Warren Zevon; A Call to Arms...

Warren Zevon was an incredible singer-songwriter who died of cancer in 2003. For anyone who has never listened to him, I highly recommend listening to his album The Wind, which was released a month before his death. "Keep Me in Your Heart" is an absolutely amazing goodbye to the world.

Anyway, he had a hockey song once upon a time, off of his 2001 album My Ride's Here, a song the Rangers should take to heart...


There were Swedes to the left of him / Russians to the right / A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight / Brains over brawn, that might work for you / But what's a Canadian farm boy to do / What else can a farm boy from Canada to do / But what's a Canadian farm boy to do / What else can a farm boy from Canada to do / "Hit somebody!" was what the crowd roared

Man! Every game, I just want to yell "Hit somebody!"

Eric Boulton and Christoph Schubert had their way with the Rangers' roster tonight - hitting from behind, knocking them to the ice, leaping off the ice for checks. And what did the Rangers do? Nothing.

Mike Del Zotto and Eric Staal hit hard tonight, sure, but it wasn't a deterrent.

Donald Brashear makes $1.4M and hasn't been in a fight since November. Not that fights are the only measure of a man, but it's not exactly like people are scared of him. This isn't like 2006 when people aren't taking runs at Alex Ovechkin because they know that they - or their team's superstar - will have to face Brashear's wrath. He is a joke who skates away from confrontation.

To be honest, I don't care if he's playing hurt or not. If he is playing hurt, he should still contribute. If he's too hurt to play, take a seat, and someone will play in your absence. You can yap to the opponent all you want when you're on the bench, but if you don't follow it up with physical, punishing play, it's all for waste.

(Last year, Colton Orr was that deterrent for the team. And if everyone can now remember what Brashear did to Blair Betts in Game 6 when Orr was a healthy scratch...)

When Sean Avery plays his game, he is highly effective, but he's not a huge hitter. He will throw his body around, but he's smaller than most guys he hits.

They need to start hitting and taking control of the game. Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Brashear, Chris Higgins, Matt Gilroy, please wake up and start knocking people around.

* * *

One other thing they need to start hitting? The net!

I'm convinced that Brandon Dubinsky and Staal have an aversion to hitting the net. Combined, they must've shot high and/or wide 10 times in the back-to-back games against Dallas and Atlanta. Maybe they think Chris Drury is always there to deflect it on goal.

If Higgins ever made an All-Star team, he would go 0-for-everything in the shooting accuracy competition.

Ryan Callahan has 10 goals this year. If he knew how to hit the net, he'd have 20.

It's getting to the point where the power play is ridiculous because they shoot every puck wide. Two-on-ones, breakaways, doesn't matter. The puck rarely gets to the net.

* * *

And no, I'm not just saying all this because they lost. I would've said the same thing even if they won.

However, if they were able to smash people or hit the net, perhaps they wouldn't have lost tonight.

Off to Vegas Again...

It's been a big week for me. New car, new job, and now, much like injured training camp invitee Kyle McLaren, I will not be around for Rangers training camp, either. While he will be failing physicals, I'll be in lovely Las Vegas for the 2nd year in a row. Got a great deal too. Last year, we paid $120/night for the MGM Grand. This year, we got a nicer hotel for $90/night. Last year, if we wanted the hotel I'm staying at this year, it would've been $180/night. Thank you, Internet.

Here's what I'm hoping for to happen while I'm gone...

- Dany Heatley to finally be traded - and not to the Rangers, unless it's for Wade Redden, which I think we all know the odds of that happening are less than 1%.
- The Rangers roster to be finalized. Probably not going to happen, but we should have a good picture of it by Friday.
- Blair Betts to have a job in the NHL. Has no GM watched him the past 3 years to see how good he is on faceoffs and on the penalty kill?
- This Phoenix Coyotes situation to be resolved. My ideal resolution: Have them play this year in the same spot since it's too late to move an entire franchise, but have them play next year in Hamilton, Ontario. Sure, it would kill their attendance this year, but, be honest, who is going to see a bad hockey team play in the desert, anyway?
- Brandon Dubinsky to be signed - and not for $2M. Remember how often he didn't score last year? I'm sure he'll have a good year, he'll be a heart and soul player, and he'll grow leaps and bounds, but he still has trouble scoring, he isn't a first-line center, and since the Rangers are tight on Cap room as is, giving him a lot of money would make things very rough come trade deadline day.
- One of the two discount hockey jersey sites I visit gets a Marian Gaborik jersey in so I can buy a new one for under $50.
- My SUV to arrive. (Probably won't for another month though.)
- Bryan to text me updates if any of the above happen.

Have a good week. See you Saturday.

Captaincy...

Last year, in Chris Drury's first as Ranger's Captain, he was flanked by Alternate Captains Scott Gomez and Markus Naslund.

This year, with Gomez jettisoned to Montreal and Naslund deciding to retire, coach John Tortorella has a big decision ahead of him. No, picking two players to wear an "A" on their jersey won't be the difference maker in going to the Stanley Cup Finals or blowing a 3-1 series lead in the 1st round, but it could signal a changing of the guard at Madison Square Garden.

Ever since the lockout, veterans have worn the A. Jaromir Jagr, Steve Rucchin, Darius Kasparaitis were the 3 Alternates in the Captain-less 2005-06 season. Since then, Brendan Shanahan, Marty Straka, Gomez, and Naslund have worn it. All older players, all on Broadway for a short time (although Gomez's wasn't planned that way).

This year, Tortorella can do the easy thing and give Wade Redden (please no) or Marian Gaborik the "A"s to wear, but I hope he doesn't. Logic says your best player should always get to be a Captain or Alternate (or, in Tom Renney's case, your highest paid players), but it doesn't always have to be. For example, can you guess who Washington's Captain is? No, not Alex Ovechkin. Chris Clark is the Captain. Chris Clark, who scored 1 goal and added 5 assists in 32 games last year.

Who makes a good choice? People who've paid their dues, who are probably going to be Rangers for a while, and who give 100% effort every shift.

Scratch Redden off the list. Has less heart than Barry Bonds.
Scratch Gaborik off the list. First season in NY.
Scratch Michal Rozsival off the list. Probably won't be a Ranger for the entire 3 years left on his contract (it is heavily front-loaded so any team that takes him will take a big Cap hit but won't have to actually pay much money).

Blair Betts would've been a great choice. However, since he probably isn't returning, he can't put the "A" on his sweater. (He did last year for a few games, though.)

Brandon Dubinsky, Sean Avery, and Marc Staal would all make good choices. Avery, maybe not so great, but if he gets it, I'll be the first to say it's a good move. He plays hard every game, he loves being a Ranger, and we know he's here to stay this time.

However, the 2 I think should get it are Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi. You can't argue with Callahan getting it, can you? He defines what a Ranger should be. Plays hard not just every game, but every shift. Scores goals. Happy to be in New York. Loves playing at MSG. Doesn't complain. Hits everyone in sight. Doesn't take bad penalties.

And Girardi? Well, the main reason is because he's one of my 3 in NHL '09. (I'm the Captain, and Girardi and Joe Thornton are my "A"s.) But I love Girardi. I love his poise, his hitting, his passing. I love how he was undrafted and then just came out of nowhere to join the team. I remember how he was picked to the AHL All-Star Game, then got called up in late-January '07 and had to miss the game. He was happy to be called up, but upset his family and friends wouldn't get to watch him in the All-Star Game. Plus, I think his talent, as of right now, is better than Staal's. You can debate me on that, and you might be right, but I think he is a better defender right now, and if every player on the blueline played like him, this team would be a lot better than it was last year.

Just my 2 cents. Would love to hear your choices.

Free Agents Still Available...

Hope everyone had a good weekend celebrating America's birthday. And what's more American than hockey?! Okay, a lot, but what's more American than getting paid a ton of money to play a game?!

Don't forget that I made a list of still-available free agents the other day (before Day 2 of Free Agency). Keep it on hand - it comes completely with my impressive HTML knowledge, which consists mainly of only strike-throughs).

Names still available that could help the Islanders or Rangers...
... Alex Tanguay; Saku Koivu; Paul Mara; Derek Morris; Ales Kotalik; Blair Betts; Brendan Shanahan; Chris Chelios; Corey Murphy; Mike Comrie; Brendan Morrison; and if Glen Sather wants another 4th line player, Travis Moen is indeed still out there, unsigned and waiting.

What I Expect on July 1...

This is what I expect to happen on July 1 at noon, the start of free agency...

- TSN/Versus to have awkward coverage from noon until 2:00, when the signings start to happen. People like Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire (whose real name, by the way, no joke, is Regis) will sit talking about what might happen and periodically write text messages to other people, fishing for a story, while on the air.

- Colton Orr will not be offered a contract with the Rangers. On a related note, expect a lot more mangames missed in 2009-10 to injury without an enforcer in the lineup (remember the awful decision to sit him in Game 6 and what Donald Brashear did to Blair Betts?).

- The Islanders will sign an enforcer to protect John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Josh Bailey, much like the Capitals did when they signed Brashear to protect Alex Ovechkin. By the way, Orr and Brashear are both unrestricted free agents.

- Marian Hossa will sign on in Pittsburgh, citing "I think the Penguins give me the best chance to win a Cup, and I'm just happy to be here... again."

- The Rangers will not make a big splash in the free agent pool for once, mostly because they'll have no Cap-space due to 4 big splashes in the past 2 Julys.

- Noticing that they only have Aaron Voros, Mark Bell, and Brian Boyle under contract, the Rangers will go and sign another "gritty" 3rd/4th line winger who can't fight and won't score. Oh, what? Ryan Hollweg is a free agent? Quick, give him a million dollars!

- Glen Sather will once again laugh at Nik Antropov wanting $5M for his 59 points last year, while basking in the fact that he gave Chris Drury over $7M for comparable numbers.

- Bill Guerin will stay in the Atlantic division, either re-signing in Pittsburgh, or heading to Philadelphia or back to New Jersey.

- No free agents will want to play on Long Island again, regardless of who they drafted 1st overall.

- Both the Islanders and Rangers will want Mike Cammallari and his 40-goal season, but won't be able to sign him. The Rangers won't because they have no money, and the Islanders won't because, well, see above.

- The Sedin twins will not get their 12-year contracts because no GM in their right mind would give away two contracts to people who will be 40 when they expire. And no GM would be willing to pay $6M against the Cap to two different players when they are 37, 38, 39, or 40. Except, of course, Glen Sather, but luckily, the Rangers have no Cap room.

- Blair Betts and Freddy Sjostrom will not re-sign in New York. On a related note, the #1 PK will fall to around #15 or so, and Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, Michal Rozsival, etc., will be too tired to do anything on offense from playing so much PK-time.

- Journeyman Mike Sillinger will retire.

- Sather will forfeit 4 1st round draft picks by sending a $6.5M offer sheet to Vancouver for horrendously out-of-shape Kyle Wellwood.

- Instead of big, mean, passionate Antropov, Sather will opt for gutless, fancy, non-scoring Nik Zherdev.

- Instead of going for a good defenseman like Rob Scuderi, Mike Komisarek, Mattias Ohlund, or Francois Beauchemin, they'll probably take a salary-eater like Hal Gill or Marc-Andre Bergeron.

- Scuderi... Islander? He's in line a for big raise and they have the Cap-space, and he's from Syosset.

The Purge at the 2004 Trade Deadline...

With a 2-week lull between the Stanley Cup Finals and the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, it's time to look back on what happened in March of 2004 during the week of the trade deadline. I wanted to post this around this year's deadline, but there was a lot of action going around and it would've gotten lost in the flood.

It seemed every time I looked online, or at ESPNews, or in the newspaper, they made another deal. (Remember, no beat writers had blogs back then, and this delicious website wasn't around for another 4 years.) In total, 7 Ranger trades were made in that week...

March 2, 2004
- Alex Kovalev to Montreal for Jozef Balej and 2004 2nd round pick.
:: A great move to dump Kovalev's high salary before the cap was implemented, as essentially this was a cap-saving move. Balej should've been great. He had a goal and 4 assists in 13 games with NY and 16 points in 16 during the AHL playoffs, but his lockout year was very poor in the AHL. Balej was eventually sent to the Canucks for Fedor Fedorov, who eventually became a punchline and an empty roster spot.

The 2nd rounder became Dane Byers. Byers was hurt much of this year (7 points, 9 games) but his past season stats and scouting reports suggest he'd be a replacement for Blair Betts if Betts doesn't return. He might have a decent NHL career but will never be a superstar. (I have also heard Byers' name as a possible replacement to Colton Orr - a grinder with better hockey skills than Orr - but it was purely speculation.)

March 3, 2004
- Petr Nedved and Jussi Markkanen to Edmonton for Dwight Helminen, Steve Valiquette, and 2nd round pick in 2004.
:: Nedved did good in Edmonton but they didn't make the playoffs and he never played there again. Markkanen played in Game 7 of the Finals in 2005-06.

Valiquette was a throw-in here. He was a big goalie with not much skill but he was re-signed as Henrik Lundqvist's backup because he was cheap. Benoit Allaire also helped a lot with him, and he has become a dedicated Ranger and a solid backup when called upon, especially against the Flyers.

Helminen is now a bubble player with Carolina, being called up when injury strikes. Not a big loss with him not in the Rangers system.

That draft pick became Brandon Dubinsky, one of the bright spots in the Rangers' future, regardless of his inability to hit the back of the net for long stretches at a time.

- Brian Leetch to Toronto for Jarkko Immonen, Maxim Kondratiev, 1st round pick in '04, 2nd round pick in '05.
:: A king's ransom for the greatest American defenseman of all-time that didn't really pan out for either team. Toronto traded their futures for Leetch (and Ron Francis) and lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Immonen was slow and underutilized by Tom Renney, scored 8 points in 20 games (aka Chris Drury numbers, quick, sign Immonen for 5 years!), and now plays overseas.

Kondratiev was a bust and quite frankly not NHL material. He was traded to Anaheim in January of 2006 for Petr Sykora, which was a great move for the Rangers. Sykora went 15-16-31 in 40 games and loved his time as a Ranger. This would have been considered a strong move if he was re-signed, but despite waiting until August to hear from GM Glen Sather, he never wore Rangers blue again.

The 1st round pick in 2004 was Lauri Korpikoski, who shows some good moves sometimes, but is either too slow, too mis-used, or not 1st round material. He could be, and I might be wrong. Next year is a big point for him, as other 1st rounders that year are already materializing. Korpikoski was picked at 19th. Still available at that point: Travis Zajac (20th), Wojtek Wolski (21), and Mike Green (29).

The 2005 2nd rounder was Mike Sauer, a good AHL player who had a cup of coffee with the big club this year. He looks to be trade-bait with a depth of good D-men in the system already (Staal, Girardi, Sanguenetti, Del Zotto, Potter) and two big contracts taking up space in the NHL (Redden, Rozsival).

March 6, 2004
- Chris Simon to Calgary for Blair Betts, Greg Moore, Jamie McLennan
:: The Rangers needed a goalie to play out the season with Markkanen gone, and McLennan played in 4 of those games, going 1-3. After that season, he played 19 more NHL games in 2 years and retired after a season in the Asian Hockey League. Yes, Asian. He went 8-4 in the Orient and decided to hang 'em up.

Moore probably won't get a real shot in the NHL, but he is a good asset to have and has played admirably when called up.

Betts, well, you know Betts. Best penalty killer in the league, good centerman, not terribly offensive, good team player, never complains, took a cheap shot in the playoffs and broke his face.

- Vladimir Malakhov to Philadelphia for Rick Kozak, 2nd round pick in 2005.
:: Malakhov's stats decreased from the Rangers to Flyers to Devils, and he eventually left the NHL. Kozak never did anything in any league, and now plays in England.

That draft pick got moved around a lot and eventually became Marc-Andre Cliche, who was traded to the Kings in March 2007 for Sean Avery.

March 8, 2004
- Matthew Barnaby and a 3rd round pick in '04 for David Liffiton, Chris McAllister, and a 2nd round pick in '04.
:: McAllister was a decent NHL player who played in the NHL for the last time in 03-04. Liffiton is currently playing in Denmark after 3 career NHL games with the Rangers.

The draft pick was traded to Florida and the Rangers eventually drafted Bruce Graham out of it, who is currently in the ECHL after never doing well in Hartford.

March 9, 2004
On the actual day of the deadline, the Rangers only made two moves.

- Greg de Vries traded to Ottawa for Karel Rachunek and Alex Giroux.
:: It was obvious that de Vries wasn't going to be back after the lockout, and he had horrible numbers (15 points in 53 games, which by the 08-09 standards would've been phenomenal), so he was shipped for a roster player and a prospect. Rachunek played in Russia during 05-06, but came back in 06-07, and most Rangers fans agree he should've stayed. He had 20 assists but was absolutely atrocious defensively.

Giroux, however, was let go during the summer of 2006 and signed with Washington. He then went to Atlanta and was traded back to Washington, and he has lit it up in the AHL. He had 28 points in 22 games in Hershey's march to the AHL title, and he had 60 goals in 69 games during the regular season. The Rangers probably should've held on to this guy instead of signing "talent" such as Mitch Fritz. Giroux broke Brett Hull's record for most consecutive games with a goal when he scored in 15 straight games. He won the AHL MVP as well.

- Martin Rucinsky traded to Vancouver for R.J. Umberger and Martin Grenier.
:: Rucinsky was a true rental for Vancouver as he returned to Broadway after the lockout and had great numbers in an injury-riddled season (55 points in 52 games). He did nothing in the playoffs (2 in 7) for the Canucks. Grenier played in Hartford, Charlotte, and 3 games for the Flyers, and now is in the KHL.

Umberger, however, was another prospect who went away. In 07-08, he had 50 points in Philadelphia in 74 games before falling to 46 in a full season with Columbus this year. Still, he would've been good to have on board as a center and maybe the Rangers wouldn't have gone out on 7/1/07 and spent $14M on 2 overrated centers.

Overall
Isn't that how it always works with the Rangers? The crappy players stay and the good talent is let go. That explains why Marc Savard is now in Boston (he was traded for Jan Hlavac and the pick that became Jamie Freakin' Lundmark). It also explains why, at one point, Dale Purinton was the most-tenured Ranger.

The best trades for the Rangers were getting Brandon Dubinsky and Steve Valiquette for Nedved/Markkanen, and ditching the dead weight of Simon for Blair Betts, who has helped offensively-challenged teams by keeping the other teams from scoring. Besides Henrik Lundqvist, Betts is the one most responsible for those 2-1 wins.

The worst was sending Barnaby away for Liffiton, McAllister, and Graham. Not that losing Barnaby was a huge disadvantage, but they basically got nothing for him - 2 mid-level prospects and a retiring veteran to play out the season.

I have no interesting way to end this, because it's late and I've been working all day, so I will just like to remind everyone that the Rangers actually traded Brian Leetch for Maxim Kondratiev. Hell, I wouldn't even trade a retired Leetch for Kondratiev!

A Vacation...

As the Rangers disappear, so do I.

Been watching a little of the NHL Playoffs (mainly Anaheim/Detroit). I'm rooting for Vancouver, even though I wouldn't be angry if Boston won.

Read about Markus Naslund retiring also. Some outlets (New York Times, for one) claim that if he didn't retire, he would've been bought out. The outcome of a buyout or a retirement would've been the same - him not on the ice - but now he saves the Rangers cap space (if my calculations are correct, about $1.3M per year is saved in cap space). Class act from a good guy. He could've done the scumbag think and taken the buyout like most people in NY would have done (Stephon Marbury, Alex Rodriguez, etc.), but he chose to go out on his own terms. It's just sad that the news of an upcoming (and unconfirmed) buyout had to leak.

Naslund had the will, but he didn't have the legs anymore. He tried every game, but his skills declined severely, from a career-high 104 in 2002-03, to 84, 79, 60, 55, and now 46. He did have a decent showing in 7 postseason games this year, going 1-2-3.

* * *

So what can the Rangers, saddled with 4 cumbersome contracts, do next season?

Of the pending UFAs, Blair Betts and Colton Orr should be invited back. Betts is the best penalty killer in the league and is good on faceoffs (49.3% this year, not great, but serviceable). Orr is needed so goons like Donald Brashear don't take liberties with Betts or Sean Avery. Nik Antropov should be back, I think. I know other fans don't agree, but I think he plays with a passion in NY and likes being a Ranger.

On D, Derek Morris and Paul Mara are UFAs. I like both of them, but there won't be room unless Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival get traded. Redden is nearly immovable, but Rozsival might be moved if the Rangers lose picks in the process.

Of the restricted free agents, a lot of people are torn on Nik Zherdev. I think he has all the talent in the world, but can he mine it? I wouldn't mind him coming back on a one-year deal, maybe to play with Artem Anisimov and Antropov, but if they let him go, fine. A friend of mine said it would be good if another team offers him a contract and the Rangers take the draft pick compensation.

Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky will obviously be re-signed. Corey Potter probably will, the be a 6th defenseman this year, or just to serve as a backup incase injuries occur.

Now, Fred Sjostrom and Lauri Korpikoski.

I vote in favor of Sjostrom. He is one of the fastest on the team, and he gives it his all every single shift, much like Petr Prucha did. Plus, him and Betts are a great tandem on the PK, and Sjostrom is so versatile, he can play 2nd line or 4th line.

Korpikoski? Dump him! I know the Rangers didn't have dynamic offensive skills this year, but he didn't help. I know he is a first-round pick a few years ago (in 2004), but who cares. Let him go. Either trade his rights on Draft Day for a pick or prospect, package him with someone, or let him walk.

That's all for tonight. I have in-depth thoughts on this, but they're still muddled right now.

For now, let's just enjoy the playoffs.

Brashear Suspended 6 Games...

Donald Brashear has been suspended for 6 games. One game was for his pre-game shove of Colton Orr, the other 5 for intending to injure Blair Betts.

This makes his intent to injure only 5/6th of the seriousness of Sean Avery's comments about Hollywood actress Elisha Cuthbert, you know, the girl in her underwear from Old School.

From Colin Campbell: “It is also my opinion that the hit was delivered late and targeted the head of his opponent, causing significant injury."

So for getting two suspensions in one game, Brashear was given 6 games, or, to him, 18 minutes.

The Good News...

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

However, there is good news.

The Rangers scored 3 goals on a backup goaltender!

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

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

Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.

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

Clinched...

The offense wasn't flying, the defense had holes, but the team got it done last night.

Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky had very strong games. Callahan had 2 points and was a great penalty killer last night. Dubinsky didn't score, but he was close on one, and he played great defense as well. Lauri Korpikoski played good also. Freddy Sjostrom, who went from 2nd line winger back to the 4th line, had a good game in limited use. Blair Betts was solid again in his specialty role on the penalty kill. Chris Drury, a guy who I like but wish didn't come at such with Salary Cap-smothering price tag, played real good as well, and looks a lot calmer and more confident than he did 6 weeks ago. Sean Avery was his usual self, albeit a bit milder, and was useful.

(The only negative I have about Avery was the flyer I received about the opening of a bar he is going to co-own with an art dealer. It said "AVERY-A-PALOOZA" and had a picture of Joey Kocur fighting someone else who presumably played in the 1990s. Were no pictures of Avery himself available?)

On defense, Paul Mara was a warrior, hitting everyone he could and playing well away from the puck. He got hurt, got back up, and still went for a check. Yes, he was out of position and that caused the power play goal against them, but I liked the effort.

As for Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival, I counted 1 good play between the pair, and that was a body check just outside the Rangers' zone when he level Joffrey Lupul.

But the night belonged to Henrik Lundqvist. When the Rangers couldn't crack through Braydon Coburn and the rest of the Flyers defense, and when the Rangers defense let Dan Carcillo, Daniel Briere (aka Lord Farquaad from Shrek, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, et al, slip through to the slot unharmed, Lundqvist was there to stop them.

Yes, that save on Carcillo was awesome, but there was so much more to him last night. He goes side-to-side like no other goalie I've ever seen, and he stopped a bunch of tip-ins and deflections last night. The best one I think, other than the glove save on Carcillo, was in the first period. A shot was quickly deflected as he was moving right, and he just stopped and caught it and held it for the whistle.

No, the team didn't play great. They gave up way too many shots, 38 in all, and they were good shots from prime real estate, not crappy shots from the perimeter like the Rangers take. But as long as Henrik Lundqvist is in net playing like he did yesterday, and as long as Avery, Drury, Callahan, and Betts are playing as good as they can, this team can will games. And maybe, just maybe, Redden and Rozsival will stop being a useless waste of a combined $11.5M.

Will that happen? I don't know. You like to think they'll all come alive for the playoffs, but isn't that how every team's fans think around this time?

* * *

My preference for playoff opponent is Washington, for two reasons...

1) They play a more wide-open game than Boston, which means it's high-scoring. And while the terms "Rangers" and "high-scoring" don't normally mesh well, I think they can score 4 on Jose Theodore and try to hold back Alex Ovechkin.

2) Judging by last night's game, how awesome and violent would a Bruins-Canadiens series be? Let those teams beat up on each other, leave us out of it.

Of course, I don't really care who they play, because if you want to go through the playoffs, you have to beat everyone.

Pretty Horrible Game...

The Rangers never got a break today. Sure, the refs gave them some when they whistled Carolina for 4 straight penalties in the first. But they never took advantage, never pounded while the iron was hot, never cashed in, never put a nail in the coffin, except possibly their own.

John Tortorella said last night that if the Rangers can't wake up for a big game against a team in the same boat, then they don't have the right players. He said, "But we do." No, he doesn't, and he knows it.

Twelve forwards were all shut-out tonight. Twelve. Nik Zherdev tried for some of the game; Sean Avery played well; Ryan Callahan tried his best; Blair Betts was there for them as was Fred Sjostrom.

But where was everyone else? Scott Gomez took a few crappy shots straight at Cam Ward. Markus Naslund had 3 shots, all at even strength and all in the 2nd period. Useless the rest of the way. Chris Drury, the "new point man on the power play," had 1 shot all game, and none in the first period during those 4 failed power plays. Wade Redden? One shot, lots of ice time.

Let me put this in bold lettering...

The Rangers will not win with Wade Redden on the power play.

Tom Renney couldn't figure that out, or didn't want to admit it, and look where he is now - getting paid by James Dolan without working (okay, maybe that isn't actually horrible). I'm not a coach, far from it, and I can see it. Can John Tortorella not see that he does more harm than good for this team? I know GM Glen Sather gave him a monstrous, absurd contract. But he is good as a 4th or 5th or 6th d-man only, not a top player, and NOT a power play quarterback!

The Hurricanes scored to make it 3-2, and once the puck dropped, I said, "They're gonna score again." Sure enough, 10 seconds later, it's 4-2. Carolina scores fast and the Rangers unravel quicker. Once again, not a coach, but I know this. Tortorella should've called a timeout, given them a chance to regroup, not yell, and sent them back out to score. Instead, it was a quick faceoff and a quick goal.

Four games left, all against playoff teams. One is the best team in the East, one is now in 7th and will need a huge road game at MSG Tuesday, and two are against a Philadelphia team who plays real tough against the Rangers.

* * *

If they miss the playoffs, I won't be heartbroken, but I will be pissed. Pissed that only a handful of players play like they care (Antropov, Girardi, Betts, Callahan, Dubi, Mara, Orr, Sjostrom, Lundqvist, Avery), and even madder that players like Gomez, Redden, Rozsival, and Naslund are wearing a sweater that I've sworn by since I was 3 years old. They put shame to the blue and red, even more than Kevin Stevens, Stephane Quintal, and Alexandre Daigle did.

For the record, on the goal that made it 3-2, Redden's stick was behind him. He wasn't hitting anyone, he wasn't swinging his stick, it was behind him, he stood, a goal was scored. Crease-clearing defenseman? Offensive threat? Noif. Defensive threat and offensive liability is more like it.

Music City Hockey...

Hockey in Tennessee, who would've thought it! 16,241 tickets were sold, about 900 short of a sell-out. There were a few empty seats around me. I sat in the 3rd row, in the middle of the zone where the Rangers shot in the 1st and 3rd periods. I was to the right of the goalies.

The Sommet Center is very nice. Everything in Nashville is compact. It basically goes from 2nd Avenue to 7th Avenue, and then there are 3 main streets - Broadway, Commerce, Church. We stayed on 7th and Church, and the arena is at Broadway and 5th, a 4 block walk. (By the way, it snowed there Thursday.) The inside is nice also, although for some reason we didn't get food or drink there. But everything is clean, even the burger fix-ins bar, which if they had one at MSG I would steer clear away from. 

For those in Nashville, they play the Anaheim Ducks on 3/24 and are selling half-priced hot dogs until the 1st intermission.

Worst Things

- Nothing makes fans angrier than seeing a Sean Avery jersey, and nothing is unfunnier than fans who don't write their own jokes. Yelling "Sloppy seconds!" at a man with an Avery #16 jersey on is like yelling, "Hey, Uncle Jesse!" if you see John Stamos walking down the street. It's not funny. You're not original. It doesn't mean anything. And you're an idiot.

- The kids have stupid whistles that they blow whenever Jordin Tootoo is on the ice. Whistles go "toot, toot," get it? So whenever he's on the ice, we get to have annoying whistles being blown for 45 seconds. Oh, that's fun. I almost punched the 11-year-old in front of me, but settled on taunting his autographed Dan Ellis jersey when the Rangers kept scoring. "Hey, Kid, Pekka Rinne should be in!" It's a good thing Tootoo isn't a good player and doesn't get a lot of ice time, or it would've been unbearable.

- Lack of merchandise in the store. I bought an orange Predators t-shirt because I didn't want a jersey t-shirt of J.P. Dumont, Ellis or Tootoo. And that $124 sweatshirt was out of my price range. 

- Lack of a Colton Orr fight. I wanted to see him beat up Tootoo or Wade Belak right in front of me. At one point, Tootoo was in front of me and tried hitting someone else (Michal Rozsival, I think?), and ran away from Orr. I yelled at him. He didn't hear me, but my expletive wasn't appreciated by the southern folks.

Ranger Fans

I didn't really see any Ranger fans from NY. There was a wacky couple who follows the team around on the road (I've never seen them at MSG). They were speaking all the players names during warmups like they knew them ("Oh, Scotty." "What's up, Dubi?"). Brandon Dubinsky saw them, and rolled his eyes. Steve Valiquette saw them and smiled politely. She took that as a sign that he wanted to give her his stick. She went for it. She came back empty-handed.

Most of the other fans were from the South but fans of them. One from Mississippi, a couple in front of us from Arkansas who watched Center Ice and were big fans (they travel to Chicago, St. Louis, and Nashville to see the Rangers). One guy I heard lived in Brooklyn a while ago and now lives in Nashville. One lady lived on Long Island but moved to Alabama a while ago, so she drives up for Ranger games. I did see a guy at the airport who is a season-ticket holder at MSG and said he was at the game; and a guy and girl in a bar said they came from Jersey for the game and were glad they wouldn't be alone.

Overall

A good experience, and I'm glad the Rangers came alive in the 2nd and 3rd periods. The seats were incredible - we were so close that Wade Redden heard me when I told him he sucked - both times. I taught the kids next to us - they were from Nashville, first hockey game - how much he gets paid and how awful he plays. Eventually, by about his 10th blunder of the game, they were pointing it out to me. A real bonding experience.

(SIDE NOTE: Redden was awful against the Flyers today, and is making $6.5M to hurt the Rangers' playoff chances. He pinched in on that 2nd goal, then lost his stick, leaving Derek Morris and Ryan Callahan to do his work and their own. Awful play, one of his many this afternoon. Without that one, its a completely different game and maybe they get a point or two.)

When Blair Betts rushed in to the zone on the shorthanded goal, he was right in front of me, and I got nervous seeing it was him. I had previously told those kids next to me that he was the best penalty killer in the league. I jumped a few feet out of my seat when Freddy Sjostrom scored, and then asked the kids if they saw that. They did.

The fans are okay, but it always makes me laugh that in non-traditional hockey markets (like Nashville, North Carolina, and New Jersey) they have to announce when they are on the power play so people know. 

The goal song was awfully weak. They do the same song that 50% of the arenas do... "Na, na na na na, na, na na na na." And they threw in the awful, "You suck!" during it. Also, every player who was starting for the Rangers "SUCKS!" when they are announced. Nice building, no originality.

Not only did they have "ice girls" but they also "other ice girls" who didn't do anything. The one set were on skates and figure skated over the zamboni's work and tosses t-shirts. The useless ones slipped and slid to center ice, stood, waved, and left. It was like they were the back-up cheerleaders but the owners didn't have the heart to cut them so they had them do nothing. Very odd.

They had a mascot, Gnash (get it?), who flew from the rafters during pre-game. Nothing gets me more jazzed up for March hockey than a flying something (is it a saber-tooth tiger?) before the game.

The oddest part of the evening was during a commercial break when Gnash pretended to be in a video game. The Mario Bros. theme song came on, he jogged in place, and people walked by him with ducks, mushrooms, brick boxes, and pipes. It was very awkward, not entirely enjoyable, and made me question why they even paid a mascot at all.

Don't Buy!...

As we all know, the NHL Deadline will be here Wednesday at 3, formerly Tuesday at 3 p.m. but since there was a big slate of games on Tuesday, they pushed it back to a more open day.

The Rangers, by and large, always buy, with the rare exception of 2004, when they had to get rid of contracts because of the upcoming salary cap. That year, they dumped Petr Nedved, Greg de Vries, Vladimir Malakhov, Brian Leetch, Chris Simon, Jussi Markkanen, Matthew Barnaby, and Martin Rucinsky for prospects, picks, Blair Betts, and Steve Valiquette. (I will have a post on this later in the week).

In 2006, they traded Ville Nieminen for a draft pick, then used that pick to get Sandis Ozolinsh, who, during the first round against New Jersey, did more damage to the Rangers than Jaromir Jagr's shoulder or Henrik Lundqvist's teeth-grinding-induced headaches did.

In 2007, Aaron Ward got shipped off for Paul Mara. They also traded Pascal Dupuis (formerlly Adam Hall) to Atlanta for Alex Bourret (since traded away). A pick also exchanged hands in the Atlanta trade, but I don't know who received it. I think it was a 3rd rounder.

Last year, Christian Backman came to the club for a 4th-round pick. No, he wasn't good, but he did add depth and it was cheap.

This year, the team needs more than a mediocre defenseman. They already have Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Eric Reitz, and Dmitri Kalinin playing that role.

Yet, what they do need will be expensive, and to be honest, won't work. 

With the exception of Carolina picking up Doug Weight and Mark Recchi in the months leading up to the 2006 playoffs, trade deadline deals don't always equal a sip from the Cup. (Carolina also never should've won the Cup. They got lucky against Buffalo, who was tired from a grueling series against Ottawa, and if Dwayne Roloson didn't go down in Game 1 vs. Edmonton, the Oilers would have won easily.)

What the Rangers SHOULD do is more like what they did in 2007. Trade money-for-money, as in ditching Aaron Voros for someone cheaper (maybe even an expiring contract), or trading a big name player like Redden for someone young and cheap. Of course, Redden won't be going anywhere. Other GMs aren't going to fall for him like Glen Sather unfortunately did. 

I like Nigel Dawes, but he is going to be a RFA, so maybe he can be moved to a team looking for forward depth for a pick or a young prospect, like Dupuis was. 

The Rangers probably will try to make a big splash, maybe moving pieces around to try to get Jay Bouwmeester. Bad move. Don't trade the future to have him for a month. Trade the present to try to get him in the summer for nothing but money.

I hope the Rangers don't deplete themselves like they did in the late-90s until 2003 at the deadline. Reason says they will not win the Cup this year. They might make the playoffs (probably will), may even eek out a win in the first round and be competitive in the 2nd, but their collection of 2nd line centers and 2nd pairing defensemen won't win them any silver in June.

Glen Sather doesn't read this blog, that's for sure. If he did, we wouldn't be suffering with Wade "I scored a goal!" Redden for the next 5 years. But let's hope he uses common sense, realizes the reasonable expectations for this team he assembled, and looks towards the future.

Aggravation...

It's aggravating when the Rangers put forth a decent effort and still come up blank - and they have now been outscored 8-0 in their 3 afternoon games this season (4-0 to Panthers, 3-0 to Penguins, 1-0 today to Bruins). You will see other writers and media-types call this a "good game" where they "played well" and were "shown up by a rookie goalie." All the while they were "playing down a man."

That said, my doctor told me I had high blood pressure (slightly), so I won't dwell much, but I will say a few things. (To be sure, I did enjoy this game. I thought it was great back-and-forth action, and very exciting. Another Bruins-Rangers 1-0 game that I enjoyed, I just wish the score was reversed. Since they were again shutout, a lot of flaws came to light.)

"Good game" - How good of a game could they have had if they scored 1 goal? They couldn't break through the Bruins' defense, they had no answer for Zdeno Chara's size and wingspan, and while they won a lot of battles along the boards, the one big one they lost turned into a goal.

"Played well" - Again, they couldn't penetrate the Bruins D. They'd try to split the defenders and get stood up, and Tuukka Rask would clear the puck away easily.

"Shown up by a rookie goalie" - Was Rask good? Indeed. Was he great? Not nearly. He made a few good saves, for sure. And when Michal Rozsival hit the post, he was forced to shoot at the post because Rask gave him nothing else to shoot at. But for the most part, the Rangers shot directly at him. Markus Naslund gets a rare rush, shoots right at the "B" on the goalie's chest. Same for Nikolai Zherdev in the 3rd. Earlier in the game, Zherdev has a slight 2-on-1, and instead of passing with a 50% chance of scoring, he shoots from a poor angle and reduces his chance of scoring to about 5%.

Remember when Rick DiPietro made 56 saves against the Rangers in March 2007? People hailed DP as incredible, when in fact he only had a 60-second period in which he made great saves. The rest were right at the logo or right at his pads, where a Shooter Tutor could've made the saves. The Rangers do this all the time - take a lot of crappy shots and turn the opposing goalie into an NHL Star of the Night.

"Playing down a man" - To be honest, they were better off without Dmitri Kalinin. Even Wade Redden had a decent game (sans his awful penalty when the Bruin player - I think Phil Kessel - was already past him because of his poor play).

* * *

Some of the post-game talk and nighttime talk centered on calling up Artem Anisimov because he is doing really well in the AHL for Hartford. I'm a big Anisimov fan and have been ever since they drafted him in 2006. He should've been a 1st round pick but teams were afraid he would never come over from Russia. The Rangers took a chance and it will probably pay off.

But will it pay off this year? If he comes up, who does he replace? He could take Aaron Voros's spot, but Voros plays with his heart a lot and I would rather see Petr Prucha in instead of Anisimov.

You can't sit Blair Betts or Fred Sjostrom. They are invaluable penalty killers who rarely make a mistake 5-on-5 either.

Does Colton Orr take a seat? Maybe, as he is the worst technical player on the roster. But then you call up a player from Hartford and give him 7 minutes a night? And you need Orr on the team most nights (he wasn't needed against Boston but would you like to face Philadelphia without him on the ice?).

The real culprits in today's shutout loss were Naslund, Scott Gomez, Zherdev, and Chris Drury, who was nearly invisible all day. They are relied upon for scoring and couldn't break through the defense or take shots that had any intention of going in the net.

If Renney would sit a Top 6 forward for Anisimov, I say bring him up. But don't bring him up to toil for 6 or 8 or 10 minutes a night.

Plus, like I said, Petr Prucha is waiting in the wings.

I Love Late Night Games...

:: I said it the other day, I'll say it again. I love these West Coast Ranger games that start at 10 or 10:30 p.m. because I can do whatever I need/want to during the nighttime and still watch the games. Now I know what it feels like to be a baseball fan when the Yankees are playing 3 in Oakland or the Mets are blowing a series in San Diego.

:: Telling commentary on Dmitri "With Some Help, He Could Be as Good as Marek Malik" Kalinin. I was driving home from work, listening to the beginning of the Kings game Wednesday night, and Dave Maloney was doing color commentary. Listen to his stunning endorsement of Kalinin: "This is the first time in a while I can remember Kalinin having two mistake-free opening shifts." That's $1.05M for every mistake-free shift, I guess.

:: Imagine what would happen if the Rangers played every game like they played the last 8 minutes of the San Jose game?

:: For all you - for lack of a better word - "haters" who "hated" on Blair Betts in the offseason (calling for him to not even make the team), witness the first period of the Sharks game and see what happens to the penalty kill when he is in the box. Incase you deleted your Rangers in 60 from your TiVo already, let me recap: Betts is in the box, giving the Sharks a 5-on-3 advantage. Two goals are scored.

That's it for me. It's already late and I have a game or two of NHL 09 to play still before I rake in 6 hours of sleep. Hey, busy shopping day tomorrow.

What is This, October?...

A full 60-minute effort; clean line changes; a low-scoring game; backchecking and forechecking.

The only thing thing that would lead me to believe that I wasn't watching a tape from early October is the fact that Chris Drury scored a goal.

The first period was a little boring, but the next two were exciting, and watching Henrik Lundqvist shut the door was fantastic. Nigel Dawes had a good game even before making the violent criminal Chris Pronger look stupid. No, the Rangers weren't perfect against Jonas Hiller and the Anaheim Ducks tonight, but it's a far cry from letting in 8 against New Jersey or leaving it all up to Henke against Carolina. 

My personal highlight of the night was seeing Nik Zherdev score on one of my favorite rules in hockey: if you are taken down from behind on a breakaway to an empty net, you automatically are awarded a goal, making it a goal where technically a shot is never taken.

Not much to say as it's 2:36 in the morning here in the Eastern Conference, and I have less than 5 minutes left on my laptop battery. I will say, however, that I love these late starting games. I go out and do stuff during the evening and then I get to still watch the game. Today I went shopping for Christmas presents and tomorrow I'll work then get home to watch the game or watch it at my Wednesday night bar. Very exciting stuff. This also would've made a good road trip: 3 games in 2 and a half California cities in 5 nights.

Anaheim was the easy game this week; the Rangers always play them well (who could forget Blair Betts' stunning end-to-end goal in Anaheim in 2006-07?). LA is tough just because they are an unpredictable team and the Rangers traditionally play poorly against poor teams. San Jose is the real test. Beat them - in San Jo, no less - and you are worthy.

Until then the real question is whether Mats Sundin will do what Markus Naslund did and forsake Vancouver for Broadway.

Is Tom Renney's Time Up?...

I was discussing Tom Renney with a native of the Czech Republic the other day (the one man from there I have ever met who was not on the Rangers in 2005-06).

He said that Renney's time is up and he should be replaced. I said that we should give him to the end of the season, partly based on past performances. 

I don't think you should replace a coach mid-season when they do happen to have a good record (thanks to an early hot streak, a great goalie, and the addition of the shootout to the NHL), and I also think that Renney is on a good level with the team. They respect him and trust him.

Plus, honestly, I don't think GM Glen Sather is going to pull the trigger this early. However, if Renney and the Rangers fizzle in the 2nd round of the playoffs again, I think an unceremonious firing might happen. What's the point of keeping a coach around if he cannot bring his squad past the 2nd round of the playoffs in 4 full seasons (not counting when he took over from Sather in 2004).

As for past performances, what he did with the team the past few seasons can't be disputed. He took a Jaromir Jagr who was seemingly past his prime, got him on board with a new system, and got 123 points out of him. He took a team of misfits (Steve Rucchin, Jay Ward, Blair Betts, Ville Nieminen, Jason Strudwick) and Czechs and made them part of a dream season in his first full year behind the bench at MSG. He has made the playoffs in every season he's had, and truthfully, they could've beaten both Pittsburgh last year and Buffalo two years ago. 

 

If it does happen, though, I can't entirely say I disagree with it. At some point, the coach has to accept responsibility for what is happening with this team. (And remember, they didn't beat the Penguins and Sabres.)

Now, as for this year, it is his fault that the power play isn't working. What's that, you say? He doesn't play on the PP or even really coach it? That's true, but doesn't he tap the players on their oversized shoulder pads to go out on the ice?

What justification does he have to keep sending Michal Rozsival out on the ice. The man doesn't shoot (probably for a reason, as when he does it goes wide) and has more shorthanded goals against than he has power play points this season. Renney puts too much trust in Wade Redden, also responsible for shorthanded goals, while not scoring a goal himself since very early in October. 

Is it stubbornness or does he think these broken parts will actually work if he uses them enough?

Petr Prucha is another example. Nigel Dawes gets Prucha's spot in the lineup after Prucha scored a goal in his three-game audition. Dawes has 6 points this year in 23 games, on par for a huge 21-point season spread out over 82 games. Yes, I know Prucha's numbers are even worse, but he is viciously under-utilized. No power play time, 4th line minutes. And did I spot Renney call Prucha a "Jack@$$" when Prucha stood up for himself and his teammates in Montreal?

There are probably more examples, but I'm tired now and I think I've typed enough. For the record, I'm in favor of sticking with him for the remainder of the season, but if Renney can't lead this team to the 3rd round or later, than it's time for a fresh face back there.

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.

17-8-2?...

From the Looks Can Be Deceiving Department, the Rangers are simply the worst 17-8-2 I've ever seen in my life.

First of all, yes, they have 36 points, and that's very good at the 27 game mark, and right now they are "in" first place. However, they've played more games than the followers. Boston has the same 36 points and have played 3 less games. One shootout loss, and the Bruins have more points. The Penguins have 31 points in 23 games. Hell, is the Devils go on a 5-game winning streak again, they would have the same exact record as our Blueshirts (they're 12-8-2 right now).

What I'm saying there is that while it's impressive, the numbers being spouted by Tom Renney (he said something like "we're 14-7 so I'm not worried" earlier this week) and MSG (specifically Stan Fischler) are false. First in the Eastern Conference. I guess. Until Boston plays their next game.

I don't even want to talk about today's game against Florida, but I guess I have to a minute. Florida, perennial basement-dwellers who came in with a dismal post-lockout, shootout-heavy 19 points in 22 games. The Rangers should've been angry about being taken to a shootout in the first game of this home-and-home, come out strong on home ice, and attacked them.

However, this roster isn't built for attack. Scott Gomez is strong on the puck, so is Chris Drury. Yet, both can't finish. If it's not Drury's stick breaking in half (not his fault, I know), it's Ryan Callahan shooting way too high on a shot 4 feet from the net (on a shot that seemed like an 85 degree angle), or it's Brandon Dubinsky, Drury, or Dan Girardi shooting directly into the Panther logo on Craig Anderson's jersey. 

Dubinsky, by the way, had 12 points in 13 October games and has had 4 since then. I should never have dropped Simon Gagne for him on my fantasy team. (I thought Gagne would get hurt again!)

Defense? What defense? On Thanksgiving, when the Detroit Lions gave up 47 points in their game against the Tennessee Titans, I was pretty sure I saw the Titans' RB Chris Johnson burning past Michal Rozsival while Marc Staal fell down.

What I'm saying is that it's an awful defense. And it shouldn't be. Rozsival was good once for the Rangers (actually, he had 2 good years... the first season after the lockout he wasn't good and didn't deserve an extension). Staal was rushed into the NHL and while he plays well a lot, when he makes mistakes, they glow. Dmitri Kalinin was a filler because they needed a 6th defenseman and were too short-sighted to use Andrew Hutchinson (who led the Wolfpack last year and is now a Dallas Star). Kalinin should've been a 4th line winger instead of a 6th d-man. Wade Redden was bad last year. He is bad this year. How bad will he be when he turns 37 and is in the last year of his Ranger contract? Paul Mara and Girardi do what they can, and while they don't light up the ice, I have no problem with them. In fact, I will proudly wear my Girardi #5 jersey Wednesday night at the Garden.

I know there apparently weren't many good defensemen on the free agent market last year (although Mark Streit is working out for the Islanders pretty well), but Redden was the worst choice they could've possibly made. Yes, he can make that all-important first-pass out of the zone. And yes, he sometimes has good defensive plays. But for $6.5M, was Glen Sather looking for sometimes?

The thing with the Rangers this year is that they normally try hard. While teams past would go down 2 goals and then phone it in the rest of the game, these Rangers normally fight back, and have erased a handful of 2-goal deficits this year. I say normally, because every now-and-today, there is a stinker. Two goals in 12 seconds to Florida? Florida had scored 52 goals in 22 games! And I'm pretty sure that figure includes shootout wins.

There are other good things about the Rangers (mostly Gomez, Blair Betts, and Henrik Lundqvist), but after today's frustrating, emotionless, passionless, half-hearted, heavy-legged "performance" in front of thousands of little kids, I choose not to dwell on them.

The Rangers played well against Phoenix, and well against Tampa Bay this week. Yes, they gave up a last-minute goal to Tampa, but they played well all game until that moment. However, that last-minute goal is beginning to be a problem. When you play two games against Florida and give up a goal with 90 seconds left and then get blown out in the next game, something is wrong. 

They got 6 points in 4 games against mediocre-at-best teams. However, it took an incredible Lundqvist (uh, today notwithstanding) and 2 tiebreaking shootouts for those points.

What happens when they face Montreal, Pittsburgh, Carolina, and Calgary in December? Not to mention 2 games against the suddenly-streaking Devils, a game against the notoriously hard-to-beat Islanders, and a 3-game swing out in California against Anaheim, the Kings, and San Jose?

This ship, starting from different personnel on the power play and out, needs to be righted, or a 7-game losing streak isn't far away. 17-14-2? Not as impressive, is it??

Coach Switch...

Considering how often Tom Renney switches up lines when they are clicking (Zherdev-Dubinsky-Voros, Drury-Callahan-Dawes, Gomez-Naslund, Cullen-Prucha-Ortmeyer), why does he never switch the power play lines up?

How many times last year did Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan not score before he started throwing Petr Prucha out there? Oh, he didn't switch them up. This year, it's been Drury-Gomez-Naslund-Redden-Rozsival the whole year for about 80 seconds, then they lose the puck, and Zherdev, Dubinsky, and others take their place with 30 seconds to score.

Blair Betts technically has scored more times than Chris Drury, yet Drury goes out time and again to swipe at pucks and miss. (I saw "technically" because while they both have 2 goals, one of Drury's was barely a goal and he hardly touched it before it deflected in from behind the net.) Rozsival has one PP goal. In tonight's game against the Islanders (currently in the 3rd period), he has been responsible for more SH goals than that. Embarrassing.

Am I saying Betts is the answer? Obviously not. But why not have Nik Zherdev, Brandon Dubinsky, and Aaron Voros get a crack at it? Prucha would love some PP time. So would Ryan Callahan.

For Pete's sake (not Prucha's), Joey MacDonald is a career backup goaltender who the Rangers are making look like Dominik Hasek, not the guy who backed him up for 8 games in Detroit two years ago. They are making him look like an All-Star with their low angle shots that go right into the crest on his jersey. 

10-3-1, 10-4-1, 11-3-1, 10-3-2, whatever they end up after tonight, their power play is atrocious and while Renney keeps telling reporters he's going to change things, I'm very skeptical about it.