The Battle Of The Hudson Wasn't Really A Battle, Per Se...

The game last night against the Devils was a hard fought game.  The Rangers had some low points and some high points to the game. Am I happy that they lost? No. But these things happen folks...

You can blame it on the officiating, the fact that Richards isn't scoring, Eminger should have dressed in lieu of Bickel or even that McDonagh hasn't registered a point in the past 6 games.  But it's not any of those. The Rangers played a sloppy game. The power play, or lack there of, had 3 chances to capitalize. THREE. But yet again, the power play was ineffective.

There were good scoring chances where the Rangers just couldn't bury the puck. Prust had a good chance to get a shot on goal and shanked it.  As much as the Rangers fans poke fun at Brodeur's weight, you have to give credit to the guy. He's still a good goalie.  Hagelin, again, shows why he's in the lineup. His speed draws penalties.  But it may almost be a moot point if the Rangers can't get the PP working. He also managed to get 4 of the teams 15 shots on goal. Boyle also was good on the face offs - winning 16. Lundqvist, despite taking the loss, was quite good between the pipes, not stellar.  But he also did what he could, aside from scoring goals.

When in doubt, crash the net. Just don't touch the goalie.
Photo Credit: BSU

Then there was the goal, which turned out to be a no-goal.  You could see that Gaborik made an effort of stopping (notice the spray of ice from his skates), but it was ruled that he 'ran' the goalie. You can argue til the cows come home about the goalie interference call on Gaborik as he was pushed into Brodeur, and how the goal should stand... but in all reality, would that mean that the Rangers would have won?

Probably not. They were outplayed most of the game, so going to an overtime and potentially a shoot out, would not really be to their advantage.

So Rangers fans, calm down. It's one game. The NYR are still at the top of the Eastern conference. Take a deep breath and move on.

12 Days of Rangers - Day 10-12 PLUS bonus material

So, since my internets will be spotty over the next few days as TheHubs and I make the 90 million mile trek from ATL to NYC for the Holidays, I'm giving you an early holiday miracle. It's the last 3 entries in the 12 Days of Rangers, plus another post of bonus material.

So, grab your mug o'coffee or hot chocolate and enjoy!

On the 10th day of the hottest Rangers, I give to thee...

Marian Gaby Gaborik

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Oh Mariana ... Ste úžasný človek. Legrační, vtipný, očarujúci a nádherná. jo, a hráte celkompriemerná hra na hokej.

and with that being said....

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Photo Credit: MSG

Moving on to number 11....

On the 11th day of the hottest Rangers, I give to thee...

Henrik 'Henke' Lundqvist

Photo Credit:NYP/GraceHuang

I think I can safely let the photos do the talking...

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Photo found here via GoogleImages

and finally, one that has made his way to my little heart, trumping number 9...

On the 12^th day of the hottest Rangers, I give to thee…

Jeff ‘Wildcat’ Woywitka

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez

Now, putting aside the gosh-awful nickname... my goodness, I never realized how gosh darn beautimous he is...

Photo Credit: NYR Facebook

Photo found via GoogleImages

and as promised, here is some bonus footage...

Mark Streit - NY Islanders

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Chris Porter - St Louis Blues

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Shea Weber - Nashville Predators

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Photo found here via GoogleImages

John Michael Liles - Toronto Maple Leafs

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Photo found here via GoogleImages

Mark Stuart - Winnipeg Jets

Absoluteley adorbs...

Mark Stuart - WPG//Photo found here via GoogleImages

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.

Gaborik and Richards… NHL’s Peanut Butter & Jelly

When I was younger, I loved it when my mom would make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  They went well together, and plus, it was how it was supposed to be done, right?  Well, one day my mom had no jelly (insert gasp here), so I was forced to switch things up.  I scoured the fridge for a replacement. Mayonaisse? Yuck. Mustard? Yuck. Pickles? Gross.  Ham? Ew.  Etc… But hey, I attempted to find a suitable replacement rather than just give up.  So, I sucked it up and ate a peanut butter sandwich. All on its own.  And it was darn tasty. Trust me, there’s a correlation between this and Gaborik and Richards. 

The next day, my mom came home with a jar of jelly.  Now, me being the ingenious person that I am, I thought to myself “Self, if peanut butter and jelly taste good together, and peanut butter tastes good by itself, wouldn’t it stand to reason then that jelly would taste equally as good by itself?”  (I was 10 at the time and perhaps a very forward thinker. Or just really hungry. Either way, I’d consider it genius.)  So, I set upon making a jelly sandwich. And gosh darnit, wouldn’t you know, it was equally as delish as the peanut butter sandwich.  The one great combination of peanut butter and jelly could be divided into two great stand alone sandwiches.

This leads me to dynamic duo of Gaborik and Richards. (Please, don’t attempt to decipher my train of thoughts. Unless you are a qualified professional, then by all means, do so. Pro Bono, of course.)  While they look good together on paper, are they really a good match on the ice together?

Take the game from Ottawa on Saturday. Richards had some pretty nice chemistry with his new linemates, Callahan and Dubinsky.  Specifically, Richards and Callahan seem to have created some good juju between each other.  Gaborik seemed to work well with Stepan and Wolski. Richards and Gaborik each produced 3 points in that game. They each played like they are ‘expected’ to play, just not together.  They generated offense and they made things happen. There was chemistry on each of their lines.  However, on the power play, Richards and Gaborik manage to generate chemistry between each other. Mind boggling.  I was happy to see that Tortorella kept those lines pretty much intact for the next game against the San Jose Sharks.  Although the game had it weak points, those two lines were spot on. They seem more comfortable on separate lines, than on a line together. Less pressure to produce, maybe?  I’m not sure. 

Either way, they’ve proven that together they are good, but separate, they are even better. Like peanut butter and jelly.

Western Canadian RoadTrip: Part One

Can I get a 'hell yeah' for Lundqvist?

Outstanding in the game against Vancouver.  Must've been the sparkly new helmet.

Ooooooh. Sparkly.

Marian Gaborik seems to have returned to being the Marian Gaborik we all hoped he would be.  And by that I mean someone who scores.  Erik Christensen was invisible on the ice, Mike Rupp scored, and the Rangers had more penalty killing opportunities than power play opportunities.  Justifiably so, Lundqvist was given the first star by the New York Rangers for his part in the 4-0 shutout.

Lundqvist's performance also lead to the birth of... the Broadway Hat.  He was awarded the Broadway Hat by Brad Richards for his outstanding play in the win.

I've never wanted to be a hat so badly.  But I digress...

Moving on to the Flames.  Pretty decently played game.  The real Marian Gaborik stood up, and Ryan McDonagh went from the sacrificial goat to hero in mere minutes.  Kris Newbury stood up for Brad Richards, earning him super bonus points in my book. Prust scored one against his old team, and Tim Erixon (also known as 'Jan Erixon's son') was greeted every time he touched the puck with a resounding chorus of BOO's in B flat minor.  Oh, and the Broadway Hat made it's way to Prust.  I'm not quite sure why.  The Hat works in mysterious ways.

The Rangers have 2 more games in good ol' Canada: one Saturday against Edmonton, and one Monday against Winnipeg.  Then, the long awaited return to the fancy new MSG on October 27th against the Leafs.