Isles Sink Rangers in "Short" Order

KEY RANGERS:

Lundqvist: His sharpness wasted by the Rangers awful effort on the PP
The Fourth Line: 0-0-0 but solid performance nonetheless

Michal Rozsival: Earned $60,975.61 setting up two Islanders goals.


FIRST PERIOD:
The Rangers brought their lunch pails early getting pucks deep and going to work. The game was a bit sleepy early on but slowly the Rangers' attack got going. Hustle and hard work earned them their chances but unfortunately they weren't able to cash in on any of them.

A LITTLE SIDENOTE:
The fourth line has been one of the Rangers' best lately. Good for them, but that probably also means we should all be afraid, very, very afraid. No, honestly, they've been great at even strength and Betts and Sjostrom have been outstanding on the kill.

[Via Yahoo!]

SECOND PERIOD:
The good guys seemed to have the puck almost the entire period. They launched shot after shot toward Joey MacDonald but were denied each time.

In total he stopped 18 Rangers attempts -- probably another eight or ten were fired wide -- none better than the head-high glove save he made on Michal Rozsival's blast.

But this is still a guy with 17 NHL games of experience to his credit before this season being made to look like the second coming of Patrick Roy uhh.. well, at least Patrick Lalime circa 2002-03. [I knew there was some type of Patrick involved.]

[PL: Not gonna lie, don't really appreciate your snide little comment.]
[Via BBC]

Even with his clutch performance, the Rangers had this team on the ropes -- one that played and went to overtime the night before -- and should have stuck the dagger in sometime during the frame.

Instead, they failed on their second power play opportunity and left the door wide open for some sort of nauseating conclusion. I'm just waiting at this point for the odd carom or awful turnover that gift-wraps this game for the visitors.

THIRD PERIOD:

It didn't take long for the nauseating moment. The Rangers earn an early man advantage but clearly should have declined.

[No, thanks.]

The Pepto Bismol Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea Player of the Game goes to Michal Rozsival manning the point on the power play.

He gets beat along the outside by Nate Thompson, a former sixth-rounder no one's heard of, who ends up making a terrific play to bat the puck out of the air and into the net after the initial bid.

On the next power play Rozsival -- already demoted to the 2nd unit for his earlier misadventure -- tries to force a pass back to Mara at the other point that's picked off by Richard Park.

Those, kids, are the league-leading 4th and 5th shorties given up by the Rangers.

Rozsival looks like the scapegoat here-- which he kind of is as that pass was all sorts of awful -- but the real bad guy here is the atrocious Rangers powerplay, now 29th in the NHL.

[Rozsival is making at least $500 bucks just skating away dejectedly]

If it could have scored Saturday, the Rangers likely coast to a 3-0 win over the Leafs instead of being embarassed in the third. 

If it could have come through for just one goal here tonight, the Islanders' collective will could have been broken. Instead the Rangers are exposed for what they are -- a flawed team -- and they throw away another two points that should've been in the bag.

The power play is stagnant and predictable. Forwards are flying out to pressure the points -- knowing the Ranger point men are gun-shy -- and they're forcing the Rangers to cough it up.

If someone had the ability to back off those forwards with a heavy point shot and great passing ability when the lane isn't there -- Wade Redden, are you still alive? We miss you at Rangers games -- the power play could be a lot more effective.  

As it stands I'm going to keep using this picture until it no longer applies to how I feel after Rangers games:

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Uhh.. Can We Have a Do-Over?

Penalties aside, early on the boys were playing the kind of game we'd want to see:

No turnovers, little to no carelessness with the puck and a fair amount of hard work. They weren't dominating offensively as a handful of penalties kept them from really generating on that end, but they led 1-0 after one nonetheless.

[Ryan Callahan's wrister finds the back of the Toronto net via Toronto Sun]

Then they played the kind of game we expect to see:

They were sloppy with the puck and started getting hemmed in a bit. A shift by the fourth line helped right the ship, though.

Ranger beat writers probably had 75% of their stories written before the Leafs took some liberties with the game's plot line.

Accolades were likely already typed up for the fourth line that started sluggishly -- Sjostrom taking a penalty in the first -- but recovered, putting in hard-working shift after hard-working shift. 

The trio, which won all sorts of battles and races for loose pucks, eventually broke through when Blair Betts scored the Blueshirts' second goal.

More praise for Steven Valiquette's stellar understudy job was probably scrawled on notepads and hammered out on computer keys. 

He had stopped twenty-nine shots and looked destined for another big win -- not to mention shutout -- in his own backyard.

The game looked securely in control for your heroes. This game might even have been a model to point to on how to get certain things done Tom Renney's way.

Then the re-write began.

The Leafs suddenly got to all the loose pucks. They started beating Valiquette like the Shooter-Tutor of their youth. They fired seven shots on goal in a span of 5:21, five of which beat Valley. 

Five. Goals. In. Five. Minutes.  Ugh.



Valiquette could have should have had at least two of the shots -- Jason Blake's low deflection and probably the first Mitchell tally. But he stopped almost nothing in that frantic five minutes and the Rangers had two standings points yoinked right out of their pockets.

I'm not even sure how to explain how this one went down, but I do know this:

The Rangers are going to lose games.  They're going to blow leads.  They're also going to learn lessons if they intend to go anywhere this year and into this spring.  

That's what they have to do.  Learn something from this five-minute-long mistake and go back to winning hockey games with sound, defensive play.

Let's see what kind of houseguests the Islanders make for on Tuesday.

 

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Zherdev's Zesty Backhander Zings Thrashers

Another game, another fairly sluggish start and more of the lax puck management that caused them problems in the first period on Long Island.

They let the Thrashers jump out to a 1-0 lead before Markus Naslund zipped a wrister past Kari Lehtonen at 12:35. 

So, they continued the recent trend of a sleepy open followed by an awakening team doing enough to snuff out a lesser one.  Even so, there are some big positives to pull from the game.

Naslund was again a factor--for the fifth game in a row--as he was able to create in the offensive end for himself and for Chris Drury.

Most impressive of all, however, was the artistry of of Nik Zherdev.  

The kid played extremely well defensively.  His full-on sprint and dive to deny Slava Kozlov a breakaway was simply beautiful and he also swiped the puck before roofing a nasty backhander to tie the game at two.  His speed and skill helped create Dan Girardi's game-winner as well.  

Is there anyone out there still not convinced about the trade that brought Zherdev to Broadway?  I think even Fedor Tyutin would say the Rangers got a steal.  Awesome.

[Via ESPN]

KEY RANGERS:
Nikolai Zherdev 1-1-2 | +2 Filthy is the only word that comes to mind
Dan Girardi 1-0-1 | +1 20:58 TOI; 2 hits

Markus Naslund 1-0-1 | +1

Partially because I don't have a lot more to offer up on this game and partially because he reeks of greatness, another video clip of Nik Zherdev doing this thing:

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"Dom"-inating Shift

Dominic Moore turned in the shift of his life in the third period of yesterday's Devils-Leafs game. He and his fourth-string linemates kept the puck in the Devils end for a full minute. About a quarter-mile of skating, twenty changes in direction, four DM shot attempts and a whole lot of awesome later, Jamal Mayers punched home a rebound of a Moore shot and tied the game with just under 11 minutes to go.

[Impressive. Most Impressive.]

The goal marked the second time of the game that the Leafs were able to overcome a deficit and tie the game up. They rallied for three straight goals after the Devils went up by a pair only to allow the Devils two more. Goals were going in left and right and bouncing off just about anything they possibly could in front of the net.

As a Ranger fan, there's always something special about all those pucks ending up behind Martin Brodeur.

This monster of a shift by Mayers-Moore-Hollweg wrestled the game's momentum away from the Devils and the Leafs were able to carry it shift-to-shift. They went back on the attack and drew a penalty.

Sure enough, 35 seconds later, Ponikarovski beats Brodeur with a wrister from the top of the circle.

The disgusted sigh that the  ever-impartial Chico Resch let out while describing the replay says it all.

The Devils answered right back. Martin fired a hard, low shot that Zubrus deflected. The tip seemed to throw off Toskala and Parise roofed the rebound like the disappointing last hit in a sandlot game of baseball that carried into the mean, crotchety old neighbor's yard never to be seen again. I don't know what that means, but I'm still pissed that guy has all my tennis balls. Give them back!

I was watching the right game here, right? Ten goals is about two and a half weeks worth of Devils games. That was great.

The Shootout comes up and, it must be Christmas, two more goals get by Martin Brodeur, including a nifty one by Nik Hagman who skated in on Brodeur backwards part of the way [almost a la Martin St. Louis] and backhanded the puck home.



Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Drive home safely several dozen fans in attendance at the Rock.

Hats off to former Blueshirt Dominic "Don't Make Puns Using My Name Into Titles" Moore.

[DM: I hate you]

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The Debate That Won't Go Away

There was recently an article over at The Manic Ranger Fan that tore into Sidney Crosby and proclaimed Alex Ovechkin the hands-down choice as the NHL's best player. I don't quite agree.

To argue that Alex Ovechkin is unquestionably the better hockey player doesn't really make a lot of sense. They offer different things.

[Via The Baltimore Sun]

Alex is a far more exciting player most of the time and will always have more natural goal-scoring ability than Sidney.

Though, if you think Crosby lacks in exciting moments, this highlight I saw in person might change some opinions:



It certainly proves that Ovie’s not the only one who can create some magic.

Crosby's firy personality rarely shines through in front of the cameras and instead comes out in four- and five-letter bursts of expletives. With his more extroverted personality, A.O. will always be the more entertaining of the two off the ice as his TV spots and summer of speeding past the White House make clear:

Ovie Commercial:


Interview Picked up by Puck Daddy:
Who in your team is known as crazy driver? About whom are the legends made?

The legends are made about Semin and me! I normally try to drive carefully. Only once, because I was late to the team's training, I accelerated to 165 miles per hour. You can convert yourself how much it is in kilometers. And the flying ended, the police stopped me near White House.

Did you get a fine?

I've exceeded the speed limit in more than three times, for that in the United States a fine is not enough. They take your license and put you in jail. But I was lucky. The police recognized me and let me go. I gave them 10 tickets that I had with me to the Washington Capitals game.

--------------------------------------------

As important as hilarity is to me, though, the fact remains that Alex will never be as complete a player as No.87.

Crosby plays solid defense and can kill penalties.

He is one of the top three in the league at making artful setups for teammates. Only Joe Thornton and Marian Hossa rival his passing ability.

The majority of Ovechkin's assists are pucks that rebound off the goalie's pillows.

Sid is incredibly strong on the puck. That part of his game is very underrated. Ovechkin wins in the physicality department by a hefty margin, but Crosby's no pushover. Literally. Watch defensemen try to knock him off the puck. It doesn't happen too often.

If we want to compare the stats, Seth at Empty Netters already put them together. One of his readers created a comparison between the two and Evgeni Malkin.

He couldn't come to a conclusion, but he did say if you want a certain type of a player choose Crosby, if you want another, choose Ovechkin and if you want a player with elements of both take Malkin. I'd agree. They're the top three players, but the order you'd arrange them depends on your team's needs.

He also extrapolated their stats into full-season averages:

If you want to go on simple production, Crosby wins out on a points-per-game basis. And I also feel he wins out in most of the areas I mentioned above. Alex dominates on goals scored, but if he’s not scoring goals, what is he doing? Crosby on the other hand scores, sets up his teammates to do the same and is a solid, two-way player.

Don't get me wrong, I love them both. They both truly deserve the label of “great.” That word gets tossed around too much, but for these guys it’s accurate.

If the Rangers won that fateful lottery and took Crosby first overall, there'd be a lot of Rangers fans singing a different tune.

There's no way to say definitively that one guy's better than the other, but I know which of the two I'd want on my team through a Cup run. There's no question of that.

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Just Imagine When They Start Playing Well...

The Rangers had one of their worst periods of the season in the first frame Monday night on the Island. The official stats sheet says the Rangers only turned the puck over 10 times all game but I'm pretty sure I counted that many cough-ups in the first alone.

Only luck and Lundqvist—and a lack of finish from the fishsticks—got them to the first intermission without facing a huge deficit.



If the contest was indeed a trap game, the Rangers did their best Wile E. Coyote impersonation and stomped all over the thing until they just about fell into the hole themselves.

[Meep! Meep!]

Renney's words from the after the Stars game applied in the first period and I'm sure will apply time and time again as the season progresses:

We were stupid. It's not a case of one guy trying to beat four. You have to share the workload up the ice. Eight, ten, twelve foot passes [and] get pucks in behind. [You] get on top of that. Then you're able to get on the hunt.

Without those concepts in mind and without far better puck management, the Blueshirts can play some pretty terrible hockey.

The Rangers started making more intelligent plays with the puck--mostly--and took over in the second half of the game with Renneyisms like that likely being whispered into their ears at the bench. When they play smart, look out. The only problem is they only do that about 20-30 minutes a game.

I've said Drury and Naslund were coming out of the fog. They delivered more proof tonight. Now with Scotty buzzing along--as he has been for weeks--Drury and Naslund simmering up, and Henrik Lundqvist delivering Vezina-worthy performances night in and night out, the Rangers are starting to look more legitimate..ish.

That being said, he goaltending will probably cool down at some point--at least for some amount of time--and the scoring isn't exactly dependable yet. They just need to play a more intelligent game.

It also wouldn't kill them to pop in an instructional video on faceoffs. Outside of Scott Gomez, they were awful at the faceoff dots last night. If they want to play a puck possession game, someone should tell them, it helps if you have the puck.

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Shanahan Makes It Official

That Brendan Shanahan would no longer be a New York Ranger has been a foregone conclusion for quite some time now. For those Shanny fans who had still been holding out hope, the last embers of that flame were snuffed out today.

Shanahan told Larry Brooks at the New York Post that his wait for a cap space-creating move by Glen Sather is over:

The 39-year-old unsigned right wing who'd been advised for months by GM Glen Sather to "sit tight" in anticipation of both a roster spot and salary-cap space opening up to create an avenue for his return to Broadway, Shanahan is no longer doing so.

Nearly four months after becoming a free agent, Shanahan is putting himself onto the open market.

"I've told Rick [Curran] that I can no longer wait and that it's time to move on," Shanahan, referring to his agent, told The Post this afternoon. "Until now, Rick has been under instructions to tell inquiring teams that my focus was on re-signing with the Rangers, and that I was not accepting any other offers.

"That has changed."

Like I said when the Rangers season ended last spring, Brendan was a solid Ranger--as his 52-56-108 over the prior two seasons attests to--and he did so for a bargain-basement price of about $4m a season. Needless to say, he was well worth the cash.

That being said, his productivity dipped with age and injuries and the time had come for Brendan and the Rangers to move on.

That part of the decision I have no problem with. Leaving the guy on hold for the entire summer and a full month of the season, that's another story. If he was a real part of plan, Glen Sather's gotta get the moves done and open up a roster spot.

If he never was, then Jesus, let the guy know. Not for nothing but the guy only has so much left in the tank pushing 40-years-old. Didn't he do enough to merit an answer one way or the other?

Well, in any case, best of luck to Shanny. Someone will make a pretty wise signing in picking him up and another fan base will attach itself to a lovable legend.


[Via Skate2Stick.com]

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Weekend Warriors... Pt. 2

KEY BLUESHIRTS:
The MSG faithful are hungrily waiting for a victim, a scapegoat. They always seem to need one. They're ready to boo and assail with insults at a moment's notice. I don't want anyone on the current team to be that guy, least of all Markus Naslund or Chris Drury. Luckily for them, the other half of the weekend's action was another step in the right direction.

DRURY / NASLUND:     1-2-3 [combined] | +1
SCOTT GOMEZ:     0-1-1 | +1 | 9 SOG
HENRIK LUNDQVIST:  27 saves & 3 in the SO 
NIKOLAI ZHERDEV:    1-0-1 | +1 | God among men

DRURY was solid.  He created a bit, passed well--was awful on faceoffs, but we'll ignore that--and notched the above-mentioned assist.  

NASLUND did what the Ranger power play could not with an earlier advantage and a full two minutes of five-on-three: get to the net and score a gritty goal.  Forget being fancy, just get it done.  That he did.  He's slowly but surely getting the wheels churning.   He's got a three-game point scoring streak going.  No other Ranger can say that.

GOMEZ has been flying since Tom Renney shuffled the deck a bit and penciled in Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan on his wings.  His speed and patience are just amazing as he rushes the puck up ice.  It's a rare occasion when a forechecker is able to take the right angle on him and stop him from getting up ice.  

His skating would be more than enough to keep me happy most games, but he just creates so much with his passing ability. He set up Blueshirts for chances all night long, including Markus Naslund who buried the PPG in the third.

LUNDQVIST was outstanding yet again.  No slow start for Henke this season.  He's tops in wins with six, 4th in GAA [1.99] and his .926 sv % is good for 7th in the NHL. The saves he made in Overtime--we might just have to look at one or two of them--not only saved this game, but more likely than not made every young, beautiful single woman in Manhattan tingly in the lady parts.  Just incredible.

ZHERDEV - I have not hidden my man crush on Nikolai in the least. I've even told a friend recently that one of the goals in life is to give Nik Zherdev a fist pound for being an awesome human being. My friend's life goal--motorboating Jessica Simpson--is quite a bit loftier. It puts mine to shame.

Jessica: Not happening, sir.

I've been enamored with the kid since the day we got him. As much as I liked Fedor Tyutin, I would've driven him and Christian Backman to the airport myself if it would've gotten Nikolai here quicker.

I've mentioned his little moments of Garden magic in this space and have looked at them as an omen of things to come.  I didn't see something this ridiculous on the way, though. Not this soon at least.

Nik & Henrik dominate:

This will be the moment that endears Nikky to the hearts of Rangers followers. It's the hockey equivalent of Giambi's 14th-inning grand slam back in 2002 that won over so many Yankees fans. Those No.13 jerseys are going to sell like hotcakes.

HONORABLE MENTION:
FREDERIK SJOSTROM is slowly becoming the Rangers answer to guys like Jussi Jokinen, Erik Christensen and Kris Letang. "Shoey" notched his second straight shootout game-winner. Though, when told he surprised Marc-Andre Fleury with the shot, Sjostrom responded that "I surprised me [too]." He might not have placed it exactly where he wanted, but the puck got in the net, the Rangers got their two points and they passed this weekend's tests with flying colors.

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Weekend Warriors... Pt. 1

The Rangers faced a number of tests this weekend in a pair of tilts against the Blue Jackets and Penguins:

First, they needed to stop the bleeding. They had lost three of four, didn't score a single goal in their lone victory against the Leafs and their only really solid outing was last Saturday's game against the Red Wings.

Secondly, they needed to get production from two of the quietest Rangers this season, Markus Naslund and Chris Drury. To that end they shuffled up the lines a bit during practice during the week, moving Nikolai Zherdev to the wing on a line with the two, aforementioned slackers. [I kid, I kid. Mostly.]

Lastly, the two games were both litmus tests in a sense.  The Rangers were beyond abysmal last year against the West, with just a single win in ten games.  Prior to the Jackets game, they had already matched that number of wins [Woo!], and showed how well they could hang with the class of the Western Conference last weekend.  

Beating Columbus would further prove this team won't roll over and die against Clarence Campbell Conference clubs. [That's alliteration out the wazoo.  Ha!]  

The second game was probably a larger test simply because the Penguins are one of maybe two teams to beat in the East.  If you can roll with the guys wearing 87 and 71, you're in good shape.

Well, let's see how all of that went down.

---

The Rangers passed the first test of the weekend, picking up two points after falling behind early to the Blue Jackets.

Drury:  0-1-1  | +2
Naslund: 0-2-2 | +2

Zherdev: 1-2-3  | +2

DRURY was huge in setting up the Rangers' marker that tied the game at one. He did some diligent work along the wall, the puck found it's way to Zherdev who patiently controlled through the high slot before dishing the puck to the eventual goal-scorer, Dan Girardi. He also drew a penalty, created a fair amount of offense and was generally more apparent than he has been . He seems to be coming out of his early-season fog.

NASLUND was also a good deal better than he has been lately. With his goal against the Stars and the pair of helpers he picked up tonight, it's fair to say that he's starting to put it together as well. His game isn't where it needs to be, but compared to his ghost-like play in the slate of games since Prague, he's made obvious strides.

ZHERDEV was the best of the three--not just for his three points or the fact that he served up a warm little slice of "shut it" to those in the crowd booing him all night:

He created offense for both himself and his linemates, threw a few hefty checks that caused Jackets to cough up the puck and showed that in a big game--which I'm sure this was for him--that he can perform.

---

A similar look at the Rangers-Penguins game to come.

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Pane in the Glass

Mmm.. Bad puns...

Just because it's awesome.  Saw it on On The Fly: Final, but H/T to Puck Daddy for the Youtube goodness:

There were some amazing saves and slick goals tonight, but no highlight from the seven games on the NHL's slate will top that.

The legend of Milan Lucic continues to grow in Boston.

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All We Need Is Just A Little Patience...

I know that reporters have stories to write and column-inches to fill, but they also have incredibly short-term memories.

This story about Drury in the Post--by way of Kukla's Korner is all over Drury's sluggish start to this season.

Mark Hale offers up this analysis:
He’s also at minus-five through nine games. That’s the worst mark on the Rangers.
Heading into tomorrow’s game in Columbus, the 32-year-old captain is very much struggling. Drury’s managed a not-so-grand total of one point this year, thanks to paltry stats of no goals and one assist.

“I’m getting there. Nothing’s really clicking too good right now,” Drury said after practice on Tuesday. “But obviously importantly our record is pretty darn good and that’s what this is all about.

Well there's very little that's not true in the piece. He is struggling. The only problem is that there's no mention the start Drury had last year. He was a touch more productive early on, but was only 3-10-13 and a -3 through the first quarter or so of the season.

Writers were then--as they are now--on him like no other. In the next 60 games, however, Drury put up 45 points and five game-winning goals.

He's gotten more chances the last few games and his play has stood out much more. If Markus Naslund gets his act together, and starts consistently getting chances of his own--and there's hope for that considering the last game--points will start to rack up for Chris.

It just might be a bit early to make a judgment call on the guy, though. Don't you think?

We'll see plenty more of this before all is said and done. We just need a little patience.

Axl Rose knows what I'm talking about:

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Better Late Than Never... Pt. II

KEY PLAYERS:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18th
NYR @ DETROIT:



DAWES-GOMEZ-CALLAHAN:

Dawes: Obviously scoring banks you some credit, but even if he hadn't scored he had a solid game in my book. Dawes was very apparent for the second game in a row. Early on, none of the forwards rotating in and out of the third line wing spot did much of anything to solidify their place on the roster. Nigel's starting to get it done. He created chances, hit and didn't fade into the background.

Gomez: Scotty picked up a pair of assists and just couldn't be stopped once he got the wheels going. He created chance after chance for his line both by rushing the puck and dishing it off to his mates.

This was probably one of his best efforts of the year, but sadly more might remember him for giving up the puck to Pavel Datsyuk in overtime just before the second Marian Hossa metaphorical crotch knock in the last five months:



This is a much less depressing visual aid for a crotch knock:


[Oh, that video somehow makes it all better.]

Callahan: Ry-guy scored a big goal for the Blueshirts tonight. If the tide kept going the way it had been early on, fugghedaboutit.

[Ay, oh!]

Uhh..  Anyway, after that very relevant detour...  

Callahan was fairly effective and did about as much as one can with 15 and change in ice time. Not as physical as some might like him to be, but we'll let it slide. You do have to kind of shake your head at Cally never turning around on the OT goal to pick someone up. Staring at the puck-carrier behind the net isn't going to do a whole lot if you don't take a peek around to see who's coming.

ZHERDEV-DUBINSKY-VOROS:

Zherdev: Nikky had his typical make-you-scramble-to-hit-rewind and figure how what he just did moments, but didn't get himself on the scoresheet with any goals or assists. He came close and created some offense, but didn't find twine.

Dubinsky: Dubi was given space to carry the mail and he used it. He got the puck up ice and got shots on goal. Four of them as a matter of fact. He also threw the body around quite a bit. He ended up racking up assists on both Voros tallies.

Voros: More of the good stuff from the big guy. Reason dictates that he can't keep it up, but who really cares? Go screw, Reason. He had a handful of scoring chances, worked his tail off as per his M.O. and scored two gritty, blue-collar goals. Does any really miss Sean Avery?

KORPIKOSKI-DRURY-NASLUND:

If this were the Pensblog, we'd be issuing the amber alert right about now. Usually it's just for one guy, but Chris Drury is gone too. Absolute non-factors in this game. Uh, minus the fact they were on for those two, quick, wham-bam-thank-you-maam Detroit goals in the first. Ugh. No good.

SJOSTROM-BETTS-ORR

Sjostrom: "Shoey" was solid. One really memorable play comes to mind from about eight minutes into the first. He showed off some great strength along the wall behind the Detroit net. He kept the puck until he found and opening and tried a wraparound to Osgood's left. It was just kept out and just mised by Colton Orr out in front.

Betts: Is it just me or have the Rangers been really crappy on faceoffs lately after starting off really well?

Orr: This thought I had during the 3rd sums up what I thought of Orr's night:

"14:10: Orr sits Franzen down in front of the Ranger bench. I laugh and laugh. Rich, hearty laughter."

Good work.

Little did I know that jackass Franzen would slash Nik Zherdev later in the period. He is a dirty little player. Not that overt kind of dirty that you almost tolerate, but a sneakier variety of dirty player who, to me, is even worse. I demand his head on a pike! A pike I say! I need to calm down.

Two defensemen stood out to me: Rozsival and Mara. Rozy made a couple of really nice backchecks, as did Mara, but Mara also had that edge to his game that's been so apparent this year. Seriously, the dude's been out of his mind. Are we sure everything's okay at home? I have a sneaking suspicion that there's an adulterous milkman somewhere who's been smashed through a glass storefront by an unidentified, bearded assailant.

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News Bits from The Middle of the Week

[Via Beyond the Blueshirts]


SLOWLY, LIFE BEGINS TO GO ON IN OMSK:

Avangard Omsk played their first game since Alexei Cherepanov lost his life on the Omsk bench. It was an emotional affair with thoughts of Alexei fresh in the minds of both the players and spectators. The players wore number sevens onto their jerseys and the club raised the above banner to honor Cherepanov's memory.

Beyond the Blueshirts has a full story about the game--which the Hawks won 5-3 on the strength of contributions by Alex's former linemates and Jaromir Jagr.


BtB also has quotes from an interview Jagr did with Championat.ru. It's hard for someone not to feel for the guy as he struggles to come to terms with what happened:

This week was probably the most difficult for you in your life?

Especially the first days — they were very terrible for me. Now a week has passed, and you know, memories of Alexei come back more and more often, I think about him 50 times a day. We worked together, socialized on and off the ice. I will always remember him. In life anything can happen. And it’s not always easy. You break up with a girlfriend, play badly, and you think that life is bad. But when you’re confronted with such a tragedy, then you understand that nothing can compare to it. Yes, it’s painful now. But you have to go out and play, everyone’s counting on you. It’s hard, but you have to, even if you totally don’t have the strength, there’s nothing, and even the victory doesn’t make you happy. Only one thing remains — to have faith that everything will be OK.

---

ON THE PROSPECT FRONT:

[Via BattalionHockey.com]

Jess at The Prospect Park gives a solid update on the comings and goings of Ranger farmhand, Evgeny Grachev--named as this week's top Rangers prospect:

The Rangers' 2008 3rd round pick finished the week going 3-0-3 +5 and tallying a game winning goal.

The 6'3 200 power forward from Yaroslavl, Russia is being taught the North American style of play by one of Canadian Junior hockey's legendary coaches in Stan Butler. Butler who has a very long list of players that he developed for play in the NHL earned his 400th win as a CHL coach on Saturday thanks to Grachev's goal.

A 30-goal season for Grachev just might not be out of the question as this is not your average 3rd round pick--his being from Russian had more of a reason as to why he fell [so low in the draft] than anything else.

[Via HockeyCanada.ca]

How can you not love how well-stocked our system is?

---

Another item of note for Blueshirts backers, Patrick Rissmiller has been waived. The news came to me from Sam Weinman at Rangers Report, who, yesterday, pondered the deeper significance of the move. The Rangers couldn't go on with this rotating troop of forwards. Having guys sit for three and four games at a time was only going to be a detriment to each of the players. As Sam wonders though, this move hardly means any of the others are safe.

I still fear for Petr Prucha and the fate of my beloved authentic No.25 jersey:

[Via Persistent Illusion & Appropriately titled "Profound Sadness"]

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Better Late Than Never Pt. I

If you want your Rangers analysis three to four days late and about as half-assed as possible, well, my friend, you have come to the right place.

KEY PLAYERS:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17
TORONTO @ NYR:



Mixing up the lines may not have really paid off with any goals, but it got several players moving in the right direction, which is always good. If Tom Renney sticks with these combinations and they really start to gel, the Rangers could have one of the deepest clubs in the East.

DAWES-GOMEZ-CALLAHAN: The trio was effective but after the Leafs started their steady march to the box, they didn't get a ton of even-strength ice time together. That being said, Gomez was re-energized, as was Nigel Dawes, and the line was generally very effective. Of course that's all relative in a sixty-five minute long game in which zero goals were scored, but still effective nonetheless.

Dawes: Welcome back Nigel Dawes. Where have you been? While it's difficult to say for certain that the line shuffling was the only factor in his reappearance, it's obvious that it at least sparked him a bit. Dawes was much more a factor in this game than he's been of late. He only recorded two shots on goal but was dangerous at least three or four other occasions.

Gomez: Scotty played one of his best games in weeks. He created for his linemates, made effective use of his speed--the penalty he drew in overtime comes to mind--and was very apparent on most shifts. He himself nearly scored on two separate occasions: while being knocked to the ice early in the second and in the third during the heart-drop-kicking stretch of play that was filled with the sound of pucks pinging off iron.



FRITSCHE-DRURY-NASLUND

Fritsche: Fritsche wasn't bad. He had four shots, nearly connected on a few other chances and made a case to stay in the lineup.

Drury: Drury had been an absolute non-factor in almost every Ranger game since coming home from Prague. Obviously that can be said about all three of the forwards on the top line, but clearly, that's why they were broken up tonight. Drury had a few high quality scoring chances, including a chip shot from in front of Toskala's cage late in the second. He was unafraid to lob pucks toward the Toronto net as he was credited with three shots, three misfired bids and two attempts that were blocked.

Naslund: If the Rangers stop winning games, the media will sink their teeth into the guy. [Yes I'm aware that I say that on a daily basis, keep quiet.] It'd be a stretch to say he's been bad, but he hasn't been good either. He's here to score. Period. He's not even getting off shots. Since Prague, he's been an absolute no-show.

ZHERDEV-DUBINSKY-VOROS: The line found itself again after the forgettable game against Buffalo. Voros was a physical presence several times, Zherdev dazzled with his skills--how about that spin-o-rama at center and the shot get got off while lying on his back to Toskala's left?--and Dubinsky was adequate. We haven't seen the rushes up ice carrying the mail from Dubi we had been accustomed to. I'm curious as to why.


SJOSTROM-BETTS-ORR

Sjostrom obviously deserves some praise for burying the shootout winner. Orr was noticeable, winning several board battles and drawing a penalty. And give it up to Blair Betts who played a whopping--and team leading--3:42 on a perfect Rangers penalty kill.

VESA TOSKALA:

This guy, albeit with a little bit of help from the iron behind him, somehow managed to keep every Ranger attempt out of the net tonight for 65 minutes, AND LOSE THE GAME! Poor bastard. I hope someone took his skate laces away.

With the performance, Vesa immediately becomes the most famous and well-known Finn since World's Strongest Man, Janne Virtanen:

[Thank God for Janne. I have a seriously critical lack of ammo for Finnish pop culture jokes and I was clutching at straws over here. He saved the day.]

[Via BTInternet]

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DAL @ NYR: That's One Way to Get Noticed

As you'll soon see, this night proved to be one of the most interesting of my hockey-related life. I guess I should start at the beginning.

Pre-game:
Coming into the game, I had another funny encounter on the elevator. No Kevin Stevens this time but, instead, I saw Brett Hull across the way. Of course, being a nobody, I plan to leave Brett and his 741 goals alone, but I continue eavesdropping on his conversation.

[Brett Hull scored more goals in his career than I can could ever dream of, well, except that goal]

[Via Bob's Hockey Page]

I hear him mention to someone else nearby, that "You need the tie to dress things up a little" and I look up to see a pink and purple striped tie hanging around his neck. I say, "Kind of like this?" and lift my own pink and grey tie--ugly to no end, mind you--but Brett looks up, we make eye contact and he gives me the wink and the gun. That's a future Hall-of-Fame wink-and-the-gun we're talking about. Sweet.

Eventually I ask him how his first summer at his new job went and he responds with a chuckle, "It's easy. Les [Jackson] does all the work. I come in an hour before my tee time [do my thing and head out.]"


[Via Ponds and Pucks]

The guy's got a sense of humor and is obviously kidding--mostly--but he starts talking about how many little things going into the general manager's job that you'd never even think of. He said the big things--trades, signings--are easy. The little stuff, not so much.

Somewhere in between that event and the one I'm about to describe, there was a game of some type. Who knew? I'll get to that and some brief thoughts on the two weekend games when I get the opportunity, but first I have to describe one of the dumbest and most unforgettable things I'll probably ever do.

I work for a hockey writer in New York. Namely the one in this video interviewing Sean Avery. I guess that blows my cover. Oh well. Anyway, my boss and every other media member at the game wants one interview and one interview only: Sean Avery. Surprisingly enough, my boss gets that interview even after The Grate One announced to one and all that he wouldn't talk with anyone.

At this point, the locker rooms already emptied out, post-game questions for coaches long since answered and recorded, I try to call my boss who I need to meet up with before we both call it a night and leave. Well, watch and be amazed. All of it is interesting, but the part of import to me comes around 1:55:

Words cannot describe what just happened here. I, lowly intern, am forever linked to the night Sean Avery returned to Madison Square Garden because my phone call cut into the only interview Sean did for the New York writers. Like I said, that's one way to get noticed.

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