James Dolan Flunked Math in Private School...

The ice is painted. The jerseys have patches sewn on the shoulders. The stores are filled with shirts. Even the beer cups have the New York Rangers 85th anniversary logo on it.

A couple of years too early, but indeed, the Rangers are fully immersed in celebrating the 85th anniversary of the hockey club. I wonder if this will go until their actual 8th anniversary. Seeing as there are lots of expensive renovations to do to Madison Square Garden, James Dolan and his gang can really milk this thing for all it’s worth.

In fact, the Rangers are either 83 or 84 years old, depending on how you look at it. See, the Rangers first year of hockey was in 1926. That makes 2010 technically the 84th year. However, a lockout destroyed the entire 2004-05 season (as we all vaguely remember), which brings us to the small but irrefutable fact that this is the New York Rangers’ 83rd season in the NHL.

I’ll help you with the math if you don’t believe me. Ten seasons in each of the 30s (1930-31 to 1939-40), 40s, 50, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s makes 70 seasons. Then there were 4 seasons in the 20s (26-27, 27-28, 28-29, 29-30) and the 2010-11 season makes 9 seasons so far in the 2000s.

I have a friend who I play golf with sometimes. He’ll kick the ball from the rough into the fairway - a good 15 years - and not count it as a stroke. If a putt lands within 6 feet of the hole, he’ll pick it up and say, “That’s a gimme.” But he won’t count the “gimme” stroke, just the one that landed before the hold. We call this “funny math” and it seems that’s what MSG is using.

To be honest, I’m even a little confused at how Madison Square Garden came up with this idea. I guess to the 2011-1926 is 85, which is true. But that’s also like celebrating your 1st birthday on January 1st of the next year, even if you’re born in December.

What’s funnier is that I haven’t even heard anybody question this logic. Someone should tell quintessential team player Marty Biron about it before he debuts that 85th anniversary helmet in November.

After all, I wouldn’t want Biron to be an unwitting part of a marketing ploy. I really like that guy.

After Two Games...

The Islanders season is just 125 minutes old, and a ton has already happened. Three points out of four? Not bad. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Let's review this young season after two games...

 - Injuries: They happen. Do they knock out your three best players before the end of the first period of your first game? Not really. But the Islanders should be used to fighting back from injuries. These Islanders cannot use the injuries to Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares as an excuse. I don't care what the front office says about rebuilding; this year has to be the year the Islanders go to the playoffs.

(Just a quick note about Tavares... I've suffered from four concussions that I know about. The most recent was in 2007 in a car accident; it was also the only one that prompted me to see a doctor or even stop what I was doing. As it happens, I can't recall a week over the past two years when I haven't had a migraine. Coincidence? I think not. After watching the Mets nearly kill Ryan Church and Jason Bay in recent years, please Islanders, I beg of you, do not rush John Tavares back.)

 - Rick DiPietro: Couldn't be happier that Ricky is back among the active and healthy. His first two games have been a bit spotty, but this is what happens when you've played roughly a dozen games in the past two years. It takes a while to play the game in an ultra-competitive setting. I'm willing to spot him the occasional bad goal, especially as he gets his bearings back. 

Of course, his rust hasn't stopped people on the comment boards and forums from proclaiming DP as the Antichrist. Do you people even realize how easy it would have been for Rick DiPietro to quit? How can you not admire someone who fights back like that? Nevermind that DP signed his future to this team at a time when they had just brought Garth Snow in as GM and nobody wanted anything to do with the Islanders. Me, I gladly welcome DiPietro back, and I look forward to seeing him return to form.

 - Offense: Love it. In fact, from now on, when I do my online betting, I'm taking the over in every Islanders game. This team can score, and the power play is red-hot. Let's not forget this outburst has come without the Islanders' top three point scorers from last year. The big stories are the emergence of Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey as big-game players. While the odds of Comeau and Bailey producing at this level for the duration of the season are long indeed, both players should be counted on for at least 20 goals each in 2010-11.

 - The Wisniewski Incident: This is one of those stories, that quite frankly, wouldn't even be an issue if the Internet didn't exist. An isolated incident becomes a huge story because YouTube can quickly spread around the "offensive" action, and the blogosphere, talking heads and Twitter people can debate the issue ad nauseum. The other side of the issue, of course, is that people wouldn't feel the need to debate the possible consequences so fervently if the NHL actually used consistency when disciplining wrongdoers, but that's a different story altogether.

What does Wisniewski deserve? One game. Let's face it, the incident was hardly incendiary, but the NHL has to establish a precedent when it comes to on-ice conduct that doesn't involve maiming someone. The whole "first-time offender" argument won't save Wisniewski, as the NHL simply must make him a sacrificial lamb so that players won't think they can get away with these actions. You could argue that Sean Avery is implicit in this incident, but you have to know he's going to try to get under your skin, so you shouldn't do anything stupid. Like, you know, simulating a BJ right in front of a referee.

 - New Goal Song: For those who haven't heard, the Islanders players have requested a change to their goal song. The request was made at the behest of Zenon Konopka, who chose a song called "Live is Life" by Opus. While I enjoy the irony of a player with six career goals spurring the charge to change the team goal song, and I don't particularly care for the new song - I'm also a huge Pennywise fan - at least the Islanders are trying to do something different. That's always a good thing as you try to establish your own identity. The subtext to all of this is that these Islanders are a unified team. They're on the same page, both on and off the ice. You can't ask for more than that.

 - Low Attendance: I'm not surprised. Before the season started, I wrote that the Islanders were drastically increasing expectations when they drastically increased their ticket prices. Right now, Long Island sees the Islanders as the sad-sack team they've always been. The only thing that can change this perception is by winning. A lot.

One thing we can't forget is that virtually all of Long Island - and everywhere else, for that matter - is broke. Zach is fond of saying that Long Island is a great place to live if you have money. For those of us who don't, though, it's not so easy. Personally, I can't see myself getting to the Coliseum even once this year, and that's with two jobs. I'm far from the only one in this predicament. Dee Karl echoed many of these sentiments earlier today. The Islanders are going to have to do something about these ticket prices or else face seeing many, many empty seats.

One last thing about attendance. Whose bright idea was it to schedule a rivalry game on Columbus Day?!? This is a day that's usually targeted towards families, who generally don't want to buy tickets to what may be a fight-filled game. It's also not really ideal for working adults, many of whom didn't have today off, myself included. Just a disaster all-around. When the fans of two teams can't fill up your arena, somebody screwed up big-time.

2010-11 Predictions

Yesterday, Zach cited my proficiency at pre-season predictions (nice alliteration). I managed to beat out "experts" like Eklund and E.J. Hradek, which is going on my resume ASAP. After a nice little celebration, which consisted of merely a smile and a fist pump, I submit my predictions for 2010-11. Just a note for purposes of full disclosure, I went on a nice five-month break from everything that relates to hockey. If these predictions make no sense, I'd cite that as a reason. Of course, if these predictions do come true, forget I said anything.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1) Washington

2) New Jersey

3) Boston

4) Pittsburgh

5) NY Rangers

6) Montreal

7) Tampa Bay

8) Toronto

9) Philadelphia

10) Buffalo

11) NY Islanders

12) Atlanta

13) Ottawa

14) Carolina

15) Florida

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1) San Jose

2) Detroit

3) Vancouver

4) Chicago

5) Los Angeles

6) Colorado

7) Nashville

8) St. Louis

9) Edmonton

10) Columbus

11) Calgary

12) Anaheim

13) Phoenix

14) Dallas

15) Minnesota

CONFERENCE FINALS

Washington over NY Rangers

Detroit over Chicago

CUP FINAL

Detroit over Washington in 6

FEARLESS PREDICTIONS

Picking the right teams to finish in the right spots is the easy part of prognostication. The far more difficult (and fun) proposition is to predict the events of the season. As I see it, the season will include the following elements...

 - A big-name coach will be fired before November 15. My prediction: John Tortorella.

 - An unheralded team will come out of nowhere to start red-hot, defying "experts". Last year, it was Phoenix and Colorado. This year, I pick Tampa Bay and St. Louis.

 - The league's new blind-side hits rule will prove itself to be woefully ineffective, resulting in at least one suspension in the league's first month.

 - Islanders fans will pine for Billy Jaffe by the time the first period ends tonight. Fans will also proclaim the new radio deal with Hofstra as "bush-league" and clamor for the return of the simulcast before ever hearing a game on the radio.

 - None of the agonizing decisions and heated debates over who should be the 23rd man on an NHL roster will amount to anything.

 - This year's Winter Classic will draw the highest ratings and interest levels the NHL has ever seen.

 - The Islanders-Rangers rivalry will finally receive a shot in the arm, with at least one big fight or controversial incident helping these games reach their potential.

 - Doug Weight and Dwayne Roloson will be traded at the trade deadline.

 - The Islanders will get off to a slow start, but nobody will question the bizarre split-squad games as a potential reason why.

 - Rick DiPietro will finally make it through a season in perfect health.

 - Henrik Lundqvist will finally get to go on a ridiculous playoff run.

 - Ilya Kovalchuk will win the Hart Trophy.

 - The Jack Adams Award will go to a first-year coach who makes a big difference. I predict Guy Boucher of Tampa Bay.

 - At least one team will unveil a new retro third jersey that will end up replacing their current uniforms next year.

 - The NHL will re-sign with NBC, but will take its cable package to TBS.

 - Bad officiating and inconsistent discipline will become a huge issue yet again, this time playing a significant role in the Stanley Cup Final.

Predictions...

Well, I haven't written anything since March on here, and it's 7:16 on the morning of the NHL's first games. In less than 5 hours, the puck will drop in Helsinki between two great teams - Derek Boogaard's former team (the Minnesota Wild) and Bobby Sanguenetti's current team (the Carolina Hurricanes, and yes, he made the NHL team).

Predictions - the best and worst part of October. Everyone is normally wrong, but they're fun to debate anyway. So, here we go...

Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. NY Rangers
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Philadelphia Flyers
9. Atlanta Thrashers
10. Boston Bruins
11. NY Islanders
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Florida Panthers
14. Ottawa Senators
15. Montreal Canadiens

Notes: The Rangers missed the playoffs by 1 point yet improved a lot over the offseason. They got a better backup goalie than they had (Martin Biron is in fact better than any combination of Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba and Steve Valiquette) and Alex Frolov is going to add much more offense than Aaron Voros.

Tampa Bay has a great forward line up including Lecavilier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Ryan Malone, and Steve Downie. With Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund on the blue line and competent goaltending in Dan Ellis and Mike Smith, they should take make the playoffs, edging out a much improved Chicago Blackha err, Atlanta Thrashers team.

In the Northeast, I can't see an aging Ottawa team with questionable goaltending making the playoffs again. Yes, Sergei Gonchar is good, but I think he'll fall apart without Crosby and Malkin on the same PP unit. And Toronto might be unstoppable. The best defense in the NHL (Beauchemin, Kaberle, Komisarek, Lebda, Phaneuf, Schenn), solid goaltending (Giguere, Gustavsson), and a much improved offense featuring Colby Armstrong, Kris Versteeg, and a healthy Phil Kessel. The Leafs... will... be... very... good.

And I don't think Florida will - or should - ever make the playoffs again. Send that stupid team to Canada already!

Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Colorado Avalance
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Nashville Predators
10. Edmonton Oilers
11. Calgary Flames
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Anaheim Ducks
14. Minnesota Wild
15. Dallas Stars

Notes: Vancouver should win the division because they have the best goaltending of the top contenders. I mean, I guess Chicago would (with Marty Turco) if I were writing predictions for 2003-04. With Raffi Torres, Manny Malhotra, and Dan Hamhuis, the Canucks improved under-the-radar, but all 3 are great additions.

I think the East is a lot stronger this year. The top 5 teams in the West are good, but all have their flaws. Is Detroit getting too old (and Mike Modano is not an injection of youth)? Does San Jose, LA, or Chicago have the goaltending?

Does LA have the offense? They'll need better years from Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth and a breakout year from Wayne Simmonds. Alex Ponikarovsky replaces Frolov, but can he?

Edmonton, while not a playoff team yet, is building something with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi. Tom Renney will be great there.

Anaheim must be content being middle-of-the-road. All they did was sign 3 marginally good defenseman (Paul Mara, who I love; Toni Lydman; and Andy Sutton, whose best years are far behind him). Dallas, the same (whose less bad, Kari Lehtonen or Andrew Raycroft?).

Playoffs
Washinton vs. Pittsburgh in the East
Canucks vs. Sharks in the West

Washington vs. Vancouver in the Finals
Washington winning

I know it's cheesy to pick your Conference Winners to play each other in the Finals, but that's why I picked them both #1 I guess. To be honest, I can completely see Vancouver stumbling in the playoffs, but they do have a very good team, and when Alex Burrows is back from injury in early-November, they'll be even better.

Enjoy the season, ladies & gentleman. Here's hoping the Islanders and Rangers both improve, both over last season and from the beginning of this one to the end.

Hart Trophy: Ilya Kovalchuk, NJ
Conn Smythe: Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, LA
Vezina Trophy: Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo, or Henrik Lundqvist (oh, hell, Martin Brodeur is probably going to be given it anyway)

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.

On Hiatus!...

We will be taking the weekend off from our Top Post-Lockout Moments List. To be honest, we didn't want anyone to have to choose between us and the Canada/USA hockey game on Sunday night.

On Monday, it's Rangers 10-6. Tuesday, Islanders 10-6. Wednesday, Rangers 5-1 and Thursday, Islanders 5-1.

I'll give you a hint...

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.

Not to Be Unfair to Cam Ward...

Not to be unfair to Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, but any goalie tonight would've stopped 37 of 38 shots against the Rangers tonight.

I think the Shot Clock Man has a bad angle of the ice. At one point, a puck was passed parallel to the goal line. He took his stick, reached out, and pushed it towards the blue line. I took a glance at the shot clock and it went from "11" to "12".

Brandon Dubinsky rifled a shot - absolutely blasted this puck - that was caught by Ward. The only hitch? It was going high if Ward didn't touch it. He actually had to move out of net to catch it. Shot clock increase.

I'm not saying most of those 38 shots never actually were shots. In fact, most of them were. However, how many really tested Ward? Three? Four? The Rangers had a couple of good chances, but at least 29 of those shots were crappy, low-angle, easily-saved shots.

The Rangers do that; they have been for years. They make goalies look amazing. Remember when Rick DiPietro made over 50 saves one day in March '07 and everyone said how incredible he was? Guess what? Most of those shots were right to his chest - they would've hit the Gordon's Fisherman right in the head.

Tonight, the Rangers must've seen the logo on the Ward's jersey as a bulls-eye. Because they kept aiming for it.

A Great Night For New York Hockey

Just got home from the Coliseum a little while ago... WOW. Of all the things I thought I'd see tonight, a 6-0 Islanders win would have been at the very bottom. A perfect performance from the Islanders tonight, and that is no exaggeration. Maybe the bright future of the New York Islanders isn't as far away as we all thought.

As for the Blueshirts, they lost in the shootout to the Devils. However, by all accounts, this was one of the best games in the entire league this season. Unfortunately, a quick search of the iO Channel Guide does not indicate a replay of this game airing anytime soon, which means that those of us who didn't see this game missed out on something special. Hopefully, Zach will be by later on or tomorrow to post his thoughts.

In closing, thanks to the Islanders and the Rangers for giving us great performances tonight. Here's hoping the season's second half is full of many more nights like this one.

Who the Rangers Should Sign...

It appears Donald Brashear reads this here website. A few nights ago, after the overtime loss in Atlanta, I wrote that the entire team needs to start hitting more; I then singled him out for being a complete waste of money and being a shell of what he used to be. Teams aren't afraid to take runs at Marian Gaborik, Henrik Lundqvist, or the rest of the team, because Brashear isn't going to make them pay with a fit of violence like he used to.

Maybe it's being injured (I don't care, if you're too hurt to play, don't play); maybe it's being scared of the league suspending him (really?); maybe it's him just not having "it" anymore (most probably). Regardless, he hadn't been in a fight since Thanksgiving-time, and he hadn't stuck up for anyone in weeks.

In today's matinee tilt against Boston, he changed his tune. He was hitting people after the whistle, trying to get involved, and even had a fight.

Of course, he was ineffective. He lost the fight - pretty badly. In fact, it was embarrassing. Donald Brashear circa 2003 would pummel Donald Brashear 2010 into a bloody pulp, then sucker-punch Aaron Ward en route to the locker room. He wouldn't even care about the 2-game suspension that follows.

Hell, you know Brashear is useless when Ranger fans would rather see Aaron Voros in the lineup. Atleast Voros cares and sticks up for teammates.

So, you ask, who should the Rangers sign?


That's right, there he is. Ronnie from MTV's Jersey Shore.

Let's look at the facts...

1) He's from New York. He was born and raised in the Bronx. The team needs homegrown talent, not mercenaries born in Indiana and raised in Quebec. You know he'd do NY proud.

2) He comes to the defense of teammates. Who could forget when Snooki got punched in the fact by that guy at the bar and he went looking for blood? If that gentleman wasn't arrested, Ronnie would've delivered his own brand of vigilante justice.

3) He'd be a cheap Salary Cap hit. With virtually no ice hockey experience, he'd be signed for the league minimum and he'd be on a two-way contract. If it didn't work out, they could send him to Hartford and not fear him being picked up by a different team.

4) He's cocky. He has a swagger. He's overly confident. The last time the Rangers had an enforcer like that, well, it was last year with Colton Orr. Orr went into every fight knowing he was going to win. Ronnie has the same mentality. Maybe he'll even have the same sadistic win every time he knocks out Todd Fedoruk.

5) He'd be a great deterrent. And, uh, he's pretty strong. Look at those muscles! And did you see the size of the protein powder he brought with him for his month at the Jersey shore? No one in their right mind would run over Lundqvist in the crease with Ronnie sitting on the bench waiting to knock someone's skull in.

6) He whooped that guy on the Boardwalk. He delivered about 5 or 6 solid shots to that guy's head. And you know every time they play the Devils he would get up for that game.

If anyone has Glen Sather's number, let him know.

They're Already Starting With This Crap

As soon as the Winter Classic ended, you knew everyone was going to start gushing about what a wonderful event it was - even if there was a whistle approximately once every six seconds during the first two periods. This one, hot off the presses, is entitled "NHL Sets Higher Bar with Latest Classic".

For Marco Sturm, it was his son wanting to stay on the ice at the family skate the day before the Winter Classic.

Doesn't every kid want to stay on the ice when the session is over? I mean, I'm 28 years old, and when the sessions at Cantiague Park end, I start to cry and beg the attendant for five more minutes on the ice.

Maybe it was James Taylor's lyrical version of the national anthem.

Isn't EVERY version of the national anthem performed by a singer considered "lyrical"?

It is not a stretch to suggest that for every Boston Bruins player, every Philadelphia Flyers player, every coach and manager, and the 38,112 who jammed into the Fenway Park stands, there will be a separate memory of the Winter Classic that they will tuck away forever.

OK, first of all, this is a one-sentence paragraph. Second of all, this isn't even possible. Third of all, people are going to have exactly two memories of this game - it was cool to see a rink at Fenway, and the Bruins won in overtime. In that order.

First, would this audacious plan work? The Buffalo experience on Jan. 1 2008, answered in the affirmative.

Fun fact - if the Winter Classic didn't debut in Buffalo, it would NEVER be held there. Somehow, I doubt the allure of Ralph Wilson Stadium could attract non-hockey fans.

Corporate sponsors are clamoring to get on board and NHL teams are now bidding to host the event.

Keep this sentence in the back of your mind.

"It is a cornerstone of the strategy we began over three years ago to build scale and connect with our fans in ways we haven't done before, using all of the platforms available to us," commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday.

Except, of course, ESPN. This game was listed ninth in ESPN.com's top stories just an hour after the game was over, behind non-stop college football coverage. That'd probably change if ABC was airing the game. Not saying it's fair, but that's the way it'd be.

Success is said to breed success, but at the same time, the bar has been set extremely high and the risk of backsliding, of having an event that doesn't measure up and therefore becomes subject to criticism or disappointment, goes up.

The bar was never NOT high. Last year's game set the bar as high as it was going to go. This year's game just happened to have a better finish. Now, every Winter Classic will have to be held at an iconic stadium and feature two major-market, media-friendly teams.

The NHL has for the first time opened up a bid process to come up with a host for the 2011 game.

Hey, this sounds familiar! I think I read this somewhere before.

The process will force teams to think outside the box in suggesting venues and activities that will "wow" the league.

I'd imagine the bids of teams like Nashville and Columbus will be pieces of paper stating simply, "We know we have no chance of ever getting a Winter Classic. However, we're submitting this so we can tell our fans we're in the market for a Winter Classic someday."

The New York Rangers, for instance, are the only U.S.-based Original Six team that has yet to play in a Winter Classic, and it is important they are involved given their heritage and importance to the league.

Wrong. A GOOD Rangers team is important to the league. The current Rangers team doesn't do anything for the casual fan outside of New York. It'd be like putting the Knicks on a Christmas Day game... oh wait, nevermind.

Yankee Stadium may not be a possibility, though, with word college football will be using the facility over the holidays; so, the league must consider ways for the Rangers to host a game somewhere else or invite them to play in the contest as a visiting team.

Let's also not forget that the new Yankee Stadium has been open for exactly one year. A game there isn't what it would have been a year or two ago. I'd rather see a Winter Classic at the decaying carcass of Giants Stadium than at new Yankee Stadium.

One memory many fans will cherish from Friday's Winter Classic was watching former Bruins great Bobby Orr skate onto the ice as the team's honorary captain. Former Philadelphia captain and GM Bob Clarke was the Flyers' honorary captain, and to see the two Hall of Famers skate to center ice together for the ceremonial puck drop was a nice moment.

It was also a "nice moment" when Clarke pulled the ultimate dick move, "winning" the ceremonial faceoff despite being the road team. What a prick.

Are we saying that places like Tampa, Atlanta, Carolina or Phoenix should never have an Outdoor Classic?

What's an Outdoor Classic?

Wrigley and Fenway were no-brainers, but now it becomes more difficult to find those iconic venues.

This is actually a good point. I guess there's a first time for everything.

The game also has to celebrate its biggest stars, and that's why we don't have any problem with Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby being involved in a second game, or Detroit hosting a Winter Classic in the near future even if the Red Wings have already been in one.

We are guessing it is a formality that wherever the game is held next year, the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin will be involved in some way. It is mystifying that three events have passed without the Caps being involved.

You can bet that Ovechkin and Crosby will each play in three Winter Classics before they retire. God forbid NBC and the NHL promote the other teams in the league.

In the end, the challenge of maintaining the Classic's magical spark isn't about being fair, it's about making the right choices.

Awesome. So teams like the Islanders will always be stuck playing second fiddle to the "big" teams and attractive venues. And the "right choices" will always be what yields the biggest TV ratings, not what hockey fans want to see. Get ready for Rangers-Capitals next year, which will be followed by some regurgitation of past Winter Classic matchups. Thank goodness NBC is here to expose the unheralded talent in the NHL.

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?

Islanders Win!

When the Rangers scored with 47 seconds left in the third period to tie tonight's game at 2, I assumed that was it for the Islanders. The Rangers would go on to win in overtime; if they didn't do that, they'd win in the shootout. I had my mental consolation speech prepared. It went something like this: "It's a damn shame they didn't win tonight. Kyle Okposo was a beast. Even if he never scores again, he should make the U.S. Olympic team, because he still makes things happen. Oh, and I f*&@ing hate the Rangers."

Then, almost out of nowhere, Kyle Okposo, he who was a beast tonight, fired off a wrist shot that deflected off Marc Staal's skate, then the post, and then found the back of the net. Islanders win in overtime.

MSG Plus gave us a bunch of stats that I thought said a lot about these two teams. First, Brandon Dubinsky's second goal gave the Rangers their first point in a game where they trailed after two periods. That's plenty of fodder for the "The Rangers have no heart" chorus. Second, the Islanders earned their 37th point a full 13 games before they hit the 37-point mark last year. Third, the one we all know a little too well, this was Okposo's first goal in nineteen games. Lastly, and perhaps most pathetically, the Islanders have consecutive wins for the first time in almost two months.

Yes, the Islanders gave up a crucial point to the Rangers, a team they may be battling for a playoff spot later this season. But this was a big win for the Islanders. They took it to their biggest rivals tonight and got two points. They got a bit of a raw deal with the schedule - their game against the Flyers tomorrow starts just 22 hours from the drop of the puck tonight - but the Flyers are terrible and the Islanders are riding a great wave of momentum. Truly, there's no reason why they can't beat Philadelphia tomorrow night; there's even less reason why they can't beat Columbus on Tuesday night. That'd be four in a row. It probably wouldn't get the Isles into the top eight before the end of the year, but it certainly would send them into 2010 on a positive note.

Huge win tonight. And one last note on Okposo - now that he's broken his goal drought, look for him to heat up in the very immediate future.

Programming Note: I've been a bit absent of late, which I apologize for. Such is life with two kids and two jobs. Hopefully, it won't happen again. Thanks to Zach for picking up the slack.

Redden Scratched Tonight

Christmas - and Zach's birthday, for that matter - isn't until next week. But this news will surely make Zach feel like it's Christmas morning. Rangers coach John Tortorella is putting Wade Redden, the $39 million man, in what might be his natural position - in the press box as a healthy scratch.

Is it the right move? Hard to say. But you cannot possibly argue that it's the wrong one. The Rangers allowed Islanders fans to take over the Coliseum last night. Usually, it's the other way around; tonight, it may very well be the other way around. But it's clear that the Rangers need to shake things up, and this is one way to achieve that goal. Besides, maybe they'll actually play better without an ineffective Redden taking up valuable ice time.

No matter what you think of the Rangers or this move, it's clear that this has been a long time coming. Hell, it probably should have occurred twelve months ago. You'd think the Rangers would dump a guy like Redden before dumping Tortorella, but Glen Sather isn't exactly forthright about admitting his mistakes. The Rangers have a golden opportunity to right the ship in a game against their hated rivals, just 24 hours after being embarrassed on home ice by those same Islanders. If they can't get up for this one, maybe it's time to replace Redden AND Tortorella.

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.

Coming Tomorrow!...

Coming Tomorrow on The Rivalry!

* * Alex Ovechkin's return is imminent, and what better way to do it than against the Rangers! (See: Kovalchuk; Atlanta; 11/12/09)

* * Bryan thinks the Islanders might be "for real" this year. His prediction is 85 points, putting them exactly where I predicted in September: 10th place.

* * Matt Moulson is to 2009 fantasy hockey as Steve Slaton was to 2008 fantasy football: Best Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year.

* * Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky still not playing for the Rangers. Don't worry, even if they were, they wouldn't score.

* * Wade Redden returns to glory on the power play. (Webster's Dictionary defines glory as: "non-scoring, non-shooting, can't keep the puck in the zone, overpaid, and got Tom Renney fired." Weird.)

* * John Tortorella says Redden is "playing decent." Glen Sather agrees. Sather then states that "All decent players should received $6.5M for 6 years."

* * Blair Betts makes $600,000. Does more than Drury. Sather preemptively refuses to offer him a deal next year, saying "I will make mistakes, but I will never admit them." (See: Betts; Moore; Drury; Redden; Rozsival; Orr; Brashear)

* * The guy behind me at the Ranger games is constantly a dick to everyone. Will he yell at the large people I sold my tickets for tomorrow's game to? Will he live to tell about it? Why does he put a belt around his sweatpants and still think he's a tough guy?

Stay Tuned!

Tom Renney...

The last two times that the Edmonton Oilers faced the Rangers, the Rangers lost in a shootout. Last time, they fired 42 shots on net and scored on only 2 - on a backup goaltender. Ah, the Tom Renney era...

Well, tomorrow, the Rangers meet Tom Renney again, and while not many current players were there for a lot of his reign (Henrik Lundqvist and Michal Rozsival were the only ones there from his first full season in 2005-06), it should be an emotional night for him. Imagine if the game were at Madison Square Garden?

While I rip on Renney a lot here, I do think he was a very good coach, and I'm sure he will be sometime soon. There are a few coaches who will "always be a Ranger," no matter where they wind up coaching or working. Mike Keenan, though he only had 1 season, is one of them. Renney is another.

No coach could have done what he did after the lockout. He took a team destined to fail -at least according to the experts - and brought them into the playoffs, one point away from winning the division. He got 123 points out of Jaromir Jagr - a man who would have refused to return to the NHL if he wasn't playing for Renney in New York, he once said. He turned a team of veterans - Rucchin, Jagr, Straka, Rucinsky, Kasparaitis, Nylander - and young no-names - Jay Ward, Ortmeyer, Dom Moore, Hollweg, Orr, Prucha, Betts - into a contender.

I still say that if not for the Olympics, the Rangers could have gone far that year. Jagr and Lundqvist came back injured - Jagr with hip and groin problems, Hank with headaches from grinding his teeth. And then there was Sandis Ozolinsh, who seemed like a good trade at first until he came apart in the Devils' series and cost the team 2 games.

Still, Renney was a huge part of the rebuilding process. While they rebuilt, he brought them into the playoffs. He just wasn't a good fit for the team last year and going forward. His style had stopped working, and he continued to play people based on their paychecks rather than skill (see: Wade Redden on the power play while Petr Prucha sat in street clothes).

For all the good he did, he will be remembered for 2 things: being fired when the team couldn't score and for Game 5 in Buffalo, where Fedor Tyutin and rookie Dan Girardi were on the ice with 30 seconds left with a 1-0 lead. When they iced the puck, Tyutin and Girardi had to stay on, they couldn't clear the puck, and Chris Drury scored.

Besides that being the one game that still upsets my stomach (and the only time I ever lost sleep over a sports event), you know that if they won that game and went up 3-2 in the series, they would not have lost Game 6 at MSG. I'm not saying they would have won the Stanley Cup - hell, they might not even have beaten Ottawa in the Conference Finals - but they would have beaten Buffalo. And maybe Chris Drury never would've been signed the following summer, and maybe everything would've been different.

But this is how it's played out, and I wish Tom Renney the best in Edmonton - no matter how often I make fun of his healthy scratches or his power play.

Western Canada Road Trip...

Ah, the dreaded Western Canadian Road Trip. Remember last time, in January of 2008 when they got 1 points in 3 games?

They ran into a red-hot Calgary team featuring Kristian Huselius, who had 4 points in the 4-3 game, including a goal from behind the goal-line that somehow sneaked past Henrik Lundqvist.

Steve Valiquette had no offense in a 3-0 loss to Vancouver.

And if not for Chris Drury scoring with 7 seconds left to force overtime, they would've left with 0 points instead of 1 (Edmonton was monstrous in the shootout in '07-'08, partially because then-rookie Sam Gagner was unstoppable in the tiebreaker).

Last night against Vancouver felt like that trip all over again. The Rangers applied little pressure, even in the 2nd period when the shot-counter went in their favor. Sure, they fired 14 shots in that frame, but how many were legitimate scoring chances? Two? Maybe just one?

They ought to have pounced on Vancouver, especially in the 3rd. They had, what, 4 power plays in a row, including a double-minor to end the 2nd period? And they couldn't do anything with it. Vancouver was shorthanded for 8 minutes, had good players in the penalty box, had Henrik Sedin and Willie Mitchell playing at 40% because of injuries, and still, no good opportunities. Other than Chris Higgins, who worked hard for Goal #1, there were a handful of Rangers who actually showed up. Matt Gilroy was one of them; he looked fantastic. Mike Del Zotto wasn't a standout but played good. Ryan Callahan played hard, again, and couldn't score, again. And Brandon Dubinsky... is on the trading block?

You would have thought that the big brawl would have fired them up, but it really just jazzed up the Canucks as it seemed the Rangers were content bringing the game to overtime and settling for a point - or a shootout.

* * *

I love that Dane Byers is in the lineup. As opposed to Evgeny Grachev or Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Byers is never going to light it up in the NHL, so he doesn't need to "dominate the minors before becoming an NHLer," and the old "it's better to play 20 minutes a night in the AHL than 7 minutes in the NHL" adage doesn't apply to him.

I would rather have Byers in the lineup over Donald Brashear any night. Maybe Brashear of 2003 or 2006, but not the 2009 version, where he is slow, shows the same hockey sense as Colton Orr, and doesn't fight - and when he does, he loses. Byers showed fire last night. Sure, he didn't win the fight, but he was out there battling, starting stuff, and showing that he belongs in the NHL. Even John Tortorella gave him a "good game" en route to the locker room - although Tortorella's good game pat fell in an awkward spot.

Been Busy...

I apologize for not writing more about our beloved Rangers, but between working very long days, going to a wedding yesterday, being hungover today, and running back and forth between the bank and the GMC dealership, I haven't had any free time to watch hockey, much less write about it.

Okay, that's being dramatic. I did miss all of the game against Minnesota, but I caught the first 2 periods of the Bruins game before I had to leave for work Sunday afternoon.

I'll be back sometime later tonight, probably around 1 in the morning, after I watch the Canucks/Rangers game on TiVo.

In the meantime, a very happy birthday to Islanders' Writer Bryan, who turns Colton Orr's number today.

On Face(off) Value

When you're a fan of a losing team, you generally don't watch them expecting to win. Instead, you watch hoping you'll see something amazing. For example, even though the Mets were out of playoff contention in July, I still watched them most nights, just in case they finally pitched a no-hitter (yeah, I know) or did something particularly special. In hockey, there are no milestones that would compare to a no-hitter, so I hope for very memorable games, the kind that transcend a losing season. Last year, beating Detroit and Chicago on the road were such games, and Opening Night would have been such a game had the Islanders pulled it out.

Wednesday night's game against the Rangers would certainly qualify as what I'd call a memorable game. If the Islanders to produce a 2009-10 highlight video, highlights of Wednesday night would be heavily featured. The Islanders played their game, were intense throughout, and won their first regulation game by sheer will. The Islanders also won because of a growing trend in their play - their success in the faceoff circle.

Over the summer, I read Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Moneyball, for those who don't know, explains how the small-market Oakland A's of Major League Baseball were able to stay competitive with teams like the Yankees by building their team around undervalued assets like walks and on-base percentage. As I read Moneyball, I tried to figure out what statistics in hockey could be the basis for a winning team in today's NHL. One of these days, I'll post my thoughts. For now, though, perhaps the most important stat I'd build around would be faceoff percentage.

Think about it. There are approximately 60 faceoffs in a game. The average team, of course, wins 50 percent of those faceoffs, meaning that they begin play with the puck 30 times a game. A team that wins 60 percent of their faceoffs, on the other hand, begins with the puck 36 times. That's twelve times more than their opponent. So, not only do you have the edge twelve more times than your opponent, that's twelve times that your opponent can't score until you give up the puck.

As of right now, the Islanders sit at third in the NHL with a success rate of 54.1% in the faceoff circle, with the Isles dominating faceoffs in their past few games. And while this success hasn't resulted in wins just yet, there's plenty of reason for optimism - aside from the Islanders (.409), Minnesota (.250) and Nashville (.458), every team over 50% in faceoffs has earned more than half of the points it could have possibly earned so far this season. What's particularly telling about the Islanders' success is that it's been widespread. Every eligible Islander is over 50% in faceoffs this year, including John Tavares at 50.3%, Josh Bailey at 53.9%, and both Doug Weight and Nate Thompson at 58.8%.

What does all of this mean? Simply put, if the Islanders are better than their opponents at controlling the puck off the draw, they're that much more likely to control play and potentially generate good scoring chances. In addition, their opponents will have to make more plays on defense than usual in order to get the puck. And if the Islanders can get past their third period hiccups - as they did on Wednesday night - their faceoff skills can help them become a truly dangerous team.