Well...

I showed up at the Garden today for the Rangers/Canadiens game. So did Henrik Lundqvist. It would've been nice if the rest of Rangers could say the same.

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #20-16

This is my personal favorite moments from Ranger games starting in the 2005-06 season. It only includes NHL moments (for example, it doesn’t have Henrik Lundqvist winning the Gold Medal in the ’06 Olympics) and it doesn’t include bad memories (for example, Game 5 vs. Buffalo, or Jaromir Jagr and Lundqvist coming back hurt from the Olympics, or Jagr throwing a punch at Scott Gomez).

20) Three Goals in Ninety Seconds
Madison Square Garden - November 14, 2006
As a rule of thumb, I never like to go to Ranger-Devil games at MSG. I don't know if it's the Devils' fans or the fact that I've seen some real stinkers, but they just don't appeal to me. So, on this day, I sold my friend my tickets to an early season game between the Hudson River Rivals.

This seemed like a great decision after 2 lifeless periods, and that's when everything got great. Jaromir Jagr scored just over two minutes into the 3rd period, and then, 26 seconds later, Jagr's puck went high and somehow floated over Martin Brodeur's head and into the net. A minute and 4 seconds later, Brendan Shanahan wristed one in the net to make it a 3-2 game, in a game the Rangers trailed 2-0 90 seconds earlier.

The icing on the cake? Marcel Hossa's two assists.

On the way home from work that night, I was listening to talk radio, and a called said it was "the single greatest regular season game I have ever witnessed in person." I texted my friend, and all he replied was, "I concur."

19) Strong Comebacks Against Canadian Teams
MSG - January 11, 2007
Kevin Weekes gave up 4 goals in 32 minutes and Lundqvist gave up an early 3rd period goal as Ottawa built a 5-0 lead on the Rangers. Half of the Garden left at this point, but the Rangers mounted a big comeback. Petr Prucha, Jay Ward, and Marcel Hossa scored within 3 minutes of each other and Blair Betts scored 4 minutes after that to bring the Rangers to within a goal. Jed Ortmeyer’s two assists were his first points since coming back from a pulmonary embolism, and he got a standing ovation both times his name was announced.

The Rangers kept pressing, and might have tied the game if not for a bad call by Mike Hasenfratz. The Senators flipped the puck over the glass in their own end, which should have been a penalty, but the referees didn’t call it, even though replays on the big screen proved that it went out while still in the zone. Brendan Shanahan refused to leave the zone, arguing that it should be a penalty, nearly getting a penalty of his own. The Rangers were then forced to pull Lundqvist, ending in a Dany Heatley empty-netter which sealed a 6-4 win for the Senators.

This was also Weekes’ last game in a Ranger uniform, as he hurt his leg in practice the next day and Steve Valiquette replaced him.

Montreal - February 3, 2008
The only game on Super Bowl Sunday (when the Giants beat the Patriots), the Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a Sergei Kostitsyn penalty shot, but then the Rangers roared back. They scored 3 goals in 7 minutes in the second to tie it at 3, then Chris Drury and Martin Straka scored in the 3rd to complete a great comeback in front of a stunned La Centre Bell crowd. It was the 3rd straight win for the middling Rangers, who would soon go on a 10-0-3 run to make the playoffs.

18) Dom Moore Scores Against Roberto Luongo
Sunrise, Florida - November 9, 2005
The Rangers were losing to the Panthers 3-2 with three seconds left in the 3rd period. Dominic Moore was behind the net and saw an opening between Roberto Luongo’s pad and the post, so he aimed for it, hoping it would bank off of his leg and into the net - and it did. In the postgame interviews, he said that he knew time was winding down and had no other choices, so he whipped it towards the net and hoped for what eventually happened.

Petr Prucha wound up scoring the only shootout goal for the Rangers, and they won, 4-3.

17) Sean Avery Night
MSG - January 6, 2010
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing makes me happier than when Sean Avery scores. This year, there haven’t been too many of those moments - in fact, until this game, he had only scored 4 goals and they came in 2 games.

He was like a man-possessed on this Wednesday night in New York City, playing his former teammates. He scored to tie the game at 1-1, then had the primary assist on the next 3 goals as the Rangers jumped to a 4-2 lead and eventually won 5-2 on an empty netter.

He was hitting, shooting, getting under the skin of the team, and even undressing a defenseman with spin-o-ramas.

In short, this was Sean Avery’s night, and it was the way he should play every game.



16) Gomez Traded for Gaborik
June 30 - July 1, 2007
If I had asked any Ranger fan if they would have traded Scott Gomez straight-up for Marian Gaborik, do you think they would have said, “No, I’m happy with Gomez.” Well, in essence, that’s what the Rangers did. They traded nearly identical contracts (5 years, $7M+) and came up on the winning end of the deal.

Of course, it wasn’t an actual trade, but on the eve of the start of free agency, the Rangers traded Scott Gomez to Montreal for Chris Higgins and prospect Ryan McDonagh. With the cap-space now free, the Rangers didn’t trade for Dany Heatley and instead signed Gaborik to a five-year deal.

Another reason this trade was great was that Montreal was interested in Gaborik, but with Gomez’s contract now on their hands, they couldn’t even make a run at him.

It was risky for the Rangers: What if Gaborik signed elsewhere, who would the Rangers go for? What if they signed him and he got hurt?

But so far, it has worked out. He’s young, he’s fast, he’s immensely talented, and he isn’t afraid to stick up for himself. And he’s a great player to build around.

The Difference in 2 Players; Montreal Update Coming Soon...

I will update later today about the Rangers game in Montreal. For the record, it's the 1st time I've seen them lose in an opposing building (not including the Nassau Coliseum). I saw them win in Nashville, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Montreal before the 6-0 disaster I witnessed first-hand Saturday night.

* * *

Do you know the differences in Dan Carcillo and Donald Brashear? Carcillo has 6 goals and 6 assists this year; Brashear had no goals and 1 assist. Carcillo dresses for games while Brashear stays nice and clean in a suit and tie. Carcillo wins fights (his record this year is 7-3-2, including beating Marian Gaborik and losing to Sean Avery last Thursday) while Brashear skates away from confrontation. In fact, the last fight Brashear won was against Jared Boll of Columbus three days before Thanksgiving. Brashear's record this year stands at 3-4-2.

As for Brashear's claims that he wouldn't fight Carcillo - "I don't even fight a guy like Carcillo. I don't think he's in my league." - and then his claims that he isn't a guy who only goes out and fights staged fights... well, what? Do you fight everyone or will you only fight heavyweights?

"If I would have played" Gaborik would not have been fought by Carcillo, Brashear said. Oh yeah? If you're out there fighting people like Matt Carkner, Eric Boulton, Eric Godard, and Shawn Thornton, is that really a deterrent for people like Carcillo? Will he not get under Gaborik's skin just because there is a chance that Brashear might lose a fight to Aaron Asham or Ian Laperriere?

Did Brashear's presence in the first half of the season stop any team from running over Henrik Lundqvist? Were they afraid he was going to go after Ilya Kovalchuk or Johan Hedberg, or did they know that, no matter what, he would fight Boulton and leave everyone else alone?

Like what Carcillo did or not, he got the Flyers an extra 2 points that night. He got the best player on the team to thrown down his gloves and fight him. He threw an entire team off their game, because they then stopped trying to score and started looking for revenge. The only person nearly capable of getting under a team's skin like that on the Rangers' roster is Avery. Not Brashear.

Guess what, Donald. Carcillo might not be in your league for long - because he'll still be in the NHL for the next decade.

Home & Home With Montreal...

Next Saturday, I will be venturing into Montreal to see the second game of the Home & Home with the Canadiens. Okay, it's a home-and-home with 2 other games in between, but still, it stands to be more intriguing than a home game against Tampa Bay and a game in Philadelphia.

So, which jersey should I wear?

Should I go with the autographed Dan Girardi jersey?
The autographed Sean Avery?
Superstar Marian Gaborik?
New addition to my collection Vinny Prospal?

I normally like to wear Sean Avery jerseys when I'm in other buildings.

I did it in Nashville last year about a month after the Rangers got him back on re-entry waivers, and a few fans yelled "Sloppy Seconds!" at me. To recap, I am not Sean Avery, I just wear the jersey. And the Rangers won that game.

I wore it in New Jersey amid death threats from the upper level (directed at me, my friends, and Scott Gomez, playing his first game in Jersey since signing with the Rangers). Those were quieted when the Rangers won the game.

I wore it in Philadelphia, where some kid tried to body check my friend. "How could you wear a Sean Avery jersey in Philly?" one cigarette-smoking man asked me. Well, the Rangers won that game.

And I wore it in Montreal on Super Bowl Sunday when the Giants beat the Patriots. As I was on the escalator, there was a man in a Mike Komisarek Habs jersey in front of me. We had an awkward silence, then discussed what it would be like to really date Elisha Cuthbert. The Rangers went down 3-0, then won that game 5-3.

Should I keep the tradition alive, or change things up?

A Few Notes on an Off Day...

First off, I would like to thank longtime loyal NY Hockey Rivalry reader Lou for the seat upgrade at Monday's game against the Sharks. Thanks to Lou, who had two extra tickets, me and my friend moved up to Section 94 - the purple seats in the lower bowl, 10 rows from the ice. Lou deftly knocked off a 22 ounce Heineken, a footlong hot dog with kraut, and a pretzel with mustard. Yours truly had his own 22 ounce Amstel Light, a pretzel, and popcorn. Pretzel was tasty (though not Nassau Coliseum-esque). Popcorn was not very good. Actually, of the 4 words on the box of popcorn, only one was true: Fresh Popcorn, Delicious! Crisp!

Second, I want to mention that Cory Murphy was placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils. A few times in the past, I'd mentioned that I wanted to see Murphy in a Rangers sweater. While it's not a pressing manner, I still think he'd be worth a shot as a 7th defenseman. He is 31, played college in New York (Colgate) and pro in Finland before coming to America in his late 20s. He can lead the power play pretty well but was never given the chance in Florida or Tampa Bay, and the Devils apparently gave up on him after being a -1 in 3 games.

Third, I am making my glorious return to Montreal in early 2010. In February of 2008, right before this website started, I went to a Rangers game at the Bell Centre. It was actually Super Bowl Sunday, the day the Giants beat the Patriots, and it was the only NHL game on the docket. The Rangers were down 3-0 but wound up winning 5-3 in an incredible game.

So this year, I return. January 23. Anyone else going to be there?

I Was Right; I Was Wrong...

Of course, no Ranger games will be played at the Coliseum next season. Got to save those for weeknights since they'll close-to-sell-out anyway. No need to waste a Saturday where you'll sell 14,000 tickets anyway, no matter who the opponent. I was right about that.

I was wrong, however, when I predicted that 80% of their last 10 games would be division rivals. In fact, only half are, and we get to see that always exciting "Florida road trip" in April. Whoa, Schedule Makers, I'll make sure I take my heart medicine, because that's one to get the blood pumping!

And of course, what season would be complete without a home & home versus Philadelphia?

When the Penguins won the Cup, an avid and eager reader of this website, Dan, sent a string of angry text messages. One of them predicted that the Rangers would be the opponent when the Penguins raise the Stanley Cup banner to the rafters. Indeed, a short month later, his Nostradamus-like prediction is in fact a reality. I'm not mad. First of all, it's a crappy thing to get mad about. Second of all, maybe watching it will light an illusionary fire under the arses of certain Rangers players and get them going.

When the Rangers were awful in 2002-03, I wanted to send a mail to MSG. Specifically, I wanted to mail it to Gord Dwyer. I figured he never got any fan mail, so he would atleast open it, as opposed to sending it to Mark Messier or Tom Poti (it would have been lost in Poti's hatemail). I wanted to send him the video tape of "Oh Baby!" which was the highlights of the 1993-94 season, from playing in Europe to winning the Cup in Game 7. I figured it would start a fire under him, and he would show it to everyone and they would then be inspired to reach for glory.

Alas, I never sent it, the Rangers missed the playoffs, and I've blamed myself ever since. So maybe the banner-raising ceremony in Steeltown will be the "Oh Baby!" that is still sitting on my desk upstairs in my room.

A few notes...

In 2005-06, the Rangers played a very short February also, due to the Olympics. They played 6 games and won all of them, 5 in regulation and 1 in overtime on a Jaromir Jagr goal (from Martin Rucinsky and Michal Rozsival... ah, to be Czech in America). This year, that's do-able as well. Six games, 4 at home, including the Lightning and Predators.

With 24 games vs. the Atlantic, 40 vs. the rest of the East, and 15 against the West, that leaves them playing 3 Western teams twice this year. If I remember from last year, they played Chicago twice, Dallas twice, and the Ducks twice. This year's repeat offenders are St. Louis, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

No "California Trip" this year, since their only game out there is against LA. That trip sees them in Phoenix, Colorado, then LA. The "Florida Trip" not only happens near the end of the season, but the Rangers also make the same trip during Thanksgiving week, as they do every year (Panthers on Thanksgiving Eve, Lightning on Black Friday).

They do have a Western Canada trip, though, as they play Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton in early November. Mark that down as a loss, as they normally do awful on that road trip. That will also be Tom Renney's first - and only - meeting with his old team. They also stop in Minnesota before hitting Canada.

Don't bank on any romantic Friday evenings at the Garden. The Rangers have 6 road games on a Friday (including the opener in Pittsburgh) but if you want to see them in the City on a Friday, you'll have to wait until the last home game of the year, 4/9/10 (looks weird to write!) against the Flyers.

Three home games that my girlfriend will kill me if I don't sell my tickets: 11/21 vs. Florida, her birthday; 2/14 vs. Tampa Bay, Valentine's Day; and 3/18 vs. St. Louis, our anniversary.

Possible road trips: October 24 & January 23, Montreal; December 9, Chicago; December 17, Philadelphia; January 9 & March 21, Boston; March 6, Washington; March 27, Toronto; December 21 & 31, Carolina. Sadly, no trip to Nashville is in the works, atleast not for a hockey game.

So Long, Claude Lemieux

Today, Claude Lemieux announced his retirement. Again.

Those of you who have read this blog for a while know that we're both big fans of the man known as "Pepe". He was the typical pest - great if he's on your team, a nightmare if he isn't. Modern-day agitators such as Sean Avery only wish they could have been as effective as Claude Lemieux.

Quite frankly, if the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2012 does not include Claude Lemieux, something is seriously wrong. And how fitting would it be if Lemieux were to be inducted alongside his former Avalanche teammate Joe Sakic? Of course, there will be plenty of detractors who will call Lemieux a dirty player. These are the same people who gushed over players like Bobby Clarke and Scott Stevens, so there you go. Anyway, let's take this moment to go over some of Lemieux's Hall credentials.

- Four Stanley Cups (1986, 1995, 1996, 2000). It should also be pointed out that each of these Cups came on different tours of duty. As in, he helped make four different teams into winners. Also, he never lost in a Stanley Cup Final.

- 80 playoff goals, good for 9th best in NHL history.

- 1995 Conn Smythe winner.

- Nine seasons with 20+ goals and 100+ penalty minutes. To put that into proper context, only five players accomplished this feat in 2008-09.

- Nine trips to the conference finals or beyond.

- 379 regular season goals. Not bad for a guy primarily known for his playoff scoring.

- Came back to the NHL at age 43 and played a regular shift on a team that won the President's Trophy.

That last one might be the most significant one of all. Even though his skills had largely eroded, Lemieux was still able to show something to a group of players who weren't even alive when he was drafted. It's a shame the Sharks choked in the playoffs, as is customary for them, because Lemieux winning a fifth Cup would have been such a great story.

As it is, Lemieux retires with his head held high, knowing he could still do it. Truth is, he always could do it. He just had the misfortune to have high goal totals in an era where goal totals were extremely high, then nearly killed Kris Draper. There wasn't a period in Claude Lemieux's career where he wasn't an underrated player. I hope his retirement will educate some of the nay-sayers - as well as the aforementioned haters who claim Lemieux was a dirty player - on what was a spectacular career.

As one of my favorite non-Islanders of all-time, I always wonder what might have happened if things were different. It's a little-known fact that Claude Lemieux was an Islander for a very brief time. The Islanders acquired Lemieux from New Jersey after the 1995 season, then immediately shipped him off to Colorado for Wendel Clark. (Trivia question: Who went to New Jersey in exchange for Lemieux?) Surely, Lemieux wouldn't have won a Stanley Cup with an awful Islanders team in 1995-96, but I would have cherished the chance to watch a true great, a legitimate Hall of Famer, for 82 games. Lemieux always shined in the playoffs, but he was never anything but a tremendous talent who could do it all.

Gomez Traded...

There are 2 big things in the Scott Gomez trade (to Montreal, for Smithtown's Chris Higgins, as you all know by now).

1) As we know, cap space. Higgins is making $1.9M against the Cap, and I'm trying to find out how long he has left on his deal. However, they save $5M by doing this move. If they don't get Dany Heatley, Mike Cammallari would be a good fit for that $5M. I would much rather have Cammallari and Higgins as opposed to just Gomez, wouldn't you?

2) The other big thing is Ryan McDonagh. He was drafted 12th overall in 2007 (5 picks before Alexei Cherepanov, 8 before Angelo Esposito). According to a Montreal Canadiens fan I am friends with, this was one of the big pieces and he was very sorry to see him go. He was their highest-rated prospect at any position, and he is incredibly fast. He is also big, a very physical player, and very offensively talented.

So, a good trade for the Rangers. How Bob Gainey was roped into this, I'll never know. Maybe Glen Sather let him take credit for catching a shark on a fishing trip one day. Beats me.

Anyway, look for McDonagh next year. He could be another young D-man on the blueline, probably not next season but the year after.

Bryan's Take: I have no idea how this trade went through. The Rangers got the two best guys in the deal and shed some serious salary in the process. Of course, you know this means the Rangers will sign another underachiever to an absurd contract tomorrow, but still. Sather is absolved of one of his biggest blunders and actually looks good in the process. And I guess we can put the "Lecavalier to Montreal" rumors to bed once and for all. Just think, for just about the same money as they'll pay Gomez, they could have a perennial All-Star. Aside from Montreal fans, probably the most upset person is Stan Fischler, who can't be all homoerotic with Gomez during their intermission interviews anymore.

A Fact, An Opinion, and a Mistake...

MISTAKE
I think a lot of people erred when they (me included) predicted the Sharks would sweep the Ducks. I think we overlooked the fact that even though these Ducks aren't the same as they were 2 years ago, they still have Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer on the blueline, and Francois Beauchemin is back from injury. Those are 3 big assets to have on a team, and they can have anyone of them on the ice at any given time. Add in Ryan Whitney, and that's a scary defense that not a lot of people took into account.

They sure shut down Joe Thornton today. His only shot came with like a minute left in the game.

For those who didn't catch the end of the game, it was scoreless going into the 3rd period, but the Ducks scored 2 to win it. The Sharks did hit 2 posts in that period though.

OPINION
Ian LaPierre, the "Sean Avery" of the Montreal Canadiens (albeit with less skill and without Avery's stunningly good looks), should be suspended. Tonight, the Bruins scored an empty-net goal to ice the game 4-2, and LaPierre just went and hit him while he was celebrating.

His back wasn't turned like when Dale Hunter attacked Pierre Turgeon in 1993, but there is no place for crap like that in this game. I know they allow fighting in the game, but that is in the heat of the moment (or should only be) and should deter punks like LaPierre from doing that cheap stuff.

He didn't injure Phil Kessel, but he could have, and it was after the play, after a goal, and with nothing to be gained. A one-game suspension should do the trick, like they gave Dan Carcillo in Philadelphia for a useless cheapshot last night.

FACT
The Rangers have been in 5 playoff serieses since the lockout (not including the current one against the Capitals). In those 5 matchups, the team who won Game 1 wo the series.

They lost to the Devils 6-1 in 2005-06. The next season, they beat Atlanta 4-3 and lost to Buffalo 5-2. (I still maintain that if they won Game 5, there was no way Buffalo would have won Game 6 at the Garden that year.) Last year, they beat the Devils 4-1 in Game 1 and then lost to the Penguins 5-4 in the opening of that series.

Not a stone-cold fact, but it's worth noting. Makes you feel a lot better hearing that stat now that they do have that lead though, doesn't it?

All Is Well On This Night

You could say tonight went pretty well for the New York hockey teams. But that doesn't even begin to describe it.

The Rangers didn't just win tonight. They got a piece of themselves back. Their win tonight, coupled with Florida's loss, gives the Rangers a two-point lead with two games left. In essence, all the Rangers need to do is win one more game. One more win gives the Rangers 93 points and 42 wins; while Florida can still get to 93 points, they cannot win more than 41 games. The Rangers also did themselves a tremendous favor by taking two points from Montreal, as they've given themselves at least a fighting chance of avoiding Boston in the first round.

As for the Islanders... well, it's hard to draw positives out of 9-0 losses. Really, it is. If you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the accusations of tanking from up in Toronto. That's what happens when you get outshot 57-12. It was so bad that Scott Gordon changed goalies; if my memory serves me correctly, the only other time he changed goalies mid-game was during the Black Friday debacle in Boston. In any event, zero points is zero points, and there are some who will be thrilled with this result. As for me, I'm a huge Ric Flair fan, so I was more than happy to hear this over and over again.

So, what do we make of tonight? The Islanders have virtually wrapped up the top seed in the Draft Lottery. Tampa Bay is out of the running. Colorado will certainly fall to San Jose tonight, but it doesn't really matter. Assuming an Avalanche loss tonight, they will have 66 points with three games left. They would have to lose every game in regulation and the Islanders would have to win all of their remaining games to miss out on 30th place. That's not going to happen. So rest easy, Islanders fans. As for the Rangers, their playoff picture is much clearer. Truth be told, if they're truly a playoff team, they should be able to beat Philadelphia in one of two games. At this point, they'd have to be considered the favorites to beat out Florida. The hope now is that the Rangers play well in their final two games not just to get into the playoffs, but to get on a roll so that they can enter the post-season with some momentum.

Having said all of that, we close this entry out by throwing our support behind the Phoenix Coyotes in their game against St. Louis tonight. As much as we love John Davidson and the work he's done in St. Louis, a regulation loss by the Blues clinches a playoff berth for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have never made the playoffs. The Blue Jackets fans deserve a shot to see their play in the post-season, and if they draw Calgary in the first round, anything is possible.

Rangers Beat Devils...

Am I really hearing positive things coming out of the hosts' mouths on the NHL Networks On the Fly?

He really was disciplined tonight, and got the same treatment from the refs that he normally does. David Clarkson attacks him, he gets a penalty. Martin Brodeur chops him in the crotch, no penalty, of course. Those just aren't Avery Rules, those are Marty Rules. He has immunity.

I liked Chris Drury hitting his stick along the boards in approval of Avery not being goaded into a fight. Avery was right - the Rangers were up 3-0 and a fight wouldn't have done anything to help them further... especially if he lost it.

Regardless, here's how the Rangers stand after a thrilling 3-0 win over the Devils...

They have 89 points. The most they can get is 99 (5 games left).

Buffalo has 82 points and can get 96 at the most (if they go 7-0 to end the season). Forget Buffalo, they might make 8th on a long shot but won't overtake the Rangers.

Florida Panthers, possibly in a last-ditch effort to save a crappy franchise (which I hope moves), might be the only team who currently sit outside of the top 8 who might crack the playoffs. They have 85 points and can get 97 total.

Say the Panthers get to 94 points. The Rangers in their 5 games left, would have to go 3-2 or 2-1-2 in their remaining 5 games to avoid a tiebreaker scenario (although they currently have 3 more victories, the first tiebreaker).

I didn't get to watch the whole game tonight because of work, but I watched some there and highlights online and on TV, so I apologize if my normally dead-on analysis is lacking tonight. But how about that diving pass from Nik Antropov to Dan Girardi on the 2nd goal of the game? Fantastic.

Should be an interesting 5 games against playoff contenders (Canes, Bruins, Habs, Flyers, Flyers). That Montreal game on April 7 will be huuuuuge.

* * *

For those keeping track of past Rangers, Petr Prucha scored the game winner in overtime today against Dallas, and also had 2 assists in a 6-5 win for the Coyotes.

Wade Redden and the Defense...

At the Garden the other day, they were giving away "spots" for the Blueshirts Off Our Backs promotion. For those who don't know, that's after the last home game (April 9 vs. Flyers). They line everyone up on the ice, and the players come out in number order, take off their jerseys, sign them, and put them on your back.

No, I didn't win one of these spots (from what I know, about 1/3 of the people on the ice "overcome obstacles," and the remaining 2/3 are season ticket holders who are plucked from the crowds that night).

But my friend asked me what I would do if I got on the ice, noticed I was the 2nd person, did the math, and realized I would be getting a Wade Redden jersey. I had two reactions: 1) I would try to convince someone in line that they would rather have a Redden jersey than a Colton Orr jersey or 2) I would turn the tables on him, take off my jersey, sign it, and give it to him.

But today, he had a good game! He barely pinched, and when he did he joined rushes for shots on goal and didn't get caught out of position. He had a few shots that almost hit the net also (he was credited with 3 shots on goal). He even made a very good plan on Nik Antropov's goal. 

Joe Micheletti said it best today when he said all the D-men were playing good today. Paul Mara always plays to his ability. He shoots all the time (granted, does that thing where he misses the net on purpose to make a rebound way too much) and hits everyone he can. He's a 5th D and he's good at his job. When Dan Girardi messes up, Marc Staal is there to back him up (the rare exception is when he kicked in Nashville's 2nd goal Wednesday). 

I have no qualms with Derek Morris. He shoots hard and often. No goals yet, but he has been shooting a lot and it was his shot that Sean Avery deflected in for a 1-0 lead Sunday against Philadelphia. 

You know what you get with Redden and Michal Rozsival. Well, fans know what they get. GM Glen Sather thinks he's getting Scott Stevens and Brian Leetch for their combined $11.5M/year. You get players who are overpaid, underperform, don't shoot, and give up odd-man rushes when they "man the point" on the power play. However, even Rozsival played decent today. There was one play where a Canadien (I think it was Alex Kovalev) tried a fancy toe-drag-deke move, and instead of following the puck, he stood up and knocked him down, clearing the puck.

Marc Staal is a different story. He is excellent sometimes, like in Nashville, he was great. He was good Saturday in Philly also. Sunday, however, "This odd-man rush is brought to you by Marc Staal getting caught up-ice."

* * * 

Anyway, got off track there. I still don't want Redden's jersey, signed, free, unsigned, or if I donate blood. But if the Rangers are going to make the playoffs, they need him to play good. Like it or not, he'll be getting 20 minutes every game (he was getting less and less, but he got 22:37 in Montreal). 

No, he isn't good enough to be a Top 2 D-man. Yes, he's brutally overpaid and probably doesn't care if this team wins or loses (I don't like to question an athlete's passion, but you have to with him sometimes). Yes, we are stuck with him for 5 more years or until he waives his no-trade clause, but we need him.

* * * 

From an entertainment standpoint, today's game was excellent. Even the first period, which had no scoring, was great. Avery vs. Mike "The Original Sloppy Seconds" Komisarek was shaping up nicely, and it was a fast-moving period. The only thing that would've been better was not giving up that 2nd point to Montreal, but right now, getting 2 points is the bigger picture.

Montreal Canadiens...

From the All-Star break until the start of Free Agency on July 1, the Montreal Canadiens have a big task ahead of them. The following players become unrestricted free agents at midnight on July 1...

Forwards: Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Robert Lang, Tom Kostopoulos, Steve Begin

Defensemen: Mike Komisarek, Francois Bouillion, Patrice Brisebois, Mathieu Dandenault

That doesn't include restricted free agents Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, and Guillaume Latrendresse.

That's 10 UFAs and 3 big-time RFAs. 

How does this affect the Rangers and Islanders?

Notice on that list the two Long Island-born players, Komisarek and Higgins. I can't speculate on what the Habs will do, but there won't be room or money for all of these players. 

Higgins had 52 points last year and was on pace for around 40 this season, but he has been out of the lineup since early December with a shoulder injury. He isn't a great player and probably never will be first-line material, but he is a real solid third-line player who can float through the lineup (he can be a banger on the 4th line or a scorer on the 2nd). He's technically a left wing, but he played center at times last year. A comparison to Higgins would be Ryan Malone.

Komisarek is the type of defender you build your team around, the type of player that every team covets. You know the type of d-man the Rangers are missing? The kind they overpaid for and hoped Wade Redden would be? This is him. He is the real deal. He doesn't play the power play a lot, but he kills penalties and he shuts down the opponents' top lines, night after night. He crushed Jaromir Jagr every time they met last year, which at the time made me angry because a) I didn't want him to injure Jagr and b) the Rangers were sorely missing a player like him.

If the Canadiens don't re-sign Komisarek, they would be making a huge mistake. Obviously, they won't deal him at the trade deadline because they'll need a warrior like him in the playoffs, so they one way to get him would be through the checkbook in the summer. Whenever you hear someone say they need a "top 2 defenseman" who can "log minutes" and "play shut-down hockey," they are talking about him. 

Now, let's just hope he grew up a Rangers fan.

"All-Star" Game...

I think we all know the All-Star Game is a joke, so I won't dwell on it further. But hey, this year it is on a weekend and not a Wednesday night!

I am, however, happy that Henrik Lundqvist and Mark Streit deservingly made the team. Nik Zherdev probably deserved consideration, but 4 Canadiens on the team when only one belongs (Andrei Markov) leaves out deserving players like Zherdev, Simon Gagne, and Alex Semin. 

The Young Stars game is always fun but is never really taken seriously. This year, it's Rookies vs. Sophomores and I love the idea. 

My one gripe is that I would have liked to have seen Kyle Okposo (13 points, 29 games) represent the rookies instead of Steven Stamkos (14 points, 40 games), but did we really expect the NHL to do that?

* * * 

In other news, Rangers 1st round pick in 2008 Michael del Zotto was just traded along with future #1 overall selection Johnny Tavares in the OHL. They were traded from the Oshawa Generals (Eric Lindros' former team) to the London Knights along with a goalie for a winger, a goalie, a defenseman, and six - yes, 6! - draft picks. London gave up 6 draft picks and 3 roster players for a goalie and then 2 players who might play in the NHL next year (or in del Zotto's case, atleast the AHL).

A Case For Mark Streit

We're not going to get into the whole debate over the balloting process for the All-Star Game; we've already covered this a million times. But the truth is, everyone loves debating the All-Star Game. Who deserves to go? Who got snubbed? I still remember gleefully texting Zach last year when Rick DiPietro was selected to the All-Star Game and Henrik Lundqvist wasn't; his reply was not a very kind one. But that's okay.

Anyway, the Islanders only really have three legit nominees for this year's All-Star game: Trent Hunter, Mark Streit, and Doug Weight. Hunter is hurt, so you can scratch him off right away. Weight has good numbers, just hit his 1000th point, and could get the sentimental vote, so he's an option. Streit is tied for the league lead in scoring among defensemen, a list which is heavily populated by defensemen.

Could we see two Islanders go to Montreal this year? Probably not. Sorry to say it, but the Islanders don't have a high enough profile to warrant two All-Stars, nor does their record justify the Isles sending two players. But if only one player has to go, I'd give the nod to Streit. Now, if you've read this blog from Day One, you might recall that we've been very high on Streit for a very long time. I thought he was the one player the Islander should throw their checkbook at, and he's proven well worth the money, not to mention the anger Zach displayed when the Islanders landed Streit and not his Rangers.

Let's look at what Mark Streit has done for the Islanders this year. Eight goals, 24 assists, 32 points. 25:15 of ice time per game, good for 13th in the league. Seven goals and 20 points on the power play, and that eighth goal came while shorthanded. So you see that Streit plays all the time, not just on the power play like he did in Montreal. He's a minus-five, which doesn't look good ordinarily, but he's playing for a team with a minus-42 goal differential, easily the worst in the league. And don't forget about the risk Streit took in coming to the Island. He's playing eight minutes more per game than his previous career high, taking a lot more defensive responsibility, and yet still chipping in at a career pace offensively; also, you'd be hard-pressed to recall even one instance where he hasn't held up his end of the bargain defensively. A lot of other players would have cracked under such pressure. Streit has excelled. And this is a guy some predicted would be among the biggest busts of the 2008 free agency class.

In other words, Mark Streit shouldn't just be a lock for an All-Star berth. He should also be getting some consideration for the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman.

Crazy talk? Not really. Take this to the bank - the eventual winner of the Norris Trophy (it won't be Streit) will have extremely comparable numbers to whatever Streit finishes with. In fact, Streit might even have better offensive totals. And since the Norris Trophy has pretty much become the "best offensive defenseman" trophy outside of Nicklas Lidstrom's stranglehold on the trophy, Streit's as good a nominee as anyone.

Now, let's pretend Streit was still playing in Montreal, but was serving in the same expanded role as he currently is on Long Island. Not only would he have been elected to the All-Star Game and received more votes than Barack Obama, the world would be abuzz about what a great two-way player Mark Streit is. Such is life when you play in a hockey hotbed on a team that's among the better teams in the league. On the Island, Streit is having the best season of his career. It's a shame he's not getting his due recognition. Hopefully a return trip to Montreal for the All-Star Game will shed some light on what a great addition Mark Streit has been to the Islanders.

My prediction is that Streit goes for the Islanders and that Lundqvist and Nikolai Zherdev go for the Rangers. In a different year, you might see another Ranger player such as Scott Gomez or Chris Drury go, but since the fans screwed up the starting players' vote so badly, there probably won't be any room.

EDIT: Just came across this post from The Drive For Five, the 2008 Islanders Blog of the Year, which also discusses Streit's qualifications for the Norris Trophy.

EDIT 2: Gallof confirms that Streit's headed for Montreal.

Disaster in Montreal...

Jeez, do they really miss Blair Betts that much?

I will be quick tonight. Since the Rangers didn't show up to play, I shouldn't show up to write much about it.

Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha were the only highlights today, although Henrik Lundqvist didn't play bad. He just had no support in front of him and had to overcompensate many times. Scott Gomez, although a -4, wasn't awful, either.

On one goal, Marc Staal did nothing near the right wing faceoff circle while Michal Rozsival stood in front of Lundqvist. Tic, tac, toe, goal. Rozsival barely moved his head, didn't move his feet. Was he tired? Do the Rangers need a 7th defenseman to come up if only for back-to-back games when Rozsival - a professional athlete, mind you - is too tired to skate? You would think $5M you don't deserve would be motivation enough, never mind the fact that you're playing in freakin' Montreal tonight.

On another goal, Paul Mara went after the puck carrier on Lundqvist's right. Dmitri "Not a Defenseman" Kalinin left his post on Lundqvist's left to attack the same guy Mara was going after. That player passed to the person Kalinin should've been guarding. Goal. Game over.

Dan Girardi, can you repay me for my jersey and the damage you caused my fantasy team today? I'm already getting crushed this week in +/-, I don't need your -2 hurting me. And what a -2 it was! Standing like a tree in a storm as Canadien players thrash by you and you don't move. Great! You're still one of my favorites on the team, but tonight you had a stinker indeed. 

The only reason Wade Redden wasn't horrible tonight is because he only played half a game before getting hurt.

I can deal with a bad game. They happen. You're tired, I understand. But bad effort? I can't stand for that. I wish my ticket money wasn't paying Rozsival and Redden to do nothing continuously.

* * * 

Seriously, though. I joke about it, but why did Kalinin ever decide to be a defender? Was he the only kid on his high school team in Chelyabinsk, Russia, who could skate backwards? He pinches on the rush, chases the puck behind the enemy's goal line, and today, I caught him leading the rush into the offensive zone.

At no point does he make smart defensive plays, check players hard, or use his body to block the shot. His positioning is even horrible, and at least 3 goals in the past 2 games are completely his fault.

We need a 7th d-man up from Hartford if only to have him sit for a game.

Ouch

Well, tonight was a rather forgettable night for New York hockey. Washington 5, Islanders 2. Montreal 6, Rangers 2. That's a total of 11-4. Meanwhile, the stupid Devils won in overtime. Ugh.

Let's start with the Rangers. I, for one, am not in favor of any back-to-back games in which a team would have to fly to the second city. As in, it's asking a lot for the Rangers to complete an emotional comeback win against Pittsburgh, which included five extra minutes of play and a shootout, fly to Montreal, get in late, get a crappy night of sleep, and be forced to play against the fastest team in the Eastern Conference the next day. So it's no surprise that the Rangers got killed tonight, letting up four goals in the game's first 15 minutes. I could be really tough on the Rangers and point out that both Scott Gomez and Markus Naslund were minus-4 tonight, but in a game in which only five Rangers escaped without minus ratings, it's a bit redundant. One positive for the Rangers was Petr Prucha, who dropped the gloves with Maxim Lapierre. It's nice to see a guy like Prucha try to do something outside of his skill set to spark the team; that it didn't work shouldn't diminish his efforts. Lapierre, by the way, ended up with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, so kudos to him as well.

As for the Islanders... well, the score didn't really tell the whole story. The game was 3-2 until there were four minutes left in the game, when Washington got an insurance goal; they would later add an empty-netter. This is the second time in the past couple of weeks when the Islanders have gotten blown out after a long period of rest. Say what you want about the Isles getting fatigued in third periods, but it seems like the regular work keeps them a bit more focused. They weren't quite as bad as they were in Jersey, which was the last time they really looked like crap, but they weren't close to the better team tonight. The Capitals were inspired by Alexander Ovechkin, who did it all tonight for the Capitals. From scoring goals to getting involved physically, Ovechkin was dominant. Still, it was the space he helped create for his teammates that was his biggest contribution. It's always a bit humbling to watch these games as an Islanders fan - after a game such as this one, it's so clear that the Islanders have a long way to go.

Around the league, it's been a pretty high-scoring night. Checking the goals-per-game stats just a moment ago, we're at 5.84 goals per game across the league. And in case you're wondering, San Jose is tops with a ridiculous 3.88 goals per game. Another fun fact you might not be aware of - the Islanders (2.68 GPG) and the Rangers (2.66 GPG) are nearly identical in goals per game, but the Islanders have allowed nearly a goal more per game (3.40 vs. 2.52). This is why the Rangers have nearly doubled the Islanders' point total. One last fun stat for tonight? Sure, why not? The Rangers and Bruins have the same point total, but the Bruins' goal differential (1.16) is a full goal higher than that of the Rangers (0.14). What to make of this? Not really sure. Except that Ottawa and their zero goal differential have 22 points, yet the Rangers and their 0.14 goal differential have 38 points. In other words, the Rangers had better start putting teams away and stop relying so much on Henrik Lundqvist to win games for them.

All-Star Game Flaws...

For the NHL All-Star Game, the fans vote for the starters. I really have no problem with this, except for the fact that the entire Eastern Conference starting line-up will be made up of Canadiens. Mike Komisarek? Really? I mean, I know there isn't much in Montreal except fantastic strip clubs, legal gamblin, and bilingual hockey games, but if you are already voting for Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay, Alex Kovalev, Andrei Markov, and Carey Price (aka the guy with the severely unimpressive 2.68 GAA), do you really need to vote for Komisarek, who is having a very bad year? For Christ's sake, Komisarek has over 150,000 votes, nearly 5 times more than 3rd place Mike Green's 36,000.

Anyway, my beef is, as always, with the pre-made ballot.

I remember a few seasons ago (I believe 2002-03), Curtis Joseph was on the ballot. At that point, he was injured, and played in just 1 game with the Red Wings. He had lost that game. Yet, he was still on the ballot.

This year, there are a bunch of curious choices which obviously prove that this ballot was made in the off-season and nobody took the time to update it.

For starters (no pun intended), J.P. Dumont (17 points) isn't on the ballot. While Ryan Getzlaf is on it, his linemates Corey Perry (slow start but absolutely on fire) and Teemu Selanne are not. Pascal "Just Got Off of Injured Reserve" Leclaire is also on the ballot. The forwards don't bother me as much though, because there are a ton on the ballot and 3 write-in spots.

In the East, there are atrocities galore. Ryan Whitney AND Sergei Gonchar are both on the list. Combined games: 0. Combined injuries: 2, both in preseason. Why even waste the room on the ballot on them? Second overall Wade Redden is the sexy Ranger offseason acquisition. He hasn't scored a goal since the home opener on October 10 against Chicago. Meanwhile, undrafted Dan Girardi has 2 goals and a very impressive 14 assists. Did Glen Sather lobby to get Redden on the ballot so he could try to convince the rest of the league he didn't give Ferrari money to a Volkswagen?

Danny Briere and his grand total of 8 games make the list, while fellow Flyer Jeff Carter will be watching the Skills Competition from his (probably very well-adorned) living room.

As for the Islanders, I really like that they put Trent Hunter on the ballot. But is Rick DiPietro (0-2-0, 3.91 GAA) really having that good of a year? To be honest, putting Joey MacDonald on it would've been a decent choice.

To cover their collective rears, their is a footnote on the bottom of the page saying "Player must have appeared in 20 games prior to 1/2/09 to qualify," thus negating Whitney, Gonchar, Martin Brodeur, Marion Gaborik, DiPietro, Brian Rolston, and probably Marty Biron from actually being voted in.

Marty Biron? All-around nice guy. Of all the players I have met in my time, him and Scott Gomez (also on the ballot... Aaron Voros and Brandon Dubinsky and Nik Zherdev are not) are the most personable. At 4-5-2 with a 3.33 GAA and an .888 SP, what qualifies him over equally not-good Antero Niittymaki? (By the way, I had no clue I wrote so much about the Flyers until I re-read this post.)

My stunning conclusion is that the other day, I was listening to XM Home Ice 204, and Tim Gleason (Carolina Hurricane's defenseman) was talking to Phil Esposito and they were railing on the All-Star Game. I've heard it all before and normally brushed it off. You know the arguments: It's on Versus. It's on like a Wednesday or a Tuesday.

But now, I see their point. The NHL doesn't seem to care about it, either. I get that you want to showcase stars, so obviously Brodeur is on it, and Alex Ovechkin with his slow start. Personally, I'm surprised to see Alexander Semin on it as well. But there is absolutely no reason to have Redden or Whitney or Gonchar on it when more capable players like Girardi and Mark Streit are left off. They are not going to get nearly enough votes as simply write-ins.

Maybe if they put a real list out, they would have no one like Boy Wonder Luke Schenn, Luca Sbisa, or Braydon Coburn for the Young Stars game.

Hopefully, within a few years, either the NHL starts to take this seriously and does the ballot the week before it goes up, or they make the whole thing a write-in ballot.

Oh well, atleast Mats Sundin isn't on the All-Star ballot this season.

(Crappy) Hockey Night In Canada

How do you describe what happened to both New York teams last night?

The hour between 8:30 and 9:30 last night was one of the more surreal I can recall. I was at Hooters with some friends. The Islanders were on many of the TVs, but our table had the Islanders and Rangers side-by-side. Things were looking good for both teams; the Islanders were playing really well and had taken a 4-1 lead, while the Rangers were blanking the Maple Leafs behind the goaltending of Steve Valiquette. Suddenly, things took a turn for the bizarre.

The Canadiens scored to make it 4-2. Toronto scored to make it 2-1. And that's when all hell broke loose. It was literally back-and-forth. Every time you looked up and saw the Canadiens celebrating a goal, you'd look a few feet over and see the Toronto fans going wild after a goal in their game. All in all, Canadian teams outscored New York teams in the third period by a score of 9-0. And it was really unfortunate because I wanted to rub it in to Ranger fans that they'd just let up five goals in five minutes. Of course, since the Islanders had just blown a three-goal lead, so I couldn't say a word. Worst lead in hockey? You bet.

Thankfully, we all had a mutual reason to be happy later on in the night - we found out Martin Brodeur got hurt. At least we can all agree on something.

The Worst Organization in Sports...

On this blog, I have often called the Florida Panthers the worst organization in all of sports.

Well, kudos to the Panthers. Various sources are reporting that they laid off ten workers citing a bad economy. Somewhere, however, they found the money to sign Jassen Cullimore to a one-year deal.

Cullimore, for those who don't know, is the lazy player the Blackhawks and Canadiens both desperately tried to trade after realizing that his $1.9M salary was way too much to be giving away for free.

No word yet on the terms of the contract, but let's say it's atleast $650,000. Sounds like to afford that, 10 or so jobs would need to be cut. (EDIT: It's $830,000.)