Reading Between the Pipes

All you need to know about what happened last night in the Garden in the Rangers' 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders can be told by looking at four shots that hit the pipes instead of the net. If Brandon Dubinsky's golden opportunity in the first period hits twine instead of the crossbar, the Rangers are off to the races and blow the Isles right back out to the Island. If Brendan Shanahan's overtime blast catches the net instead of the crossbar, the Rangers win in overtime. On the flip side, with Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist unraveling in the second period after a good first period, if the Islanders don't hit two goal posts, the Rangers don't even walk away from this game with one point.

This was no contest over the first fourteen minutes of the game. While the Rangers were launching a barrage of shot attempts (19 in total, though only seven were on net), the Islanders couldn't even get in the Ranger zone, going offsides as often as they were attempting shots (six). But Dubinsky hit the crossbar, Sean Avery caught the outside of the goal post, and fill-in goaltender Wade Dubielewicz made the saves on the handful of dangerous shots the Rangers got on net. Without a goal, the net result, despite the domination, was the Islanders feeling they were still in the game even though they had yet to show up. And that feeling was alarmingly reinforced when they scored a fluke goal near the end of the period to escape with a 1-0 lead, the puck caroming in off Michal Rozsival and Lundqvist after Marek Malik misplayed it in the corner.

But it was more than just staying in the game for the Islanders -- Lundqvist was apparently shaken by that fluke goal and let it get to him in the second period. He had made two true saves in the first period, robbing Jeremy Colliton on a breakaway and stoning Richard Park on a slam dunk at the goal mouth, trapping the latter under his pads rather than letting it squirt through. The Rangers didn't let up after the goal -- they got a couple of chances in the final minute of the period, got a chance early in the second, and converted their first power play in the third minute to even the score. But just 41 seconds after that Nigel Dawes goal, Lundqvist missed a routine shot on a two on two rush to let the Islanders regain the lead and take the Rangers' momentum away -- yes, it was a screen shot, but it was a routine screen of the type Lundqvist sees a multitude of times during an ordinary practice week.

Exactly two minutes later, Lundqvist let another shot squirt under his pads and into the net, a recurring nightmare for him over the past number of games. The shot was slightly deflected by Trent Hunter, but Lundqvist let it squirt through -- Dubielewicz stopped an almost identical deflection from the exact same spot by Chris Drury in the first period. All hell broke loose after that, with the Rangers suddenly realizing that they had to save Lundqvist rather than relying on him to save them. They started scrambling on defense, trying to do too much in trying to keep pucks away from their net, and of course made things that much worse in the process. Fortunately for the Rangers, the Isles missed the net on several good chances. Meanwhile, Drury beat Dubielewicz to bring the Rangers to within one. Everyone settled down in the third period, the defense limiting the Isles to just five shots on goal (and just six other shot attempts) while Ryan Callahan evened the score at 3-3 with a shorthanded goal off a nice rush by Scott Gomez.

But Lundqvist did not handle the shootout the way he has grown accustomed to handling shootouts. After Dawes gave the Rangers the lead on their second try, Lundqvist looked baffled in allowing Bill Guerin to beat him five-hole. "He caught me by surprise," Lundqvist said of the goal. He made the next save on Hunter to send the shootout to sudden death, but his body language as he juggled the puck with his glove said it all -- this was not a confident goalie. With coach Tom Renney making the inscrutable decision to go with Rozsival instead of Jaromir Jagr (who had an overpowering game despite not scoring), Drury, or a number of other capable forwards, and that sandwiched between Dubinsky and Martin Straka missing the net with their shots, Lundqvist was beaten five-hole again, this time by a rookie taking his first NHL shootout ever.

"I hate to lose in a shootout," Lundqvist said after the game. "It's the worst. You play a big part, you want to be there for your team, but I came up short. Two out of six -- it's not good enough. I have to be better on the breakaways. They got two on me. It’s frustrating when pucks bounce like they did. I tried to stay in it. A lot of parts of my game feel good but some parts just have to be better. I can't excuse myself for bad bounces. I have to be better." "There were two off his feet," Renney said about the goals against. "If you melt into the ice, those things are going to hit you, and that's what he's great at. He's great at covering the bottom portion of the net, but for whatever reason tonight, that didn't work out."

When Jagr was asked where he was in the shootout order, he said, "Eighteen. I’m bad, that’s all. There are a lot of good players here." He was testy about being asked about it. "When I go in you guys ask me why I go in," he said. "When I don’t go in you ask me why I don’t go in. Make up your mind. Do you want me to go or do you not want me to go?" Of course, it's not up to the people asking whether he should go, it's up to him and his coach. In this game, he obviously didn't want to go and the coach agreed, despite the confidence boost he must have gotten from the way he dominated his shifts throughout the course of the game. But surely he could have mounted a better effort than Rozsival, and that might have saved Lundqvist from having to make that one extra save that he couldn't make in the last round of the shootout.

The two teams are right back at it tomorrow night on Long Island, with the Islanders still fighting for their playoff lives and the Rangers losing a little footing despite extending their current runs to 7-0-3 and 12-3-3. With a team that is almost completely healthy, Renney has the luxury of making some line-up decisions. Petr Prucha has been a healthy scratch, but there seems to be little room for him, given the way Callahan and Dawes have contributed and the need for Colton Orr's presence on the ice. On the other hand, Christian Backman has been a three-game disaster area who has dragged down Marc Staal in the process -- Renney might consider returning to Jason Strudwick, who at least has a calming presence on Staal as well as physical presence, until Paul Mara is ready to return to action. Despite Lundqvist's struggles -- giving up six goals on twenty shots in three periods spanning the last two games -- it's hard to imagine Renney replacing him in another big game.

Game reports: Daily News, Journal News, Newsday, Times, Post, SNY, and NYR.com. Isles' point of view at the News, Post, Newsday here and here, AP, and NYI.com. Pregame notes from Rangers Report and Blue Notes, and a postgame note on Jagr not participating in the shootout from Rangers Report. Ranger team notes at Yahoo! Sports, and this little thing here in a Pittsburgh paper. Charlotte hung on to win their game last night -- NHL.com has a feature on diminutive Checker forward Chris Capraro, a former teammate of Thomas Pock at UMass-Amherst who is technically not Ranger property despite playing for their ECHL affiliate. Prospect Park names Tomas Zaborsky Ranger prospect of the month for February.

Comments

[ORR Says "Win the Cup" !!]

Renney is a pathetic coach. I knew exactly what he was thinking in the shootout, putting Rozi in there. Alot of teams try a D man in the shootout, so he thought he'd take his goal scoring D man and put him in. Ridiculous ! I would have put Staal in, cause he has a lot of moves from what i hear. But putting Rozi, and Straka in ?? He mine as well have put Jagr, and Orr in. That was a pathetic loss, where the D, again left Hank alone. Staal is playing his worst hockey, Backman is not the guy for him. Rozi and Malik didnt look good last night, especially Rozi.

Will Vally play tomorrow ?

[Jason]

JD must be smiling on the inside. He got rid of such a disaster. Backman should go the way of Hutchinson, straight to Hartford. If he has to clear waivers, so be it. Who in their right mind would claim Backman?

I would bring someone up from Hartford (e.g., Baranka) in lieu of Strudwick.

[Pavel]

Rozsival had no business being in the shootout.

[Greg]

Why again is Renney a pathetic coach? I spent a lot of time dissecting last night's game and the bottom line is that we should have won in regulation. The shootout has not been good to us this year and Henrik looks average at best. But back to Renney - evey move he makes seems to upset someone here and I really don';t know what people want from him. This organization has been revived with Renney and we are moving toward a bright future, what is he doing wrong?

[oleosmirf]

greg

exactly if Henrik doesnt let in the easy goals then the Rangers win in regulation.

It's amazing I say during the game that Henrik gives up an easy goal and the cheerleaders attack me then Dubi says the same thing and maybe 1 person disagrees with him.

ah the power of writing...

[rangerbill94]

Dubi

"the confidence boost he must have gotten from the way he dominated his shifts". I don't think Jagr gets any confidence if the puck doesn't end up in the back of the net.

"Renney might consider returning to Jason Strudwick, who at least has a calming presence on Staal as well as physical presence". While I agree that Struds is the man for the hour, I don't think he provides a calming presence, unless you mean Staal doesn't feel like he has to play both defensive positions at the same time! BTW, if I'd play Struds I think I'd put Malik with him and move Staal back with Rozsival.

Great analysis of the game. In the shootout, I think I would have chosen to go last. Also I would have used ANY forward ahead of Rozi. Going first seems to me that you want the lead which implies that you don't have faith in your goalkeeper.

[cwede]

I Just watched the game 'in 60', I was away last night.
Yeah those two Islander goals had shifty bounces, but it looked from 'goal cam' that Henrik's stick wasn't on the ice, exposing the low '5-hole'. In 6 years coaching kids, I was telling my 'keepers' to keep the stick on the ice all the time. Bad bounces happen, that's why fundamentals are critical. I love Henry, but he's gotta get back to being a brick wall.

[Rob]

This guy Backman is an absolute disaster. He has to go back to Strudwick until Mara is back.
I was screaming at the tv when I saw Rosi in the shootout, Renney is out of his mind.

[paul]

sometimes i wonder if i should say things on here... cause every ranger fan is a gm and everyone has their own "truth"... cause its not an opinion...

maybe one day....

[pghas]

"For whatever reason, Dubielewicz plays really well against us,” Shanahan said. “I don’t know if he gets in the head of the players or what, but he comes out and plays big games against the Rangers.”

How many people think Shanny means this, and how many, like me, think this is Shanahan trying to bait Nolan into starting Dubi over Deepee on Thursday?

[saget]

Lundqvist's lack of consistency is the weirdest thing about this season, and the scariest. Say all you want about who goes in the shootout or not - but the bottom line is we need Lundqvist to be a confident guy in net. One thing about the great goaltenders - they may be kooky [Hasek], they may be cocky [Roy], they may be calm [Brodeur], but they are all confident that they will stop every puck. Lundqvist, at times this year, seems like he doesnt believe he will stop any pucks, and he looks like he's fighting every shot.

He seems to need more training in his technique, so that when times are tough, he can mentally be confident that, if he just plays within his technique, he will be ok. I don't see that in his play, especially this year.

[TonyM]

Dubi, as always great game recap. Also I just received my Blueshirt Bulletin and loved reading all about our prospects and the other great articles and interviews.
Here is my 2 cents on the game.
The Roszi bad S/O decision not withstanding, Renney is not to blame for this team's biggest weakness. DEFENSE. Henrik appears tentative, indecisive and inconsistent. Who knows it may have a lot to do with the very suspect/ soft as Jello defense in front of him. This glaring weakness is all on Sather.
You can't tell me that he couldn't go out and get his hands on a tough defensive defenseman this team's biggest weakness 8 years running under Slats.Instead he got another soft Euro Dman who is a giveaway machine.

Offensively we are clicking on all cylinders and could have had 2 to 3 goals very early in the first. Some bad luck there. But Malik, Henrik and Backman were not up to snuff. Renney's only option on D is to go with Struds as you suggest. I sure hope so. Backman belongs in the ICE CAPADES where there is no body contact.

[oleosmirf]

cwede

i've thinking the exact same thing. I'm far from an expert on goaltending but the first thing 3 things I learned when I played goalie was how to cut off the angle, where to keep your stick, and to keep the glove up.

speaking of keeping the glove up Valiquette's glove drops down alot its a wonder why teams don't look to lift the puck against him especially b/c of his size...

but you know if i were to post it i'd get some smart remark like "look at oleo trying to teach Hank how to play" followed up with another smart remark like "o golly gee wiz i wouldnt like that"

[jj]

hank needs a shrink to help him get his confidence back. i have seen goalies give up a bad goal and not lose their composure. if allaire cant help him the rangers have a big problem. they go as hank goes. the scoring revival should have propelled the rangers to the top of the division but losing all these ponts will continue their struggles. with 3 goals the old hank would have given us a win but now he's playing scared and so is everyone else. scapegoating serves no purpose but to inflame the fans further. its all in hanks head.

[Lundqvist4Vezina]

Dubi

I love your blog. This is the first place I visit daily on the web. Great job, great analysis. You really tell it how it is.

With that said I have a few comments. Would really like to know Renney's thoughts in putting Rosey out there. Did Renney think he was Zdeno Chara with a 110 mph slap shot? I can sort of understand it. Dubliewicz tends to come out and challenge the shooters and likes to poke check. I think we had 1 player who tried to deke last night. So with that mentality I think thats why he tried Rosey. If its a success nobody questions why he put him out there. If its a failure everyone gets on him for the move. We all know the results. However, with every point and the playoffs on the line. You have to go to your bread in butter. Game 1-10 ok I can see trying new things. Game 67, definitely not a smart idea in my opinion.

On to Backman. Nobody can pin last nights loss on him. To me Backman is Malik with more scoring ability. Staal is not used to playing with Backman and maybe the two gel with more games played but I have to say overall 1st impression....I want my 4th round draft pick back. Strudwick might not be the best defensemen, but you know you are going to get smart defense played by him, you know he clicks with this team. And now we are stuck with 3.5 against the cap. I'd rather give that money to Avery next year vs him. Hopefully Mara and Struds are back in there soon and this waste of space is gone.

[rangerbill94]

oleo

There was only one "soft" goal last night. That was the second goal. Hank should have had that in the glove for safe keeping, but he missed it. The first was a lucky, fluk goal. Yes, Malik misplayed the puck, however if a goal resulted from every mishandled puck goalies would have a 4+ GAA. Also, let me point out that if the puck took a right turn instead of going almost parallel to the goal line, Hank would have had it. The second hit Hunters skate about 3 ft in front of Hank and went thru the 5 hole. If Hank played the 5 hole, it may have gone in on the far side. But either way, that kind of redirection is very difficult to react to.

At the very beginning of the season I said to myself..."Boy, with as few goals as we are getting, I sure am glad that those puck off the skates goals, like Kaspar and A. Ward were noted for, are not happening." The weren't stopped by Lundqvist, they didn't happen! Now they are happening and everybody is.."our goalie sucks!". Well, that's just plain stupid. These things happen over the course of a long season. Atleast we are now scoring goals and recovering from those kind of things.

Just be calm, the Rangers are still in full control of their destiny. The next 7 games will tell a big story. I expect 10 points minimum over those 7 games.

[Jameson]

Orr,

I really doubt Renney's mindset in using Roszival in the shootout was "a lot of other teams put their d-man in for the shootout, let me try it." Probably more along the lines of Roszival probably looked good in practice on breaks, or Roszival has a quick shot and we all know Dubi loves to dive and poke check and just force the shooter to shoot.

And that's pretty much all the substance that you brought to that argument. If the only mistake my coach is making is one shooter in the shootout lineup damn I'll take that every night.

[Anthony]

Lundqvist's weakness is that high glove. He lets up so many goals there it's terrible.

Anyway, anyone who says that the defense is at fault for the loss is blind. Yes Malik and Rozsival messed up in the first goal, but when your team outshoots the opponent 30 to 18, can you really blame the defense?

[And This One Will Last A Lifetime]

We have the most points in the conference over our last 10 games. Unfortunately teams ahead of us have played just well enough to not cede too much ground to us.

However, thankfully the Flyers and Islanders hit the skids during this time so we've got some cushion to work with.

I was talking with my friend about goaltending this year and he thinks Lundqvist will get a 3rd nomination for the Vezina. I personally can't see that happening since his midseason drop in form and he hasn't done anything to completely offset that. I don't know who my 3 picks would be for finalists but somehow I think Brodeur and Luongo will end up there.

Brodeur has the career credibility going for him so people are going to be more forgiving about his early season struggles.

I'm convinced that some people just assume Luongo is the next great goalie, despite the fact that he's never really won anything.

I would imagine that Nabokov and Leclaire will get consideration as well. Leclaire unfortunately gets little hype because he plays for a team that is hardly ever spoken about outside of Rick Nash and a lot of hockey writer's fascination with Ken Hitchcock.

It seems that has been somewhat of a down year for goalies as no one as been a complete brickwall the entire season not like Hasek and Brodeur of the late 90's/early 00's. I'm fine with that per se, as long as you have a guy like Ovechkin scoring 50+ with the natural flair with which he does it.

[scinoc]

Perhaps it's too early to make judgment on Backman, but the initial offerings have been awful. If he were only a rental, that's one thing, but if things don't change, it's mind-boggling to think that this guy will be a $2.3M cap hit next year. This was the best the pro scouts could find? Amazing...

[Jess]

Greg

But back to Renney - evey move he makes seems to upset someone here and I really don';t know what people want from him. This organization has been revived with Renney and we are moving toward a bright future, what is he doing wrong?

Renney's biggest fault is that he coaches the Rangers during the internet era where every person with a PC or laptop can sit back and think they know better than him AFTER the fact.

None of those critics have to make any of the decisions on the fly or in the heat of the moment but with the luxury of post game boy their moves are always smarter in their eyes.

Paul

sometimes i wonder if i should say things on here... cause every ranger fan is a gm and everyone has their own "truth"... cause its not an opinion...

maybe one day....

I do not know how to break this to you but this GM has traded you and your posting rights away to the Woodbridge Weekly Shopper.

Be glad that I got a Happy Meal in exchange for you.

(want to bet someone will now say they could have gotten a better deal now?)

Tony M

You can't tell me that he couldn't go out and get his hands on a tough defensive defenseman this team's biggest weakness 8 years running under Slats.Instead he got another soft Euro Dman who is a giveaway machine.

As much as I dislike defending Sather, could you name the defenseman that Sather was supposed to have gotten please and at what cost?

Would you have given 2 draft picks for a rental of Brad Stuart or had Sather made that deal would you have said he overpaid?

Oleo

but you know if i were to post it i'd get some smart remark like "look at oleo trying to teach Hank how to play" followed up with another smart remark like "o golly gee wiz i wouldnt like that"

Actually between this post and the second cheerleader remark you more bordering on the cheapshot artist area which will get you into more trouble so chill out the flames Oleo OK?

Jason

I would bring someone up from Hartford (e.g., Baranka) in lieu of Strudwick.

I like Baranka but with a month left in the season you had best be sure that you want to use one of the 4 callups on this move.

[ivrydov]

Facts speak for themselves. Backman was minus two. Staal was minus two. Staal has been minus two only once before this, in December against a hot Ottawa team. He's ruining the kid.

Studwick has not been minus two this year playing defence. That's 47 games. He was playing forward in the Montreal collapse.

Backman can supply emergency depth but is an Ozolinsh-sized catastrophe at this point and Strudwick has to be play. Next year if he can't make the team, he is waived with his salary to Hartford or Russia. Let's get through this year first.

[Chris QCT]

This loss came down to one thing to me. They just did not put the Islanders away when they had the chances. And that is from the opening faceoff right through to the shootout. They outplayed them for most of the game. They just did not take advantage of the many opportunities the Isles gave them to win it. They were beating Dubliewicz up high all night long. But each time, it either went off the post or they missed the net (in the shootout).

If they play the same way, they'll win tomorrow.

I'm also not sure why Renney chose to mess around with the shootout. Roszival should not have shot at all (and what a desperately weak attempt by him). Not sure why Straka got the call either. Shanny, Dawes, Dubinsky, Drury and Callahan have the hot hands right now. Straka has been invisible for a while. Overlooked in all of this is Prucha was not playing either. He could've helped in the shootout.

...and I have to agree with Jagr. We were all over him last year about not shooting in shootouts, so he started to participate. You know what... he's right. He's not that good at them. Just let it be. Why does he have to be good at them? Some have a knack for it and some do not. He has said he is not good at it and he has shown he is not good at it. Why would you want him shooting?!?

He's not good a taking faceoffs either...should we get on him for that too?

[rich]

I'm sorry but with a shaky Lundqvist why would you play for OT at the end of the 3rd period? Renney did last year and is doing it this year too.This way his team walks away with at least one point and total points gets you into a playoff spot. Same with OT, near the very end he has his guys play "not to lose" instead of "playing to win!" Ugh, I'm tired of that.

[Godot]

Well, It seems to me that the goals Hank has given up recently that have been questionable have all been on the ice--stuff that eeks through.... One wonders what Benoit is thinking about all this.

As for Rozi in the shootout, I question it, but we're not privy to what Renney has seen in drills, etc. If he had scored, we would have said it was a brilliant maneuver. There's no guarantee any one else would have scored (particularly the way things went yesterday), so don't fret it--look forward.

[laurie]

The Rangers have had a ton of time off recently in which to practice, and given their shootout record this season, breakways had to be one of the things they worked on. It is really so far fetched to think that Roszival has actually shown a knack for it in practice? Until you spend the time in practice seeing how everyone performs, how can you call Renney's decision was a bad one? Because Rozsival didn't score? Jagr's 0 for 5, Drury's 0 for 4 and Gomez is 0 for 2. Those are the names I've read and heard most often today. Who's to say any of them would have faired any better?

[paularensburg]

All this talk of defensemen on shootouts reminds me of something I heard on HNiC earlier this season. Seems the famous Malik goal should not have counted because shooters must propel the puck forward at all times, and when he put it between his legs it went backwards, thus ending the attempt.

Sorry to bring this up now because I was really liking MM's recent run of form until last night's relapse.

[akayama49]

Those of us veterans watching from sec.71 near 8th ave. last night commented when the Rangers failed to put one in vs. Dubli during the early first period domination that the Isles would likely come back and score first. (We didn't want that to happen of course; we just had that feeling). However, how it happened was utterly "defenseless" on Malik's part. Rangerbill states that if every mishandled puck ended up in the net goalies would have 4.00+ GAA's. He overlooks the most important aspect of giveaways: where on the ice you give away the puck! Malik sadly, (in)effectively passed the puck ahead to Comeau in the corner---a totally inexcusable lack of execution on Malik's part. Lundqvist is lucky if he in fact makes the save of off Rozsival's skate. The 2nd and 3rd goals were scored right in front of me (Row E) and should have been stopped by an NHL calibre goalie. Tough break for us, but last night poor goaltending was the proximate cause of the lost point; this game
was winnable in regulation but for the 2 tallies against Henrick in the 2nd period. Not to let the refs off the hook; in the 3rd period, the Isles were permitted to foul the Rangers blatanly on at least 3 occasions with no calls.

[paulf]

Jagr hasn't scored in a shootout all year. What would make him an obvious choice over Roszival, who has 13 goals from the backline?

If the defense is so bad, we wouldn't likely be third in the league in shots against. And if we are doing that in spite of bad individual defenseman, that must be good coaching, no?

Everybody on the team and the coach can't be all bad.

The level of recriminations after a game in which we outplayed the other team and got a point, during a 7-0-3 streak in which we haven't lost in regulation in 10 games, is just astounding.

[stuarta]

again guys Henrik is not playing his best right now, it happens. It is a long season he has been a A goalie for 2.75 yrs.. Paul F is right, sure the rangers should beat the Islanders since they are better but it does not happen that way, there are bounces, and goalies, and ref's that always affect the outcome.. If the rangers get a point in a bad game I am happy, get the 6th or 5th seed and get into the playoffs and then go from there...

[saget]

Paulf: First time on this blog...or any blog? ;)

Paularensburg: That's an interesting question about Malik's shootout goal....but I wonder who the HNiC talking heads argued it. The rule (30(a)) says that "The puck must be kept in motion towards the opponent's goal line..." I think it would be hard to argue that the move he made was somehow outside the scope of that rule...aside from when he pulled the puck between his legs, the puck was moving forward. If that half-second of moving the puck sideways/back is outside the rule, then almost every deke would be prohibited.

[cwede]

Paula - Saget beat me to the reply.
Think about guy who first swing a bit wide, stickhandling as he moves back toward the slot and goal, the puck will move sometimes 'away' from the goal-line

[paul]

jess

im not even really talking about anything specific.,.. its like this on all the ranger boards

i very rarely say anything

i think the only thing that i said that i can be held accountable for is shanahan being a ranger next season...

but i really dont have anything specific im talking about... its just funny that everyone is a gm and everyone has their own truth...

its the same every year... lots of arguing after the all star game... argue down the stretch to the playoffs... argue when we fail in the playoffs... argue if we dont make the playoffs... question free agency and other off season acquisitions... draft picks... pre-season (whos making team who isnt) and then the first couple of weeks its ok... rangers hit a rut in december... and then its after the all star game again...

ranger fans have a totally different love for their team... way different than any other new york team i believe... way different than any other nhl team...

please dont read into this too much... i love the rangers... first game was a pre season ranger/flyer game at the meadowlands (if someone can tell me who was the "star" player for the rangers in that game i would be shocked, hes the only ranger not listed in the "ranger database" or whatever it is on rangers.nhl.com).... then eddie giacomin night ranger/jets... im a die hard fan for sure... i am in no way saying anything negative towards anyone...

[ORR Says "Win the Cup" !!]

Im sick of Renney getting all the credit in the world for turning this team around. It begins and ends with Lundqvist, period. He wouldnt do crap with Dunham, Weekes, or who ever the hell else. It was Hank all the way, and Sather as well bringing in Nylander, who brought Jagr back to his glory days for 2 seasons. Renney is a good coach, but he cant coach this Ranger team. He's not fit for it, at all. Stan Fischler is ridiculous when saying he is one of the best, this is coming from the guy that says 2 goal leads are safer then 3 goal leads.

I can bet my left nut, that Renney did go into the shootout, thinking Chara, Timonen, Zubov, etc, goas in the shootout. Thats just how he is. Why wasnt Cally put in before Straka ? When was the last time Straks scored a shootout goal, not since 05 - 06, great thinking coach.

Rangers better win tomorrow's game, cause the record is 4-2-1 now. Thats pathetic.

[paulinflorida]

Dubi...great analysis of the game. I'm sitting here in Florida watching (and analyzing) the game and my thoughts are almost exactly as you saw it. Sure didn't want to go to a shootout (told my wife that in the third period) as I agree Hank looked shaky after the first period. Rosie in a shootout...bad call by the coaching staff...might have cost us a point. With Drury, Callahan, Avery (and others) on the bench watching a defensemen in a shootout is nuts. Yup, Backman looks terrible....all the coaching staff has to do is look at the films for the last three games....he can't be in the line-up as he is a major liabilty. Mara or Strudwick should get the nod for the rematch.

[ANT]

well i guess Orr only has one nut left

[NMGoalie]

The problem with Lundqvist is that he sits too far back in his net. On the screen shot last night he was all the way back on the goal line when the shot was from the top of the slot. It is basic goaltending.... He just needs confidence

[marko]

I think Jagr has some responsibility to the team to participate in these shootouts. He pulled that crap last year too but managed to come through in that key March 3rd game against the Blues. He should be one of the first 3 guys every time (Shanny, Dawes, Jagr at this point).

[joe]

off-topic, but i haven't seen anything on rick kozak in a while...i know he was projected as a possible third or fourth line energy/physical player, is he in charlotte or completely off the radar at this point?

jess? dubi? anyone?

[jj]

joe

kozak is playing for Mississippi River Kings of the chl.

[joe]

so he's pretty much done as a prospect...?

i remember him at the garden when the lockout ended and tickets were back on sale, seemed like a good kid

[oleosmirf]

marko

why does Jagr have to shoot?? He knows he can't shoot the puck so why hurt the team?? Him not shooting is best for the team.

NMgoalie

Henrik always plays that deep even when he's at his best

jess

if I were Sather I would have traded that 4th round pick to the Blues for Salvador instead of Backman and if they wanted a tough guy I would have gave them Hollweg. Staal and Salvador would have been a nice pair.

btw my Vezina Nominees in order

1)Leclaire
2)Brodeur
3)Giguere

[Lundqvist4Vezina]

Paul,

To question some moves Renney makes is understandable. To pin the success of everything on the past on Sather for bringing in Nylander and for Hank is nuts.

If you recall a lot of our young players are having success due to Renney's tootalage and the system that this team has set up and when they ACTUALLY PLAY it they tend to dominate. Why do you think Shanahan wanted to come here so bad? Was it because Hank is a great goalie? Was it because Nylander and Jagr clicked again? No it was because how collectively this team was put together and how well they were coached. To see Rookies skating there butts off and beating teams that nobody thought they would. Seeing a farm system stocked with youth. The tide is turning and Renney is the right guy for the job. Can you question a decision a coach makes. Absolutely. If Rosey scores there, do you question him or applaud him? Joe Torre made a lot of questionable moves as Yankees manager. He had some fail. But he had a lot more success then failure. I don't pin the loss or the lack of poor play by Hank as the failure of this team so far. Its been about Chemistry and new players being brought in and actually finishing down low. Isnt it funny how the Rangers went on their role after Renney went off on the team for not going to the net? Have you noticed where like 90% of our goals are coming from? Hmmmmm wonder who suggested that.

Hank is a great goalie. He can put this team on his back sometimes. Did it last year to some extent. However, bottom line is, last year he was facing shots from the outside, or not in prime time areas. This year he is looking more vulnerable because the quality of shots he is facing is far better then last year. Thus making him look greater last year then this year. His GAA is the same or almost Identical. This year though his Save Pct is down. So that says something to where are the shots coming from? Down low....also what Renney is preaching to his team. Coincedence....I think not!

[marko]

Oleo,

I agree about Salvador or even Davison instead of Backman. Isles got Davison for a 7th round pick. At least he lays people out and would keep players honest around Hank's net. We don't have that element. Plus he's cheap (and unrestricted this summer).

[Jess]

im not even really talking about anything specific.,.. its like this on all the ranger boards

It really is as each board has it's own cliques and no matter where you go there is fighting. Each has their own excuse for why fighting happens.

its just funny that everyone is a gm and everyone has their own truth...

I know and everyone is just as guilty of being wrong about something as well (myself included) but what is not right is people who are hating on the team for some of the strangest reasons that make the least sense.

ranger fans have a totally different love for their team... way different than any other new york team i believe... way different than any other nhl team...

That just might be the statement of the year as the one question I keep getting asked is: Do the Ranger fans want to see their team win or do they (fans) want to be proven right?

I do not have the answer as even I wonder at times which Ranger fans want to see the team win or that they are right about their POV.

Ant

well i guess Orr only has one nut left

LOL actually I think with the stuff he just wrote he is just plain nuts.

None of what he wrote made any sense but as of late that the only sense Orr has been showing is NONsense.

Joe

To follow up on what JJ posted, Kozak played his way out of Hartford and Charlotte with his attitude as well as his play. It is doubtful that he has any hope of a future with the Rangers

[Chris QCT]

Marko - Why should he? Just because he is Jaromir Jagr? I think he is also 0-5 in the shootout this year too. He's told us he is not good, we've seen that he is not good, and the stats say he is not good either. So why should he shoot early in the shootout?

Also, on a side note... Before we all get up in arms, if the NYR beat them in regulation tomorrow we come out ahead for these two games. A regulation win would give us 3 points in the standings while they grabbed 2. It's not ideal, but it's tomorrow's outcome that matters most now.

[rangerbill94]

Orr is a nut. Just who do you think built the scouting department of the NYR? Dubinsky, Callahan, I think Dawes, Staal, Prucha and what is in Hartford...all that is because of Renney, you got it, RENNEY, changed the very structure of the scouting department. Yea, I know, he still can't coach. He didn't get the Rangers in the playoffs for the first time in almost 10 years, the players did. But if anything goes wrong, well it's all Renney's fault. I guess you just don't know how childlish you really sound. I'm sure if Renney took all your advice, then everything would be just perfect in Rangersland. Of course we would discussing who we should take with our 1st overall pick in the upcoming draft. The reasons we would be in that position would not be coaching, because Renney did everything you told him to do. The problem would be Sather and the players...get better players and get Sather to pick the guy you think should be #1 overall. I sick of hearing all your drivel, especially aimed at a team and organization that has turned things around 180 degrees. I'm quite happy with the turn of events over the past 5 years. Renney and his team have done quite well and we are still on the road to a perennial cup contender. Sather has not traded our future and the team is playing just fine.

[Bob Merchant]

Hank is an enigma, when on his game there's no one better and when not on, he's just another face in the crowd of average NHL goalies.
I would actually go with Vally on Thursday. My confidence grows every time he plays.

[Dubi]

Paul, I don't know who on HNIC brought that up about Malik's shootout goal, but that is just plain wrong. You're allowed to pull the puck back while stickhandling. He was clearly moving forward when he made that move. The guys like Nylander who go out to the side are probably closer to violating the rule than Malik was.

Orr, what happened to you? When did you go off the deep end? You never used to write stuff like that. Anyway, if you really believe that it all has to do with Henrik, why don't you go figure out Henrik's stats since Thanksgiving and compare it to the Rangers' record and ask yourself where the wins are coming from.

[Jess]

if I were Sather I would have traded that 4th round pick to the Blues for Salvador instead of Backman and if they wanted a tough guy I would have gave them Hollweg. Staal and Salvador would have been a nice pair.

Thanks for proving Paul's point that everyone thinks they are a GM and thinks they are right.

Tell me Oleo how do you know whether or not Sather did not try for Salvador? How do you know whether or not he offered anything to JD for Salvador and that offer was rejected by the Blues?

Tell me honestly that you knew PRIOR to the trade that Salvador was the one the Rangers should have traded for.

None of us and I mean NONE of the fans or media has ever sat in on what happens when 2 teams are talking trade so until we know firsthand who did what or not then it is a joke to say a week later I would have traded for this guy or that one.