17. November 2008 by critter.

13-5-2:  28 points
Atlantic Division: 1st ~ Eastern Conference: 1st ~ NHL: 2nd

11/10 vs – OT LOSE  2-3:  STATS: GOAL(S) – Paul Mara (1), Chris Drury (6); ASSIST(S) – Callahan (2), Naslund (8), Gomez (10), Girardi (10); GOALIE – Lundqvist – 29 Saves (1/2 in shootout) 

*  The Rangers took way too many penalties, but fought off a couple of 5-on-3 penalty kills and were able to come from behind and get atleast one point.  Unfortunately they weren’t able to capitalize in the shootout, missing all 3 shots.

10. November 2008 by critter.

11/04 vs  – LOSE 1-2:  STATS: GOAL(S) – Markus Naslund (5); ASSIST(S) – Redden, Girardi; GOALIE – Lundqvist – 17 saves 

*  Horrible game.  The Rangers put up 36 shots but couldn’t get anything through until they pulled the goalie for the man advantage with just over a minute left in the game.  The powerplay had several chances but the Rangers kept moving the puck around instead of shooting it on goal, which lead to 2 short-handed goals for the Islanders. 

11/06 vs  – WIN  5-2:  STATS: GOAL(S) – Chris Drury (3, 4, 5), Callahan (5), Marc Staal (1); ASSIST(S) – Zherdev (2), Rozsival (2), Gomez, Redden, Voros, Kalinin; GOALIE – Lundqvist – 36 saves 

*  Solid comeback for the Rangers after the tough loss to the Islanders.  Chris Drury rocks the hat-trick, and the rangers take 3 power-play goals and 1 short-handed goal in the game. 

11/08 vs  – LOSE 1-3:  STATS: GOAL(S) – Aaron Voros (6); ASSIST(S) – Dubinsky, Girardi; GOALIE – Lundqvist – 25 saves 

*  Tough game against a thriving Capitals team.  Alexander Ovechkin was kept off the scoresheet yet again for the Caps, but Alexander Semin kept his dominance going with his 11^th goal and an assist to go with it. 

Looking ahead:

11/10 vs             11/12 @          11/15 vs

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3. November 2008 by critter.

*  Rangers continue unbeaten streak against division opponents.  Passing game was dead on.  Drury finally gets his first goals of the season.*  In the past few days, free agent Mats Sundin has made it clear that he intends to return to the NHL for another season.  The latest star to use the often replicated Roger Clemens routine, is rumored to land with the Rangers or the Canucks.  He’s getting up there, but he’s still got great talent (unfortunately with a heavy paycheck to go with it.  Either team will have to make moves if they want to fit him in).

10/30 vs  - WIN 3-2:  STATS: GOAL(S) – Markus Naslund (4), Nikolai Zherdev (5), Daniel Girardi (2); ASSIST(S) – Mara (2), Staal, Dubinsky, Zherdev, Kalinin; GOAILIE – Lundqvist – 27 saves  

*  Naslund had a power play goal overturned in the 2^nd period.  The power play lines were pretty hesitant on shooting the puck (think to last year when they’d just pass it around until Jagr was ready to shoot) but they came around by the end of the game.  With the win, the Rangers are now 10-2-1, which sets a new franchise mark as the best start to a season in 13 games.*  Between the past two games, all-time great Brendan Shanahan announced that he has informed his agent to start taking offers from ANY team as talks between him and the Rangers have closed (apparently for good).  – The Rangers are off to a great start and to start messing with the roster now would just be silly.  However, down the stretch if the younger guys ever lose their way, Shanny would truly be a great asset to keeping the team in check.  Ah well, look for all Blue & White Shanahan jerseys to start going on sale!!

11/1 @ - LOSE 5-2: STATS: GOAL(S) – Ryan Callahan (4), Blair Betts (2); ASSIST(S) – Girardi, Dawes, Kalinin, Sjostrom; GOALIE – Valiquette - 30 saves 

* The Rangers had kept the Leafs shutout through 2 ½ periods, but late in the 3^rd period (in a span of about 6 minutes) the Leafs tallied all 5 goals to come from behind and win.  
Looking ahead:

11/04 vs             11/06 vs         11/08 @

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27. October 2008 by critter.

8-2-1:  17 points

Atlantic Division: 1st ~ Eastern Conference: 1st ~ NHL: 1st

10/20 vs.  - LOSE 1-2:  STATS: GOAL(S) - Markus Naslund (2); ASSIST(S) - Rozsival, Gomez; GOALIE - Lundqvist 25 saves

 *  Sean Avery’s return was rather dull.  The Rangers tried to hit him hard, he had a good couple of shots and had some shoving instances with Colton Orr.  Overall he was booed every time he touched the puck, and got little cheering from the people who loved him last year.  The one fight he did get into was behind the scenes as he and MSG broadcaster, John Giannone, were reportedly in a scuffle between periods.

10/24 @   - WIN 1-3:  STATS: GOAL(S) - Daniel Girardi (1), Brandon Dubinsky (4), Nikolai Zherdev (3); ASSIST(S) - Zherdev (2), Naslund (2), Girardi, Drury; GOAILIE - Lundqvist 25 saves

 * Nikolai Zherdev returned to his former team for the first time and made them regret letting him go.  Very solid game overall.

10/25  vs. - WIN 3-2 (SO): STATS: GOAL(S) - Markus Naslund (3), Nikolai Zherdev (4); ASSIST(S) - Gomez, Drury, Naslund, Dubinsky; GOALIE - Lundqvist 27 saves & 3/3 in SO.

 *  The Rangers were dead most of the game but turned it on in the 3rd period with a powerplay goal several minutes in, and with the man advantage when they pulled the goalie in the final minute, Zherdev came out of nowhere and tied it up with just 8 seconds left in regulation.  Lundqvist made a few amazing saves in OT and stopped all 3 Penguins in the shootout, while Sjostrom converted yet another SO winner.

 Looking ahead:

10/27 @             10/30 vs.          11/01 @

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20. October 2008 by critter.

10/15 vs. Buffalo Sabres - LOSE 1-3:  STATS: GOAL(S) - Scott Gomez (2); ASSIST(S) - Michal Rozsival, Ryan Callahan

 *  Buffalo raped the Rangers power play and penalty kill as the Rangers gave up their first and second goals on penalty kills.  The rangers also gave up a shorthanded goal while on powerplay in the 3rd period.

 *  The NYR attempt to set a franchise milestone, starting the season 6-0 was abruptly ended.

10/17 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs - WIN 1-0:  STATS: Stephen Valiquette - 20 saves for the shutout.

 * Nikolai Zherdev and Fredrick Sjostrom convert in the shootout to give the Rangers the win!

10/18 @ Detroit Red Wings - LOSE (OT) 5-4: STATS: GOAL(S) - Ryan Callahan (2), Nigel Dawes (1), Aaron Voros (4, 5); ASSIST(S) - Gomez (2), Dubinsky (2), Staal, Kalinin, Rozsival

 Looking ahead:

10/20 vs. Dallas Stars  *Fan favorite, Sean Avery, returns to MSG for the 1st time since signing as a free agent in the offseason.

10/24 @ Columbus Blue Jackets

 10/25 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

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15. October 2008 by critter.

No sillies, this isn’t just a rant about yours truly officially leaving his early twenties….It’s a little tidbit about the New York Rangers being off to heir best start since the 1983-84 season when they went 5-0.

 After taking 2 from the Lightning over in Europe, the Rangers flew past the Blackhawks, Flyers and Devils to reach the 5-0 mark yet again and keep the #1 overall ranking in the NHL.  They’re now a little less than 1/8th of the way to securing a playoff spot already!!!

 The powerplay is clicking, defense has been great, they haven’t given up a powerplay goal yet (which for them is pretty amazing) and all this has been done without their stars even having to contribute much.  The 2nd line of Dubinsky, Zheredev, and Voros has carried the team thus far with points (7, 5, 7 respectively). 

 The Rangers host the Buffalo Sabres tonight in an attempt to be the first NYR squad to start 6-0 in franchise history.  Then they’ll host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday and visit the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

 Hopefully the power line of Drury, Gomez & Naslund will build some better chemistry and take some of the pressure to produce off the #2 line.  But until then, things are lookin pretty good!!

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6. October 2008 by critter.

While the majority of the league was still playing preseason games, the Rangers pulled into first place overall as they played the season opener and a rematch against the Tampa Bay Lightning over in Prague.  Henrik Lundqvist was more than great in back-to-back games only allowing 2 goals total.  Meanwhile Markus Naslund, Wade Redden, Brandon Dubinsky, Scott Gomez added with goals.

 So far the team looks hot.  The passing game was immaculate, the skating strong, and the powerplay has already tallied 2 goals.

 The Rangers host the Chicago Blackhawks in their MSG home opener on Friday, and travel to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Saturday.

OTHER NHL NEWS:

 The Pittsburgh Penguins split back-to-back games with the Ottawa Senators in Sweden.  

As all four teams return home, the rest of the league waits their season openers at the end of the week. 

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29. September 2008 by critter.

Well it’s that time again.  The new NHL season is at our doorstep with lots of league-wide changes.  One of the most noticeable facelifts for the 2008-09 season has to be the New York Rangers.  Their decision to go a different direction and allow both, captain, Jaromir Jagr and his right-hand man, Martin Straka, walk away and sign with the new European “Super League” has led to a shift of “leadership,” dynamic, and talent.  Along with those two stars went fan favorite henchman, Sean Avery.  And with less than a week to go before the puck drops for the regular season, aged veteran and all around leader Brendan Shanahan remains unsigned.

 The Rangers used the new cap space to bring in star defensman, Wade Redden, ex-Canucks captain, Markus Naslund, a young hotshot Nikolai Zherdev, and a good amount of musle in Aaron Voros.  On paper, all great pickups.  But the outcome remains to be seen until these players take the ice together and see if they can mesh well.  It will either be a great lineup that will once again put them in playoff contention, or if they don’t click it can turn into a big mess.

 Overall, I feel the moves give the team much more speed and depth in their bottom lines.  Most importantly the loss of Jagr will boost their powerplay.  For the past several years, the powerplay should have been the Rangers’ strongest feature but instead of moving the puck around and pounding the net, they’ve just been guilty of always feeding the puck to Jaromir Jagr.  Every team just needed to address Jagr and if they held him back they had a great chance at winning.  Without Jagr, the puck will be spread around and the outcomes won’t depend solely on one all-star.

 The Rangers will start the season over in Europe, so to take care of travel, the team played a very packed preseason with 6 games in 8 days.  They only won one game, but like every other sport, preseason consists mostly of young talent playing and trying out to make the team.  Only time will tell.

 The puck drops on October 4th. 

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23. July 2008 by rich.

Josh Childress, a promising young talent who has played for the Atlanta Hawks his entire career thus far,  is following a slow moving trend, and heading overseas to play ball.  He has signed a three-year contract with Olympiakos of Greece.

It started slowly, and it has been both basketball and hockey.  The promise of tax-free money (or the team paying the taxes for you), has enticed some players to leave.  In the NBA the likes of Primoz Brezec, Juan Carlos Navarro, Carlos Delfino, and Bostjan Nachbar have already departed the NBA for greener pastures…Surely a trend the NBA would like to see fade fastly, like a fad…

Notes: No huge names have left the NBA yet, but of note, in the NHL, former Rangers Jaromir Jagr (now of the Avangard Omsk in the Continental Hockey League) and Martin Straka (now of the Czech team HC Lasselsberger Plzen) and former Islander Josef Vasicek (now of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League). Others have left recently, with these being the locals.

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3. July 2008 by critter.

It’s sure as heck gonna be hard to have to watch Sean Avery play for another team and come back to beat up on the Blue Shirts.  He brought tons of life back to the New York Rangers. 

I guess the lucky thing is the likely clearance sale of #16 jerseys…..Now I can save most of the $125 bucks I was putting aside to pick up one of those bad boys.  But still, tears are falling in Thornwood, NY

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