NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #5-1...

And here we are, my personal Top 5 Post-Lockout Moments for the New York Rangers. To recap, this is how we got here...

20) Rangers score 3 goals in 90 seconds, beat Devils.
19) Comebacks against Ottawa and Montreal.
18) Dom Moore scores from behind the net on Roberto Luongo.
17) Sean Avery's 4 point night against Dallas.
16) Scott Gomez traded; Marian Gaborik signed.
15) Mark Messier Night; Jaromir Jagr scores in overtime.
14) Brian Leetch announces Adam Graves Night.
13) Jagr scores 29 seconds into the '06-'07 season.
12) Henrik Lundqvist robs Marc Savard.
11) Michael Nylander's hat trick in the playoffs.
10) Rangers win their first game after the Lockout.
9) Brendan Shanahan fights Donald Brashear.
8) Marek Malik's shootout goal; Jason Strudwick also scores.
7) Jed Ortmeyer's penalty shot.
6) Brian Leetch's only game at MSG as an opponent.

5) Game 3 vs. Buffalo / Game 4 vs. Buffalo
MSG - April 29, 2007 & May 1, 2007
With the Rangers down 2-0 in a series against the NHL’s best team (53 wins, 113 points), did the Rangers need a miracle to get back into it?

No, they just needed some defense. They were up, if you remember, 2-1 in Game 2, but lost it in the 3rd period.

In Game 3, Jagr gave them a 1-0 lead but Danny Briere tied it late in the 3rd. The Rangers and Sabres then played into double overtime before Jagr passed to Michal Nylander who passed it to Michal Rozsival, who actually shot the puck. He rocketed one off the post and past Ryan Miller to give the Rangers a thrilling win - and another chance.

Earlier in Game 3, Karel Rachunek had a goal waved off for using a “distinct kicking motion” which, replays showed, was complete garbage. He was stopping and the puck hit his skate and went in - a completely legal move seeing as there was no “pendulum motion.”

Which leads to Game 4, one of the best games the Rangers have had since 1994.

Jagr and Brendan Shanahan scored to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead and Ales Kotalik cut it to 2-1 with 11 minutes left in the 3rd.

With 17 seconds left, Danny Briere put the puck past Henrik Lundqvist - or did he? A 5-minute video review followed, and it was ruled “inconclusive evidence” - they couldn’t overturn the ruling on the ice, and it was a no-goal. Was it a make-up call for the blown-call on Rachunek last game? Was the puck in the net? I still don’t know, but the refs said it wasn’t, Toronto couldn’t make up their mind, and the Rangers tied the series at 2.

I still have the newspaper cover hanging on my wall in my room: “Replay Says Rangers, Sabres, Even At 2.”



4) Prucha’s Power Play Goal
Nassau Coliseum - March 8, 2007
Three nights before, on a Monday, Rick DiPietro saved 56 shots but lost in a shootout on a Matt Cullen goal at MSG.

On a Thursday, tensions were on fire in Uniondale. The fans were going crazy. Islander fans were buying Ryan Smyth t-shirts and jerseys in the lobby; Ranger fans countered by chanting Henrik Lundqvist’s name.

By the time the 3rd period rolled around, it was 1-1. Chris Simon, yes, Chris Simon, scored early in the 2nd and Paul Mara tied it on a power play midway through the period.

Of course, that’s when one of the most controversial plays in NHL history happened. Ryan Hollweg, in the midst of a decent season after a very good rookie year, boarded (or did he?) Simon. Simon, not known for his good judgement and virtuous patience, swung his stick at Hollweg, knocking him out and earning himself a 25-game suspension.

On the ensuing 5-minute power play, Petr Prucha scored to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead with just over 5 minutes left.

Then, things started getting interesting.

With 20 seconds left, Marc-Andre Bergeron’s shot was stopped by Lundqvist and Trent Hunter slid the puck in the net (or did he?). The ref called “No Goal” on the ice, so sufficient evidence to overturn it would be needed.

After what seemed like an episode of “Friends,” the ref came back and waved his arms - No Goal. And he said what we would yell in the parking lot, and for weeks to come: Inconclusive Evidence.

The two games together were some of the most tremendous hockey I’ve ever seen. And I’ve never seen the Coliseum rock harder for Ranger fans then when Prucha stuffed that shot in on the power play. I hugged the 8-year old next to me, and I’m pretty sure his father got very mad and I then moved my seat. It was such an emotional goal after such a horrific event.

It was, in fact, the essence of The Rivalry.

It wound up being a huge game for the Rangers. While the Islanders stayed at 76 points, the Rangers gained 2 points and ended the night with 73. However, at season’s end, the Rangers had 2 more points and ran through Atlanta in the playoffs, while the Islanders fell to Buffalo, who eventually beat the Rangers, too.



3) Emergence of Henrik Lundqvist
Atlanta - November 24, 2005
His first win was against New Jersey. We were that we had a capable backup for Kevin Weekes. His second win was against New Jersey. We thought it was great that we found someone who could beat Martin Brodeur.

In the following games, we found out what we all know now - that Henrik Lundqvist is one of the elite goaltenders in the league. He was young, he was unknown, he was flexible, he was quick, and he loved New York. However, during the lockout, the one move the Rangers did was sign Weekes, who never had a winning NHL season but was experienced and had had a great postseason in Carolina (3-2, 1.62 GAA).

Tom Renney, never one for change (See: Wade Redden on the Power Play), alternated the two goalies but claimed Weekes was the starter. In fact, in November, Weekes had 8 starts to Lundqvist’s 4, including a Thanksgiving Day night game in Atlanta.

Weekes hurt his leg in a freak incident where the net fell on him. It turned out to be something Ranger fans were thankful for.

Lundqvist took over, not only in the game, but in the season. He started the next 6 games, going 4-1-1, giving up 12 goals. For the rest of the year, Weekes only started 2 games in a row twice, and one of those sets was right after the Olympic break where Lundqvist won the Gold Medal.

If not for Lundqvist, where would the Rangers have ended that season? Jagr was incredible as well, you can’t deny that, but we’ve seen what can happen to teams with just scoring and no goaltending. In fact, when Lundqvist was injured in the playoffs, the Rangers were swept by the Devils (Jagr was hurt as well).

Weekes never was mad, either. In one interview, he said he couldn’t possibly be mad. He knew how good Lundqvist was, and he knew he would lose his starting job as soon as the rest of the league found out.

Where would the Rangers be any season without Lundqvist? For the past 4 seasons, when the scoring faltered, Lundqvist kept the Rangers in nearly every game. And if I was starting a team today, he would be the first goaltender I pick.

2) Avery vs. Brodeur
New Jersey - February 20, 2007
I remember being at the Monday night game when it was announced that the Rangers acquired Sean Avery for Jason Ward and March-Andre Cliche (who people were mad about trading, but, uh, where is he now?). It was a game against Detroit that the Rangers lost 4-3 to fall to 25-24-4, with the playoffs fading out of reach.

The next day was a Tuesday, and Avery’s debut. I remember watching on TV (it was in New Jersey) and being impressed at the fact that Avery actually had skill, unlike all the bitter fans of other teams were saying. He had a great play to win the puck and pass it to Michael Nylander, who passed to Karel Rachunek, who scored a goal. And he got in Brodeur’s face. Interesting, I thought. The Rangers lost that game in a shootout.

Fast forward two weeks later. The Rangers had gone 4-1-1 with Avery (including the shootout in Jersey). Another Tuesday night, another trip to New Jersey. Another Devils victory.

With 1:16 left in the 2nd period, Avery got by Colin White, gets a shot off, doesn’t stop, and knocks into Brodeur, knocking his helmet off. Brodeur shoves Avery, Avery shoves back, and Brodeur jumps down as if he’d been shot.

What was so big about this was that it has started one of the biggest storylines for the Rangers since the Lockout ended. There have been fights, dives (by Brodeur), refused handshakes, a few incredible goals that led into huge celebrations, a war of words, a great playoff victory by the Rangers, cheap shots by both players, and even an entire set of rules dedicated to goaltender interference based on how Avery screened him during the 2008 playoffs.



1) Clinching the Playoffs
MSG - April 4, 2006
Remember how I earlier said that Lundqvist took a break after the Olympics and Weekes started 2 straight games? Well, the first of them was one that actually made me, a cold-hearted male, shed a few tears.

In a home game against the Flyers, the Rangers needed 1 solitary point to clinch the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Rangers scored early in the 1st, but Philadelphia scored twice in the 2nd to take a lead. However, Martin Straka scored early in the 3rd to tie it at 2, and it eventually went to overtime, and then a shootout.

It didn’t matter. All they needed was to take it to overtime, and with 7 games left in the 2005-06 season, the New York Rangers clinched the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Those tears washed away years of bad memories - Mark Messier leaving; the disappointment of Eric Lindros; the promise of Pavel Bure only to be seen as the tragedy when he got injured; trading away 1st round draft picks in 2000 and 2002; trading away Brian Leetch; drafting Jamie Lundmark and Pavel Brendl; drafting Hugh Jessiman over Zach Parise and Ryan Getzlaf; the Mike Richter career-ending injury; the Dan Blackburn career-ending injury; years of free agent busts; a last place prediction by most “experts” in the preseason; Marty McSorley; seven seasons without a playoffs; and a Lockout that caused us fans to lose an entire year.


But then again, maybe that’s what the Lockout brought us. New hope. New players, new blood on the team. If it wasn’t for the Lockout, who knows what this team would look like now?

And, just like that, all of that was washed away with a 21-save performance by starter-turned-backup Kevin Weekes.

It was just icing on the cake that the Rangers won in the shootout. The real battle was won when regulation ended.

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #15-11

Part 3 of an 8-part series. Up tomorrow: Top Islanders' Moments #15-11.

15) Messier Night / Jagr Scores in OT
MSG - January 12, 2006
Can you imagine how angry the fans would have been after spending $500 on one ticket to Mark Messier Night only to see a loss? Granted, the ceremony itself was great - albeit very long. But during the last retirement ceremony (Mike Richter’s), the Rangers blew a 3-2 lead and lost 4-3 to Minnesota.

Steve Rucchin started the scoring, but then Edmonton scored 3 straight to take a 3-1 lead. The Rangers jumped ahead 4-3 on an early 3rd period goal by Petr Prucha, but Mike Peca’s shorthanded goal was his second of the night scored his 2nd goal of the night and tied it at 4 (his first goal tied it at 1 and it was a power play goal with Martin Straka off the ice for an illegal stick penalty!).

Maybe predictably for a fast-paced, back and forth game, overtime didn’t last very long. Just fourteen seconds in, Jaromir Jagr whipped one past former Ranger Jussi Markkanen, capping off a great night for Rangers fans.

How fitting of an ending for a 75-minute ceremony than an extra session of hockey?

Oh, but my overall favorite moment? Christopher Reeve’s widow (now deceased herself) Dana singing Carole King’s “Now and Forever.”



14) Leetch Announcing Adam Graves’ Night
MSG - January 24, 2008
For how good the game was during Mark Messier Night, Brian Leetch Night’s game was a rolling disaster.

Sure, the Rangers won in dramatic fashion, but it was more a matter of desperation than anything. They needed the points badly (they were merely 2 games over .500 at the time) and they had played a lackluster, downright boring game so far. Michal Rozsival potted one with 11 minutes left in the 3rd period to finally give the Rangers something to cheer about since the ceremony ended.

(Brendan Shanahan wound up scoring the only shootout goal to give the Rangers 2 points, but the game, overall, was still very boring.)

The ceremony, of course, was excellent, and definitely shorter than Messier’s marathon. The highlight was definitely when Leetch took the time out of his own night to announce that Adam Graves Night would be held the following season.

They played great together on the ice, and it was a great touch for Leetch to do this. He was never completely comfortable with the spotlight on him, and even on his special night, he shone the light on someone else. That’s a good teammate.

13) Jagr Scores :29 Into Season
MSG - October 5, 2006
Five months ago, Jaromir Jagr couldn’t even lift his shoulder after hurting it throwing a weak, awkward punch at then-Devil Scott Gomez. He had surgery to repair it, but there were doubts surrounding the team coming into the start of the 2006-07 season. The three main questions concerning the team were about Jagr’s shoulder, how Henrik Lundqvist would be after his problems in the ’06 playoffs after the Olympics (he played awful, if you remember, after coming back from Italy grinding his teeth while he slept and with migraines), and if Brendan Shanahan was a good signing.

Well, 29 seconds into the season, newly-introducted Captain Jagr stormed up the ice, cut across center, and fired one past notorious Ranger-killer Olaf Kolzig on the first shot of the season. The crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” to Jagr, as he should have been crowned it the season before, but Joe Thornton won it when he overtook him in the points race at the end of the season.

Shanahan wound up scoring 2 goals in his Ranger debut, goals 599 and 600, Lundqvist stood tall, and for a night, all was perfect in Rangerland.

Who knew that the deciding factor of the season wouldn’t be Jagr’s shoulder, Shanahan’s ability, or Lundqvist’s migraines, but a last-minute icing in May in Buffalo.

12) Lundqvist Robs Savard
Boston - October 20, 2007
The Rangers and Boston have played some very close games since the Lockout, but none of them could top the 1-0 shootout won by Boston in October of 2007. Lundqvist had 19 saves, Manny Fernandez had 26, and the game was won in a shootout by Phil Kessel after the first 5 shooters didn’t score.

It almost didn’t get to that shootout, however, if not for an excellent save by Lundqvist on Marc Savard.

If you remember, this was also the game where Marty Straka blocked TWO Zdeno Chara slappers from the point and broke the same finger in two separate spots on both shots. If we had this website during this game, I would have called Straka a Warrior.

On the same power play, a rebound came to Savard and he absolutely rocketed a shot to an open net, except Lundqvist whipped out his left arm and caught the puck. A shocked Savard fell to the ice (partly due to the force he took the shot with) and looked to the heavens.

Between Straka being immortal and Lundqvist making one of the Saves of the Decade, the winner of the game didn’t even matter.



11) Nylander’s Playoff Hat Trick
MSG - April 17, 2007
The last time the Rangers had won a playoff game at MSG, well, I don’t know, but I assume it was in 1997, a full 10 years before they beat the Thrashers 7-0.

The previous year, against New Jersey, they got outscored 7-2 in their two home playoff games, and even though they got a standing ovation after being eliminated, it stung.

This was the complete opposite.

Kari Lehtonen was reinstated as starting goaltender after being replaced by Johan Hedberg for Game 2. The Rangers made quick work of him, though he was never pulled in the game. Michael Nylander scored his first goal 32 seconds into the game and his second 9 minutes later. His 3rd goal was the team’s 7th, completing what he started.

Ryan Callahan also scored twice on this night, 11 minutes apart in the 2nd period, and even Marek Malik scored on a great shot from the left circle. Shanahan scored the other goal for the Rangers, and Jagr had 4 assists.

It was a great night to be a fan from start to finish, and the sweep of Atlanta the next night made for a flawless first round victory.

No Olympic Break Here...

While the NHL takes a relaxing vacation to the Bahamas, or Las Vegas, or Tahiti, or wherever it is that millionaire Europeans and Canadians take their families when they have two weeks off, The Rivalry stays here.

And no, we won't be covering the Olympics in great detail. If you want that, go somewhere else. To be honest, I'm only interested in how Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, and Chris Drury do. And while I want Lundqvist to win the gold again (if the Americans don't), it pains me to know he's going to play in so many extra games when other goalies get to rest.

Instead, we will welcome back Bryan. Remember him? He writes for this website about the Islanders, and he's also the only one who ever updates our Twitter, since I hate that site. He hasn't written since January 19 by my count, and the Islanders have gone 2-8 since. Coincidence? Purely, but it is suspect timing by my counterpart.

Our main purpose though, the part that I wanted to write in the first paragraph but I'm a little long-winded, is that we have an 8-part series planned for you.

We each came up with our Top 20 Post-Lockout Moments for the Rangers and Islanders. Obviously, I'll be doing the Rangers' list and Bryan, the Islanders' moments.

I don't know about Bryan, but I'm only putting positives. Game 5 vs. Buffalo, for instance, will not be brought up, though it probably was the biggest post-lockout moment for the Rangers.

Here's the schedule...

Tuesday, February 16 - Rangers #20 - 16
Wednesday, February 17 - Islanders #20 - 16
Thursday, February 18 - Rangers #15 - 11
Friday, February 19 - Islanders # 15 - 11
Saturday, February 20 - Rangers # 10 - 6
Sunday, February 21 - Islanders # 10 - 6
Monday, February 22 - Rangers # 5 - 1
Tuesday, February 23 - Islanders # 5 - 1

Hope you enjoy it.

Three Metro Teams in Action, 5 Points Given Out...

Can't be any disappointed hockey fans out in the NY-NJ area tonight, from the 17,000 Ranger fans at MSG, to the 1,000 Devil fans at MSG, to the 4,000 Islander fans who routinely sell out the lower bowl on the Nassau Coliseum, to the 17,000 fans that the New Jersey Devils have accumulated since Aaron Broten first led them on the ice in 1982.

Yes, Bryan, the Rangers-Devils game was excellent, except for one thing - it underscored how bad the Rangers are at mustering offense. Henrik Lundqvist was great in stopping 45 shots - downright incredible on a few.

And I won't bash Marty Brodeur as I normally would. Any time you stop 51 shots, you played great. Of course, the Rangers made it very easy for about 40 of those shots. He did make a few excellent saves, and while he didn't do much on Marian Gaborik's overtime-near-score, that save on Michal Rozsival with time running out in the extra period was good.

Shots from the boards, shots with no traffic in front, shots to Brodeur's glove. C'mon! Do you really think a wrister from the left circle is going past Brodeur's glove? You can tell me all you want about how many shots they had, and I will tell you until I'm blue in the face that it doesn't matter if they're 90% crappy shots.

And I guess that old hockey adage "If you shoot enough, one is bound to go in" was proven wrong tonight.

Remember March of 2007 when Rick DiPietro made, what, 56 saves in a shootout loss to the Rangers? The Rangers made him look like Jesus Christ that night - albeit he was clean-shaven, and Christ would wear #33 not #39. But they had so many awful, easy-to-save shots that it looked like nothing would get by him, and rarely anything did except for a goal in regulation and a Matt Cullen goal in the shootout.

Anyway, fast-paced, end-to-end action with good defense play that wasn't boring. It was a very good game to watch and would've been sweeter with a Rangers' win, but now the Rangers web site can say they are 9-1-3 in the last 13 games.

And I can't even get mad at the shootout result. It would've been nce to have had a Ranger score, but they couldn't, and Patrick Elias' wrister that beat Lundqvist was awesome.

* * *

Telling stat of the night brought to us by Versus and Jack Daniels Old No. 7: Marian Gaborik was 2-for-17 in shootouts going into tonight. Now, he is 2-for-18, around 11%. By comparison, Erik Christensen, Zach Parise, and Ales Kotalik are near (or over) 50%.

Why does John Tortorella keep putting Gaborik in? I know he's a superstar, I know he'd the "stud" on the team, and I know he scored in the shootout in Atlanta, but he isn't a breakaway artist.

Jaromir Jagr wasn't. Gaborik isn't either. Stick to Kotalik, Christensen, Vinny Prospal, Artem Anisimov, and maybe even Ryan Callahan. But keep Gaborik out of it until at least the 6th round.

Enver Lisin would've been nice to have seen pull some moves out of his bag. But alas, Donald Brashear needed to have his customary 8 shifts and 5:53 of ice time.

Hey, didn't Lisin score in Atlanta?

US Olympic Team...

The US Olympic team should re-name themselves Team Ryan: Ryan Suter, Ryan Miller, Ryan Callahan, Ryan Kessler, Ryan Malone, and Bobby Ryan.

* * *

Why the big deal over Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, and Keith Tkachuk not making the 2010 US Olympic team? The US wants to win, right?

Weight had no goals in 11 games before being injured... again. His first game back was the night before the Olympic selections were announced. Guerin is actually scoring around the same pace he was in 2002 when the team won the Silver Medal, but he's 39 and the chances that he'll have anything left for 8 games in 11 days is very slim. Tkachuk hasn't been a force on any team since before the lockout, and he would just be taking space for a young power forward - say, Ryan Callahan (or Ryan Malone).

Scott Gomez was an interesting name left off. He just turned 30 last week and he played well in the 2006 Olympics in Italy, but those of us who watched him the past 2 years (and anyone following him in Montreal this year) know that he just isn't as good in another system as he was with the Devils.

I would also venture to guess that it came down to Gomez and Chris Drury fighting for a spot, and with John Tortorella as an assistant coach, Drury got the nod.

I like Callahan and Drury being on the team. I'm very excited for Callahan and I think the experience can only help him. As for Drury, he won't play 20 minutes a night for them so he won't come back burnt out. Plus, being there could inspire him to play better - he said so himself after being selected to the team.

As for Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik? Awful.

Remember how good the Rangers were playing in 2005-06 before the Olympic break? They were 20 games over .500, then ended the season 9-11-4 after the break. Lundqvist came back grinding his teeth and with migraines and was utterly awful in the playoffs against New Jersey (he'll admit it). Jaromir Jagr came back hurt from a Jarrko Ruutu check; on top of that, a nagging hip injury was made worse by the lack of off-days in the compressed Olympic schedule.

Without Jagr and Lundqvist, that team was just a bunch of role players who played great together and had a dream season.

Without Gaborik and Lundqvist, this team is a bunch of young players who haven't really meshed yet (and a few overpriced veterans who are just waiting for their careers to end).

What happens if Lundqvist gets hurt? The season is officially over. What if Gaborik gets hurt? So far, he hasn't injured anything that was hurt in previous seasons, but you shouldn't press the matter. An injury to him in Vancouver could have negative effects on him - and this team - for the next 4 years.

Plus, Hank could use the rest for 3 weeks before the stretch-drive.

Four reasons I am very against NHL players playing in the Olympics...

1) It should be an amateur competition.
2) You're stopping an exciting NHL season for 3 weeks and expecting people to pick off where it left off 21 days later.
3) The chance for injury is too great. (Ask the Ottawa Senators how the rest of their season was when Dominik Hasek was injured in the Czech Republic's first game in '06.)
4) It can be a career-maker for a young kid. Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg in the 1992 Olympics in the shootout was an instant classic. I'd much rather have that than see Chris Pronger snuff out Evgeni Malkin in the bronze medal game because they're division rivals.

Crushed...

Yes, the Rangers got crushed today.

It was a 6-0 loss; first time they were shutout this season; Sean Avery was the only one who really showed up; a division rival got 2 points on home ice; Chad Johnson let up his first goal on his first shot ever.

But it's funny how quickly people turn on the team. They go 4-0 and all of a sudden Marian Gaborik is the greatest player in the world, Henrik Lundqvist is the best goalie in the NHL, and this team is on the right track.

Then, they get shutout at home, and we need to fire John Tortorella, trade Brandon Dubinsky, and go with a youth movement.

Aren't teams allowed to win and lose games?

Yes, no one played particularly well. Chad Johnson - he who wasn't scheduled to start and was thrown in during an intermission - played decent. Avery played very well tonight. Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan played well, but as always, couldn't find the back of the net.

This is a team where 34% of the Salary Cap is occupied by 3 players who shouldn't be making a total of $3.4M. What did you expect?

A team with Michal Rozsival, Wade Redden, and Chris Drury will NEVER win a Stanley Cup, unless they are all making under $1M per year and the rest of the roster is filled with named like Kovalchuk, Gaborik, Lundqvist, Boyle, Heatley, and Niedermeyer.

This Rangers team isn't built for a Cup run. Yes, they have a few parts (Gaborik, Hank, Ryan Callahan, and 3 of 6 defensemen), but they'll get shutout 6-0 from time to time. Sometimes, they'll score 7 goals. Some games, they'll put up a fight in a 2-1 loss.

Get used to it.

But don't expect too much.

And don't complain when they don't show up for a game. After all, what did you expect out of Redden when he was signed? Passion? Commitment? Offensive skill?

Dwayne Roloson...

Let me start by saying I'm a Rangers fan. My Grandpa Allan was a season ticket holder in the 60s and 70s; my dad was a huge fan; one of my happiest moments ever was when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994; I cried when Mark Messier skated his last game in 2004 against the Sabres; I chanted "We Want the Cup" when the Rangers clinched the playoffs in 2008; and I've been to every Home Opener since 2006.

That said, those 2 saves by Dwayne Roloson tonight might go down as the best combination of saves this decade.

I can only think of a few better saves off the top of my head: Marty Turco in the playoffs a few years ago; Henrik Lundqvist on Marc Savard in Boston; and someone getting a piece with the shaft of his stick (can't remember - Craig Anderson?).

But two in succession like that? That's Patrick Roy-Mike Richter territory. That was unbelievable. Of course, if the 2nd one was counted a goal, we wouldn't even be talking about it right now, but as it stands, incredible hockey by Dwayne Roloson.

Start Johnson; Sit Redden...

Finally, John Tortorella did what Tom Renney should have done starting November of 2008 - bench Wade Redden.

I used to say that Redden was a $2M player getting paid $6.5M/year. Recently, he had been playing like a call-up from Hartford. The only thing is, the call-ups from Hartford were playing better.

When everyone under age 26 on the roster plays better than a mid-3os veteran, there is a problem. And that problem, regardless of salary, should sit in the stands and watch a few (dozen) games.

When they put him back in the lineup Monday against Carolina, if he doesn't respond to the benching with smarter and more physical play (and if he stops playing "hot potato" with the puck like it's going to hurt him if he skates with it) there is only one more thing you can do: put him on waivers.

It will hurt paying him $6.5M to be in the minors, but to be honest, I couldn't care less. Our ticket prices are high regardless. Sure, we'll see that stupid Chase ad on the plexiglass every game, but we see that now with him on the team. What we pay to watch the Rangers is only going to go up every year, regardless of if he is on the team or in the minors. Might as well have him down there.

Other teams couldn't do that, because they don't have an endless supply of money like Jim Dolan and Cablevision have. So if they're paying a player over $6M to play in the AHL, ticket prices skyrocket. Ours will anyway. See what I mean?

What WOULD affect me is if he is taken on re-entry waivers and the Rangers have to pay half of his salary for the next 4 full seasons. That WOULD directly affect me because then they can't use his Cap space to pay for a player who hits, or shoots, or passes well, or scores, or clears the crease.

* * *

Coming off of back-to-back wins, there is no better time than now to bench Henrik Lundqvist. Let Chad Johnson get his first 2 games in against weak teams. Carolina and Florida are no definite wins, for sure, but the ideals thing would be to let him beat Carolina on Monday, then against Florida on Wednesday. This gives him great experience, some confidence, and his first MSG start.

Plus, it would give Lundqvist a full week off before he plays the Islanders on Saturday at MSG.

Why the Rangers Lost...

Why the Rangers lost last night in Chicago was actually an event 20 years in the making.

You see, on a cold December morning in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada, while the rest of the young hockey team was learning how to throw body checks, a 12-year old Wade Redden was having his first period.

His parents, who had woken up at 5 in the morning to drive him to play with his team, instead had to drive him to the gynecologists office to look at why their preteen son was such a pussy.

Fast forward to 1995, and 18-year old Wade had become the first woman ever drafted into the NHL. His family cried, and the Islanders were questioned, but stood their ground. (Six months later, when they realized he could never throw a body check, he was traded to Ottawa for Bryan Berard and Martin Straka.)

It is now 2009, and with a snowy Chicago as the backdrop, Marian Hossa was standing in the crease between Henrik Lundqvist and Mr and Mrs. Redden's daughter, Wade. A slew of Chicago players were pounding at the puck and Lundqvist, and the younger Redden daughter was content standing behind Hossa. His one defense mechanism - pushing Hossa once with his stick.

Well, her decision to go to the gynecologist to learn how to use tampons instead of learning how to throw checks and clear the crease sunk the Rangers again. Hossa, unfettered in an area of the ice he never should have been allowed to enter anyway, kept Redden away from doing anything to stop him or Jonathan Toews from putting the puck past Lundqvist.

Game tied with 6 minutes left.

That's one minute for every million dollars Madame Redden is being paid this year to not hit, not clear the crease, not play defense.

Time for a Change...

I'm not normally the guy who sees a losing streak and says "Fire the coach! Trade Lundqvist! Gaborik was a fluke in October and November! Fire the coach!"

However, I can see that this isn't a "losing streak" - this is a team saddled by bad contracts and players who aren't playing.

Marian Gaborik isn't Superman. Sure, he's an incredible talent and arguably the best player in the league this year, but he can't do it all alone. There will be games he can't score. And then what?

Henrik Lundqvist is an excellent goalie, but there will be times he lets up a bad goal. And with this team, he can't afford to, because every game is tight. In a 1-1 game such as the game against Detroit, the bad goal crushed them because nobody could score.

The Rangers should have backup scoring. Ryan Callahan (5 goals) should be able to score. Chris Drury (2 goals) is embarrassing. At one point you have to stop being paid to be a defensive forward and actually put the puck in the net. Chris Higgins (3 goals) is cheap and shoots a lot, but he needs to be counted on the score. Brandon Dubinsky was a holdout. Normally, players who hold out score more than once every 6 games (3 goals in 18 games). The list goes on and on and on... Enver Lisin (3 goals), Aaron Voros (0 goals, 1 assist in 19 games after his huge October last year), Donald "More Offense and Money Than Colton Orr" Brashear (0 goals, 1 assist, 19 games), Michal Rozsival (1 goal), our $6.5M man Wade Redden (1 goal), former 1st round pick Brian Boyle (3 goals), Sean Avery (4 goals). Yes, Avery has been getting better and better each game, but he has also only scored in 2 games this year, both times potting home two goals.

What am I getting at here? I'm not solely blaming John Tortorella - though he does need to take some of the blame and stop placing it all on the players - and in no way am I saying Tortorella needs to be fired.

I'm saying... look above. Look who rewarded a lot of these players. How can someone reasonably give Wade Redden $39M over 6 years, or Michal Rozsival $20M over 4 years. Chris Drury getting $7.5M per year was ridiculous, but he just happened to be one of the best players during that free agency period (Scott Gomez and Daniel Briere were the other 2).

It's time for GM Glen Sather to take the leave. He hasn't done much in his tenure. Yes, he drafted Petr Prucha and Henrik Lundqvist... in late rounds. He took Mike del Zotto, Marc Staal, Alexei Cherepanov, and Artem Anisimov as well. But he also drafted Hugh Jessiman, Al Montoya, Bruce Graham, Darin Oliver, and Lauri Korpikoski in years he could have taken Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Wojtek Wolski, Mike Green, Dave Bolland, and David Booth.

If James Dolan watches hockey and keeps track of the Rangers - and, to be honest, there's a chance he has no clue what's going on with this team - he needs to make a change. And that change is at the very top.

Back from California...

Have no fear, folks, I have returned from sabbatical in San Diego and will be writing about our favorite .500 team, the New York Rangers, tonight when I return from work.

What have I missed?

My 13-10 team quickly hit the skids with 3 bad losses. Marian Gaborik, however, is playing MVP-caliber hockey. Can you be an MVP on a team that misses the playoffs? Someone should call Anze Kopitar and tell him the award might be his if this pace continues.

Erik Christensen is now the Rangers 37th third-line or fourth-line player. His claim to fame is once being traded in a package for Marian Hossa. No points in 9 games this year - he should fit right in.

I actually don't mind the Christensen move because he plays center and he should give a few other 3rd/4th liners a run for their money. Hey, maybe the change of scenery will do him good.

Steve Valiquette was put on waivers since I last wrote here. It's sad to see, but the team couldn't rely on him this year. Last year, he'd play against certain teams, have shutouts, and everyone loved him. This year, he lets up a lot of weak goals and the team gets embarrassed 8-3 in a game that was close with 39 minutes and 59 seconds played.

I blame his poor performance this year on the fact that the Rangers have not yet played Philadelphia.

Is Chad Johnson the answer? Most likely not, though it doesn't really matter. They can rest Henrik Lundqvist all they want, but he's still playing the Olympics, and it still will take a huge toll on him like it did in Italy in 2006.

Anyway, more tonight.

I Often Sleep Too Much...

I recently got a new job.

In my previous employment, I would often work at 5:00 at night, waking up sometime around 11 in the morning. Sometimes, I would go to bed at 2 a.m. then wake up at 11:30, sleeping over 9 hours.

I would actually be more tired when I woke up then when I went to sleep. I would feel... groggy. Sometimes, I would work better on short rest (say, 4 a.m. - 10 a.m.) than an entire night's rest.

I think that's what happened to the Rangers tonight. They played Calgary on short rest, and played well. They just couldn't beat that hot goalie.

Tonight, they had too much rest. Imagine if I slept all of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday? I would've been lost on Thursday.

I probably would've given up a goal 19 seconds into the game. I probably would've taken a penalty a minute later. I probably would've shown up only for the last 15 minutes of the 3rd period. I probably would've taken lazy, offensive-zone penalties. I probably would've relied on my incredible goaltender to save our hides against a weaker team. I would've let a player playing for the first time in 3 weeks get a goal and 2 assists.

I also probably would've put an APB out on Sean Avery. Has anyone seen him? A healthy Sean Avery without the edge is just like any other player. I miss having an abrasive forward who turns games in our favor. Has he impacted any game except the Toronto game at MSG where he scored two goals? Has he been himself? Knee injury? A fear of taking penalties? Something's up, and it's not helping the Rangers.

I probably would've cut this short, too.

An Islander Fan's Take On The Rangers

As I write this, the Rangers have played roughly two periods of their 2009-10 season. While this is an extremely small sample size, it's not too early to draw a few conclusions about this Rangers team. Here's an unbiased look at what we've seen so far...

Make no mistake about it - this is John Tortorella's team. The Rangers of the past few years have been horribly boring. Last year, I referred to them as "The New Devils". This year? Not so much. The Rangers are playing like they actually care about scoring goals. Part of this is because they have a team better suited to scoring goals, but the biggest change is in the Rangers' philosophy.

The Rangers have treated routine plays like power play opportunities in this game, and that's a good thing. There have been plays where both defensemen pinched in to the top of the faceoff circles. They've been able to set up well and pass the puck even better. They seem a little more confident on offense, and they've had a good number of scoring chances. Only one went in, but that's okay.

Now, the problem with this philosophy is that the Rangers are prone to odd-man rushes. That they missed a bunch of assignments in the second period didn't really help things. On the Penguins' second goal, Chris Drury settled for a simple stick check on Sidney Crosby, as opposed to tying him up and keeping him from scoring. Once the Penguins started buzzing, the Rangers didn't adjust, pretty much letting the Penguins have their way as the second period concluded.

This is the problem with the Rangers. They've traditionally been a defense-first team, and now they're opting for more of a balanced look, if not a look that favors offense. It's easy to think Henrik Lundqvist will bail them out all season, but the Rangers might have done a little too much to tinker with what worked for them since the lockout.

Glen Sather is the ultimate whack-a-mole general manager - that is, he tries to solve the problem in front of him while ignoring future problems. This off-season, he added offense, which was the Rangers' most glaring need. However, he didn't bring back Blair Betts or Fredrik Sjostrom, two important parts of the NHL's best penalty kill last year. The extra power play goals they'll let up this year could be dangerous, particularly if Marian Gaborik goes down.

Still, this is going to be a far more fun team to watch than it has been. Not that that's a great compliment or anything. However, the Rangers aren't going to suddenly be able to outscore teams like Pittsburgh and Washington just because they signed one scorer. It will be interesting to see how they change their play in the third period of this game. They need to be aggressive to make up a two-goal deficit, but they can't get caught napping as they did in the second.

Predictions...

Okay, I'll do them. I'll do some predictions for next year, if only so I can do my yearly look back at preseason predictions to see how good everyone did. For the record, out of 6 last year, I came in 6th, and Isles' Writer Bryan came in 2nd place.

So.

East
1. Washington
2. Boston
3. Pittsburgh
4. Carolina
5. Rangers
6. Philly
7. Devils
8. Atlanta
9. Montreal
10. Ottawa
11. Islanders
12. Toronto
13. Tampa Bay
14. Buffalo
15. Florida

Notes: Let's start with the hometown boys - Why the Rangers over the Flyers? Simple: goaltending. Who would you rather have, 3-time Vezina finalist Henrik Lundqvist or NHL-castaway Ray Emery and career-backup Brian Boucher? Plus, I think Matt Gilroy and Mike Del Zotto can add a lot while limited Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden on the power play can only help. I also think Ales Kotalik and Vinny Prospal are nice compliments to Marian Gaborik, one of the best in the league when healthy (13-10-23 in 17 games last year).

The Islanders? Either way you slice it, Dwayne Roloson and Marty Biron are a solid 1-1A combo. Johnny Tavares is better than people are letting on. Rob Schremp was almost traded to the Isles for a 2nd round pick at the draft and they just got him for nothing. Mark Streit is excellent. Going to be a good team. Playoffs are a stretch, but I had them bordering at 10th or 11th.

Other Teams: NJ can never be counted out; Montreal improved but not that much. Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta were magical one season. Only one season; Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara can lead you to the top of the conference when you're in a weak division, but then what?; Eric Staal is going to be a monster this year in Carolina; Atlanta! Bryan Little centering Ilya Kovalchuk and Nik Antropov is going to be a sick line; and Florida in 15th because their best player hates the team (Nathan Horton) and the 4,000 fans at every game can't put them in good spirits.

West
1. San Jose
2. Calgary
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Anaheim
6. Minnesota
7. Columbus
8. Dallas
9. Vancouver
10. St. Louis
11. Phoenix
12. Nashville
13. Edmonton
14. LA
15. Colorado

Notes: What has Colorado done to improve themselves from being a lottery pick? David Koci and Craig Anderson? No way. Anderson is good but can't carry a team on his shoulders; I see nothing in Vancouver while others are predicting them to win the Cup. Roberto Luongo gave up SEVEN GOALS with the season on the line last year. And when your 2 biggest acquistions are a player once part of a 4-player package for Alex Kovalev (Mikael Samuelsson) and a goalie even Colorado didn't want (Andrew Raycroft), you aren't going far; Phoenix might be a mess, but they made a few good moves and have a great goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov to fall back on. Plus, Kyle Turris should come into his own this year; Detroit is setting up for a 1st round exit this year but again will dominate in the regular season; LA should actually be good and could surprise, if Dustin Brown bounces back from an awful year and if Jack Johnson plays as good as he could, but they have no goaltending, do they?; Anaheim and San Jose should beat each other senseless in the regular season and if they meet in the Conference Finals, we're in for a treat (the way I have it worked out, they'll meet in the 2nd round and it will be brutal); Minnesota's new system and new coach should help them into the playoffs. Plus, Brent Burns, Marek Zidlicky, and Martin Havlat are in for huge years without the trap to hold them down.

If it all shakes down as it should, I have the Sharks over the Penguins for the 2010 Stanley Cup. Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley are going to be unstoppable together. Danny Boyle and Rob Blake are going to be a great tandem, and Evgeni Nabokov will slam the door shut in goal.

Rangers Eliminated in 7

At 2:59 AM this morning, Zach sent me a text stating how he was going to write a retrospective about the Rangers' season after tonight's game. He sent me the title and everything. Clearly, he wasn't too optimistic about heading to the second round.

And with good reason.

After leading the series 3-1, the Rangers are going home early. In front of what has to be one of the loudest crowds I've ever heard, the Capitals emerged in the third period and defeated the Rangers by a score of 2-1. The Rangers were in control for much of the first two periods, but the Capitals were too much in the end. Sergei Fedorov scored with just under five minutes left and the Caps didn't let up; instead of sitting on their lead like so many teams do, Washington put so much pressure on the Rangers that they weren't even able to pull Henrik Lundqvist for an extra skater.

Zach will be by later on with more thoughts. Certainly, he'll point out that Wade Redden just sort of stood there as Fedorov shot the game-winning goal into the net. But let the record show that this was a team effort. Every player did his part to lose this series. From poor games by Lundqvist in Games 5 and 6 to the completely invisible play of team "leaders" Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, everyone is to blame. And that includes John Tortorella, who was so quick to bash Sean Avery for inappropriate behavior prior to becoming Rangers coach, but at least Avery wasn't squirting water at fans behind the bench during the middle of a playoff game.

Clearly, there will be changes. There has to be. But with the Rangers right up against the cap, it's hard to see the Rangers fielding a better team next season.

The Good News...

Not going to dwell on the debauchery that was Game 6. I said all along that they wouldn't blow Game 6 at home up 3-2, and they made me look like fools.

However, there is good news.

The Rangers scored 3 goals on a backup goaltender!

Okay, so now Simeon Var-lah-mov is now the starter in Washington, but his goals against average was like 0.75 going into this game. He gave up 1 goal, 0 goals, 2 goals, and 0 goals. So they got 3 past him, albeit one of them when the game was a wash and it was 5-2.

Still, 3 goals is 3 goals, and if Henrik Lundqvist reads his own scouting report, they have a chance to win Game 7. Maybe not a strong chance, but a chance indeed. If they can score 3 goals and he can stop all but 2, well, you know how scoring works.

For the record, here is the scouting report on Lundqvist...

"Great goalie. Goes side to side better than any goaltender in NHL history. Flops down early in anticipation of a low shot, leaving the entire top of the net open."

* * *

Here is a list of players who played every regular season game for the Rangers: Dan Girardi, Brandon Dubinsky, Marc Staal, Colton Orr, Markus Naslund, and Nik Zherdev.

Yes, Colton Orr played 87 games this season, coached by Tom Renney and John Tortorella. Does Jim Schoenfeld not like him that he would sit Orr in the playoffs when that goon Donald Brashear is out there?

Capitals fan or not, you can't agree with how Brashear went up and randomly attacked Blair Betts. He did it at MSG in 2007 also when he went up and sucker punched Aaron Ward in the mouth.

Today, he nails Betts for no reason other than he was angry about something that had nothing to do with Betts, and he gets a 2-minute penalty. You can guarantee that if someone did something like that against the Penguins, they would get a 10-game suspension.

And here is where Schoenfeld erred. Without Orr in the lineup, and without proper officiating, Brashear had the chance to do this. Nobody was going to make him pay. Paul Mara ran at him, pushed him a little, grappled with him, didn't drop the gloves, and got a 2-minute minor of his own.

No one was in the lineup to offer accountability. The Rangers had very little injuries this year (I believe they had the 2nd least man-games lost this season). Some of the credit has to go to Orr, a great fighter who isn't afraid to pummel someone into oblivion. No one like Dion Phaneuf or Chris Pronger is going to take a run at Scott Gomez (but really, why would you?) if Orr was there, because they have to answer to him.

(Do you think Shaone Morrison would've bitten Brandon Dubinsky if Orr was there to beat him down afterwards?)

When Gomez injured Ryan Miller a few months ago (on accident), no one made him pay. If Derek Roy or Maxim Afinogenov ran into Lundqvist, they, or someone on their team, would have to lose a fight to Orr.

Orr needs to be in the lineup. Maybe Schoenfeld wanted offense and saw Orr's 4 career goals. Maybe he doesn't know that he is there to keep the peace.

Someone should also show him Orr's scouting report before Game 7...

"Can't skate well. Has better accuracy with a left hook than a wrist shot. Will fight anyone on the other team. With him in the lineup, no one will take runs at your top penalty killer or star goaltender, and no one will bite your second-line center. Better than Aaron Voros. Don't sit him the playoffs in favor of aforementioned player, who should be a healthy scratch."

* * *

And finally, let's give it up for Tom Poti, who apparently had his first power play point ever at MSG, and Wade Redden.

Here's to you, Wade Redden. You are stealing 39 million dollars from the fans of the Rangers over the next 6 years, and when your team is down 2-1 in a clinching game, and you get gifted power play time for some reason, what do you do? Lazily reach for a pass, miss it, and slowly chase the puck back into your own end.

Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.

You are hockey's version of Stephon Marbury, with one major difference. He hurt his team by stealing money and not suiting up; you steal money and you play.

Saw That Coming...

People were getting mad at me for telling them the Rangers would be crushed today, and lo and behold, they were. I hope I'm right in saying that they would also win at MSG on Sunday. And I'm glad that if Henrik Lundqvist was going to have a night off, this was it, in a game the Rangers could afford to lose so long as they remember to show up for Game 6.

What I didn't see coming was 30 year old players not playing the body. When Alex Ovechkin blew by Dan Girardi and Marc Staal to score, I understood it. They are young, they might not know how to play defense. But Chris Drury is 32, Derek Morris is 30. Do they not know to play the puck, do not play the player!

I expect it when Michael Rozsival or Wade Redden make that mistake; they're awful at their jobs. But Morris and Drury? C'mon!

Big Game...

I know you know this, and I don't mean to state the obvious, but this game tonight is huge.

Regardless of tonight's outcome, I think the Rangers will lose Game 5 Friday night. If the Rangers win, they take a 3-1 lead in the series and can afford to lose a game in Washington, knowing that the series comes back to the Garden for Game 6, where they can put it away.

If they lose, though, tonight, they might be in a bad spot. Of course, the same cliches will be said by Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Henrik Lundqvist, and John Tortorella: "One game at a time, one period at a time, one shift at a time." "It's not a best-of-3 series." "We're tied, we're not out of this." "Anything can happen."

But you know they can't afford to lose this. Not only will momentum swing to Washington, but they'll be in an opposing building for Game 5. Yes, they are 2-0 this week in that city, but you don't want to go into a hostile environment NEEDING a victory. You want to go in there Friday thinking a victory is a luxury, but knowing you'll win on Sunday night if you lose Friday.

And due to a family situation, I sold my tickets to tonight's game and will be watching from my couch. Game 1 I watched when I got home from work that night not knowing the outcome; Game 2 I watched some at home, missed the second and most of the third period, and caught the last 4 minutes at Bryan's house; Game 3 I watched at work and didn't bother watching at home when I saw how it went.

So, the couch it is, and thankfully, the game won't be on Versus. I am also bursting with anticipation on which company will be advertised on the plexiglass behind Lundqvist and Simeon Varlamov.

Fun...

Well, Game 1 was fun, wasn't it?

The Rangers didn't do much offensively but they did capitalize on their chances. At one point, early in the first, my roommate said, "What are the shots, 9-1?" I laughed at her. When they announced that the Rangers had finally gotten their 2nd shot on net at the 15-minute mark, I actually laughed out loud.

Listen, it was a good game. It was fun to watch, very entertaining, and had the desired outcome, atleast for me. But this is a series, not a one-and-done playoff. I don't want to sound too much liek John Tortorella (or Alex Ovechkin), but this is far from over. The Capitals will come out flying Saturday afternoon.

And we all know how the Rangers fare in afternoon games. If my calculations are correct, they were 2-8 in afternoon games and were shutout four times.

However, if the Rangers manage to stave off the Capitals attack again and win Game 2, that would be huge. Up 2-0 going into MSG is tough for any team to overcome. And the Capitals attack isn't too great, you know.

Seriously. Let me explain. They had 35 shots on goal, 13 from Ovechkin, and 22 from elsewhere. 22 shots in a game? That's Devils-territory. Stop Ovechkin, stop the Capitals. Oh, and don't take bad penalties especially in the offensive zone.

* * *

My wish for this series is good officiating. I was very concernced that we would see biased referreeing based on the fact that the NHL wants the Capitals to do good, much like Pittsburgh got the benefit of 97% of all calls in the playoffs last year. But I guess as long as the Penguins are in, the league is happy, and the other serieses can be called evenly.

Tonight, there were some bad calls and non-calls, but they were pretty much even against both teams. I'm fine with awful officiating, as long as it's even.

* * *

Oh, and yes, Henrik Lundqvist was great today, even though he did give up 3 goals.

Set in Stone: Rangers vs. Capitals

It's all set up, and presumably will begin Wednesday night from the Verizon Center.

Washington (50-24-8 -- 108) vs. The Rangers (42-30-9 -- 93, one game left)

The four games this season...

Capitals 3, Rangers 1 - 11/8/08 - This game was so long ago that Aaron Voros scored the Rangers' only goal on a pass from Brandon Dubinsky. Capitals started backup goalie Brent Johnson, Chris Drury failed on a penalty shot with the score 2-1 with 2:15 left to play, and Alexander Semin scored an empty netter to seal the deal. Alex Ovechkin had no goals and was foiled all night by an incredible Henrik Lundqvist, who let in one goal when it hit the glass behing the net, bounced and hit the crossbar, hit Lundqvist in the head, and Brooks Laich batted it in. The 2nd goal was scored after the net came loose, and Lundqvist argued play should've stopped. It didn't, Caps win.

Capitals 5, Rangers 4, OT - 12/23/08 - Rangers go up 4-0, Capitals storm back to tie it, including 2 goals by Ovechkin. Ryan Callahan scored 2 as well, Drury had 3 assists, and Nigel Dawes had 2 assists. Jose Theodore started the game, got pulled, and then was put back in to start the 2nd period. This was an ecstatic first half of the game, and a gross second half that shone a light on some of the team's offensive and defensive problems.

Capitals 2, Rangers 1 - 1/3/09 - Petr Prucha had the lone goal for the good guys, and Marc Staal matched up well against Ovechkin all night long. However, Ovechkin scored the game winner while shorthanded with 32 seconds left in the 2nd. This was their 12th SHG-against of the year. Steve Valiquette was in net and did play well. This game was also notable for Everyone's Hero Wade Redden getting in - and winning - a fight against Chris Clark.

Rangers 5, Capitals 4, SO - 2/11/09 - Down 2-1 after one period and tied 4-4 after the second, the Rangers had 10 minutes of power play time (including a double-minor for high-sticking) and didn't score once. The Rangers were slumping badly during the stretch of the year, as they were 0-4-1 before this game and 1-4-3 afterwards. Lunqvist was in net, so was Theodore.

So which will we see, those 5-4 games of those 2-1 games? I think if it goes 2-1, it's the Rangers winning, but if Lundqvist lets up those 4 or 5 goals, the Rangers won't be able to overcome.

Official Prediction: Rangers in 7. Yes, I'm serious. No, it's not a homer pick. I've been saying they could beat Washington all along. Once you get past Ovechkin and Green, they aren't scary at all. Jose Theodore? Get real. Lundqvist can outplay him every night.