Rangers Lose 8-5...

Devils leading 5-1, Rangers storm back, lose 8-5.

I didn't watch much of the game because of work, but, hey, at least the Rangers are capable of scoring 5 goals in a game.

A Case for Mats Sundin...

In years prior, the Rangers would sign big-name contracts to big-name deals and would get nothing in return. Eric Lindros, injured and slow, would play like Brett Lindros. Pavel Bure played like Pavel Bure for 51 games before his knees wouldn't let him skate. Alex Kovalev never played up to his potential on his return-trips to Broadway, Bruce Driver didn't do much as a Ranger, Bobby Holik got paid 1st-line money even though he was a checking-line player, and when he played the checking line role, he got dumped on. 

The list goes on and on of people who gladly accepted money from the Rangers and didn't produce. Kevin Stevens, Val Kamensky, Matt Schneider, etc., etc., etc.

Mats Sundin is a different breed. If he wanted the money, he would be in Vancouver and taking 20 million of their dollars until next season is over.

Yet, he wants the prize. He wants a Stanley Cup.

Many people - me included, and hopefully him as well - think the Rangers are a few parts short of contending. They have a Top 3 goalie and some good quick forwards. Their defense is questionable-at-best, but if they employ Tom Renney's system, they can mask their flaws and Henrik Lundqvist can do the rest, much like they did at the beginning of this season and most of last.

Now, is Sundin an aging superstar? Obviously, but isn't everyone? His stats have never wavered. The last time he didn't have 72 points or more in a season? 1994-95 when the strike shortened the season, and he had 47 points in 47 games.

Since the lockout, he has averaged over a point per game, which would make him easily the most proficient Ranger on a roster where someone gets hot for 5 games then cold for three weeks. See: Chris Drury, and his 5G, 1A week in November, and his 4 points since then. 

He is a leader in the Brendan Shanahan-mold, except he isn't so injured that he becomes useless like Shanahan was from January to May of 2008. He is big, he takes up room around the net, and two players flock to him, leaving another player open.

He is the equivalent of Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06, before hip and shoulder injuries bested him.

I'm not going to pontificate on who the Rangers should trade or waive to make more cap room (although if I were Dmitri Kalinin, I would certainly keep a suitcase on hand). But the point remains, Sundin for one year makes a whole lot of sense for the Rangers.

Barry Melrose

By now, everyone has heard Barry Melrose's infamous soundbites in which he went off on his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. A lot of people are saying he's bitter about being fired; I'm sure that's certainly part of it. But the other part is that he seems to be right about everything.

Imagine for a second you got fired from your job. How would you feel? Would you wish your company the best? Would you hope your successor does a better job? Of course not! You'd pray for that company to go into bankruptcy and curse the person that takes your old position. So why is it not okay for Barry Melrose to say he hopes the Lightning don't win another game all year?

On Hockey Night in Canada on Sirius yesterday, one of the hosts was talking about how people complain when players and coaches aren't honest, yet those same people are the first to rip someone who's candid. And they're exactly right. When the Islanders parted ways with Ted Nolan, I didn't want to hear all this lovey-dovey crap about how it was a "mutual decision" and how each wished the other luck. I wanted the truth. Here's a situation where the truth is being laid out right before us, and people would rather criticize Barry Melrose for speaking his mind than consider what he's saying. Because the evidence is mounting that he wasn't far off at all.

The Lightning, picked by many to be the annual worst-to-first team in the East, have lost eight games in overtime/shootout this season. This suggests that the Lightning aren't as bad as their record indicates. However, since Rick Tocchett replaced Melrose, the Lightning have won only one game. More than that, Tocchett is getting fed up himself, suggesting that any player who is not ready to play will find himself in the press box. Sure, every coach says that, but Tocchett is getting what could be his only chance as a head coach, and he's not going to let the players ruin it for him. So when Melrose made his comments to ESPN immediately after being fired that he didn't get the effort he expected from his team and followed that up by saying he only cared about a handful of players on his team, he might have sounded bitter. That is, until you realize that Tocchett is going through the same thing.

The moral of the story? Be thankful you're not a Lightning fan. Even us Islanders fans can feel secure that our team isn't as messed up as the team in Tampa Bay. Oh, and if the media is going to criticize the Islanders for giving Rick DiPietro a 15-year deal every time he pulls a muscle, maybe it's time to start calling out Tampa's own "lifetime contract" man, Vincent Lecavalier, for not doing something to stop the chaos on his team.

***

Some real quick self-promotional stuff. Yes Islanders is doing a Best Islanders Blog poll and we're one of the nominees. We don't expect to come close to winning this thing, but it's pretty cool to be considered. Feel free to go to the site and vote. They've also provided us with a neat little banner which can be found on the right side of the page. We'll also be part of the running when The NHL Arena starts Round 2 of its Battle of the Blogosphere sometime soon.

Lastly, I'll be guest blogging at Puck The Media on Friday in case anybody is interested in stopping by.

Saturday Night At The Coliseum

It's kind of late news now, but I wanted to share my thoughts about the Islanders-Thrashers "game" on Saturday. I put the word "game" in quotes because it was anything but; by the time the evening was over, the Islanders were getting blown out and found themselves resorting to taking cheap shots and instigating fights.

I'm a pretty big fan of what Scott Gordon has done so far in his tenure as Islanders head coach. But Saturday was one of those nights where I scratched my head, wondering if he was really as good as the press says he is. First, he went with Joey MacDonald. MacDonald, in case you haven't noticed, has started sixteen straight games for the Islanders. In the last five of those sixteen, he's allowed five, five, two, four, and five goals. Gee, you think he might be tired? You can't just take a career backup and throw him out there for a consecutive month of games. And yet, that's exactly what Gordon has done. Wasn't this the same franchise who swore they were going to rotate the goalies better this year? Or did that all go out the window when Rick DiPietro went down? Yann Danis has played exactly one game this year. It's hard to expect much from a backup when he never, ever plays.

Getting back to Saturday night, the Isles came out firing on all cylinders, playing much of the first period very well. We had ourselves a nice, physical hockey game. There weren't a ton of goals; there didn't need to be. It was a defensive-minded hockey game that had its share of big hits and good chances. However, once Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the second period, the Islanders stopped playing their game. Suddenly, they were trying to make the perfect play, which is something they don't do very well. Worse than that, though, they stopped hitting. Blake Comeau threw some nice checks, but that was about it. This was in stark comparison to the first period, when the Islanders hit everything that moved.

Then, in the third, everything devolved. The Islanders became completely unglued and started trying to hurt people. Or do you suppose it's a coincidence that Gordon threw Nate Thompson, Tim Jackman, Andy Sutton, and Brendan Witt out there as a four-man penalty kill unit? It seemed like Jackman was tapping an opposing player on the shins with his stick every other second. Witt was going after players with reckless abandon. Even Joey MacDonald came out to the f'ing blue line to play a puck down four goals in a game the Islanders had no chance of winning. All in all, it was an embarrassing display, one that has no place in hockey.

This isn't a seven-game series. This is a regular season game between two teams in the league's basement. What message are you trying to send? I'm sure the players were frustrated, which is fine, but it's no excuse to send your goons out there and try to start fights. But then again, discipline wasn't exactly the Islanders' strong suit on this night. At one point, Tim Jackman engaged Chris Thorburn in a fight while the Islanders were in the Thrashers' zone. Someone had actually just taken a shot on goal a second before the fight started.

What's more important - scoring goals or starting fights? Apparently, Gordon went with the latter; he himself got a bench minor for abuse of official. And even that didn't stop him from sending his goons out there to start something. This, despite barely playing Mitch Fritz when he was on the team, especially after the Frans Nielsen-Mike Mottau incident. You'd think Gordon, who came from the more physical AHL, would know the right time to start a fight. Apparently, you'd be wrong.

It's sad when you can't beat the Atlanta Thrashers at home on a Saturday night. But it's even more sad when you completely stop trying to win and just try to beat people up instead. And with four games coming up this week, now would be a good time for the Islanders to remember what worked for them in November. It wasn't passive play followed by thuggery. It was solid play and great goaltending. Maybe - just maybe - it's time to sit MacDonald and let Yann Danis have a chance to play. But that's probably too much to ask.

3 on 3 NHL Arcade

For those of you who are sick of NHL 09 already - and we really don't know how that's possible - consider yourselves relieved. EA announced today that it's working on a game called 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, to be released sometime in February. In essence, it's an NBA Jam-esque game in the vein of Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, NHL Hitz, and NHL Open Ice. Three-on-three hockey with no rules to speak of. Sounds like fun!

Speaking of EA and NHL 09, just wanted to share this in case anybody hadn't heard. If you've played through a full Be A Pro season (or, if you're like me, simmed to the end of one), you might have seen a goalkeeper named Sabrina Ladha taking home some serious hardware. You also might have wondered exactly who the hell Sabrina Ladha is. Well, apparently, she's a sick young girl who's a member of the Make A Wish Foundation whose wish was to be a goalie in NHL 09. Judging by her 98 overall rating, I'd say that wish was a pretty good one. And after doing some more digging around, it turns out that EA has done this for a number of years now. I'd forgotten all about Zachary Priest from NHL 06 until tonight, when I discovered that he was the Make A Wish kid from that year's game. Say what you want about EA and their quest for global domination, but this is a pretty cool thing they're doing. I'll give them props for this one.

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. 

Disaster in Montreal...

Jeez, do they really miss Blair Betts that much?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * * 

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

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

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

Ouch

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

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

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

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

Brian Burke: Nice Guy?...

A few days ago, my counterpart, Islanders blogger Bryan, wrote about how he respects Brian Burke.

Well, yesterday, Burke went on NHL Live (XM 204/Sirius 208/NHL Network) and made some incredible comments about Sean Avery referring to the girl who slept with Luke Wilson in Old School as "sloppy seconds." Incredible in the sense that I'm amazed he actually believes what he said.

First off, he found Avery's comments "personally offensive." I was not aware that he was such good friends with Elisha Cuthbert to take personal offense at Avery saying that she has dated other hockey players besides #16.

He then, for some reason, threw Fedor Fedorov and Terrell Owens under the bus. Interesting.

He also doesn't "think it should be acceptable" that Avery should make comments like he did.

For the record, Avery's comments to a bunch of Canadian reporters have generated more press for the game in America than Burke going from Anaheim to Toronto. Most common Americans don't even know who Brian Burke is.

I'm not defending Avery in what he said, just his right to say it. He was being smug, he was being stupid, he did it for attention, and he did it to stir up the other team. He probably didn't think it through and shouldn't have even said it in front of the press. He should've just said something to Dion Phaneuf after a whistle and tried to draw a retaliation penalty.

However, it baffles me why this would personally offend Burke. After all, this is the same man who, as GM of the Vancouver Canucks, dismissed the severity of Steve Moore's broken neck when his goon Todd Bertuzzi (whom he later signed in Anaheim) jumped him from behind and punched his paralyzed and bloody body on the ice. He said Bertuzzi's punishment was too severe.

Bertuzzi wound up getting 13 games for ending Moore's career. Avery has already been suspended 2 games and will likely receive more (I'm guessing 5 total) for saying a non-NHL entity has had more than one boyfriend.

Right now, Avery's comments are apparently on par with Mike Mottau headhunting Frans Nielsen and injuring him for 3-4 months, as they both have received suspensions of two games.

This makes me so angry that I cannot properly express it. It's reasons like this that the NHL is considered a joke, and if Gary Bettman was serious about the league gaining popularity, he would suspend those who injury on purpose and not those who put the league's name on ESPN's SportsCenter.

It's crap like this that makes me want to give up on the NHL.

Notes From the Garden, 12/3/08...

A solid night overall at a packed Madison Square Garden. Lots of people there tonight, including most of the lower bowl where tickets are always sold but the businesses that own them rarely show up. Apparently all it takes to get people there is a Staal Family Rivalry.

- I don't see as much of the Western Conference as I would like to, but from what I see, one of the only people in the NHL better at handling the puck than Nikolai Zherdev is Evgeni Malkin. Zherdev was a true magician out there tonight, and on no less than 3 occasions wowed the audience, but Malkin is incredible as well, causing the guy next to me to say "Wow" to himself for 65 seconds.

- Dmitri Kalinin should, once again, never have become a defenseman. He pinches more than an Asian businessman at a strip club, and would make a better 4th line winger than a crummy 6th defender.

- Jaromir Jagr shooting from the right faceoff circle in 2005 is much, much more intimidating that Chris Drury shooting from the left faceoff circle in 2008.

- In a stunning show of solidarity with the NHL and Gary Bettman, the referees were strongly rooting for the Penguins today. With no double-minor penalties to avoid (like Game 5 last year when Drury had a blade-shaped cut on his face and the ice had to be cleaned of his blood while no penalty was called), one of the zebrae actually ran into a Ranger during what would've been a breakaway. I'm interested in listening to the replay of the game to hear how Sam and Joe play off the "A**hole" chants.

- The Rangers should have blasted Danny Sabourin. When they pressured him in the 3rd, good things happened, and they could've had more than 1 goal if they knew how to finish. Once it went to a shootout, you knew the Rangers would win because Sabourin wouldn't be able to stop Markus Naslund, Zherdev, and Freddy Sjostrom.

- That said, the Rangers managed 5 shots in the 1st period. They were credited with 6, but the 6th was a dump as they were leaving the zone on a line change. Five shots, 20 minutes. That's a shot every 4 minutes. What was happening the other 3:59?

- Petr Prucha's emotional goal was an incredible moment that goes down as one of my favorite in-person hockey memories. His goal in his first game back after being scratched for 10 (and refusing a conditioning assignment) ranks up there with these post-lockout goals...

    :: Jed Ortmeyer's shorthanded penalty shot against Boston, his first goal since returning to the lineup after being out for half a season with pulmonary embolism.

    :: In the 14th round of a shootout against the Capitals, the Rangers were down 3-2, and Jason Strudwick had a beautiful wrist shot to keep the shootout going, setting up Marek Malik's between-the-leg game winner.

    :: Brendan Shanahan's breakaway goal for his first goal in his first game as a Ranger, his second goal of the game that was his 600th career tally, and Jagr's goal :29 into the game during the 2006-07 season opener vs. the Capitals.

- If Wade Redden is known as a first pass defenseman, Michal Rozsival is a pass-first defenseman. 

- Prucha was buzzing all night and the crowd was rooting for him. He missed a nearly-open net in the 2nd period, but had a good game otherwise. Tom Renney must've liked what he say, because he was getting double-shifted too, being put on the 4th line with Blair Betts and Sjostrom at times. Brandon Dubinsky played well too, and Renney had a lot of confidence in the Voros-Dubi-Prucha line.

- When Scott Gomez stole the puck with 11 seconds left in the 3rd period and rushed up ice with Naslund and Zherdev, the whole Garden thought they were going to put it in the net. They almost did.

- I've never seen a standing ovation from a check before, but when Marc Staal rocked Sidney Crosby (who should've had a penalty against Colton Orr as well when Brooks Orpik took his 4 minute penalty) in the extra frame, the crowd spontaneously stood up and cheered. I assume nobody chanted because his name doesn't sound good in a chant. (Try it.)

- Sign me up as someone who loves the shootout, if only because I hated ties with a passion. Nothing was worse than sititng through a game and having it be a 2-2 tie. Here, atleast someone gets an extra point. If it's your team, great, if not, well, you still get a point. They only time I hate shootouts is in March and April when everyone clamps down and we see 3-point games everywhere when the Rangers are fighting for a playoff spot and Boston and Pittsburgh each get points.

I know people hate on the shootout, but for me, it could be a shootout, it could be a game of Three Post (where you take out the goalie and have to hit both posts and the crossbar to win), it could be an accuracy contest like in the Skills Competition, whatever, as long as there are no ties.

- Great resiliency today by the Rangers. They went down 2-0, and while they didn't play incredibly well, they did fight back. Prucha had a great game and deserves his spot back instead of Dan Fritsche. They had no goats today in the lineup on offense. Everyone contributed, from Betts and Orr to Lauri Korpikoski and Ryan Callahan.

Rangers-Pens 3rd Period Live Blog

Well, I always wanted to play around with Cover It Live, and I wanted to watch the Rangers tonight... so why not combine the two?

Sean Avery Suspended for Free Speech...

Last year, Chris Pronger stomped - yes, stomped - on Ryan Kesler's face. The dirty player, glorified by the NHL Network and nearly every hockey pundit out there, received 8 games as a punishment. 

It was his 8th time being suspended.

Today, Sean Avery referred to all-around nice guy (is my sarcasm evident online?) Dion Phaneuf's girlfriend as "my sloppy seconds." He was suspended "indefinitely" because of conduct "detrimental to the League or game of hockey." My guess is it will be a 5-game suspension and he will be fined.

Uh, it's true, isn't it? Kim Bauer went to Phaneuf right after she broke up with Avery. One Canadian hockey player to the next. Sounds like sloppy seconds to me. She went from Avery to Long Island native Mike Komisarek to Phaneuf with barely enough time for a shower.

Here's the full text, said in Canada, where apparently they don't have freedom of speech like the States do...

"I am really happy to be back in Calgary, I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don't know what that's about. Enjoy the game tonight."

Suspended indefinitely for speaking his mind and neither cursing nor threatening a player. Apparently, it would have been less dangerous for him to step on someone's face with a skate blade (8 games), or elbow Dean McAmmond's head (1 game) after he was suspended for elbowing Thomas Holmstrom's head from behind (1), or kick Ville Nieminen with his skate (also 1 game), or cross-check Brendan Morrow in the face (2), or swing a stick at Jeremy Roenick's helmet (4 games). Maybe he should have fractured Pat Peake's thyroid cartilige when he swung his stick at his neck (Pronger received 4 games).

Oh, but calling the star of The Girl Next Door sloppy seconds is a heinous act.

Maybe the NHL was too busy reviewing Mike Mottau's vicious hit on Frans Nielsen and the subsequent 2-game suspension to actually hear what Avery heard. 

A Couple Of Thoughts

 - It's sort of old news at this point, but I caught Brian Burke's introductory press conference with the Toronto media on NHL On The Fly on Sunday. At first, I was a bit put off by the whole Burke situation. I mean, the whole world knew he was going to Toronto once his contract was up, and yet he ended up in Toronto before December 1. I guess Anaheim didn't want to delay the inevitable, but it was a little strange how it all worked out. Besides, it's always a bit annoying to see Toronto get what they want.

In any event, Burke spoke to the media and completely blew me away. Just about everything he said was impressive, but there were two things that stood out. First, he made a point to say his players would be more involved in the community than ever before. Now, we're pretty lucky in that both the Islanders and Rangers are very active in charity and volunteer work, so we don't know how it works in cities where players barely do anything besides show up for games. It's nice to see a general manager recognize the importance of his players being active in the community. The second thing struck an even bigger chord. He mentioned how the NHL has a holiday trade freeze so that no players can be moved during Christmas. He then went on to say that he doesn't believe in trading players at all during the holiday season in general and that he wouldn't be making any transactions between December 7 and the start of 2009. This isn't because he needs to see what he has with the Maple Leafs, but because he doesn't think it's fair for a player to be uprooted and moved during the holiday season.

After hearing that second point, I remembered that Brian Burke is the same GM that released Ilya Bryzgalov last season rather than have Bryzgalov sit behind J.S. Giguere. Burke knew he could probably get a decent package of players or picks, but he also knew Bryzgalov wasn't going to be staying in Anaheim and he wanted to make sure Bryzgalov would end up in a decent situation. You could make the argument Burke is getting back the same generosity thanks to the precedent he set with the Ducks. And by all accounts, Burke made the move back East for the right reason, to be with his family. Hard to argue with that one.

Long story short, while the Toronto Maple Leafs are still a loathsome franchise, they became a little less so with the hire of Brian Burke. Now let's see how Burke gets rid of the Leafs' awful contracts and barren farm system.

 - Sean Avery made headlines today by making a comment about his, as he said, "sloppy seconds". The remark was made in reference to Dion Phaneuf, whose Calgary Flames are facing Avery's Dallas Stars as we speak. Phaneuf, of course, is dating Avery's ex-flame Elisha Cuthbert. Avery's punishment was not getting drilled by Phaneuf; instead, he's been suspended indefinitely.

This raises a couple of issues in my mind. First, Mike Mottau cheapshots Frans Nielsen and knocks him out for 2-3 months, yet only gets two games. Now, Avery is suspended indefinitely for making a crack to the media? OK, it's a really funny crack, but still. Second, it looks like Dallas is already regretting the Avery deal. Reports are that he's not very popular in the clubhouse; he also has a "limited no-trade clause". But the third is the thing that really gets me. We've barely heard a peep about hockey from the major sports media so far this year. Just about the only thing anybody talks about is the possibility of Barack Obama attending the Winter Classic. Of course, Avery opens his mouth, gets suspended, and it's the top story everywhere. You think it's possible for the NHL to get some positive attention ever? Of course not. That'd be too easy. But when something bad happens, it's the perfect opportunity for the major sports media to bash hockey and say things like, "This is why we don't pay more attention to the NHL." Meanwhile, Plaxico Burress shoots himself in the leg and nobody can stop talking about it. Go figure.

So there you have it. Maybe if the media didn't take the obvious story about Avery and dug a little deeper, they'd see some real good out there. Like the new Toronto GM a few paragraphs up. You think you're ever going to hear a story on ESPN about any GM in any other sport who won't make trades during the holidays out of fairness to his players? No way. Our game is a great one. It's a shame most people refuse to see it that way.

The Reason I Don't Hate the Islanders...

Last year, I'll admit it, I hated the Islanders. They also beat the Rangers in a few games I was at (including a stinker at the Coliseum in the beginning of the year and a shootout in the Rangers last home game of the season), while this year I haven't been to any Rivalry games yet. They also had Ted Nolan, Chris Simon, Sean Hill, and Rick DiPietro. 

This year, all 3 are gone. Their replacements are first-time NHL coach Scott "Flash" Gordon (anyone see that video of him from Boston College in 1985?), Rangers cast-off Mitch Fritz (I mean, I guess he's the enforcer of the team, right?), someone who actually belongs in the NHL as a defenseman, and Joey MacDonald.

You can't really hate any of those guys. And to be honest, I never hated Nolan, but he did annoy me a lot, and I do like Gordon a lot better.

MacDonald is the main reason I don't hate them this year. He comes out to play every game, except that Boston game where he just collapsed. He also never complained about playing time in Boston or Detroit and he never complained about being stuck in the AHL last year because of the waiver wire.

Kudos to the NHL for giving him 3rd star of November. Although he might not have deserved it with his stats alone - the NHL curiously only lists his games played, shots faced, and minutes played and not his save percentage or goals against average - he definitely has the heart and he's a hell of a team player.

However, while he might be the reason I don't hate the Islanders this year, that all might go down the drain if I see Andy Sutton take a run at Brandon Dubinsky or if Brandon Witt cheap shots Henrik Lundqvist or if DiPietro returns or if some stupid fan passes out photocopies of the hooker who someone said was bought by Sean Avery. If Avery can sleep with Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) or Catherine Keener, he doesn't have to pay.

17-8-2?...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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