Rangers Report Card '11-12

As I've done in the past, I graded each of the 2011-12 New York Rangers based on expectations, performance all season long and performance when it counted - NOT performance compared to other players. I am, admittedly, a tough grader. Guys with less than 10 games received incompletes.

If you feel so inclined, you can refer back to the report cards for the last few seasons: '07-08, '08-09, '09-10 and '10-11.

By my math this season's grades worked out to a 2.4 GPA, which is between B- and C+. Yes, I'm well aware that the team finished atop the conference with 109 points - two shy of the President's Trophy - and made it to the conference final. That's why I boosted the overall team grade up to a B.

And that is being charitable. Sure the numbers looked pretty but rarely did this team come close to their potential. At no point was this team dominant, they did not put forth a single 60 minute effort and the postseason was a horror show - two seven game series against inferior opponents and a massive failure against Fatso. The Rangers got as far as they did and racked up as many points as they did on the backs of a few; there were plenty of passengers on this ride.

Still raging about the B? If this was pass/fail, unlike the majority, I would have failed the team outright. Twenty-nine teams fail every season and there was certainly no glory in this season's ignominious end. So, a reminder: these guys are graded against themselves and their own limits/abilities, not against other players.

Forwards

#42 Artem Anisimov: Confidence has always been key and it came and went all too often. Mostly went. Flashbacks of Vlad Vorobiev, talent wasted by glaring deficiencies that can and should be corrected. C

#16 Sean Avery: Dealt with the slap in the face from the franchise the first time, but the second broke him. Just a damned shame. D

#22 Brian Boyle: Big contract, small drive. Rarely used his size and the moment he got things going, he got hit in the head and went back to being a waste of space. C

#24 Ryan Callahan: Lived up to that letter. A

#40 Erik Christensen: One shootout goal did not make up for Mr. Softy the Backstabber's halfhearted, lackluster play. F

#33 Andre Deveaux: Not the smartest, perhaps the slowest, but did his best. INC

#17 Brandon Dubinsky: First year in a big contract syndrome. Disappointing from start to finish; a shadow of the impact player he should have been. F

#19 Ruslan Fedotenko: After a middling regular season Feds wanted to win in the playoffs and it showed. What a warrior. B+

#10 Marian Gaborik: Sneaky, sneaky scoring ceased with a bad benching and a bad shoulder. A-

#62 Carl Hagelin: Bork! of a start but the numbers faded fast and never returned. Apologized too much for his hit on Alfredsson and earned a bad reputation. B

#20 Chris Kreider: Stepped from campus to the chase for the Cup and showed more than most of the veterans around him. A

#34 John Mitchell: Saw far too many minutes for a AAAA guy but earned the coach's trust for his honest play. C

#45 Kris Newbury: Reckless play caused Newbury to fall out of favour despite positive skill set. INC

#8 Brandon Prust: Grit, he has it. Team responds to his heart and his hammering of opponents but his light scoring touch got even lighter. B+

#19 Brad Richard$: At times earned that contract (0.5 seconds). At others, not so much (no goals vs. NJ). Point total decreased for the second straight season but still was second on the Rangers. B+

#71 Mike Rupp: Hilarious that he had the nerve to call anyone else irrelevant. Had one good game. Did not intimidate opponents, did not fight for teammates, did not block shots, did not come through in the playoffs. F

#28 John Scott: Six games, one fight, one shot. So not worth that fifth round draft pick. INC

#21 Derek Stepan: Held off his sophomore slump for as long as possible, but not long enough. One goal in his last 25 games, 2 in 30, 3 in 41 is unacceptable. B-

#86 Wojtek Wolski: Far more time in the tub than on the ice. And when on the ice looked like he wanted to be in the tub. INC

#36 Mats Zuccarello: Couldn't convince the brass to call him up for too long. Once up, Zuke looked to have improved in all areas (he shot the puck!) before getting hurt blocking a shot. B-

Defensemen

#39 Brendan Bell: One game, -1, whatever. INC

#41 Stu Bickel: For a recent ECHLer who is slow as molasses, Stuuuu had himself a heckuva season. Made Staal comfortable upon his return and made teammates comfortable with his willingness to fight. B

#4 Michael Del Zotto: Some flashy numbers aren't enough to make up for the same old mistakes. He's sloppy with the puck, he's indecisive with it, he had little idea how to ice his position, he hits for contact and not possession, he flops far too often ... Del Zastrous. F

#44 Steve Eminger: Half a season of half competent play. Occasionally laid down a decent hit but was trusted less than Bickel and Stralman. Pretty much says it all right there. C-

#5 Dan Girardi: Top flight defense throughout an All Star campaign filled with far too many minutes of ice time. A

#27 Ryan McDonagh: Haha, Bob Gainey, ha ha ha. All around excellence. Finished with just nine less points than DZ despite playing 271 less man advantage minutes. A

#38 Michael Sauer: A solid soldier who helped the Blueshirts survive without Staal, Sauer sadly didn't snap the clasp on his chinstrap on December 5th and it may have cost the Rangers the Cup. B

#18 Marc Staal: Took a while to re-gain his game but eventually got there. B+

#32 Anton Stralman: Moments of impressive play from the Swede but lots of lapses. C+

#6 Jeff Woywitka: Slow skater couldn't play the coach's game. F

#53 Tim Erixon: Showed signs of good things to come. B-

Goaltenders

#43 Marty Biron: Teammates loved him, but so did too many opposing shooters. His .904 save percentage on this team was atrocious. C

#30 Henrik Lundqvist: Not his best season but still among the best of the best netminders in the NHL. A

A Del Zastrous Season

The Rangers put together a top-5 moments for Michael Del Zotto yesterday so today I figured we should take a look at the rest of his campaign, in photo form:

Some Sunday Musings

Just a few random thoughts as I still struggle to accept that the Rangers won't be playing tonight:

*Still squarely place much of the blame for the end of the season on Tortorella. The lack of chemistry, the lack of offensive imagination, the overuse of certain players, the misguided accountability, the fire and brimstone intimidation act, the Avery alienation ...

*Wonder which players will have surgery this summer. The news should come out on break-up day tomorrow but my money is on Prust (shoulder) and Hank (knee). Bet Boyle pulls a Staal and admits he is still concussed, Dubi that his foot is still broken and Girardi that he needs replacement parts. G has to be a cyborg, the way he blocked shots, and his kid is too cute not to be manufactured in some plant somewhere.

*Really feel bad for the Sauer family. Kent was a draftee of the Nashville Predators who was forced to retire due to knee problems, Craig played in the NFL until a foot injury forced him into retirement, Kurt, the Coyote, hasn't retired but hasn't played since he was concussed in 2009 and Mike, well, no news in this case is likely bad news. Really hope to see him step on the Garden ice again, but it's probably best not to get any hopes up.

*Friend of the blog Karol pointed out that despite Zuke's denial that he is going to the KHL, the Russians have already announced his signing. Metallurg, the team the Rangers beat in the Victoria Cup a few years back, already features another former Blueshirt in Enver Lisin ... Really hope the kid gets a real shot to stick in the NHL, as long as it isn't with the Pens or the Isles (both great fits for him).

*Please someone, anyone, sign Del Zaster to a offer sheet and have the Rangers refuse to match. Pretty please. With a cherry on top.

*The Hockey News had Stefan Matteau, son of youknowwho, ranked 30th in their draft issue. Wouldn't that be something if the Blueshirts drafted him? Especially now?

*We have two more seasons of Mike Rupp. Think about that before begging Sather to start signing people this summer.

*For season subscribers like myself who asked for upgrades/downgrades, I was told that they will be setting appointments over the next month to have us come in and select our new seats. It will be in that 'transformation' room where Cosby's used to be.

*Go Kings Go. Been a big fan of Willie Mitchell since his Wild days and hope he sticks it to the franchise that drafted him.

R3, G6: So That's That, I Guess

The Rangers finished off pissing away a perfectly good season on Friday night by losing their third straight game to the New Jersey Devils, failing 4-2 in the best-of-seven conference final. In those three of those losses combined, the Blueshirts spotted New Jersey a 7-0 lead in the first periods and - not-so-shockingly - couldn't rally to win a single one. Unlike Wednesday's late lapse, they forced an overtime in this one but simply blew it a minute into the extra period and lost 3-2.

Really not sure what else to say at this point, I'm more shell-shocked than anything. I stood in my spot unmoving from the second the puck went in until the security started pushing people out of the arena and I'm still dazed. It is hard to accept that the season is over. And it ended like that. To them. Soul crushing.

The Devils weren't the better team, they were the better coached team. Their OHL bench boss set steady lines that played the same way shift in and shift out and period in and period out and that consistency carried them past the erratic and exhausted Rangers. Mmmaaarrtttyyyy was handed his redemption for '94, he hardly earned it - especially in this series-ender. Half the Blueshirts blueliners were exhausted, the other half incompetent. And the NYR high-priced help was no help at all while both Kovy and Parise played a part in their victory. But no matter the rambling reasoning, the simple fact is that the Devils won and the Rangers lost.

Go Kings Go.

No Late Hits tonight.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Martin Brodeur - 33 saves.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal.
1-Adam Henrique - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Kovy - The Russian was a factor, the Slovak was not.
2-Cally - Really hard to imagine that this was his first season as captain.
1-Henrique - As a friend joked, Henrique said he would give his left nut for a chance to play in the Cup Final and he nearly did.

Programming Note: The annual report card should be done in the next week. There may also be a retrospective on the season as I experienced it at some point, as it started in Europe and (hopefully) will end in L.A. I'm not sure if I will bring back the Facts of Life series again, I may just do a longer, more detailed report card. Right now it is hard writing about this team.

R3, G5: It Ain't Over, But It's Close

The Rangers moved one loss away from summertime on Wednesday night, losing 5-3 to the Devils in Game 5 of the best-of-seven.

In typical fashion, the Rangers stumbled out of the gate and gave up three quick goals to fall behind the eight ball. In typical fashion, the Rangers got their act together to mount a rally. They even tied the game ... before blowing it.

Supposedly it was wildly entertaining, but that is not what I would call it. I found it like many of the games this season: infuriating, and ultimately heartbreaking. The coach can't get the guys to show up on time, they struggled to establish their forecheck and for long stretches they made it all too easy for the opposing goaltender to make saves. But when they got their act together, the Blueshirts looked great - they looked like a team that could challenge Los Angeles for the Stanley Cup. The inconsistency killed them and it put the franchise in a perilous situation.

As someone said after the game (apologies to whoever it was), 'I look around out there, and I don't see any Messiers to make any guarantees. And that sucks.' It does, but this team doesn't need a singular saviour, they all need to step up their game and play the way that they can. For 60 minutes. For once.

Late Hits:

*The Mmmaaaarrrrttttyyyy chant after Gabby's game-tying goal was perhaps the loudest ever, definitely the loudest I ever bore witness to. So awesome.

*Finally saw the replays, shocked that Cally's goal counted. Absolutely shocked. Happy! But shocked. He clearly kicks that puck in with his left skate. Guess it just goes towards the whole 'going to the net is good' thing ...

*How did Cally not score on that power play?!? Damned post, helping out Brodeur. Red post, red jersey. Coincidence!?!?

*The power play went 0-for-2. Ugh. The Devils' kill is at 72.9% - 13th out of the 16 playoff teams.

*Not sure what was funnier, Brodeur's whale out of water flop on the Prust goal or Pruster's second period dive. The replay showed he kinda fell over the skirt on the net but, still, that looked hilarious.

*Hagelin is goal-less in his last 28 games.

*Rupp is pointless in his last 45. Check that, he has always been pointless.

*Richard$ doesn't have a goal in this series but damned if he didn't try to get one. On Henke. Whoops.

*Don't get the decision to start Stu over Eminger, as Torts' reasoning to insert Eminger still stood - Stu is so slow.

*After the 2-0 timeout, the Rangers had two exceptional chances keyed by Ruslan Fedotenko. The first he fed a sneaky, sneaky Gabby but the Slovak sniper was off the mark. The second he just shot the damned puck and forced a rebound that neither Kreider nor Gabby could jam past the girth of the goaltender. Despite seeing those chances squandered, the Ukrainian later threw the puck into space and Prust picked it up to score. Feds has more than earned his season salary with his performance in these playoffs.

*For all those who hold +/- in high regard, your hero was a Del Zastrous -3. But, unlike the last game, all was not entirely his fault. He went in for an unnecessary hit, abandoning his position on the 1-0 Gionta goal - which could also be hung on Step for giving up on the play after taking a stick to the face. On the 3-0 Zajac goal he was trying to help guard the 3-on-2 and Travis just blew it past him and Hank - Hank has to stop that. And DZ won the race to the puck on the game-winning goal but didn't bother addressing it with Kovalchuk coming. He took his hand off his stick to try to hold off Kovy, the stick came up and he didn't make any contact with the puck at all, allowing Gionta to feed it to Carter - a feed that went past Girardi and Richard$ to a player who got a step on Hagelin. Plenty of blame to go around for all. But I still hang him for two of the three (not the Zajac) and for the fact that, despite being an "offensive defenseman," DZ pissed away two minutes of power play time, wasn't on for a single goal for and didn't get a single shot on net.

*Saw that Boyle won 13 of 14 faceoffs. Honestly, didn't notice. Good for him.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ruslan Fedotenko - one assist.
2-Ryan Callahan - one goal.
1-Ryan Carter - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Elias - Sure his goal was a fluke but he was involved all night. Have to hope that doesn't jumpstart the Czech back into being his usual Ranger-killing self.
2-Feds - Aside from Hank and mayyyybe McD, the best Ranger of these playoffs. There's no panic in his game, just all-out effort.
1-Little Gionta - Little Gionta, that's redundant. Stephen channeled 'big' bro Brian to actually be relevant for the first time in his NHL career. Nice timing. Jerk.

R3, G4: The Double Edged Sword Of Truculence

Not to get all Brian Burke on you but truculence is one of the pillars of this sport of hockey that we love (and a fun word to say). It is a byproduct of the passion that its players have for winning. 'I want to win more than you do and I will do anything and everything in my power to do it.' When truculence is harnessed, it is as powerful as a slapshot. But when it gets loose, it hurts more than it helps.

In the first period Ryan McDonagh battled with Adam Henrique and was goaded into fighting. The Rangers have needed a good fight or three in recent weeks but never got it. And they didn't get it this time either. McDonagh lost his mind and his gloves and got 5 minutes for his trouble. The shame he was feeling in the box was heightened when the Devils scored a few minutes later, all but sealing their victory given the circumstances - the zombie-like effort given by the Blueshirt offense.

But, as mentioned, truculence is a tool for good as well and it was used as such in the third period. Mike Rupp, likely the best Ranger all night (man it pains me to write that), capped off his performance with a great hit on Peter Harrold. The ref inexplicably called a rough on the clean check and, perhaps responding to a wisecrack from Brodeur, Rupp gave the goaltender a little shove. Brodeur did his usual acting routine and a scrum broke out. Torts went nuts on the Devils' OHL coach and, of little surprise, the team responded soonafter by breaking Brodeur's shutout. It was not a coincidence, and it should have came two periods prior.

No matter how the media want to build shot blocking up, the success secured by the Rangers so far this season has been through the proper use of truculence, whether it be Prust fighting to set the mood or Callahan hitting everything that moves. The Blueshirts win when they channel that violence and use it to dictate play. Recent games have seen them reacting, not acting - and they have indeed escaped with a few wins - but they will not get the big win unless they start using that truculence again the right way.

The only way.

Late Hits:

*Del Zastrous. If the excuse is indeed a death in his family then he shouldn't have been playing. As the saying goes, if you aren't all there you shouldn't be there at all. And if he took the night off to mourn, no one would have blamed him for it (not even me, grandmas are special). But this begs the question, what is his excuse for making those same mistakes throughout the season?

*DZ's benching was a major topic of conversation but where was Arty Anisimov in this one?

*And, hell, where was Brad Richard$? Twenty quiet minutes of ice time. The best players need to be the best players and Parise was the Devils' best player. As mentioned above, I believe Mike Rupp was the best Ranger. Ugh.

*Have to ask again, why would Prust have headhunted Volchenkov? The Devils defender opened the door for a Ranger comeback at the end of the first period with a bad penalty. Sadly the Rangers were only able to get one good chance in the two minutes - from Kreider (who else?) - and Brodeur made his best save of the night.

*Carl Hagelin, the Swedish Scourge of the NHL. A serial offender! Credit to the Ranger PK for killing both ridiculous, fabricated penalties off. Wonder what would have happened had he scored off of the Salvador turnover in the first period, as Zajac made it a 2-0 game a minute or so later.

*Might be nice for Boyle to recapture whatever magic he had before the first round headshot right about now. He hasn't been using his size, he hasn't been going to the tough parts of the ice, he hasn't done much of anything. Except grow some great facial hair. So at least he has that going for him.

*Said for a long time that the Rangers are the Kings East or the Kings are the Rangers West as the teams have such similar constitutions. Sutter pointed out the other day that L.A. scores a lot of goals off deflections and through traffic - which is clearly the case with the Rangers as the Blueshirts D keeps putting up points. Feds got his goal by using a Devil D as a screen, Gabby would be wise to follow suit. Brodeur is easily getting a bead on the puck as it leaves the Slovak's stick.

*Anyone want to go fish Sean Avery's skates out of the Hudson for him? But seriously, if Dubi and Zuke are able to take contact, they should certainly be given a shot in Game 5 - this team needs some fresh legs.

*Saw that Ranger fans were allowed to skate on the Garden ice ahead of the viewing party. That is awesome, credit to the team for finally being fan-friendly. That being said, I'm quite glad I didn't use a vacation day from work to go either to the game or the Garden.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Bryce Salvador - one goal and one assist.
2-Martin Brodeur - 28 saves.
1-Zach Parise - two goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Zajac - Travis has chemistry with Parise thanks to spending many seasons together. There is little to no chemistry among the Ranger forwards.
2-Salvador - Turnover to Hagelin aside, solid game from Salvador. Three goals in the playoffs, none in 82 regular season games.
1-Parise - Don't care what team he ends up on next year as long as it is out West.

R3, G3: Just do it, right?

"I said to you guys who aren't used to covering hockey or watching playoffs a lot: the most important part of the playoffs are goaltending, special teams, how your top players play. So just do it, right?" --Darryl Sutter, May 20th

Well, the Rangers got it done in Game 3 against the Devils with two of the three. Hank was his sovereign self with 36 saves - mostly tough ones - and the special teams came through with a power play goal and five kills. As for that last part, well, Marian Gaborik and Brad Richard$ had largely forgettable afternoons. So there's that left to do.

The game as a whole was, as everyone was readily pointing out afterwards, a mirror of the series opener: atrocious open, middling middle and exciting end. Girardi scored, then Kreider, then someone added an empty net, and then thousands of Ranger fans went home happy.

Late Hits:

*The Devils' act is getting old. Zubrus did it last round, Volchenkov did it yesterday. Go down, act like you've been bludgeoned and pray for a big call. Then get right back on the ice because you weren't actually injured at all. New Jersey's OHL coach is making his players act like children, whining and crying over every little thing and the sad part is that it is working. And DeBoer's ludicrous claim that Prust was headhunting? Who in their right mind would go after Anton Volchenkov of all people? Especially when he has been the Devils worst defenseman these playoffs. But it must be said that DeBoer's tactics have worked, as Prust has been suspended for one game ... by a man who owes the start and the end of NHL career to the New Jersey franchise. What a farce.

*How is it that this Kreider kid knows more about scoring from the tough areas then his older teammates? He slides through the crease and scores while Boyle and the other guys continue to play on the outskirts. Buzz around Brodeur and things happen. They have to pretend they are bees going after a picnic meal, which should be easy because Brodeur probably smells like sandwiches.

*Heard various stories about fights going on around the arena but there were none in the sections around me (118). Saw one going on downstairs in the third period that was quickly diffused with the Ranger fan, of course, being the one getting tossed.

*Do Devils fans know any words aside from 'sucks'? That seemed to be the insult of choice of the Jersey Mensans. It was so cute that they figured out how to spell their team's name - that's progress for the New Jersey public school systems.

*Loved participating in the Mmmmaaarrrtttyyyy chants, especially the one after the empty net goal. That was just rubbing it in, which is delicious.

*Brad Richard$ stupid interference penalty with four minutes left gave the Devils a golden chance to get back into the game and they came inches away from doing it, ringing a puck off the iron. All season long the Blueshirts have talked about being more disciplined and yet they took some horrid, unacceptable penalties.

*Mike Rupp took one, of course, because how else can he prove to his family that he is actually playing in this series? He can't skate, he can't stickhandle, he won't fight ... really, what's the point? He has the size, he showed he has a shot back in the Winter Classic (and that hat trick he scored against us), and yet he bounces around doing nothing.

*Steve Eminger actually looked better than expected, for his six minutes of ice time.

*Sorry, I don't pay as much credence to Torts' time out as the turnaround point, there was no sudden injection of energy or anything like that. The team that came out for the third period was different than the one that did for the first two.

*Fedotenko continued to be one of the most valuable Rangers of the playoffs, grinding, hitting, working the puck out of trouble areas. It was his work that led to Cally grabbing the empty net, just the usual soldier stuff from the Ukrainian. That's what you're paid for Braden.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Martin Brodeur - 19 saves.
2-Dan Girardi - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 36 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Kreider - So, working around the net is a good thing?
2-McDonagh/Girardi - Offense, defense, whatever. Just hope that they can survive all of these minutes ...
1-Hank - Yep. Again.

R3, G2: Terrible Twos

I'm not a parent or anything, but I believe that the Terrible Twos are when screaming, squirming toddlers learn to use the potty. Well, the Rangers certainly soiled the bed on Wednesday night, their third straight unpleasant Game 2 performance.

As with the previous two series, the Blueshirts followed up a stellar opener with a stinker. They came out flat, they were not physical, they were not willing to pay the price to win. And they didn't. And it was thanks to John Tortorella, again. For all of his hollering on the bench (and obnoxiousness off it), the clueless head coach couldn't motivate his players to play the right way and his idiotic intimidation tactics backfired.

While letting Stepan and Del Zaster (among others) skate despite severe, unacceptable defensive gaffes, Torts decided to pick out another player - he benched Marian Gaborik, while his team was desperate for a goal. The head coach's ideas of accountability have been screwed up from the start of his tenure on Broadway (Sean Avery, need I say more?) but that he feels the need to push buttons and give lessons with his team in Game 2 of the conference finals is just asinine. Or perhaps that is just another instance when his ego takes center stage - he feels like his team can piss away a home win because they can prevail in the end.

Personally, I feel that belief is idiotic because the team that Torts insisted was not tired is clearly skating at a quarter of the speed that they were and they are playing a different style than the one that made them first in the East this season. They are far, far, far less physical and far more willing to sit back and block shots than to challenge the shooters.

But, hey, the Rangers prevailed in the last two series despite the different philosophy and obnoxious head coach so perhaps the trend will continue and the Blueshirts will survive. Perhaps.

Late Hits:

*After Game 2 of the Washington series I wrote, "the Blueshirts made little effort to get rebounds and barely had any bodies around the net ... the one time someone actually set up in front they scored." Same thing this time around. Instead of doing a flyby like Richard$ or Cally or Boyle or any of the other guys, Kreider actually set up and tipped in Anton Stralman's shot. The kid is continually proving that the Nash non-trade was the right move - Nash wilted in his first trip to the playoffs while Kreider is coming of age.

*For the second straight game, serious credit to Mmmaaaarrrtttyyy - this time for an amazing kick save while lying on his prodigious gut. Perhaps, like some kind of sick cannibalistic Highlander sequel, he ate Dominick Hasek and gained the Czech's power to make these sprawling, last second saves. Whatever it was, these saves were outstanding.

*Mmmaaaarrrtttyyy did his best beached whale impression multiple times and yet the Rangers were only able to take advantage once, with the ricochet off the end boards. The distended Devil is opening the door but the Blueshirts weren't bothering to walk through it. They were outhustled and outmuscled and they made Fayne, Greene and Salvador look like Robinson, Savard and Lapointe. That trio is not Robinson, Savard or Lapointe. Not even close.

*Now, on to someone who could have entered that pantheon of Habs blueliners: Ryan McDonagh. My exhausted memory recalls McDonagh having himself one heroic shift in the second period. First he hurt his hand blocking a shot with his glove, then he went to hit someone along the boards, then he took the puck off his skate and was still in the play basically on one foot. He soldiered through until the whistle, went to the bench and didn't miss a shift. Just outstanding to see.

*A note on Torts' idea of accountability: Mike Rupp played like he was petrified to take a penalty. Saw him skating behind a Devil at one point with his hands raised, to ensure that the refs saw that he wasn't hooking or holding or doing anything. But that is exactly it, he wasn't doing anything. Rupp couldn't goad Clarkson into a fight jawing across the red line and then did little to get the Devil or, frankly, any of the Devils off of their game. Having him slowly lumber around like a dinosaur isn't doing anyone any good. And Torts continually putting him on the ice immediately after a Ranger goal is utterly baffling.

*Brandon Prust was probably the best Ranger in the first period. Sadly he then saw just four shifts in the second period and couldn't keep momentum going.

*Saw Hagelin lose his lid, letting those magnificent locks flow free. And what a sight to see. Ron Duguay who? That interference penalty that was called on him in the first period was a farce. But the officiating in general was amusingly bad so whatever.

*As my buddy Lazz said, they ought to buy Stephane Matteau a seat on either side of the rink so he can sit right behind Mmmmaaaarrttttyyy all game. That ought to get into the goaltender's head a bit.

*Another friend of the blog, Joakim, was remarking to me on the weird career Stralman has had - from Sweden to failing on three poor NHL teams to rumours of a return to Sweden to decent minutes on the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He now has three goals and three assists in these playoffs - twice as many points as Feds and Hagelin, five more then Prust, Mitch and McD and six more than Rupp.

*Utterly Del Zastrous night. The team got stuck in their own zone during many of his 30 shifts, he was largely useless on the power play, he was on the ice for the last two goals against and he shoved a Devil directly into Hank. Taking out your own goaltender is a bad thing kiddo. As near as I can tell, when chasing for a puck, he would rather be beaten there, ignore the thing and make contact - so he doesn't get hit himself. Sometimes you have to pay the price to make the play and he should realize that. Also counted twice that he was farther in the opposition zone than the Ranger forwards, both of which plays ended up coming back the other way.

*Is Fedotenko snakebitten or what?

*The penalty box door getting stuck was outstanding. Talk about a player having to feel shame, Travis Zajac had to stand around the entire time. It was laugh out loud funny watching him as the staff tried everything to open the door.

*Kovalchuk's game-opening power play goal was bad. Real bad. Hank's angle was off, opening up the far side and the Russian sniper, of course, sent the puck right in there. Not the world class goaltending we've come to expect from the King.

*When they showed that hot chick Kate Upton on the big board, did I see it right? Did she have the rally towel upside-down?

*Clarkson scoring ... ugh. Need Dubi or Avery to come back and kick his ass (won't happen, but a nice thought).

*PHW Three Stars
3-Bryce Salvador - two assists.
2-Chris Kreider - one goal.
1-David Clarkson - one goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Marek Zidlicky - The former Ranger draft pick was everything that Del Zaster wasn't: calm, poised and capable carrying the puck.
2-Adam Henrique - Solid two-way play and success inside the circle gives him the edge over fellow rookie Kreider, who was perhaps the best Ranger forward in the losing effort.
1-Marc Staal - The Blueshirt blueliner played a game-high 27:26, wasn't on the ice for a single goal against, attempted six shots - more than any other Ranger - and scored.

R3, G1: Another Game 1 Win

While it is truly delightful to defeat Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils - as the Rangers did 3-0 on Monday - any enjoyment must be tempered due to the other Game 1s the Blueshirts went through this spring. New York came out on top in the series openers against both Ottawa and Washington only to put forth an atrocious performance in the follow up.

Besides, it isn't like the Rangers blew out the Devils in any way. The first period was the two teams feeling themselves out and the second saw the Blueshirts sleepwalk their way to the buzzer, as Hank saved their bacon. They woke up in time for the third period and grabbed the momentum with Dan Girardi's goal in the first minute.

The trick now will be to carry that momentum to Wednesday. The Devils were a bit rusty at the outset of this one and were far from the physical team that stood up to the Bullies, you can be sure that won't be the case again so the Blueshirts had better bring it.

Late Hits:

*Always loathe to give Fatso any credit for his goaltending - most of his career numbers are a facade - but his diving glove save on Staal was outstanding. Good thing Steve Bernier boarded Girardi seconds later, eliminating any boost that the Devils may have gained.

*And the penalty resulted in a power play goal. Scored by Chris Kreider. How about that? A young scorer on the power play. The man advantage had been so poor the previous three attempts that people were actually calling for John Mitchell to get on the ice. Love Ranger fan sarcasm.

*The saddest thing about the Ranger special team is that Hank's best saves of the game came while the team had a man advantage - the back-to-back-to-back stops on Zach Parise in the second period. He had three straight shots on Hank, because Del Zaster completely botched the play. No shock there. For a few seasons now, when the opposition gets a penalty, I rock in my seat and rant 'no shorties, no shorties, no shorties ...' And DZ nearly handed one to the Devils on a silver platter in the Eastern Conference Finals. Gross incompetence. (BTW, the rant came thanks to that scarring Mike Richards three-on-five goal way back when.)

*And before anyone throws DZ's secondary assist on the first goal out there in his defense, it was actually a bank off the boards right to Bryce Salvador. Luckily the Devils defender turned his body sideways and missed it, allowing Kreider to streak in and take control. The kid then fed the puck back to Girardi, and Dan-O threaded his shot though traffic - two Devils skaters and Derek Stepan.

*Step was a soldier in this one, recovering from one painful-looking shot block in the first period on Kovalchuk. He has just one goal in his last 20 games but he has been doing the little things that help the team win. While he did not experience a sophomore slump this season - he actually increased his point total - the former Badger went through small stretches of invisibility. Once he puts everything together consistently, he will be one hell of a player.

*Really question if two of the Rangers' regular warriors Cally and Prust are battling injuries. Given the wear and tear they suffered this season, it would be no surprise. They are working as hard as ever but the level of play is not at the high standard they have set. Luckily Hagelin and Fedotenko have stepped in to lead the forecheck in their place.

*Hockey fans in New York must really feel that this series is something special, because there were far fewer Devil fans at MSG than usual. Most of those that were there were sadly subjected to scathing belittling and berating. Just because these people have no taste in hockey teams (and likely suffer from some sort of mental disability) doesn't mean they should be called, pardon me for repeating, "pussies and faggots." The part-timers and bandwagoners need to learn that they should have some class, they aren't from Philadelphia. We are New York Ranger fans, Original Six diehards and have the nobility to go with the history.

*That being said, the crass, classic "Uncle Daddy" chant right at the start of the night was fantastic.

*Anyone see David Clarkson? Did he go back to the minor leagues?

*And on that topic, yes the Rangers won and yes they did not need him tonight but I still missed Sean Avery. Well, more than usual. He and the injured Dubinsky always brought a snarl to the rivalry games that was absent last evening.

*It was nice to see Arty and Kreider click, but they had better be prepared for the physical assault that is surely coming. The Devils gave the kids a lot of room and DeBoar will certainly stop that going forward.

*Vince Vaughn hanging out at the game? He jumped on the Blackhawk bandwagon, will he now move to the Blueshirt one?

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ryan McDonagh - very good defense.
2-Dan Girardi - one goal and one assist.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 21 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Staal and McD - Third star gets split between the two because they were both solid on both sides of the ice. They, along with Girardi, did quite well in keeping Kovy and Elias quiet.
2-Hank - Sure he made just 21 saves thanks to the Blueshirts blocking 26 more shots but of those 21 at least 10 were really solid saves. The crowd in front is a help as well as a hinderance and yet he still came through to pitch the clean sheet.
1-Girardi - An undrafted free agent, the best defenseman in these NHL playoffs. Saw him with the HNIC towel after the game, which must have been a dream come true for him - well deserved.

R2, G7: Saturday Night Success

As the final seconds ticked off last night I raised my arms and closed my eyes. Sweet, sweet victory. The buzzer sounded and I was high fived, punched, hugged, mugged, drenched in beer ... and even congratulated by a Flyer fan. What a moment, what a feeling.

And it was only the end of the second round.

The Rangers defeated the Capitals 2-1 on Saturday night to continue their ulcer-inducing run though the playoffs. They closed out the Caps series with their second-straight Game 7 win and earned an invite to the Conference Final dinner dance with the Devils. Outstanding.

Before we get our fingers bitten off by Brodeur at the buffet, a few Late Hits from this one:

*John Druce, wherever you are, I have one thing to say to you: this.

*You know what would have made the victory sweeter? Tom Poti on the losing end. Pooooooooooooooottttttttttttiiiiiiiiiiii.

*7-0 Fedotenko. Supposedly he is Ukrainian but with luck like that there must be some Irish in there. Joking aside, his success in Game 7s is a credit to his hard work. You could tell that he was going to fight until the final buzzer and he battled all night.

*As did Carl Hagelin, who had one of his best performances of the playoffs - if not the season. The Wolverine was outstanding, a forechecking fury that outhustled and outworked the Washington blueliners. Hopefully Kreider was still watching and learning.

*And thanks to Hagelin, Brad Richard$ came through with the game-opening goal just 92 seconds into the night. It was a great one-timer from Richard$, one that Holtby should have stopped - perhaps the minor leaguer expected Nick Backstrom to block it? Doesn't matter, it went in. And then the Rangers tried to cling to that advantage the rest of the night.

*Speaking of such, Marc Staal is really starting to look like the old Marc Staal. Nice timing.

*0-2 power play, New York typical. Although, to be fair, the second wasn't a full two minutes. But, still, the Rangers will have to start taking advantage of the man advantage in the next round.

*Saw the replay of the Boyle non-goal, bad call. Very glad it wasn't the margin of victory (or defeat).

*But, for all of the complaining from the Blue Bloods about the officiating this series, the Rangers got away with one when Del Zaster tripped Ovechkin to force the turnover that resulted in his goal.

*That goal came off of a perfect shot that sailed through Roman Hamrlik's legs and inside the stick-side post on Holtby. All credit given and due.

*Of course, plenty of blame is due to him on the Hamrlik goal 38 seconds later. The goal was not Step's fault, as I have heard. Mike Green was Step's man, and the Vespa-rider was still up-ice. Kreider was with Laich at the point, Cally closed with Chimera on the right wing boards and Staal was battling Brouwer in front. That left DZ to come out and close with Hamrlik. Del Zaster misread the Czech's rush and turned towards the boards - opening up the lane through the slot for the shot. Another example of DZ's defensive deficiencies (ones that he does not appear to be working on improving).

*Notes on the bad guys: Troy Brouwer and Matt Hendricks were worthy opponents in this series, real warriors who gave their all. Still don't like Brooks Laich but will admit he is underrated. Marcus Johansson has to be the Caps biggest disappointment. Sad to see the proud Mike Knuble spend so much time on the bench. Semin should make a lot of money in the KHL next season.

*Gabby finished the series with three goals and four assists. And he still has yet to play his best hockey.

*John Mitchell ... supposedly Mats Zuccarello is getting closer to returning so the Norwegian gnat can take over his spot on the power play.

*Poor Stu, less than three minutes of ice time while McDonagh saw nearly a half hour. Perhaps Bickel will get more ice time against New Jersey. Or not. Maybe he can start at center again one night ... ?

*"We Want The Cup" chants. Really. Really? Really. After being taken to the limit by the two bottom seeds. I can't even comprehend it.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Michael Del Zotto - one goal and one assist.
2-Brad Richards - one goal.
1-Henrik Lundqvist - 22 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Richard$ - Won some faceoffs, score a goal, no big thing for the former Conn Smythe winner.
2-Hank - The King only had to make a few big saves but he made them.
1-Hagelin - Bork!