"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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