of the playoffs in 2009, John Tortorella's failing to find chemistry and a capable power play has doomed the Rangers time and time again. He reshaped the team through favoritism and it flopped in the first round in April before stumbling out of the gates this season. Has it been just three games? Yes. Is it time to panic? No. But something should be done sooner rather than later because his account has just about run dry.

Torts didn't want to use Europe as an excuse for this loss to the Isles. He didn't use the injuries to his top defensemen as an excuse either. Instead he claimed it was discipline that did his team in. Well, who is responsible for keeping the team disciplined? Tortorella is placing the blame where it belongs - on himself. While it is nice to see him finally admitting his own mistakes (albeit not in so many words), he needs to do something about them quickly.

Apparently he felt that swapping Zuke for Kris Newbury was the lone personnel step needed to put the team headed in the right direction. When the puck drops in Vancouver we will see if a fourth liner will be able to power the Rangers to victory. Somehow I don't think so but it is early enough to suspend some disbelief.

That being said, this week's trip out west had better see the best from the Blueshirts because if they limp into the Garden at the end of the month then there will be hell to pay. It will be time that the bank will finally foreclose on the coach.

41-32-5: Shame

The word embarrassment will be bandied about quite a bit in the next few days in reference to the Rangers' 6-2 loss to the Islanders. Embarrassment is the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public. Shame is a painful emotion caused by a strong sense of unworthiness, or disgrace. This was not embarrassment, the Rangers inadequacy has been on display all season long but many were willing to ignore it for a few points in the standings. This was shame. What the Rangers did was disgrace their jersey and the passion and faith of their fans.

It is well acknowledged that the rivalry with the Islanders has cooled as the Isles have become one of the doormats of the NHL. But that doesn't mean that there isn't one. And the Rangers played the Isles they would play the Blue Jackets. Or the Sabres. In fact, the Rangers played much the same game in Buffalo that they did on the Island - they gave far less than 100% and played like garbage. The difference is where the Sabres sat back, the Isles pressed and pressed and pressed. They dominated the way a NHL team would dominate an AHL side, you know the way the Rangers should have dominated the Sound Tigers.

Having grown up on the Island, my loathing for the Islanders comes close to that of the Jews for the Nazis so you could say that I don't care for them. And bearing witness to this beating was unpleasant to say the least. Where I would normally re-watch the game to fill in blanks I would rather have my teeth pulled, sans anesthesia. So feel free to help out in the comments ...

Notes:

*Good friend of the blog Eric - of NHL Live infamy - turned to me and said that the first five-on-three would be the turning point in the game. Personally I felt that the second one was. Even though the Rangers escaped the first period ahead 1-0 I turned back and asked 'why does it feel like we have already lost?' And then the second period proved it.

*Earlier in the day Pat Hoffman posted an interview with me where I lashed out at Tortorella and I hope that these back-to-back results have ended the illogical Jack Adams talk. He is a blowhard who has shown little ability to make his team successful. Seventy-eight games in and the power play is just as pathetic as it was at the start. Seventy-eight games in and the team is still as inconsistent as they were at the start. Seventy-eight games in and Torts still scrambles the lines at the first sign of struggle. As I wrote to Pat, that Torts is a character has little to do with the players having character.

*The only player to show any in this one was Sean Avery. Sean was the one Ranger to come out hard and battle every shift. Of course, he ruined it all by fighting Micheal Haley. Avery wouldn't throw down with David Clarkson a few years back because Clarkson was a 'minor leaguer.' And tonight he got his ass handed to him by Michael Haley. If that isn't a sign of how Torts has screwed with our sparkplug I don't know what is.

*That was the second of four fights in this disgrace. That the Rangers threw down well after the result was settled was shameful. That the Rangers lost three of those four fights was even worse. Dubi beat up Jack Hillen, Avery lost, Fedotenko was on the worse ended of his bout with Dylan Reese and Zenon Konopka landed more than a few on Brandon Prust.

*Trevor Gillies scored for chrissakes. Trevor Gillies.

*Second game in a row that the Rangers dominated at the faceoff dot and were dominated by the other team. Just sayin'.

*Nice hit by Marian Gaborik on Frans Nielsen. It was like Gabby waited for Nielsen to turn into the boards before hitting him. What an idiot. We can only hope that the Slovakian Slacker gets suspended because the team - as a whole - was far better when they were without their "sniper."

*Hank was horrid, again. Back-to-back games where he allowed goals on shots that he clearly saw come off the stick. Unacceptable.

*Mike Sauer and Ryan McDonagh played like rookies. Anisimov, Christensen, Girardi, Callahan, Gaborik and Prospal (goal aside) all played like garbage.

*Even though you really risk getting tetanus at that atrocious building they call an arena, the Garden brass has a cause to be worried. Ticket prices are coming down in that dump and are far cheaper than in the city - even when you figure in the outrageous $10 to park. How pathetic.

*Third period, Rangers down 4-1 and on the power play and Bryan McCabe was coasting around the ice. So happy we added this career loser to help out.

*Mats Zuccarello had no place being in the NHL right now. We may be big fans of the little guy but he couldn't handle the puck, he refused to shoot it and he was outmuscled all over the ice. Torts benching him took away whatever confidence he had and now his presence is pointless.

*New York City subway hero Joe Lozito was honoured early in the third period. The Islanders stood on their bench, banging their sticks. The Rangers sat slumped on their own bench, barely paying attention, completely and utterly out of it. Summed up the entire evening.

*PHW Three Stars
3-P.A. Parenteau - one goal and one assist.
2-Radek Martinek - one goal and one assist.
1-Al Montoya - 25 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Dylan Reese - Who? Three assists, +4 and a fight edge out Blake Comeau's goal, +3, 5+ minutes of shorthanded time and team-high four takeaways. That shorthanded time would be more impressive if the Rangers power play didn't suck.
2-Parenteau - Nothing like sticking it to the team that unceremoniously dumped you and said you couldn't cut it in the NHL, is there?
1-Jack Capuano - Second straight game that the opposing coach made Torts look even more awful than he already is. JackCap had his team ready to play their most important game of the season and he didn't let them rest for one minute. Sure he couldn't keep their composure late but by then it didn't matter - if anything, the beat downs added an exclamation mark to the occasion.

37-30-4: One Odd Evening

Tonight's Ranger game was completely atypical of the team that we have grown to know over the course of this season. Playing a young, hard-skating team the Rangers matched their opponent's effort. Coming off of a big, emotional win the Rangers didn't have a let-down. Drastically outshooting the opponent didn't result in the glorification of a mediocre goalkeeper. Getting a two-man advantage actually resulted in a goal. Dominating at the faceoff dot actually allowed them to control play. Wearing the Blue Shirts at the Garden wasn't a curse. Granted all of those atypical things happened against a hapless Islander team but still, it was quite the night on Broadway as the Rangers beat the Islanders 6-3.

If they can make the atypical typical by doing it again on Friday, then I will really be impressed. Big if.

Notes:

*As Mr. X from the Blue Seats said to me, 'good effort, except for those first five minutes in the second period.'

*Decent showing of Islander fans but just one minor scrum in the crowd that I caught. The fans in general were a little bit louder than usual but the building really didn't have the emotion and animosity that it used to. This is definitely far, far away from the heyday of this rivalry. And there have been more Potvin Sucks whistles in random games against Western Conference teams than there were on this night, which is just pathetic. Loved the "Season's Over" chant late in the third though.

*Definitely understand those that have to run for a train or have work early the next day but this was yet another win that saw the final buzzer sound in a half-empty arena. Frankly it takes away from the joy of the moment.

*There have been few bigger Avery apologists out there than me and even I have to throw up my hands after this one. A perfect opportunity to do what he does so well and he goes out there with no control. Instead of a trained police dog being allowed off the leash to go after the bad guys, we had a rabid animal who turned and bit us in the hand. So disappointing.

*That being said, his boarding call came from Micheal Haley (who can't spell his own name right) intentionally turned towards the boards to wait for the puck. Avery didn't expect Haley to stand there in a vulnerable position and he finished his check (to which Haley milked the moment, exaggerating his "injury' in an attempt to draw a five minute major - didn't work).

*Yay Marian Gaborik scored two goals. Let's see him score when the team really needs him to. He had a perfectly good breakaway to open the scoring and he blew it. Once Cally put the Rangers back into the lead at 3-2, then Gabby was able to break through for a goal.

*Woulda loved if Ruslan Fedotenko's iron shot had gone in. Been loving his play the last few games and it would be nice to see him rewarded with a goal.

*Still have yet to figure out what Mike Sauer has against Matt Martin. Stupid kid shouldn't be fighting without cause. What happens if he breaks his hand on the other guy's face? Sauer's partner Ryan McDonagh was great for much of the evening, the first Isles goal aside. He went chasing after an Isle behind the net abandoning the slot and allowing Matt Moulson tipped home Jack Hillen's shot. A rare rookie mistake by the kid.

*Seeing how good those two have been and how solid a veteran pairing as McCabe and Eminger can be (at times), Torts should lessen the ice time for Staal and Girardi. They certainly appear to be overworked.

*Anyone else enjoy seeing Arty get angry in that third period scrum?

*PA Parenteau's goal was pretty.

*The Garden music was even more obnoxiously loud than it usually was, making it quite difficult to hold a conversation. Utterly infuriating.

*Larry stumbled down the stairs, too bad he didn't go over the railing so we can do without his idiotic dancing henceforth.

*Congrats to Bryan McCabe on scoring his first goal as a Ranger. It was spectacular - not by the means how it went in, but in that it came on a 5-on-3 power play. As mentioned above, usually you can immediately mark those two man advantages as wasted opportunities.

*Zenon Konopka skated just over 10 minutes for the Isles. Is there anyone out there that thinks Derek Boogaard, when finally healthy, will be able to come anywhere close to that?

*Brandon Prust = 2011 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award winner. Well not yet, but if not, it will be a criminal oversight. Bum shoulder and all and he still put up a shorty and nearly added another if not for the iron.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Erik Christensen - one goal and one assist.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal and one assist.
1-Marian Gaborik - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Gaborik - Gabby pulled a Boyle and just shot the damned puck. Good things happen when you do that, you know.
2-Christensen - Mr. Softie has nine points in his last seven games. Seriously. Colour me surprised.
1-Cally - Captain Callahan went to the net all night long and the Rangers were rewarded for the effort. He was the screen on the first Gaborik goal, the screen on the McCabe goal and he was swarming around the net to score the go-ahead goal.

21-14-2: A Sad Seven

Condemning one's self to little sleep and no shower facilities for several days in the name of hockey sounded a bit foolhearty to me but it wasn't just hockey - it was Rangers vs. the Islanders. Hate the Pens, hate the Flyers, hate the Devils ... loathe the Islanders. It is a deep-seated hatred that was ingrained over years of grade school abuse. So every victory has been a delight and the vindication that came with the sweep in '94 drew outright euphoria.

But after watching the Rangers annihilate the Islanders 7-2 on Monday night, there are few happy feelings. If anything there is an emptiness, a sense of melancholy.

How can you despise the current crop of orange and blue? Sure there are despicable players like Trevor Gillies but as a whole, you just have to feel bad for them. The Rangers beat up an exhausted team of mediocre AHL talent ... so what? It wasn't a gauge of ability, merely a exhibition in the Blueshirts ability to show up to work. They did. Yay. They didn't play particularly well in the least and they still scored seven goals, whoopa dee doo. I mean, sure past incarnations of this franchise would have played down to the Isles level, but it is hard to imagine any current Ranger, any NHL player playing that poorly - outside of Michal Rozsival.

So we take the two points and move on to the Devils on Wednesday. But let's face it, a repeat of tonight's performance will not be impressive as it will be expected. The question is this: has the bar been raised for the Rangers, or has it just been lowered for our atrocious enemies?

Notes:

*The Rangers came out from their Christmas break lethargic and unimpressive. Despite outshooting the Isles in the first 18-12, they were lucky to be tied at two. But once the second period hit, the Blueshirts realized that shooting the puck directly at old man Roloson wasn't getting them anywhere so they mixed things up and started scoring. By the third period, Rolo needed the Rolaids as his team completely abandoned him and he finally looked every second of his 41 years.

*If MDZ was benched because of some sense of accountability, then he should be brought back to the lineup because of one. Rozsival is an outright liability and his continued presence hurts the team in the short term (goals against on a nightly basis) and in the long term (development of the youngsters). He has never won a Stanley Cup, Olympic gold or World Championship gold - why is his experience be so treasured when his abilities have never helped a team win?

*Alex Frolov averages 2:14 of power play time per game and saw nearly two minutes on the man advantage in this one. And yet he has no power play goals and just one power play assist. Perhaps it is time to try Prust, Avery or even Fedotenko on the unit - at least you know they will battle around the net.

*Totally random but I spotted Dru, Boyle and Girardi walking in Penn Station after the game, followed by MDZ and Prust - who were accompanied by a pair of young ladies. I said 'good win' and Dru shot me a nasty look. How could he know I dislike him so? Think he remembered my Redden sign? Haha. Ok, enough stalking talking.

*One of the Zambonis broke down right at the start of the second intermission. I hope the kid who was supposed to ride it will get another shot. That looks like fun; I wanna ride the Zamboni!

*There was a surprisingly solid crowd - not the sellout listed on the Game Summary but well over 10K. Amazingly there were numerous Islander fans as well but there weren't any fights that I saw; must be the holiday spirit.

*Oh, season ticket reps said that they had no plans to do anything for those who couldn't make it. They just put a note or complaint on the account and claimed that they may address it at a future date. Not give a ticket back for a future date but deal with the complaint at a future date. Stay classy Dolan.

*Maybe BJ Wisniewski was just rehearsing for his future career when he made that gesture at Avery earlier this season. Because he certainly did not look like someone who is capable of making money playing puck for much longer in this one. Had his shot late in the first not hit the post and gone in, it would have made it 3-1 Isles and a totally different game.

*Brian Boyle's short side goal was exactly the kind of softie that has plagued Henrik for years, so it was nice to see it scored for us rather than against. And Boyle had yet another big game - when he simplifies things he does so well because he constantly works hard. And hard work pays off, as Ruslan Fedotenko can attest to. Tank is older, slower and doesn't have the hands he once had but he keeps plugging and has been a delightful surprise of a training camp invite.

*Gillies vs Prust. What the hell?

*MZA had another solid performance but, as I said after his first NHL game, he needs to work on his play away from the puck. As a forward, you can't just stand around waiting for the play to come to you (unless you are Jaromir Jagr).

*Arty needs to work on most everything, but his strength - or lack thereof - is his biggest issue. Anisimov is consistently knocked off the puck, knocked to the ice or knocked away from scoring areas.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brandon Dubinsky - one goal and one assist.
2-Brian Boyle - one goal and two assists.
1-Matt Gilroy - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Derek Stepan - The kid's confidence has finally gone up and it shows.
2-Boyle/Fed/Prust - A line that has remained together for more than five minutes? They must be good!
1-Hobey - The kid is definitely making a case to stay in the lineup, and it is about time.