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.