Okay, much belated Five Things here. But we'll try to get some thoughts down here.
*Marc Staal was given the A, as voted by the coaches, at least in the absense of Vinny Prospal. I am obviously a big fan of this move. I think it shows good things to give this kind of confidence to the young guys, the important pieces of the team. And as proven by his contract, the team is buying into Marc as a key member of the team. Happy to see this, I hope he does well.
*How disheartening are Colorado's two goals in like 30 seconds? The Rangers didn't appear to play bad to start the game, but, they can't do that. Deflating. And that has just been the story for years with the Rangers. They have mental collapses at bad times. Hard to recover, especially when you aren't scoring goals...
*What happened to the goals? I mean, look, I get it. Gaborik is not there, but correct me if I'm wrong, Gaborik was not the main source of offense so far - this year. Last year - 20% of it! But this year, guys like Stepan, Fedotenko, etc. Now, granted, Stepan is young. It's not like he was going to score 3 goals every game. So he's forgiven. But I'd like to see that line and the Dubinsky/Anisimov/Callahan line spread some goals out between them. This team is not going to win if they don't score.
*The penalty kill has not been as good as it used to be. Can it really all be Drury's absence? I...don't think so. And not for not having faith that the Captain is good at that, but I just can't reach that far. Something else isn't right on the defensive side. And it shouldn't be Drury. He may be one of the top penalty killers, but as I've said before, so many have been able to do it, and do it effectively (and without breaking fingers). I'm going to watch closer next game and see what's up. No matter how pathetic the powerplay has been for years, the NYRs have had a very impressive penalty kill for years now. They can't afford, and I don't want, to see them getting away from that.
*Colorado is a good team. They were last year; I think they'll be again. Liles is having a great start to the year. And Stewart is becoming quite a player. (Glad I have him on fantasy. - As much as I hated his two goals for the sake of the game, I took them for my "other" team). Interesting to see where they net out, in the competitive Western Conference.
A few more random league thoughts tomorrow. I've been ignoring the league! Oh no!
But again, I'm really just realizing that hockey season has started. I love getting home from work and turning on XM radio and there's a game on. Any game. It's a great feeling. Hockey. I <3 it.
Showing posts with label Colorado Avalanche. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colorado Avalanche. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Around the League: Some Early Season Surprises. . .
I know it's still early in the NHL season, but there were just some things that you couldn't have possibly predicted happening.
The Good:
-The Avalanche have opened up to a 10-1-2 record with 22 points and are leading the NHL. The Avalanche. Yes, that team from Colorado who went into the season with big goalie questions and in the wake of the retirement of staple and gentlemanly captain Joe Sakic. I believe someone said if you say you saw this coming - you are lying! I very readily admit I picked them to finish dead last in the West. But if they continue at this clip, they may bulk up enough points by Christmas to make that almost impossible. I mean anything can happen (see: quick start in the first place), but you'd have to admit the Avs have a lot to be proud of, the best of which is the play of young kids Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. Craig Anderson deserves credit as well, but he's less of a shock to me. He was a solid goalie in Florida when called upon too.
-As of today (*pre-tonights games) and despite the blech performance last night on the Island, the Rangers lead the league in goals for, with 47. Read that again if you have to. The masters last season of 2-1, 1-0 wins or losses, they have scored enough goals in the early going to average 3.6 goals per game. Now, that won't last, especially if they turn out crap-fests like they did last night, but for a team that couldn't score, they are getting ice production from the expected in Gaborik, the surprises in Prospal and Kotalik, and the extreme feel-good-story of young d-man Michael Del Zotto. Trust me, losses are a lot easier to take if the team is at least scoring goals and not just letting them in. We've seen the alternative and I'll take losses by way of 6-4, 5-3, just about every time.
The Bad:
-Now I was not one of the people suggesting they'd be a playoff team, but no one could have expected the Maple Leafs would have been this bad out of the gate. Could they? It took them 9 games, but the Leafs finally won their first game of the campaign, 6-3 over Anaheim on Monday. They are 1-7-2 in their first 10. We all predicted they'd have a problem scoring and that they'd spent the majority of the off-season addressing their defensive concerns. Sadly Burke's mixture has not seemed to create anything workable at the moment. Yes, much blame can fall on Vesa Toskala, the once great San Jose backup, who sadly, cannot seem to stop a puck. (For the record, I do not understand what he is going through, but it's upsetting to watch. I really thought he had a chance to rebound this year and this start has to have wiped away any of what little confidence he had left). The other guy I sympathize with is Ron Wilson. Ron Wilson is a smart guy, a smart hockey man, and I feel for him being in this position of what seems like no win. Literally, no win. Komisarek, on the other side of the Habs/Leafs rivalry this season, has been trying everything he can and he can't seem to make a difference. Opening night I thought he endeared himself to the fans with his energy, although at times misguided, but ten games in, he may be wishing he never left the belle province. The good news is that Phil Kessel is coming. The bad news is...it might not make much of a difference.
-In the tale of the second to last conference teams, Anaheim and Florida were both teams I had as being about equal to last year. On a last minute prediction whim, and for lack of other options, I put Florida in the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Were Chris Pronger and Jay Bouwmeester really that vital to their former teams? In Anaheim, both goalies have GAA's of over 3.00, and their supposed top guys of Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan have not seemed to realize the season has in fact started yet. Niedermeyer, Selanne, and Koivu are a combined -18. As for the Panthers, both goalies have GAA's of well over 3.50, and Steven Reinprecht is leading their team in points with 5-2-7. Stephen Weiss is the only other guy on the team to have more than two goals; he has 3. And with injures a plenty, none looking worse than that to David Booth, I don't know where the help comes from.
The Feel-Good:
-I'm not going to sit here and say I'm either surprised or not surprised with the start the Phoenix Coyotes are having. They are 7-4-0 and have knocked off San Jose, Detroit, Columbus, and Pittsburgh on their way. That's been impressive. Very impressive. Perhaps more surprising than fans could have hoped for. And Ilya Bryzgalov, the other one time super Pacific division backup, is having a masterful start to the season. .917 save percentage and 1.97 GAA are his numbers. (Note, backup Jason Labarbera's are even better at .952 and 1.59). If we're being honest, that part surprised me a bit. Not because they are not capable, but because you just never know what you are going to get with goalies (see: Roberto Luongo, Martin Brodeur, and Cam Ward - Canada's Team Canada perennials and hopefuls. The guys getting it done for them on the scoresheet are guys you need to be the leaders in every regard - Ed Jovonovski (4-6-10) and captain Shane Doan (3-7-10). Those not appearing on the scoresheet as much are still getting it done on shots, energy, and undeniable work ethic (Upshall, and Czechs - Hanzal, Vrbata, and Prucha). This team had the pieces to be good; I truly believed that. Their fast start is just making those outside of their fanbase take notice of a team that is playing some really good hockey and that deserves every bit of success it has.
The Good:
-The Avalanche have opened up to a 10-1-2 record with 22 points and are leading the NHL. The Avalanche. Yes, that team from Colorado who went into the season with big goalie questions and in the wake of the retirement of staple and gentlemanly captain Joe Sakic. I believe someone said if you say you saw this coming - you are lying! I very readily admit I picked them to finish dead last in the West. But if they continue at this clip, they may bulk up enough points by Christmas to make that almost impossible. I mean anything can happen (see: quick start in the first place), but you'd have to admit the Avs have a lot to be proud of, the best of which is the play of young kids Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. Craig Anderson deserves credit as well, but he's less of a shock to me. He was a solid goalie in Florida when called upon too.
-As of today (*pre-tonights games) and despite the blech performance last night on the Island, the Rangers lead the league in goals for, with 47. Read that again if you have to. The masters last season of 2-1, 1-0 wins or losses, they have scored enough goals in the early going to average 3.6 goals per game. Now, that won't last, especially if they turn out crap-fests like they did last night, but for a team that couldn't score, they are getting ice production from the expected in Gaborik, the surprises in Prospal and Kotalik, and the extreme feel-good-story of young d-man Michael Del Zotto. Trust me, losses are a lot easier to take if the team is at least scoring goals and not just letting them in. We've seen the alternative and I'll take losses by way of 6-4, 5-3, just about every time.
The Bad:
-Now I was not one of the people suggesting they'd be a playoff team, but no one could have expected the Maple Leafs would have been this bad out of the gate. Could they? It took them 9 games, but the Leafs finally won their first game of the campaign, 6-3 over Anaheim on Monday. They are 1-7-2 in their first 10. We all predicted they'd have a problem scoring and that they'd spent the majority of the off-season addressing their defensive concerns. Sadly Burke's mixture has not seemed to create anything workable at the moment. Yes, much blame can fall on Vesa Toskala, the once great San Jose backup, who sadly, cannot seem to stop a puck. (For the record, I do not understand what he is going through, but it's upsetting to watch. I really thought he had a chance to rebound this year and this start has to have wiped away any of what little confidence he had left). The other guy I sympathize with is Ron Wilson. Ron Wilson is a smart guy, a smart hockey man, and I feel for him being in this position of what seems like no win. Literally, no win. Komisarek, on the other side of the Habs/Leafs rivalry this season, has been trying everything he can and he can't seem to make a difference. Opening night I thought he endeared himself to the fans with his energy, although at times misguided, but ten games in, he may be wishing he never left the belle province. The good news is that Phil Kessel is coming. The bad news is...it might not make much of a difference.
-In the tale of the second to last conference teams, Anaheim and Florida were both teams I had as being about equal to last year. On a last minute prediction whim, and for lack of other options, I put Florida in the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Were Chris Pronger and Jay Bouwmeester really that vital to their former teams? In Anaheim, both goalies have GAA's of over 3.00, and their supposed top guys of Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan have not seemed to realize the season has in fact started yet. Niedermeyer, Selanne, and Koivu are a combined -18. As for the Panthers, both goalies have GAA's of well over 3.50, and Steven Reinprecht is leading their team in points with 5-2-7. Stephen Weiss is the only other guy on the team to have more than two goals; he has 3. And with injures a plenty, none looking worse than that to David Booth, I don't know where the help comes from.
The Feel-Good:
-I'm not going to sit here and say I'm either surprised or not surprised with the start the Phoenix Coyotes are having. They are 7-4-0 and have knocked off San Jose, Detroit, Columbus, and Pittsburgh on their way. That's been impressive. Very impressive. Perhaps more surprising than fans could have hoped for. And Ilya Bryzgalov, the other one time super Pacific division backup, is having a masterful start to the season. .917 save percentage and 1.97 GAA are his numbers. (Note, backup Jason Labarbera's are even better at .952 and 1.59). If we're being honest, that part surprised me a bit. Not because they are not capable, but because you just never know what you are going to get with goalies (see: Roberto Luongo, Martin Brodeur, and Cam Ward - Canada's Team Canada perennials and hopefuls. The guys getting it done for them on the scoresheet are guys you need to be the leaders in every regard - Ed Jovonovski (4-6-10) and captain Shane Doan (3-7-10). Those not appearing on the scoresheet as much are still getting it done on shots, energy, and undeniable work ethic (Upshall, and Czechs - Hanzal, Vrbata, and Prucha). This team had the pieces to be good; I truly believed that. Their fast start is just making those outside of their fanbase take notice of a team that is playing some really good hockey and that deserves every bit of success it has.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A Fun Game Long Overdue. . .
You will not find me complaining about one thing in last night's game. Not one thing.
It had goals - a season high 6 of them!
It had fights and rough stuff - plenty to go around!
It had spunk.
It had fire.
It had heart.
And man, it was FUN!
Again, fun is a word not too often used regarding the Rangers this year. But one that could not be denied in describing last night's goal fest at the expense of Colorado.
Even Paul Mara said: "I don't think there's been a better feeling in this room all year."
The bigger picture, however, is where it gets more fuzzy. The timing of the 6 goal outburst was somewhat bittersweet. But then again, the timing of everything this year has been less than ideal though, hasn't it?
Allow me to explain.
It was necessary and perfect the Rangers were able to win, and win convincingly, on the last day they play before they go on a four day hiatus between games, in the last game they will play before the trade deadline on Wednesday at 3pm. It gets the pressure off these guys, shows them they can score, and gives everyone the feeling that with a new coach, this team isn't really that bad.
The flip side, the bittersweet part, is that it really was the do-all, be-all. Say the Rangers had this slump more in January, than in February, and say Renney was let go after the Penguins/Rangers game on January 28th (random bad game I'm pulling at there). Say they hired Tortorella then. Say everything that happened now, happened earlier. Perhaps instead of two good games where the Rangers were a better team that could not score and win, and a third game where the Rangers scored plenty and did win, we'd be talking about a string of 7, 8, 9, or 10 games so that we'd all have a better idea of where this team truly is and what they need to do - if anything - before next Wednesday.
Bittersweet.
Bittersweet in that this group of players who played last night played what was quite possibly one of the most entertaining games the team has played this entire year, they might not all be here come Thursday night.
That is sports, no apologies need be made. But the timing of everything - coach fired, coach hired, team plays 3 games in four nights - was so condensed, I am not sure if I were a manager, a coach, I'd have any idea what to think or what to do. That's the difficult part.
And given our GMs track record of brilliant decisions, I might as well get the Tums and Tylenol out right now. Hell, I probably should have started already.
I'm not going to sit here and hypothesize on what they will do, what I want them to do, what I think they may do. At least not today.
But on the surface, it appears Sean Avery will return. Only mildly ironic in that he'd be returning after the Rangers finally - FINALLY - showed how well they could play and stick up for one another. But fact remains, someone will have to be moved for this to happen.
Who? Who knows. Again, I am not going to speculate here. I'm going to wait and see like everyone else. And medicate, very heavily.
For I'd hate to see the youth of this team go - the heart and the fire - for yet another big name, big guy who will only be here til April. [Not talking about Sean here.]
I do see this team making the playoffs. I just do not see - despite the romping over a last placed Colorado team I must add - them going very far.
That much has not changed.
Thankfully, the fun returned. I hope that big fact does not get forgotten in this bittersweet time crunch.
Other Thoughts:
It's mildly ironic that I opened The Post this morning to read Larry Brooks' Slap Shot column talking about Michael Nylander and how that was a changing point in time for this team. For not only did I mention that to someone at a bar last night, but I have been saying this for years now.
Going back to my blog from October 17th of last year, I said:
"I personally believe we can bring all this back to Michael Nylander's departure from the Rangers. If Nylander stayed, Jagr would have been fine. He would have scored more goals, triggered his contract and would probably still be a Ranger today. That's my opinion. But Nylander couldn't get his 4 year $4 million contract, and they gave $7 million a piece to both Gomez and Chris Drury instead, neither of whom could play with Jagr. I personally, and I won't know for a few years, maybe more, think this was the turning point for the franchise. Now, if the Rangers go forward and succeed, fine. But if they go back to the dark ages before the lockout, I'll look back to that moment. That's my lesson on chemistry. Savoring it when you have it because you don't know when it'll come again. Or if. . ."
Now that's not even taking into consideration PJ Stock's rumor from late in the week that Sather never truly meant to sign both Drury and Gomez. Because face it, if Nylander were around, maybe he wouldn't have had to sign either. That, we'll never know.
Talk about bittersweet.
More on Last Night:
It can't, or shouldn't, be lost in the joy over last night and the way the Rangers broke out, just how bad apparently Colorado really is. I picked them to be in the playoffs this year. BUT, that was without the ESP factor of knowing captain and heart Joe Sakic would miss pretty much the entire season with a horrible string of bad luck injuries, and that Paul Stastny would miss much time as well. None of that excuses my thinking Raycroft and Budaj were good enough to get them through, but I did not think they'd be that bad. Keep that in mind as we bask in the joy of the Rangers beating them, will you.
The Heart:
Prucha continues to impress not only us, his fans, but his teammates and the new coaching staff as well. He, surely, is one of the players that stood to benefit the most from Renney's dismissal. We may never know all the details, and although I've speculated, I know no more than the rest of you, on why Renney disliked the young kid so much. Thankfully that doesn't matter now. I see Prucha being more of John Tortorella's type player. In making his case, he scored a big goal - the goalie chaser - and was the guy who jumped in to defend teammate Brandon Dubinsky as things got dicy in the late stages of the game.
I said it before, and I meant it. If given the chance, Prucha could own this town. He might not be the best player on the team, or even one of the top ten, but when he's confident, he sure plays like he is. And he wants it more. He wants it so much more.
Last night as he scored and the Prucha song returned to the Garden, I smiled. It made me feel like it was 2005-2006 again. A kid doing what he was meant to do. As the Garden responded, I said, yes, these people do appreciate a guy doing more than anyone thinks he should and going it with determination many of his teammates have lacked.
When he entered the late game scrum, I took a breath. When he was pulled away and held at center ice, I felt a stillness.
As he was finally escorted off the ice and into the lockeroom to cheers of his name - yet again - I felt a lightness in my heart. I watched an arena full of people, some who like him, some who love him, and surely many who were at times indifferent, stare down united at this little ball of fire that would just not be put out.
I thought, surely many times, that Renney had done everything he could think of to snuff all the spunk and fire out of this kid.
But it remained. The spunk, the fire, and the heart.
Remember, it's not the size of the man. It's the depth of his character, the will of his determination, and the passion of his being.
Hart candidate? No. HEART candidate.
Around the League:
I didn't really catch much of the action around the league yesterday, but I read this earlier today.
Prayers for Ethan Moreau who looks like he took a horrific accidental high stick to his eye. You never like to see these things happen. No more recent updates beyond this on TSN.ca.
Where Are They Now. . .?
Team Player Action Note
Boston Marc Savard 3 Assists
Washington Tom Poti Assist
New Jersey Brendan Shanahan G(4), Assist
Florida Radek Dvorak 2 Assists
Montreal Mathieu Schneider Assist
Toronto Dominic Moore Assist
It had goals - a season high 6 of them!
It had fights and rough stuff - plenty to go around!
It had spunk.
It had fire.
It had heart.
And man, it was FUN!
Again, fun is a word not too often used regarding the Rangers this year. But one that could not be denied in describing last night's goal fest at the expense of Colorado.
Even Paul Mara said: "I don't think there's been a better feeling in this room all year."
The bigger picture, however, is where it gets more fuzzy. The timing of the 6 goal outburst was somewhat bittersweet. But then again, the timing of everything this year has been less than ideal though, hasn't it?
Allow me to explain.
It was necessary and perfect the Rangers were able to win, and win convincingly, on the last day they play before they go on a four day hiatus between games, in the last game they will play before the trade deadline on Wednesday at 3pm. It gets the pressure off these guys, shows them they can score, and gives everyone the feeling that with a new coach, this team isn't really that bad.
The flip side, the bittersweet part, is that it really was the do-all, be-all. Say the Rangers had this slump more in January, than in February, and say Renney was let go after the Penguins/Rangers game on January 28th (random bad game I'm pulling at there). Say they hired Tortorella then. Say everything that happened now, happened earlier. Perhaps instead of two good games where the Rangers were a better team that could not score and win, and a third game where the Rangers scored plenty and did win, we'd be talking about a string of 7, 8, 9, or 10 games so that we'd all have a better idea of where this team truly is and what they need to do - if anything - before next Wednesday.
Bittersweet.
Bittersweet in that this group of players who played last night played what was quite possibly one of the most entertaining games the team has played this entire year, they might not all be here come Thursday night.
That is sports, no apologies need be made. But the timing of everything - coach fired, coach hired, team plays 3 games in four nights - was so condensed, I am not sure if I were a manager, a coach, I'd have any idea what to think or what to do. That's the difficult part.
And given our GMs track record of brilliant decisions, I might as well get the Tums and Tylenol out right now. Hell, I probably should have started already.
I'm not going to sit here and hypothesize on what they will do, what I want them to do, what I think they may do. At least not today.
But on the surface, it appears Sean Avery will return. Only mildly ironic in that he'd be returning after the Rangers finally - FINALLY - showed how well they could play and stick up for one another. But fact remains, someone will have to be moved for this to happen.
Who? Who knows. Again, I am not going to speculate here. I'm going to wait and see like everyone else. And medicate, very heavily.
For I'd hate to see the youth of this team go - the heart and the fire - for yet another big name, big guy who will only be here til April. [Not talking about Sean here.]
I do see this team making the playoffs. I just do not see - despite the romping over a last placed Colorado team I must add - them going very far.
That much has not changed.
Thankfully, the fun returned. I hope that big fact does not get forgotten in this bittersweet time crunch.
Other Thoughts:
It's mildly ironic that I opened The Post this morning to read Larry Brooks' Slap Shot column talking about Michael Nylander and how that was a changing point in time for this team. For not only did I mention that to someone at a bar last night, but I have been saying this for years now.
Going back to my blog from October 17th of last year, I said:
"I personally believe we can bring all this back to Michael Nylander's departure from the Rangers. If Nylander stayed, Jagr would have been fine. He would have scored more goals, triggered his contract and would probably still be a Ranger today. That's my opinion. But Nylander couldn't get his 4 year $4 million contract, and they gave $7 million a piece to both Gomez and Chris Drury instead, neither of whom could play with Jagr. I personally, and I won't know for a few years, maybe more, think this was the turning point for the franchise. Now, if the Rangers go forward and succeed, fine. But if they go back to the dark ages before the lockout, I'll look back to that moment. That's my lesson on chemistry. Savoring it when you have it because you don't know when it'll come again. Or if. . ."
Now that's not even taking into consideration PJ Stock's rumor from late in the week that Sather never truly meant to sign both Drury and Gomez. Because face it, if Nylander were around, maybe he wouldn't have had to sign either. That, we'll never know.
Talk about bittersweet.
More on Last Night:
It can't, or shouldn't, be lost in the joy over last night and the way the Rangers broke out, just how bad apparently Colorado really is. I picked them to be in the playoffs this year. BUT, that was without the ESP factor of knowing captain and heart Joe Sakic would miss pretty much the entire season with a horrible string of bad luck injuries, and that Paul Stastny would miss much time as well. None of that excuses my thinking Raycroft and Budaj were good enough to get them through, but I did not think they'd be that bad. Keep that in mind as we bask in the joy of the Rangers beating them, will you.
The Heart:
Prucha continues to impress not only us, his fans, but his teammates and the new coaching staff as well. He, surely, is one of the players that stood to benefit the most from Renney's dismissal. We may never know all the details, and although I've speculated, I know no more than the rest of you, on why Renney disliked the young kid so much. Thankfully that doesn't matter now. I see Prucha being more of John Tortorella's type player. In making his case, he scored a big goal - the goalie chaser - and was the guy who jumped in to defend teammate Brandon Dubinsky as things got dicy in the late stages of the game.
I said it before, and I meant it. If given the chance, Prucha could own this town. He might not be the best player on the team, or even one of the top ten, but when he's confident, he sure plays like he is. And he wants it more. He wants it so much more.
Last night as he scored and the Prucha song returned to the Garden, I smiled. It made me feel like it was 2005-2006 again. A kid doing what he was meant to do. As the Garden responded, I said, yes, these people do appreciate a guy doing more than anyone thinks he should and going it with determination many of his teammates have lacked.
When he entered the late game scrum, I took a breath. When he was pulled away and held at center ice, I felt a stillness.
As he was finally escorted off the ice and into the lockeroom to cheers of his name - yet again - I felt a lightness in my heart. I watched an arena full of people, some who like him, some who love him, and surely many who were at times indifferent, stare down united at this little ball of fire that would just not be put out.
I thought, surely many times, that Renney had done everything he could think of to snuff all the spunk and fire out of this kid.
But it remained. The spunk, the fire, and the heart.
Remember, it's not the size of the man. It's the depth of his character, the will of his determination, and the passion of his being.
Hart candidate? No. HEART candidate.
Around the League:
I didn't really catch much of the action around the league yesterday, but I read this earlier today.
Prayers for Ethan Moreau who looks like he took a horrific accidental high stick to his eye. You never like to see these things happen. No more recent updates beyond this on TSN.ca.
Where Are They Now. . .?
Team Player Action Note
Boston Marc Savard 3 Assists
Washington Tom Poti Assist
New Jersey Brendan Shanahan G(4), Assist
Florida Radek Dvorak 2 Assists
Montreal Mathieu Schneider Assist
Toronto Dominic Moore Assist
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