Deuces Wild

The Rangers won their second straight game for the first time this season, scoring in two consecutive periods for the first time this season, scoring a goal two men up for the first time this season, in a 2-0 win over Washington, their second victory over the Caps. Chris Drury had two points -- a goal and an assist, with rookie Marc Staal earning his first NHL point in assisting on Drury's goal. Henrik Lundqvist got his third shutout of the season, stopping 31 shots, but he got a lot of help, his teammates blocking 30 shots, 16 in the first period alone, and clearing away most of his rebounds, especially during a double-minor late in the game.

"Yeah, another night at the office," Lundqvist joked afterwards. "We didn't start off too well. We were a little lucky after the first period to have a 0-0 game. We talked about it after the first period, we improved during the second, in the third we were solid -- if this is the way we have to win games, we have to just keep going." He credits his team for helping him. "The way the guys play in front of me is great. They can read from me where the puck is going [on rebounds]." And they blocked all those shots for him tonight. "We had a little luck in the end and in the first period, but after 11 or 12 games, we deserve a little luck -- we had a lot of tough bounces, maybe it was our night tonight."

"He's got a very distinct focus right now," coach Tom Renney said of his workhorse netminder. "He's very precise in his preparations. For me, he's our guy, so we're going to suggest he's the best in the league. For our team, with what we're going through, he's delivered in spades." Drury agrees that Lundqvist is one of the best in the NHL right now. "He's gotta be up there," he said. "His numbers would dictate that. It seems like every day he gets better and better. He controls the game -- how he makes the saves is impressive." Added Staal: "He keeps us in every game. You have confidence in him that he's going to play well. It settles the room down, knowing that he's back there."

How much longer can play without a break? He's played all twelve games so far this season, making it "39 straight (including playoffs) dating to March 5 -- 66 of the Rangers' last 68 games since Dec. 23, 2006," reports John Dellapina in the Daily News. "He can't play 82 games, naturally," said Renney. "We're looking in the near future to give him a break." But Lundqvist said that he thrives on all the work. "It's so much easier to be in the rhythm of playing," he said. "I told him [Renney] before this season I want to play a lot -- I'm ready for it."

The Rangers suffered two more injuries last night, one fortunately a minor one to Dan Girardi, who deflected a puck up into his nose, just missing his eye. "He's got a friend on his nose," Renney said. "He should be fine. We'll see how it is in the morning -- depends on how it swells. He pretty much got it all in the nose, but I don't think it's fractured." Possibly more serious was an injury sustained by Marek Malik, who slammed into the end boards after starting and then joining a three on two rush. "He went into back spasms," Renney said. "He's day to day too." -- although Larry Brooks in the Post said it was a rib injury. Sean Avery, who was up in the blue seats again last night, is hoping to return to action tomorrow night. "We'll bump him around a bit more and see what he's able to stand," Renney said, noting that he can't promise that Avery will be back. The Rangers recalled Dane Byers from Hartford to practice with the team today in case Avery and Malik both missed tomorrow's game, according to Sam Weinman at Rangers Report. But he later reported that while Malik is doubtful, Avery will go, so the Rangers announced the return of Byers to Hartford.

And so it appears that the Rangers have regrouped after they lost their day off last Sunday to hold a special practice. Ranger fans have improved a bit since their special practice session that day -- they've stopped booing Malik at least and they chanted "Let's Go Rangers" early in the game before any Potvin chants got started. But they went downhill from there -- by the middle of the game, there were no further "Let's Go" chants, but there were three Potvin chants. The next "Let's Go" chants was raised after the team took a 2-0 lead in the third -- you're supposed to cheer your team on when they need encouragement, not after they've clinched the win. But in one of the lowest points in fan behavior in a long long time, two Ranger fans got into a fight with each other over the treatment of Malik. Another tight defensive struggle, a brilliant shutout by your stellar goaltender, and fans are fighting with each other over the booing of one of their own players.

Other game reports beyond the two linked above -- the Journal News, Newsday, Times, AP, NY Sports Day, and NYR.com. See also notes at Blueshirts Blog, Rangers Report, Blue Notes, and USA Today. Washington area reports here, here, and here, all in praise of King Henrik, who was the league's number one star last night in addition to being the game's number one star. In prospect news, Hartford has recalled Ryan Constant from Charlotte and has assigned Miika Wiikman there -- Mitch Beck at Howlings explains (courtesy of Bruce Berlet of the Hartford Courant) that Constant was needed because Dave Liffiton is injured. The Courant also has the Wolf Pack week ahead. And Jess has a brief Thursday night update of other prospect action in Prospect Park. At USA Today, another article on the Rangers' court battle with the NHL over control of their web site.

Comments

[JohnnyP]

BIG thank you to Paul who gave us those fantastic Luxury Box seats. We had a great view above Henrik for 2 periods. Great perspective on plays developing and eventually being stifled by the one and only King. Paul, thank you for a memorable night. The perks of reading the BB!!!!!!!!!

[Pavel]

Must be nice.... :/

[stevek]

oh, oh according to john dellapina:

"Garden Loses Court Battle with NHL over Web Site
The Garden's string of courtroom losses was extended today when a federal court judge ruled in favor of the NHL in MSG's bid to independently control the Rangers' Web site"

I wonder how thats going to affect the site and rangers on demand

[Jeremy]

Dubi, not sure if the 2 fighting fans u were referring to was late in the 3rd period between someone in the 400s and someone in the 300s, near "dancing" Larry. I'm sure anyone watching could not have missed the guy in the 400s mooning half the Garden. Just another interesting night out at the Garden. Lwt's go Rangers!!

[paulf]

Johnny, it was my pleasure. I'll bet the coporate boxes rarely have such hard-core hockey fans in them. I hope the opportunity comes up again.

Lundqvist is so much ahead of where he was the first half of last season -- if he gets better as the season goes on it will be scary. If and when our offense perks up, this team will be hard to beat.

[Dubi]

Much as it pains me to admit it, Jess was right -- with the Rangers winning (two in a row, three of the last four, and dominating that one loss except for the spurt of three goals-against and three goal posts), traffic on this site is down and the number of comments are way down. All you guys who complained during the losing -- where have you gone? Don't you know that the credibility of your complaints is linked to giving credit where and when it is due?

So now with nothing else to complain about, winning with good defense and goaltending is boring? Like none of you would trade three boring New Jersey Stanley Cups for seven straight years of exciting non-playoff hockey on this side of the Hudson. Take a cue from the Rangers' opponents, who are saying how scary this team is going to be once they inevitably start scoring.

Best line of the night last night: one of the writers cracked, "It's just like Devils' hockey, except with an audience."

[Dan]

Oh there was plenty of people booing Malik, Some in a 300's section next to mine were actually cheering and clapping when it became clear that he was hurt,the same people were shouting "go kill yourself Malik" for the remainder of the game despite his absence from the ice.

[ant]

"It's just like Devils' hockey, except with an audience."
Thats line is so true lol.

Dubi My guess is that the people that just come to complaint here dont have a friend to go to so they got to come here.Its funny though that when we winning u just see the same names keep posting.I got the magazine and i gotta say another masterpiece.I thought i knew a lot but after reading the BB i came to realize that i dont know half the things i thought i knew.

[imitation]

from sw.."Update, 1:30 p.m.: Boy that was quick. Dane Byers was already returned to Hartford." Avery IN!

[ant]

BTW as funny as it was when the big guy mooned the 400s.Its embarasing that we fight among each other.Why cant we just wait till sat and go bust some Devils heads.

[ant]

Good im happy Avery is back.

[ant]

and Avery shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll be a happy couple of guys whoever they are, especially against my favorite team. And my buddy Marty.”
LMAO Avery is priceless

[Dubi]

Dan, I don't doubt that there were pockets, but there hasn't been systematic arena-wide booing for a couple of games now, and the arena-wide reaction I heard was an encouraging (albeit small) ovation for Malik when he got up and skated off.

[Phill]

Haha, Dubi and Jess are right. The amount of posts during/after a Ranger win are on average much lower than when they lose.

For whatever reason, when the Rangers are losing games, there seems to be live play-by-play by various posters, spewing every negative thing that occurred in 60 minutes of hockey. If you didn't watch the game and only read the blog, you'd think the Rangers lost the game only because of Malik and that Renney has Betts centering Jagr and Hollweg.

I recently haven't posted as often due to exams, but I still give this site plenty of traffic. :)

[Chris QCT]

I would like to add that Staal looked like he got a boost of confidence with his first point as well as the extra time he was given due to Malik's departure last night. You just have to love the play where he takes a hit behind the net, moves out to the other side, makes the breakout pass, and then decks Ovechkin who tried to hit him. I notice all the 'little things' more and more everyday...

...although I would have to disagree with Dubi a little bit here. I love when they win. There is nothing better. But I sure do hope that if their goal scoring picks up, that they will have a little more confidence to open it up a *little bit* and not trap their way around. It did bother me when they appeared more than happy to grind out a 1-0 win over Toronto before that whole game fell apart. Once they went up 1-0, it looked like they stopped trying and got burned.

I know people will disagree with me on this...but the trap is not hockey in my mind. Waiting around is just not playing to me. IMO, if you are purposely not trying to generate anything, then you not really playing. And yes, I did play hockey throughout my lifetime. I played on teams where coaches wanted us to trap...not all out, but during key times. It is not that fun to play, and it is even worse to watch. Yes, you can win with it. But it is a system designed for unskilled players. I only hope this is a symptom of the goal scoring issues. There's nothing wrong with using the trap at times and Renney definitely should. But I really hope they are not going to play the trap constantly this year...

[lennynyr]

Onetimer, thanks, it was Gary Howatt I was thinking of. Forgot about Pat Verbeek

and do I detect some backpedaling on your takes on strudwick and hossa?? how the mighty have fallen.

Onetimer, I am not mighty and I don't fall when the Rangers do well. It's called tough love. I see the future as very bright, so take that!! Game misconduct!!

Too bad about Malik's injury, he's played pretty well the last 3 or 4 games. But Rangers were lucky Girardi did not sustain a more serious injury.

Paul Mara has been underrated, he has a great shot from the point and he hits a lot more than the player he replaced, A Ward or Poti, take your pick. Hossa had a sluggish game but he gets a mulligan since I understand the flu bug is still biting him.

Impressed again by the way Dawes plays, you have to watch him closely to see what he does in the background as well as the foreground. Poor Prucha is snakebitten, pucks hitting posts, hitting the shaft of the goaltender's stick and on and on.

Actually glad to have Strudwick around, he's like a bench utility player in baseball, can fill in up front and on defense. And he seems to be comfortable sitting when everybody is healthy, good guy to have around as long as he doesn't play regularly.

Don't really understand the cap rule like some of you. For instance, when Straka comes back, does that change the cap amount that they have now or is it just changed when a player is sent down like Pock.

Speaking of Pock, it is tough luck for him. He is pretty close to Mara in the way he plays but where will we put him?

If Malik goes on the IR, can the Rangers bring up Pock without the danger of another team claiming him plus raising the same question about the cap as I did above, how is that affected?

[lennynyr]

DUBI THE HOCKEY PLAYER (not Dubinsky)

Dubi, when you play hockey, you don't hit anybody, check anybody or punch anybody, you just delete them!! LOL

[laurie]

I guess I'm the opposite of the missing malcontents. When the Rangers lose, I don't bother reading the comments here because I see no sense in reading the same 5 people complain about the same things over and over and over again while belittling anyone who offers a contrary opinion. And of course if I don't read the comments, I'm less apt to respond to them.

As for the crowd... as ridiculous as it is for Ranger fans to be fighting fellow Ranger fans, I'm kinda glad that the "go kill yourself Malik" guy in 314 finally got a little negative reinforcement. It won't likely change his behavior, and it sucks for those around him who had crap thrown on them, but after listening to him rag incessantly on Malik for the past year and a half, a tiny little piece of me deep down inside was grinning just a little bit.

[dennis]

I hate to look ahead to next seaso as this season just began but I just saw that Spezza signed a big extension with the Sens today. I think the Rangers should go after Wade Redden next season with the money they will gain from Shanny and Roszival probably departing. Think about Redden and Girardi as a No.1 pair.

[Colorado Mark]

A couple of comments:

Someone keeps talking about how the team will have to send down someone when the team gets healthy and that person will be Dawes. We have 23 players including our walking wounded. No one has to be sent down unless there is a reason to save on cap space. I think Dawes is the cheapest player on the roster (according to NHLSCAP.com) so I can't imagine that even if he lost his spot as a regular (not likely the way he is playing) that does not mean that when healthy players return that they have to send him down.

Lenny- I think you probably noticed the little things about Dawes that I noticed as well. He made a deft little pass in the defensive zone that created a breakout. I had to rewind my DVR to see who it was as Sam and Joe didn't mention it. He also forechecks with a purpose.

I think that Pock has to clear waivers when he is recalled no matter what. Maybe it's allowed on an emergency basis, but I'm not sure.

I avoid have avoided posting online during the games recently since the negativity comes out in force.

I doo hope the Rangers can open it up a little bit. I watched the Avs-Pens game last night and the thing that stuck out for me was the speed of the outlet passes and the offensive opportunites. It was a fun game to watch. I think there were times last year where the Rangers played this style of hockey while remaining defensively responsible. I think it will come with confidence.

Nylander made one incredible play last night that made me miss him, but I'll stand by the move to replace him because of his age.

Strudwick's versatility was key last night. I remember arguing with the idiot poster on Sam's blog and he thought it was ridiculous to suggest that it would ever come to Strudwick needing to play both positions in a single game and that his presence was blocking a youngster (I think he felt Baranka or Liffiton could do a better job than Struds. I stand by my opinion that Struds is a valuable 23rd man on the roster because he can do pretty much anything he is asked to do (and nobody in their right mind is going to ask him to score!)

[Dubi]

Chris, of course I'd love to see a more exciting brand of hockey, but look at it this way -- it's a sign of how committed these guys are to winning that they'd do it whatever way was necessary.

Actually, according to Shanahan, the reason they lost the way they did to Toronto was not because they tried to sit on a 1-0 lead, but because they DIDN'T try to sit on it -- he said that once Toronto scored, rather than stay with their system, which he characterized as "no fun", they tried to get into a track meet, played like individuals, and made a big mistake in doing so.

In that game, the Rangers played a good offensive game before and after all the scoring took place. They hit a lot of goal posts. Toronto scored one lucky goal off a double-deflection, the Rangers got away from their defensive game for ten minutes, and that was all, she wrote. Boring hockey would have won that game.

[oleosmirf says seperate Gomez and Jagr now!]

As for the trap

The Rangers have been consistantly stopped by the Devils for the past 10 years because of the trap. Finally the Rangers realized how to win. The semi-trap we are playing now, besides Henrik, is the reason our defense has been so effective.

Once we start scoring I don't see how this team won't finish in at least the top 4-5 in the conference and wind up battling Ottawa or Pittsburgh en route to the cup.

The only things we really need to improve on is production from our 3rd line (mostly due to unjuries) and more offense from our defense.

[Paul Arensburg]

Put this up on the previous thread w/o knowing a new thread had appeared.

From Caps TV coverage, in the 2nd period:

Craig Loughlin: Well, if you hear what Jagr says, they're still trying to figure out how to play with one another...especially Gomez and Jagr...and Jagr says he may have to play differently.

Joe Beninati: You still buying that, a month into the season?

CL: Am I buying it?

JB: Are you?

CL: No.

Maybe if Rangers' wins were as mind-blowing as some of the losses, there'd be more traffic after W's. After all, when somebody says the Rangers played well in their own end and got the usual great goaltending, that kind of covers it. Pretty much anything else one might add, like most Ranger adventures up the ice, won't be encouraging.

Sorry.

btw, Craig Loughlin also gushed about HL's ability to control rebounds. Later last night I watched for a couple of periods each, Kiprusoff, and Giguere. Neither seemed to have the same control.

Anyway, liked 14's defensive play. Only forward on the team who I saw going down to block shots. Guess that's the new New York Rangers, led by our early season Selke race leader, Brendan Shanahan.

[rangerbill94]

Chris QCT

I don't think the Rangers are playing the trap. Certainly they are not using the left wing lock that Detroit used. It looks like they are playing 1-2-2 and sometimes a 2-1-2. Defensively, their position play has improved over last year. That accounts for the better defensive play along with faster, more skilled skaters like Dawes, Callahan and now Dubinsky. The offensive problem is in the transition game. The first pass needs to be better and if it is a good pass, then the forwards need to catch it in stride. Both of those things are not going well right now. The first period was an excellent example of that. The Jagr line simply couldn't make a good pass to save themselves and the few times in the first period that they did make a good pass, it bounced off the blade, jumped over the stick or somebody wasn't ready. That changed in the second and third which is why they gained control of the game. I fully expect this team to score a minimum of 3-4 goals every game and have controlled, comfortable wins. The PP is looking much better, the even strength play has improved and when they have a poor period like the first last night, they manage to frustrate the opponent by giving up zero. The few times WASH got a good chance, there was Lundqvist. And he is already in the heads of many teams. Our opponents will not want to use game film of him, that's for sure!

Bottom line: the system is working and working well. Be patient, the goals will come.

[onetimer]

definitely refreshing not only to put together two wins (which in the big picture is hardly an accomplishment) but also not to have to read the same 5 posters harping on the same 5 themes (malik, renny, hossa, strudwick, shanahan).

lenny,

I agree with you about mara's upside and I think he brings a little more grit than pock would (though maybe the latter is still too untested in that area of his game). Also i'm going to have to appeal the game misconduct! Good to have you aboard. thanks for the history about Ratelle--I just can't picture him fighting.

[Ana]

It is deplorable than ANY Rangers fan would take pleasure in Malik's being hurt! Shameful! Malik got hurt and he deserves the same respect and consideration fans have given the much hated Flyers when an injured player gets up. Malik wears the jersey so therefore he deserves our support. How disrespectful and cruel to wish him injury/death! Fans say that online and at MSG. Disgusting! Save your boos for opponents especially the crappy Isles. Fans of this caliber are an embarassment. Remember, his children also hear your vile comments. I sincerely hope Malik is well or recovering well.

I have not received my BB and I am disappointed and concerned. I guess I will have to call up.

Enough of the Potvin chants already..."let's go Rangers" should be shouted throughout the length of the game especially when encouragement is badly needed. The few thugs at the Rangers games are totally an embarassment.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!

[paulf]

Winning is never boring. That said, there is a big difference between trap systems. The Devils did play a boring style in the mid-1990s through early 2000s, but I don't think they have been a pure trap team for a few years now.

Any time players adhere to a system, it will limit chances, and make the game less exciting to a degree. But the bottom line is every team is well-coached these days, it would be impossible to win playing pond hockey. Even the '70s Oilers teams wouldn't score a lot these days because teams play so much better defensively and the goalies are much, much better.

With this team, there might even be a larger method to the madness. Consider the fact that the team's greatest asset is between the pipes. If you were management and thought about how best to take advantage of that asset, you might design a strategy that is built to limit chances. For one thing, its awfully hard to score against Lundqvist without a lot of quality chances, if you limit that, goals against are scarce, and you can't lose if the other team doesn't score. What's more, keeping Henrik's workload down enables him to play more because each game is not exhausting.

I'd bet that that type of thinking was behind the Devils system of allowing only 20 shots per game against Brodeur, enabling him to play 75 games a year without tiring.

As far as the fans, posts on this board and others are always down after wins. People like to gripe. It's human nature that people get motivated more when they are upset or have an enemy.

[oleosmirf says seperate Gomez and Jagr now!]

The Rangers are at a point where they will beat the lower level teams almost every time. I don't like to admit it but the offense is not at a point where we can go out and beat Ottawa, Pittsburgh etc. on a consistant basis. Almost there but not yet...

[rangerbill94]

oleo

PITT will be consistantly beaten by the Rangers now simply because of PITT's defense and goaltending. You are right about OTT & Detroit. If we get our offense going, we will be competitive with any team in the NHL.

[Lynkx]

Anyone seen Czechthemout!!!, lately?

[Pavel]

You honestly see Pittsburgh being near the top of the east? If Fleury plays most of their games, I doubt they'll make the playoffs. Crosbaby can't have multipoint nights every game.

[oleosmirf says seperate Gomez and Jagr now!]

Crosby, Malkin, Recchi, Gonchar very dangerous, Fleury, at times, can be dominate, Whitney is one of the best offensive defenseman in the game, they have a Staal, and we haven't beaten them much in the past few years...

Only teams I am afraid of in the east are Ottawa, Pitt, Philly, NJ, Buffalo. The west is an entirely different story...

[ant]

lynkx why would he be here if the teams is winning but dont worry hel be back by our 1st loss

[Chris QCT]

Points well taken...

In my heart of hearts, I do not really see Jagr, Shanny, Straka, (and Glen Sather for that matter) buying into a full trap system that lasts throughout the season. I do like what Renney is teaching them. And it is this defensive system that I believe Shanny was talking about when he said after a previous game that they are "way ahead of where we were last year." A blend of both will work really well.

I've just never been a fan of Devils hockey....

[cwgatti]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

That is why no one posts. After a game like that, they probably nod off on the couch.

They beat a poor team 2-0.

Henke is dialed in. This guy looks like he wants to play all 82 games. I never give the Rangers too much credit, but I will say this: Henke is the best goalie in the NHL.

Otherwise nothing is so great or so bad to even comment on. Except maybe Renney's coaching which has been EXCELLENT to date.

[ant]

Cwgatti please tell me that post was sarcasm because if it wasnt go join the idiots in a fishstick nation.Your team won what the hell is difference 2-0 or 10-0 u dont get more points for scoring more goals and Caps is not a poor team.I just dont get why people cant give our teams credit when its due.Im really starting to think that half of the fans here WANT rangers to lose so that way they wont be bored and wel see how much of a bad coach Renney is ect ect.

Cwgatti this comment is not just for you its to half the people who posts here.Wow look at this when we win all you see is same 10 names in posts when we lose we get people that nobody ever heard of!!!!

[Bob Merchant]

I'm late to the party thanks to working all day.
Add me to the list of appalled by Ranger fan behavior in the treatment of Malik. The more people disrespect him, the more I'll stick up for him. Anyone notice that he was having a pretty damn good game before injured?

I'm happy that people are finally speaking up and not being lumped into the same group as the few hundred idiots at MSG. I don't want to see fans fighting but if the "kill yourself Malik" guy fell off the balcony, I would not lose any sleep.

How about a new chant directed at the moron fans? That I would join in on.

[joeymole]

another great win. 6 points out of 8 on this homestand so far, most excellent. grab another 2 (at least) and it will be quite a good run at home. the game was not boring to me. rangers had some chances once they got into their offensive rhythm and it was great to see dubinsky get his game going (somewhat) and generate some offense. prucha barely missed making it a 3-0 game. too bad, he's been working hard and deserved it. it wasn't boring when tyutin put a hit on nylander. nice. and i think ovechkin is a mighty good player and fun to watch.

i think people post more when rangers lose in order to vent, blow off some steam, as it were. among fellow blue bloods. when rangers win, there's relief and tendency to think about things other than the rangers. that's what i think anyway.

seems avery ready to return? and on what line? i worry that devils game avery will be ok but the flyers will be gunning for him. friggin' flyers, never liked them. hollweg and orr better be ready to stand and deliver.

[oleosmirf says seperate Gomez and Jagr now!]

well I havent been to a Rangers game since I went off to school so I havent heard the fans at the game ever get on Malik but from what you guys are saying this one guy goes way to far...would be nice if MSG revoked his tickets

[Phill]

Lynkx,
Anyone seen Czechthemout!!!, lately?

No, of course not. It's as if he doesn't have time to post when the Rangers win, but when they lose, it's like he has a vacation from his job and has all the time in the world to gripe.

Anyways, I know a lot of people think that game was boring, but to be completely honest, boredom did not come across my mind at all during the game, not even once.

It almost makes me wonder what game people were watching. . .
In the 1st period, HL put on a clinic, which in it of itself is exciting and nerve nacking to watch.
The 2nd period is when the Rangers came alive and started to play really well. Still exciting.
Then there was the 3rd period, with the Rangers getting and scoring on the 5 on 3 and the Caps getting 4 straight minutes on the powerplay and being shut out by marvelous defense and goaltending.

Now tell me, where is this boredom everyone's talking about?

Couple of things:

Pittsburgh only has a great offense. Fleury isn't even half the goalie Lundqvist is.
NJ isn't the Devils of the old, and speaking of old, Marty's starting to fit the description.
The Capitals and Lightning are much better teams than some people give them credit for, but they're definitely not in the same class as the Wings and Senators.

[Phill]

Oh and Dubi, I haven't received my BB yet either so..?

[Dubi]

Well, I would not try to make the case that the first period was anything other than a snoozefest, and not because the Rangers were playing defense either. In fact, the Rangers were pretty much snoozing as a team for the first 20 minutes. But if you like blocked shots, the Rangers blocked 16 -- half of the Caps' 32 shot attempts (only ten got through to Hank).

But the Rangers were good in the last two periods -- it wasn't just defensive hockey. And even so, the tension heightened the drama.

[Ros]

According to TSN, Ozo is back in the league, this time with the Sharks.

[lennynyr]

Phill, I don't think so. Czech calls it as he sees it, good and bad. Maybe he is out of town, maybe he's been preoccupied with other things. He has a family. After all, there's more to life than just hockey.

I haven't posted that much after this win because my 8 year old grandson invited me to his schools grandparents day and had a great time with him. He loves hockey but there is no more hockey in Glens Falls, a tragedy to me and many other local people who love hockey. I'm going to try to get him to an afternoon game at the garden. We can take the train from Albany and he likes that too. I might be looking for tickets when I figure out a date we can go.

Oh, by the way, I told Dubi not to send your BB until you behave. :))

Dubi, as usual, great job with the paper. Keep your day job so you have $$$ to keep it going!

[oleosmirf says seperate Gomez and Jagr now!]

phill

I can't agree with you on your assesment of NJ. They are struggling just as they did last year and the year before that but they still are the Devils and until proven otherwise I still consider them the top team in our division.

As for Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby can win a game by himself plus he has Malkin and they are only going up

Tampa Bay is a good team but Holmqvist isn't the ideal goaltender...and the Caps aren't so great but they have been without Clark and Semin...

[Lynkx]

Oleo:

The Caps SMOKED the leafs without Clark Semin and Poti the night before they played us (or game before, whichever) So they are a capable team.

Lenny:

You mean theres life other than the Rangers? Can you show me such things? :P

I only brought it up (don't blame phil, it was me!) because it seemed like every time they lost he was on here screaming about how Renney should be fired, but now as they've gone on a roll, he hasn't showed to complain.

[oleosmirf says seperate Gomez and Jagr now!]

lynkx

I can't really consider Washington a good team right now...maybe in a few months from now but it is too early to tell...

[lennynyr]

Lynkx, maybe Czech is thinking about it. :)) The big test comes if and when all hands are healthy. Up to now, a lot of decisions Renney has had to make were simpler because of injuries. The jury is still out whether Prucha, Callahan, Girardi and Dawes would be in the lineup if no injuries occurred. I will say that he left Prucha, Callahan and Girardi in the lineup afterwards to his credit.

[Phill]

Lenny,

I realize he has obligations; a family, a job, etc., but I'm not the only one that has noticed this, so I'll just leave it at that.

Oleo,

There is a huge difference between the Devils this year, the Devils last year, and the Devils two years ago.

Some differences include:
1)While Marty is still a great goalie, he's older now and that's a fact. His collapse during the playoffs last spring was due to him playing too much, hence the signing of Weekes. He simply can't steal games as often for the Devils like Lundqvist is capable of nowadays.

2) They essentially replaced Rafalski and Gomez with Zubrus and Rachunek. HUGE downgrade. Do you think Rafalski would've made the same mistake Karel did?

3) Brent Sutter has really changed the way the Devils play. Look at the last game we played against them. They're system has changed and unless Sutter changes it back, the Devils really don't look too good.

These differences add up, but don't get me wrong, the Devils are still no walk in the park, however, they're just not what they use to be.

With regards to the Penguins, what did Crosby do last game against us? I think he got an assist on the lone goal, but that was a secondary assist in which all he did was simply give the puck to Whitney, who then made the nifty pass to Malkin. My point is that Crosby and/or Malkin are not going to win all 82 games for the Penguins, nor a Stanley Cup.

I know a similar argument can be made about the Rangers, i.e. Lundqvist can't play and win all 82 games, but the difference is that while the Pens have a great offense, they lack a quality goaltending. The Rangers on the other hand, have a great goalie, but have a still somewhat dormant offense.

In my opinion, I think it's a lot easier for the Rangers offense to start clicking than for Fleury to start playing the way they thought he would.

[BlueClue]

First time getting to my computer today....

Paul F, thanks so much again for the seats in the box last night.
Great time with great company.
Good people!