The NYR Facts Of Life: #22 Brian Boyle

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #22, Brian Boyle.

#22's #s: 82 games, 21 goals, 14 assists, +2, 74 PIM (5 playoff games, no goals, no assists, -1, 6 PIM).

Take the good: The much-discussed skating lessons clearly helped as Boyle won himself a spot on the Rangers in camp. He had just four goals and two assists in '09-10 and blew both of those numbers away in '10-11. He played every single game in the campaign and shocked the world with 21 goals. He actually led the team in shots with 218 and had 11 points in 12 games in December. When put in the middle between Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko, Boyle helped provide the Rangers with one fantastic forechecking fourth line. Of course, they were used as the third - if not second - but that is the subject of another post. He combined with Mats Zuccarello to make one funny sight gag.

Take the bad: Boyle closed with just one goal in his last 24 games (including playoffs) despite firing off 74 shots. And he had all of three assists during that span. For all of his size, Boyle rarely planted himself in the slot and he is clearly not a fighter. He also won less than half of the faceoffs he took (48.5%).

Take them both and then we have: A player who took a huge stride in his career. Boyle earned nearly twice the ice time that he had the season before but the extra work and the extra responsibility wore on him. Teams started playing him tougher over the course of the year and, instead of simplifying his game, he tried to be fancy and he is not a fancy player. At no point - ever - should Boyle be attempting a blind pass or a spin-o-rama. The realization of that fact and a strong summer of training will help him prove his 35 points were no fluke.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #23 Chris Drury

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #23, the captain Chris Drury.

#23's #s: 24 games, one goal, four assists, +2, 8 PIM (five playoff games, no goals, one assist, even, 2 PIM).

Take the good: The Rangers respect their captain. Drury has lost a step and whatever scoring ability he had back in Buffalo but he - when healthy - continued to do all he could to help the team. He blocked some shots, laid some hits, took some faceoffs - Dru actually had a 65.5% faceoff winning percentage in the playoffs. Oh, and Dru scored a sweet goal in his first game back from his second injury - the last game of the regular season.

Take the bad: One goal in 24 games? And he even averaged 36 seconds of power play time ... what was Tortorella thinking? Drury missed 57 games due to his two injuries, but those weren't his fault and his absence actually helped the team grow. But he likely rushed back from both his bad finger and his bum knee because the team lost Ryan Callahan to injuries of his own. It was a selfless act to return, but Drury wasn't able to even be a shadow of the player he was three seasons ago. And when asked what he craves most, he said hot oil pizza and not another Stanley Cup. The captain should be hungry for victory, not for lunch.

Take them both and then we have: John Tortorella's Tim Taylor - a plugging fourth liner captain who leads by example. Just this time around, he is one that happened to make $8 million last year. In Tampa Taylor was the placeholder, donning the C during the span of time between Dave Andreychuk's retirement and Vincent Lecavalier's maturation. Now, Jagr was no Andreychuk but Ryan Callahan can be the kind of guy Lecavalier has turned into - a smart, strong, two-way player capable of leading his team deep into the playoffs. We won't know until Drury has either relinquished the captaincy, finished out his contract and moved on or was bought out by the brass. Let's hope we find out sooner rather than later.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #24 Ryan Callahan

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #24, Ryan Callahan.

#24's #s: 60 games, 23 goals, 25 assists, -7, 46 PIM.

Take the good: It would be easy to throw out the stats - Cally had set career highs in goals, assists and points despite missing 22 games, blah blah - but a quote sums it all up. I have always been of the belief that there is no higher praise than that from an enemy and after Callahan broke his ankle blocking a shot from Zdeno Chara, Chara told ESPN, "Callahan is a top-six guy, yet he still plays with so much heart and grit. You don't see many guys that throw their bodies around to block shots like that. He plays the game so hard. You have to respect a guy like that. I just hope that he's OK long term."

Take the bad: When Chara shoots the puck, get the hell out of the way! There is being brave and there is being stupid. Don't throw your life away young man! That's a joke, and is only intended as a joke. But it is something to fill this space as there was hardly any bad in Callahan's game.

Take them both and then we have: A young player who took another step towards seizing one of the biggest, toughest, most infuriating, most rewarding jobs in professional sports - captaincy of the New York Rangers. He showed a terrific combination of leadership, selflessness and skill this season and hopefully will only get better. He isn't there yet - his appearance on crutches before the Atlanta game should have inspired his team to a far better showing (they lost 3-0, to the Thrashers) - but it is plain to see that that C will adorn his sweater at some point. He's won us fans over, he just has to win his teammates the same way. And Chris Drury has to go, there is that too.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #25 Chad Kolarik

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #25, Chad Kolarik.

#25's #s: 4 games, no goals, one assist, -1, 2 PIM.

Take the good: Kolarik got the call in January and made a good impression in his first game - he played 8:48, assisted on Brandon Prust's goal and had four shots on net.

Take the bad: For a supposed scorer, those were the only four shots he had in his four game NHL cup of coffee. The guy may have been solid in the A - three goals and two assists in five playoff games with the Whale, after collecting 17 and 14 in 36 after his move from Springfield - but needed to show more to stay in the show. And it wasn't like he saw Corey Locke-like minutes - he played 11:47, 9:13 and 6:43 in his other three games, and even saw a little power play time. Brad Smyth anyone?

Take them both and then we have: An expiring contract. When the rough and tumble Dane Byers saw the writing on the wall that he wasn't in the Rangers plans he demanded a trade and he got one. In return we got the scorer Kolarik, an UFA this summer. But, if not for the injury bug that took Dubi and Feds in January, this guy wouldn't have seen the NHL any more than Byers would have. He could re-up and help the Whale along or head overseas but otherwise it isn't likely he will see Broadway anymore.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #26 Erik Christensen

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #26, Erik Christensen.

#26's #s: 63 games, 11 goals, 16 assists, 3, 18 PIM (5 games, one goal, no assists, even, 2 PIM).

Take the good: Dude has some skills, no denying that. His lone playoff point was one purty snipe (or one awful mistake by the goaltender, depending on how you look at it). Five shootout goals in eight attempts, three that won games. The Rangers were 9-1-0 when he tallied a goal. He had a streak of 12 points in nine games from February 25th to March 20th.

Take the bad: Mr. Softie the Backstabber? Oh where to start? He called out his own teammate in public, an unforgivable sin for someone with no standing; Mark Messier could do it, Erik Christensen? No. On a team that blocked so many shots, Christy put his body in front of 11 over 63 games (two in the playoffs). He averaged just over two minutes of power play time per regular season game and managed seven power play points. Seven. He had an 11 game goal drought as the regular season came to an end, his second longest streak (13 games straddling his late December injury). Actually, after said injury Christy didn't block a single shot in 25 of the next 26 games. The whole idea was to keep him around because of his chemistry with Gaborik but Gabby had an incredibly disappointing 23 goals (including playoffs); Christy assisted on five.

Take them both and then we have: Brad Richards' roster spot? He is under contract for one more year so he can spend the season being soft and underachieving with Grachev in Connecticut.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #27 Ryan McDonagh

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #27, Ryan McDonagh.

#27's #s: 40 games, one goal, eight assists, +16, 14 PIM (5 playoff games, no points, even, 4 PIM).

Take the good: For his first professional campaign, McDonagh was remarkably consistent. He put up nearly the same numbers in the NHL that he did in the A; he played 38 games in Hartford, had one goal and seven assists and was +1 with 12 PIM. But the numbers don't really tell the story: McD combined with Michael Sauer to give the Rangers a surprisingly stable and shockingly confident second defensive pairing. It was spectacular seeing him score his first NHL goal against the Devils, at the Garden.

Take the bad: Unlike Sauer, McD did have rookie moments. Perhaps they were due to the speed of the play around him, the fact he played far more games than he had with Wisconsin or were due to simply simple mental lapses, who knows? As long as he learned from them we will be ok. And while Matt Cooke's elbow was not his fault - at all - did he just have no idea that Cooke was coming?

Take them both and then we have: A reason to be thankful for Scott Gomez? Slam Sather all you like, he turned the MexiCan't (his own mistake) into Higgins - who became Prust - as well as late camp cut Pavel Valentenko and McD. At the time many said that Ryan was the steal of the deal and he proved it to be true, far faster than expected.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #28 Bryan McCabe

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #28, Bryan McCabe.

#28's #s: 19 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, -1, 6 PIM (5 playoff games, no goals, two assists, even, 14 PIM).

Take the good: All six of his regular season points came on the power play, which has to be a success compared to the fact that he had all of five power play points in 48 games with the Panthers. His goals came against the Isles and Flyers and we hate them, so that's good.

Take the bad: McCabe's thought process was as slow as his skating and he proved that he was not the man-advantage answer. Over his 24 total games the Rangers power play was 12-85, a 14% success rate that, for comparison, matched Columbus' season mark; the Blue Jackets ranked 29th in the NHL. McCabe saw more than three minutes of power play ice time in 19 of his 24 games; in the other five the team had just a total of five power plays. He saw less than 17:49 minutes of total ice time in 16 of his 19 regular season games (six were less than 15) and yet come playoff time he didn't play less than 17:50. Seeing as he hadn't played in the postseason since before the lockout and he was clearly not capable of containing the Caps, that makes no sense whatsoever.

Take them both and then we have: A failed experiment. The idea was good - MDZ failed and the Rangers needed a defenseman who could be a power play threat - but the execution was poor. The power play unit became even more predictable as the team insisted on setting him up for a big shot. When he didn't shoot it - which was too often - he could be pressured into choking up the puck. And adding a so-called 'veteran leader' that has never led anyone to any kind of success is not a recipe for success. The Rangers gave up Tim Kennedy and a third round draft pick in the coming draft for him. Kennedy could have helped the Whale in the playoffs (and thus helped get our prospects more valuable experience) while the pick ... we'll never know ...

The NYR Facts Of Life: #29 Chad Johnson

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to #29, Chad Johnson.

#29's #s: 1 period, 6.00 gaa (two goals against on 11 shots), .818 save %.

Take the good: Chad can tell all of his friends he played in the NHL this year.

Take the bad: They will still likely mock him for his performance. Johnson's lone NHL appearance came in that March 31st abomination on the Island. He came in to play the third period after Hank got the hook for allowing four straight goals in the second. Here are the lowlights, Chad is in at the 1:55 mark. DosNueve did not have John Tortorella's confidence and did nothing to gain it. Down at the Whale he played 40 games, had a 16-19-3 record with a 2.72 gaa and .901 save %.

Take them both and then we have: Perhaps the next Ranger goalie headed to Italy. Matt Zaba went that route this year after realizing he had no future with the franchise and Chad might soon follow, or at least head elsewhere. He is an RFA this summer and it is hard to imagine the Blueshirts bringing him back. Cam Talbot put up decent numbers behind Dov Grumet-Morris at the Whale, the Rangers signed Jason Missiaen, they have the rights to Scott Stajcer (who helped Owen Sound win the OHL title to advance to the Memorial Cup) and are all but certain to draft at least another goaltender this summer.

The NYR Facts Of Life: #30 Henrik Lundqvist

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. And this time around we started with the high numbers and are up to the King, #30, Henrik Lundqvist.

#30's #s: 68 games, 36-27-5, 2.28 gaa, .923 save %, 11 shutouts (5 playoff games, 1-4, 2.25 gaa, .917 save %).

Take the good: Hank led the NHL with 11 shutouts (a career high for him) and won more than 35 games for the fifth straight season. The Rangers got a lot of press for all of their blocked shots but that resulted in a lot of pucks deflected on goal and yet Hank still held his ground. He stood up to shot after shot (he had 18 games where he faced 35 or more) and finally physically defended his crease when he took down Max Pacioretty. Hank did not face any of the random ailments that popped up over the last few seasons (hips, headaches, knees, whatever) and gave the young Rangers the strong netminding they needed. He only got the hook three times all year and was strong enough to survive the stretch run without a real backup.

Take the bad: Because of the goal deficient team in front of him, Hank had to be close to perfect for the team to win and, thus, every one of his mistakes were magnified. And when he had bad nights, the Blueshirts were screwed - they lost every game where he allowed more than three goals. He - and the team for that matter - couldn't build any kind of momentum: he had just one win streak more than two games (a rip of five in mid-March). Torts had to sit him down at one point in November to get extra work with Benoit.

Take them both and then we have: The King. He played in 68 games, a total less than he had in any of the previous four seasons. The less work was ice but did not pay off as he couldn't Jon Casey the Rangers past the Caps in the playoffs. The occasional soft goals became more infrequent this season, perhaps as a result of his maturation or increased confidence in himself and his defenders. He survived the Rozsival era and made it though the MDZ mistakes only to have to deal with the defensively lacking Bryan McCabe. The last time Hank had a fully capable corps of defensemen in front of him he won the Olympic gold medal so let's hope that he will have some more help this fall.

Goodnight To The Boogeyman

As you've heard, the Rangers lost one of their own this weekend when Derek Boogaard passed away at his apartment in Minneapolis. He was just 28 years old.

After writing and re-writing this, there is simply no proper way for me to eulogize Boogey. To wax poetic would be disingenuous. The last words I wrote about Derek Boogaard were harsh, calling him a "lumbering loser." And I stand by them because he was, but that doesn't make the loss any less tragic.

Events like these are harsh slaps back to reality for when we get too myopic over this game we love. There was far more to the man than what we saw on Broadway this year, and far more even than the few lines in his obit about his charitable work imply. To see the depth of his impact just go over to the Hockey Wilderness and you can see how the massive man affected a massive number of people.

As for myself, I have just one good memory of the man and it wasn't a direct interaction: I remember Sean Avery being Sean Avery during warmups and yapping across the red line on at least three occasions. You could see just when Avery went too far. The opposing player got mad and then, like magic, the Boogeyman appeared and slid between the two. He didn't say anything. He didn't push Avery back. He didn't shove the opposing player. He just stood there on the red line with a little smirk, looking anywhere but at either of the agitated parties. It was hilarious.

Sincerest best wishes to his families, those by blood and those by puck. RIP Boogeyman.