Power Play Earns One Point After Nearly Costing the Rangers Two

When you play golf as badly as I do, the question frequently arises, Why the heck do you insist on torturing yourself this way? The answer, as many a hacker will tell you, is that sweet shot amid all the other misfires that makes it all so worthwhile, and the hope that some day those sweet shots will become the rule rather than the exception. And so it seemed with the Rangers' uber-frustrating power play last night. The power play nearly cost the Rangers the game on four separate occasions, but then it came through to tie the game and earn the Rangers a point, and then it blew another golden opportunity to win the game -- and almost lost the game again -- before the Rangers fell in a shootout to the Panthers in Florida.

The power play had three consecutive chances to extend a 1-0 lead in the second period and put a stranglehold on a game they had no business being in after a awful first period. On one occasion, Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun was all that kept the power play from converting, but on another, a completely ineffective two minutes probably turned the game against the Rangers -- not even half a minute later, the Panthers tied the game, and with newfound momentum, they eventually earned a power play of their own on which they took the lead.

A late five on three as the Rangers scrambled to come back appeared to be just what the power play needed to redeem itself -- and that they did. But not before Steve Valiquette forestalled the ultimate embarrassment in stopping Josef Stumpel on shorthanded breakaway while two men down. The Rangers' five best forwards had managed to get no attack at all for nearly thirty seconds of their two-man advantage by that point, but they then came back and set up and converted on one pretty passing play down low to salvage a point.

But then the scenario repeated itself in overtime -- on a power play that negated what would have been the game winner for the Panthers, a four on three that is nearly as golden an opportunity as a five on three, the four Ranger forwards allowed another shorthanded Stumpel breakaway that beat Valiquette but hit the goal post. This time, though, the unit couldn't respond after that near-disaster, sending the game to a shootout which was won after five rounds by the home team after the Rangers failed to score on any of its chances.

Valiquette, playing his third straight 2-2 shootout (dating back to last spring), was once again outstanding in spelling Henrik Lundqvist for the second time this season. He withstood a 19-shot first period with some great saves as the Rangers stumbled out of the gate in a post-Thanksgiving stupor. And though he allowed two goals on the remaining sixteen shots he saw, as the Rangers regrouped after Chris Drury's goal in the waning seconds of the first, Valiquette kept the Rangers in the game with his breakaway saves on Stumpel. The Rangers started the season figuring they would pretty much concede many of the points that were on the line when Lundqvist rested, but with two excellent outings, Valiquette has earned three out of four points for his team.

Drury broke his goal scoring slump by netting both Ranger goals. Three of his five goals and five of his fifteen points have come in two games vs. the Panthers -- he is +4 in those two games, -5 in his other 21 games. But Jaromir Jagr's streak of futility continued -- he is without a point in his last five games, with only five shots on goals, and the way he has been passing up shots betrays a profound lack of confidence in his offensive game. Not even the return of his compatible opposite winger Martin Straka helped, although the truth is that Jagr's pointless streak should have ended -- and the Rangers should have won in regulation -- late in the third period when he set up Sean Avery with the net completely open only for Avery to hit the goal post (Avery was with Jagr because Straka left the game due to a hamstring pull).

But even though the power play cost the team one point and nearly cost them two (before salvaging the one point), and even though Jagr continues to struggle offensively (along with most of the other forwards -- Scott Gomez was once again dreadful with the puck and Brendan Shanahan was once again invisible), the Rangers continue to rack up points. This can go one of two ways -- the defense and goaltending can ultimately crack under the relentless pressure of playing one 1-0 or 2-1 game after another, or the formidable offensive weapons that have thus far been predominantly dormant can get it together and vault the Rangers to the top of the league. This will be a huge test for coach Tom Renney and the team's leaders. And as is the case for any offense, the power play goes a long way toward defining success vs. failure.

Game reports -- Daily News, Newsday, Post, and NYR.com, with notes from USA Today and the Florida papers here, here, and here (the Sun-Sentinel also has a feature on Czech and Slovak players on the Panthers and Rangers). Blueshirts Blog spoke with Bobby Orr, Marc Staal's agent, about Brian Leetch. A couple of quarter-pole reviews at CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports have Lundqvist as an obvious MVP candidate, but only one mentions Staal among the rookie crop. Hartford won 5-3, with Nigel Dawes scoring two goals and two assists -- see reports in the Courant, Howlings, and WP.com. Howlings reports that Mike Sauer is out with concussion-like symptoms. Prospect Park has a review of game action from last night.

Comments

[Matty is going shopping!]

RePosting what I posted in the last thread cause I took too long and didn't see this new thread *blush*

They did not force the Rangers as far away from Vokoun as possible. No the Panthers did not take away shooting zones, clog the middle and protect the crease.

I am INSULTED Jess! =P

Did you not read my "fromthegametakeonwhathappenedontheice" post??? I do believe that I mentioned that the Rangers were kept to the outside and barely put enough pressure on the Panthers D and their Goalie all night long ... but did I read you credit me with my astute assesment? no! =P

Jagr, in the third started playing with more purpose to his game and had more jump from what I could tell from my seats ... I certainly hope that now that Straka is back, unless he got hurt again, that Jags starts to find his game again ... as much as Jags loves Dubinsky and as much fight and heart and tenacity as Dubinsky brings to that top line perhaps they should try Gomez again at Center ... I don't know, something must be done and will be done now that Callahan is coming back too so some line reshuffling will have to be done regardless ...

Also I want to make it clear that I 100% appreciate what Avery brings to our lineup; but if it isn't clear by now, to those of you who were saying that Avery was our MVP behind Henrik, then you should clearly see now that just isn't the case ... Avery brings a much needed element into our lineup that we have lacked from a long time before he got here ... However we need two guys going to win consistently and be at the top of our game ... #1 is Henrik and #1A is Jaromir ... For anyone to think otherwise you are seeing right now that's just not the case ... Sure things turned around around the time that Avery came on board last season and we've only only lost 3 regulation games with Avery in the lineup, 1 in the SO .... But we if Jagr isn't on the scoresheet consistently, not just with goals but with significant assists then when it comes to the scoreboard we are in trouble ... Not all teams bite into what Avery is selling, the ones that are able to ignore him as the Panthers did last night just play their game and are pretty successful at it ... if our goaltending wasn't top notch and our Defense didn't play as well as it did then we would be in serious trouble ... and on nights like last night we wouldn't of gotten a point ...

So for this team to be successful then Jagr has to find a way to get back whatever he is missing and get it going ... Henrik has been there all season and imo will only get better as the games become bigger later in the season ... Vally has shown that he is a capable backup who is happy in his role and when he steps out there he does all he can to help us win .. our defense helps our goalies as much as they can(the last two games being the exception for the most part), so now it's up to our offense and Jagr to complete what's lacking on our team ...

[ant]

Good for Dawes

[Matty]

The Dallas Stars have Recalled Joel Lundqvist from their AHL affiliate ... he had been there since the beginning of November ... it's nice of them to do this if only to get him to play against his brother, because it is a unique thing for identical twins to face each other ...

[stillz]

this comment is completely irrelevant to the topic, but i felt i needed to express my feelings about the jagr and drury lack of scoring situation (despite drury's 2 goals yesterday)...i believe this lack of scoring issue is due to the fact that dubinsky is centering jagr and drury isnt playing with players up to his caliber. if you place drury (a goal scoring center) with jagr (a playmaking winger) success will happen. it isnt going to be an immediate chemistry but it can easily develop.. thats also a reason the powerplay is doing poorly. jagr and drury are never on the same line how are they going to play well together? gomez and shanahan have that chemistry which is why there the only ones producing on the powerplay. if jags and drury played together and dubinsky was placed on third line with prucha and hossa i believe our scoring problems would be solved

[Jameson]

Stillz,
Drury and Jagr were together to start the year, and this wasn't even when Jagr was playing as bad as he recently was, and it seemed like zero chemistry was there. If I'm not mistaken it was given time too. And Straka was also the wing, so it'd be the same exact line again. I would not mind seeing Prucha-Drury-Jagr, maybe this would spark all three players, because Prucha's lack of scoring has been in my opinion a huge problem, we got a lot of offense from Prucha and our third line last year especially down the stretch, and it hasn't been there at all this season. Prucha's scored a lot of goals for us the past two years, and it hasn't been there.

I touched on it in the last post, Jagr maybe is just not the same player he used to be. It's time to take on more of a team concept and stop building the team and it's philosophy around Jagr. We've got 3 lines worth of players that should be scoring at will, and when Callahan comes back I would not mind seeing the 4th line receiving more playing time if Orr is a scratch and Hossa takes his place. So lets roll those 3 lines, and lets remember that Jagr isn't the only one that scores goals on this team.

[Phill]

Yeah, I know I'm probably going to catch some flack for this, but like Dubi has said repeatedly, I don't believe Dubinsky is ready to center a first line,yet. Maybe down the line, but not right now.

I think we should give Drury a shot with Jagr again with Straka or Prucha opposite of him. I've always loved that potential line and I don't think we should have given up on it so easily.

It's becoming more obvious to everyone that Jagr's goal scoring woes are more contributed to his lack of confidence, rather than whose centering him. It looks like the two goals last night may have sparked Drury's confidence, so I think putting him with Jagr might be just what he needs right now.

[Phill]

I really wish I had the numbers and games to prove this, but I have a feeling I read somewhere that Jagr has as many points with Drury as he does with Dubinsky (i.e., goals/assists contributed to Jagr and his respective center).

In other words, Jagr has an equal amount (or a lack thereof if you want to look at it that way) of chemistry with Drury as he does with Dubinsky. At this point in the season, I think it doesn't make too much sense to have someone of Drury's caliber centering the third line; I mean, it's not like Jonathen Toews centering the 1st line (no dis-respect to Dubi, I love the kid).

I don't think Drury is going to become Jagr's set-up man by any means, but I believe he'll put in all the rebounds that Jagr puts on net, when he decides shoot, that is.

[lennynyr]

I did notice one mistake Valli made. On the second goal he had the opportunity to poke check the puck away from the streaking forward who skated by close to the goalcrease before depositing the puck in the net.

[joeymole]

please santa bring me a rangers power play for christmas!

(and please include triple-a batteries, if needed)

seriously, i have this feeling that renney has dubi with jagr for real-time training purposes. just a hunch. and that he will put drury back with jagr and straka once all are healthy again. and he'll move dubi with prucha and cally. keep the 3rd line as is, and hossa will shift to line 4.

also have this feeling that rangers are still on the hunt for a top shelf d-man. someone to qb the pp blueline. finally, i am hoping renney goes back to 2 pp special teams, instead of just rolling 1 and 2 lines, it was a bad experiment in my view....

[onetimer]

thanks dubi for the links to the florida papers. nice little article on the 12 czech/slovak players on both teams, though it lists Hossa as a Czech, which really is no big deal except that it'll add fodder to those who feel he's just on the roster (wherever, 1st-4th line) to please the top dog, #68!

[onetimer]

ps. speaking of #68, this is larry brooks' take in yesterday's NY Post:

"Jagr needs Straka. He needs a linemate who sees the game the way he does. Great players rely on instinct. That's been missing from Jagr's game this year, even as the captain has played the chip-in, safety-first game that is anathema to his upbringing, intuitiveness and talent."

sounds as plausible as any rumor about an injury.

[Blaze]

I posed these same questions in the previous thread....

Why is Dubinsky still centering the 1st line? He creates no offence whatsoever. He just chases the puck all over the ice aimlessly. He gets muscled off the puck almost every battle on the boards & in the corners.

[i]

Until Jagr's linemates are set, the offense & the PP will flounder. Whether it's Straka, Prucha, or Drury , he needs 2 of those 3 to get out of his funk.

[Phill]

I know this team has a lot of depth (and good talent), but I believe the injuries have taken a toll on the Rangers progression as a team ,as far as offensive prowess goes.

I belive things will turn for the better once everyone's healthy.

He just chases the puck all over the ice aimlessly. He gets muscled off the puck almost every battle on the boards & in the corners.

Blaze,

I agree with most of what you said about Dubinsky (and the rest of your comment from the previous thread). However, your statement pretty much currently applies to everyone who has the puck in the opposition's zone, not just Dubinsky. . .

[K24]

"It's time to take on more of a team concept and stop building the team and it's philosophy around Jagr."

Um, that's exactly what they did this year. If they were still building around Jagr, Nylander would be here. And what exactly do you mean by "team concept?"

[Jameson]

K24,
Since Jagr has been here, it's been all about getting Jagr on the ice in as many key situations in the game as possible. When I say "build" I don't mean roster wise, I mean the gameplan revolves around Jagr, Jagr gets the most ice time of any forwards, a tired Jagr gets the nod to be on the ice over the 2nd and 3rd line. Stuff like that. It was our downfall in 2003-2004. We went as far as we did last year because it finally wasn't all about Jagr.

And Renney still wants it to be all about Jagr, case in point is seeing Jagr on the ice with less than 2 minuets to go in games where we have a lead, even when it's more than 1 goal.

[Phill]

Jameson,

Jagr is still the most talented and most feared player on our team.

He might not be the Jagr that we saw in the Penguins jersey, or even the one we saw two years ago, but he's still an all-star caliber player.

Take this for what it's worth: Brodeur was interviewed fairly recently (after he won his 500th game I believe) and was asked what player he's afraid of the most when he's up against him. Can you guess his answer?

His last name starts with a 'J' and ends with a 'R'.

[lennynyr]

Junior??

[Chris QCT]

I hope Straka's hammy is just temporary. He breathed some life into that line last night when he palyed with Dubinsky and Jags.

The PP is killing me to watch. And they have new people out there now. Drury and Gomez look to over-pass the puck just as much as Nyalnder did. Who's calling the shots on this? It seems like they have been trying the same lame tricks out there for 3 seasons now. And Renney's refusal to blast away from the point with traffic in front is baffling. At the very least they should be doing that until their confidence builds up a little bit...

[Tom]

Anyone see Ek say he could see us trading marc staal for neidemayer??? can you believe this trash....

[Rich]

The other night during the Tampa game Sam made a throwaway comment during the pregame that Jagr was trying to find a new stick to play with. It seems that the geniuses at Reebok (you know the ones with the new, soon to be old sweaters) no longer make the stick he's used for the past few years. Frankly I couldn't believe that a stick manufacturer would stop making a custom piece of equipment for a guy like Jagr or Shanny for that matter. But if they have stopped making his sticks it wouldn't surprise me at all to discover that this was part of Jagr's problem since so much of a players ability to control and shoot the puck is based on "feel and touch."

[Matty]

Anyone see Ek say he could see us trading marc staal for neidemayer??? can you believe this trash....

Yeah the Rangers are going to trade away their future for a player who isn't sure he will return, and furthermore that when/if he does return is sorely missed by the team he has said will be the only one he will play for since his brother is there ...

Rich,

I learned about this a few weeks ago, as Sam and Joe were talking about it .. Jagr said that he cannot get a good grip on the new stick and that his hand slips down the shaft of the stick and it doesn't matter if he tries to tape it because the tape won't stick for him to get a better grip ... Jagr, and players of his caliber, are extremely picky when it comes to their equiptment so it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if this is part of his problems this year aside from anything else ... Don't know what he can do about it if Reebok will just not make the stick that he is used to ... he said he isn't happy but that he can't do anything about it and will just have to adjust ...

[K24]

Sam Weinman had a post on this before the Islanders game:
http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2007/11/19/its-always-something/

If Sherwood is continuing to make their wood sticks in Montreal solely for Jason Spezza, you'd think maybe Reebok Hockey would make Jagr's old sticks for him.

[i]

matty I have a real hard time believing Jagr can't get his sticks fixed. If that's his excuse, I can't accept it. Let him hire a woodcarver for all I care. It's his linemates & the system along with his confidence that are hindering him. If Renney doesn't know that, there's nothing for me to say that won't offend. Jagr is the hub of the NYR wheel. Renney needs to figure out how get it rolling.

[oleosmirf]

matty

Jagr and Gomez is a disaster and why doesn't he call up reebok give them some money and get the sticks made his way simple

its his shoulder that is the problem goes from 54 goals to 30 goals after the injury go figure

[Matty]

i ... I never posted that he used that as an excuse and if you bothered to read the link that K24 posted never does Jagr ONCE use that as an excuse ... I just pointed out a fact ... most athletes have quirks when it comes to their equiptment ... the same way a goalie usually breaks in new pads and gloves during practice, goal scorers are very particular about their sticks and skates, ect ... I just made a comment and never once said that Jagr was using that as a crutch ... obviously Reebok hasn't been able to accomodate Jagr or he would have already gotten the sticks he likes ...

[Jess]

Matty

Sorry your post got lost in the sea of woe that took place after the loss.

[akayama49]

Nice to see someone had four points last night for the Wolfpack--including two goals and two assists mostly on the power play; effective on the PP there as he was in the limited opportunities he had in New York--Nigel we need you on the PP in NY now!!

[lennynyr]

That's a sticky situation with Jagr. Maybe he isn't hurt as Dubi stated multiple multiple times. :)

Can't believe a company making sticks for professional hockey players can't accomodate a special request. Wonder if the league would let Jagr have a private company in that business make sticks to his specification? Maybe he should use Shanny's stick, bending the blade accordingly since he is a lefthanded shot. Look what it did for Orr!!!

[lennynyr]

I've disagreed with the powers to be here about Dawes. You are right, he belongs on the PP in NY.

Being it's an offensive situation, too advanced for Renney who just thinks defense.

[Chris G]

Had'nt Prucha played center before?
I'd like to see him on line 1 with Straka and Jagr...

[i]

matty where did I say you said he's using it as an excuse. I said IF he is I don't buy it. You can if you like. But that's doubtfully his problem, similarily to many saying he's injured. Maybe his sticks & his groin are not perfect. But I say it's been the revolving door of linemates. Dubinsky should not be his center.

[onetimer]

if sticks and groins don't break . . . .

alright. If I'm not mistaken Jagr used a ccm stick in previous seasons. Since RBK bought ccm, they're probably phasing out the ccm line (at least it seems there's a lot more rbk stuff, skates, pads, helmets than ccm these days) and hence Jagr's troubles. As one poster wrote, he should try Warrior.

Dubi, that would make a very interesting read (for me certainly!) to get Jagr's and other vets take on the equipment, sticks, etc, that they use. Are players more apt to use, or feel obligated to use a given stick if their other equipment, esp. skates, is supplied by that company? I know players are free to choose whatever they feel like using, but just wondering if they're pressured to be a "rbk" or "nike/bauer" player?

[Jess]

You know I will acknowledge that I am in a really bad mood after watching my laptop get fried tonight but I am so tired of some of the "experts" who think they have the answers for what ails the Rangers.

Let us see the team has the 5th best record in the NHL, are tied for first in their division and have the best defense in the entire NHL.

But to look at what several people are saying you would think this team had only won 2 out of their last 10 games.

Look at the posts here and please tell me if anyone took the time to say even one thing positive about this team in this thread?

This is so embarrassing to see as I was up in Portland talking about the Rangers and this magazine and people were asking how come Ranger fans are always so negative of their team.

I had no answer because what could I say when you come here tonight and see nothing but negative.

In Portland the Winterhawks are only 5-19 on the year and yet those fans were there tonight in full force supporting their team on Teddy Bear Night, rooting for their team like crazy.

What is wrong with this picture?

[Blaze]

What is wrong with this picture?

You my friend...take off those rose-colored glasses.Live a little.

Why are you so uptight about a few fans having a discussion about hockey? It's just people with differing opinions who ALL would like to see their team do better. There's no harm in it at all...people do it EVERYDAY. Take a chill pill.

[Jess]

Blaze

This is your idea of discussion

Why is Dubinsky still centering the 1st line? He creates no offence whatsoever. He just chases the puck all over the ice aimlessly. He gets muscled off the puck almost every battle on the boards & in the corners.

Where is the discussion here? You have said only this about Dubinsky and nothing else.

No you do not get it, the team is one of the best in the NHL and have you said even one positive word about the team?

No you have not, you keep trashing a rookie that is all

[Blaze]

I’ve only posted 3 times since coming out of lurk mode. What am I supposed to do? Run a check list of all of my likes & dislikes ALL in one post?

If you consider that "trashing"...then you need to avoid this blog at all costs. It's apparent that you can't handle it.

Oh if you will...please post what the proper format is for discussion on here. Should I be obsessing about this blog 24/7 like you? Dude…lighten up. Have a little fun with it.

[Blaze]

And go check out the previous thread. I did respond to you. I hope I was able to expand on the discussion to your liking.

And newsflash...The Rangers have plenty of areas that need improvement if they want to get past the first round of the play-offs. Did anyone happen to catch the Philly/Ottawa game tonight? NYR are severely lacking compared to those two teams.

[Matty]

Did anyone happen to catch the Philly/Ottawa game tonight? NYR are severely lacking compared to those two teams.

Not in the Goaltending/Defensive department they aren't ... specially when it comes to the Flyers ...

I saw that game, and where the Rangers are lacking is the Offensive department ... mainly the Power Play because the Rangers have already played those teams ... twice ... When OTT was super-hot and they lost those two games when they lost control of both games for a total of about 3 minutes other than that they matched up well with the Senators ... and the "mighty" Flyers? Oh yeah, we've beaten them the two times we've faced them ...

This team, for all it's offensive woes is 7-2-1 in their last 10 so excuse me if I am not pining away for how other teams are playing ...

Do I want our PP to get going? To want Jagr, Shanny, Drury, Gomez, Avery, Prucha, Straka, ect to start scoring(getting assists) at will? Yes to both ... However, as long as we continue to play our sound defensive game and continue to get one more goal then the opposition I have very little to complain about when we are winning ... I have to believe that our team is too talented to be in a scoring funk all year long ... Toronto is one of the highest scoring teams in the League and worst defensively ... now they can't even score but are still worst defensively and are losing badly ... Given all our injuries I am extremely proud at how the team has responded and has played this month ...

Jess!!

Once again you let everyone else sour you to the fact that I posted a positive comment ... =P

;))

[lennynyr]

The way I feel about it, why only talk about things that make the Rangers a good team? That would make this board guilty of tunnel vision. Besides, there's a lot wrong with the Rangers that deserve being talked about.

This is supposed to be a free thinking board and anyone trying to basically tell you what to say, demeans the free thinking of this board.

Dubi demands respect for others and he'll come at you like he has at me when he disagrees. I personally have no problem with that as long as I can freely disagree with him or anyone else, as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

There is no other board that has two guys, Dubi and Jess, that spend so much time on hockey (it's their careers) and provide us with so much information that we couldn't get elsewhere. I wouldn't know much about the prospects if it wasn't for Jess's in depth reports and Dubi is able to have contact with management, coaches and players.

That said, at times I think both of those gentlemen are a little too sensitive about the content posted here. I'm not talking about the idiots who come on here to create mischief, or use of profanity or personal insults, they deserve to be booted, I'm talking about those of us who have thoughts towards the Rangers that conflict with Dubi's and Jess's ideas. I probably lead that group. Think it over powers to be, I just might have a valid point there.

[GerryD]

I have to agree that I'm happy to be as high as we are in the standings. That said, I'm not happy with the way we are playing- We need to get the PP and the O going! Once this gets in gear this team is gonna be way dangerous!!! It seems we make every goalie in the league look great. We need a breakout game where we go like 3-5 on the PP and put in 5-6 goals. We also need for it all to come together at the right time. The last 15 games or so would be very nice!

[IITH]

What channel is the game on today? I can not find it anywhere on center ice!

[lennynyr]

Is WWOR the only place the game is being televised on? If so I'm SOL.

[Matty]

Center Ice says it's Game 3 ... don't know if that varies from city to city ...

But in the NY Area it will be on Channel 9 ...

[lennynyr]

I used to get that channel Matty but Time Warner took it off last year. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!

[LI Joe]

radio wise the game is on 1050 AM which is not that strong a signal.

Lenny you have to see the game Hossa is going to be en fuego today.

[ant]

ITS UPN 9

[lennynyr]

Do some good play by play folks since I won't be able to see it.

[stevek]

The game is also playing free on yahoo nhl sports live for the ones who live outside of new york.

[Matty]

Lenny, I don't do play by play anymore cause I don't like reading the comments as the game is going on lol ... most of the time it puts me in a bad mood lol ..

Now there is a link ChannelSurfing.net

That posts game links online ... it does work .. you can watch out of market NFL games and everything ... what you need to do is refresh the link about 10-15 minutes before the scheduled game time unless your game is already linked ... because of the all the NFL games today I do not see any hockey games listed but I think that the Rangers game will be linked unless for whatever that channel 9 is an issue for that website ...

It's worth a try, and it's free