Pride. Passion. Tradition. The New York Rangers Thread.

Truth.

Big win by the Rangers. They jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on Jose Theodore thanks to goals by Dominic Moore who made a sensational move, Jagr, and Rucinsky. Theodore was replaced by Danis for the rest of the game and you could slowly see the Habs takeover. The third period was just ridiculous as it seemed like we spent much more time in our zone. Goals by Kovalev and Zednik cut the lead to 1 and I really thought we were gonna throw this one away. Then all of a sudden Rucchin added one on a beeeeeeeeautiful feed from Ortmeyer and Moore got his second to restore the 3 goal lead.

Rivet took a run at Rucinsky and knocked him out of the game. I don't know whether it was a dirty hit or not (although it looked like Rivet brought his knee up a little) but regardless, Rucinsky got rid of the puck and thus it should've been a charging penalty. No word yet on Rucinsky's condition but I sure as hell hope he isn't out for long because he's been one of our best players so far.

It was interesting to hear JD say that someone on the Rangers should take a charge at Rivet for the hit. And looking down our lineup, I don't think there's one person I'd feel confident getting into a scrap, something we still haven't done this season. Usually we had Purinton or McCarthy to take care of those guys but I don't know, with the new rules it seems like the enforcer will soon become extinct.

 

Rucinsky's out for 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain. It sucks to lose him since he's been one of our most productive players thus far. He's the best 2-way player we have and has been great on the PP. Petr Prucha hasn't been recalled from Hartford which would be an ideal move considering he has 2 goals and an assist in 2 games over there. I guess they're going with Jeff Taffe who hasn't played since his debut on the Island. Also I guess this forces Renney to give Fedor Fedorov more ice time which will be interesting considering he's been benched in the third. Sergei he's not.

Don't know if any emotions will carry over from Montreal. The Rangers looked ready to scrap which is the first time I've seem them close to getting a fighting major. Plus the late hit by Rivet on Rucinsky might bring some baggage over. We shall see.

Canadiens vs. Rangers @ The Garden, 7pm

 

Frustrating loss last night. Once again, too many damn penalties. Kasparaitis' double minor really cost us. We got out of the second period fortunate to be level at 0 thanks to more brilliant goaltending by King Henrik. However, things changed in the third. The team looked way too tired. They were ragged and Montreal just kept pouring it on. Begin's shorthanded goal sealed the deal. The team couldn't skate and they couldn't string together more than 2 passes. I think they just ran out of steam from spending most of the game penalty killing. Theodore was strong and looked nothing like he did on Saturday night, unfortunately for us. Jagr did notch another PP goal though. He's been sick. And Fedor Fedorov better not be playing on Thursday. He sucks. WHERE THE HELL IS PRUCHA?!?!?!?!

Is Renney doing a good job? Obviously you have to say yes looking at their record and the way this team plays. But it looks like he's taking a page out of Slats' book and giving too much ice time to the first line. I feel like the 3rd and 4th lines are valuable, yet they barely log any minutes unless it's on the penalty kill. Even strength is when he should utilize all 4 lines, but that's just my opinion.

Hopefully Weekes will start on Thursday against the Devils. I think Henrik needs a rest thanks to the onslaught he's faced. If Weekes has a good game on Thursday, maybe that can mean some kinda platooning in net. We'll see.

 

After a dissapointing showing on Monday night against the cellar dwellars of the Atlantic, the Rangers were headed for another dissapointing loss against the Panthers last night until the rookie Dominic Moore came to the rescue. With 3 seconds left, he banked a shot off of Roberto Luongo's pad from BEHIND the net to even things up at 3. Call it luck if you will but it seemed to be the only real chance Moore had to make since every man was being tangled up by a Panther. Of course the Rangers would've never had this chance if that one player on the Panthers hand't iced the puck due to a brain fart.

The Rangers looked pretty bad throughout most of the game. They were outhustled and outshot by the Panthers much like Monday night. However, the third and fourth lines seemed to provide some spark towards the end and the Rangers were able to come back and win in a shootout. Ryan Hollweg was incredible providing plenty of spark.

In the shootout it was Petr Prucha to the rescue again. After Straka and Jagr hit posts, Nylander was robbed on a beautiful glove save by Luongo. Lundqvist did his part and stopped all the Panthers shots before Prucha lifted a wrister past Luongo, nailing the game winning penalty shot much like he did on Saturday against the Devils.

They better get their act together though since they play again tonight versus the defending Stanley Cup Champions. I have a feeling Martin St. Louis is gonna draw a lot of penalties with his speed. The Rangers committed way too many penalties, especially in the third period. The ref did a pretty terrible job as well handing out a couple of phantom penalties and missing some big ones. At first it seemed like the Rangers were getting F*ed over with some non-calls but they got some lucky breaks towards the end with some cheap calls in their favor. Still the refereeing was pretty much sh!t throughout the game.

The power play isn't clicking although their penalty kill still remains excellent. Then again, this team has had plenty of chances to use their PK units so I guess we should be happy that it is as good as it is, unlike recent years past.

These rookies are really impressive. Obviously there's Henrik, but you look at Moore who looks like he'll be a smart player. He reminds me of Mike York in his rookie season. Ryan Hollweg has been a spark and Prucha has been our savior in the shootouts.

Hope Renney can get his team together for a tough one.

 

Impressive indeed. I was worried about tonight since the Penguins were the ones that dominated the last time these two met at the Garden. However Tom Renney has done some sorta magic with this bunch and they got it going on. Of course it didn't help that Eddie Olczyk's team was taking so many stupid penalties.

Weekes was indeed unbelievable tonight. He made some huuuuuge stops against a team that had some great scoring chances. The best part was watching Henrik and Weekes skate back to the tunnel together after the game. You could see the camraderie there and I think that says a lot about this team.

And our second fighting major of the season! Go Ville Go!

 

Bah. Tough loss tonight. Rangers lose 2-1 on two McCabe PP goals. The second goal shouldn't have happened as it was a weak penalty called on Ortmeyer. I know it's all about protecting the goalie but c'mon, he barely made contact with Belfour. Tonight's game there were a bunch of questionable calls. I'm all for the less obstruction but they were just getting out of hand. Jagr had the lone goal and Weekes was absolutely sensational in net. He made some terrific stops as did Belfour. There was some great action and I think this was the most entertaining game so far of the season. Just great end to end action.

One glaring problem you see with the Rangers though is their lack of hitters. I know Hollweg brings his game as a feisty player and Kaspar can throw some major hits. But you look at the Leafs lineup and see these players that are power forwards who can skate and throw hits. The Rangers seemed to be getting thrown around although I noticed a little bit more hitting on their end in the latter half of the second period.

Anyway, Carolina comes up next. This will be another huge test for us to end our 5 game road trip. While a guaranteed .500+ record is nice on this trip, I'd definitely like to see us go 4-1 before returning to the Garden.

 

Same here. I just hope Leetch returns.

 

Yeah, they finally won one for me while there. My record is now 1-0-2. I vowed that if they lost tonight that I'd not return for any more games this season. Now I can happily return.

Like you said, Jagr was huge. Henrik came up with a huuuuuge save that ended up being a breakaway thanks to Tom ********ING Poti. I hope they get rid of this bitch. And they need to do something about their power play. It's too damn predictable. They pass it around till Jagr's open and that's it. Imagine Leetch still a Ranger and playing point with Jagr. We'd have the top PK AND PP units in the league.

Still, they got the W and that's all that matters. We need to see Hollweg out there more too. Everytime he's out there on the ice he just goes and hits a player or two.

 

Weekes was unbelievable tonight. I think he's our #1 right now even though I love Henrik. When in doubt I say go with the veteran and he's showing why they signed him in the first place.

Frustrating to watch this team though considering they shouldn't have had to come back from behind. Forget the fact that they hit the post more than they had SOG, and that the goalie robbed them on some incredible plays, but their power play is just awful. If it isn't some individual move by Jagr or him being setup, the PP has absolutely nothing going for it. Of course credit the Sabres PK units which did a terrific job as well, but c'mon. The Rangers PP just had nothing going for them.

Still, it was a gutsy win and another shootout thriller. And like you said, I know it's artificial, but damn is it exciting. Briere probably had the nicest move of all the shooters.

Good win. Hotlanta on Turkey Day. LET'S GO RANGERS!

 

What a goal by Marek Malik of all people to end the longest shootout so far this season. 15 ROUNDS!!!!! 9 being the previous longest. Both goalies were absolutely incredible and everytime the Caps got one, the Rangers answered back. Malik's through the legs goal was simply incredible and best was his reaction afterwards just staring up at the crowd without a hint of emotion and getting mobbed by his teammates.

It was an ugly game and the Rangers probably didn't deserve the 2 points, but damn is it fun to just be a fan again. Our first shorthanded goal of the year scored by Jason Ward, then Super Jed getting another at the start of the second. The lead quickly dissapeared and the Caps were outworking the Rangers. Yet our good fortunes carried over for our 5th win in a row in an unbelievable shootout that had the crowd sounding like a playoff game.

The Rangers get a much deserved rest, not playing until Thursday. It'll be much needed rest for a banged up club that just keeps on going. Hopefully we'll see the return of Rucinsky soon although I wonder who they'd send down. It's a tough choice.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. And like you said, I too questioned having Renney on board. Who knew it'd be him to get guys playing as hard as you can, giving it 110% every single night. Well, almost every single night. I don't know whether this 4 day break is a good or a bad thing considering we got a 5 game win streak, but I guess it's good to give rest to guys who really need it. Jagr was a little banged up, Poti's banged up, Rucchin's banged up, and Weekes sure as hell can get all the rest he can get.

Interesting to see Strudwick getting the other A. The JD was saying that the team absolutely loves him and you could see the excitement he and the bench had after he scored crucial shootout goal. It's an interesting bunch and I like the fact that we got 3 alternate captains.

 

Actually yes. I took a good friend of mine to the Rangers/Isles game back in October for her first ever Ranger game. She loved it so much she wanted to return the favor and got us tickets for Monday. No food voucher though =(

 

Rangers top the Pens 2-1 for their 6th straight. They're also 10 games over .500 for the first time since......well a long time.

Wasn't the prettiest of games. Awesome goaltending by Lundqvist definitely was the key. Rucinsky came back into the lineup for the first time since he hurt his knee and Rucchin came back as well after missing a few. Marek Malik also got the game winning goal, although in less dramatic fashion than on Saturday. Not to mention the Rangers got a power play goal! Maxim Kondratiev's first of his NHL career, although not the prettiest.

Still, a win's a win and this team manages to find ways to get points whether they're on their best or not.

Sweeeeeeet Car-O-line......bah bah bah!