Some Thoughts on the Rangers/Flyers and Rangers/Hurricanes. . .

Okay, playing some catchup. And don't feel like doing five of anything, so just some random thoughts. . .

On the Flyers:

So treked to Philly, in the snow. Treked back from Wachovia Center, in the snow. A lot of snow. ;) Arena I'd say had 9,000 about, regardless of the 19,000 announced attendance. It was emtpy, pretty quiet, and a pretty quiet game too. Two or three mini scrums, but nothing like the Rangers/Flyers games we know and love.

But the Rangers won, so that was good. And if you've never, and do have the chance to go, people at Wachovia are overall very nice. Concession people, parking lot people. And the fans. I've never felt out of place or like I was going to get my face punched in for wearing other colors. Which, for a game in Philly, is pretty good, don't you think? ;)

Shame this was the first game of the season between the two. When they were both dwelling in the bottom of the conference, amid pretty un-impressive stretches of games. Because to see the two teams firing on all cylinders and then win, that would be saying a lot more of the win. But you take the win on the road, and move on.


On the Canes:

How nice is it to have fan (read: my!) favorite Rangers back in good graces. Marc Staal has looked much more comfortable as of late. And that makes me happy. Marc - you go the way you have to go, pave your own way. You are 22! Plenty of years to live up to all the promise and, call me biased, I think he's already a very, very good defenseman. He just needs to take one thing at a time, because, for the most part, he doesn't get a ton of help on every occasion.

Important the Rangers penalty kill is making some ground, because they keep taking penalties. Although only 3 on the night.

Gaborik had 6 - count'em 6 - shots on goal and his league leading 25th goal of the season! Go Gaby Go! It was also his 15th multi-point game of the year as well for those keeping track.



Overall:

The Rangers may not be good team. But on any given night, you look to find ways to win. That's what these last three games have been (although if they had lost to the worst team in the league, I'm not sure what that would have been saying...) It's important. Step by step. They have to build confidence and get some points some ways.

I'm more curious who shows up on Wednesday, at home, at a place once kind to the NYRs, but now a place they haven't won at since Columbus came to town.

Time will tell.

Around the League: One Reason You Should Never Leave a Game Early. . .

Carolina scores on Martin Brodeur with .2 seconds left on the clock to win the game, 4-3, and tie the series at 2 games a piece.

WOW!

I wasn't watching the game at that moment because I was watching CBC After Hours in game during the Blues/Canucks intermission when PJ Stock broke this news. Damn...

And apparently Marty went nuts because of the "bump" before hand. Well, video clearly shows that he was - outside the crease.

What did I tell you a few days ago about goalie interference and the ever growing controversies that are born in playoffs? - both those that are legitimate and those that are self-created by a team on the wrong side of them OR by the referees.

It's going to be an interesting playoffs.


Other league notes:

I am sadly starting to realize my pick of the upstart first-time Blue Jackets knocking out the defending champion Wings is not going to come to fruition.

Two things have happened here.

Apparently the only player that remembers how to score for Columbus is RJ Umberger.

And apparently someone told Detroit that the first round of the playoffs on their way to the Final actually does count.

Next year, Columbus, next year. Still a big statement year and my bet is on Mason going home with at least one piece of hardware.


Unfortunate loss for the Flyers. I am now wishing more than ever they had won Game 2. Fleury was a beast tonight, further hammering in the fact that he is really THAT good when he wants to be.

Four Games (or More) in Rangerland. . .

I am not really sure what to say about tonight's game. I think the game kind of speaks to the season on a whole, no? Lack of powerplay production and brief lapses in judgement come back to cost the team.

The powerplay has been absymal for an entire season, or two, or three. (But who's counting.) It had a short revival under Tortorella but has since slipped back into its Renney-like ways. I don't even know what to do to correct it, but...it's been a problem for too long. And if the Rangers fail to make the second season, it will be a BIG reason why they do not.

I was listening to a Coyotes broadcast (what, who, me?) and they discussed special teams index. How you add a team's PP and PK numbers to get their STI#. The Rangers - last I checked - were 1st on the penalty kill, and 29th on the powerplay. That makes their STI# a 30 and puts them right smack in the middle of the league. The worst score would be 60. And the best would be 2.

Now, I don't know about you, but I think I'd gladly give up the #1 penalty kill unit for some powerplay production and average out around #10 for each, making a STI# of 20. Anything has got to be better than this.

I talked to my father and said the Rangers have the worst schedule to end the season of anyone in the league. He asked who scheduled the games that way. A fair question, but in this case, a mute point. (Come on, who didn't think the home and home against Philly to close the season was a brilliant idea in October? I thought it would be exciting. I now think I'll be physically ill come April 12th.) However brilliant it once seemed, it does not look so nice, however, when this team, I would guess, needs to win 3 out of its four remaining games, and every game looks like the hardest of the year.

Disaster. They are primed for potential disaster.

What's worse - they put themselves there. With a two month mental break in the middle of the season and one too many la-de-da games against teams they could have and should have beaten cleanly.

I'm not going to say this team is done. They probably played the hottest team in the league right now tonight and they remained close to them until the end. They may have lost this game anyway just because Carolina, is indeed, better.

Perhaps they'll get lucky and win big on Saturday. They may yet surprise us all. Or maybe, instead, only 2 wins will be needed to secure a playoff berth.

But, the point remains, that for a team that started as well as they did, they probably never thought this was going to happen. It shouldn't have happened.

Not blowing that 3 goal lead in Atlanta last week would have been good about now, no?

Not blowing that 4-0 lead against Washington before Christmas would have been good now too!

The points all matter!!

But we can't go back. Well, scratch that, we can and certainly will disect this team's many missteps when the season does end, but they can't. They have to look forward, to four of the toughest games of the year. All must wins for them.

Four games (or more) in Rangerland. . .



Around the League/Yotes:

So last night former Rangers first round draft pick, Al Montoya, did something that is rarely done in the NHL. He not only got the win for Phoenix in his first ever NHL start, but he posted his 1st NHL shutout in the process.

Last person to do so - Mike Smith in 2006 when he was with Dallas, against the Coyotes ironically.

But just how rare are shutouts for some? Apparently Coyotes color analyst Darren Pang never had one in his entire career.

It took Al Montoya only 60 minutes.

Congratulations to him. When the players gathered to congratulate him, he got healthy hugs and taps from everyone, but bigger ones from Yandel, Boedker, Bryzgalov, Dawes, and captain Shane Doan.

I paid particular attention to Dawes's reaction because they must have seen a lot of each other in Hartford. Dawes, it looked like, had a lot of things to say to him.

But my favorite was from captain Shane Doan.

Now I have admired that guy for a while, probably since the whole unjustified French-Canadian backlash he saw back in 2007 at the World Championships. The guy is first class - a great hockey player, leader, and captain. I think he's a perfect guy for the young guys on this team to look up to.

His reaction was his typical - good humored laughter and smiles. Montoya must have been tense; he said he didn't relax until 3 seconds to go and the empty net goal that Phoenix was able to secure. But here you have one of the most highly respected captains in the game, giving you hugs and laughing with you like he's your best friend in the world. It was a great thing to see and put a smile on my face too.

Now for those of you that would say, oh well, it's against Colorado and they aren't a good team. Fine. Yes. But they all count and he looked very poised in making his 23 stops. Goalies can get shutouts when teams only get 11 shots on. They all count, folks.

And for those who are like, flash in the pan, he never worked in New York, or whatever else there is to say. Look. There are all types of fans. I choose to be happy for former Rangers who find good elsewhere - unless I never liked them anyway, or they are in direct competition with the Rangers now. Al Montoya ended up behind Hank on the depth chart here. I'd rather have Hank, make that very clear. So why not be happy that a guy that we touted is doing well somewhere else, if he wasn't going to get the chance to play here.

Same reason I am happy to see Jamie Lundmark do well in Calgary. Not everyone progresses at the same pace. Not everyone sees perfect opportunities right away. I'm glad to see them both where they are this year.

Once again. Kudos Al!

"A Little Bit Too Good For Our Own Good". . .

Last night's Rangers game was about as middle of the road as they come for me. Perhaps a little more on the positive side - perhaps - but overall nothing horrific, nothing spectacular. Which for the Rangers coming off an All-Star break, I will gladly take.

First of all, however, Valiquette deserves props for a very solid game played. I've stated before, I always want that guy to get wins, because he deserves the time he earns and he is a very important component of this team. I personally wish he'd play more so that all the pressure of playing a defensive team game does not fall soley on Hank. Regardless, as soon as I saw Vali in net, I was again reminded how I wanted the team to have a good game behind him.

And they did. Make no mistake. You'd think I'd be more, umm, positive in my reponse here, but I'll be honest. I'm still a little annoyed/confused over the lineup decisions. I'm still very concerned about this team's lack of goal scoring. And I'm definitely not ready to say that this team is beyond the "smoke and mirrors" show I know they have been pulling the majority of the year. That's the truth. I care too much about this team to lie about it.

However. . .

The Good:

Besides Vali, a few other players had very good games. Gomez, I must say, seemed to have returned back refreshed from the break. I don't even think he was physically refreshed as much as mentally refreshed. And that can make a big difference. It was a relief to see him, and Naslund - another player with a good game - skate in synch. Finally.

Yes, time is needed for these things. Surely, I understand that. Gomez was quoted as saying it took him half a year to get on track with Gionta and Elias when he was in New Jersey.

That's, umm, . . .good. It's just not good if you are THE guy expected to generate the bulk of the offense for this team. I mean better late than never, but I'm going to continue being honest.

I love Callahan. I am just not sure he is that missing piece on the Naslund/Gomez combo that Renney so desperately wants to have together. (And again, I'll pause to say, if the two of them play like they did the last two games, for the next twenty, I'll be both surprised and thrilled. And I'll shut up about Gomez not being able to play with anyone). Of course, perhaps Callahan will be the role player he's always been and chip in on offense when he can.

I just still get the feeling the whole team is a bunch of guys "chipping in on offense" when they can.

Besides that, the team was pretty defensively responsible last night which is always a breathe of fresh air. Although, admittedly, I think they seem to like showcasing their #1 league ranked PK. Rangers took four, and Carolina took two minors.

The Bad:

It's not even bad so much as it's beginning to become a pattern. Not a half minute after the Rangers scored a BIG goal to go up 3-1, the Rangers gave up a goal to Carolina to bring the score back up to 3-2. It's happened a lot. Just like those minor-league-inspired too many men penalties the Rangers always seem keen on taking. Those are all mental things. I'm sure it's possible the Hurricanes came out angry and wanting to score after the Rangers goal...but...don't you really think it was a little more the Rangers still caught up in their own victory song?

I don't know. I really don't. I mean if months from now after a successful playoff run (the word "successful" is up for interpretation), the Rangers have not changed these things and they didn't seem to matter in the long run, then fine. I mean when I read the record for shorthanded goals in a season was last accomplished by the Colorado team that WON the Cup, I said, okay, well maybe too much is made of details.

But you'd have to be an idiot to ignore those details. You certainly don't have to fixate on them (although the coaches damn well should), but I wouldn't ignore them.

Look at this:

"There was a stretch where our third forward was leaving the zone early, looking for the breakout. That's not us. I think we went through a period where we thought we were a little bit too good for our own good, but now we've gotten our game back." - Steve Valiquette

"A little bit too good for our own good."

That's a very telling quote. Very. As much as we rip Renney for his desire to and pushing of winning games 2-1 - and trust me I do! - it's amazing how this entire team has bought into the feeling they have to be THAT team. That low scoring, win by total team defense team.

And maybe, given the group the Rangers have, that is absolutely spot on.

BUT when I see them not utilizing the offense I know they do have - or have had -that drives me crazy.

When I read things like that, it makes me nauseated, I won't lie.

Because when I think of how their 2-1 mentality is going to fly against 80% of the teams in the playoffs, I laugh to myself. (Or outloud. Depends on who is listening).

Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Montreal, New Jersey - those five teams alone who I expect to be in the playoffs and at the top in the Eastern conference in a few months from now. You think the Rangers and their 2-1 mindset will ever work in a seven game series with one of these teams?

Maybe with Buffalo or Carolina if they sneak in, but I don't think that's who the Rangers will face in the first round.

Honestly look at the Rangers team as is. Then look at the teams I listed above. The Rangers scored three goals to beat Carolina in a regular season game and that was an offensive game for them.

You think they are scoring three, four, or five goals to beat Washington when it counts?

Rangers/Canes Post Game Thoughts. . .

Well to say the Rangers got back on track, is accurate, I guess, if you are not looking at the whole picture. They got another win, yes. Another win in a shootout. Tell me you're surprised.

The game didn't have a bad pace at all. It was actually pretty good. The second was kind of boring, with not much action. But the first and third were not bad.

Hard to tell what was more surprising however - the Rangers powerplay goal they got or the shorthanded goal they didn't give up? Heck the Rangers even got a shortie of their own, with what was actually a really pretty play from Sjostrom and Betts (who got his 4th on the season).

What might have gotten lost in yet another typical Rangers shootout win [well typical in that they were having it, tied 2-2, but I guess a-typical in that it took five rounds for anyone to score], was the poor discpline from both teams, the Rangers especially. They took a bunch of penalties, many in the third, that they were just lucky to kill off. If the Rangers penalty kill wasn't so damn good, the whole game could have played out a lot differently.

As it was the Hurricanes went 0-8 on the man advantage. The Rangers 1-5. On a side note, Philadelphia (I believe) went 4-6 in their game versus Pitt today. See, Rangers, it is possible!!

I am not going to knock them too much, but I'm not going to pat them on the back either. It was an important win. Especially for Lundqvist. And this team will only go as far as he can carry them, that is for sure.

But it was not pretty or convincing. Too many things need to be shored up before that's the case.

Two other things real quickly.

One - Chris Drury shocked many when he gave a post game interview and did not put everyone to sleep. Good job on that. And it is good for him to get the unofficial game winning goal in the shootout. Bad he didn't seem to do much before that, but good for him.

Two - I actually really love Carolina's 3rd jerseys. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think when they wear all black, it makes me think Ottawa. But I like the logo, no matter what Al Trautwig says about gale force winds. And the numbers on the back, with the white outline, pop and you can see them perfectly.

In other news, there is no news on Mats Sundin, except that he was there at the Garden. Is he the magic piece? I . . .all I can say is I can't imagine he'd make the team any worse.

But will they let him play the powerplay??