Yes Virginia, The NY Rangers Are The Best Looking Team: Day 1

Being that I tout my site as having some female perspective, and it’s almost the holiday season and that’s the time of giving, I’ve decided to swoon a little and do a 12 Days of Rangers piece. Now, I usually try to steer clear of being too gushy, and try to limit my swooning, but I figure if I spread it out over 12 days, I could live with that.  It's more tolerable in small doses.

Each day for the next 12 days, you’ll be able to swoon over players from what I consider to be, one of the best looking teams in the NHL.

So, without further adieu, I present to you… (sing it with me folks!)

On the 1st day of the Hottest NY Rangers… I give to thee...

Dan ‘The Jaw’ Girardi

Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images

With blue eyes that could melt an iceberg, and a jawline that makes women swoon, Dan Girardi is one of the more attractive men on the team.   He is not only good looking, but he is an absolute BEAST on the ice.  In Staal’s absence, Girardi has absorbed the extra ice time like a roll of Bounty Paper Towels. He is the quicker-picker-upper.  In the past 5 games, he has played no less than 25 minutes a game, while the rest of the D-men average in the low to mid 20 minutes.

NYR fans have done a commendable job of writing in Girardi for the 2011-2012 NHL All Star Game.  Remember, you still can vote to get him in there! and as always, use the #VoteForGirardi when tweeting to help spread the love...

Commence the swooning…

courtesy of NYR

Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Celebrate Good Times... C'mon...

Ok, so maybe celebrating is getting a little carried away now.

"In Soviet Russia we snipe like the KGB"

Here it is in all its sniper - glory...

Whether Anisimov sniped the net or an actual Lightning player, chances are he would have missed as the Rangers usually shoot wide. And plus, Russians are not known for their marksmanship with sniper rifles. Unless they are in the KGB. Which then means Artie has a lot of explaining to do in regards to his shooting the puck.

So, I'm guessing TB got all twitterpated over the fact that Anisimov was going to shoot one of their players. Which is kind of odd.  Because, call me crazy, I think I've witnessed a similar celebration. Which has not, to my recollection,  resulted in a gunshot wound.

What about push-ups post-goal? Isnt that threatening the other team? In a non-verbal way?

Maybe the NHL should make up one of these snazzy vids. You know, to show what acceptable celebrations are and what not. The teams can practice during, well, practice.

But kids, celebrating just ain't for the goal scorer's...

So, yes, I enjoy a good goal celebration. Heck, if a team wanted to flash-mob post-goal to Thiller, I'd be all for it. I see the hilariousness in a joyful celebration, but leave the sniping for the rifle ranges. I'm blaming the sniper faux-pas from Artie on COD. Kids these days and their damn video games...

This blog post was SniperCat approved.

CTE

Props to the NY Times for doing an amazing piece on Derek Boogaard.  They had video, handwritten notes, and a penned piece that can make even the toughest of guys tear up.

It was only after a brain autopsy that Boogaard was diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).  Had Boogaard survived, he would have encountered middle-age dementia in the near future. At age 28, he would find himself in a sliding decline of cognitive function.

CTE, currently, can only be diagnosed post-mortem. There are no clearly defined markers or tests to diagnose this while the patient is alive.  CTE is a degenerative brain disease that closely resembles Alzheimer's disease.  Many repeated blows to the head which result in closed head injuries are believed to be the culprit behind CTE.  Symptoms of  CTE mirror Alzheimer's: lack of insight, poor judgement, vertigo, impaired speech, headaches, dizziness, confusion, disorientation. Sadly, some of those symptoms also are symptoms of concussions, which are becoming more and more prevalent in the NHL.

Makes you look at concussions and hits to the head (intentional or not) in a whole new light.

Hey, incase you hadn’t heard… the NHL has realigned!

Which reminds me, I need to get my tires rotated….

Anyway, Ye Mighty Board o’ Gov’ners  approved what they are calling a ‘radical realignment’ to the current NHL alignment of two conference, six division configuration.  The new 4 somewhat geographically based conference configuration (someone needs to get these guys a good map, cause the one conference is for lack of a better word, really badly configured) that will allow each team to play against every other team twice, once at home and once on the road.  There are 2 - 7 team conferences, and 2 - 8 team conferences.

Yay!  Hold onto that excitement for a moment.

Within each conference, which they have appropriately named Conference A, Conference B, Conference C and Conference D, the teams will play against each other in a certain number of games depending if their conference has 7 or 8 teams. This may call for a flow chart of some sorts to follow.

Then there’s the playoffs with seeding, and reseeding. As long as there is no sowing of wild oats in the playoffs, I think we’re set.

'Tis The Season To Be Jolly

On Tuesday, Dec 6th, if you're in the NY Metro area specifically at MSG in the Theater Lobby from 4-7pm, and have a spare toy or two, make sure to check out the NYR annual Toy Drive and donate your unwrapped toys!

Help make the season brighter for everyone...

Is It Too Early To Plan The Parade?

With the Rangers now with a winning streak in the month of December, we can now start planning the parade, eh?

Miracle on 34th St?

The Rangers have proved that they are capable of stringing together wins, no matter how ugly the win.  The team is starting to show chemistry that is not only evident in the top 2 lines, but has trickled down to the 3^rd line.  With the Rangers have 3 lines clicking, things are starting to flow for the team. Guys like Sean Avery (mark this on your calendars, folks, this is the second time I mention how impressed I am of him. Especially you, @TheNYRBlog!), have shown that they can contribute to the team.  Avery has impressed me as of lately (gasp!) with his smart play (double gasp!) and ability to draw a penalty or two.  Avery also earned bonus points for netting 3 goals in the 12 games since he’s been back up (triple gasp!).  Gaborik has found his legs, and has used them to help create plays and draw penalties as well.  He has also managed to rifle off 95 shots on goal.  Impressive. Richards is showing why he was so sought after this past off-season, leading the team with 22 points, making beautiful passes, creating opportunity and inspiring the young guys. Girardi has been a BEAST on D, soaking up oodles of minutes while awaiting the return of Staal.  McDonagh is an amazing +12.  Young guys Hagelin and Mitchell have made the transition to the Rangers almost seamlessly. Lundqvist and Biron, have had their ups and downs, but together they have proved to be integral parts to the team. Lundqvist and Biron have admirable save percentages so far: .932 and .930 respectively.

"I found my legs, Richie!" 

Now, with all the rainbows and unicorns out of the way, there are some “disappointing” sides to the Rangers.  One glaring one is the lackluster performance of Brandon Dubinsky.  While he has not sat a game, he has not produced as well as many have anticipated. He has one goal and 10 assists, which is a far cry from his 23goal 30 assist season of yesteryear.  There’s also the missing D-man, Marc Staal.  During the beginning of the season, reports on Staal were few and far between, and those that were given were far beyond vague.  But there has been a glimmer of hope when it was announced that Staal has begun skating. Eric Christensen showed that as quickly as you land a roster spot, you can have it yanked out from under you in record time by not playing a solid game, banking on the game going to a shoot out, and then completely failing at a shootout attempt. Sure fire way to get yourself a nice comfy seat in the press box.

Right now, the Rangers find themselves sitting in the #4 slot in the Eastern conference a little over a quarter of the way into the season. With 59 games remaining, if they continue at this pace they have the ability to make the playoffs once again.  I’ll hold off on planning the parade route. For now.

Saving Bobby Ryan

So, last night Bobby Ryan was headed to the Rangers for an assortment of players, food, and EC's pet cockatoo. There was no doubt in almost everyone's mind, including mine, that a deal was imminent. Based on 'reliable sources', the Rangers were one of the top contenders for getting Bobby Ryan, and the Rangers would not have to give up the farm to get him. Which is kind of sad as the Rangers seem to have too many jackasses at times. Jackasses are expendable. But I digress...  I went to bed to the melodic sound of my Twitter notifications on my phone...

I woke up to the news of Bruce Boudreau being named the new coach of the Ducks. Well, is that a trade rumour killer or what? With a new coach in, do the Ducks really want to make a trade as well?