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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

Then, things started getting interesting.

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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


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

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

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

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #20-16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

Hey, didn't Lisin score in Atlanta?

Controversy In Carolina

Tonight's Devils-Hurricanes game had a bit of a controversial ending. For those who haven't seen the highlights, Carolina broke a 3-3 tie by scoring a goal with 0.2 seconds left. The kicker, though, is that Carolina's Jussi Jokinen bumped into Martin Brodeur just before the deciding shot was fired. As you can imagine, Martin Brodeur - not exactly the most gracious of losers - wasn't very happy, slamming his stick against the ice and the boards as he exited the arena.

You can also imagine how this was treated on the Devils' broadcast. It sounded like a wrestling angle where the bad guy gets screwed over and brings in video evidence to prove their point. They even broke out the NHL rulebook, which proved that it should be a goal; of course, the part about it being a judgment call by the on-ice official and not the review officials was completely ignored. The other part that wasn't mentioned is that the bump took place a full two seconds before the shot was fired and that Brodeur easily should have made the save. Never mind that Jokinen should have had a blocker in his lower back before any other contact even took place.

The announcers went on to state that the referee didn't have to call an interference penalty on Jokinen; they could just reverse the goal and play overtime 5-on-5. That's fine, except you can't prove that the interference definitively caused the goal. If Jokinen bumped Brodeur while the shot was in the air, that'd be one thing. But to ask the referees to disallow a goal just because of incidental contact seconds earlier is ridiculous.

One last thing. If certain players had thrown the same temper-tantrum as Brodeur, they'd be looking at a fairly significant fine. But not Brodeur, the NHL's golden boy, Mr. 552 Wins. Instead, we'll get endless platitudes about his passion and how "all he cares about is winning". Make sure you have a barf bag ready as you watch Game 5 of this series.

Rangers Beat Devils...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

Martin Brodeur*...

I think it's funny how little press is going to the fact that Martin Brodeur isn't really the winningest goalie in NHL history. Everyone is talking about him like he's Jesus on Ice, when in reality he hasn't broken Patrick Roy's all-time wins record.

See, Brodeur has won 27 shootouts, putting his real win number at 525.

(I see people comparing this to Roger Maris, which is completely untrue. First off, Maris played like 8 more games than Ruth did. It would be comparable if Major League Baseball added an extra inning to every game. Brodeur won an extra 27 games from 2005-2009 that would have been ties for Roy. Second, this milestone is not nearly as important as Ruth's record was. If you asked me before this year what the record for wins was, I would not have known.)

What also is a lie is his "record" of 48 victories in one season, "breaking" Bernie Parent's record. The record was 47, Brodeur has 48 in 2006-07, yet 10 of them were in the shootout. Technically, he wouldn't have even broken 40 if this were pre-lockout years. 

I'm not an opponent of the shootout. In fact, I hated ties with a passion and thought they were killing hockey (along with the two-line pass rule, the New Jersey Devils, and Jacques Lemaire). Nothing was worse than seeing a 1-1 hockey game. Unfulfilling. And Lord knows my Rangers need shootouts to make the playoffs, and Henrik Lundqvist's 4-straight 30-win seasons (a record to start a career) was definitely amplified by the tiebreaker.

And yes, Brodeur will eventually break the record cleanly. He plays 70 games a year when healthy. I would also say he legitimately has 3 or 4 more seasons in him as a starter, so that's atleast 100 more regulation/overtime wins without shootouts. 

Before Devils fans learn to read and come on this website and bash me for being a Brodeur hater...

1) I don't particularly like Brodeur. I've met him in person, and he has an awful personality. I think he's childish, he takes dives, he whines, and there's a reason he sits alone on the buses after games. 

2) I understand he's a great goaltender. I don't think he was as good as Roy was. But I know he should eventually own this record outright, just next season.

I just wish the coronation of Brodeur to God-like levels by the NHL would stop.

Congrats?

There is no way Martin Brodeur is better than Patrick Roy.

Roy reinvented the position of goaltender in the NHL. Before him, the majority of goalies simply stood there and watched pucks fly by. Roy brought the butterfly to prominence and used it to dominate the most offensive era in NHL history. Here's a sample of how good Roy was, using his Vezina winning years...

 - 1988-89: 2.47 GAA; average goals per game was 7.48.

 - 1989-90: 2.53 GAA; average goals per game was 7.37.

 - 1991-92: 2.36 GAA; average goals per game was 6.96.

As for Brodeur? He won more Vezinas, but in not so impressive a fashion...

 - 2002-03: 2.02 GAA; average goals per game was 5.31.

 - 2003-04: 2.03 GAA; average goals per game was 5.14.

 - 2006-07: 2.18 GAA; average goals per game was 5.89.

 - 2007-08: 2.17 GAA; average goals per game was 5.57.

You'll never sell this writer on the theory that Brodeur is better than Roy. At the same time, I have to give Brodeur all the credit in the world for his record-setting achievement tonight. Here's a guy who has played at least 67 games in the past eleven straight seasons. You could argue that his workload over the past decade has changed the game just as Roy did; while goaltending used to be a tandem position, at least during the regular season, teams now look for workhorse-type goalies like Brodeur. It's also worth noting that Brodeur set recorded his 552nd win in 42 less games than it took Roy to win 551 games. And while Brodeur is often criticized for playing in a defense-first system, let the record show that many other teams have tried to play the same system as the Devils, but with much less success.

With all of this in mind... congratulations, Martin Brodeur.

(All statistics courtesy of www.hockey-reference.com)

All-Star Game Flaws...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On Drury, On Weekes...

Chris Drury must have heard my calls from two or three weeks ago asking for him to do a conditioning stint in Hartford. He has come alive lately. In Tampa Bay, it was like a group of bullies taunting a weakling, and to of his goals were a result of bad goaltending. However, they were also good positioning and good shots.

Against the New Jersey Devils, in front of 5,000 of their most rabid fans, not only did he have a goal, but he made a great, great, understated play. Wade Redden took a shot from the point on a 5-on-3, and Drury, whilst falling, poked the puck away from a Devil penalty killer who was looking to clear the puck. It landed perfectly for Nik Zherdev to easily slam it home for his first of the night.

It was another very good effort by Drury last night. With Scott Gomez out, he really stepped up.

Kevin Weekes, on the other hand, did not step up when his name was called. I respect Kevin Weekes. I think he is a great team player, a well-spoken athlete with a great will to win. However, his talent has subsided considerably since his run to the Cup Finals in 2002 with Carolina. 

The loss shouldn't fall solely on his padded shoulders. The Devils, undermanned and outmatched, stood no chance once the Rangers decided to play in the second period (the second straight game where the Rangers were lackluster in the first period and came alive in the second). Bad penalties because of a desire to cheap shot at every possible corner and a lack of the trademark defensive style of Devils' hockey is what did them in.

However, this season, Martin Brodeur had been keeping the Devils in the games, as he probably wouldn't last night. A shot like Drury's game that made it 2-1 was save-able, as was Lauri Korpkoski's goal. Whereas Brodeur has kept a mediocre-at-best team in games, Weekes let them in and the game was lost. (He was in position to save Zherdev's second goal, but it was deflected and went above him as he dropped down for the save.)

Personally, I want to see Weekes succeed, but for the fact that he plays in red and black.

Chris Drury, on the other hand, I love when he succeeds. 

Finally, Something Good to Happen in Jersey...

Traditionally, the loneliest jobs in the NHL are backup goalies to Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur. Kevin Weekes took the job in Jersey, and probably never saw himself as the Devils' starting goaltender. Since 1995, the least amount of games Brodeur has played is 67, and in every other season he has played in atleast 70. 

Yes, it was curious when Weekes signed on in New Jersey, considering he still saw himself as a starting goalie. Well, now he has the chance to prove himself.

A lot of outlets are predicting the Devils make a trade, and they are saying they should get Dwayne Roloson from Edmonton. Two problems with this...

1) They are guessing. They have no clue. Lou Lamoriello runs a tight-lipped ship in Newark and there are historically very few leaks and rumors to come out of there. People are estimating, and since Edmonton has 3 goalies, they are attaching Roloson's name there in hopes of being right.

2) Roloson is on a roll and is the starting goalie in Edmonton. Nearly traded last year at the trade deadline, he is now higher than Mathieu Garon on the depth chart in Oilerland. 

Anyway, personally, I think the Devils should run with Weekes, but when they falter, they shouldn't blame him. The team there has been living on "the system" and Brodeur for the past three seasons. This year, the system isn't all there, and Brodeur is now gone. They don't have the forwards to put 4 goals in every night, and now they won't have those 2-1, 1-0, 3-1 games anymore.

However, I won't go further right now. There are more pressing issues at hand: a national election, and more importantly, a Ranger-Islander game at the Garden, where the Islanders always come out flying.

(Crappy) Hockey Night In Canada

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

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

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

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

Rick Tocchet and Sean Avery...

Today, I will be using simplified examples that never actually happened in my life to describe why Rick Tocchet is a backstabber and how Glen Sather might be insane.

* * * 

Let's say I was accused of something in a legal manner. For argument's sake, maybe I ran a gambling ring at my job (for the record, I work at a restaurant as a bartender). Okay, so I'm running this multi-million dollar gambling ring and I get accused, and it comes crashing down on me.

I don't face jail time, but I do get suspended for 2 years from my job. 

While gone, my bar manager supports me fully. I don't receive a paycheck, but he holds my job open while I'm suspended. Imagine that!

Two years to the day later, I return to my job as a bartender.

Four months later, an old friend calls me and tells me he just got put in charge of a new bar, and would like me to be a bartender there. Forsaking my old boss, who treated me very well and stood up for me while the media and the federal court system were against me, I join this new bar.

- - - 

 Tocchet gets suspended for running a gambling ring. Wayne Gretzky holds his position as assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes open for 2 full years, maybe as a "Thank you for not having my wife sent to jail," maybe out of the goodness of the Great One's heart. Who knows. Tocchet returns in February of 2008, only to join Barry Melrose (and Wes Walz) in Tampa Bay when the opportunity arose.

No, I don't know the whole situation. Maybe Gretzky or Coyotes' GM Don Maloney didn't want Tocchet to return. But the way I see it, it is a slap in the face of Gretzky and the whole Phoenix organization the way he handled this. When I first heard Melrose's press conference where he announced Tocchet and Walz as assistant coaches, I thought it was a joke.

And no, that picture isn't of Howie Mandel.

* * * 

Let's say that since the feds shut down my gambling operation, I now own a small, small business. Last year, I was given $50 in which to run this business. This year, however, I am given $56 in which to run it, due to a rise in profits last year.

Now, my seat-filler, my enforcer, my agitator, the guy who helped me so much last year and the year before, wants a raise. Last year, he made $1.90. Paltry, I know. This year, I offered him $2.75 and he wanted a whole $4. I could probably talk him down to around $3.75 or maybe $3.80. 

Once again, he is a seat-filler. He got my business national attention during a competition we had with a New Jersey store. Two years ago, we competed against an Atlanta-based store, and he closed down their best salesman, even goaded him into a fight. That's what I pay him for. Shouldn't I pay him?

- - - 

I like Glen Sather, I do. I think he has done a great job post-lockout, even starting with the "fire sale" of March 2004 (regardless of where Maxim Kondratiev, Josef Balej, and R.J. Umberger are playing now). 

However, he would be terribly remiss to not re-sign Sean Avery. When all is said and done, the NY Rangers are a business. Avery gets butts in seats (yes, they would still sell out without him there... probably), he creates excitement. The Rangers were plastered on TV sets all across the country when he danced in front of Martin "The Whiner" Brodeur in the playoffs this year and when Brodeur wouldn't shake his hand after the series.

He made headlines this week with his article in Men's Vogue. He is constant media fodder.

On top of that, he gets under the skin of every player who plays against him, from Brodeur to Jarkko Ruutu to Jaromir Jagr to Marian "Soon to be Overpaid" Hossa. 

On top of that, he scores. Sather compares him to Chris Kelly of the Senators. Kelly had 30 points in 75 games. Avery had 33 in 57. In 2007, he had 20 points in 29 games and was a +11 with the Rangers. This year in the playoffs, he stepped it up, scoring 7 points in 8 games with only 3 penalties. He has a wicked wrist shot, brings excitement to the team, and as a winger who can play center, has playmaking abilities.

I know you don't come to this blog for breaking news or inside information. Of that, we have little. You probably read elsewhere that the Rangers are 50-20-10 with him and 9-13-3 without him. I don't have to tell you that they went 8-1-1 with him to reach the playoffs in 2007, and 10-0-3 to rally when he was healthy in 2008. You come here because my first word was "Wangers" and because Bryan (my Islander fan friend) was named after a Hall of Fame Islander. We eat and breathe hockey. We've been watching since we were 3 years old. I believe we know more about hockey than any other person we know. 

With that said, I know talent when I see it. Chris Kelly is a marginal player. Ruutu is a pest at best. Ville Nieminen got under people's skin but he couldn't deliver in the points department. 

Avery's closest comparison is probably to Esa Tikkanen. An agitator who can fight and score. A player like him doesn't come along often. Remember when he danced in front of Brodeur? He scored about 15 seconds later.

A player like him doesn't come along often.

If I had a store, and my budget went up 6 dollars, I would gladly spend the 125 cents to bring back my moneymaker. And I would do it before July 1, when other teams can (and would) throw money at him.

Because a player like him doesn't come along very often at all.

Which of the Four? (Or: An Overuse of the Semi-Colon)...

NHL POST by ZACH

So, which of the four will be the Conn Smythe winner? Marty Biron (the nicest NHL player I have ever talked to, followed closely by Brendan Shanahan, with Martin Brodeur a distant last); Brendan Morrow; Evgeni Malkin; Johan Franzen

At the start of the playoffs, I would have said Henrik Zetterberg - the MVP of the first half of the regular season - would have the hardware at Second Season's end. Now, not so sure.

However, I have him on the top 3 plays of the playoffs so far. In no order, his XBox 360-like goal against the Avalanche; R.J. Umberger's second-chance effort against Montreal, and Evgeni Nabakov's then-season-saving save in the 1st overtime period against Dallas in their elimination game. That save was nuts.

Predictions

Pittsburgh in 6. Detroit in 7. Isn't that everyone's prediction?

I successfully predicted no correct series in the 2nd round. James "Boomer" Gordon on XM got them all right (albeit in the wrong number of games). I am no expert, folks, but atleast I have a nice ass.

Why Detroit? Because they outscored Dallas 12-5 in the regular season. Because they have the best collection of Swedish players assembled since they won the Gold medal in 1994 when (unknown) Peter Forsberg beat (highly touted Rangers prospect) Corey Hirsch (35-4-5!!!) in a shootout. There are so many people who can score on Detroit. If Zetterberg or Franzen aren't doing it, Tomas Holmstrom, Nik Lidstrom, or Mikael Samuelsson (also once a Ranger, remember him?) can do it. What I love most about this team is that Dom Hasek had a bad game and hasn't gone back in yet. Seriously. I like Chris Osgood a lot more than Hasek.

Why the Penguins? Because Gary Bettman said so. Personally, I hope it's Flyers in 4 and that Marty Biron outplays M.A. Fleury. I hope Randy Jones knocks Sidney Crosby off of his game and that Riley Kote beats Gary Roberts back into 1989.

One Last Time...

Stat that they mentioned on the MSG pre-game show today: Rangers drew 2 goaltender interference penalties during the regular season (meaning the opposing team was called for only two in 82 games) while the Devils/Martin Brodeur drew 10 of the same. That's 10, as in the score the divers get in the Olympics. 

That's it, one last insult aimed at him.

Two and a half weeks ago, the Rangers played the Penguins at MSG (Chris Drury OT game winner) and Jaromir Jagr got credit for a goal that hit off of Syosset's-own Rob Scuderi's glove, off M.A. Fluery's helmet and in the net. That's the goal that went to review for 7 minutes because at first it looked like Gomez batted it in with his stick above the crossbar. In post-game media interviews, Jagr joked that the Rangers had been working on that play.

My point being, you think the Devils worked on the awful-deflection shots? 

In Game 1, Paul Martin had a real nice shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist. Good goals 1, Bad goals 0.

In Game 2, the Devils only had one goal as well, and it was a deflection. GG 2, BG 0.

Game 3 was the first game the Devils put more than one shot past Hank - kind of. Sergei Brylin got credit for a goal after his pass went off of Blair Betts' stick. Patrick Elias scored on a power play shot. Then Zach Parise's shot hit a sliding Shanahan, somehow hit Lundqvist, and dribbled - slowly - over his shorts and into the net. In overtime, John Madden threw the puck in front, hit Marc Staal's skate, and went five-hole on Henrik. GG 3, BG 3. 

In Game 4, Elias scored 2 on regular shots. Mike Mottau (why did the Devils let him wear #27?) scored a shot when Henrik's stick was slashed away. That counts as a Bad Goal because of the penalty that should have been called on Parise, thus the goal never should have happened. GG 5, BG 3.

Tonight, Gionta scored cleanly. Then Bryce Salvador dumped it in from outside the blue line, Dubinsky went to knock it down, and it escaped Lundqvist and went in. On the Devil's final goal of the season, a very bad shot by Elias hit off of Fedor Tyutin and snuck in right past the goalpost. Final score: Good Goals 6, Bad Goals 5. 

I guess it's a testament to the Eastern conference theory that if you throw the puck at (or in some cases, near) the net, something good can happen. In the Western conference, teams will have 10 shots on net and score twice or three times (Calgary in Game 4 versus San Jose), or 18 shots (Dallas versus the Rangers), or 20 shots (Dallas versus San Jose in Game 4). I'm sure there are other examples not including games played this week or against the Rangers, where 15 shots were fired and 3 goals went in. In the East, it's quantity. In the West, it's quality. Except Detroit, who are nearly a given to outshoot an opponent (they outshot Nashville 53-21 today and won 2-1). 

In conclusion, 10 shots by Calgary?! Jagr had 10 shots himself in Game 4!

And 10 goaltender interference penalties? I want to know how many of those were called on the Isles or Rangers.

(That's it. No more Devils talk. They'll be talking about the Rangers all summer. Think Brodeur will forget about #16 anytime soon? We have bigger fish to fry, so no more Devils talk. They're old news now.)

What I Learned Tonight...

What I Learned During the Game 4 of the Rangers/Devils Series

 by Zach S., 24, New York

I learned that it is indeed against NHL rules (now, anyway) to face a goaltender and wave your arms like you are a primate.

I learned that it is legal to slash the goaltender's stick out of his hands if you play in New Jersey.

I learned that you are allowed to tackle a player, cross check him three times, and interfere with his ability to get the puck, as long as the victim of said crime is Sean Avery.

I learned that MART-EEEE Brodeur is going to try his hand in Hollywood when this hockey thing runs its course. His acting lessons are paying off dutifully, although he could have sold the first dive tonight better so he didn't get a penalty. (Well, there's always Game 5).

This is all complementary to what I learned in Game 3: If you are a Ranger skating with his stick on the ice, you might be whistled for a high-sticking penalty if the referees want the Devils to win.

I also learned that Dan Girardi is The Man.

* * * 

A link for you: Great, great one-page story on John Amirante, aka the man with the booming voice who sings at a lot of Ranger games every year. Worth the read.

5th Street (This is Not a Hold 'Em Post)...

As my dedication to a healthy body, I took a walk before. As I turned down 5th Street, I saw a hockey net set up. 

A girl, 9, and boy, 8, were playing in the middle of the street. Their ages are guesses by me. I'm not the creepy guy that goes up to a 3rd grader and strikes up a conversation. Their grades are a guess also.

Anyway, the girl is calling herself "Brodeur" and apparently the kid was "Elias." Now, this did make me mad, because this week has increased my hatred of the Devils (and their 10,000 fans, including Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith). Then, the 15 year old brother came out and decided he was going to be Marty Straka.

Pretty bad ass, to be honest. Reminds me of when we all used to play in the middle of the street when I was that age. I loved being Dale Hawerchuk (when I was real small) and then Tony Amonte (until he was traded to Chicago for Brian Noonan and... Stephane Matteau). I assume after that point, I was too old to pretend to be other people, but I am still happy that 15 year old kid appreciated the silent warrior-like effort of #82. 

Well, that's it. I think it's awesome that these kids know these players and that people in NY are still watching hockey. Sometimes, I feel like it's just me, Bryan, and Sam Rosen who care about the sport. I hope the Rangers go on a long playoff run not only for my own glory but so that kids get captivated again by this amazing sport. The more kids play hockey, the more they will watch, the more parents will watch, the more people go to the games (hopefully boosting the Islanders attendance as well), the more the sport grows. Maybe that can help TV ratings so they can get a better channel (Versus does a good job, but the lead-in show is about killing deer). That's also the one - and only - reason I hope the Islanders succeed: so that the sport grows in NY.

When I was in 4th grade, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. They played - and swept - the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. I remember one day in gym class, the whole class was divided, and half of us chanted "Let's Go Rangers!" while the uneducated chanted for the Islanders. Imagine, a whole class interested in the coolest game on Earth!

Reading Newsday, you would never know that the Rangers and Devils fought to overtime in Game 3. The 3 stories on the cover of the Newsday sports section the day after? Mets lose, Yankees Lose, Tiger loses at the Masters. 

This took entirely too long. I just wanted to write about those kids knowing who wears #26 on New Jersey and how impressed I was. 

By the way, they stared at me in my Rangers fleece - maybe because it was 75 degrees out and they saw a fat man wearing shorts and a heavy fleece sweating as he was taking a stroll alone.

(Oh, and stat on Versus: Joe Thornton is now the 3rd player in NHL history to score a game winning goal in the third period on the road in the last 10 seconds of a playoff game. Know the other two? Me neither, Brian Engblom never told me).

Quick Hits

Just a few random notes from the first round...

- Nice to see Rick DiPietro keeping busy in the Versus studio, rubbing shoulders with luminaries such as Keith Jones and Brian Engblom. DP seemed a bit shaky at first, but I'd chalk that up to adjusting to having someone in his ear telling him what to say. Hard for someone when they're used to shooting from the hip (no pun intended). But in time, DP is going to be a star in the television studio. He's got the look and the charisma; all he has to do now is get comfortable in front of the camera and be his opinionated self. Judging from the Islanders' prospects for the future, it looks as though Ricky will have plenty of time each April to analyze playoff games.

- I can't locate the stat now, but I heard on Versus the other night that the team who scores first is extremely likely to win. At the time, the record of the team who scores first was something like 17-1. Now? Um... the tables might have turned. Sort of.

Last night, Ottawa scored first. They were at home, so you might figure that would get the crowd into a frenzy. However, since Ottawa is a horrendous team, it didn't mean anything. Pittsburgh came back and won the game quite easily. But we saw two instances in recent days when the first goal did mean something.

As we discussed yesterday, Calgary found themselves in a 3-0 hole to San Jose in the first four minutes of Game 3. But Calgary was not to be denied, and they ended up taking the game with a great comeback. Yesterday, Nashville pulled off a similar trick. Detroit scored first, silencing the Nashville faithful (yes, they do exist). However, it wasn't enough. Thanks to a furious third-period flurry, Nashville ended up not only seizing the game, but momentum in the series as well. In the heat of the moment, Zach proclaimed this the greatest game he's ever seen. Whether or not that's true is up for debate. But it does a lot for hockey in Nashville.

Anyway. So what's the big deal about two games? Well, in both instances, the road team jumped out to an early lead, eliminating the well-documented effect of the crowd on the home team. Common sense dictates that scoring early on the road puts the visiting team at a distinct advantage because it allows them to control the game. But there's no shutting up these crowds. Not in the playoffs, and not in Game 3 - the first home games of both Nashville and Calgary. We saw the Rangers came back on Sunday after letting up the first goal against the Devils thanks in large part to a bloodthirsty crowd. Just because they didn't close the deal doesn't diminish the crowd's impact on coming back from an early deficit.

- Speaking of the Rangers, everyone's been talking about Sean Avery lately. We may as well throw our hats into the ring here. Let's just get one thing out of the way before getting started - I hate Sean Avery's guts. At the same time, I think he does a hell of a job. Islander fans who knock Avery for his dirty play ought to look in the mirror and think back to fifteen years ago. Without Darius Kasparaitis knocking Mario Lemieux around at every opportunity, the Islanders didn't stand a chance against Pittsburgh. Somehow, it was fine to see him level Lemieux behind the play, but it's not okay for Avery to do what he does? Go figure.

Say what you want to about Avery's taunting Martin Brodeur, but you can't deny that it worked. And while it wasn't Brodeur who left Avery open in the slot, it's hard to focus with all that going on. People love to call Avery a pest, and he certainly fills that role, but he's also a very talented offensive player. He also seems to have a sense of the moment; in a very small sample size of thirteen career playoff games, he has nine points. The list of agitators in the history of the NHL is endless, but the great ones saved their best for the playoffs. Esa Tikkanen and Claude Lemieux were average players during the regular season, but each found another level in the post-season. Coincidentally enough, Tikkanen won five Cups and Lemieux won four. And this writer feels very strongly that Claude Lemieux deserves to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Maybe Tikkanen should join him there. Avery will probably never be enshrined in the Hall, but he's earning himself a lot of money these playoffs - both through his play and the attention he's drawing.

Anyway. Once again, lots of pests, lots of agitators. How many have prompted the NHL to modify its rulebook in the middle of a series? Even though Avery was probably over the line, it's ridiculous that the league can just change a rule on a whim without going through the proper channels. Sure, it's a minor rule, but it sets an awful precedent. If rules can be changed that easily and with no approval from the NHLPA, why the hell aren't face visors mandatory yet? Seriously. Maybe it's time the NHL stops reacting to the media and start making some smart decisions without being prompted.

Cheating?...

RANGERS POST by ZACH

Once again, don't want to usurp Bryan's 2 worth-the-read posts below, but 3 quick hits about tonight before I forget.

1) The Devils had 4 goals, yet only really scored 1 goal. The first goal hit off of a Rangers stick because Sergei Brylin charged hard to the net and they got lucky. The second goal hit off of Shanahan and somehow dribbled past Lundqvist's shorts and into the net and they got lucky. The third was a good shot by Patrick Elias (by the way, what's 6 million divided by 20 goals?). The overtime winner hit off of a Rangers' skate and into the net because John Madden threw it at goal and they got lucky.

Moral of the Paragraph: Charge to the net, throw the puck at the net, and maybe you can score more than 2 goals a game.

2) Lou Lamoriello has been around the league a long time. He has complained a long time. He tore into the officials and their boss(es) two nights ago after Blair Betts held a red jersey. (He also thought that going even strength with 15 seconds left would have guaranteed a goal if they pulled the goalie.) He also, understandably, got mad at the icing call while they were shorthanded. 

Moral of the Paragraph: If you are Lou Lamoriello, you can get the officials to blow the whistle in your favor if you complain enough.

I know, I know, you shouldn't blame to referees for a loss, and the Rangers didn't put forth a real effort in overtime. But...

3) I have watched the "high sticking call" on Michal Rozsival about 10 times, and I cannot come up with where this penalty happened. His stick didn't go much more than waist high, and he didn't touch anybody with it. Yet, with the score tied at 2 in a playoff game, the officials whistled him for a phantom penalty, thus directly leading to a power play goal that turned out to be huge in the end.

Moral of the Paragraph: If you are trying to appease a General Manager named Lou L., please don't be so obvious. It was apparent that the assholes he ripped them the other night were still hurting and they didn't want that to happen again, so they blew phantom calls.

I understand the "reputation penalty" Avery got when Brodeur tripped him. I touched on that in my last post. But just blowing the whistle and making up a call? That's blatant cheating. To be honest, I'm shocked that Ryan Callahan didn't get a penalty when Colin White tripped him into Brodeur.

By the way, no blowjobs or burritos today (although I ate my body weight in lasagna, sausage, meatballs, and chicken parm), but Sean Avery scoring on Marty Brodeur for the third straight game is heaven.

Game 3: An Instant Classic

Who won tonight's game?

The fans.

- Tonight's game was an instant classic. Had the Rangers won, you'd be seeing it on Al Trautwig's MSG Vault for years to come. You got everything you wanted out of this game. Great goaltending, plenty of hits, and some pretty good offensive skills as well. And you got overtime; truly, this was the only way to decide such an even contest. Sure, the last goal of the game was pretty soft, but almost every tight playoff game that goes to overtime ends on a garbage goal.

- Devils fans, see what happens when your team stops whining and sticks to their gameplan? Those two power play goals really helped out tonight, didn't they? The Devils only had six shots on their eight power plays, but they made their chances count. That said, the Devils probably could have had even more power play time (they only had 9:26 in power play time despite being credited with eight power play chances) if they had kept their cool in the scrums that followed many of the plays in tonight's game.

- Speaking of the scrums, it's my personal opinion that if you drop your gloves, you should be charged with a fighting major. Two Devils had dropped their gloves in one scrum, but were only given roughing penalites. That's not right. I also think that if you drop your gloves and the other guy is turtling, that's an instigator and a game misconduct, but the officials don't see it that way. If the refs saw things the same way I do, Arron Asham would have been thrown out of tonight's game.

- Say what you want about Martin Brodeur being a whiner, but give him credit for getting knocked out in the third period, shaking it off, and staying in the game. Head trauma is a scary thing - even though I don't like Brodeur, I'm glad he was okay. It wouldn't have been the same if Kevin Weekes came in for the overtime session. I'm sure plenty of Devils fans are going to be up in arms at the Garden crowd chanting derisively at Brodeur as he was recovering from the hit. However, nobody could possibly be accused of thinking rationally in a packed house that had just seen over ninety hits in under three periods.

- Ranger fans, you've got a lot to look forward to as you look toward the next game. Sure, the Devils won tonight's game, but three of the four goals were extremely shaky. You had a puck go off a Ranger's stick, a puck somehow trickle over Lundqvist, and a puck ricochet off Marc Staal's skate and into the goal. On the other side of the equation, you brought in a packed house that tore the roof off the building. You stood up to each and every hit the Devils tried to throw at you, and you never lost your cool. You probably played your worst game of the series so far, yet still managed to force overtime. However, that 6-1 shot differential in the extra frame is something to be concerned about.

- Two random points about the Rangers: First, they seem to have modified their jerseys so that the curved "guy's dress shirt" shirttails now look like they used to. Second, it's remarkable how many of their young guys play significant minutes. They don't have to restrict themselves to their top two lines like some teams have to. They can roll three power play lines, which is insane. And none of the young players look out of place; if anything, they out-perform their senior counterparts. They remind me of the New York Yankees in that way - although the big-money guys get all the attention, it's the young guys who make peanuts that really make the team tick.

- The best part about tonight's game? We're now guaranteed at least two more games of this series. Each game is better than the one before it. The games are testy, but the hits are mostly clean and the rough stuff hasn't gotten out of control yet. There's a defensive feel to the series, but both teams (mostly the Rangers) have had their chances offensively. And both goalies have stepped up when necessary. It feels like there have been more cheap goals than good ones, and that's a good thing - it means that we're seeing some spectacular saves.

This is going to be one hell of a series. Wednesday can't come soon enough.

Most Hated Players...

Off the top of my head, I believe the 4 players I hate the most in the NHL are (in no particular order)...

Chris Simon (although I liked him as a Ranger)

Rick DiPietro

Chris Pronger

Martin Brodeur

And this April, all is right with (my end of) the world. Simon is being sat in the playoffs in favor of seven-goal scorer Aaron Voros. Rick DiPietro can't even play golf because his hip is injured. Okay, I made that up, but it could be true. Translation: He has no second season. Marty the Overrated has given up 2 goals in 2 games to Sean Avery, and Chris Pronger, he of an unstoppable defense, was on the ice for 3 of Dallas's goals in Game 1 and has been on the ice for 2 of Dallas's 5 goals tonight. 

Quick note on Brodeur: When the Devils win, it's because of him. When they lose, it isn't his fault. Just ask him! When the Devils beat the Rangers, it's because he outplayed Lundqvist, and it's extra sweet because of who they defeated. When the Rangers go 7-0-1 against the Devils (or 1-4-3, depending on who you are a fan of), it's because the Rangers got lucky, or it just doesn't matter, because it's the regular season and only playoffs matter. 

When the Rangers beat them in the playoffs on goals he lets in, he blames the offense for not scoring. Hey, Marty. You play on the Devils. Your team hasn't been scoring for 10 years. Now, you just happen to be facing a goalie better than you.