28-16-4: Well Wasn't That Special?

For the first time this season, both of the Rangers special teams were actually special and they accounted for all four goals as the Blueshirts beat the Mighty Ducks 4-2 tonight. Two power play goals and two shorthanded goals gave the Rangers the edge over a bigger, more motivated Anaheim team in what proved to be a heckuva game to watch.

After an initial 10 minutes of hockey where the Rangers played like they did during Sunday's heartless shutout loss at the hands of the Penguins, the home side stepped up their play and put on a show for a surprisingly good Tuesday crowd at the Garden. The power play, which has been utterly terrible for much of this season, scored two goals by doing the things that get goals - shooting the damned puck and crashing the crease. Back on the other side of the ice, with Henrik holding his positions well, the penalty kill eliminated the advantage brought by two of the best defensemen in the NHL by stepping up to the shooters and forcing turnovers. It was, frankly, beautiful.

As a friend said after the game, this team is a tease. It is remarkable how they can get everything to click at times and how they can look so utterly disinterested and awful at others. That is a topic that I have addressed before and will likely return to many times throughout this season but not on this evening. Tonight, the Rangers earned themselves a pass on my questioning of the leadership. Well, except for Tom Renney. The Clueless Coach has absolutely no idea on how to build his roster or how to develop chemistry on it. The additions of Aaron Voros and Dan Fritche both backfired and Renney's ridiculous line rotations cannot be good for the health of the team. At one point, it seemed like he didn't ice the same line once as he revolved wingers like it was going out of style. But we won so he surely won't have learned his lesson. What a doubled edge sword that is ...

*Voros and Fritsche were added as an adjustment due to Anaheim's size. Neither one made an impact, at least a positive one. Voros did try his damnedest to work the crease but didn't succeed in anything except earning a few bad penalties. And he deserved more, going after guys after whistles, trying to act tough (which he shouldn't since he fights just as poorly as Dubi). As for Fritche, the former Blue Jacket's energy went to waste as he couldn't lay any good hits and he couldn't get through traffic - with one exception as he beat out an icing call. There is no way Renney, Glen Sather, or anyone for that matter could look at this game and say that Petr Prucha and Lauri Korpikoski would have done worse than their replacements. And the negative impact on their psyche of being canned despite playing hard nosed hockey every shift of every game they skated in cannot be measured.

*Stemming from that, the Rangers won this game playing their hockey. They can't play another team's hockey. That means that they shouldn't adjust their game plan entirely to match that of an opponent - they are built to play a certain way and when they get away from that, they get into trouble. They can't play "big" like the Ducks, they can't play puck possession like the Wings, they can't get into track meets with the Caps. The Rangers need to make it hard to get into their own zone, need to get Hank the time and space to do that voodoo that he does so well, need to score off of the rush and need to make man-advantages into advantages, not opportunities for the other team to score.

*But back to the positive and tonight's man advantages. Markus Naslund opened the scoring for the Rangers by twisting in the high slot and firing a shot through traffic. It was nice to see the Swede still playing - after many nights of nothing, Naslund seems to pop up once every few games to score a goal. I remember when he was a dangerous sniper who could score on any given rush. Ah, memories. The other power play tally came with him working the crease (as Voros was benched for being an idiot) and Mexican't Scott Gomez resurfacing to chip a loose puck in from the doorstep. Gomez had earlier earned a second assist on Naslund's goal, but second assists, for the most part, shouldn't count. He spent most of the game being marginalized by the big Duck defense but, seeing as he did score a goal and (to steal a phrase) "that's what you're paid for Braiden."

*The penalty kill unit has been the one steady strength of the franchise this campaign and the boys turned the tables and scored two shorthanded goals in this one. Freddie Sjostrom made a strong play inside the blueline and took off like a bat out of hell, bursting down the wing before firing a beautiful shot upper corner, far side past Jonas Hiller. And the other shortie came courtesy of Blair Betts, who forced a turnover with the team skating 4-on-6 and got the puck into the empty net to ice the game.

*As regular readers know, Bettsy is my favourite Ranger and he showed everyone the skills that have earned my adoration in this one (even in just nine minutes of ice time). Earlier in the third period he was out there killing a penalty and broke his stick. He kept his wits about him, tightened up his spacing and went on to block a shot that deflected out of the zone. The play earned a standing ovation from a good portion of the Garden crowd and deservedly so. If the Selke Trophy truly went to the best defensive forward in the NHL, Betts would be on the short list. An argument could be made that he is the most important Ranger not named Lundqvist and he certainly should be Glen Sather's first priority to re-sign as he becomes unrestricted this offseason. Say what you want about the possibilities held by Anisimov or any of the other kids, Betts has proven his worth in the Rangers zone and in the faceoff circle and all championship teams have a guy like that.

*The mighty mustache of George Parros didn't have an impact in this game, aside from beating Wade Redden flatfooted at one point. Sadly he and Colton Orr didn't dance but there was no lack of fisticuffs as Brandon Dubinsky got the edge over Drew Miller in a MMA submission match (earning a pat on his ass from his opponent) and Ryan Callahan got tossed around like a rag doll by Travis Moen after being slewfooted by the dirty Duck (thanks Mr. X for pointing out the cause, I had missed it).

*Something I did catch was a fantastic shift where Dan Girardi and Marc Staal combined to break up two Duck rushes. Staal had been unable to complete a change and got left out on the ice with Girardi and the two were great together. They knocked the puck away and got it right out of the zone both times. For all of Renney's incessant line juggling, these two kids haven't seen the ice together and after that shift, you have to wonder why. Aside from the thought that that would put the defensively lacking Redden and Rozsival together, the gain could be entirely worth it - not only for this season but going forward. Girardi hasn't been the same since Tyutin got shipped out since he seems to be trying to do too much to cover up for Redden's multitude of inadequacies. Putting him across from the strong Staal may be just what he needs to get his game going in the right direction again.

*It was an interesting choice by the Garden staff to follow up their new movie-quote montage with Dancing Larry but it seemed to work. The decision to follow the iconic scene from Network ("I want you all to get up ...") with Adam Sandler making a stupid voice saying 'Let's go Rangers' did not work. It almost seemed like he was making fun of us. Damn that Happy Gilmore.

*Stat of the night: Chris Pronger, 28:42 of ice time. Scott Niedermayer, 29:00.

*On that note, Orrsie got less than five minutes and yet he was the only Ranger who showed up to play from the start. He got scoring chances on each of his first two chances. Let me repeat that - Colton Orr got scoring chances on each of his first two shifts. Voros, who didn't get squat, skated for 12 minutes.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Scott Gomez - one goal and one assist.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - 32 saves.
1-Blair Betts - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Nazzy - I don't see how the Professional Hockey Writers chose Gomez over Naslund. I just don't get it. As I mentioned before, Gomez's assist was a gift while his goal came courtesy of Naslund's hard work in front of the net. And Nazzy's tally came on a perfect shot ...
2-Hank - As Mr. X from the Blue Seats mentioned to me, early on it looked like the Ducks were 'storming the beach at Normandy.' Hank held his ground and gave his team a chance to wake up and get into the game.
1-Bettsy - When he was re-signed the last time, I joked to a friend, "what do you think those negotiations were like? 'Hey Blair, want a contract?' 'Sure! Thanks!'" This time it won't go nearly as easily. His worth has gone up as more teams have seen how valuable his skill set truly is. Sign him now Glen, while you still can.

I Hate You Glen

Peepin' Foes: Anaheim Ducks

The Rangers are back at the Garden for one of their four January home games Tuesday, a 7 p.m. face off against the Anaheim Ducks. It is the second (and last) time the two teams will meet; the Rangers won the first leg back in December, 3-1.

Where We Are: The Blueshirts are coming off of a 3-1-1 road trip that looks a lot better than it feels - primarily because of the bad taste the Rangers left in our mouths with a lackadaisical loss to the pitiful Pens on Sunday.

Where They Are: Anaheim is an astounding 20 points behind San Jose, their Pacific Division foes. They have lost four of their last six games, including embarassments to Tampa and L.A. but defeated the Devils last Sunday and the Minnesota Wild this Saturday.

Who To Watch For: Ryan Getzlaf always uses his size to his advantage when he faces the Rangers and with good cause - the Blueshirts are soft. If anyone other than Marc Staal ends up covering him, watch out. Bobby Ryan, a southern Jersey native who happened to be drafted after that Crosby crybaby, is averaging nearly a point per game. The kid has some serious skills and deserves recognition, even if he grew up a Flyer fan. Also, more under the radar, is Andrew Ebbett. Ebbett went undrafted after four years at Michigan (including a freshman season under Captain Jed Ortmeyer) and spent a few seasons in the AHL before the Duckies called him up in December. Ebbett has four points in his last five games and is even seeing some power play time.

What To Watch For: As I mentioned, the Rangers are soft so if the bigger Ducks play to their size, then Hank could find himself under seige. And while Anaheim is causing chaos, Corey Perry will pop up at opportune times to pot a goal or two.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: The Rangers actually playing like they care - especially at home; what a nice change that would be. Chris Pronger managing not to elbow, step on or cheap shot anyone. A rematch of last year's heavyweight battle between Orr and Parros.

Also Check Out: MVN has On The Pond while the almighty Mirtle brought The Battle of California to SBN. There is also the Girl With A Puck and a good MSM Ducks blog at the Orange County Register.

As always, I recommend people check out Sam Weinman's Ranger Report. Apparently Dan Fritsche and Aaron Voros both practiced Monday, so don't be shocked to see either or both in the lineup - both are more bigger than Dawsie, Pru and the Korpedo and you know Renney is more than willing to bench his young players at whim ...

27-16-4: Puttering Out In Pittsburgh

The Rangers came into Pittsburgh today on a nice roll to play against a divisional foe who has been reeling of late and all-too-predictable fell flat on their faces. New York allowed themselves to be kept out on the perimeter and couldn't break the ice as they got shut out 3-0 by the Pens.

Perhaps there was too much emotion invested in the penalty-fest on Friday, perhaps afternoon starts don't agree with the players and their precious routines, perhaps this team just doesn't have the leadership to keep the team motivated game-in-and-game-out. It doesn't matter. The loss is in the books and the Blueshirts sullied what had been a stellar road trip with a vanilla loss to a injury-riddled team.

*Henrik Lundqvist should feel bad after this one. Allowing a light shot by an AHL nobody in Chris Menard to beat him over the shoulder is unacceptable, no matter how perfect the feed from former Ranger Petr Sykora. The play was telegraphed and Hank went down too soon. Then he didn't learn from his mistake and dropped to his knees again when Tyler Kennedy skated in alone and snapped off a shot to make it a 2-0 game.

*But perhaps Hank's shortcomings aren't entirely his fault. Thus far this season he has shown an inability to get rolling for long periods of time and after three great starts, why should he start an afternoon away game against a lesser opponent? This would have been a perfect opportunity to get the capable Stephen Valiquette a start and allow Hank some rest before starting against the tough Ducks at home on Tuesday.

*How is this for curious decisions: the NBC production staff decided to put the talent on camera to talk about the state of the Rangers instead of showing a replay of the first penalty of the game, a legit two minute hook by Chris Drury. After the controversy around the officiating on Friday - which they had already talked about - the network should have felt obligated to show the call instead of giving Eddie O cameratime.

*Speaking of replays, they showed two of the Menard goal and both were cut so tightly that you couldn't actually see what happened. You would have thought that NBC would had shaken off the rust with the Winter Classic ...

*I guess kudos are in store for the Rangers not to retaliate to the big hit on Rozsival in the first period, as the goonery surrounding checking lately has reached preposterous levels. But at the same time, why didn't someone take a run at Whitney or Crosby the next shift? Credit to Colton Orr for chasing down Crosby the next period and goading him into a penalty. It is not pretty, it doesn't mesh with the Code, but the league has taken the code out of the players' hands so who says they have to abide by it? That isn't to say that they should run around and cheap shot (or run the goaltender like Matt Cooke did), but targeting the top players and get them off of their games is good hockey. Esa Tikkanen made a career out of it.

*When big, slow, dumb Eric Godard is blocking your shots, there is something wrong. Wade Redden is a disgrace.

*The Crosby dive to get a penalty shot was classic Cindy - undress a defenseman (Redden, of course), then fall down like you are shot when a stick touches you from behind. Just how does his feet fall out from under him when there is a hook to his midsection?

*They don't make them all that swift in Pittsburgh, huh? Late in the second period they showed Steeler fans in the crowd posing for the cameras holding up Terrible Towels and one of them was upside down. SMRT.

*I like Pierre McGuire. He is interesting, intelligent and well spoken - even if I disagree with some of his opinions. His observation late in the first that the Rangers were giving the Pens too much space was spot-on. Getting solid analysis is a refreshing change from the buffoonery we are usually force fed by Joe Micheletti.

*At the same time, when Doc made the joke that "you feel shame when you sit in the penalty box" Eddie O replied "Thank you Mr. Dunlop." Major, major negative points for for that. The original line in Slap Shot was by Denis Lemieux!! No wonder Olczyk got fired from coaching, HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HOCKEY. That was exemplified later in the period when Eddie called the Mexican't Gomez one of the Rangers "top players."

*Gomez really is selfish fool. He was on the ice to kill a penalty in the third period and he started challenging Philippe Boucher to a fight. In the Pens zone, while the puck is headed back into the Ranger end. Tell me why he has that letter on his jersey again?

*Why don't the Rangers forecheck? Paul Mara and Dmitri Kalinin looked terrible allowing Petr Sykora to slip in and score the Pens third goal, but if there was a body on Ryan Whitney, then the defenseman wouldn't have had the time and space to spot the perfect pass up-ice ... just like McGuire said earlier, but didn't point out at the time of the goal.

*And another question for you: when you have a 4-on-3 power play with Crosby and Malkin in the penalty box, why wouldn't the Rangers have three forwards and a defenseman on the ice? Putting both Rozy and Redden out there is a piss-poor move by Renney, especially when you are being blown out 3-0. Redden has one power play point in his last 23 games, just what is he going to do out there?

*PHW Three Stars
3-Chris Minard - one goal.
2-Petr Sykora - one goal and one assist.
1-Marc-Andre Fleury - 33 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Tyler Kennedy - I have always liked this kid because he hustles and he did in this game. When he is on, like in this game, he is disruptive with his energy and relentlessness. And his release on the goal was purty.
2-Jordan Staal - Was there a shift when the Pens were deep in the Ranger zone when Staal wasn't on the ice? He was all over the place, on the power play, on the penalty kill ... for the first time in a while, he won the battle of the Staals.
1-Sykora - I never understood why the Rangers got rid of him. Sykora is a solid sniper who is a capable puck handler and is responsible defensively - exactly what the Rangers could use (among other things).

Peepin' Foes: Pittsburgh Penguins

The NBC season gets underway Sunday as the Rangers face the Penguins at 12:30 in Pittsburgh.

Where We Are: Whether you agree with me or not that the penalties that were called in Chicago yesterday were fair, there is no disputing that the Rangers played one helluva game to escape the Windy City with a 3-2 win. That makes three victories in a row, all on the road. Not too shabby.

Where They Are: Marc-Andre Fleury has finally proven that he is a fraud, so the Pens just picked up Mathieu Garon from the Oilers. There is no word on if he will start on Sunday just yet so keep an eye on Goalie Post for the lastest news. Outside of the crease, it seems like half of the Pens roster is hurt. The Pens homepage updated their injury situation this afternoon, and apparently we will get away without having to face the thug Brooks Orpik but the Cole Harbour Crybaby Crosby will be back in action. It's a nationally televised game, of course the limelight lover will miraculously get healthy in time to play ...

Who To Watch For: Matt Cooke put together a two goal performance in the last Pens game, a 3-1 win over the Ducks. Miro Satan, as always, steps his game up against the Rangers and that Gina Malkin sure is something when the Blueshirts are on the other side of the ice.

What To Watch For: If you thought that the ice was slanted towards Chicago on Friday, just wait for this one as there is no way that the refs will let anyone touch Cindy with the 'world' watching.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: I will continue to pray for a Staal vs. Staal bout at center ice, but since that isn't likely to happen, how about a nice blowout performance? The Pens are reeling ... of course that makes them more dangerous but they simply are not a top-tier team this season and the Rangers are attempting to prove that they are. So let's prove it already.

Also Check Out: Empty Netters, which is the Pittsburgh Post Gazette's stellar link-happy blog, the recently-relocated snarky photoshop-heavy awesomeness of The PensBlog, SBN's Pensburgh and with Sean Leahy selling out moving to Puck Daddy full time, Going Five Hole has gone the way of the dinosaur. Happy trails my friend.

And, as always, head over to Weinman's Ranger Report and Zipay's Blue Notes. Zipay is saying that Dan Girardi is good to go for tomorrow after yesterday's tilt with Cam Barker.

27-15-4: Windy City Win

Putting the tape into the VCR tonight, I expected to sit back and enjoy a hockey game. Who knew it would lead to a crisis of faith? The 3-2 overtime win over Chicago had both extremes. Moments like Brandon Dubinsky's goal and the two minute five-on-three kill to end the first period had me out of my seat, beaming. On the other side of the coin, watching Rozy chasing after the ref to complain and seeing Tom Renney showing emotion for seemingly the first time ever as he bitched and moaned had me ashamed to be a fan.

And being forced to listen to that jerk Joe Micheletti call it just made things worse. Let's face it, as the replays showed, every call that the refs made was legit. That simple. Where the Blueshirts were smarter in their previous three games, they were sloppy here and deserved to be whistled for every minor in this one.

While I agree that there should be a "let them play" mentality, it doesn't happen most of the time in the post-lockout NHL during the regular season - no matter how many times you point out that 'there is a big crowd in Chicago on a Friday night.' Micheletti's job is to analyze the game, not to step on a soapbox.

That's my job.

*The idiotic new tendency among NHLers to fight after fair hits continued tonight. After Dan Girardi hit Kris Versteeg in the second period, Cam Barker immediately came over to challenge Girardi and the Ranger defenseman accommodated him. Barker got an extra penalty and the Blueshirts shockingly took advantage of it, but why? Why would Girardi throw down his gloves? To defend his fair hit? Why let some bum draft bust threaten your livelihood for no reason? I don't get it.

*Among the second period penalties was a 10 minute misconduct to Marc Staal. We never fully saw why he got it, but it was great. As Renney is too much of a softie to ever lay the stick, the kid essentially got benched after playing a period and a half of immature hockey - chasing after pucks, chasing after players, taking lazy penalties ... Staal didn't have his head in the game and got punished. While one didn't beget the other, the result was a good one and at the end of the night it looked like the lesson was learned as Staal simplified his game and played smarter.

*What. A. Goal. Lauri Korpikoski draws everyone to him as he drifts deep down the wing and swings the puck back to Brandon Dubinsky in the slot for a slam dunk to make it a 2-1 game. Wow. Our Finnish phenom made a remarkable rush and perfect pass. Someone find Khabibulin's jock, it was last seen floating away in Lake Michigan.

*Skate, pull up, pass. Skate, pull up, pass. Skate, pull up, pass. Skate, pull up, pass. I hate you Scott Gomez. And the second intermission interview where he managed both to cry about the penalties and be rude to John Giannone? Heartless, self-serving Mexican't. As I've said, that A on his chest doesn't stand for Assistant Captain.

*His overpriced compatriot, Chris Drury, lived up to his letter on this night. Aside from playing a huge part in the penalty kills, Drury came through in the overtime to tip Wade Redden's soft shot past the Bulin Wall to win the game with his second goal of the night. This is one of the few occasions where the fact that Drury has no personality paid off. Had he been the fiery type, he likely would have emulated his coach and gone nuts over the penalties. Instead he stayed grounded, kept plugging and came through.

*Redden, I guess, also deserves some credit. Not much, but some. He did throw the puck on net instead of passing it away so that's a good thing. Of course, it helps bring him up to par after he didn't cover Jon Toews on the Hawks' first goal of the night, but after so many nights when all he does is hurt the team, we have to be thankful for an evening like this.

*If I was a Chicago fan, man would I be pissed. Just one power play goal? You want to give due to the Rangers kill, but at some point, you have to wonder what is wrong. Then again, if I rooted for the Hawks I would have been giddy over the performance of some of the guys, like Dustin Byfuglien (strong like bull) and James Wisniewski (he was everywhere! 28:23??).

*It was cute having the Rangers dads hanging around and having a good time, but it is long past time that the Blueshirts honour the hockey moms. Say what you want about how the dads gave them their love for the game, the moms were likely the ones making sure they had a clean jersey and a good meal and got them to the rink on time.

*For all of those Nik Zherdev defenders out there, if Z wasn't a one-dimensional player, he would have actually played a part in this game. All of the league's greats play in all situations. Z is not, and likely never will be, one of the elite.

*And I have always been quick to defend Freddie Sjostrom but find myself lacking ammunition in this one. Did Sjo even play? Colton Orr was on the ice just more than half the amount of time that Sjostrom was and he was noticeable every shift ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 32 saves.
2-Brent Seabrook - one goal.
1-Chris Drury - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Mara - 26:59 of ice time, an astounding 8:21 of it on the kill. And he is the Rangers fifth defenseman?? The lumberjack has been the Paul Bunyan of the blueline all season and tonight just showed how huge he could be.
2-Dru - The two power play goals were certainly nice but his work on the penalty kills just cannot be underestimated. Where Gomez couldn't clear the puck out time and time again, it was Dru who helped recover the puck and get it out.
1-Hank - An old hockey adage says that the goaltender is your best penalty killer and the King was. As the players in front of him lost their composure, he was calm and cool and skated off with a win. All hail.

Peepin' Foes: Chicago Blackhawks

Damnable fate! The Rangers are in Chicago tonight to play the Blackhawks, just two weeks after I left the Second City. Apparently the atmosphere is back in the United Center and the Blueshirts will battle the Hawks before more than 20,000 bandwagon fans. Sorry about the delay folks, I had this started and just finally got a chance to finish it off.

Historically: The Rangers have played Chicago more than any other team in the NHL besides Boston and are 234-241-98-1. Recent history had the Rangers come home from Prague to open the Garden against the Baby Hawks with a nice 4-2 win.

Where We Are Now: The Rangers are coming off of two straight close wins against bad teams.

Where They Are Now: They are also coming off of two straight wins and are just seven point behind the mighty Detroit Red Wings in the Central Division with three games in hand. Who'da thunk it??

Who To Watch For: Kane, Toews, Campbell, Havlat, Sharp, Versteeg ... pick your poison. A lotta scary good, young talent out there. And they have that idiot goon Ben Eager to run around and protect them, while Adam Burish rides shotgun.

What To Watch For: Redden and company falling apart, specifically on the power play where the Hawks speed will surely cost us a shortie or two.

What We'll (Hopefully) See: Future Blue looking better then the Baby Hawks and Eager getting a beating at the hands of the mighty Orr.

Also Check Out: Second City Hockey, Third Man In, the Fifth Feather and the greatly named Ghost of Ed Litzenberger.

And, as always, head over to Weinman's Ranger Report. I have been asked if I know him personally and the answer is no, the dude just does a bang-up job ...

I Don't Get Why They Hate Him So ...

The NHL.com Store is having a big sale and check out one of the first results on the list, right behind useless Prague merch that didn't sell ...

A Light Is Turned Off In The Bronx

I don't like baseball. It is long, it is boring, it is made up of overpaid babies who rarely play every game in a season, even though the actual work that they do in a game is minimal. And thus I rarely pay attention to the sport and certainly don't waste my team reading blogs about it. However, glancing at Deadspin today, I saw that they offered their condolences to those that knew and were close to a Yankee blogger who passed away, Todd Drew.

Drew, a 42 year old diehard fan of the pinstripes, lost his battle with cancer Wednesday night.

He maintained Yankees for Justice which seems like a solid blog. But what I really would love for you to read is this piece he guest-wrote over at the Journal News site just over a year ago. It was truly a brilliant article about baseball and the Bronx but it really shows how sports and our society are intertwined, and wonderfully so.

RIP Mr. Drew.

26-15-4: Yep, Potvin Sucks

According to a friend of mine, let's call him TrottierFan#1, roughly 40% of the fans at Nassau Mausoleum tonight were rooting for the away side. When asked why it was that the minority was so loud with the chanting, he pointed out that it's "easy to be louder when your team is better and winning."

I like that.

Well, the Rangers were better and they won, 2-1. Was it a resounding victory? Absolutely not. But the Blueshirts looked like a better team that just barely edged out these same Isles 5-4 last month. Now is that because they played down to the Isles' level? Or the Isles played up to theirs?

My guess is the former but I'd bet on the latter.

*Much like his teammates, Hank was good but not great. He was beaten at least twice (one post) and rarely had to make a highlight save. His positioning in his last three wins has pretty much ensured that. As he said in the postgame on Saturday, he is "keeping the puck in front" of him and that means the world.

*Is there any wonder that the power play goal that the Rangers scored the game winner on came off of the rush by the young, dynamic power play unit? The unit that stands around passing incessantly nearly gave up a shorthanded goal on several occasions this evening ...

*While I won't attack the Mexican't for his role in the power play fallacies (tonight), I was going to harp on his lazy offensive zone penalty. However, he did make it back to par by setting up the equalizer by Chris Drury. Gomez knocked down a poor clearing pass and dropped it to Drury, who perfectly threaded it through an Islander defender and past Danis to tie the game at one. That's what you're paid for, Braden!

*Five of Drury's 29 points came in his four games against the Islanders. It is great he steps up his game against the evil Isles, but for his salary, he needs to expand that success to teams that aren't headed for the draft lottery.

*What a disgrace of an opening goal against. First Blair Betts loses a defensive zone faceoff, then the Rangers - specifically Wade "In and Drown" Redden - stood around while the Islanders threw the puck on net and finally scored through a Colton Orr screen.

*Al Trautwig interviewed Redden during the first intermission and he didn't ask the question most burning in Ranger fans hearts - "Wade, do you feel like a crook, stealing the Rangers money?" Instead he asked if Redden thinks he is playing better now and, of course, Wade said yes. Clearly.

*For the Ranger fans, seeing Joey Mac go down will likely prove to be bad thing. It sounds good, but it isn't. Prior to the game they were courting former Ranger killer Wade Dubielewicz and you can only imagine that they will double their offer now. As for the injury, I still have no idea where that "strained groin" came in considering he barely reached for the puck on the play they kept showing on MSG.

*Correct me if I am wrong, all of that talk about Mike Dunham getting his gear to back Danis up was pointless, because Dunham could never have gotten in the game. You can't add someone to your roster once the puck drops, can you??

*It was nice of the MSG guys to put together a clip reel showing Tim Jackman running around hitting people heading into the second period. They neglected to include him dodging Orr's challenge by the Isles bench. The instigator rule gets players hurt. That simple.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Chris Drury - one goal.
2-Henrik Lundqvist - 33 saves.
1-Nigel Dawes - game-winning goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Brandon Dubinsky - Another big strong game from the big strong kid. He is finally playing like he did at the start of the season and just needs to start converting the chances he is getting around the net.
2-Chris Drury - There is something to be said about someone who steps up his game against rivals, especially the rival I loathe most.
1-Ryan Callahan - Brooksie may be talking about re-signing Z, but if the Rangers let this kid go this team will be so very much worse. When Pru was on the bench and Dawsie and Dubi were ineffective, it was Cally who kept his feet moving and contributed where he could. The kid is a bowling ball on most shifts and he is seeing the ice better each game; his potential has yet to be reached.