20-16-4: Taking Two From Toronto

The Rangers completed their home-and-home with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night and came through with a pair of points, prevailing 3-2 in a shootout. It was a poor performance by the Blueshirts but they got the result they desperately needed.

Toronto, a team that the Rangers were battling with for Eastern Conference position, collected three out of four points from the two games against New York. The battle between the Original Six rivals is all but over, as the Leafs are sitting in fifth place - five points clear of the logjam that is 6-7-8-9. To think, the Maple Leafs have all but sealed a playoff spot while the Rangers are jockeying with the Islanders and the Jets (and the Sens).

This asterisked season really is an aberration. But, as the Devils proved in '95, even bad teams can take the Cup if they get hot at the right time so there is hope for the Rangers yet. They'll just have to work harder - far harder than they did against Toronto - to turn that hope into results.

Late Hits:

*To think that individual skill competitions will continue to have a heavy hand in determining postseason eligibility in this team sport is stupefying. Really wish the NHL would do away with shootouts or at least make it a 3-2-1 point system.

*Three wasted Ranger power plays. Ho hum. Par for the course, as was the third expiring and Toronto scoring soonafter. The opportunities that have come and past this season are legion, and infuriating.

*Poor Brad Richard$. All that money and he can't buy a goal.

*Nice of Ryane Clowe to come through with a fight to swing the pendulum. Really, what is Arron Asham getting paid for?

*Torts' mismanagement of the Blueshirt blueline is killing this team. Dan Girardi is playing far too many minutes, John Moore far too few. Moore has shown he can skate and make plays, and yet he had just two shifts in the third period and none in overtime - a four on four OT with a ton of space for a kid who can skate and make plays. And yet Steve Eminger was out there for over 30 seconds. Senseless.

*Girardi ... an All Star last season, G is a shadow of that player and his Del Zastrous fumble of an ill-advised Asham pass led to the game-tying goal. He's making mistakes more than ever and yet Torts had him out there for a half hour.

*Neither he nor anyone else on the Rangers were able to contain Toronto's top trio - Kessel, JvR and Bozak. Their speed, hustle and chemistry just killed. Imagine that, a line that has chemistry. What a concept.

*Great shot by McDonagh to give the Blueshirts the lead. Amazing what happens when players screen the goalie and the shooter avoids putting the puck into the legs of the guy right in front of him.

*Bork! Finally, Hagelin's hard work paid off in a goal. Hopefully it will open the floodgates ...

*Really seems like a long time since Taylor Pyatt was a contributing member of this team. Maybe facing his former franchise on Saturday will get him back in the game. His big body could be a big help down the stretch and in the playoffs (if the Rangers make it).

*Speaking of big bodies, why/how in the world did Boyle get a star? He was abominable, as per usual. He had nothing to do with either of the Ranger goals, he missed passes and gift-wrapped chances, his penalty killing consisted of standing around watching the Leafs pass the puck ... Which of the writers did he pay off?

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Brian Boyle - no points.
2-Phil Kessel - two goals.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 23 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Clowe - Sure he didn't win the fight against Fraser but the Rangers were in desperate need of life and he sparked it.
2-Kessel - By far the best skater on the ice; wonder why he wasn't in the shootout. Can't wait to see him in Sochi. (USA! USA! USA!)
1-Hank - Even with the 20+ minute gap between shots, the King collected a multitude of game-saving stops. With a common goaltender, this game was over in regulation with the Leafs winning handily. Good thing we have royalty amongst us. 

19-16-4: Right Back Where We Started From

The boost of adrenaline the Rangers received from the trade deadline and subsequent 6-1 curbstomping of the Penguins has completely worn off. The Blueshirts fell back to their familiar failings on Monday night, falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3.

We all joked that once Torts went back to coaching the team it would regress and it has. The lines that worked so well have been broken up, new guys Brassard and Moore are seeing limited minutes, the power play was back to being predictable and the Rangers are allowing their opponents to do whatever they want, wherever they want.

No one is laughing now.

Late Hits:

*Del Zastrous. Those who see his poor performance as an aberration are wrong have the excuse that the kid tried to do too much in front of a hometown crowd. It has happened before at the ACC, and likely will happen again. But, frankly, it was par for the course. DZ chases the puck, gambles on the rush, hits for contact and not 'impact', and has little clue of proper positioning in his own end. When his gambles pay off, things are rosy. When they don't ...

*Torts juggles the forwards lines incessantly and yet he stuck with the DZ/Girardi pairing despite consistent failures. Mind boggling.

*Yet another game where Girardi and McDonagh looked exhausted. Too many minutes over the last year and a half have taken their toll; Marc Staal can't return quick enough, and it is a shame Torts stopped trusting Moore already.

*The Leafs goal to go up 3-1 - Kessel's power play goal - was painful. Not only did it come off a hokey holding call on Cally (great dive by Sloppy Seconds), but the Rangers just let New Jersey boy JvR do his best Tomas Holmstrom impression.

*Phil Kessel is Toronto's best player. Perhaps someone should cover him. Just a thought.

*Can't blame the posts in this one, both teams tasted iron several times.

*Typical Ranger performance, making a mediocre goaltender look like a god. Perhaps if they weren't so predictable Reimer wouldn't be able to square to every shot and take the puck in the logo. The goaltender was caught completely offguard when Step fired the puck past him rather than dumping it into the corner and 'grinding' the way they usually do.

*That was a beautiful shot by the True Blue trooper and Nash's singular effort on the Rangers' second goal was stellar. Maybe he felt he was back in Columbus, thinking "if I don't do it myself, no one else will."

*Brian Boyle. Enough with this oversized, understrengthed waste of a sweater already.

*Zuccarello has returned a different player than he was, one who is more willing to shoot. Combined with his sublime passing ability and decisiveness with the puck, he has clearly made the next step in his development. Once it all starts clicking - regular linemates might help - Zuke will be one helluva NHLer.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Phil Kessel - two goals and one assist.
2-Rick Nash - two goals.
1-James van Riemsdyk - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Nash - That was one highlight goal by the hot dog, more than made up for kicking in the other one. Haha.
2-JvR - A big, power forward willing to work the tough areas to get goals? Hope Ryane Clowe took notes.
1-Kessel - Marian Gaborik played like that, for a spell ... 

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.

47-21-7: Well, We're Better Than Toronto

The Ranger team that was blown out by Buffalo 4-1 on Friday was the same one that defeated Toronto 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. The only difference was the ability of their opponent. All the mistakes, all of the errors in judgement, all of the lapses were still there - the Leafs simply weren't capable of taking advantage of all of them. And their goaltending is terrrrrrrible.

Heard the term "gut check" used a few times in the wake of this one - and, honestly, in the wake of more than a few games this season. That is inaccurate. The Rangers didn't dig deep and find something there to persevere against all odds, they put together another sub-par performance. They played down to the level of their opponent and, on this night, got a couple of good bounces to keep pace before winning the breakaway contest.

As ranted again and again in this space, there are major flaws in this franchise and they have to be addressed before there is to be any real success. Power play, depth, consistency ... and now, shockingly/disappointingly/tragically, goaltending. Time is running short, things are about to get real and the Rangers had better come up with some solutions soon. They've won three out of four now but certainly won't be able to take four out of seven when it counts unless they step things up.

Late Hits:

*Not a great night for Swedish goaltenders as both Hank and Gustavsson gave up awful goals. The difference there is that Hank is actually quite good, or was. It is uncharacteristic of him to see mental lapses night after night like this - overcommitting to Kessel, horrid rebound control to Connolly ... hopefully the shootout stops will be a starting point for the King to get his game back together. Seeing as the next Ranger opponent is Minnesota, and the Wild are anything but, Biron should get the start and Hank can have three full days to rest, relax and practice.

*Earlier this year Ryan McDonagh had a few bad games but the Rangers were able to rely on his rock of a partner Dan Girardi. Now Girardi has hit a rough patch and McD is the reliable one. Given the absence of Sauer and the troubles Staal is suffering through, the Rangers will need both of their top blueliners going if they are to withstand the playoff pressure.

*Is there any more under-covered concussion than that of Mike Sauer? The only updates we get are when the beat guys deign to reply to fan queries, and then they only seem to have some form of 'nothing new.' With McIlrath and Ceresnak still at least a year or three away, Pashnin likely to be with the rebuilt Lokomotiv next season and Valentenko not developing as hoped, the Rangers may need to seriously address the position this summer.

*Del Zaster didn't help Toronto score a single goal. He also didn't help the Rangers score a single goal. Call it a push.

*Richard$ made up for the turnover he had (the one that led to the Crabb goal) with his sexy assist on the Gabby goal. He then made up for his missed coverage of Tim Connolly with his first shootout goal of the year. Another push.

*TIm Erixon - two games, two assists. DZ one assist in his last seven. Just sayin' ...

*It has often seemed this season like Callahan was the only Ranger on the ice - often skating into the opposition end one-on-four and playing a far more motivated game than his teammates. So it is a bit amusing that his success came when he literally was the one Ranger on the ice. Well, I thought it was amusing. And outstanding.

*Did you notice Rupp hit Dubinsky an instant before Dubi scored? He collided with the kid from behind, shoving Dubi forward. Maybe the contact altered the angle of the shot and helped it go in, who knows? But it was certainly the closest thing Rupp has come to an assist in over a month. Nineteen games, no points. One assist in 33 games. I thought the point of having him as team goon was that he could contribute in other ways than using his fists?

*What game was the official scorer watching? He/she/it somehow counted 100 (!!!) hits in this game - one of the least physical exhibitions that the Rangers have skated in all season. Derek Stepan, who was all but invisible when not losing faceoffs, somehow accounted for a team high six hits (a total matched by Cally, although he has hit that number before). Ridiculous.

*Joey Crabb? Really?

*Sam and Joe are completely unlistenable. Sam doesn't know anyone's names anymore and Joe has amped up the obnoxiousness more than ever - something thought to be impossible. Said it before, I will say it again - I weep for the kids who are learning the game from these two. I was lucky to have had the best - JD and a young Sam - so I truly feel for those who get their info and insight from the current pairing.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Joey Crabb - one goal and one assist.
2-Marian Gaborik - two goals.
1-Ryan Callahan - game-winning shootout goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Gabby - The Slovak was just as involved as he was in Buffalo, but he faced a far weaker team and found far better results.
2-Connolly - Sexy snipe in the shootout plus the game-tying goal - just seconds after Gabby's go-ahead goal - gives him the nod over Joey Crabb.
1-Cally - The captain comes through yet again; where would the Rangers be without him?

28-10-4: Blowing Away The Leafs

The New York Rangers rebounded from their 3-0 loss to Ottawa on Thursday with a 3-0 win over the other Ontario team - the Toronto Maple Leafs - on Saturday. It was nice to see them shake off the stench of the Sens failure with a victory.

They are in first in the NHL and, according to the AP, are on pace for the best season in franchise history.

That being said, they beat an over-hyped, utterly exhausted team missing their top center. To the Blueshirts credit, they hit everything that moved early and helped grind the rest of the life out of the Leafs, setting up a strong second period. There is still much work to be done, as was blatantly apparent after watching Wings/Hawks earlier in the day.

Late Hits:

*Few goals this season have been as pretty as the first tally of the night by Mike F-ing Rupp. Step, Wolski and Rupp made Cody Franson look stupid, the monkey in the middle as they passed the puck around before beating Gustavsson. What a highlight. Mike F-ing Rupp. Again. Unreal.

*Have to admit loving his work in front of the paint on the power play - doing exactly what Boyle should have been doing for the last few years.

*Called out Rupp on Twitter ahead of the Winter Classic and he scored two goals outdoors. Called out Boyle in this space after last game, and he scored against Toronto. Didn't see much change in Boyle's quality of play but his luck certainly improved - Franson perfectly screened Gustavsson, allowing his hail mary shot from the circle in. But sometimes it takes some help to get out of a slump and Boyle got it. On the other side of the coin, his hit on Kessel in the first period was one of the most awkward things I've seen in the NHL this season.

*It could have been a totally different result if Kessel's redirection hadn't hit the post late in the second period. Instead the American rang one off the iron and Boyle scored two minutes later to go up 2-0. That's the way the puck bounces I guess.

*The Ranger power play remained incompetent.

*Brad Richards remained heartbroken. At least he played like he was. He had three giveaways and he attempted five shots - one missed the net and four were blocked.

*Dan Girardi had his hands full with Kessel and skated a game-high 28:40 - six minutes more than any other Ranger. What happens when the Blueshirts play against a team with more than one line? Will he play all 60? This is getting ridiculous.

*Del Zaster was playing in his hometown but he certainly did not step up his game. He was beaten to the puck, he was caught watching the play and his hits did little to stop the opposing attack (for those demanding examples, watch him with five minutes left in the first period). All of that would be acceptable if he did something on the other end of the ice but he was largely ineffective. Again. Six games with just one assist despite 14 minutes of power play time. Fourteen. Thankfully the Rangers still won five of the six ... Credit is due to the kid for holding the blue line on the power play at the beginning of the second period - it was a really play.

*Anton Stralman had quite a good game. Bet that shocked those Leaf fans that remembered him as a Buds blueliner.

*Saw Biron get bumped more than once. With no retribution. Unacceptable.

*Paging Artem Anisimov ...

*There is surely more but Montreal is looming. Let's hope Henrik doesn't have his typical game at the Bell Centre.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brandon Prust - one assist.
2-Marty Biron - 20 saves.
1-Derek Stepan - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Cally - The captain was all over the ice.
2-Prust - One of his best games in weeks and it didn't require him to fight in the first two minutes.
1-Step - Great game by the Badger.

15-6-3: Rope-A-Dopes

The Rangers are playing the Flyers in the Winter Classic so perhaps to get ready for Philadelphia they have steadily taken on the attributes of that city's favourite son - Rocky Balboa. They regularly start poorly, get knocked around a bit and eventually decide to show up. When they are fighting back you wonder where that extra oomph was the rest of the bout. The last few times the Rangers let the other team land the first few blows they survived the deluge and rallied to win. On Monday night they waited until they trailed 3-0 but by then it was just too late to come all of the way back and they ultimately lost to the Leafs 4-2.

This never-say-die attitude really is great to see but the fact that Tortorella can't prepare them to start at the puck drop and he can't get them to play a full, consistent 60 minutes is cause for concern. A loss is a loss, it happens. But when a loss happens like this it is infuriating. The Rangers were worse than terrible for much of the night, and then they were a force in the final minutes. Where was that the rest of the game? There is no shame when you lose when you try your hardest. How many of the Rangers can say that they did on this night?

After Zach Johnson lost to Tiger Woods Sunday he said "I don't think that I lost the tournament, I think he won it." Tonight the Rangers lost the game, the Leafs did not win it. They were capable but the Blueshirts simply did not show up for 50 or so minutes. That is what is so bothersome.

Late Hits:

*Beezer was back! Vanbiesbrouck got a warm ovation from the Garden Faithful when he was put up on the big board during a timeout. My all-time favourite Ranger. (I choose to ignore his tenure with the Isles, Devils and Flyers. Never happened. NEVER HAPPENED!) Loooooooooved Beezer when I was a kid, hell, I wanted to be him. Great to see him again.

*Why is it that the entire league nowadays fights after clean checks and yet the Rangers just skated away from Sloppy Seconds after he sent Sauer into the next time zone? It was a helluva hit - and it was clean - but what the hell? The team loses one of their best defensemen and no one did anything then or after Sauer was out, too worried about trying to come back after slacking off all night. You don't want to instigate a fight, fine - just take a run at one of their best players, eye for an eye. For all of the talk about the team having an identity this isn't a good characteristic to include.

*The three stars will be at the bottom - as per usual - but I had to address them here: how the hell was Arty named one of them? Aside from his goal, he was awful most of the game and he took utterly two inexcusable penalties. One of them resulted in Toronto's third goal and the other helped abort the late push for an equalizer. Times like this justify my decision to name my own top three.

*Anisimov's goal was the result of perhaps the best line change in Tortorella's tenure. He pulled Sean Avery off the ice once the Rangers gained the zone and his cover peeled off and turned back into the play, leaving the man who jumped on - Anisimov - wide open to skate in and score.

*Getting that goal was perhaps the only thing that could have justified Avery getting the hook. Btw Sean saw 7:32 of ice time and he was visible most every second of that. Fedotenko played 15 and he was only noticeable for getting beaten on the Connolly goal and for taking a bad penalty.

*My Brandon Prust stat has survived, as he dropped the gloves against (and got utterly destroyed by) Jay Rosehill at the 2:05 mark. That was not a good showing by our lone tough guy.

*Do you think linesmen Ryan Galloway and Derek Nansen thought we paid $60 a ticket to watch them work? There was what, five, six faceoffs where they tossed someone? And the dramatics when calling offsides, geez. Ridiculous. Stripes are best when invisible.

*No, Dave Steckel is not under my control and is not doing my bidding. First Crosby, then Del Zaster. Hey, I was as relieved as anyone to see the kid moving his leg afterwards, because it meant I could still rail on him. He hits to make the boards rattle, not to win the puck and 99% of the time the other team maintains possession. His passing is predictable and often off the mark. But it must be admitted that he was blameless in any of the three goals against on this night. And he did get yet another second assist ...

*Not often that I find fallacies in Captain Cally's play but how does he hit the top of the net above the glass when he was shooting five feet from the goal? Of anyone on this roster, he should realize he just needs to put the puck on net, especially in the final minutes when the team is trailing.

*Nice to see a kid dropping the ceremonial puck and shaking Cally's hand, instead of dissing him and heading home.

*Random but why the French version of Oh Canada? They don't speak French in Toronto, and the last time I was there they sang the English version before the games I saw.

*Liked seeing the white sweaters being used at the Garden again. The league should mandate that teams wear the coloured sweaters and the whites an equal amount at home - it would even help spur sales, which is all they care about anyway.

*When Derek Stepan scrambles, he skates right into quicksand making mistake after mistake. When he just puts his head down and battles, he is really is quite a revelation.

*Too many Leafs fans in our building.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Phil Kessel - two assists.
2-Artem Anisimov - one goal.
1-Joffrey Lupul - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Tyler Bozak - Kate Upton was impressed and she is impressive, so he gets some credit. Although, like Arty he took two awful penalties ... but man, Kate is hot ... what was I talking about?
2-Jonas Gustavsson - The Monster was hardly challenged early but he maintained his composure and stopped the Ranger rally late.
1-Lupul - He lurked around the Ranger net all night and he won a lot of faceoffs. And this guy was not good enough for the Anaheim Ducks, who have now lost 18 of 21.

3-3-2: Home, Horrible, Home

The top highlight of Thursday night's home opener was that it wasn't in Europe. I didn't fly thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to watch an utter disgrace. To watch that pathetic display of puck at all was excruciating, but to see it in the home opener was heartbreaking. If the team can't get it together to give it all in their first game in front of their fans, when can they? After one well-played period the Rangers completely fell apart and were embarrassed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, eventually losing 4-2.

Time to start ranting in my Late Hits:

*How do you bury the obit for Boogaard, the lives lost in the Lokomotiv crash and other summer casualties in a bad montage during a tv timeout? People are talking, getting up, walking around ... And then, on the big screen, to wipe away from the cheesy 'we will never forget' frame to a bunch of people waiting to cheer for their Chase-sponsored free tee shirt? Disgusts me. The team smartly skipped the pregame talent - no Blue Man Group, no Ace Frehley - and wonderfully had FDNY and NYPD hockey players as an honour guard during the player introductions but all of the goodwill earned from that was wasted away by the obit. They could have included #94 when individually naming the players and have a moment of silence then. But instead it was shoehorned in while MSG ran some commercials for crap you won't buy. Original Six teams are supposed to be classy.

*Didn't get up to the party decks (which I heard were wonderful) but what I saw of the renovated Garden was not welcoming. Many portions of the concourses closed, lines out of control, no more straight staircases from the ice to the 300s, a lower drop ceiling over the corner seats in the 300s, spray painted construction numbers on exposed concrete floors, an extension chord literally sticking out of a concrete block on my wall. The Rangers aren't playing in a renovated building, they are playing in a building being renovated. It is very far from finished and to have to pay top dollar to watch games in a construction area is ridiculous.

*And the people who paid largely weren't the usual Garden Faithful. It was perhaps the quietest season opener since before the lockout, and that was even before the team fell apart.

*When Jonas Gustavsson made it to the NHL, he listed Henrik Lundqvist as someone he wanted to be like. Well, after Gustavsson allowed an utterly atrocious goal on a wide open shot to open the scoring, it was Lundqvist who emulated the Monster, allowing two. You knew Hank was in trouble when he kept on sliding out of the crease but for him to give up shots from the circles is entirely uncharacteristic. And short side? Geez.

*When Hank plays this poorly he needs his teammates to bail him out and they simply didn't. Still too afraid to make mistakes, they reverted back to the same old dump, chase and change Rangers and were outworked and outhustled by the better-coached Leafs.

*Welcome back Mike Sauer! Sauer saved Hank's bacon by making a diving stop on an empty net after the King vacated his throne.

*Too bad there is only one of him, because Eminger and Del Zaster have to go and Erixon could use some time with JJ Daigneault in Connecticut.

*Speaking of Connecticut, the "We Want Avery!" and "Ave-ry!" clap-clap chants were spectacular. The Ranger forecheck was pathetic, after the Callahan goals were waved off no one went to the crease and the team folded like a cheap suit - all things the Grate One could have helped. Used properly by a competent coach Sean can be a big help. Unfortunately the Ranger bench boss is not willing or capable of doing so, lest he lose his alpha male image.

*How do you have goals disallowed on goaltender interference twice without having a single goaltending interference penalty?

*Michael Del Zaster makes me miss Michal Rozsival.

*How pathetic is it that the kid actually pots a goal to bring the Blueshirts within two with over four minutes left and everyone knew that there was no chance of a complete comeback? And when Torts finally pulls Hank he puts Erik Christensen out there. C'mon man, at least try to win the game.

*They handed out tee shirts as you walked in, which was a nice surprise. Walking out I was told "you got a free shirt, you wanted a win too?"

*Also overheard, "this team makes 1994 feel like 1940."

*Kris Newbury. Seriously. What the hell? Haven't seen an ass kicking like that on the Garden ice in a long time. That had to be up there with Dave Schultz beating up Dale Rolfe back in the 70s, just without all of the blood.

*Wojtek Wolski will score a lot of goals in the Swiss league sometime soon. Putting him with Prust and Boyle just drags them down.

*Marian Gaborik and Brad Richard$ need to realize that they aren't playing in a video game. Fancy-pants moves don't work in real life if your name isn't Datsyuk. They are too easily smothered by the opposing checkers and too prone to bad turnovers.

*Is it time to start wondering what Brandon Dubinsky's trade value is? Steven Ovadia might be right, we certainly may have already seen his best. That being said, the unsportsmanlike penalty he got whistled for was ridiculous.

*What did Felix Potvin ever to do the Rangers? (/sarcasm)

*PHW Three Stars
3-Dan Girardi - one goal.
2-Carl Gunnarsson - one assist.
1-Joffrey Lupul - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Girardi - Dan wasn't on for any of the goals against and he did the one thing that the forwards wouldn't - he just shot the puck.
2-Dion Phaneuf - Sloppy Seconds stood tall on both sides of the ice playing a ton of minutes.
1-Mike Brown - Brown would have made this purely for the beating he laid on Newbury but he also snuck a puck past Hank.

Peepin' Foes: Toronto Maple Leafs

For the second straight season the Rangers are opening up their home slate of the schedule with an Original Six matchup. They will tak on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Garden on Thursday night at 7 p.m. but doors open early (5:30) for the festivities. Last season's game was an overtime loss that left me twitching mad, so let's pray that this one will be better.

Where We Are: The Rangers won three of their seven games to day, which is remarkable given their level of play. This will be the first one at the partially-renovated Garden, which is pretty much meaningless as the last two seasons the Blueshirts have been sub-.500 on home ice. Amazing how that coincides with the hiring of John Tortorella.

Where They Are: In first place of the Northeast Division. No, seriously. The Leafs are 5-2-1, but both regulation losses came on the road. They let Sideshow Bob Scott Hartnell score a pair of goals to propel the Flyers to a 4-2 victory on Monday night (that Jagr guy scored two too).

Who To Watch For: In typical fashion the Rangers opponent will bring back injured stars - dizzy Tim Connolly, Tyler Bozak and James "Optimus" Reimer. While Connolly scored the lone goal in Buffalo's 1-0 win over the Blueshirts back in March, the guy to watch for on the offensive side of the puck is Phil Kessel. Kessel has been nothing short of outstanding with nine goals and six assists in the Leafs' eight games played - and just one of the nine was on a power play. The Rangers have done well to shut him down in the past - three goals and three assists in 17 career meetings - but the guy is utterly on fire. Joffrey Lupul has ridden Kessel's coattails to the tune of four goals and five assists. Back on the Buds blueline our old friend Sloppy Seconds Dion Phaneuf is back to his pre-Elisha production while the offensively-inclined John-Michael Liles is goalless but is pacing the team in blocked pucks with 24.

What To Watch For: Torts using Girardi to shut down Kessel and whether or not the bench boss keeps McD on that top pairing or re-inserts Sauer. Del Zaster attempting his long break-out passes to try to catch the Leaf defense as Philly did twice to spring Jagr for breakaway goals. The Rangers actually going to the net - Toronto has allowed teams to walk right in on both Reimer and Gustavsson and both have absorbed big hits. If he plays, Colton Orr trying to prove something against his old team; Colt has one goal and one fight in just two games played so far this season. David Steckel's ability to win faceoffs.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: A pregame ceremony that doesn't suck. Ushers allowing real fans to watch warmups from the new yuppy seats. Ryan Callahan using his fluke of a goal against Winnipeg to kickstart his production. Brandon Dubinsky to be relevant. Brad Richards to be dominant. West Islip's Mike Komisarek doing something stupid. A Ranger faring better than Dale Weise did in his fight against Luke Schenn last year.

Also Check Out: Toronto Mike and the Bitter Leaf Fan are solid reads but the be all end all is that wacky bunch of masochists at Pension Plan Puppets.

27-18-3: Yawn

The Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-0 on Wednesday night and if you are looking for a glowing, joyful review ... look elsewhere.

You've been warned.

The game was a boring beating of a dead horse. Toronto was completely lifeless and laid there as the Rangers piled on goal after goal. This was like the snow-day victory over the Islanders, it was a firm trouncing of a team that had no right being on the same ice as them.

Yes, these are the games that you are supposed to win and it was nice to come through. But beyond the two points the victory was completely unfulfilling and proved absolutely nothing. Let's see them have a strong showing against a real NHL team, or at least one that is capable of playing the AHL because the Leafs would have even lost to a SPHL side on this night. Atrocious; any Toronto fans out there have my sympathies. Let's just hope that the Rangers have something left in the tank for tomorrow night's game as the Canes will be one of the teams fighting them for a playoff spot notsofar down the road.

Notes:

*For all who are still delirious over Marian Gaborik's five point night, please keep in mind that he had hat tricks against Edmonton and the Islanders - the guy shows up when there is a dog to kick but when a real opponent comes around this season he has been the dog. I would rather see him score once in any of the close losses where were were desperate for a goal than see him put up four (and assist on another) against a bunch of bums like the Buds. That being said, his first goal featured some sexy stickhandling, wow. But, again, 10 of his 15 goals have come in three of his 34 games.

*Speaking of bums, Chris Drury. Over 20 minutes of nothingness. The only thing that makes his performance almost acceptable was the disastrous showing by Toronto captain Sloppy Seconds; we may not have the worst captain in the league but Drury is certainly in the conversation. Nice breakaway idiot. Why couldn't Drury get injured instead of Ruslan Fedotenko? Dru adds nothing to the lineup on the ice anymore - he is even a shadow of the fourth liner that he was in Vancouver 11 months ago, much less the star he was on the Sabres (and in Little League!).

*Very tough to lose Fedotenko with a separated shoulder; damn you West Islip waste of skates Mike Komisarek. Feds has been the perfect foot soldier this season and to see him go down was painful. Hopefully, as with Frolov, the Hartford replacement will be able to do the job (if not do even better). Finding someone to step up and fill Dubinsky's skates ... well, that will be far more difficult. A lot can happen in a month.

*When Colton Orr first came to NY I hated him. He was a slow, one-dimensional goon. Then Tom Renney worked some magic and turned Orr into a valuable defensive player, someone who I and most others loved to watch. It appears that Renney's pixie dust has worn off. Orr is back to being a goon and seems to have taken it a step forward and become a clown too. Sad.

*Really kinda curious as to why Dale Weise fought (and got his ass kicked by) Luke Schenn. Nothing positive could have come out of it and, if not for the injuries ravaging the locker room, Weise would have been banished to the minors long ago. It is a shame, he had potential to be more than a goon but he has fallen into the roll and simply is not good at it.

*There was another bout in this one, with Newbury "fighting" Sloppy Seconds. Credit to the little man for getting the jersey over Elishe's boyfriend's head. Just sad to see the refs immediately break it up before Newbury could add injury to Phaneuf's embarrassment.

*Sometimes you forget just how fast Sean Avery is but he showed off some stellar wheels tonight and, for once, managed to keep his new linemates on side. What are the odds that Avery sticks with Anisimov and Gaborik? I would say slim and none.

*Arty really didn't deserve two of his four assists but, hey, everyone acknowledges that the official scorer in NY is a nice guy. And, to be honest, his other two assists were perfect feeds. It is amazing how good he can be when no one is hitting him and he doesn't have to actually work for space.

*A friend tried throwing his hat after Gabby's third goal only to watch it fall short and have a teenager sitting a few rows from the ice pick it up and put it on his head. That is just wrong, and gross.

*The Blueshirts spent plenty of time late being cute with their passes and it gave the Leafs some life. Sure, the game was well out of hand by then and only a high stick could strike a puck past Hank but being cute is a bad habit for our boys and one that hopefully won't carry on to Carolina.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 22 saves.
2-Artem Anisimov - four assists.
1-Marian Gaborik - four goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Ron Wilson - The Maple Leafs coach's composure was astounding. If I was him I would have ripped off my tie, thrown it onto the ice and walked out before the end of the second period. And just think that if he had prepared his team to play, they could have capitalized on that power play thee minutes into the first and made it an entirely different game.
2-Ryan McDonagh - Sure the Leafs were limp but the kid played his most minutes to date in the NHL and played his best hockey to date. Toronto couldn't get second or third chances as McD was well positioned to make plays.
1-Gaborik - Nice to see that he is still indeed on the team but let's see him do something when he is actually needed before saluting the Slovak.

5-4-1: Another Block Party

During the third period of the Rangers 2-0 win over Toronto on Saturday, the Rangers got a little too feisty near J.S. Giguere and the Leafs took exception. Greg Caggiano tweeted "Let's see a scrum like that in front of OUR net."

There shouldn't just be a scrum, there should be a brawl. It is difficult to believe, after performances like this, that the Rangers don't realize that their livelihood rests upon Swedish shoulders. How they don't do anything and everything to protect those shoulders is baffling.

The HNIC announcers broke down Henrik's play, pointing out how he plays deep in his crease more often than not. What they didn't point out is that he does it because 1- he is European and most goalies who come from the wider ice surface play deeper and 2- it is safer.

That being said, the Rangers played their second impressive defensive game in the Air Canada Center. Like the last time, the Blueshirts gave up the body, diving in front of shot after shot. Oh, there were breakdowns and Hank got crowded at times, but they repeated their Biron performance to limit Leaf chances. They blocked 35 shots in all, and yet Hank still made 36 saves.

Insane, right? But it does make sense - Toronto pressed the play with their energy and physicality, while the Rangers cowed back in their own zone. The team doesn't have much toughness and it certainly doesn't have much skill with Gaborik gone, so they fall back on their heels and give up the neural zone and the blue line.

They simply can't allow Pat Kane and the Hawks to do that on Monday. But they probably will. Let's just hope Hank can pull out another gem ...

Notes:

*Jim Hughson doing the play-by-play makes me think that I'm immersed in a video game rather than watching the Rangers. Brian Boyle scoring his fourth goal of the season doesn't help either, as that is far more likely in the virtual world than reality.

*But seriously, kudos to Boyle for bouncing back from an atrocious effort on Friday. When he plays his size, when he plays to his skill level, he excels. Boyle is not a particularly good hockey player, so being fancy and messing around with the puck is just stupid. When he just keeps it simple, good things happen. He skated hard, went to the net, went to the backhand and caught Giguere cheating away from the post. There was no wild stickhandling, no pulling up to wait for help. Plain, simple, north-south hockey.

*It has been mentioned many times that Chris Drury really shouldn't bother coming back but tonight's game changed my opinion. And it is all because of Ryan Callahan. Watching Cally closely, you can see what the kid has learned from the captain. He is slowly starting to combine the scoring prowess of Drury's youth with the defensive acumen of Dru now. The scoring is not coming easily - he was venturing into Higgins territory - but the talent is there. Dru racked up 47 assists one season, there is no reason to think that Cally can't if he ever gets the chance to skate with some snipers. Not to say that he can't score himself; as we saw with his penalty shot - he has hands. His hard work earned him that shot and he buried it.

*Another player stepping into a leadership role seems to be Brandon Prust. Prust is more of an enforcer than Brashear or Boogaard ever was. After the awful loss on Friday, Prust stepped up to the bell to go after Komisarek and then later Colton Orr. Where exactly was Boogaard? Prust had the visor removed before the game and immediately went to business; that's bold and that's appreciated. I mean, he went after Orr in Eminger's defense ... Eminger!

*Eminger, who stinks. But so does Gilroy and MDZ. The three of them are barely qualified to man a AHL blueline, much less a NHL one. Despite the CBC guys saying MDZ has avoided a sophomore slump (he hasn't), we have reached at the point where I wonder if a little time with JJ Daigneault might do MDZ some good. The only hope for us with Eminger or Gilroy is for an injury because that seems like what it will take to get the reliable Mike Sauer back in action.

*Grachev saw eight minutes or action but frankly, I can't remember most any of it. At least that is better than remembering just how disappointed I was with Alex Frolov. Again.

*Arty was alright - not as bad as he has been at times, not as good as he has been. He was involved and that is a plus for us. It was quite amusing watching him try to pull Boyle's move off in the third period, only to end up getting hammered into the net by West Islip white trash.

*Facing Toronto without Darcy Tucker just seems to leave Sean Avery on the outside looking in. He keeps pressing the action and skating hard but without a foil in Tucker, it just isn't the same.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brian Boyle - one goal.
2-Dan Girardi - one assist.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 36 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Prust - Face still messed up from the high stick, Prust held his own well being at bay for the sake of the team. More players should be as selfless - right now it seems like four, maybe five Blueshirts get it. Imagine what would happen if more did.
2-Girardi - Ever since the Carcillo/Gaborik incident, Girardi has played remarkably consistant - almost enough to forgive his mistake. Almost. Girardi has done quite well of late, especially when you consider that he is often saddled with MDZ as a partner.
1-Hank - I would say it is a pleasure to watch one of the top five goaltenders in the game go to work but it often gives me heart palpitations. Luckily he, and I, keep managing to pull though ...

2-2-1: Unbe-Leaf-able!

If you are Henrik Lundqvist, sitting on the bench watching the Ranger 2-1 win over Toronto, what are you thinking?

Who are these guys and what did you do with the Rangers? Oh, the same guys? then why can't they play like this when I'm in net?

When the announcement was made that Marty Biron was starting, I figured that the Blueshirts were writing off this game but the exact opposite happened - they tightened up and played good hockey. They forced the action rather than letting the Leafs dictate it. When they were forced to react, instead of setting back on their heels, they stood up and got in the Leafs' faces, blocking shots and passes. Forechecking, backchecking, shot blocking, shocking!!!!

It is the efforts like these that infuriate me that much more when we see the listless, halfhearted garbage night after night. Last year's team had efforts like this but had many more when they didn't show up. Perhaps the new A on Staal's sweater marks A new start. Then again, maybe not so we might as well enjoy it while we can. But before I break out the beer, some notes:

*The two early goals assured Colby Armstrong would escape his come-uppance because there is no way Torts would allow anyone to do anything to jeopardize the lead. You could see Torts seething when Avery got called for his slash late in the first period.

*Aside from that penalty, which was stupid to take because you knew the refs were looking for it, Avery had a great game. Reunited with Stepan and Fedotenko, they skated and skated and skated. They pressed the action and didn't allow the Leafs to get any kind of flow. Stepen clearly has been suffering from MSG-itis, a fear of playing in MSG. Where he was gripping his stick too tight, second guessing his moves and making mistakes at the Garden, he simply played hockey here. His comfort level was high and he had chemistry with Aves and Tank. Look for Torts to break them up again soon.

*Yes, I laughed when Arty scored on an assist from Rozy. No, I'm still not giving Anisimov credit. Kaberle was watching the puck like a cat watches a laser pointer, he gave Arty body position and forgot he was there. Boogaard could have scored that. All credit to Rozy for the perfect feed and Gustavsson for not poking it away. Ok, I will give him a smidge of credit for his late faceoffs - he lost the puck but chased it, forcing the Leafs back - but I still don't enjoy watching him play.

*The other Ranger that has taken some tough words in this space this season - well, the other one that played tonight - MDZ was far better in the Ranger end. All of the Blueshirt blueliners were better than usual. Gilroy didn't panic and nearly scored a goal. Rozy's assist, as I said, was a beautiful thing, and Sauer quietly stepped into the lineup and did his job. It was delightful to see him do that; hopefully that means we will never see Eminger again.

*If I am going to be nice to MDZ and Arty, well, then the venom has to go elsewhere and it lands on Alex Frolov, who was disappointing. He definitely put forth some effort but it didn't get him or the Rangers anywhere. His miss on the empty net after Hobey hit the crossbar had me twitching. Especially after Cally batted the puck out of midair in the first period.

*Boogaard finally got into his first fight as a Ranger. It wasn't particularly impressive - a prearranged battle with Colton Orr that had no meaning in the context of the game. Boogaard landed a few big punches, missed a few more and was taken to the ice - certainly a better showing than Brashear had in his first battle as a Ranger last year. But he played 2:59 and sat in the penalty box for five - is that worth the $20k or so he makes per game?

*Rangers went 25-31 at the dot and 0-5 on the power play. I really don't want to talk about either. Let's just be happy with the win.

*Where Erik Christensen was disappointing yet again, Todd White had perhaps his best showing yet. White is a capable two-way center and he played like it.

*Anyone know why Mike Komisarek played just 12 minutes?

*PHW Three Stars
3-Arty Anisimov - one goal.
2-Luke Schenn - 19,310 Leaf fans cheering everything he did.
1-Marty Biron - 24 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Rozy - Hey, I'm as shocked as you are. Actually I was going to give the third star to MDZ but saw a replay of Rozy's feed to Arty and it gave him the edge. Actually this could also go to Girardi ... let's just say that the Blueshirt blueliners get the third star.
2-Biron - For all of the defensemen's efforts, Toronto was still able to get a lot of good chances and Biron stopped them. Gustavsson made more saves but Biron made better ones. He stayed square to the shooters, showed great economy of motion and calmly controlled the crease.
1-Ryan Callahan - Wouldn't it be great if we could strip the C from Drury and hand it to Cally? Up and down the ice, never stopping - his effort night after night is so great to watch.

1-1-1: That Looked Familiar

The Rangers encapsulated their entire 2009-10 season in one game tonight when they lost in overtime to Toronto, 4-3. They got off to a great start, thudded through a horrible middle, battled like hell at the end before blowing it. Their best players were invisible outside of Hank and they were saved by their grinders before everyone fell just a little short. That being said, there were some differences. The defense in the second period was the worst I have ever witnessed by the Rangers ever. Ulanov, Quintal, Pilon, Poti, Malik, Redden ... the six Blueshirt blueliners as a corps were a disaster. Injuries didn't really effect the Rangers last year and this night saw both Gabby and Dru go down. Let's just jump into it:

*Every "entertainment" decision made by the Garden brass was wrong. They did individual player intros, but ignored all of the scratches until the end as an afterthought. They dug up Ace Freeley to poorly sing a old song no one wanted to hear. On the heels of that, with everyone just wanting the puck drop, they took 10 minutes trying to describe the life and times of Lester Patrick. Lester's importance can't be summed up that quickly and it just sounded like droning in the wake of the warbling Freeley. Having two of his grandkids - both of whom work for other NHL teams - drop the puck was nice, if only to see Drury win a faceoff - but really, Craig Patrick helped build the Cup-winning Penguins, I don't care about his bloodline. The so-called celebrity sightings were droll - Ronny Turiaf, Pat Ewing Jr., Liam Neeson? Really? A bunch of gymnasts jumping around on a trampoline? What does that have to do with hockey? Where are the little kids? And what the hell was the guy playing an off-tune electric violin to Led Zeppelin? Tied 3-3 with seven minutes left, let's watch Dancin' Larry! Ugh! Not to mention that the music during warmups was atrocious. Dance remixes of Metallica? What the f...???? The Rangers ignored the most obvious thing - the fans were there to watch hockey, not for any kind of other entertainment.

*From a Garden regular and an admitted curmudgeon, I thought the fans were horrible - a lot of people with no clue at their one game of the year filling the concourses and getting in the way. And Potvin Sucks, we know. Woo hoo, you all know a chant. Congrats. As the team is trying to claw their way back from a 3-1 deficit against Toronto? Completely unnecessary.

*I will give them some credit as I wasn't the only one to applaud when the Rangers finally reached double digits in shots. Toronto, the second worst team in the league last year, completely dominated the Blueshirts in the second period. That marks two games in a row where the Rangers were outworked by a younger, hungrier, less skilled team. Unacceptable.

*It is easier to pick out the players who deserve accolades than the ones who deserve lashings. Brian Boyle came up with a pair of seeing-eye shots that went in for goals - just like the one he scored during preseason. Amazing how the grinder knows just to throw the puck on the net and see what happens while so many of the skill guys are blind to it. Brandon Prust saw only nine minutes of ice time and was arguably the best Ranger on the ice outside of Hank - and I called that he would fight Brown btw. Lundqvist was the only reason the game wasn't 7-1 by the third period. Ruslan Fedotenko had another quietly solid game while his linemate Sean Avery was, well, Sean Avery. He busted his ass, missed wide open chances, set up other scoring chances, let his emotions get to him, got screwed by the refs, made terrible turnovers, made nice checks ... he was involved.

*Speaking of the refs, as was pointed out to me the other day, a team shouldn't put themselves in a position where the officiating can play a role. And I have to agree. The Rangers should have been smarter and better - that goes without saying - but the refs were pretty bad. Missing obvious calls, calling borderline infractions, stopping fights, and I particularly enjoyed the linesman not bothering to move before kicking the puck to the Leafs to set up their second goal.

*I admittedly have yet to see Avery hacking Mike Komisarek's ankle on replay. But how does a guy go from shuffling along the ice looking like he would never walk again to skating off smiling and skating the next shift?

*Now that Dru and Gabby are out, how do you replace them? You move Gilroy to the wing - he simply can not play defense - and you hope Erik Christiansen is good to go. To my knowledge Kennedy can't come back without waivers, Zuccarello just scored his first North American goal so he isn't ready, Grachev isn't ready. Byers is the Hartford captain, Weise is not a scorer, Kelsey Tessier is tearing things up for the Whale but he is not a NHL player ... my buddy Eric floated the idea of BIll Guerin but I just don't see it. I think they make due with Christy and White for now.

*The Rangers were desperate for a change of fortune in the second period and yet 1- Torts never called timeout and 2- Derek Boogaard did nothing. Says a lot about both.

*I could go on about the top lines and how disappointing they all were too but it just isn't worth it. The only thing I will point out is that you could nearly see Stepan shaking in his first Garden game. Let's hope that those jitters worked themselves out tonight and he will be good to go Monday, because if tonight's Devil game is any indication, Colorado will be one tough opponent.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Sean Avery - two assists.
2-Brian Boyle - two goals.
1-Phil Kessel - two goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - The King made 34 saves and was under siege most of the night. He probably could have stopped one or two of the ones that went in but he gave the Rangers a chance to win when they clearly did not deserve it.
2-Tyler Bozak - Bozak dominated in the faceoff circle and collected a pair of assists. He is still goalless on the season but he is contributing to Toronto nonetheless.
1-Kessel - The man is a sniper, what can you say? Too bad he didn't come through when Team USA needed him in Vancouver.

Peepin' Foes: Toronto Maple Leafs

I was going to hold off doing Peepin' Foes until later in the season but circumstances are just too great not to put together a post: 1- the New York Rangers are opening their home schedule, 2- they are facing a Original Six opponent and 3- that opponent is the undefeated Toronto Maple Leafs. The last Original Six opponent the Rangers faced on opening night was the Blackhawks two years ago, and now they are the defending champs. The Leaf fans aren't willing to wait an extra year, they are already planning the parade for this season ... good luck with that.

Where We Are: One win, one loss. In years past I begged people not to take the hot start seriously and this time around the Rangers have yet to fool anyone. After dominating the first two periods against Buffalo, the Rangers have been well, the Rangers. The difference being the ease at which the puck has gone into the net for seemingly everyone not named Gaborik or Frolov.

Where They Are: Haven't you heard? 3-0 baby! Stanley Cup baby! As David Shoalts pointed out in the Globe, all of the hard hat guys are doing what hard hat guys are supposed to do - bust their behinds every second of every shift. That being said, the Leafs have yet to face a real goaltender - they beat up serial smoker Jesus Price, ouch-I'm-hurt-again Pascal Leclaire and day-glo-smile Marc-Andre Fleury, who allowed four goals on 14 shots. Yeah, that's embarrassing.

Who To Watch For: Clarke MacArthur - of no fame whatsoever but formerly of Atlanta and Buffalo - has four goals in three games so he is the hot hand coming in. The lone true offensive star, Phil Kessel, has two goals and an assist while the Cup winner Burke added Kris Versteeg has one goal and one assist. Olympic brawler Mikhail Grabovski is goalless but has three assists while the expected first line center Tyler Bozak also hasn't scored and only collected a lone helper. Broken Hearted Gustavsson took the win against Pittsburgh so Ron Wilson could very well put him back in the crease opposite his Swedish counterpart but Jiggy took the Leafs' first two wins so it may be his turn to take the net.

What To Watch For: The return of Chris Drury screwing up any kind of chemistry the second Tortorella realizes Dru is incapable of keeping up with his wingers and starts juggling lines. The decision to dress Hobey Gilroy for the solid Mike Sauer instead of the incompetent Steve Eminger costing the Rangers a goal or two. Sloppy Seconds Phaneuf or Sloppy Seconds Komisarek going after Sean Avery. Toronto's discipline will be important; so far they have gone a decent 1-8 on the kill, thank you Freddie Sjostrom. The other former Ranger, Colton Orr, may not even play. His status from what I've seen is uncertain as he was knocked the f^(& out by minor league heavy Deryk Engelland.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: A lavish opening ceremony that hopefully won't suck as bad as the Blue Man Group. Nothing stupid by MDZ in the Ranger zone. Derek Stepan not falling prey to nerves and regaining his scoring touch as his linemate Avery drives everyone on Toronto batshit crazy (like their fans). Boogey vs. Orr. If no Orr, Mike Brown to pick up the fisticuffs for the Leafs - he battled Brandon Prust twice (1, 2) two years ago. A return of the lousy Leafs of last season rather than the one steamrolling through the beginning of this campaign.

Also Check Out: Down Goes Brown (who often combines with Bloge Salming to form the Voltron of hockey humour), Toronto Mike, the Bitter Leaf Fan (who will have to find a new name if they keep winning) and of course the Pension Plan Puppets. PPP is probably one of the top-five best team-specific blogs out there and a must-read if you care at all about the Leafs. But if you do, may god have mercy on your soul.

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Toronto Maple Leafs

Oh the truculence. Has there been a single article written about Toronto that hasn't used Brian Burke's catchword this year? While it has been used ad nauseum, it is the sentiment that the GM has built the team around. The Leafs will not score a lot of goals and they won't blow you away with their skill, but they will be tough to play against.

Familiar Foes: The one-two punch of Sloppy Seconds - Dion Phaneuf and Mike Komisarek - anchor the Buds' blueline. They will be joined by Francois Beauchemin, Luke Schenn and Tomas Kaberle. Yes, you were inundated with Kaberle trade talk last year as well as last summer but the sound and the fury signified nothing as the Czech playmaker didn't go anywhere. In net will be the same tandem that ended last season, JS Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson. The offense will revolve again around the talent of Phil Kessel and an underwhelming cast of second-hand players. Tyler Bozak, Nik Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski will help out with some skill (not a whole lot) while our old pal Freddie Sjostrom adds defensive responsibility and Colton Orr adds on-ice accountability.

N00bz: Orr will be helped in the truculence department by Mike Brown, who was brought in this offseason from Anaheim. Bruek also acquired Crosby's buddy Colby Armstrong, Buffalo cast-off Clarke MacArthur and Cup winner Kris Versteeg. Luca Caputi came to the team in a deadline deal last season and is expected to play a big role, as is 2009 top draft pick Nazem Kadri.

Last Year: Monday, October 12th 7-2 Ranger win; Saturday, October 17th 4-1 Ranger win; Saturday, March 27th 3-2 Toronto OT win; and Wednesday, April 7th 5-1 Ranger win

This Year: Friday, October 15th at MSG; Thursday, October 21st in Toronto; Saturday, October 30th in Toronto; and Wednesday, January 19th at MSG.

What They Mean To Blue: With three early games, they will hopefully play their part in being steamrolled in yet another hot start by the Rangers. The Blueshirts came out of the gates quite well the last two seasons and having the hapless Leafs should certainly help make it three in a row. It will also be interesting to see the inevitable Orr vs Boogaard heavyweight battle. Orr basically ended Donald Brashear's Ranger career before it started - and we are forever indebted to him for it - so he will prove a litmus test for our new goon.

37-33-10: Well That Was ... Easy

They say that teams already eliminated from the playoff hunt are extra dangerous as their players have nothing to lose and are playing for a position on the team next season. Well, there was absolutely nothing dangerous about the Maple Leafs on Wednesday as they rolled over and took the 5-1 beating at the hands of the Rangers.

Erik Christensen opened the scoring just 21 seconds in, Colton Orr made a spectacle of himself by instigating a fight with Jody Shelley and Toronto spent the rest of the opening period on their heels. Once they went down 3-0, they all but gave up - which is good for the Rangers as they took their foot off the gas and fell asleep at the wheel, awakening only after Dion Phaneuf scored in the third period.

It was a boring bout for about 45 minutes but the excitement level was not what was important - the two points the Rangers pulled from it were. Back in December a good friend started selling off most of the rest of his season tickets, saying he would keep his Flyer tickets - just in case it would be an important game. I laughed at him, replying that we would be out of it long before the final two games. He would be laughing now if he, along with everyone else, wasn't at the edge of his seat praying the Blueshirts can pull it off. All I hoped for in this season was to either fly high or go down in flames but of course the Rangers have to skim the tree tops all the way, making for one insanely nerve racking ride.

Some notes:

*Hank doesn't allow any softies and the Rangers win. Coincidence? I think not.

*Christensen had a pair of goals in the first period and almost completed the hat trick in the second but alas, it was not to be. Christy was outstanding for a period and a half or so and could have had about five goals. Oh well.

*Michal Rozsival also came just short of grabbing a hat trick ... one of bad penalties. Rozy took two terrible minors, and he wonders why he gets booed, even when he gets goals or assists (he did have a nice feed for a second assist in this one, on Prospal's goal). Even our old friend Wade Redden had a better game than Rozy - and that is pathetic.

*Another game, another too many men on the ice penalty. Are the Rangers not the worst team in the NHL when it comes to changing likes or what?

*Mandatory Metal: Chris Drury had the post hit for the evening, late in the first period. The puck so clearly hit the iron that it was shocking that the officials decided to review the shot.

*Off topic: how pathetic is it that MSG Network keeps airing those ProFiles? I caught No. 2 Brian Leetch when I got home, which refers to 'someday when Brian gets his number raised to the rafters...' Ok, that someday was more than two years ago. Time to either update the program or chuck it. I know that MSG is cheap but even re-airing those Vaults 1,800 times is better because at least those are evergreen.

*While I am ripping on MSG, is there anyone out there that enjoys the guitar that attempts to play along with the organ? It's like nails on the chalkboard to me.

*Kept hearing all of those Potvin Sucks chants and am pretty curious as to what everyone has against old Felix?

*Speaking of chanting, it was fun to get in on the "Sloppy Seconds" jeer for Phaneuf but - as a friend pointed out to me - what took the Blue Seaters so long to start it? They waited until Dion scored before becoming emboldened.

*Brandon Prust had his three game goal streak broken but he did manage to get an assist on the "People's Champ" Aaron Voros' third period goal. Always love it when the grit guys get goals and Voros' was a beaut. Prust almost had one earlier on a breakaway but he had too much speed and was easily stopped by the Monster.

*Freddie Sjostrom is a great penalty killer, to be sure, but not so great the Rangers can use him as an excuse for their pathetic 0-for-4 total with the man advantage.

*Hope Dan Girardi was watching from the bench - he is good at watching, don'cha know - as Brandon Dubinsky jumped Jeff Finger after the Leaf d-man crushed Marian Gaborik on the boards. Perhaps Girardi learned something.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 26 saves.
2-Vinny Prospal - one goal and one assist.
1-Erik Christensen - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Dubi - The kid collected a pair of assists and came to defend Gabby. It is sad that I have to recognize the kid for doing it but the team has left their star out there to dry too often this season.
2-Olli Jokinen - The freaky-looking Finn had one of his best games as a Ranger, collecting a goal and an assist. When he first came to NY he described himself as more of a shooter than a playmaker and he shot the puck a game-high eight times. If that is what it takes for him to contribute, then shoot away!
1-Christensen - I thought about taking it away from him because he didn't come out to wave to the crowd when he was named the PHW first star but his first period was too good to be denied.