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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Home & Home With Montreal...

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

So, which jersey should I wear?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They're Already Starting With This Crap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep this sentence in the back of your mind.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What's an Outdoor Classic?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ruining A Classic

The 2008 NHL Winter Classic was one of those events we'll always remember. The novelty of an outdoor game, the snow falling, the almost-too-perfect ending with Sidney Crosby scoring in the shootout. The 2009 NHL Winter Classic was no less entertaining, with a resurgent Blackhawks team and the defending champion Red Wings taking over Wrigley Field. The 2009 game showed that the Winter Classic was a sustainable commodity, something that could get the casual sports fan to take an interest in the NHL. Most true hockey fans, though, had the same thought - as great as the Winter Classic is now, if there's a way for the NHL to screw it up, they will certainly do so.

Fast forward to this year. The debate over who would play in the 2010 Winter Classic was red-hot, which is usually a great sign. Hockey fans had high expectations for the third installment of this event, and with good reason. So when the NHL announced that the Boston Bruins would be playing the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park, many were a bit underwhelmed. Sure, Fenway Park is an iconic venue, but Bruins vs. Flyers?

Many have pointed to the Flyers' sorry start to this season - 38 points in 38 games, 13th in the East - as proof that the NHL screwed this one up. My thought is that the NHL didn't screw anything up. Instead, NBC stepped in and got who they wanted - as in, who they thought would pop the best rating. The far more appealing Bruins-Canadiens matchup was shelved, and instead we get Bruins-Flyers, a matchup of two teams who have no rivalry whatsoever and combined to win exactly one playoff series last year.

A Bruins-Canadiens Winter Classic would have done so much to promote the event as a true hockey event. The Montreal Canadiens have one of the richest traditions in all of sports, maybe even more rich than that of the almighty Yankees. Casual fans might not be able to name one player on the Canadiens roster, but they know the team and understand something about the their history. They could come to understand the Canadiens-Bruins rivalry (assuming the NHL and NBC promoted it) and get into this matchup, giving the Canadiens the same respect they'd give to any well-known NHL team. Lastly, and most importantly, including the Canadiens in the Winter Classic would have been a huge bone thrown in the direction of the Canadian teams, who got the ball rolling when it comes to outdoor games and deserves to be part of this event going forward.

Of course, that's when NBC stepped in. I can picture the conversation...

GARY BETTMAN: For the 2010 Winter Classic, I'd like to have the Bruins host the Montreal Canadiens at Fenway Park.

NBC EXECUTIVE: The who?

GARY BETTMAN: The Montreal Canadiens.

NBC EXECUTIVE: What are they, an expansion team?

GARY BETTMAN: No, sir. They've been around for a hundred years. They've won 24 Stanley Cups. They may well be the most famous...

NBC EXECUTIVE: Hold it right there. I don't know what you're talking about with all this Montreal nonsense, but I'm not interested. This is NBC, damn it. We only show games that include the Penguins, Capitals, Rangers, Bruins and Flyers. Hey, Bruins and Flyers, that'd be a great matchup, no?

GARY BETTMAN: Not really.

NBC EXECUTIVE: Well, that's how it's going to be. If you think about it, it doesn't really matter who the Bruins play. ESPN will see that a Boston team is involved and promote the hell out of it, so neither of us will have to do anything.

GARY BETTMAN: Good point. Besides, we don't really care about our Canadian audience anyway.

NBC EXECUTIVE: Then it's settled. It'll be Bruins-Flyers at Fenway, and I'll tell you what. We'll put you in our NFL studio show for Wild Card weekend. We already have 30 analysts on that show, what's one more?

(Both Bettman and the executive laugh uproariously, then roll around in a pile of money.)

OK, so maybe it didn't go exactly like that. But it may as well have. In the mean time, the NHL is already doing everything it can to weaken its "flagship event". (Editor's note: Anytime your "flagship event" isn't your championship game/series, you're in trouble.) Bettman has talked about creating an outdoor game solely for Canada, largely because he knows there's no way in hell NBC is letting a Canadian team anywhere near the Winter Classic. With more than one outdoor game in any given year, the NHL seriously risks ruining the uniqueness of the Winter Classic. It might be running against crappy college football games, but the viewing audience still needs something new and fresh to watch.

Sadly, NBC doesn't do "new and fresh". NBC does "whatever will get us the highest TV ratings possible". So, while the 2010 Winter Classic might be about the Bruins and Flyers on paper, it's a bit different to diehard hockey fans. Years from now, we may look back at the 2010 Winter Classic as the year the Winter Classic changed from a hockey event to a TV event - the year the NHL gave its huge showcase event to NBC in the name of ratings and advertising dollars. You know what the worst part is? The only thing that's surprising is that it took this long.

An Odd Weekend...

Four years ago, you could have said the Rangers would get 2 points in this weekend's back-to-back games, one in Buffalo and then home against Detroit. They could've beaten the Sabres but would have been mauled by the Red Wings.

Three years ago, you could've written this weekend off as a total loss. The Sabres were flying on the wings of Danny Briere and Chris "More Than 2 Goals in 22 Games" Drury, and the Red Wings again would have mauled them.

This year, it could be interesting.

The Sabres are flying high at 16-7-2 and are on a 4-game winning streak. They are also 9-3-2 at home, while the Rangers are 6-7-1 on the road. However, the Rangers are well-rested and have arguably the best player in the league playing for them. If Marian Gaborik scores another 2 goals tonight and Henrik Lundqvist shows up with a good performance, they can steal 2 big points from a conference rival.

The Red Wings, however, are just 3 games over .500 and are breaking even on the road. Old incarnations of the Wings have mauled the Rangers every game. There was a cold January game in 2006 where Brendan Shanahan buried them for 2 goals (the Rangers lost 4-3, but there was a late 3rd period goal to make it seem closer); there was a game when Shanahan was a Ranger where the Rangers were winning 3-1 and then stopped playing and lost 4-3 (that was the night Sean Avery was traded to the Rangers); and then there was last year, where Aaron Voros scored 2 goals and the Rangers still lost, in overtime (Aaron Voros... two goals? What?).

Though the Red Wings are struggling, so are the Rangers, and the Rangers do have to travel back from Buffalo in order to play this game. Detroit has a game in New Jersey tonight; traveling from Jersey to New York, however time-consuming the traffic may be, is not as bad as a flight home from Buffalo.

This weekend is really a crapshoot. If I was guessing, I would say they win in Buffalo and get mauled by Detroit. However, knowing my betting record, they're going to beat Detroit but lose tonight to Buffalo.

Hey, maybe back being in Buffalo will wake Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik up.

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In answer to reader Eric the Lev, who inquired if I thought John Tortorella would get fired like John Stevens - no, I don't. It's way too soon to tell if he will last. The team is suffering injuries and are still treading water. However, I think the tide will have to sway in his favor soon to save some more jobs.

In my opinion, the GM should be gone. One coach (Tom Renney) didn't work. Another one is having problems. Time to point the finger at the man who signed Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, and Chris Drury to a total of $19M per season, isn't it?

I also don't know why Stevens was fired from Philadelphia. The team is doing decent and most of the team is performing well. They don't have good goaltending yet are staying competitive in games.

I think he was fired because of pre-season expectations. Everyone predicted the Flyers to be great and go deep into the playoffs, yet they have a weak blueline (including overrated Chris Pronger) and poor goaltending (although Ray Emery and Brian Boucher have been playing better than I thought, they still aren't a top-notch tag team). So they fire the coach, bring in Peter Laviolette, and hope for the best. Bad move.

Only The Lord Saves More Than Ray Emery

There are a lot of people out there who write about hockey. Unfortunately, many of these people are awful at their jobs. Channeling the spirit of Fire Joe Morgan (but with a lot less snarkiness), here's our response to a recent article that was particularly loathsome.

Some teams in the National Hockey League have a reputation of struggling between the pipes, and the Ottawa Senators were one of those teams. But now with Pascal Leclaire in net, they can finally say they have a number one goaltender - maybe for the first time in the history of their franchise.

This would be a good time to mention that the title of this piece is "Emery-Flyers Marriage A Good Fit For Both Sides". As in, neither the Ottawa Senators nor Pascal Leclaire were mentioned. The Senators, by the way, have had above-average goalies for this entire decade, be it Patrick Lalime, Ray Emery, Martin Gerber or Dominik Hasek. And if Hasek isn't a number one goaltender, I don't know who is.

The Philadelphia Flyers are another one of those teams that have been plagued in goal since Ron Hextall left the team in 1999.

I know I said in my season preview that the Flyers haven't had a great goalie since Hextall. But they're hardly "plagued". They just happened to have a number of goalies that didn't have very long shelf lives. Since Hextall left, Brian Boucher led them to the 2000 conference finals, then Roman Cechmanek finished second in the league in GAA for the next three years. Cechmanek was followed by Robert Esche, who finished fifth in GAA in 2003-04. Does that sound like a "plague" to you? Me either.

OK, maybe they haven't had a ton of luck since the lockout, but they had stellar goaltending for the first half of this decade. It just happens that that stellar goaltending has come from a bunch of different people.

In the last 10 years, the Flyers have really struggled to find a goaltender that can do the job and now they have Ray Emery who seems to be a much different guy then last year based on opening night.

A different guy? What does this even MEAN? Has he converted to Islam? Does he tell different jokes in the locker room before games? It's okay to say he was a whiny bitch in Ottawa, but now he isn't.

He shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in the season opener

Good for him. But I was wondering how he did when the Hurricanes were on the power play.

and did a particularly good job when the Hurricanes were on the power play.

Wow! That's amazing, especially since the Flyers had the league's 6th best penalty kill last year, while Carolina was only 18th on the power play. It must have taken a Herculean effort for Emery to shut the Hurricanes down.

It's obviously going to take longer than one game for the Ray Emery experiment in Philadelphia to work

BUT HE WAS PARTICULARLY GOOD ON THE POWER PLAY!!!

but at this point in time, considering what his cap money is

According to NHLNumbers.com, Ray Emery is the 29th highest paid goalie in the league at $1.5 million. Goalies making less money than Ray Emery:

- Chris Osgood ($1.45m)

- Martin Biron ($1.4m)

- Jonas Hiller ($1.3m)

- Scott Clemmensen ($1.2m)

- Steve Mason ($0.9m)

- Semyon Varlamov ($.85m)

- Jonathan Quick ($.57m)

- Pekka Rinne ($.725m)

Just about all of these goalies have either had better careers than Emery or have more potential than Emery. So let's stop pretending he's on some great contract. He's got your typical take-a-flier contract (see Biron, Martin). If he sucks, no biggie. If he does well, he'll cash in elsewhere. This is the NHL equivalent of Michael Vick's contract with the Eagles, only no dogs were killed.

and considering that he came back with a lot to prove after having been in exile for all intents and purposes in Russia, it's going to be a good move for the Flyers to have this guy.

Emery signed with the KHL on July 8, 2008. He could have competed for a starting job in the NHL if he really wanted to. Instead, he went to Russia, dominated an inferior league, and suddenly he's a valuable commodity? If you say so.

The Emery-Flyers marriage is a really good fit for both sides. In other words; a team who desperately needs a goaltender to step up and do something for them and a goaltender who desperately needs a good team to surround him and allow him the opportunity to get back in the good grades with the NHL.

I'm not sure what it means to "get back in the good grades" with someone. But hopefully it means Emery does well. If he doesn't, it could get ugly. Emery couldn't handle things in Ottawa. Philly fans are a bit more... um... angry than Ottawa fans. Thankfully, we have seen that the Flyers and Ray Emery are a match made in heaven and that Ray Emery will go 82-0 with 82 shutouts as the Flyers sweep through the playoffs. After all, he was particularly good on the power play.

I Was Right; I Was Wrong...

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few notes...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Checking Up on Last Year's Schedule...

Well, the 2009-10 schedule will be released very shortly (about 3:00, they say) and I figured what better day to talk about last year's schedule.

Last season, I wound up having a half-season package. I thought I would just have an 11-game plan, though, so I gave every game a "score" from 0 points to 3 points. The Rangers gave me a choice of four 11-game plans, and whichever had the most points, I would pick.

Turns out, they offered me a half-season plan after I already signed up for the 11-game plan, so I took the no-brainer: the plan with Adam Graves night and opening night.

Let's look back on what games I thought would be awesome or crappy, and how they actually turned out, shall we? ... ...

The 4 games I was most excited about were Opening Night vs. Chicago, Sean Avery's return game vs. Dallas in October, and the last two home games of the year, vs. Montreal and Philadelphia. These were the only 4 "3-point games." I did wind up going to all four.

The home opener was excellent, as it always it. Excitement, new players, great crowd, the Molly Wee Pub, a pretzel stick in my beer, and 2 points for a win.

Sean Avery's "return game" was horrendous. My friend Tom and I each had 4 beers on the train in and 4 at the bar. I had 2 at the game and he had 4. He passed out in the middle of the 2nd period, and I didn't wake him because it was so boring. Markus Naslund scored under a minute into the game on the power play, then the Rangers did n o t h i n g the rest of the game and lost 2-1. Horrible game, but we got Avery's autograph later (me on an Avery jersey, Tom on a Ryan Callahan jersey which he stained 10 minutes later with curry from his Halal sandwich).

The last 2 games of the year were great, also. The Canadiens game was good because a regulation win nearly clinched the playoffs for the Rangers. They were neck-and-neck with the Habs, and a big 3-1 win put them in position to clinch in the next game.

The game against Philly saw them clinch, keeping my friend Tom's streak of seeing them clinch in person alive.

So, 3 out of 4 games that I thought would be awesome, were indeed awesome.

(The reason I didn't give Adam Graves Night 3 points is because it wasn't announced when it was at the time of the post. Turns out, the game was horrible but the ceremony was great.)

Of the 3 games I gave no points to, one was a Sunday afternoon game against Philly. I was actually offered a very nice ticket to the game (but very expensive, purple seats, center ice, like $240) which I declined because I couldn't get off work. That game? A 5-2 stinker where Henrik Lundqvist was yanked early and the Rangers went down 5-0. I remember I was watching before I left for work and they were down 2-0. I switched channels, went back a moment later and it was 3-0. I switched channels for 3 more minutes and it was 5-0.

The best game I went to last year, off the top of my head, was a 4-1 win over the same Flyers. About 5,000 Philadelphia fans were in the building but Sean Avery scored 2 goals and those Flyers fans were hushed quickly.

One of my favorite parts of the schedule is seeing the road games and planning trips to see them. Two years ago, I did Boston, Montreal, Jersey, Philly, and of course the Coliseum.

Last year, I only did the Coliseum and Nashville, a game I had planned on going to. This year, they probably won't be there again (should be a home game versus the Predators, unless they play 2 games against them) but if they are, I'll be there. Great city, decent hockey atmosphere, clean building, and good memories since the Rangers won 4-2 after John Tortorella ripped everyone a new defecator after the 1st period. Plus, I was 3rd row from the ice.

Anyway, today should be the last exciting day of the summer for hockey fans until mid-September, when training camp kicks off.

I'll be working later but will probably write a little bit about what road games look interesting around midnight tonight.

Two things to expect? Lots of games against division rivals in the last 10 games (probably 8 of the last 10 will be against the Atlantic division); and no Islander-Ranger games on weekends (atleast not at the Coliseum).

Be Careful What You Wish For

Last night, as the Islanders game ended, I was in bed sick. I didn't even make it through the end of the game. I guess it's just as well, though - it was pretty clear where the game was going.

Ever since this season began, many Islanders fans have been hoping and praying for a 30th place finish. We've been saying it since last July - the Islanders' 2008-09 season has been all about John Tavares. It didn't pay for the Islanders to battle valiantly for the eighth seed; we've been there and done that.  Similarly, just being bad wasn't going to work for this Islanders team. They had to be historically bad. Before the season, I predicted the Islanders would have 72 points at season's end, and Zach thought I was being much too critical. Guess not. But hey, the Isles' faithful got what they wanted in the end, so it's worth it. Right?

The problem is, as a fan, pride comes into play. Some fans have been rather vociferious about getting having a 48.2% chance at the first overall pick; others, like myself, hoped for the best but didn't want to compromise their fandom. Either way, it's hard for me to come out and state that I'm happy that the Islanders have lost their last two games by a combined score of 15-1. It's certainly nothing to brag about. We knew it wouldn't be pretty. And it wasn't.

The Islanders' season is essentially over, with only two meaningless games left - an afternoon game tomorrow against Philadelphia and a 5 PM game against Boston on Easter Sunday (who scheduled that one?). Just about the unanswered question is whether Kyle Okposo will score two goals to ensure that this won't be the first season in Islanders' history without a 20-goal scorer. (He probably won't.) The Islanders have done a great job of showing most nights in the second half, the last two games notwithstanding, so look for the Isles to make life very difficult for their far more skilled opponents. While Sunday's game means nothing to a Bruins team who clinched the East forever ago, imagine what a win over the Bruins in the season's final game would do for the Islanders.

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.

Ranger Fan...

Listen, I might rail against half of the Rangers 75% of the time on this website. I might not care if Wade Redden plays another game or is banished to the AHL for the rest of his career and ruins their blueline. I might not even care if Scott Gomez is traded to Detroit for a 7th round pick at this year's NHL Draft. I think their GM is clueless and quite possibly never read the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and I think their owner is a ruthless, heartless idiot whose father gave him everything. He was voted worst owner in sports by ESPN, and I agree.

But one thing is for sure, I want this team to win tonight against Philadelphia. Win And In. And I want them to win.

I don't care about Redden, or Gomez, or even Michal Rozsival for that matter. I don't like that Markus Naslund and Chris Drury can never live up to their contracts (which isn't their fault).

But I will root for them.

I personally wish Redden will never get his name on the Stanley Cup, but as long as he is wearing a blue jersey at Madison Square Garden, I'm rooting for him to score the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Finals.

For all of the bashing I've done here, most of it deservingly so, for all of the times I've said this team doesn't care (you can't honestly believe Redden wants this team to win), for all of the negatives I've written, there has been one common factor...

I want this team to win. I want them to succeed. I want them to make the playoffs, and I want them to make a strong run at playing hockey in June.

While some of the players anger me, namely the five I've mentioned in this post, there is nothing I want more than to see them taking a victory lap around Garden ice after the handshakes.

Much like that tired cliche, "Don't play for the name on the back; play for the logo on the front," I don't root against the name on the back, I root for the R A N G E R S going down the front of that RBK Edge jersey.

I don't want Redden to fail; he just happens to and I point it out. What I want is for him to have a booming slap shot, impeccable defensive skills, and a wicked passion for the game.

Tonight, all that goes out the window. I couldn't care less how they get it done. All I care about it them winning.

Oh, and being on the ice after the game to receive a game-worn jersey would be sweet to.

As long as I'm not second in line...

Skill vs. Will

As tonight's Islanders-Flyers game unfolded, I couldn't help but think I'd seen it somewhere before.

The game reminded me of another battle, one that also involved the fighting city of Philadelphia. Only in this game, the Islanders were reminiscent of Philadelphian Rocky Balboa, while the Flyers played the role of Apollo Creed. The Flyers, not unlike Creed, appeared to think they'd coast to victory without putting in any work. And why wouldn't they? The Islanders, after all, had just played the night before in Detroit. That they squeaked out a victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions is irrelevant. The Islanders would be sore and tired; in a season like the one the Islanders have had, it'd be perfectly understandable.

Nobody bothered to tell any of this to the Islanders, who came into the game with nothing to lose - just like Rocky. And just like Rocky, the Islanders started out with a bang, scoring in the first period. Only the NHL's rule to only count goals that are in the net at the buzzer (as opposed to shots that are taken before buzzer, but go in after) prevented this from being a 2-0 game at the first intermission. Not only were the Islanders winning, but they were more than holding their own against the Flyers, who desperately needed the two points.

I imagine the scene in the Flyers' dressing room to be identical to the scene in Apollo Creed's corner after the first round. Apollo's trainer asks what happened, then delivers the words that say it all:

"He doesn't know it's a damn show. He thinks it's a damn fight. Now finish this bum, and let's go home."

Apollo woke up. So did the Flyers. The Islanders got a quick goal to start the second, perhaps the hockey gods' way of making up for the missed opportunity at the end of the first. But the goal woke the Flyers up, and the Broad Street Bullies started swinging. Daniel Carillo took on Nate Thompson. Exactly one second later, Riley Cote fought Joel Rechlicz to a minute-plus standoff, with both players landing some major punches. And you could hear the bell ring and watch the referee and trainers separate Rocky and Apollo at the end of Round 2. Cue "Going The Distance" - you could tell it was going to be a war.

The period maintained its chippy status, and as the second period would down and the third period began, the Flyers started to play hockey again. Eventually, they started to wear down their inferior opponents. And just like Apollo knocked Rocky down in the 14th round, the Islanders were dealt a knock-down blow of their own - three goals in 3:55 of game time.

You could almost imagine the Islanders on the canvas flailing, trying their best to get up. Mickey tells Rocky to stay down. Islanders fans figured it was over, that their impressive run had to run out sometime, and it may as well be now; no sense earning points that could jeopardize the first overall pick. But the underdog doesn't listen to reason, just to the challenge ahead of him. Rocky rose and hit Apollo so hard that the defending champion spits up blood. The Islanders scored a goal 32 seconds later to tie the score. With nothing to lose, there was no way they were going to stay down.

When Rocky and Apollo squared off in Round 15, the final round, it was a cautious meeting of two exhausted fighters who simply wanted to survive. The overtime between the Islanders and Flyers played out in a similar fashion. Both teams had their chances, but it was a draw and it was meant to end as such. The Flyers won the shootout. Apollo got the decision. None of it matters.

Ain't gonna be no rematch.

Don't want one.

For the Islanders, these past two nights were their Stanley Cup Final. They knocked off Detroit in their home stadium, traveled overnight, and took the Flyers, a legitimate Cup contender, to the brink just 24 hours later. That's a tremendous amount to be proud of. No matter what happens with the draft, this is the team the Islanders are going to be next season - tireless and with plenty of fight, with just enough skill to compete every night. If they land John Tavares, great. If they get a big-time free agent, even better. The moral of the story is, the Islanders finally have an identity, and if they can fight this hard with the odds stacked against them in a meaningless game, imagine what they can do when things are going their way.

Nashville...

One of my favorite things in life - besides Americanized Mexican food, Internet pastimes not including this blog, and TV shows on DVD - is going to Ranger games outside of New York. I go to enough Ranger games at MSG (I have a half-season package) and I go to a few at the Coliseum every year (although this year I've only been to one, the January 13 2-1 win).

In 2006-07, I went to Boston. The Rangers killed them, 6-1, on a Monday night. Petr Prucha had 2 goals, and the Prucha-Jed Ortmeyer-Matt Cullen line all had 3 points. I also would have gone to both playoff games in Atlanta that year, but I owned a business at the time and couldn't just up and leave, although I was tempted to (and good seats were available in that hockey hotbed the day of both games).

In 2007-08, I planned a 3 in 4 Extravaganza. Three games, 4 nights. The Rangers were playing Wednesday in New Jersey, Thursday in Philadelphia, and Saturday in Pittsburgh. We ended up just going to the first 2, because Pittsburgh is 5 hours from Philadelphia and 7 from NY.

So me and 3 others went to the game in Jersey, which I believe was the 3rd at the Rock ever. Nice place, though it was unfinished then (I have since returned for a Metallica concert, and while the drinks are crazy expensive, it is a nice place... but $10 for a shot of Jameson is nuts). The Devils scored 35 seconds in, Nigel Dawes scored 50 seconds later, the crazy fans behind us shouted "Die, Scotty, Die!" the whole night, two of us moved to very nice seats to see Marc Staal score his first ever NHL goal, and the Rangers won 4-2.

Then, the next day, we went to Philadelphia. Prucha scored on a great shot to make it 3-2 in the 3rd, but the Flyers tied it and the Rangers won in a shootout on a Brendan Shanahan goal.

We didn't go to the Penguins game, but they won 4-3 in overtime on a Jason Strudwick goal. The weird thing about this game was that all 4 goals were by defensemen. Michal Rozsival scored 2 within 4 minutes (one shorthanded), Dan Girardi had one, and then Struds got the winner.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the day the Giants beat the Patriots, I was in Montreal for the NBC game - along with 35 other Ranger fans. The Habs were up 3-0, and then the Rangers scored 5 straight for the great win. I'm pretty sure you could hear the Ranger fans on TV that day. Ryan Hollweg got crushed by Alex Kovalev at one point, then boarded (of course) one of the Flying Kostitsyn Brothers (Sergei?) and got tossed from the game, and I think suspended.

Great city, that Montreal.

* * *

Point being, Thursday is a jumping off point for me. I haven't been to many games this season, for a few reasons. 1) The economy stinks, so if I'm supposed to work a day when I have a game, I sell the tickets to friends so I can work and make money. 2) The team has been mediocre, which I can watch, but for a while the team wasn't even likable, so I didn't want to spend the money (train, bar, food, tickets, etc.) to go.

Thursday, though, I'll be at the game, then I'll be at Sunday's game vs. Philly, then a game March 24th vs. Minnesota, and finally April 7 vs. Montreal.

Thursday's game is in Nashville, Tennessee, marking my 2nd foray into Music City, and first for a Predators game. We got very good seats, and I'm jazzed. Okay, to be honest, I'm not sure if the seats are good. It's a goofy system they have, with row A, then row AA somewhere. I think I'm in row CC, which is either 3rd row or like 14th row or something. Couldn't make sense of floor plans there, and I'm not an idiot either. Hockey hotbed, it is not.

Nashville is a great city though, and I'm very curious to how their fanbase is. I think they have a good core of fans, somewhere around 12,000 season subscribers, but they only sell a little over 13,000 tickets per game, so the city isn't rabid about the Predators. I do also hear people from Nashville calling the XM Home Ice channel (channel 204) once in a while.

They also have a good team who is hot. They've won 6th straight although they didn't get any help at the trade deadline.

Please answer the poll question on which jersey I should wear to the game.

If I'm lucky, I'll get to see Hugh Jessiman's first NHL game! (No, that's not true, he won't be there.)

* * *

By the way, 78 goals were scored in the NHL tonight! Not one of them was a shootout goal, either! The Islanders beat the Devils 7-3; Carolina won 9-3 over Tampa Bay; Columbus beat the Wings 8-2. Crazy night. There was also only one 1-goal game (LA over Minnesota, 4-3).

Regulation Wins...

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, the Rangers beat the Coyotes 4-1. Since then, they have had one regulation win, and that was against Anaheim on December 16.

Since Thanksgiving, there have been 3 shootout wins, 3 overtime wins, 6 losses, and 1 overtime loss (Capitals game last week where they blew the 4-0 lead to Alexandre Ovechkin).

And their power play has fallen to 25-11. That's 25 goals while on the PP, and 11 shorthanded goals against.

Yes, they are in first place. That 5-0 start was fantastic and it's the reason they are still kind of in first place (they are first in points but have played 2 more games than Philadelphia and 4 more than New Jersey, both of whom are nipping at their heels). Besides that fast start, the two reasons that they are in a decent position are Henrik Lundqvist and the fact that Gary Bettman hates games that end in a tie. Don't worry, Mr. Bettman, I do too. I enjoy the shootouts and what they've done to my team.

Let's hope a game against the Islanders breaks them out of their stupor, although the Islanders always, always play the Rangers tight, even with nothing on the line. 

* * * 

Don't forget to vote for us at The NHL Arena.

Some Christmas-Related Hockey Literature...

Merry Christmas from our blog to yours.

Feel free to take a look at this video of a bunch of Santa Clauses at an Islanders game and what happens when a Ranger appears!

Now see the opposite in this NHL.com commercial of a Ranger Family and their Flyer fan son, now airing on the NHL Network.

Avery Suspended for Violent Act...

Oh, wait, sorry. Sean Avery got a 6-game suspension today for a joke, however unfunny you might find it. That means Gary Bettman puts Avery calling Paris Hilton's co-star in House of Wax "sloppy seconds" (a true term in high schools all around the nation) up there with these violent acts...

:: Randy Jones gets 2 games for hitting Patrice Bergeron from behind in October 2007. Bergeron missed the rest of the season with a head injury. Avery's comments were three-times as bad as this career-threatening injury, apparently.

:: Mike Mottau gets 2 games for lunging himself across the ice at Frans Nielsen. Nielsen is out 3-4 months as a result of the hit. This was three-times less dangerous than Avery's childish wisecrack.

:: Ryan Hollweg gets suspended 1 game for boarding Sergei Kostitsyn in February because it was his second boarding game misconduct. He then does the same thing in pre-season, gets suspended 2 games, and does it again in his first game back this season, where he gets another 3-game suspension. That's 4 violent boarding penalties and a total of 6 games where he was forced to sit. Avery talking ill about Elisha Cuthbert is akin to Ryan Hollweg injuring 4 players with illegal hits.

:: Chris Pronger steps on Ryan Kesler's calf with his skate and receives an 8-game sentence, on his 8th suspension in the NHL. This (probably illegal by American law) act was slightly more damaging than Avery's comments.

There you have it. Avery's words hurt Cuthbert (and scumbag Dion Phaneuf) more than Bergeron's season-ending head injury. Frans Nielsen should just shake off his injury, as it is less important that a Hollywood actress's feelings. It was equal to 4 people being illegally hit from behind by Ryan Hollweg, and Chris Pronger's big skate blade being slammed onto Ryan Kesler's leg was only slightly more dangerous. How much time did Phaneuf miss from Avery's 15-second interview? None? Weird.

Bettman said he had "warned" Avery last season and that's why the punishment is so high. Were the Flyers not warned when 2 others on their team received suspensions in October of 2007 before Jones got his? Was Hollweg not warned during his previous suspensions? Were Pronger's previous 7 suspensions not warnings? 

Get real, Gary Bettman. You are a joke. You never liked hockey, so go back to the NBA and let a real fan take charge of the league. 

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.

Tampa Bay Rays

So I was watching TBS a little while ago (sorry, Frank TV wasn't on) and watched the Tampa Bay Rays finish off the Chicago White Sox to win the American League Division Series. After recording the final out, the Rays rushed out of the dugout and started doing that thing where everybody jumps up and down and smacks each other on the head. After that, they retreated to the clubhouse for a champagne celebration.

Now, I'm happy for the Rays and all; seriously, who wouldn't be? This is a team that never even won 75 games in a season before this one, and yet they're now just four games from the World Series. They were left for dead while the arrogant fans of the Yankees and Red Sox proclaimed their overpriced teams as the best. And yet, Tampa Bay has had the last laugh; they'll be playing yet another $100 million payroll team in the ALCS despite having a payroll that roughly matches the combined annual wages of Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

Here's where I'm going with this. The Rays did a big celebration when they clinched a playoff spot. They did the same thing after clinching the AL East. Tonight, they did yet another celebration. That's three pileups on the mound. That's three champagne-soaked celebrations. And all the Tampa Bay Rays have done is win three lousy playoff games against a team that didn't even have a playoff spot until two days after the season ended.

Could you even imagine a hockey team acting like this? Let's pretend hockey players acted like baseball players. Let's rewind to last year's playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens have just defeated the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. It went seven games, but the top-seeded Habs came out victorious, almost in spite of themselves. Instead of congratulating their goalie and forming the traditional handshake line, they rush over to their goalie and mob him, jumping all over him in the crease. They skip the handshakes, then rush off to celebrate with their booze in the locker room, even though they've got a tough series against Philadelphia in two days. Never mind that the Canadiens had ten more points than Boston and probably should have beaten them in five games at the absolute max. They've got to have a party! After all, we need Fox Sports Montreal to be able to air their own post-game show in the contrived party so their quirky sideline reporter can be doused in champagne every two seconds.

Of course, the champagne-soaked spectacle is what TV wants. The handshake line, while extremely classy, doesn't get covered. Wait till the Red Sox win their series and ESPN jizzes all over themselves. You're going to see that damn celebration 8000 times over the next few days. Meanwhile, when a hockey team wins the right to play for the Stanley Cup and doesn't even crack a smile? Good luck finding highlights of that one.

Who Improved and Where the Rangers Stand...

Last year, the Eastern Conference was a crapshoot. Much like David Caruso's career, Ottawa started real hot then dropped off the face of the Earth. Montreal and Pittsburgh, boosted by strong power plays, were the obvious best teams in the East, but they only rose to the top of the standings around early-March. Every other team was mediocre. 

If it was pre-lockout, the Rangers might not have made the playoffs, but they did last season because of Brendan Shanahan, Nigel Dawes, and Henrik Lundqvist's shootout performances. Washington clinched the playoffs on the last day possible. Carolina lost out on a playoff spot on the last day possible. Even the Islanders were relevant until March's injuries piled up. Boston made the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and nearly beat the #1 ranked Canadiens.

What I'm saying is that it's anybody's conference to take. In the West, you knew Detroit will be up there, and Anaheim, San Jose, and Dallas should make the playoffs, while Phoenix, LA, Chicago, Edmonton, St. Louis, and Columbus would be awful. 

Will anything change in the East this year? Probably not. Who really improved in the East in the offseason?

* * * 

Far and away the winners of the East are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vaclav Prospal returns next season, Matt Carle is in on defense, and they signed Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata (both people I think the Rangers should have tried to get), Gary Roberts, Olaf Kolzig, Mark Recchi, and power play QB Andrew Hutchinson. Oh, and Steven Stamkos should transition well in the NHL playing alongside Vinny Lecavilier. While their goaltending still is a question mark (Mike Smith and Kolzig are both a half-step up from being backup goaltenders), their beefed up offense should make up for a shaky back half. The only one missing from their team is expensive Dan Boyle, but now that they have an owner who wants to spend money, a trade deadline deal for a top defender is certainly possible.

Atlanta was awful last season and should be this season. They did rob the Penguins blind in the Marian Hossa deal, but Angelo Esposito probably won't catch fire this season, even if he makes the roster. The additions of Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong from Pittsburgh do help, but they are role players who aren't going to pot you 40 goals like Hossa would have. When your big offseason acquisition is named Ron Hainsley, you aren't moving forward.

Florida is also a team that is going nowhere. They might be the worst franchise in all of professional sports, Knicks included. They traded Olli Jokinen for a bundle of nothing, somehow re-signed Jay Bouwmeester even though we all know that he will not be there next season. Their lone spotlights are Nathan Horton and Tomas Vokoun. These guys are not a threat for anything except John Tavares in next year's Entry Draft.

Finishing off the Southeast, the Hurricanes and Capitals stood pat. While cash-strapped Carolina would up getting the defender they needed in Joni Pitkanen, it cost them heart-and-soul man Erik Cole. Yes, they signed Darcy Hordichuk, but can a 4th line goon lift you over the hump and into the playoffs? After making the playoffs last year, the Capitals decided to go with the same team this year. Sergei Federov, a good deadline deal, is back for another older, slower season, and their goaltending tandem of Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson is not as good as Kolzig and Christobal Huet were last year.

Long story short: One team will make the playoffs from the Southeast, and that's just because those are the rules.

* * * 

In the Northeast division, the Toronto Maple Leafs aim to miss the playoffs for the 4th straight year, which would be a new team record. Overpaying for Jeff Finger, trading for Jamal Mayers and Ryan Hollweg, not-yet-re-signing Mats Sundin or moving Bryan McCabe. I like GM Cliff Fletcher, but what exactly is he doing?

The Montreal Canadiens improved by leaps and bou-- no, they didn't improve at all. They missed the boat on Hossa, they probably won't get Sundin, but don't worry, Georges Laraque has arrived in Montreal! Alex Tanguay should help their already strong offense though and he came cheap in the form of just draft picks. They shouldn't miss Mark Streit on the power play too much, but can Alex Kovalev have another great season? While they are a good team still, the fact is, they aren't much better than last year, if at all.

The Boston Bruins signed unproven, unmotivated forward Blake Wheeler (although he did want to play in Beantown) and overpaid for Michael Ryder to replace Glen Murray. Is that any way to build a playoff contender? However, I think they would take a step forward if they would finally just admit to themselves that Tim Thomas is their starting goaltender. This guy is so motivated it's incredible.

Buffalo... uhhh, did the Sabres have an offseason? Yes, they traded away Steve "Brian Campbell" Bernier. Campbell's replacement is Craig Rivet, a journeyman who, while solid, won't stop a Crosby, Ovechkin, or Malkin from scoring. They also re-signed the aging, unhealthy Teppo Numinen, presumably as a locker room presence. 

Ottawa's big offseason move was what they didn't do - they didn't trade Antoine Vermette, which is huge. He can be a great player if any of their Big 3 - Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson - falter or get hurt like in 2007-08. Their goaltending is a question mark as well, with Martin Gerber and the well-traveled Alex Auld standing guard. That shouldn't inspire confidence in Canada's capital.

* * * 

Now, the East. I won't dwell too much on the Rangers, but regardless of what you think of their offseason moves, they are a better team today than they were in May.

Wade Redden and Dmitri Kalinin, and whoever turns out to be the 7th d-man are better than the likes of Tyutin, Backman, Malik, and Strudwick. Plus, Paul Mara returned at a discount, and Marc Staal and Dan Girardi should continue to excel this season.

Markus Naslund and Nik Zherdev are being counted on to have comeback years, and that may be asking a lot, but atleast the offense is styled differently. Plus, their power play should click this year without Jaromir Jagr to receive passes from Michal Rozsival and Marty Straka.

The one big loss is Sean Avery, a winger who could change games with his gritty style as well as put the puck home in big situations (just ask Martin Brodeur). Losing Ryan Hollweg for a draft pick was a no-brainer, and Aaron Voros and/or Patrick Rissmiller will take over his role and make it more offensive as well.

Did the Pittsburgh Penguins improve? Not too much. As well as losing roster players in Christensen and Armstrong and a top prospect in Esposito, they essentially traded hometown-boy Ryan Malone and Hossa for Miro Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, two middling wingers who had bad seasons. Their bright spot of the offseason was getting Brooks Oprik back when it looked like he would be on the way out. They still have their core, and they will be dangerous, no doubt. But they question is, did they improve? The answer has to be no, they did not.

We all know the Islanders' problems, starting with Charles Wang and Garth Snow and moving out. Streit should help the team and make up for losing Marc-Andre Bergeron and Bryan Berard with the man-advantage.  Doug Weight will help as well, that is until February, when he along with a bunch of other expiring-contracts are traded to contenders for draft picks and prospects.

It was Old Timer's Day in July for the Devils, as they signed former players Bobby Holik, Brian Rolston, and Scott Clemmensen as their 3rd goalie. Rolston is a great utility man, but I think the Devils will overuse him. Holik is a serviceable 3rd line center these days, but the days of him shutting down other teams top lines are over. They also overpaid for Bryce Salvador, but they did need a big body on the blueline. While Rolston was a good pick-up, their defense is still holier than the Bible Belt, and their offense can't make up for it. However, while I expect big years from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, I can't say they improved much.

The Flyers were active in getting Glen Metropolit in his declining years, Steve Eminger, a few Finnish defensemen whose names I can't pronounce, and re-signing Jeff Carter, but it came at the cost of young gun R.J. Umberger and Prospal. Still, I would say the Flyers improved, if only slightly. Their defense is suspect with Derian Hatcher still there and Jaroslav Modry gone, but Braydon Coburn can only get better. Him and Kimmo Timonen on the same pairing could be one of, if not the best in the East.

* * * 

I didn't mean for this to be this long, and if you made it this far, I applaud you.

Who improved? Tampa, for sure. Probably the Flyers. Other teams just swapped one player for another, getting rid of a Malone for a Satan, or a Sergei Brylin for a Holik. That doesn't necessarily make them a better team, just the same team with different names on the back.

On paper, it appears the Rangers are one of the most-improved teams in the East, if not only by their additions then by their subtractions. That's not to say I didn't love Jagr and Straka and Shanahan, but it will be a completely different team, and that can't hurt.

2008-09 Rangers Schedule...

Every year, when the schedule comes out, I write down all the home games, catergorized by month. I write down who they're playing, the date, and the day of the week. (Okay, I did this last year and I did this today for next season, as well.)

I then award each game 0, 1, 2, or 3 points. When I get my choice of packages, I count up the points, then whichever package has the most points, I get.

Oh, and by the way, I lied to everyone. I will be getting a package this year, if only so I don't lose my place in line in future seasons. See, when I first signed up for a ticket package right after the lockout, I got my choice of anything I wanted, any package (I picked the 7-game plan, now non-existant), any seat (mostly any seat, I picked blue line seats where the Rangers shot twice). The next year, the seats got worse, and last season, they improved, but barely. It's also nearly impossible to upgrade from my current 11-game plan to a half-season or full-season plan. So for those wanting tickets now, there is a wait.

Seven years of futility and a lost season means there's no waiting for tickets. Three straight playoff appearances and a team that isn't in it just for the money means you wait. Take the good with the bad, eh?

Anyway, I only originally gave 4 games 3 points. The home opener versus Chicago; Sean Avery returning with Dallas in October; and the last two home games of the season, against Philadelphia and Montreal.

I then figured out a few dates where Adam Graves' number 9 might be retired, and bumped any 1s to 2s, and 2s to 3s.

A few games got the dreaded "zero points." Those include Devil, Penguin, and Flyer games on Saturdays, when I wouldn't miss going to work and making $250 for a game I could catch any other time.

I remember one game in November of 2006, I had 2 tickets to a Devils game at MSG, and I sold them to a friend. The Rangers were losing 2-0, scored 3 goals in 90 seconds, and won. On my drive home from work, people on Steve Somers' show on WFAN were calling it the greatest regular season game in history. A text message from my friend concurred this non-exaggerated statement.

* * *

As far as road games go, I will be traveling to see the Blueshirts play this year. Probably a Saturday game in Boston, definitely one or two games in Philly (hopefully including the last game of the season). I'll probably go to atleast two games at the Coliseum and one game in Newark. Nice stadium. Frightening area.

Both games in Montreal are weeknights, which is kind of weak. Last year, me and some friends got there on Saturday, saw the Rangers' 5-3 win on Super Bowl Sunday, and came home on Monday.

I won't be going to their California swing, where they play the Ducks and Kings on back to back nights, but it's nice to dream.

Last year, I went to a Wednesday game in Newark, and a Thursday game in Philly. That was a lot of fun, but the schedule doesn't allow that this year.

However, the highlight of my schedule will be going to Nashville for the March 12 game.

Inside the Sommet Center, home of the Predators.

Formerly known as the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

I could probably get front row seats day of the game.