I guess there wasn't a Ranger thread already. Anyhoo, after a loss to the Pens to open the season, the Rangers have won 5 straight games with a thrashing delivered to the Leafs on Monday. The rookie defensemen, Matt Gilroy and Del Zotto have shined, especially the latter. Dan Girardi is trying to compete for the Maurice Richard trophy. And so far, Marion Gaborik has proved to be the sniper we all hoped he would be, that is until he gets hurt. The team's playing responsibly, playing hard, and unlike last year, scoring goals. Sean Avery will get to play his former and surprising team tonight at the Garden. No word if his sloppy seconds will be in attendance.
Hard fought win by the Blueshirts last night. They didn't look particularly great but a win is a win, especially against a team that's been playing well in the Kings. Gaborik got another goal and I don't know why, I'm a little scared with his great production early on. At Toronto on Saturday. If the Leafs continue to play they way they have been, should be an easy 2 points.
Well, 7 game winning streak had to eventually end. Just didn't expect it the way it went. Defense just completely fell apart after quickly going up 2-0. I wonder if that goal they disallowed after the quick whistle (would've put them up 3-0) woke the Sharks up. Anyway, it was a pretty embarassing game and they played on their heels the rest of the way. It was one of those nights that even bringing in Hank (in place of Vally who got the start) wasn't going to solve anything. All the momentum was with San Jose. Anyway, the Rangers host the Diablos on Thursday. You know that's always going to be fun. ******** the Devils.
well I was happy how the game ended last night. Marty being Marty and my devils stay undefeated on the road.
Nice 5-2 win over the Coyotes last night. Rangers came out strong, climbing out to a 4-0 lead in the second. However, the Coyotes got 2 back (one shorthanded) and it was all of a sudden a game after two. Rangers clamped down and added another for a nice victory. Gaborik has been a great signing so far, and to be honest, one I wasn't too sure about. Hopefully his injury isn't a huge concern. He sounded okay after but that could be him toughing it out. This is a much different team than last year's. They're scoring goals and being responsible for the most part on the defensive end. I thoght the loss of Betts and Sjo would hurt the PK as well but so far so good.
Terrible, terrible game last night. That should've been an easy 2 points but I guess when these two teams meet, records don't matter much, because afterall, the Islanders are still terrible. Couldn't see it from my seats (seats behind the glass = overrated) but apparently the Rangers hit the post quite a few times. Still, they just didn't seem up for it. The Isles pretty much controlled most of the play and not much was going for the Rangers. Ahh well.
Anybody know how Nikolai Zherdev has been doing at Atlant Moscow Oblast in the KHL? EDIT: Nvm, found his stats. He has 24 points in 32 games. I really wish we would have held on to him.
He's on a tare and playing some seriously good hockey at the moment. You can catch the KHL on the net for free... usually four to five games a week are shown via their website, check it out..... u might even get to see Fetisov suit up.
fantastic game Vs Devs tuesday night shame Marty had the game of his life contrary to soccer a 0-0 tie is the best in hockey pity a game could not end in a tie anymore
God, this team sucks. Where's the fire? Where's the hunger? Where's the grit? Hell, can I just get a pulse at this point? And seriously, I know people will point to the Dolan/Isiah partnership as the downfall of the Knicks. But can we please start looking at the Dolan/Sather partnership as a detriment to the organization as well? I know they've made the playoffs every year since the lockout, which is definitely something to be proud about. But the last couple seasons, they've struggled and needed late surges to secure a spot. Sather had the right plan when he took a few veterans and a bunch of young kids and made them a contender. But he's strayed from that plan and has gone back to giving out terrible contracts. It's funny that the one bad signing me made with Scott Gomez, he goes out and signs the winger that he needed in Gaborik, but trades him away to Montreal. I almost feel bad for Gomez. And Drury? Why'd he get to stick around? Wade Redden's terrible. Roszival's contract was completely undeserved. Hell, I think he even over-paid for Dubi. This team is a disaster and I'm surprised Torts hasn't had a stroke yet.
I loved Torts's reactions last night behind the bench. He was just like whatever. I am sure the players got lashed after the game, they looked terrible. BTW , I loved the cheer when the final minute of the 3rd period came. Ahhhh true New York fans.
Is it too late to send Sather a X-Mas card thanking him for overloading their roster with overpriced and overrated players ? Wade Redden is my hero
Rangers top both the worst and best. However, I worry about Hank these days. He lets in the soft goal a bit too much and it's scary how easily he can be beaten, glove-side. Don't get me wrong, he's still a top goalie, but I'm not sure if he can be in the top 5 anymore.
Rangers possibly involved in a deal with Calgary. Apparently it would include Kotalik and Higgins for Jokinen. The thing that scares me is that Brooks says the original deal was to include Kotalik and Gilroy for Jokinen. The fact that he was willing to make that deal in the first place is reason to scare me. The current deal in place, should it happen, sounds way more reasonable. Actually, sounds good. Neither have done much so if Jokinen doesn't work out for us, what's the difference? At least Gaborik will have a real center to play with. But boy, would I have loved a Phaneuf deal.....
No kidding, our blue-line definitely needs some work done. But the Leafs had to give up quite a bit in respect to their team to get him. Stajan and Hagman are two of their four top forwards this year, Ian White who besides Kaberle, was probably their best defensemen, and Jamal Mayers, but Mayers wasn't that big of a loss for them. I wonder who we could have dealt for Phaneuf. Well obviously we are willing to let Higgins and Kotalik go but we would have had to probably throw in at least one more player to even get a chance for Dion.
Don't feel bad for Gomez. His lazy attitude is a big part of what infected the locker room last season. The reason that Drury got to stick around is two-fold. One, he has a no-movement clause in his contract. If he doesn't want to go anywhere, he doesn't. Two, he only has two more years on that contract. By the time the really good kids on the farm are hitting their stride (Stepan, Grachev, Kreider, Sanguinetti, McDonagh), Drury will drop off the salary cap, and the team can sign someone to compliment that young core. Incidentally, there is no way that Sather overpaid for Dubi. Even if Brandon doesn't get any better (which is extremely unlikely considering he's improved in each of the last three seasons), getting a 40-point player who hits, and can play C or W for ~2M is a steal. There's a reason other teams keep asking for this kid in trade talks. As to your later point about Hank's weakness high glove, it is what it is. He's still easily a top-5 goalie in this league. He's playing behind a defense that consists of two dead weights (Redden and Roszival), two rookies (Gilroy and Del Zotto, who have both had their share of rookie games this season), a regressing Dan Girardi (who will get traded before the deadline this year- bank on it) and Marc Staal. Even with that suspect defense in front of him, the only way to beat him is to place a perfect shot in the corner of the net. Without Lundqvist, this team is guaranteed to have a top-3 draft pick.
No point in giving up big assets for Phaneuf. Dion's physical to be sure (and we are missing that element), but we have an absurd amount of D-talent in the prospect pipeline. The trade that did go down is perfect. We added some toughness in Prust, and swapped a $3 million contract (with two more years on it) for an expiring contract. With Kotalik out of the way, the Rangers will actually be able to afford to keep Marc Staal this offseason.
If conspiracy theorists truly believe that the NHL wants the Rangers to succeed, they'll force a deal where Ovechkin comes to Broadway. Great game last night and one that would convert non-hockey fans. Unfortunately, the Rangers were on the losing end of it. And of course, it came on a night where they actually scored goals. Last night's game reminded me of the Jets/Colts AFC Championship game. 17-6 lead right before the half and a late TD orchestrated by Manning keeps it a one-possession game. 5-3 lead right before the end of the second and Ovie scores another highlight reel goal. Worst part of those two plays is that it could've, should've, would've been stopped. Instead, the Caps come back with the Rangers on their heels trying to protect a one-goal lead. And I called this as they headed into the tunnel for the second intermission. Sports can be so damn unpredictable but at times, it's just so damn clear. That being said, Ovechkin is simply amazing. I love the energy he plays with on every shift and he's not afrad to throw his body around. You GOTTA love that. I'm insanely jealous that Caps fans get to watch him every game.