Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: San Jose Sharks

Alas, that nice Ranger connection we had with the Sharks is gone. Manny Malhotra used San Jose to revive his career and get a good-money gig with Vancouver this summer. Jed Ortmeyer (Jed!) got hurt last spring, underwent double hernia surgery, became a UFA and was not even invited back to Shark camp. Those heartless bastards.

Familiar Foes: The big three will be back - Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and speed racer Dany Heatley. Dan Boyle bounced right back from scoring on his own team during the playoffs and continues to quarterback their attack. Joe Pavelski rose to prominence during that futile playoff run and turned it into a big contract - whether he can keep it going will be key. Devin Setoguchi also has plenty to prove - he needs to show he can find consistency. Pickles Vlasic, Douglas Murray and deadline acquisition Nic Wallin will provide consistency on defense in front of a new netminder.

N00bz: That new netminder will be either Antti Niemi or Antero Niittymaki, San Jose's two biggest signings. You kinda feel bad for Niitty as he was all set to take the gig when Doug Wilson picked up Niemi after the Hawks let him go. Niitty was red hot last fall and was (stupidly) passed over by Team Finland, sending him back to earth; he will be pushed hard by the Cup-winning, younger Finn Niemi. Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja insanely spurned Detroit and is in Shark camp on a tryout - he will face some tough competition to break in from streaky offensive youngster Jason Demers and old reliable Kent Huskins. No one replaced bruiser Brad Staubitz but the tough Jamal Mayers was added to take Jed's job so he will stand up for his teammates while taking regular shifts alongside Scotty Nichol.

Last Year: Monday, October 19th 7-3 Sharks win.

This Year: Saturday, March 12th in San Jose.

What They Mean To Blue: Not too much. The Rangers play Anaheim three days prior, so they will have plenty of time to enjoy some fun in the sun before facing the Sharks. Even without Nabokov in net, San Jose should still compete in the West, meaning a loss by the Blueshirts won't be the shocking end of the world. No matter the result, after that game the farthest the Rangers will have to travel will be Pittsburgh.

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Pittsburgh Penguins

DESTINY HAS A NEW HOME is the new catch phrase for the Penguins this season as they move from the antiquated Igloo to the Consol Energy Center. Yeah. Destiny. Being the NHL's darlings has nothing to do with it.

It is easy to abhor the Pens. Very, very easy. They have many loathable players, they have had significant success against the Rangers and they put us in the position of rooting for the damned French in the playoffs. They are on national tv all the time (four of our six games will be on Versus or NBC), they are getting a second Winter Classic and they make the Blueshirts look bad by being excessively friendly to their fans. Wah, wah, freakin' wah, I know, I know.

Those bandwagon Penguin fans always throw "you wish you had Crosby and our team" in our faces and they are - in general - wrong. We don't wish we had that crybaby, we don't wish we had that idiot Cooke or the rest of the clowns ... we wish we had their franchise. The franchise that cares. The franchise that understands that they should service the fans or at least work as partners. The franchise that adapts and changes with new challenges.

Familiar Foes: You know 'im, you hate 'im, you're inundated with 'im in eeeeeevery damned NHL promotion - Sidneyyyyyyyyyy Crosssssssssssssssssbbbyyyy. Boo. Cindy will have his usual runningmates around: Geno Malkin, Free Candy Orpik, DayGloSmile Fleury, Dammit Cookie, Eyebrows Dupuis, WangBang Letang, Shhhh Talbot, Mike F-ing Hat Trick Rupp, etc. Jordan Staal is still on the Pens but will miss the start of the season with an infection and Eric Godard is sure to miss plenty of games with "can't skate scratchitis."

N00bz: There is virtually no need for Godard anymore as they have Talbot, Rupp and new acquisition Arron Asham all capable of tussling while skating. It is hard to hate Asham as he clearly selects his teams to give the Rangers the most trouble, now having played for every other team in the Atlantic - gotta appreciate that kind of hatred. Others added by Pittsburgh also have a lot of experience against us: Paul Martin from the Devils and Mike Comrie of the Islanders (via Edmonton and Ottawa). Martin will be joined by shot blocker extraordinaire Zbynek Michalek on the blueline, where former Ranger Corey Potter may (doubtfully but hopefully) be given a shot.

Last Year: Friday, October 2nd 3-2 Penguins win; Saturday, November 28th 8-3 Penguins win; Monday, November 30th 5-2 Penguins win; Monday, January 25th 4-2 Penguins win; Friday, February 12th 3-2 Rangers overtime win; and Thursday, March 4th 5-4 Penguins overtime win.

This Year: Monday, November 15th in Pittsburgh; Monday, November 29th @ MSG; Wednesday, December 15th in Pittsburgh; Tuesday, February 1st @ MSG; Sunday, February 13th @ MSG; Sunday, March 20th in Pittsburgh.

What They Mean To Blue: As you can see, the Pens easily represented the difference between making the playoffs and not making it last season - especially when they blew a 4-3 third period lead in that late March overtime loss. Going 1-4-1 against a division rival, even one as admittedly skilled as Cindy's side, is unacceptable.

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Phoenix Coyotes

Don Maloney has cobbled together quite the intriguing team out in the desert and, for his efforts, was the recipient of the first NHL General Manager of the Year Award back in June. It took him just three years after leaving the Rangers to take the job and be recognized as the top GM in the league; meanwhile fans organize Fire Sather rallies here in New York.

But we've come not to bury Glen but to celebrate Don. His team won 50 games last season and made it to the playoffs, where they lost in a thrilling seven-game series. Don has done it with a mish-mash of low-cost castoffs from other teams around the league - his first crop of self-drafted Coyotes will compete for spots this season in Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker, Brett MacLean, Viktor Tikhonov and maybe even Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Turris and Boedker both saw action two seasons back but Jack Adams winner Dave Tippett rightly sent them back to the farm for more development. This season should see them getting decent shots at making the roster.

Familiar Foes: They will have to work for it as the backbone of the 50 win team still remains. Shane Doan leads a group of young snipers that really stepped up last season - Lee Stempniak, Wojktek Wolski, Radim Vrbata. Taylor Pyatt, Scottie Upshall and Vernon Fiddler keep up the physical, two-way grind side of play up front. In the back, JovoCop, former Islander Adrian Aucoin and former Ranger Derek Morris make up the ancient anchor of the defensive corps. Kurt Sauer, Keith Yandle and Sami Lepisto fill out the unit but will be pushed by 2009 top pick Ekman-Larsson, who is simply a stud. Sauer, like his brother Mike here in NY, has battled injuries (he missed all but one game last season) and has plenty to prove. The crease is pretty much closed with Ilya Bryzgalov starting and former Rangers Jason Labarbera and Al Montoya left to pick up the scraps. They are two of six Blueshirts on the Coyotes depth chart: Morris, Petr Prucha, Lauri Korpikoski and Ryan Hollweg (so that's where he went...) are the others. Holly isn't likely to make the NHL as there are plenty of grinders and BizNasty (Paul Bissonnette) holds down the enforcer gig.

N00bz: Maloney went out and signed The Wizard this summer, Ray Whitney. Whitney is the Energizer Bunny of the NHL, he just keeps going and going ... he was the second-ever draft pick of the San Jose Sharks, selected 23rd overall in 1991. He has played 1,072 regular season games and racked up 869 points, 58 of which came last season (which would have tied Vinny Prospal for second on the Rangers). Other summer signings were Eric Belanger and Andrew Ebbett. If Belanger can put the controversy with Washington behind him, his two-way skills should really help solidify the third line. Ebbett played (poorly) for three different NHL teams last season but two years ago racked up 32 points (24 assists) in 48 games for the Quack Attack. If he can recapture those puck distribution skills, he will join Turris and Martin Hanzal in the battle for for second-line center duties.

Last Year: Monday, October 26th 5-2 Ranger win; and Saturday, january 30th 3-2 Phoenix victory.

This Year: Thursday, December 16th @ MSG.

What They Mean To Blue: Aside from a heavy sigh when you realize Maloney could/should/would have taken the helm of the Rangers, not too much. The Blueshirts play the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Versus the night before; the Coyotes are also playing that night but they will be at the Rock so their travel (and emotional letdown) will be minimal.

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Philadelphia Flyers

You know, there may come a time where the last-game-of-the-season shootout loss that killed our playoff hopes will be a good thing. The loss put the Rangers in the 10 spot at the draft where they selected Dylan McIlrath, who may very well grow up to be a star on Broadway (like I and others have predicted). Sure he may well have still been on the board later in the round but ya never know and a first-round heartbreaking loss in the playoffs compared to a crease-clearing stud ... well, I take the kid and the possibility of a Cup down the line.

Hey, when you lose in that fashion, you have to take what you can get. We can also look at it as the Flyers had to band together to beat us and the brotherhood carried them to the Cup Finals. That good feeling and $2.25 will get you on the subway (for now). But at least they lost in the Finals. Nyeh nyeh.

Familiar Foes: The core of the Flyers will return - Briere, Carter, Hartnell, Richards, Pronger, Timonen. Claude Giroux, Dirtbag Dan Carcillo, Ian Laperriere, Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle ... just anming them makes me grimace in anger. For some reason, Michael Leighton will also be back in net, despite him handing Pat Kane the Cup-winning goal.

N00bz: At the Finals everyone talked about how Philly was at a disadvantage because of their third defensive pairing so they went right out and got a new third defensive pairing - Sean O'Donnell and Andrej Meszaros. Up front there will definitely be two new Flyers, former Rangers Jody Shelley and Nik Zherdev. It is an interesting two-some as Shelley has all the heart and desire Zherdev doesn't possess while Zherdev has the speed and skill that Shelley could only dream of. Ville Leino was quite quiet through much of the regular season but starred in the playoffs so Philadelphia will be praying he can keep it going this fall, if only to replace the scoring provided by the departed Simon Gagne.

Last Year: Saturday, December 19th 2-1 Rangers win; Wednesday, December 30th 6-0 Flyers win; Thursday, January 21st 2-0 Flyers win; Sunday, March 14th 3-1 Ranger win; Friday, April 9th 4-3 Ranger win; and Sunday, April 11th 2-1 Flyer shootout victory.

This Year: Thursday, November 4th in Philly; Saturday, December 18th in Philly; Sunday, January 16th @ MSG; Sunday, February 20th @ MSG; Sunday, March 6th @ MSG; and Sunday, April 3rd in Philly.

What They Mean To Blue: A crushing defeat in the Finals could do one of two things 1-make a team hungrier or 2-make the team fall apart. If anyone can recover from losing, Pete Laviolette can ... after all, he coached the Islanders. The Flyers will again be a dangerous team, even with no goaltending for the umpteenth season.

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Ottawa Senators

Oh, Senators. Folks say a rose by another other name smells just as sweet but whether you (correctly) call them the Kanata Sens or the more PR friendly Ottawa Sens, they still stink. Old stars, underachieving stars, foot soldiers who think they're stars because they marry stars, overachieving kids and a head-shaking goaltending platoon ... not a very good situation there. And yet they made the playoffs. Ain't that something?

Ottawa used an insane 13-1 run just ahead of the Olympics last winter to position themselves in the postseason before bowing out in six games to the Pens. That they took them to six games was no small wonder considering they couldn't settle on a starting goaltender. Brian Elliott looked like the man with 29 regular season wins but went 1-3-1 with one no-decision in his last six games. Pascal Leclair kept up his injury-prone ways but came in for Elliott and nearly saved the series against the Pens. Add in young Swedish stud Robin Lehner and Mike "I'm only related to Mmmaaarrrtttyyy when facing the Rangers" Brodeur this season and you have some fantasy-league frustrations. And seriously, how can you root for a team that can't help your fantasy team?

Familiar Foes: Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Alex Kovalev are all back - with Alfredsson and Kovy are both coming off surgery ... as are Milan Michalek, Chris Campoli and Filip Kuba. Kuba, btw, may have to go under the knife again as he just got hurt in camp. Nick Foligno might actually choose this year to break out and become better than his father ever was but that is a sizable 'might'. The two professional pain in the asses Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil somehow have not worn out their welcomes in Ottawa (they actually love them there! ugh!) and big Matt Carkner is becoming a folk hero with his pugilistic ways, even if it means he gets his ass handed to him by Colton Orr with some regularity.

N00bz: Kuba's absence would really hurt if the Sens hadn't signed Sergei Gonchar. So they may have lost the series against the Pens but they took one of their best assets. Ottawa can slot Gonchar alongside Chris Phillips and have one helluva first-line pairing on defense. Aside from Sergei, the Senators were pretty quiet on the free agent front but they did take Corey Locke away from the Rangers. As I ranted here throughout last season, I don't think the mighty mite got a fair shake and can add some scoring in the right NHL situation.

Last Year: Saturday, October 3rd 5-2 Ranger win; Saturday, November 14th 2-1 Ranger shootout win; Thursday, January 14th 2-0 Senators win; Tuesday, March 2nd 4-1 Ranger win

This Year: Friday, October 1st at MSG and Saturday, October 2nd in Ottawa preseason. Sunday, December 5th at MSG; Thursday, December 9th in Ottawa; Friday, March 4th in Ottawa; and Thursday, March 24th at MSG.

What They Mean To Blue: Hopefully they will mean one less team that will challenge the Rangers for a playoff spot but I doubt that. Probably the biggest impact the Senators will have are in those last two preseason games - they can hone the Rangers' edge heading into the season or they can grind it down and send the Blueshirts stumbling into the season. If Torts can't build line combinations and chemistry it could very well be the latter. Fingers crossed.

An Open Letter To Those At Camp 2010-11

Hello, and welcome to the New York Rangers,

There are some things you need to know before you get the 2010-2011 NHL season started as a member of the Broadway Blueshirts. I will attempt to lay them out for you to make your transition to New York easier. If you keep these in mind, your stay will be an enjoyable and, hopefully, productive one. Best of luck.

1- First and foremost, being a Ranger requires respect. Respect for your teammates. Respect for the jersey. Respect for the fans. Respect the Rangers. Everything else on this list falls under this dictum. Respect. It sounds simple, but it's not. It's a complete way of being that will require hard work but the payoff is virtually limitless - watch the tape of Eddie Giacomin's return with the Red Wings.

2 - Always, ALWAYS have your teammate's back. There is nothing worse than seeing a player get hit in a vulnerable position without retribution. That especially goes for your goaltender and your superstar. Lookin' at you Dan-o.

3 - I mentioned hard work. That is what is expected of you. Anything less - let up for just one moment of one shift - and the results will be disastrous. During that lapse a goal may be scored against the Rangers, or it may not. Either way, someone will notice - I'm especially good at it and I sure as hell will call you on it. The Rangers are the most scrutinized NHL team not in Canada, both by the media and by the fans. You do not want to let up in this town. At the same time, even if things aren't going your way - go without scoring for games at a time, whatever - if you are visibly working hard you will given a pass for quite a while ... Chris Higgins made it for months. You may look around at the fans down by the ice and see the nice clothes, the Blackberries and the models, but don't be fooled: this is a blue collar fanbase that expects and appreciates hard work.

4 - Meet the fans, greet the fans. They are your best asset on the ice, better than any newfangled composite stick or heated skateblade. You may have played in the Garden in the past, you may have not. But you have never felt anything like it when you have 18,200 New Yorkers getting your back, helping you up, pushing you forward. At the same time, that 18,200 can be merciless. This goes back to No. 2, if you don't show maximum effort, you will face the ire of the fans and trust me, you won't enjoy it.

5 - Maximum effort is an understatement when the Islanders, Devils or Flyers are in town. Those are the times that you have to go above and beyond. There is no faster way to the hearts of the fans than through the franchise's biggest rivals. In this day and age of free agency (which may have brought you here), rivalries are harder to cling to for players - you may have friends and former teammates on the other side of the ice - but they are grossly important to the fans. Go out to dinner with your buds, go on vacation with them, whatever - from the second that puck drops, you had better be out for blood. Players come and go but that jersey that you pull on has been around for a long time and that means something. That Blueshirt comes with the baggage of hatred for wrongs past. It may sound petty, but it is a part of life. And, if you use it right - through the aforementioned hard work - then it is a very, very good thing.

6 - You know that quiet guy who is hanging around practice? The mild-mannered fellow with his name and number nine in the rafters. Listen to him. If he says something, it's for a reason. If he acts a certain way, it's for a reason. And that reason is always the betterment of the franchise and, frankly, the betterment of yourself. Pay attention to Adam Graves. You will not find a better role model in your search for what it means to be a Ranger. There is a reason why he is beloved in this city, and what he did on the ice is only part of the explanation. And that big, bald crying guy up in the office? Messier? Yeah, him too.

7 - Give not to temptation. New York never closes and there is fun to be had no matter what your vice may be. But if you give in to it, then you are breaking No. 1 on this list. There is a time and place for everything, and while you wear that jersey the time is not right for nefarious activities.

8 - Spend some time reading up on the past. The more you read about the 84 year history of the franchise, the more you will understand just how important No. 1 on this list is. A lot of people have put their blood, sweat and tears into building the Rangers and the least you can do is know who they were.

9 - Don't be afraid to speak your mind because honesty is indeed the best policy. Silly, right? Not at all. When speaking to the media or to the press, one of the worse things you can do is speak in benign cliches ... no matter what captain Drury does. There is no such thing as 110%. You can only take things one game, or one day, at a time. And you don't always get the bounces. We know that; tell us how, tell us why. You can't be afraid to show your personality, because that is who you are and we want to know you. We want to root for you. We want to see you succeed.

10 - Don't believe the hype. There are a lot of people playing pundit, a lot of people shooting their (our) mouths off. Expectations aren't as high as they have been in the past due to last year's failure but this is still New York and success is always demanded. But that will come if you work hard, listen to the coaches and play your game to the best of your ability.

This list may seem daunting, but you will be pulling on a Blueshirt and these are the things that come with the jersey.

Let's Go Rangers.

-Scotty Hockey

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: New York Islanders

My loathing for the Islanders knows no bounds so I will try to temper my blind hatred enough to actually provide a reasonable preview of them for you guys. It will be tough ... so very, very tough; just remember I did this the next time you guys get mad at me.

Familiar Foes: Rick DiPietro. Hahahaha. Just like last season, they think he is healthy enough to play and this time he may very well be able to play on Columbus Day. Anything beyond that, well, don't place any bets. That being said, even if DP does go down we've seen how Dwayne Roloson can singlehandedly keep the clowns competitive. Doug Weight - the Rangers second round pick in 1990 - returns to keep the C warm while John Tavares keeps learning the ropes. Trent Hunter and Jon Sim are somehow still in the NHL, even if their long-time runningmate Richard Park has headed overseas. Speaking of wingmen, Matt Moulson will be back attempting to show he wasn't a one-year wonder and Josh Bailey is going to try to start fulfilling his potential. Meanwhile, Mark Streit continues to be a slap in the face to Glen Sather. Yeah, goin' with Wade Redden was a muuuuuuuch better idea.

N00bz: Streit will be joined on the blueline by three new faces this fall - James Wisniewski, Milan Jurcina and Mark Eaton. It is hard to laugh at Snow's selections as the three vets can stabilize the back end. Up front Snow added PA Parenteau and Zenon Konopka. On one hand, you have to be happy that PA is going to get that fair NHL shot he has worked so hard to get but on the other hand, he is now the enemy so screw 'em. Konopka kills me as he is the first respectable enforcer the Isles have had since Mick Vukota (not that Mick was that respectable but whatever).

Last Year: Wednesday, October 28th 3-1 Isles; Wednesday, December 16th 2-1 Isles; Thursday, December 17th 5-2 Ranger win; Saturday, December 26th 3-2 OT Isles; Wednesday, March 24th 5-0 Rangers; Tuesday, March 30th 4-3 Ranger win.

This Year: Monday, October 10th at the Mausoleum; Thursday, December 2nd at the Mausoleum; Friday, December 3rd at the Garden; Monday, December 27th at the Garden; Tuesday, March 15th at the Garden; and Thursday, March 31st at the Mausoleum.

What They Mean To Blue: The bratty brother we never wanted always goes above and beyond to make us look bad. And sadly they do, pretty often. The Isles always step up their game when facing the Rangers and many times the Rangers don't respond in kind. But then again, the games against them are the best efforts we will get from Chris Drury all season long and the only times that Potvin Sucks can appropriately be whistled ...

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: New Jersey Devils

As chagrined as I am by it, the Devils have surpassed the Islanders as the Rangers' biggest rival. They aren't the Stanley Cup caliber team they were a few years back but they are still far better than the orange-and-blue clowns in Uniondale and a worthy adversary.

Familiar Foes: Let's face it, Mmmmaaaaaaaarrrrrtttyyyyyy leads a franchise full of familiar foes. Elias, Parise, Zubrus, Clarkson, blah blah hate them all. And the Ilya Kovalchuk contract odyssey/idiocy ended with the one-way Russian back at the Rock. Like anyone else would be that desperate for someone to bring in fans to give him that much money.

N00bz: Two of the most important n00bz aren't really n00bz at all: John MacLean behind the bench and Jason Arnott under center. Johnny Mac is a company man so his coaching philosophy shouldn't wander far from status quo. Arnott brings a big body who can put up a point per game when his teammates aren't injuring him in their celebrations. Lou bolstered the blueline with Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder and signed Johan Hedberg to bring Fatso his donuts.

Last Year: Monday, October 5th 3-2 Ranger win; October 22nd 4-2 Devil win; Tuesday, January 12th 1-0 shootout loss; Saturday, February 6th 3-1 Ranger win; Wednesday, March 10th 6-3 Devils win; Thursday, March 25th 4-3 Ranger shootout win.

This Year: Thursday, September 23rd at MSG and Saturday, September 25th in Newark preseason. Sunday, October 24th at MSG; Friday, November 5th in Newark; Wednesday, December 29th in Newark; Thursday, February 3rd at MSG; Friday, February 18th in Newark; Saturday, April 9th at MSG.

What They Mean To Blue: Three more Ranger home games? A louder crowd? Last season Tortorella sent a message to the team in the very first game by calling timeout and tearing them new orifices after they went behind early. Of course, the message was forgotten by Christmas, so what can he pull this time around that will stick? I don't know but I think we will certainly find out ...

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Nashville Predators

Ah, Nashville. Another Western Conference opponent we have rarely seen, and one we really didn't get to see last year as one of the 'great blizzards' swept through New York City and kept thousands of True Blue away from the Garden back in February. The Preds are also the one team that many people who do the name-all-the-NHL-teams tests often forget. It is easy to overlook the epitome of mediocrity in the NHL - they have an unassuming coach, a simple system and no superstars. Barry Trotz has yet to win a Jack Adams Award but he does deserve it for getting so much out of so little year after year.

Familiar Foes: No Jason Arnott anymore but a lot of the foot soldiers still remain - Steve Sullivan, David Legwand, JP Dumon, Martin Erat, Francis Bouillon, etc. The closest thing to stars they have are defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter and goaltender Pekka Rinne. A big, technically solid Finn, Rinne may actually buck the Nashville trend of upstart goaltenders promptly losing their jobs to their backups. Patric Hornqvist came out of nowhere to save fantasy teams around the world last year with a 30 goal season but who knows if he will be able to avoid the sophomore slump. The big albino Wade Belak and the little annoying eskimo Jordin Tootoo are still providing the sandpaper in the Music City - setting up nice matchups for Boogaard and Avery/Cally. Colin Wilson - Carey's kid - scored a goal in the one game in the Garden last year and should be better in an injury-free season.

N00bz: When Arnott jumped ship David Poile picked up Matt Lombardi to replace him. Lombardi has never scored more than 20 goals before (in Calgary or Phoenix) but never was called upon to be the man like he is now. The Preds will hope Trots can bring out his best, same with former Ranger Jamie Lundmark and the lesser Kostitsyn, Sergei.

Last Year: Wednesday, February 10th, a 2-1 Nashville win.

This Year: Saturday, November 27th in Nashville.

What They Mean To Blue: A gut check. The game against the Predators comes at the back end of a stretch of six games in nine days, five of which are on the road, four are in a pair of back-to-backs - this one being the night after a Panther game.

Peepin' Foes Preview Edition: Montreal Canadiens

There is nothing quite like facing Les Habitants, no matter how far they have fallen from the dynasty that they once were. The Bell Centre is, by far, the best place not in New York City to see a hockey game. Their fans are hardcore and it is utterly infuriating seeing them invade the Garden. But it does make for a better atmosphere in the building so no complaints there.

The only thing worth complaining about is how the Rangers can't seem to put forth an even effort against the Habs over the course of a season. From the 1979 Cup Finals to the horrible 6-5 loss in Montreal two seasons back to the two-goal lead blown in the first match last season to the January see-saw of going from a 6-2 win to a 6-0 loss in a span of six days, the Rangers simply let the Canadiens flip the switch. Unacceptable.

Familiar Foes: The mighty munchkins of Gionta, Gomez and playoff hero Cammalleri should still provide a large chunk of the Canadiens offense. Tomas Plekanec was re-signed and the Habs decided to keep Andrei Kostitsyn (while letting his brother go to Nashville). Andrei Markov will be back in bleu, blanc et rouge by the time the Canadiens take on the Rangers this season.

N00bz: As Markov heals, P.K. Subban will get plenty of ice time to prove that his superb playoff performance was not a fluke. Speaking of flukes, Carey Price is back in the Montreal crease so the Habs added Alex Auld to back him up. Personally I think that there will be another netminder by the end of 2010 (Jose Theodore?) but we will have to see. Seeing as they sent Halak packing, John Davidson only sent back a pair of mediocre prospects and one should make the Montreal roster - Lars Eller. But seeing as Eller couldn't make the bad Blues, he shouldn't threaten the Rangers too much. Benoit Pouliot came over late last year for Guillaume Latendresse and flourished - if he can keep it going he be a big threat for the Rangers.

Last Year: Saturday, October 24th 5-4 OT Habs win; Sunday, January 17th6-2 Ranger win; Saturday, January 23rd 6-0 Habs win; and Tuesday, March 16th 3-1 Habs win.

This Year: Tuesday, January 11th @ MSG; Saturday, January 15th in Montreal; Saturday, February 5th in Montreal; and Friday, March 18th @ MSG.

What They Mean To Blue: A rival for 85 years, there is no other team outside of the Atlantic Division who brings the kind of passion to MSG like the Habs do. Hopefully this season will see the Rangers finally keep the pressure on rather than being satisfied with momentary success.