37 posts tagged “new york rangers”

I apologize for how brief this is going to be. Last night was the Heroes premiere, and my tv jumped between both the show and the game. :)

The second part of the Home and Home was played at the Garden to a smaller than usual crowd. Of course, it's the preseason, to get the team warmed up and to help build Chemistry on some of the lines. We managed to win the game 2-1, thanks to a wrister by returning Ranger (for the time being anyway) Petr Nedved (sp?). We have a slew of games coming up this week. I'll update this as they go.

Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen!

When we last saw the Rangers, they suffered a brutal playoff series loss against Sidney "The Prince" Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. They left the ice defeated, their hopes for their fifth Cup win in 82 years crushed.

As the start of the NHL preseason looms (3rd week in Sept), life in the New York Rangers franchise has been odd as of late. We have our team, with some key losses. Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, Marek Malik, Sean Avery and (probably, as he hasn't been resigned) Brendan Shanahan won't be returning to the Blueshirts lineup.

Of those five, it's only Shanny and Avery I feel sad for. Shanahan wants to stay in New York. Having won the Stanley Cup in Detroit, he makes for a good leader. The only problem is that what the Rangers are looking for now (along with the league) is speed,speed, and a great shot. At 39, Shanahan only has the shooting. Still, I would hope that GM Glen Sather would reconsider having him on the team. Avery seemed to be the only player willing to get mad enough to do anything serious out there (though my stance on what he did with Brodeur is mixed - funny to see, and amazing how fast the league jumped on that. I will miss him. I think these New Rangers are more the result of Avery's antics and the rep we've earned more than anything else.

And yet, there's a bit of hope.

Even though they won't have Shanahan's sense of experience to lead them or Avery's attitude to get them riled up, there are at least three others to help carry the team. Both Chris Drury and Scott Gomez have returned for another season with the Rangers. With 3 Cups under his belt with the Devils, Gomez knows what's in store for the team. And Drury...well, if it wasn't for the third guy, he'd be the best possible contender for the Captaincy.

I'm not exactly sure when it was decided, but someone woke up and said "Hey, why not Markus Naslund for the Rangers?" Don't get me wrong. Naslund's probably a great leader in Vancouver, but if he couldn't get most of those guys to a Cup win or a better standing in the playoffs, who's to say he'll be able to get the Rangers anywhere. Some are hailing it as the Deal tha brings the Cup home (many of those are coming from Rangers fans so desperate for hope, we could sign Alex Trebek on as a coach, and they'd think it would be the start of a Stanley Cup Dynasty for us), but looking at it realistically, I'd have to wait until Nazzy actually takes to the ice and shows us something worth dancing over. Maybe it's years of watching this team get close and fail, or maybe I'm jaded from all the faded colors that are in the 1994 replays. I just want to see results before I start predicting.

One good thing the Management's done is to increase our defense strength. With Wade Redden coming over from the Senators and Kalinen (sp?) from wherever he was, this will hopefully set the stage for a stronger defense. I hope it works, I really do.

We've also picked up Nikolai Zherdev from the Columbus Blue Jackets, and from watching highlight videos on youtube, he can move and score. Howevern, it was pointed out that it's not exactly a consistant thing. Let's hope that he finds a rhythm here. As far as netminding goes, we still have the tag team of Lundqvist and Valliquette, which worked out really well last year. Things really shouldn't change on that front.

The preseason starts around the 20th. For those of you who play the EA NHL 09 game, I'll be around there. I'll give updates when possible.

Word on the grapevine states that we're already letting Sean Avery go. Basically the energy point of the team, Avery proved to be both a bonus to his team in terms of goals and motivation, and a pain to his managers on everything else. For nothing else, the league will probably remember him for getting under goaltender Marty Brodeur's skin during the Playoffs. This was an incident that led to the creation of the Avery Rule ( where players are not allow to hang out in front of goalies and annoy them. I'll remember him for the time he sat in our section (the nosebleeds) while being out with a sore wrist. He taked to and took pictures with the fans. He was definitely one of us, and I hope that we'll be able to hold onto him longer.

Jagr, on the other hand, I can't wait to see him go. Supposedly, a super league in Russia (where their dollar is strong) is willing to pay Jagr roughly 11 million bucks to play out there for a few seasons. He hasn't made a decision yet, but its coming down the pipe.

I'll mention what's up as I find it out.

So, we're done. An overtime goal by Marian Hossa sealed the deal.

I think the saddest thing was seeing Goalie Henrik Lundqvist in tears right after realizing the puck got past him. It reminded me of J.S. Giguere, who said after winning the Conn Smythe in his loss against the Devils, "I wanted the other one." After all the games, fights and struggles, it ends like that. That image is going to be stuck in my head for a while.

There were some strange calls-Drury got hit in the face and drew blood, something that would normally cause a 4 minute minor. Nothing was called. Yet, when something similiar occured for the Pens, 4 minute power play for them.

From here, a number of decisions will need to be made:
-Will Jagr and Shanny stay or go?
-Which players are going to go during the offseason?
-What about Renney?

These and more will be posted as I hear about anything. :) In the meantime, there's still Hockey to watch, even if our team isn't the one playing it.

"So here we are, alone on the raggedy edge..."
-Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), Serenity (2005?, Whedon)

Imagine a car with a cracked engine, torn fuel line, worn fanbelt and a klutzy alternator. This is the state of the Rangers today.

-Sean Avery, recuperating at St. Vinny's with the ruptured Spleen.

- Blair Betts, getting surgery on his eyebone (don't recall the medical term for it, my apologies)

- Chris Drury, problem with his torso, but was in the morning practice.

I just hope that as people with families, they have the sense to pause and avoid further injury. Getting the Cup is good, but not at the expense of ending ones career.

We've also brought up a few kids from the Hartford, so who knows? This could either be Jagr's and Shanahan's final bows or it could be the start of an amazing miracle. Even if this becomes the only game we win in this series, it will at least scar what would be a perfect playoff season for the Penguins.

Let's see what happens, shall we?

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Unknown.

I found out from D.R.'s Comment (Thanks and confirmed with Yahoo) that Sean Avery was rushed to St. Vincent's last night with what Glen Sather is calling a lacerated spleen. No word yet on how he's doing, but he'll be out for the rest of the year, I'm thinking.

I have absolutely no idea what happened. last night. We played like we were tired and just wanted it all to end. We now stand with our backs to the wall, with only two hockey teams ever climbing from a 0-3 deficit (The Leafs and Islanders). Even my confidence is hurt on this one, and I didn't even play.

What's sad is that at two of our guys may not come back. We all know about Jaromir Jagr's contract being up and his possibly leaving for Prague. For the playoffs, though, he seemed to wake up and play some great hockey. Brendan Shanahan's also going to consider retiring, as he's about 38 and the game tends to wear on the knees. He's talked about coming back for another season, but that remains to be seen. Either way, tomorrow could be their final games as Rangers or as players in the NHL.

Jay pointed out something to me regarding what both Renney and Lundqvist said. They both stated that they thought we didn't play bad last night. On the one hand, that cushions things for some of the younger players we have. We want them to feel as if they have something to contribute ( which of course they do). At the same time, we're looking for everyone to dig deep and understand that even when you think you given your all, you'd be suprised to find there more left in the tank. Yeah, we didn't play bad, and we can afford to lose a game or two in the regular season.

The goal in the Playoffs is just so much bigger, though. They don't say "Win or Go Home" for nothing. Just settling for "well, we weren't bad" isn't always great if you're unwilling to acknowledge the mistakes made (if any), regroup and come back.

So. What do we do now?

My boss has this saying he found. I don't know who said it, but it goes something like this:

"People can be remarkable when they believe they can do things. Those who believe they can accomplish their goals have already started on the path to success.".

We play one more game, maybe more if we're lucky. We keep trying. Impossible or bleak as it may appear, there still exists one more chance. The belief (or faith, if you choose to look at it as such) that this team could still climb out of the hole they're in is the first step. If they don't see it, we've already lost. A great deal of work (more than they may have ever known this season) is the next and bigger step.

I suppose that's easy to say, though, sitting on the other side of the glass. Tom Renney seems to believe this, though I'm not sure about the rest of the team. We lost leads due to our own mistakes, strange calls and a bit more speed in the Penguins favor. We'll just have to see what happens.

And if it doesn't work out, then there will probably be some rebuilding involved. This group will hit a quiet zone (as we would need to wait for the rest of the Playoffs to finish before seeing what kind of deals are going to be made coming down the pipe. Of Course, if I hear anything, I'll be sure to shout it out.
There's always another season starting on my birthday. :)

During my walk in Manhattan last night, I made my way to the NHL store. In the window, they had two mannequins: one in a Pens Jersey and the other in the Rangers one. That was cute.

What really caught my eye was the Montreal - Philadelphia game that was on all the tv screens there. In the last minute or so, it looked like Montreal pulled their goalie. The result of this was a madcap sliding/smacking/cracking and dishing by the Flyers. Now, I'm not a fan of these guys, but one has to respect the desperation they brought to that final minute.

And you know what? It paid off-they got the win and now lead their series, 2-1.

As for the Rangers, no more speeches. They know what the situation is. The game is tonight at 7pm on MSG, 1050 AM ESPN radio (if you're in New York) or streamed audio via NHL.com.

Let's Go Rangers!!!!

That one goal by Martin Straka should have been considered good, but it wasn't. It would have tied the game if it did.

We took a chance in pulling Lundqvist but let the puck get out of the zone. That's entirely the Rangers fault.

That brings us to now. What have the Rangers learned?

Well, hopefully it's that if they really want this, they're going to have to go for it, tooth and nail.

We find ourselves down 2-0 in this series, just as we did last year with Buffalo. Winning in Pittsburgh is hard, but perhaps the Home Ice Advantage can give us something on an edge here (though we'll still need to rely on some strong effort by the team). Before anyone starts calling this the end of the postseason, remember that we had a similar problem with the Buffalo Sabres last season, but managed to get the two games at home. Granted, we managed to lose that one in Buffalo - because of Chris Drury - but it goes to prove that anything can happen in Hockey.

The more I watch this series, the angrier I get at seeing Sidney Crosby on the ice. I'm not saying he's not good, but as the league's media darling, it almost feels as if everyone wants to see him win this thing (and is trying to move things in a position where this is the case). Of course, this is me being bitter. I look at Crosby and I see half of the kids I've played with on XBox Live. Kids who relish the idea of using every trick in the book to get a desired result (even if it breaks the rules) and then pat themselves on the back when it works out. Then again, I can't say we haven't done the same thing with Sean Avery and Martin Brodeur. I can't call out the Penguins without recognizing our own actions on the ice.

Ugh. Shooting for the Cup makes one do some strange things, I guess.

Okay, next goal for the Rangers (which I'm sure Renney is bringing up in between tearing up the locker room) is just to win tomorrow's game. Easier said than done, I know, but that's what the tapes of earlier games are for. While Crosby and Malkin are good, they aren't hockey gods, and we shouldn't look at them as such. This team can be beat. Forget the refs, forget power plays. The league won't give the team any help (nor should they, for that matter), so let's not expect any luck. We attack them and let them chase us.

We just keep trying. Simple as that.

Let's Go Rangers!!!!

Tonight, the New York Rangers will make their second Second Round appearance in three years as they face off against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Daily News is saying we can take them in six. I'm hoping it could happen in seven. The bottom line is that the Blueshirts have to concentrate on tonight and that seems to be where their collective minds are set. One game at a time, one goal at a time.

We don't have all the advantages we had with the Devils. It's hard to fill up Pittsburgh's seats, considering the diastance. Jagr's going to get both booed by the Pens fans and focused on by Ruutu and the other defensive lines. This could work to our favor. All the focus on Jagr could mean that the younger players (like Brandon Dubinsky or Nigel Dawes) could break out for a scoring run. Anything's possible in Hockey.

Pittsburgh has managed to acquire an impressive lineup in many of its stars. Their team is built to go for the Cup, but then again, so is ours. These teams are pretty much related. Sykora and Dupuis were both Rangers once, and Jagr and Straka were both Penguins once. Marc and Jordan Stahl (I believe its these two...there are four brothers out there) are squaring off against each other, which should prove interesting (though it's been said that their mom isn't too happy having to watch one of her boys take the fall).

The game starts tonight at 7pm on Versus. Right after that will be the other Lundqvist (Joel) and the Dallas Stars against Thorton, Roenick, Marleau and the San Jose Sharks in their own game one.

Let's go Rangers!!!!