This month, in honor of Father's Day, just wanted to help get the word out about prostate cancer testing and early detection. Every male, age 40 and above, is encouraged to get screened for the disease. Prostate cancer is much more treatable the earlier it is detected.
Earlier today on The Randy Tieman Show (Team 990) he had former Montreal Canadien Robin Burns on to talk about PROCURE.CA, a Quebec based non-for-profit designed to raise awareness, support, and education for prostate cancer. According to Burns they've raised around $5 million in the last four years. He also pointed out it takes $1 million a year to keep one of their Biobanks (support network of hospitals, research facilities, and universities) running for a year.
Their 4th annual Walk of Courage will take place June 20, 2010, on Father's Day. The Montreal teams - Canadiens, Alouettes, and Impact - have helped support the non-for-profit and this year, former Canadien Yvan Cournoyer will act as co-president of the event.
Everyone is encouraged to join the walk, in honor of fathers, grandfathers, brothers, sons. To make a donation, register to walk, or learn more, please visit PROCURE.CA
For those living in the States, to find out more about screenings and prevention of prostate cancer, please visit The Prostate Cancer Foundation
Showing posts with label Montreal Canadiens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal Canadiens. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, November 2, 2009
My Game of the Week ~ Leafs/Canadiens 10/31/09. . .
A little belated and a little shorter than ususal, but wanted to make sure to share some of the moments between the two rivals playing their first game against one another since opening night. In case you missed:
- No, it wasn't for Halloween, but the Habs wore the barber pole jerseys (made known in 1912-1913) in continuing to celebrate their centennial. They hadn't worn them since the Superbowl game versus Boston that had them lose not only the game but Robert Lang, Josh Gorges, and Guillaume Latendresse during the 60 minutes. Lang's was the most painful- as a strong part of the team, he left with what may have been a potentially career ending cut to his Achilles tendon. Would they provide better luck on this night?
- I don't care what anyone says, those jerseys are pretty damn distracting. What I noticed this time that I did not notice as much the last time is the gloves. Even they are distracting, that orangy/mustardy/yellowy color. Look, I understand and I thnk it's a bold statement to go back to vintage jerseys. But that is a BOLD statement.
- One of the best lines of this: Thinking it was movie night for the Habs and how the guys were dressed up as George Clooney in "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?"
- Grabovski, because the Habs just love Mikeal, and Komisarek, because Mike will not be forgiven for going to the other side of the proud rivalry, were both booed often and heavily every time they touched the puck.
- Luke Schenn (awe, Luke Schenn), suffering from a bit of a sophomore slump, called fellow former Kelowna Rocket's player Shea Weber to get some advice. Shea's advice: focus on the physicality of the game. If you continue to make checks, play the body, use your size, the rest of your game will come back. I just think it's refreshing that he feels comfortable reaching out to one of his own teammates. Shows a sense of maturity beyond his years.
- "Hell just froze over. The Maple Leafs scored." - the broadcaster announced when the Leafs found the back of the net.
- When Komisarek took a penalty, that he seemed unsure he took, at the end of the first, he left the rink, not wanting to get booed more than necessary in the penalty box.
- Halak had an impressive run during the Leafs 5-3 powerplay.
- Former teammate, Latendresse hit Komisarek behind the net, to rousing cheers from the Belle Centre faithful.
- After the 3rd goal, the Leaf's Beauchemin was so angry he just went right after Michael Cammalleri. A scrum ensued.
- "Face washing and candy kisses" abound. They love each other guys!
- Toskala made an impressive save as former Rangers' Mara set up Gomez on an odd-man rush.
- As fans serenaded the Leafs with "na na na na - sayyy, goodbye" - the Leafs scored to start mounting the comeback. Have to hold that song until you are up by more than 2 goals. Seriously.
- The Leafs come back to tie at 4-4, but former Ranger Gomez gets the deciding goal in the shootout.
Overall, I love watching the Habs/Leafs - always did. But even more so now because it appears some of the true rare times that the Leafs look like they are really putting it all together. Toskala has to take blame for the bad goals - he let in a bad one to Metropolit - but on many other occassions he gets little to no help. The expected powerhouse of defense in Toronto just isn't working. The Leafs powerplay has good movement, and scored 2 of 7 times. The held Montreal scoreless on their man advantage.
- No, it wasn't for Halloween, but the Habs wore the barber pole jerseys (made known in 1912-1913) in continuing to celebrate their centennial. They hadn't worn them since the Superbowl game versus Boston that had them lose not only the game but Robert Lang, Josh Gorges, and Guillaume Latendresse during the 60 minutes. Lang's was the most painful- as a strong part of the team, he left with what may have been a potentially career ending cut to his Achilles tendon. Would they provide better luck on this night?
- I don't care what anyone says, those jerseys are pretty damn distracting. What I noticed this time that I did not notice as much the last time is the gloves. Even they are distracting, that orangy/mustardy/yellowy color. Look, I understand and I thnk it's a bold statement to go back to vintage jerseys. But that is a BOLD statement.
- One of the best lines of this: Thinking it was movie night for the Habs and how the guys were dressed up as George Clooney in "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?"
- Grabovski, because the Habs just love Mikeal, and Komisarek, because Mike will not be forgiven for going to the other side of the proud rivalry, were both booed often and heavily every time they touched the puck.
- Luke Schenn (awe, Luke Schenn), suffering from a bit of a sophomore slump, called fellow former Kelowna Rocket's player Shea Weber to get some advice. Shea's advice: focus on the physicality of the game. If you continue to make checks, play the body, use your size, the rest of your game will come back. I just think it's refreshing that he feels comfortable reaching out to one of his own teammates. Shows a sense of maturity beyond his years.
- "Hell just froze over. The Maple Leafs scored." - the broadcaster announced when the Leafs found the back of the net.
- When Komisarek took a penalty, that he seemed unsure he took, at the end of the first, he left the rink, not wanting to get booed more than necessary in the penalty box.
- Halak had an impressive run during the Leafs 5-3 powerplay.
- Former teammate, Latendresse hit Komisarek behind the net, to rousing cheers from the Belle Centre faithful.
- After the 3rd goal, the Leaf's Beauchemin was so angry he just went right after Michael Cammalleri. A scrum ensued.
- "Face washing and candy kisses" abound. They love each other guys!
- Toskala made an impressive save as former Rangers' Mara set up Gomez on an odd-man rush.
- As fans serenaded the Leafs with "na na na na - sayyy, goodbye" - the Leafs scored to start mounting the comeback. Have to hold that song until you are up by more than 2 goals. Seriously.
- The Leafs come back to tie at 4-4, but former Ranger Gomez gets the deciding goal in the shootout.
Overall, I love watching the Habs/Leafs - always did. But even more so now because it appears some of the true rare times that the Leafs look like they are really putting it all together. Toskala has to take blame for the bad goals - he let in a bad one to Metropolit - but on many other occassions he gets little to no help. The expected powerhouse of defense in Toronto just isn't working. The Leafs powerplay has good movement, and scored 2 of 7 times. The held Montreal scoreless on their man advantage.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Five Things About the Rangers/Habs Game. . .
A day late, but what can you do ;)
* Had the pleasure of watching this game CBC style and it was a pleasure - a distinct pleasure. Listening to Bob Cole makes me feel this weird sense of nostalgia, as if I were reliving all the cold but happy Saturday nights I spent watching Hockey Night in Canada with my family growing up. Except for the one overlying fact that it never happened. I never had the chance growing up in the greater NY area to watch what all our neighbors in the great white north did. But Saturday night made me feel that lucky.
* As unhappy I was that the Habs scored and won, I couldn't have been happier that it was Mike Cammalleri scoring the hat trick. Why? Do I have him on my fantasy team? Hardly. I'm glad it was Cammo because that means it was not Gomez. Just imagine if it were him scoring the hat trick against his former team. [Pause]. I'll now give you thirty seconds to get that dirty image out of your minds.
* Speaking of Sco-Go, he was Greg Millen's intermission guest and he, apparently, is playing the same interview game he did when he was in New York. When asked if he felt a sense of connection with Brian Gionta because of their years together in NJ, Gomez said something along the lines of, "well it works, because we talk out there; like I'm sure you and your wife talk." Sigh. Some things never change. Note - the camera did not show Millen during this, so we cannot be sure whether he finds Gomez as amusing as John Giannone did.
* The game was a good game to watch, despite the end result. The pace was quick, there was plenty of goal scoring which I love. It was all you could hope for in that respect. The unfortunate part was that the Rangers, in giving up so many goals, have seemed to get away from the defensive steadiness that got them to as good a start as they had. The cohesiveness has slipped and while the game against NJ was more solid than the crap-fest against San Jose, they are still a lacking team. I'll be curious how they are able to respond against a Coyotes team that can strangle their opponents - with speed like Montreal has, and a tenacious system of shutting down the neutral zone.
* Every time Ales Kotalik scores I feel a small sense of relief. I know it's early in the season, too early to say it was a good/bad/indifferent move, but it's a relief to see a guy that hasn't gotten away from what made him successful on other teams. Usually guys find a way to come to NY and get away from what made them good. He hasn't so far. He has been a nice surprise. As for Vinny Prospal. He's been a nice player as well, for sure. But I felt way more confident in Vinny coming here. A guy who had played for Tortorella before so will not at all be shocked by his expectations. A guy that played his best hockey (honestly guys, this is a player that with the exception of last year has had very to very, very productive years in the last bunch of seasons. I heard the name Prospal and I thought, he can play with almost anyone). And so far, he has lived up to all expectations and more.
* Had the pleasure of watching this game CBC style and it was a pleasure - a distinct pleasure. Listening to Bob Cole makes me feel this weird sense of nostalgia, as if I were reliving all the cold but happy Saturday nights I spent watching Hockey Night in Canada with my family growing up. Except for the one overlying fact that it never happened. I never had the chance growing up in the greater NY area to watch what all our neighbors in the great white north did. But Saturday night made me feel that lucky.
* As unhappy I was that the Habs scored and won, I couldn't have been happier that it was Mike Cammalleri scoring the hat trick. Why? Do I have him on my fantasy team? Hardly. I'm glad it was Cammo because that means it was not Gomez. Just imagine if it were him scoring the hat trick against his former team. [Pause]. I'll now give you thirty seconds to get that dirty image out of your minds.
* Speaking of Sco-Go, he was Greg Millen's intermission guest and he, apparently, is playing the same interview game he did when he was in New York. When asked if he felt a sense of connection with Brian Gionta because of their years together in NJ, Gomez said something along the lines of, "well it works, because we talk out there; like I'm sure you and your wife talk." Sigh. Some things never change. Note - the camera did not show Millen during this, so we cannot be sure whether he finds Gomez as amusing as John Giannone did.
* The game was a good game to watch, despite the end result. The pace was quick, there was plenty of goal scoring which I love. It was all you could hope for in that respect. The unfortunate part was that the Rangers, in giving up so many goals, have seemed to get away from the defensive steadiness that got them to as good a start as they had. The cohesiveness has slipped and while the game against NJ was more solid than the crap-fest against San Jose, they are still a lacking team. I'll be curious how they are able to respond against a Coyotes team that can strangle their opponents - with speed like Montreal has, and a tenacious system of shutting down the neutral zone.
* Every time Ales Kotalik scores I feel a small sense of relief. I know it's early in the season, too early to say it was a good/bad/indifferent move, but it's a relief to see a guy that hasn't gotten away from what made him successful on other teams. Usually guys find a way to come to NY and get away from what made them good. He hasn't so far. He has been a nice surprise. As for Vinny Prospal. He's been a nice player as well, for sure. But I felt way more confident in Vinny coming here. A guy who had played for Tortorella before so will not at all be shocked by his expectations. A guy that played his best hockey (honestly guys, this is a player that with the exception of last year has had very to very, very productive years in the last bunch of seasons. I heard the name Prospal and I thought, he can play with almost anyone). And so far, he has lived up to all expectations and more.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
HNIC Wrap-Up ~ October 17, 2009. . .
In the pre-game to HNIC, PJ, Milbury, Hrudey, McLean talk with former Habs coach Guy Carbonneau.
Carbonneau mentioned his relationship with former Hab Alex Kovalev was better than the media/city let on. They used to golf together on off days. And the two day break he was asked to take? Purely to rest his mind. Not personal at all.
PJ said the Habs top big/small line of Gomez/Cammalleri/Gionta is getting pushed out of plays because of their size and that both Ottawa and the Canadiens are suffering from defensive breakdowns and no offense from the backend.
On the New York Rangers, Milbury - yes, that Milbury - praised the Rangers for actually having a first line again. Said Dubinsky could be a bonafide star in this league, said Prospal was a nice surprise, and that Gaborik was ...well Gaborik. Said this enabled Drury to go down to the #2 line where he they can mix and match between Callahan, Higgins, Avery, whomever.
The group spoke about camp "Torture-ella" and how it made such a big difference, because the team was in shape and were having great third periods. Hrudey credited the new Tortorella in-shape motto and system of play, for helping make Wade Redden better this season so far.
Elliotte Friedman interviewed Tortorella who admitted Redden was in "terrible" shape last year when he took over as coach. And said that the biggest difference was Wade being in such good shape this year. Said he wasn't "chasing the game" like he was last year.
He also, for the record, said he and Avery had a good relationship and were on the same page.
For the sake of the team, let's hope so.
______________________________________________________________
HNIC does such a great job with Inside Hockey and this week is no different with the story of Scott Walker.
Scott asked out his wife 20 years ago, with a free dinner coupon for being player of the game, and they have never been apart since.
During the playoff series with Boston, where he scored the game winning goal in overtime, his first ever playoff goal, he was going through personal turmoil.
The day that he punched out former Bruin (and now teammate Aaron Ward) was the day he found out his wife had cervical cancer.
Kinda puts that in perspective a little more, doesn't it?
He and Aaron Ward have put the incident behind them. His wife is now healthy.
She urges women to never miss their annual appointments, something I myself must encourage. You just never know.
___________________________________________
My DirecTV turned off After Hours once the Wild/Canucks game was over, so I had to play catchup today. I was not thrilled with that - pretty angry, in fact - but since it was 12:30 I decided to read a book and not make what I'm sure would have been an angry phone call.
Brent Burns was their first guess. I haven't caught up with him since the Inside HOckey segment they alluded to, from 2 years ago, and apparently his then girlfiend Susan, is now his wife, and he still has around 100 animals in his home. Mostly lizard/snake type animals, which makes my skin crawl, but he still has four Siberian Huskies, which makes me smile.
Sykora and Havlat, the new Czechs, have apparently been bugging him to come see.
All I have to say is WHAT an understanding wife he has!!
__________________________________________
Later on Kevin Bieska, a Bowling Green graduate, says he and Willie Mitchell constantly argue who is smarter on finance. Bieksa gives the nod to himself.
"I don't think we have the smartest team in the league," he continues. And then he points out Hordicuk and Burrows as examples of needing financial advice.
Ouch!
And on the funny side, he fought one time Ranger Fedor Federov when he at a pub w/players from the Manitoba Moose, and was so nervous he was going to be cut before he even played w/the team. Guess he didn't have to be nervous. Burke liked him and signed him immediately.
____________________________________________
And lastly, a new After Hours Feature: Tips from Weekes' Beauty Bag.
This week: Use facewash and facial cleanser. Guys, girls, everyone!
Til next week...
Carbonneau mentioned his relationship with former Hab Alex Kovalev was better than the media/city let on. They used to golf together on off days. And the two day break he was asked to take? Purely to rest his mind. Not personal at all.
PJ said the Habs top big/small line of Gomez/Cammalleri/Gionta is getting pushed out of plays because of their size and that both Ottawa and the Canadiens are suffering from defensive breakdowns and no offense from the backend.
On the New York Rangers, Milbury - yes, that Milbury - praised the Rangers for actually having a first line again. Said Dubinsky could be a bonafide star in this league, said Prospal was a nice surprise, and that Gaborik was ...well Gaborik. Said this enabled Drury to go down to the #2 line where he they can mix and match between Callahan, Higgins, Avery, whomever.
The group spoke about camp "Torture-ella" and how it made such a big difference, because the team was in shape and were having great third periods. Hrudey credited the new Tortorella in-shape motto and system of play, for helping make Wade Redden better this season so far.
Elliotte Friedman interviewed Tortorella who admitted Redden was in "terrible" shape last year when he took over as coach. And said that the biggest difference was Wade being in such good shape this year. Said he wasn't "chasing the game" like he was last year.
He also, for the record, said he and Avery had a good relationship and were on the same page.
For the sake of the team, let's hope so.
______________________________________________________________
HNIC does such a great job with Inside Hockey and this week is no different with the story of Scott Walker.
Scott asked out his wife 20 years ago, with a free dinner coupon for being player of the game, and they have never been apart since.
During the playoff series with Boston, where he scored the game winning goal in overtime, his first ever playoff goal, he was going through personal turmoil.
The day that he punched out former Bruin (and now teammate Aaron Ward) was the day he found out his wife had cervical cancer.
Kinda puts that in perspective a little more, doesn't it?
He and Aaron Ward have put the incident behind them. His wife is now healthy.
She urges women to never miss their annual appointments, something I myself must encourage. You just never know.
___________________________________________
My DirecTV turned off After Hours once the Wild/Canucks game was over, so I had to play catchup today. I was not thrilled with that - pretty angry, in fact - but since it was 12:30 I decided to read a book and not make what I'm sure would have been an angry phone call.
Brent Burns was their first guess. I haven't caught up with him since the Inside HOckey segment they alluded to, from 2 years ago, and apparently his then girlfiend Susan, is now his wife, and he still has around 100 animals in his home. Mostly lizard/snake type animals, which makes my skin crawl, but he still has four Siberian Huskies, which makes me smile.
Sykora and Havlat, the new Czechs, have apparently been bugging him to come see.
All I have to say is WHAT an understanding wife he has!!
__________________________________________
Later on Kevin Bieska, a Bowling Green graduate, says he and Willie Mitchell constantly argue who is smarter on finance. Bieksa gives the nod to himself.
"I don't think we have the smartest team in the league," he continues. And then he points out Hordicuk and Burrows as examples of needing financial advice.
Ouch!
And on the funny side, he fought one time Ranger Fedor Federov when he at a pub w/players from the Manitoba Moose, and was so nervous he was going to be cut before he even played w/the team. Guess he didn't have to be nervous. Burke liked him and signed him immediately.
____________________________________________
And lastly, a new After Hours Feature: Tips from Weekes' Beauty Bag.
This week: Use facewash and facial cleanser. Guys, girls, everyone!
Til next week...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
My Game of the Week ~ Canadiens/Maple Leafs. . .
In what hopes to be a weekly segment here, NHTProductions will take a look at a particular NHL game that may be hyped up, may not be, but either way - the one for whatever particular reason I choose to watch and blog about. =)
From the second the schedule came out, I knew I'd be spending my night on October 1st watching one of the greatest rivalries in sports - Montreal and Toronto.
So I rushed home, tried to dodge any distractions, grabbed a Canadian (the beverage, not a literal citizen of our sister nation), and sat back to watch the game.
Yep, beer, Canadian hockey, singing the anthem - just like a good....American. . .?
Well. . .just like a true hockey fan.
Anyway, here is a mish-mosh of what happened and random thoughts you won't get anywhere else (seriously, let me know if other people spend time blogging about this!)
* The pregame ceremony, having six former Canadian hockey players for the ceremonial faceoff, was typical Toronto class. Not overstated, just simple and classy.
*Healy, with his old yet new position in broadcasting, has the following to say about new Habs coach Jacques Martin. For those of you that don't know and haven't seen, "he will bore the country in both languages." LOL!
*Cliff Fletcher, the I'm-sure-very-nice-man who often gets poked fun at here on NHTP, looked awake as he walked into the ACC. But just in case, yes, Cliff, the hockey season has started. And, please remember, your team is the one in the white.
*1:51 into the game, Orr and Laraques go at it. Orr goes right for Laraques, but Georges get the upper hand and takes down Orr with force. Orr, takes his helmet off, and skates away smiling. I still love it and him.
*Around 5 1/2 minutes in, Martin goes to the BIG/small line of Gomez, Cammalleri, and Gionta. This prompts "another turnover by Gomez." (Note, throught the 2nd I'd noticed no less than 4 such trangressions.)
*Komisarek's first phone message after signing w/the Leafs was from Habs GM Bob Gainey. He said if there was ever anything Mike needed, to let him know, but that from this moment on, they were going to - essentially - go after his butt!
*Komisarek loses some credit with us for listing Scott Stevens as his favorite player, but...we forgive him. For now.
*Already a leader, Luke Schenn (LUKE SCHENN!) supports teammate Rosehill on his fight with Travis Moen. Note, Leafs radio on XM predicted 3 fights in tonight's game. Only 2 so far.
*Gomez gets high-sticked by Komisarek. Gionta scores the first goal of the season for the Habs on the PP off the faceoff.
*Just when it seems the Habs have taken over the game, the Leafs come back to tie as Alexei Ponikarovski pots the pill.
*Mara is praised for reading the play so well, by shooting the puck off net when there wasn't a lane.
*During Coach's Corner, Don-less Cherry talks about how important it is to stand up for your teammates, and how more people than a young Luke Schenn need to do so for the Leafs this season.
*Gomez has another "vacuous" pass to no one.
*Kostitsyn (the older and only) and Komisarek share no love. And both go to the box.
*For the Canadiens, Lappy (Lapierre), D'Agostini, and Latendresse are the most impressive line so far.
*There was a Perry Pearn sighting on the bench, during a Paul Mara penalty. I reminded myself he was no longer part of NY's powerplay, and I was okay again. Scary!
*The Leafs are skating faster, passing quicker, and shooting harder than I thought they would. Stralberg, in his 1st game, is the one who is impressing early.
*During 2nd intermission, they show some Mats Sundin clips. Glen Healy says he is no doubt a Hall of Famer. And makes a point of saying how he had "no ego" and how he felt "everyone mattered," from the guys on the ice to the guys who picked up the towels. He called him one of his favorite teammates ever. And said that even though Leafs fans may disagree, that he was the "best Maple Leaf ever." High praise of a guy I've always liked and admired by a guy I truly like and admire.
*In the 3rd, Gomez bowls over Toskala. Gomez for goalie interference after some consultation. And Komisarek in the box for what ensued after.
*Leafs coach Ron Wilson wants to stress pride of the tradition of the franchise. He gave the players a quiz on Maple Leafs history which they apparently did pretty well on. As the radio pointed out earlier, Ace Bailey was the first number retired - in ANY sport.
*Komisarek gets cheered wildly on his way to the penalty box for fighting Moen. Ron Wilson told Mike before the season not to try to win the fans over in one night. But the look on his face and response of the crowd - he is already an important member of the blue and white.
*On the ensuing powerplay, Matt Stajan scores his 2nd of the game to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead. "A confident looking powerplay" for the Leafs.
*Andrei Markov leaves the ice with the help of a teammate. Not good news for the Habs or fantasy owners everywhere. Apparently he had to be "lifted" into the Habs training room.
*Komisarek, being too aggressive, takes a late penalty, putting the Habs on the powerplay, where Glen Metropolit scores with about four minutes to go.
*Voskala makes a series of impressive saves on the Gionta/Gomez/Cammalleri line with just over 2 minutes left in the game.
*Going to overtime. And we wouldn't have it any other way...!
*Cammalleri puts the pressure on and Georges wins the game in OT. Fini.
Overall impressions:
What an amazing rivalry this is. It always is, but on opening night, where the fans in the audience sang the anthem, it just felt even more special. A mix of new faces in new places - especially on Les Habitants, it is the beginning of what should be an incredibly intense season for these two teams.
I also must clarify one small thing. I am not wishing for Gomez to fail in Montreal, but I am not wishing for him to succeed either. I hope for his sake he takes it seriously, but the less things go his way, the more fun conversations I get to listen to on Montreal radio every day. I do have my priorities.
Bottom line. I love hockey. I love the teams with rich history and both Montreal and Toronto have that. I will root for Cammalleri and Mara, as well as Schenn and Orr. It'll be a fun year.
I'm just excited it's started. It's the greatest, simply the greatest time of the year.
From the second the schedule came out, I knew I'd be spending my night on October 1st watching one of the greatest rivalries in sports - Montreal and Toronto.
So I rushed home, tried to dodge any distractions, grabbed a Canadian (the beverage, not a literal citizen of our sister nation), and sat back to watch the game.
Yep, beer, Canadian hockey, singing the anthem - just like a good....American. . .?
Well. . .just like a true hockey fan.
Anyway, here is a mish-mosh of what happened and random thoughts you won't get anywhere else (seriously, let me know if other people spend time blogging about this!)
* The pregame ceremony, having six former Canadian hockey players for the ceremonial faceoff, was typical Toronto class. Not overstated, just simple and classy.
*Healy, with his old yet new position in broadcasting, has the following to say about new Habs coach Jacques Martin. For those of you that don't know and haven't seen, "he will bore the country in both languages." LOL!
*Cliff Fletcher, the I'm-sure-very-nice-man who often gets poked fun at here on NHTP, looked awake as he walked into the ACC. But just in case, yes, Cliff, the hockey season has started. And, please remember, your team is the one in the white.
*1:51 into the game, Orr and Laraques go at it. Orr goes right for Laraques, but Georges get the upper hand and takes down Orr with force. Orr, takes his helmet off, and skates away smiling. I still love it and him.
*Around 5 1/2 minutes in, Martin goes to the BIG/small line of Gomez, Cammalleri, and Gionta. This prompts "another turnover by Gomez." (Note, throught the 2nd I'd noticed no less than 4 such trangressions.)
*Komisarek's first phone message after signing w/the Leafs was from Habs GM Bob Gainey. He said if there was ever anything Mike needed, to let him know, but that from this moment on, they were going to - essentially - go after his butt!
*Komisarek loses some credit with us for listing Scott Stevens as his favorite player, but...we forgive him. For now.
*Already a leader, Luke Schenn (LUKE SCHENN!) supports teammate Rosehill on his fight with Travis Moen. Note, Leafs radio on XM predicted 3 fights in tonight's game. Only 2 so far.
*Gomez gets high-sticked by Komisarek. Gionta scores the first goal of the season for the Habs on the PP off the faceoff.
*Just when it seems the Habs have taken over the game, the Leafs come back to tie as Alexei Ponikarovski pots the pill.
*Mara is praised for reading the play so well, by shooting the puck off net when there wasn't a lane.
*During Coach's Corner, Don-less Cherry talks about how important it is to stand up for your teammates, and how more people than a young Luke Schenn need to do so for the Leafs this season.
*Gomez has another "vacuous" pass to no one.
*Kostitsyn (the older and only) and Komisarek share no love. And both go to the box.
*For the Canadiens, Lappy (Lapierre), D'Agostini, and Latendresse are the most impressive line so far.
*There was a Perry Pearn sighting on the bench, during a Paul Mara penalty. I reminded myself he was no longer part of NY's powerplay, and I was okay again. Scary!
*The Leafs are skating faster, passing quicker, and shooting harder than I thought they would. Stralberg, in his 1st game, is the one who is impressing early.
*During 2nd intermission, they show some Mats Sundin clips. Glen Healy says he is no doubt a Hall of Famer. And makes a point of saying how he had "no ego" and how he felt "everyone mattered," from the guys on the ice to the guys who picked up the towels. He called him one of his favorite teammates ever. And said that even though Leafs fans may disagree, that he was the "best Maple Leaf ever." High praise of a guy I've always liked and admired by a guy I truly like and admire.
*In the 3rd, Gomez bowls over Toskala. Gomez for goalie interference after some consultation. And Komisarek in the box for what ensued after.
*Leafs coach Ron Wilson wants to stress pride of the tradition of the franchise. He gave the players a quiz on Maple Leafs history which they apparently did pretty well on. As the radio pointed out earlier, Ace Bailey was the first number retired - in ANY sport.
*Komisarek gets cheered wildly on his way to the penalty box for fighting Moen. Ron Wilson told Mike before the season not to try to win the fans over in one night. But the look on his face and response of the crowd - he is already an important member of the blue and white.
*On the ensuing powerplay, Matt Stajan scores his 2nd of the game to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead. "A confident looking powerplay" for the Leafs.
*Andrei Markov leaves the ice with the help of a teammate. Not good news for the Habs or fantasy owners everywhere. Apparently he had to be "lifted" into the Habs training room.
*Komisarek, being too aggressive, takes a late penalty, putting the Habs on the powerplay, where Glen Metropolit scores with about four minutes to go.
*Voskala makes a series of impressive saves on the Gionta/Gomez/Cammalleri line with just over 2 minutes left in the game.
*Going to overtime. And we wouldn't have it any other way...!
*Cammalleri puts the pressure on and Georges wins the game in OT. Fini.
Overall impressions:
What an amazing rivalry this is. It always is, but on opening night, where the fans in the audience sang the anthem, it just felt even more special. A mix of new faces in new places - especially on Les Habitants, it is the beginning of what should be an incredibly intense season for these two teams.
I also must clarify one small thing. I am not wishing for Gomez to fail in Montreal, but I am not wishing for him to succeed either. I hope for his sake he takes it seriously, but the less things go his way, the more fun conversations I get to listen to on Montreal radio every day. I do have my priorities.
Bottom line. I love hockey. I love the teams with rich history and both Montreal and Toronto have that. I will root for Cammalleri and Mara, as well as Schenn and Orr. It'll be a fun year.
I'm just excited it's started. It's the greatest, simply the greatest time of the year.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Some Radio Ramblings . .
Not as much time listening to sports radio this week as I would have liked, but I have a few things I thought I'd chat about for a little bit.
Team1040:
Lots of chatter on what a disaster the Kelly firing is for the NHL earlier in the week. During the afternoon hours I usually listen, it was like impending doom was going to fall on the NHL. And you know, I'll be honest. I didn't immediately think that, but with a league as seemingly fragile as ours, and let me think of a not to mean word - MORON - running it, it's hard to imagine anything is impossible. So I will just leave it as, I hope not. For the game we all love and for us in the states having seemingly no other option than the NHL, I hope not.
For the record, XM204 had similar sentiments as well. Scott Laughlin suggested it would have been best to dismantle the Players Association entirely - get all the people out of there that may be too comfortable or too involved - and start from scratch. Honestly...maybe that isn't such a bad idea.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
A big topic, obviously, today, was the 12-year signing of Roberto Luongo. Now, I ask, has anyone learned yet? From Rick DiPietro's contract that he may never even play out. From Hossa's contract suddenly not looking so good in Chicago. I think any contract of that length, unless given to someone like Ovechkin, is nuts. I just do. And a goalie, there is even more of a risk to it. So much can change with a given team, and with the league on a whole. Heck, I hate the 7-year contracts the Rangers gave out. I don't want to be saddled with anyone for that long. Again, you make exceptions for the Crosby's and Ovechkin's but other than that...too long, just too damn long.
Team1040 was making fun of Canucks GM Mike Gillis for referencing Luongo in the same sentence with Johnny Bauer and Dominik Hasek. Those wouldn't have been my first choices, but - you can read his quotes here.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The rest of today's conversation was how Roberto Luongo differs from Trevor Linden or Marcus Naslund as Canucks Captain and how they the fans, the team, the ownership may be looking at Roberto as a savior of sorts. I think nothing but the highest of Trevor Linden. He was a fans player. A person truly devoted to the team, the city, and the people of British Columbia. He deserves every kind word he gets. They referenced this photo on air today; again, I didn't need to look it up. It is ingrained.
Naslund, they said, was loved when he was scoring, and certainly not beloved when he wasn't. He kept himself separate from the fans, not showing much emotion either way. Sound familiar Rangers fans? I always liked the guy because he was respected for doing his job and being a good person and player in this league. It's not easy to play hockey in Vancouver. He was a quiet-type person, who had a few remarkable years, a few not so remarkable ones, but who always led as a professional, in my memory. And despite his only being in NY one season, that is how I viewed him coming in, and that is how I will choose to remember him.
Roberto Luongo, they discussed, can be fickle at times - and they didn't mean on the ice. Sometimes he gives a lot, sometimes he closes off. Not at all untypical of a goalie. But when I think of Roberto Luongo, I think of a couple things. I think of a guy who was harassed for wanting to be with his wife when she was going through the end of a difficult pregnancy during the All-Star game a few years back, which I thought was a horrible thing for him to have to endure. And I think of a guy who was one of only two or three players that came to the locker room to speak to the media after they lost to Chicago in that game last spring (the Kane hat-trick game), and the guy who had to, subsequently, leave the room after he choked up in tears because he was so upset. I'll take a guy that cares that much any day.
There may not be a perfect leader. Or a perfect player. A perfect captain. And we'd certainly be hard pressed to find a perfect person. But, I'd like to think that pinning all hopes on one player is not the only way. You can look to them to lead, to be the best player they can be, to make their teammates better, and to care. And I think all three of them did that or can do that in their own right, and in their own time. I do.
I follow the Canucks when I can. I do wish them luck. While I'd never take back 1994, a tiny part of me always felt for Trevor Linden being on the wrong side of that. I hope, someday, they can get there too.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Team990:
Monday had a lot of chatter and what Tony called "the best 10 minutes of radio [he's] had in a long time."
They were talking Tom Cruise, Top Gun, reading, vocabulary, speeches, and whether or not PJ had gone to McKibbins (Irish Pub in la belle city for those of you not from MTL) before the show, as he kept screwing up John F Kennedy's "Country" speech. Apparently he bought a book of best American speeches and read that one the first night. And he had a really hard time saying "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
=)
I'm with Tony. That was fantastic radio.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
In hockey related topics, two things we can elaborate on here.
I already posted on Twitter what PJ said: "Coaches are stuck with these players. Yes you want them to win, you want them to be successful...But you just don't have the talent to win." "I think everything falls on the GM"
Now, if you are a fan of the Rangers, you have got to be nodding your head. I said often enough last year that the Rangers, while not the utter train wreck that was the Canadiens, still paralleled that team a lot. Questionable decisions. Lacking passion from those supposed to lead the team. Questionable chemistry. The firing of a coach, but more questions for the GM. A lot was similar.
So, I thought about PJs comment. And, despite knowing - absolutely knowing - that Glen Sather can be blamed for a great portion of the Rangers ills, he simply cannot be blamed for them all.
He may have overspent unhealthy sums of money, over, and over, and over, and over again, on bringing in older, suckier, crappier, lazier crops of past-their-prime or never-had-a-prime athletes, yes.
And he might have done this without ever standing up for his decisions, or showing his face in public, prompting thoughts that he, much like a Meyer-esque vampire, could not go out on sunny days - or, well, frankly, on any types of days, yes.
And he might be still clinging desparately onto a status he gained by building a team of nothing out in Edmonton, in the model of a team like the Winnipeg Jets of the one-time WHA, while instead in his time in NY seems to be modeling the team's success after another local team of the same name.
*sigh* - where was I going with this again?
Okay, back on target. While Mr. Fischer-Price calculator and I-love-$7 million has his faults - many, many faults - last year's disaster can be blamed on two other groups just as easily:
The players themselves - and they know who they are - who refused to try, sometimes, seemingly at all to even be worth half of what they were being paid.
The coaching staff - finally and justifiably fired in February - who somehow continued to play the same horribly lazy and inefficent players in the same horrible and inefficient ways over, and over, and over, while perfectly good and hard-working players wasted away in street clothes, over, and over, and over...
Look. A new season is less than a month away. In fact one month tonight, the Rangers will open their season on the road. I will not spend tonight dwelling any more on the particulars than I already have.
BUT - yes, the GM has, as PJ suggested, every opportunity to wreck and disable a team by his poor choices. This is evidenced well in NY. But if these players tried just a bit harder; if the coach stopped trying to be so damn nice and tried to actually fix what could be fixed - I don't think it would have been as painful as it was. I just don't. Everyone is to blame. Some more than others, perhaps, but...
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
And lastly, to close, PJ speculated today on what had perhaps gone on in Ottawa. (The great mystery of them all!) He said that if you looked at Jason Spezza's wedding party - which we did, back when photos were first posted - you'd notice two familiar faces. Former Senators Ray Emery and Brian McGrattan stood up for their one time teammate.
Now PJ speculated that these might not have been the guys Ottawa would have deemed the most harmless, let's say. (That's my word, not his). But he said, perhaps, Spezza being young and impressionable, started hanging with particular company and got away from being focused on the game. Split groups. Tension arose in the lockerroom. Perhaps a divide among all the top players that we never knew for sure about.
Trust me, lots has been speculated about Ottawa, and whether Heatley talks or not, whether he moves teams or not, I'll always be curious. Curious how a team that went to the Final led by Ray Emery in 2007 and started the following year so hot, could fall from grace so horrifically by the end. And not only not recover, but fall further in such speculation of some greater evil than just bad ice hockey.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Just some things to think about with less than one month to go til the regular season opens...
I can't wait! =)
Team1040:
Lots of chatter on what a disaster the Kelly firing is for the NHL earlier in the week. During the afternoon hours I usually listen, it was like impending doom was going to fall on the NHL. And you know, I'll be honest. I didn't immediately think that, but with a league as seemingly fragile as ours, and let me think of a not to mean word - MORON - running it, it's hard to imagine anything is impossible. So I will just leave it as, I hope not. For the game we all love and for us in the states having seemingly no other option than the NHL, I hope not.
For the record, XM204 had similar sentiments as well. Scott Laughlin suggested it would have been best to dismantle the Players Association entirely - get all the people out of there that may be too comfortable or too involved - and start from scratch. Honestly...maybe that isn't such a bad idea.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
A big topic, obviously, today, was the 12-year signing of Roberto Luongo. Now, I ask, has anyone learned yet? From Rick DiPietro's contract that he may never even play out. From Hossa's contract suddenly not looking so good in Chicago. I think any contract of that length, unless given to someone like Ovechkin, is nuts. I just do. And a goalie, there is even more of a risk to it. So much can change with a given team, and with the league on a whole. Heck, I hate the 7-year contracts the Rangers gave out. I don't want to be saddled with anyone for that long. Again, you make exceptions for the Crosby's and Ovechkin's but other than that...too long, just too damn long.
Team1040 was making fun of Canucks GM Mike Gillis for referencing Luongo in the same sentence with Johnny Bauer and Dominik Hasek. Those wouldn't have been my first choices, but - you can read his quotes here.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The rest of today's conversation was how Roberto Luongo differs from Trevor Linden or Marcus Naslund as Canucks Captain and how they the fans, the team, the ownership may be looking at Roberto as a savior of sorts. I think nothing but the highest of Trevor Linden. He was a fans player. A person truly devoted to the team, the city, and the people of British Columbia. He deserves every kind word he gets. They referenced this photo on air today; again, I didn't need to look it up. It is ingrained.
Naslund, they said, was loved when he was scoring, and certainly not beloved when he wasn't. He kept himself separate from the fans, not showing much emotion either way. Sound familiar Rangers fans? I always liked the guy because he was respected for doing his job and being a good person and player in this league. It's not easy to play hockey in Vancouver. He was a quiet-type person, who had a few remarkable years, a few not so remarkable ones, but who always led as a professional, in my memory. And despite his only being in NY one season, that is how I viewed him coming in, and that is how I will choose to remember him.
Roberto Luongo, they discussed, can be fickle at times - and they didn't mean on the ice. Sometimes he gives a lot, sometimes he closes off. Not at all untypical of a goalie. But when I think of Roberto Luongo, I think of a couple things. I think of a guy who was harassed for wanting to be with his wife when she was going through the end of a difficult pregnancy during the All-Star game a few years back, which I thought was a horrible thing for him to have to endure. And I think of a guy who was one of only two or three players that came to the locker room to speak to the media after they lost to Chicago in that game last spring (the Kane hat-trick game), and the guy who had to, subsequently, leave the room after he choked up in tears because he was so upset. I'll take a guy that cares that much any day.
There may not be a perfect leader. Or a perfect player. A perfect captain. And we'd certainly be hard pressed to find a perfect person. But, I'd like to think that pinning all hopes on one player is not the only way. You can look to them to lead, to be the best player they can be, to make their teammates better, and to care. And I think all three of them did that or can do that in their own right, and in their own time. I do.
I follow the Canucks when I can. I do wish them luck. While I'd never take back 1994, a tiny part of me always felt for Trevor Linden being on the wrong side of that. I hope, someday, they can get there too.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Team990:
Monday had a lot of chatter and what Tony called "the best 10 minutes of radio [he's] had in a long time."
They were talking Tom Cruise, Top Gun, reading, vocabulary, speeches, and whether or not PJ had gone to McKibbins (Irish Pub in la belle city for those of you not from MTL) before the show, as he kept screwing up John F Kennedy's "Country" speech. Apparently he bought a book of best American speeches and read that one the first night. And he had a really hard time saying "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
=)
I'm with Tony. That was fantastic radio.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
In hockey related topics, two things we can elaborate on here.
I already posted on Twitter what PJ said: "Coaches are stuck with these players. Yes you want them to win, you want them to be successful...But you just don't have the talent to win." "I think everything falls on the GM"
Now, if you are a fan of the Rangers, you have got to be nodding your head. I said often enough last year that the Rangers, while not the utter train wreck that was the Canadiens, still paralleled that team a lot. Questionable decisions. Lacking passion from those supposed to lead the team. Questionable chemistry. The firing of a coach, but more questions for the GM. A lot was similar.
So, I thought about PJs comment. And, despite knowing - absolutely knowing - that Glen Sather can be blamed for a great portion of the Rangers ills, he simply cannot be blamed for them all.
He may have overspent unhealthy sums of money, over, and over, and over, and over again, on bringing in older, suckier, crappier, lazier crops of past-their-prime or never-had-a-prime athletes, yes.
And he might have done this without ever standing up for his decisions, or showing his face in public, prompting thoughts that he, much like a Meyer-esque vampire, could not go out on sunny days - or, well, frankly, on any types of days, yes.
And he might be still clinging desparately onto a status he gained by building a team of nothing out in Edmonton, in the model of a team like the Winnipeg Jets of the one-time WHA, while instead in his time in NY seems to be modeling the team's success after another local team of the same name.
*sigh* - where was I going with this again?
Okay, back on target. While Mr. Fischer-Price calculator and I-love-$7 million has his faults - many, many faults - last year's disaster can be blamed on two other groups just as easily:
The players themselves - and they know who they are - who refused to try, sometimes, seemingly at all to even be worth half of what they were being paid.
The coaching staff - finally and justifiably fired in February - who somehow continued to play the same horribly lazy and inefficent players in the same horrible and inefficient ways over, and over, and over, while perfectly good and hard-working players wasted away in street clothes, over, and over, and over...
Look. A new season is less than a month away. In fact one month tonight, the Rangers will open their season on the road. I will not spend tonight dwelling any more on the particulars than I already have.
BUT - yes, the GM has, as PJ suggested, every opportunity to wreck and disable a team by his poor choices. This is evidenced well in NY. But if these players tried just a bit harder; if the coach stopped trying to be so damn nice and tried to actually fix what could be fixed - I don't think it would have been as painful as it was. I just don't. Everyone is to blame. Some more than others, perhaps, but...
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
And lastly, to close, PJ speculated today on what had perhaps gone on in Ottawa. (The great mystery of them all!) He said that if you looked at Jason Spezza's wedding party - which we did, back when photos were first posted - you'd notice two familiar faces. Former Senators Ray Emery and Brian McGrattan stood up for their one time teammate.
Now PJ speculated that these might not have been the guys Ottawa would have deemed the most harmless, let's say. (That's my word, not his). But he said, perhaps, Spezza being young and impressionable, started hanging with particular company and got away from being focused on the game. Split groups. Tension arose in the lockerroom. Perhaps a divide among all the top players that we never knew for sure about.
Trust me, lots has been speculated about Ottawa, and whether Heatley talks or not, whether he moves teams or not, I'll always be curious. Curious how a team that went to the Final led by Ray Emery in 2007 and started the following year so hot, could fall from grace so horrifically by the end. And not only not recover, but fall further in such speculation of some greater evil than just bad ice hockey.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Just some things to think about with less than one month to go til the regular season opens...
I can't wait! =)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Did Bob Gainey Out-Sather Glen Sather. . .?
On the surface, this evening's deal between the Rangers and Habs begs that question.
As we speak, fans in Montreal are teetering over bridges and ready to overthrow Bob Gainey for making what they deem is such a horrible trade for them.
How do I feel?
=)
=)
=)
And not for not liking Gomez, although let it be said, he had two things against him:
1) His inability to live up to his contract, though not entirely his fault
2) His inability to make us believe he gave a crap and was trying hard, which is entirely his fault.
I think Gomez, in a situation that makes him happy, can be effective. Put it this way, I wish him, as a person, well in Montreal, but not too well, if you get me.
Let's face it, he was never going to live up to the contract he was given. Again, not his fault. Gomez should never have been the top $$-maker on any teeam.
BUT, he could have looked like he cared a little more. That will always be my one gripe with him.
And as for complaints of why not Drury or why not Redden?
1) Shouldn't we be glad someone was going to take ONE of Sather's mistakes. ANY ONE of them?!
2) Drury has only 3 years left, Gomez had 5 - that has something to do with it, no doubt. Plus, Mr. Renney made Mr. Mumbles the captain of the team, not that I think that really would have stopped the trade, but it's worth noting.
3) No one will take Redden. That I even believed for a second Brian Burke would take Redden off our hands tells you how hopefully dellusional I can be at times.
Take this what it is, folks. A nice trade. It drops salary, a salary we desparately needed dropped. And it steals the best prospect in Montreal in Ryan McDonaugh. I listen to Montreal radio faithfully. They love this kid.
Trust me, fans in Montreal are probably more upset by the fact that he's leaving than in the fact that Gomez is coming.
And if Sather doesn't manage to screw it all up in the next few hours or days - always a possibility - then he might have just made up for one of his horrible mistakes and given the team the opportunity to make themselves better.
Fixing one mistake doesn't make you a better person; it'll just make us Rangers fans smile a little more until you make the next one.
Torts Quotes:
Steve Zipay on Blue Notes posted some Tortorella quotes yesterday, most of which I think are a breath of fresh air for Rangers fans. Feel free to take a read here.
My favorite:
"And I’m not afraid of youth. It’s going to be done on merit."
It may be too late for many of the wasted youth on this team, but for whomever is around for next season, this is going to be a wonderful change of pace.
Accountability - hmm, what a concept!
Yotes:
Speaking of wasted Rangers youth, I got a "tweet" from a Coyotes fan that made me very happy today.
"I LOVE prucha. he's a hard worker and does the little things that make a team better. He's crucial to us"
See, Pete will be fine. Just fine. =)
I was already greatly looking forward to the Coyotes season to see the team in action ON the ice.
But perhaps with some changes in place, I'll be looking forward to the Rangers as
well...
Although way, way too early to tell.
Canada Day/Free Agent Frenzy Day/Tums and Tylenol Day:
The day that knows so many names.
I usually think of July 1st in the order above.
I wish Canadians, and those of us hockey lovers, a Happy Canada Day.
I get NO work done because I'm highly anticipated any trade, especially ones not done by our GM.
And I have the two Ts - Tums and Tylenol - at the ready for those headaches and bouts of nausea.
(For the record, I now know why I was kept up last Thursday night in advance of the Draft. I preached and preached Tums and yet, where were they as I anticipated the potential bad moves of the next day and lay awake, tossing and turning?).
Back to the point. I will, for the most part, after today be on Twitter only, as I will be out of state. I will not be anyone's best source for "up to the minute" updates, so please check elsewhere and help keep me informed! =)
And I wish you all a Happy Canada/Free Agent Frenzy/Tums and Tylenol Day!!! =)
As we speak, fans in Montreal are teetering over bridges and ready to overthrow Bob Gainey for making what they deem is such a horrible trade for them.
How do I feel?
=)
=)
=)
And not for not liking Gomez, although let it be said, he had two things against him:
1) His inability to live up to his contract, though not entirely his fault
2) His inability to make us believe he gave a crap and was trying hard, which is entirely his fault.
I think Gomez, in a situation that makes him happy, can be effective. Put it this way, I wish him, as a person, well in Montreal, but not too well, if you get me.
Let's face it, he was never going to live up to the contract he was given. Again, not his fault. Gomez should never have been the top $$-maker on any teeam.
BUT, he could have looked like he cared a little more. That will always be my one gripe with him.
And as for complaints of why not Drury or why not Redden?
1) Shouldn't we be glad someone was going to take ONE of Sather's mistakes. ANY ONE of them?!
2) Drury has only 3 years left, Gomez had 5 - that has something to do with it, no doubt. Plus, Mr. Renney made Mr. Mumbles the captain of the team, not that I think that really would have stopped the trade, but it's worth noting.
3) No one will take Redden. That I even believed for a second Brian Burke would take Redden off our hands tells you how hopefully dellusional I can be at times.
Take this what it is, folks. A nice trade. It drops salary, a salary we desparately needed dropped. And it steals the best prospect in Montreal in Ryan McDonaugh. I listen to Montreal radio faithfully. They love this kid.
Trust me, fans in Montreal are probably more upset by the fact that he's leaving than in the fact that Gomez is coming.
And if Sather doesn't manage to screw it all up in the next few hours or days - always a possibility - then he might have just made up for one of his horrible mistakes and given the team the opportunity to make themselves better.
Fixing one mistake doesn't make you a better person; it'll just make us Rangers fans smile a little more until you make the next one.
Torts Quotes:
Steve Zipay on Blue Notes posted some Tortorella quotes yesterday, most of which I think are a breath of fresh air for Rangers fans. Feel free to take a read here.
My favorite:
"And I’m not afraid of youth. It’s going to be done on merit."
It may be too late for many of the wasted youth on this team, but for whomever is around for next season, this is going to be a wonderful change of pace.
Accountability - hmm, what a concept!
Yotes:
Speaking of wasted Rangers youth, I got a "tweet" from a Coyotes fan that made me very happy today.
"I LOVE prucha. he's a hard worker and does the little things that make a team better. He's crucial to us"
See, Pete will be fine. Just fine. =)
I was already greatly looking forward to the Coyotes season to see the team in action ON the ice.
But perhaps with some changes in place, I'll be looking forward to the Rangers as
well...
Although way, way too early to tell.
Canada Day/Free Agent Frenzy Day/Tums and Tylenol Day:
The day that knows so many names.
I usually think of July 1st in the order above.
I wish Canadians, and those of us hockey lovers, a Happy Canada Day.
I get NO work done because I'm highly anticipated any trade, especially ones not done by our GM.
And I have the two Ts - Tums and Tylenol - at the ready for those headaches and bouts of nausea.
(For the record, I now know why I was kept up last Thursday night in advance of the Draft. I preached and preached Tums and yet, where were they as I anticipated the potential bad moves of the next day and lay awake, tossing and turning?).
Back to the point. I will, for the most part, after today be on Twitter only, as I will be out of state. I will not be anyone's best source for "up to the minute" updates, so please check elsewhere and help keep me informed! =)
And I wish you all a Happy Canada/Free Agent Frenzy/Tums and Tylenol Day!!! =)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Intense and Vital Win in Game Four for the Rangers and The Final End to a Tumultuous Season in Montreal. . .
Rangers:
Well, that was a rather convincing win. Coming in against a desperate opponent and holding off a steady rush in the game's second game - very impressive showing by the New York Rangers. Vital win in that it puts Washington at the ultimate brink; lose one more and go home.
I don't have to tell you how much I really didn't see this happening, this team coming together, but I must readily admit, they are surprising me and I am enjoying watching it.
Tonight was one of the most intense games I've seen in a long while. Like the heart pumping games I used to watch when I was younger and the Rangers were in the playoffs steadily from 95 through 97. Games that meant something. The Devils series last year was fun, but it didn't have the same threat value that this one has. And last year's Penguins series, unfortunately, never really got to that point. Game four in that series, last year gave chills for a different reason. So, no, I really must say that this series versus Washington feels more like the series against Buffalo from two years ago, where the pressure is on, but people and the team are starting to believe.
And Chris Drury is scoring clutch goals. This time for the good guys.
I'm sure they hesitated whether or not to play him, and I shared such hesitation. He seemed unable to get off a clean shot. However, it didn't seem to matter when he scored the game winner. They all count guys, and that was as beautiful as he could have scored in my opinion.
As for Avery, he was called for less penalties than last game, which was a plus, but he was giving me heart palpitations in the 3rd. I mean I said it last night, a high stick is a high stick, there is not much to debate. And I'm not debating the rough behind the net that drew blood on the Caps player. I'm only saying that if Sean did that on purpose, swung his hand around - what was he trying to accomplish? He knows all eyes are on him. He knows even if, hypothetically speaking, he didn't mean to do that, that no one will believe him anyway. So, why? I'm admittedly a little baffled. He must know that he can't do anything even remotely suspicious at all right now, no?
That aside, credit all around to the Rangers. When the Caps poured it on, they stayed steady. A total team effort and a vital, vital win.
Can't wait for Friday...
Around the League:
Out West:
I left an intense 4-4 tie game in Chicago/Calgary when I turned off the car radio to come inside. I'll look in when I get upstairs. So much for Calgary's 4-1 lead. Damn. Playoff hockey is the greatest, no?
Les Habitants:
I will probably not get a chance to write more on Montreal til the weekend and by then there will be hundreds of thousands of accounts of what went wrong in the 100th season of the most fabled franchise in the "cradle of organized sports" to borrow Ron McLean's words. I listen to enough Montreal radio to know it will be talked about tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, probably for every day until the next season starts, and even then, it will continue.
So just a few of my immediate reactions.
I wished better for Montreal. I did. As a fan of hockey and a fan of tradition, I did. But I wished for them to be better in general, not for them to win the series with Boston, mind you. The best team won in Boston and they are no doubt a team that can beat you with any combination of threats, offensive and defensive, and they are still, to me, the ultimate powerhouse to be challenged in the East. Credit all around to Boston. They are a great story.
While I wished better for Montreal, I knew it wasn't going to happen. That became clear pretty early. Much of the season north of the border found similarities to the season in New York with our own Rangers. True, there was no off ice concerns, at least none that I knew of, but the on ice turmoils were very parallel. Fast start bread big expectations. A falloff in production. Questioning team character. Missing leadership. General lack of team cohesiveness. One or two brilliant games followed by a run of non-efforts. Superstars drifting in and out of relevancy. A crop of very young kids who came and tried hard, but didn't have anyone to really show them the way. The ultimate firing of a coach when the team stopped listening.
Now New York turned a corner and looked better post-Renney and especially leading into the playoffs. Montreal had a short resurgence and then limped into the second season. They also had a serious goaltending controversy, one that I think was ultimately their demise. I feel for Jaroslav Halak. I don't know why but I always seem to think he's older than he is, perhaps because of his quiet nature and his poise. Young though he is, at this moment, he is a better goaltender and would have been a better option to Montreal than Carey Price. Hard to hear, but true.
Unfortunately, many fans in Montreal and many in management saw Price as their entire future, and held him up with such reverence it was at times scary to listen to. I sincerely hope wherever Halak goes he finds success. And I hope, for the sake of Montreal, that the kid they kept throwing out there, who looked like a deer caught in headlights for too many games, can be salvaged and live up to all they think he can be. I am not the coach in Montreal, but I would not have hung this series on Carey Price. I would have gone with Halak. It might not have made any real difference in the end, but by doing this, it appears the Canadiens may have confused and mistreated both of their goalies at the same time.
Heart is questioned daily in Montreal. I alluded to it before and I'm sure I will again. There are a lot of questions in Montreal, about how things are done and how they need to be done going forward, who wears the jersey and what it means to them. Tomorrow begins the long period of finding those anwers. I don't know where they start, but they have to start somewhere. Their entire team may possibly be dismantled come July 1st, and perhaps that is a good thing. Things will not come easy in Montreal, but they simply have to get the right guys with the right mindset, attitude, and commitment to play there. The only thing is, that's never quite so simple a thing to do.
Well, that was a rather convincing win. Coming in against a desperate opponent and holding off a steady rush in the game's second game - very impressive showing by the New York Rangers. Vital win in that it puts Washington at the ultimate brink; lose one more and go home.
I don't have to tell you how much I really didn't see this happening, this team coming together, but I must readily admit, they are surprising me and I am enjoying watching it.
Tonight was one of the most intense games I've seen in a long while. Like the heart pumping games I used to watch when I was younger and the Rangers were in the playoffs steadily from 95 through 97. Games that meant something. The Devils series last year was fun, but it didn't have the same threat value that this one has. And last year's Penguins series, unfortunately, never really got to that point. Game four in that series, last year gave chills for a different reason. So, no, I really must say that this series versus Washington feels more like the series against Buffalo from two years ago, where the pressure is on, but people and the team are starting to believe.
And Chris Drury is scoring clutch goals. This time for the good guys.
I'm sure they hesitated whether or not to play him, and I shared such hesitation. He seemed unable to get off a clean shot. However, it didn't seem to matter when he scored the game winner. They all count guys, and that was as beautiful as he could have scored in my opinion.
As for Avery, he was called for less penalties than last game, which was a plus, but he was giving me heart palpitations in the 3rd. I mean I said it last night, a high stick is a high stick, there is not much to debate. And I'm not debating the rough behind the net that drew blood on the Caps player. I'm only saying that if Sean did that on purpose, swung his hand around - what was he trying to accomplish? He knows all eyes are on him. He knows even if, hypothetically speaking, he didn't mean to do that, that no one will believe him anyway. So, why? I'm admittedly a little baffled. He must know that he can't do anything even remotely suspicious at all right now, no?
That aside, credit all around to the Rangers. When the Caps poured it on, they stayed steady. A total team effort and a vital, vital win.
Can't wait for Friday...
Around the League:
Out West:
I left an intense 4-4 tie game in Chicago/Calgary when I turned off the car radio to come inside. I'll look in when I get upstairs. So much for Calgary's 4-1 lead. Damn. Playoff hockey is the greatest, no?
Les Habitants:
I will probably not get a chance to write more on Montreal til the weekend and by then there will be hundreds of thousands of accounts of what went wrong in the 100th season of the most fabled franchise in the "cradle of organized sports" to borrow Ron McLean's words. I listen to enough Montreal radio to know it will be talked about tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, probably for every day until the next season starts, and even then, it will continue.
So just a few of my immediate reactions.
I wished better for Montreal. I did. As a fan of hockey and a fan of tradition, I did. But I wished for them to be better in general, not for them to win the series with Boston, mind you. The best team won in Boston and they are no doubt a team that can beat you with any combination of threats, offensive and defensive, and they are still, to me, the ultimate powerhouse to be challenged in the East. Credit all around to Boston. They are a great story.
While I wished better for Montreal, I knew it wasn't going to happen. That became clear pretty early. Much of the season north of the border found similarities to the season in New York with our own Rangers. True, there was no off ice concerns, at least none that I knew of, but the on ice turmoils were very parallel. Fast start bread big expectations. A falloff in production. Questioning team character. Missing leadership. General lack of team cohesiveness. One or two brilliant games followed by a run of non-efforts. Superstars drifting in and out of relevancy. A crop of very young kids who came and tried hard, but didn't have anyone to really show them the way. The ultimate firing of a coach when the team stopped listening.
Now New York turned a corner and looked better post-Renney and especially leading into the playoffs. Montreal had a short resurgence and then limped into the second season. They also had a serious goaltending controversy, one that I think was ultimately their demise. I feel for Jaroslav Halak. I don't know why but I always seem to think he's older than he is, perhaps because of his quiet nature and his poise. Young though he is, at this moment, he is a better goaltender and would have been a better option to Montreal than Carey Price. Hard to hear, but true.
Unfortunately, many fans in Montreal and many in management saw Price as their entire future, and held him up with such reverence it was at times scary to listen to. I sincerely hope wherever Halak goes he finds success. And I hope, for the sake of Montreal, that the kid they kept throwing out there, who looked like a deer caught in headlights for too many games, can be salvaged and live up to all they think he can be. I am not the coach in Montreal, but I would not have hung this series on Carey Price. I would have gone with Halak. It might not have made any real difference in the end, but by doing this, it appears the Canadiens may have confused and mistreated both of their goalies at the same time.
Heart is questioned daily in Montreal. I alluded to it before and I'm sure I will again. There are a lot of questions in Montreal, about how things are done and how they need to be done going forward, who wears the jersey and what it means to them. Tomorrow begins the long period of finding those anwers. I don't know where they start, but they have to start somewhere. Their entire team may possibly be dismantled come July 1st, and perhaps that is a good thing. Things will not come easy in Montreal, but they simply have to get the right guys with the right mindset, attitude, and commitment to play there. The only thing is, that's never quite so simple a thing to do.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Ryan Callahan Wins Extra Effort Award. . .
On March 22nd, here at National Hat Trick Productions, I cast my vote for Ryan Callahan.
And tonight, he did indeed win the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award on Garden ice. Very much deserved and I don't think anyone can deny it. The guy has played game in, game out, for the Rangers this year. A spark when they needed it, and never taking a night off.
Any time Steven McDonald is at the Garden, and especially on the nights he's there to give the annual award given in his name, it is special. A man that sacrificed everything for others and yet who still has such a strong spirit, Mr. McDonald is a shining example of what any person - and any Ranger - should be.
A willingness to sacrifice.
A passion for the game.
A strong determination to make it happen.
Congratulations, Ryan. An honor very much deserved.
To flash back, here are some highlights of what I said a few weeks ago on #24:
". . .he is one of perhaps only three - three - players on this team to have played the game with the same exact attitude and energy - the right attitude and the right energy - since game one this season. If this guy took a night off, I didn't see it."
"His linemates may have been switched around constantly, and he may have played on every line this season, but his attitude and work ethic never wavered. He is a great team guy and someone I always noticed and respected on this team."
"That's why guys like Adam Graves, Sandy McCarthy, and Jed Ortmeyer won the award. They did more than what was expected from them. They were guys giving extra, and giving it all the time.
Ryan Callahan is very much in that same mold."
"The Rangers have a few more guys as of late that are playing with energy and enthusiams, joy for a game we all love. But Ryan Callahan did that each and every game, even in the very, very bad ones.
Ryan Callahan for Extra Effort. The guy truly has gone above and beyond."
**Big win for the Rangers. I am still not sure what this all means in "big picture," but they did all they had to do tonight, and did it pretty convincingly. Entertaining game all around.**
And tonight, he did indeed win the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award on Garden ice. Very much deserved and I don't think anyone can deny it. The guy has played game in, game out, for the Rangers this year. A spark when they needed it, and never taking a night off.
Any time Steven McDonald is at the Garden, and especially on the nights he's there to give the annual award given in his name, it is special. A man that sacrificed everything for others and yet who still has such a strong spirit, Mr. McDonald is a shining example of what any person - and any Ranger - should be.
A willingness to sacrifice.
A passion for the game.
A strong determination to make it happen.
Congratulations, Ryan. An honor very much deserved.
To flash back, here are some highlights of what I said a few weeks ago on #24:
". . .he is one of perhaps only three - three - players on this team to have played the game with the same exact attitude and energy - the right attitude and the right energy - since game one this season. If this guy took a night off, I didn't see it."
"His linemates may have been switched around constantly, and he may have played on every line this season, but his attitude and work ethic never wavered. He is a great team guy and someone I always noticed and respected on this team."
"That's why guys like Adam Graves, Sandy McCarthy, and Jed Ortmeyer won the award. They did more than what was expected from them. They were guys giving extra, and giving it all the time.
Ryan Callahan is very much in that same mold."
"The Rangers have a few more guys as of late that are playing with energy and enthusiams, joy for a game we all love. But Ryan Callahan did that each and every game, even in the very, very bad ones.
Ryan Callahan for Extra Effort. The guy truly has gone above and beyond."
**Big win for the Rangers. I am still not sure what this all means in "big picture," but they did all they had to do tonight, and did it pretty convincingly. Entertaining game all around.**
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Rangers/Sabres Wrap, My Steven McDonald Vote, and Around the League. . .
To start, a quick wrap of last night's affair at the Garden.
I felt, and many would agree, it was a must win game for Buffalo. They couldn't afford to fall too far in the standings, especially with how close everything has been. Only the top teams have assurance of making the playoffs. For everyone else, it's another season of claw and grab.
The Rangers didn't let that happen. With their fourth win in a row at MSG, they hit a season high. They came on strong to start, and despite owning a 4-1 lead at one point, made it interesting towards the end. But, good teams, they say, find a way to win in the end.
Since the Rangers started scoring four goals or more (7 out of the last 11 games), their win totals have gone up, not at all surprisingly. It is still, weeks into Tortorella's regime, surprising me to see what a completely different team we have been blessed with.
It's amazing what a system - the right system - can do.
Hank has not been perfect, at times far from it, but in the new system he hasn't had to be. I see the visible relief on his face.
Gomez's game has improved and his gaffs that used to be a constant, are now much more infrequent.
Antropov has done nothing but impress me. I am not sure if it's a release from being in a new city, but this guy has, so far, done everything and more in his short tenure with the Rangers. A big guy that was very much needed. It's amazing. Add one guy that's 6'6" and the rest of the team doesn't look so small anymore.
Or perhaps that's just because they are no longer playing like it.
Drury was finally able to score a goal against his former team, and now leads the Rangers with 9 powerplay goals.
Staal, who impressed me from day one of the season and had less than a handful of off games this year, is looking like a marvel. I got such insane pleasure out of watching him join the rush last night. It made me think that it was possible for the Rangers to have a real honest to goodness two-way defenseman again. A guy who was superb in his own end, but who could contribute offensively. If early indications are correct, he can be that guy.
The team is fun to watch again. No, they are not perfect, and there are still going to be major problems - both financially and on ice - in the months and seasons to come. But it felt great going into this weekend to be so excited for not one, but two, games at the Garden.
Thanks for giving us our team back, for the time being at least.
My Extra Effort Award Winner:
Ryan Callahan.
Not for the two goals last night, on his 24th birthday. Not at all.
But for the fact that he is one of perhaps only three - three - players on this team to have played the game with the same exact attitude and energy - the right attitude and the right energy - since game one this season. If this guy took a night off, I didn't see it. Whether he scored goals - and he now has 19 on the season, up over 10 from his career high - or made plays, he was always in the game. He was the first person to set the tone with a big hit. He'd scrap with someone if necessary.
His linemates may have been switched around constantly, and he may have played on every line this season, but his attitude and work ethic never wavered. He is a great team guy and someone I always noticed and respected on this team.
Why him? Why Extra Effort?
I'm still, and I alluded to this before, holding true to the true meaning of Extra Effort in my mind. The guy that went ABOVE AND BEYOND the call of duty.
To me, the highest paid, or the best players, should be the best players. You expect that from them. That is a given. Granted the two have not been connected very much this year on the Rangers - the best and the highest paid - but let's not go there.
My point is, I don't look at the Extra Effort Award winner as a Team MVP award. I don't think that was the original intention. People are allowed to vote for whomever they want, and they should, but I personally don't see it that way.
I think of it as an award for the guy that does what is NOT expected of him. The guy that steps up and does good for the team in all capacities. Sticking up for teammates. Creating energy and enthusiasm from the fans. And being a good and responsible player.
He doesn't have to be your leading goal scorer. In fact, he probably shouldn't be. He's just the guy taking everything he has and making you take notice.
That's why guys like Adam Graves, Sandy McCarthy, and Jed Ortmeyer won the award. They did more than what was expected from them. They were guys giving extra, and giving it all the time.
Ryan Callahan is very much in that same mold. He's a really solid hockey player and has come up with career totals this year, but no one expected him to be that guy. The goals - those are nice, but those are a bonus. No one is asking Ryan Callahan to score 19 goals.
That happened as a result of his never say no attitude for going to the net, going to the corners, being in the right spot, and playing with his head up.
The Rangers have a few more guys as of late that are playing with energy and enthusiams, joy for a game we all love. But Ryan Callahan did that each and every game, even in the very, very bad ones.
Ryan Callahan for Extra Effort. The guy truly has gone above and beyond.
Around the League:
Forgive me that I'm still not getting around to the Coyotes quotes that I promised earlier in the week. It's been another busy one. They will come eventually.
In other Saturday action, THE game to watch was Montreal/Toronto. Granted, I did not watch because I was at the Garden, but I got the score update and when it was 3-0 Toronto, I took a breath and thought about those in Montreal.
Here's my personal opinion. As a hockey fan and a fan of all that is great in hockey, I would surely have loved to see the Montreal Canadiens make the playoffs, in this, their 100th season. I know all of Montreal wanted the same thing.
But, as was the case when Montreal played Boston in the opening round of last year's playoffs, I was forced to face reality. Whoever the better team is, they should be the team moving forward. It doesn't always work that way - I honestly think Boston was the better team in that series - but most of the time the water levels out.
If Montreal does not make the playoffs this year, it is because they just weren't good enough. It will be a shame for their fans and for the city, but it has to be that way.
I've listen to debates rage on the Team990 and on HNIC for months now, about everything from a lack of passion, the necessity for franchophone coaches, incidents of inpropriety with those with mob connections to the never ending saga of Alex Kovalev. I've listened to it all.
My personal advice. If the Habs make the playoffs, fine. But if they do not, everyone in that organization needs to take a gut check. Granted, the team stands to be a different team anyway next fall because of free agency and contract expirations, but whoever is left has to take that time. That time to see what pieces belong, those that are not needed, and what they want from this team.
Do they want to be a team that has to have a franchophone coach and players from Quebec, even if another coach or another player is better? Do they want a team that has leaders that the players can emulate, as PJ Stock brought up on Friday's show?
They are the Montreal Canadiens. They should want to be the best hockey team in the league. With players who understand that. A key group of leaders, but more importantly, a group of guys who take TRUE pride in the sweater. A group of guys that even if they are not the best, will take every effort night in and night out to be the best, so that even the fans can say, yes, they gave their all.
True, in Montreal, the city where the team is disected by each and every person in the media and on the streets, such things are hard. But all the more reason for the management - whoever that may be going forward - to make sure they have the right group of players in that locker room. The right mix with the right attitude. If ever a player on a team needed a rock solid attitude to do their jobs it is for that team, in that city.
I am not sure what quite changed with Montreal from last year to this. I thought they would be among the best in the east. They don't have too many more games to figure it out.
I felt, and many would agree, it was a must win game for Buffalo. They couldn't afford to fall too far in the standings, especially with how close everything has been. Only the top teams have assurance of making the playoffs. For everyone else, it's another season of claw and grab.
The Rangers didn't let that happen. With their fourth win in a row at MSG, they hit a season high. They came on strong to start, and despite owning a 4-1 lead at one point, made it interesting towards the end. But, good teams, they say, find a way to win in the end.
Since the Rangers started scoring four goals or more (7 out of the last 11 games), their win totals have gone up, not at all surprisingly. It is still, weeks into Tortorella's regime, surprising me to see what a completely different team we have been blessed with.
It's amazing what a system - the right system - can do.
Hank has not been perfect, at times far from it, but in the new system he hasn't had to be. I see the visible relief on his face.
Gomez's game has improved and his gaffs that used to be a constant, are now much more infrequent.
Antropov has done nothing but impress me. I am not sure if it's a release from being in a new city, but this guy has, so far, done everything and more in his short tenure with the Rangers. A big guy that was very much needed. It's amazing. Add one guy that's 6'6" and the rest of the team doesn't look so small anymore.
Or perhaps that's just because they are no longer playing like it.
Drury was finally able to score a goal against his former team, and now leads the Rangers with 9 powerplay goals.
Staal, who impressed me from day one of the season and had less than a handful of off games this year, is looking like a marvel. I got such insane pleasure out of watching him join the rush last night. It made me think that it was possible for the Rangers to have a real honest to goodness two-way defenseman again. A guy who was superb in his own end, but who could contribute offensively. If early indications are correct, he can be that guy.
The team is fun to watch again. No, they are not perfect, and there are still going to be major problems - both financially and on ice - in the months and seasons to come. But it felt great going into this weekend to be so excited for not one, but two, games at the Garden.
Thanks for giving us our team back, for the time being at least.
My Extra Effort Award Winner:
Ryan Callahan.
Not for the two goals last night, on his 24th birthday. Not at all.
But for the fact that he is one of perhaps only three - three - players on this team to have played the game with the same exact attitude and energy - the right attitude and the right energy - since game one this season. If this guy took a night off, I didn't see it. Whether he scored goals - and he now has 19 on the season, up over 10 from his career high - or made plays, he was always in the game. He was the first person to set the tone with a big hit. He'd scrap with someone if necessary.
His linemates may have been switched around constantly, and he may have played on every line this season, but his attitude and work ethic never wavered. He is a great team guy and someone I always noticed and respected on this team.
Why him? Why Extra Effort?
I'm still, and I alluded to this before, holding true to the true meaning of Extra Effort in my mind. The guy that went ABOVE AND BEYOND the call of duty.
To me, the highest paid, or the best players, should be the best players. You expect that from them. That is a given. Granted the two have not been connected very much this year on the Rangers - the best and the highest paid - but let's not go there.
My point is, I don't look at the Extra Effort Award winner as a Team MVP award. I don't think that was the original intention. People are allowed to vote for whomever they want, and they should, but I personally don't see it that way.
I think of it as an award for the guy that does what is NOT expected of him. The guy that steps up and does good for the team in all capacities. Sticking up for teammates. Creating energy and enthusiasm from the fans. And being a good and responsible player.
He doesn't have to be your leading goal scorer. In fact, he probably shouldn't be. He's just the guy taking everything he has and making you take notice.
That's why guys like Adam Graves, Sandy McCarthy, and Jed Ortmeyer won the award. They did more than what was expected from them. They were guys giving extra, and giving it all the time.
Ryan Callahan is very much in that same mold. He's a really solid hockey player and has come up with career totals this year, but no one expected him to be that guy. The goals - those are nice, but those are a bonus. No one is asking Ryan Callahan to score 19 goals.
That happened as a result of his never say no attitude for going to the net, going to the corners, being in the right spot, and playing with his head up.
The Rangers have a few more guys as of late that are playing with energy and enthusiams, joy for a game we all love. But Ryan Callahan did that each and every game, even in the very, very bad ones.
Ryan Callahan for Extra Effort. The guy truly has gone above and beyond.
Around the League:
Forgive me that I'm still not getting around to the Coyotes quotes that I promised earlier in the week. It's been another busy one. They will come eventually.
In other Saturday action, THE game to watch was Montreal/Toronto. Granted, I did not watch because I was at the Garden, but I got the score update and when it was 3-0 Toronto, I took a breath and thought about those in Montreal.
Here's my personal opinion. As a hockey fan and a fan of all that is great in hockey, I would surely have loved to see the Montreal Canadiens make the playoffs, in this, their 100th season. I know all of Montreal wanted the same thing.
But, as was the case when Montreal played Boston in the opening round of last year's playoffs, I was forced to face reality. Whoever the better team is, they should be the team moving forward. It doesn't always work that way - I honestly think Boston was the better team in that series - but most of the time the water levels out.
If Montreal does not make the playoffs this year, it is because they just weren't good enough. It will be a shame for their fans and for the city, but it has to be that way.
I've listen to debates rage on the Team990 and on HNIC for months now, about everything from a lack of passion, the necessity for franchophone coaches, incidents of inpropriety with those with mob connections to the never ending saga of Alex Kovalev. I've listened to it all.
My personal advice. If the Habs make the playoffs, fine. But if they do not, everyone in that organization needs to take a gut check. Granted, the team stands to be a different team anyway next fall because of free agency and contract expirations, but whoever is left has to take that time. That time to see what pieces belong, those that are not needed, and what they want from this team.
Do they want to be a team that has to have a franchophone coach and players from Quebec, even if another coach or another player is better? Do they want a team that has leaders that the players can emulate, as PJ Stock brought up on Friday's show?
They are the Montreal Canadiens. They should want to be the best hockey team in the league. With players who understand that. A key group of leaders, but more importantly, a group of guys who take TRUE pride in the sweater. A group of guys that even if they are not the best, will take every effort night in and night out to be the best, so that even the fans can say, yes, they gave their all.
True, in Montreal, the city where the team is disected by each and every person in the media and on the streets, such things are hard. But all the more reason for the management - whoever that may be going forward - to make sure they have the right group of players in that locker room. The right mix with the right attitude. If ever a player on a team needed a rock solid attitude to do their jobs it is for that team, in that city.
I am not sure what quite changed with Montreal from last year to this. I thought they would be among the best in the east. They don't have too many more games to figure it out.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Around the League: Tip of the Helmet, Rangers, and More. . .
Before going on to talk about the Rangers, in brief, I will take a little while to share my thoughts on Devils goalie Martin Brodeur's noteworthy accomplishment last night.
Bill Clement was on XM204 with Rossi and Phil this afternoon and he actually gave me the perfect starting point for whatever it was I thought I was going to write.
He said he feels that Marty, in direct difference to any other goalie that has made remarkable contributions to the game or holds records of significance, is a person that everyone, regardless of what team they root for, genuinely likes.
He said some members of Sawchuks own team hated him. He said Patrick Roy was a hated man in Detroit. But, he said, he couldn't imagine anyone in any arena last night not being happy for Marty Brodeur because he was such a great guy.
Phil agreed.
Rossi did not.
Not that Marty's not a good guy, mind you. I'm sure he is. But Rossi said he didn't think the people at Madison Square Garden liked Marty.
I, as a Rangers fan, definitely agree.
There is a great tragedy that comes with being a hockey fan of a particular team. You will never, no matter how truly great they are, give one of the games great players all the adoration and respect they deserve if they happen to suit up for your least favorite team.
As a Rangers fan, there are a few rivals to contend with. The Flyers of the 70s, the Islanders of the 80s, the Devils of the 90s. And, to be honest, the team I hate losing to now more than ever is the Penguins, so it can be argued they are the rival of the late 00s. The Rangers certainly do not lack for rivals.
And there are few other fans in this league, unless they are from Montreal and adored Brodeur for his hometown roots, unless they just happened to be a goalie worshiper and he was "their" guy, or unless they are fans of the Devils, that would have seen more of Marty Brodeur than Rangers fans.
Trust me.
He has been there at our best moments (1994, 1997, 2008) and our worst moments (1997 through 2004; and again in 2006). Through it all, that has been THE guy in goal. Six times a year or eight times a year. Four intense playoff rounds. He was the guy, is the guy, and will continue to be the guy.
I frankly cannot picture the Devils without Martin Brodeur. As much as Devils fans will be sad when he retires, Rangers fans will be left with a sense of utter disillusionment; a sense of - well what now.
Having one of the best goaltenders in the history of the game in your face so often makes him seem more human than he should, I guess. I mean, the guy is hands down fantastic and dominated your team into embarassment for an eight year stretch and yet, he's really just Marty.
When he's not Maaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyy that is. ;)
His greatness, because of the rivalry, is lost on many of us Rangers fans. We can't see the greatness because we are caught up in everything else. The hatred of the rivalry, the joshing with the opposing fans. The utter thrill when he DOESN'T perform up to his great standards. That's when we, as Rangers fans, get a break.
I still wouldn't go so far as to say he's hated though. He's not hated by me, I'll make that clear. I will not hate a player because he's good. And he is certainly that and more. But I never liked him. And it was more because he appeared - despite what I hear and what other people say of him - to have an attitude. And I know for a fact that the year the Devils finally beat the Rangers in a playoff round - that was like another Stanley Cup for him, more important than all that followed. He also, and maybe it's just against New York, always seemed to not give credit when one of our guys beat him cleanly. A nice move in the shootout and Marty was saying the shooter didn't mean to do that, and he got lucky. So for me to say I liked him, would be a lie. I preach honesty here at Natural Hat Trick. So I won't lie.
I'll be honest. I do not think Rangers fans were doing backflips last night. I don't think think they like him.
But as the record creeped up, and I made a few mentions of kudos here to Marty at NHTP, I admitted what needed to be said. He has been, during most of the time I've watched him, the greatest goalie of his generation, next to Patrick Roy.
Now, after last night, he is - numerically - the winningest goalie in the history of the league. If he was always one of the best, last night might have pushed him over the edge. That, though, will remain a debate for as long as hockey is played.
He deserves nothing less than a giant tip of the helmet for what he did last night. And a sincere round of applause for what he has done and what that means for our great game.
Rangers fan or not, I am a hockey fan, and something like that commands respect. And for that, he has mine.
Bill and the guys on Home Ice went onto list names of goalies currently playing and where they were in relation to Brodeur's numbers, and who, if any could catch him, and how much they'd have to win to catch him.
I think that's pointless. I don't think anyone we have heard of now will ever beat Brodeur's record. It would take not only a fantastic goalie, but circumstances beyond what we can imagine now.
Brodeur played his whole career for one team. Started young. Was good young. Played for a team that was a defensive powerhouse for a decade. And a league powerhouse for just as long. And he, luckily, saw his first major injury of his career - this year. Not many will be that lucky. Many greater goalies, perhaps, will play for worse teams, get an untimely injury, or come into the league at the wrong time.
I really respect how Marty is saying he is going to pad his totals more, so that when someone does catch him, it will be more of a challenge.
Because he is saying - in essense - that someone will catch him. Someday.
And yes, someday, perhaps, someone will. Someone we have yet to hear of. Someone who probably hasn't been born yet. Perhaps someday someone will pass him.
Perhaps.
Records, they said, are made to be broken.
But on this day and for the long, long foreseeable future, the record holder is Martin Brodeur.
I tip my helmet to you Marty for the great things he has done for our game. Congratulations.
Rangers/The Short Stuff:
Circumstances prevented me from watching the game last night, and despite the night, not ones involving beer. I did, however, listen on radio until I was able to get home and watch the shootout on TV. It sounded like one of the best games of the season, as people have expressed. I LOVE back and forth hockey. And while the get a goal, give one up, routine can get old, I think that's a refreshing change of pace from get four goal lead, blow four goal lead, no?
Important game and very imporant work from some key people. Antropov was interviewed after the game. Apparently coaches told him to shoot more. He has looked like has a very, very nice shot. So I concur. Shoot big man, shoot.
And Hank, a man who I saw literally crumbling at the seems earlier this year during the dark days, has looked as refreshed and as changed a man as I have seen yet in his recent interviews. I've watched 95% of his interviews since he came into the league. I had never seen him as uncomfortable as he was during those dark days. It's a pleasure to now see his eyes crinkle in happiness. Not tense in frustration. Or wary in relief. But happy and confident that he is playing well, he can play better, but that the team around him is playing again so that the margin doesn't have to be so ackingly thin.
Good stuff. Big weekend ahead. I hope the new, fun attitude continues.
Yotes:
I plan to finish watching some of the game I missed in my exhaustion last night, but I will share two facts.
One, Darren Pang was on a Prucha praising streak again last night. :) I'll type up what he said when I have more time later in the week or this weekend. Worth hearing for Prucha fans. And not shocking. Somewhat shocking, the little big man saw more time on the penalty kill than the powerplay. This provides me with such a sense of joy, I cannot tell you. A young player - yes still young - getting opportunities he was not given and never would have been given. Maybe he'll be the team's best penalty killer. In New York, we never would have known.
Two, Dmitri Kalinin made a nice play to keep the puck in the offensive zone and got in position to score his first as a Coyote. Come on now, who would have thought Kalinin would be the first of the three departed Rangers to score in burgandy and white? Maybe it was the desert air.
Oh one more, while I'm at it. Saturday at Jobing.com Arena is 80s night. 80s music and fans invited to dress the part.
Tell me that would ever happen in New York.
Only in the desert. . .
**I woke up this morning and looked at the New York Post. Martin Brodeur was on the back cover. This surprised me, not because he did not deserve it - he totally deserves it - but because I don't remember a hockey moment on the backpages since Messier's jersey retirement. I may be wrong, but it's been a long while. And certainly a longer time for something a hockey player did - in game. Not since perhaps Mark passed Gordie Howe in points in November of 2003. As deserving as Marty is to get the back cover - and he is - it just reminded me what a shame it is that it happens so infreqently in our city.**
Bill Clement was on XM204 with Rossi and Phil this afternoon and he actually gave me the perfect starting point for whatever it was I thought I was going to write.
He said he feels that Marty, in direct difference to any other goalie that has made remarkable contributions to the game or holds records of significance, is a person that everyone, regardless of what team they root for, genuinely likes.
He said some members of Sawchuks own team hated him. He said Patrick Roy was a hated man in Detroit. But, he said, he couldn't imagine anyone in any arena last night not being happy for Marty Brodeur because he was such a great guy.
Phil agreed.
Rossi did not.
Not that Marty's not a good guy, mind you. I'm sure he is. But Rossi said he didn't think the people at Madison Square Garden liked Marty.
I, as a Rangers fan, definitely agree.
There is a great tragedy that comes with being a hockey fan of a particular team. You will never, no matter how truly great they are, give one of the games great players all the adoration and respect they deserve if they happen to suit up for your least favorite team.
As a Rangers fan, there are a few rivals to contend with. The Flyers of the 70s, the Islanders of the 80s, the Devils of the 90s. And, to be honest, the team I hate losing to now more than ever is the Penguins, so it can be argued they are the rival of the late 00s. The Rangers certainly do not lack for rivals.
And there are few other fans in this league, unless they are from Montreal and adored Brodeur for his hometown roots, unless they just happened to be a goalie worshiper and he was "their" guy, or unless they are fans of the Devils, that would have seen more of Marty Brodeur than Rangers fans.
Trust me.
He has been there at our best moments (1994, 1997, 2008) and our worst moments (1997 through 2004; and again in 2006). Through it all, that has been THE guy in goal. Six times a year or eight times a year. Four intense playoff rounds. He was the guy, is the guy, and will continue to be the guy.
I frankly cannot picture the Devils without Martin Brodeur. As much as Devils fans will be sad when he retires, Rangers fans will be left with a sense of utter disillusionment; a sense of - well what now.
Having one of the best goaltenders in the history of the game in your face so often makes him seem more human than he should, I guess. I mean, the guy is hands down fantastic and dominated your team into embarassment for an eight year stretch and yet, he's really just Marty.
When he's not Maaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyy that is. ;)
His greatness, because of the rivalry, is lost on many of us Rangers fans. We can't see the greatness because we are caught up in everything else. The hatred of the rivalry, the joshing with the opposing fans. The utter thrill when he DOESN'T perform up to his great standards. That's when we, as Rangers fans, get a break.
I still wouldn't go so far as to say he's hated though. He's not hated by me, I'll make that clear. I will not hate a player because he's good. And he is certainly that and more. But I never liked him. And it was more because he appeared - despite what I hear and what other people say of him - to have an attitude. And I know for a fact that the year the Devils finally beat the Rangers in a playoff round - that was like another Stanley Cup for him, more important than all that followed. He also, and maybe it's just against New York, always seemed to not give credit when one of our guys beat him cleanly. A nice move in the shootout and Marty was saying the shooter didn't mean to do that, and he got lucky. So for me to say I liked him, would be a lie. I preach honesty here at Natural Hat Trick. So I won't lie.
I'll be honest. I do not think Rangers fans were doing backflips last night. I don't think think they like him.
But as the record creeped up, and I made a few mentions of kudos here to Marty at NHTP, I admitted what needed to be said. He has been, during most of the time I've watched him, the greatest goalie of his generation, next to Patrick Roy.
Now, after last night, he is - numerically - the winningest goalie in the history of the league. If he was always one of the best, last night might have pushed him over the edge. That, though, will remain a debate for as long as hockey is played.
He deserves nothing less than a giant tip of the helmet for what he did last night. And a sincere round of applause for what he has done and what that means for our great game.
Rangers fan or not, I am a hockey fan, and something like that commands respect. And for that, he has mine.
Bill and the guys on Home Ice went onto list names of goalies currently playing and where they were in relation to Brodeur's numbers, and who, if any could catch him, and how much they'd have to win to catch him.
I think that's pointless. I don't think anyone we have heard of now will ever beat Brodeur's record. It would take not only a fantastic goalie, but circumstances beyond what we can imagine now.
Brodeur played his whole career for one team. Started young. Was good young. Played for a team that was a defensive powerhouse for a decade. And a league powerhouse for just as long. And he, luckily, saw his first major injury of his career - this year. Not many will be that lucky. Many greater goalies, perhaps, will play for worse teams, get an untimely injury, or come into the league at the wrong time.
I really respect how Marty is saying he is going to pad his totals more, so that when someone does catch him, it will be more of a challenge.
Because he is saying - in essense - that someone will catch him. Someday.
And yes, someday, perhaps, someone will. Someone we have yet to hear of. Someone who probably hasn't been born yet. Perhaps someday someone will pass him.
Perhaps.
Records, they said, are made to be broken.
But on this day and for the long, long foreseeable future, the record holder is Martin Brodeur.
I tip my helmet to you Marty for the great things he has done for our game. Congratulations.
Rangers/The Short Stuff:
Circumstances prevented me from watching the game last night, and despite the night, not ones involving beer. I did, however, listen on radio until I was able to get home and watch the shootout on TV. It sounded like one of the best games of the season, as people have expressed. I LOVE back and forth hockey. And while the get a goal, give one up, routine can get old, I think that's a refreshing change of pace from get four goal lead, blow four goal lead, no?
Important game and very imporant work from some key people. Antropov was interviewed after the game. Apparently coaches told him to shoot more. He has looked like has a very, very nice shot. So I concur. Shoot big man, shoot.
And Hank, a man who I saw literally crumbling at the seems earlier this year during the dark days, has looked as refreshed and as changed a man as I have seen yet in his recent interviews. I've watched 95% of his interviews since he came into the league. I had never seen him as uncomfortable as he was during those dark days. It's a pleasure to now see his eyes crinkle in happiness. Not tense in frustration. Or wary in relief. But happy and confident that he is playing well, he can play better, but that the team around him is playing again so that the margin doesn't have to be so ackingly thin.
Good stuff. Big weekend ahead. I hope the new, fun attitude continues.
Yotes:
I plan to finish watching some of the game I missed in my exhaustion last night, but I will share two facts.
One, Darren Pang was on a Prucha praising streak again last night. :) I'll type up what he said when I have more time later in the week or this weekend. Worth hearing for Prucha fans. And not shocking. Somewhat shocking, the little big man saw more time on the penalty kill than the powerplay. This provides me with such a sense of joy, I cannot tell you. A young player - yes still young - getting opportunities he was not given and never would have been given. Maybe he'll be the team's best penalty killer. In New York, we never would have known.
Two, Dmitri Kalinin made a nice play to keep the puck in the offensive zone and got in position to score his first as a Coyote. Come on now, who would have thought Kalinin would be the first of the three departed Rangers to score in burgandy and white? Maybe it was the desert air.
Oh one more, while I'm at it. Saturday at Jobing.com Arena is 80s night. 80s music and fans invited to dress the part.
Tell me that would ever happen in New York.
Only in the desert. . .
**I woke up this morning and looked at the New York Post. Martin Brodeur was on the back cover. This surprised me, not because he did not deserve it - he totally deserves it - but because I don't remember a hockey moment on the backpages since Messier's jersey retirement. I may be wrong, but it's been a long while. And certainly a longer time for something a hockey player did - in game. Not since perhaps Mark passed Gordie Howe in points in November of 2003. As deserving as Marty is to get the back cover - and he is - it just reminded me what a shame it is that it happens so infreqently in our city.**
Monday, March 2, 2009
Around the League: Trade Rumors, Milestones, and Tums and Tylenol Part 2. . .
Trade Rumors:
Toronto:
I'm listening to the Team 990 on this snowy day here in Metro NY. Sounds like former Ranger and current Maple Leaf, Dominic Moore, may be on a few team's radars this Wednesday. He's had a better than pretty good season for Toronto (12G, 29A for 41P), and could definitely fetch some interest.
Trust me, I always liked Dom Moore. Good guy and as I alluded to in Where Are They Now a few days ago, a guy that was able to center a line that made Hollweg and Ortmeyer look good. (Come on, I'm not the only one that misses HMO? And I greatly miss Jed as well.)
Also on the block for TO are Ukranian Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov of Kazakhstan. And Czech Tomas Kaberle who said he'd waive his no-trade clause.
Remember, news originally out of Toronto was that anyone minus Johh Mitchell, Luke Schenn, and Mikhail Grabovsky were up to be had. It was later alluded to be anyone but young super guy Schenn.
The only thing that gets me is that Toronto did significantly better than I thought they would this year. Imagine if Vesa Toskala did not start so slowly and was playing as well as he does against the Rangers, well, against everyone else. I thought they'd be a bottom two team in the East.
Now, granted, if they give up most of their team, they might very well fall back there. But at present, they are in 11th place with 62 points, but only 7 points behind Buffalo and Carolina who both have 69. It would be a long shot, so I have no problem with them selling, mind you, but they surprised me quite a bit this year.
Montreal:
Well, so a two day break makes Alex Kovalev look like "good" Alex once again (2G, 5A in 3 games after coming back). Also in the plus column for Montreal is Tomas Plekanec who has 6G, 4A in 6 games since rejoining the Habs lineup.
Interesting though is Mike Komisarek's play starting to fall again; Randy and Tony on the Team 990 are not sure why.
I'd honestly take Komisarek on my team any day, but thanks to Sather's money follies, it appears the Rangers may never get the true stay at home defenseman they coveted. Unless they find a way to convince someone that Gomez, Redden, Drury, and the rest of the Fab Five, are valuable to their own teams.
Now I thought Montreal was going to contend for top spot in the East. Obviously the 100th season in Montreal was anything but what Habs fans thought it would be (understatement of year). I still think they'll fall to the middle of the playoff pack though.
Milestones:
Big kudos to Flames Captain Jarome Iginla for now being the all-time leader in points for the franchise. It's unfortunate that on a night where their leader and captain had five points (2G, 3A) including his 400th career goal, that the Flames could not overcome Tampa Bay, falling 8-6.
Takes nothing from his great accomplishment though. The do-everything poster boy has now, well, done everything.
Almost.
In NJ, Marty continues to shock us all. Although should we really be shocked anymore? Four months off. Surgery for the worst injury of his career. Guy comes back to record two shutouts for his club in three games, the second being the 100th of his NHL career, leaving him only three behind the all-time mark set by Terry Sawchuk. With five more wins, he'll pass Patrick Roy for most wins in league history.
It should be more shocking. But it isn't. We're apparently accustomed to his greatness.
Rangers - Buy/Sell/Stand Pat?
If I had a vote, I'd say stand pat. Well as much pat as you can stand when it's essentially a given they will at least do all within their power to regain their fallen winger, Sean Avery, as Dallas is supposed to waive him today, at noon.
And I'm fine with that. If this is truly the only place that Avery can play, then let him play here. A 6-1 win over Colorado is nice, but I still think Avery can help provide a spark to this team. I'm still really holding onto my words earlier this year that Avery has been and can be an effective NHL player. If he couldn't prove it in Dallas, then let him come back here. I'll welcome him, with open arms.
My concern - hence the Tums and Tylenol Part 2 - is what exactly the Rangers will do besides that. The cause of all my worries.
When I was younger, Trade Deadline Day did not hold the joy and anguish it does today. In fact, it's now a seasons worth of Tums and Tylenol days, especially being a Rangers fan.
But it's at this time of year (July 1st Free Agent Frenzy Day being the other), that I keep both medicinals close at hand as a buffer to whatever Glen may do.
Look, bottom line: I think the Rangers can and should make the playoffs. As is. I really do. It might be close, but I think they do. I had them in at 6. I can see them being no higher than that, or certainly being 7 or 8. It remains to be seen whether the final team becomes Pittsburgh, Carolina or Buffalo. But I think the Rangers can make it.
That being said. I do not see this team being a contender. Again, 6-1 was nice. And I think Torts will make them a better team going forward. BUT, the big contracts have and will continue to handicap. That's a fact. And them, along with the other less expensive pieces, just do not have it. At least not that I can see. They probably will/should make the playoffs, but I do not see them making it past round one, unless whoever they are playing stumbles, badly.
Therefore, I am hoping - probably in vain - that there is no major, major shakeups to this team. Because I would hate - HATE! - to see them mortgage the young guys and the future - AGAIN! - to get some old guy/rental player that will not be on this team next year and will not make them better this year.
Besides Avery, I don't see what you do. I hope they don't mess it up.
Tums, Tylenol...the countdown continues.
Where Are They Now. . . ?
Team Player Action Note
New Jersey Brendan Shanahan Assist
Calgary Jamie Lundmark G(2)
Columbus Manny Malhotra Assist
Toronto:
I'm listening to the Team 990 on this snowy day here in Metro NY. Sounds like former Ranger and current Maple Leaf, Dominic Moore, may be on a few team's radars this Wednesday. He's had a better than pretty good season for Toronto (12G, 29A for 41P), and could definitely fetch some interest.
Trust me, I always liked Dom Moore. Good guy and as I alluded to in Where Are They Now a few days ago, a guy that was able to center a line that made Hollweg and Ortmeyer look good. (Come on, I'm not the only one that misses HMO? And I greatly miss Jed as well.)
Also on the block for TO are Ukranian Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov of Kazakhstan. And Czech Tomas Kaberle who said he'd waive his no-trade clause.
Remember, news originally out of Toronto was that anyone minus Johh Mitchell, Luke Schenn, and Mikhail Grabovsky were up to be had. It was later alluded to be anyone but young super guy Schenn.
The only thing that gets me is that Toronto did significantly better than I thought they would this year. Imagine if Vesa Toskala did not start so slowly and was playing as well as he does against the Rangers, well, against everyone else. I thought they'd be a bottom two team in the East.
Now, granted, if they give up most of their team, they might very well fall back there. But at present, they are in 11th place with 62 points, but only 7 points behind Buffalo and Carolina who both have 69. It would be a long shot, so I have no problem with them selling, mind you, but they surprised me quite a bit this year.
Montreal:
Well, so a two day break makes Alex Kovalev look like "good" Alex once again (2G, 5A in 3 games after coming back). Also in the plus column for Montreal is Tomas Plekanec who has 6G, 4A in 6 games since rejoining the Habs lineup.
Interesting though is Mike Komisarek's play starting to fall again; Randy and Tony on the Team 990 are not sure why.
I'd honestly take Komisarek on my team any day, but thanks to Sather's money follies, it appears the Rangers may never get the true stay at home defenseman they coveted. Unless they find a way to convince someone that Gomez, Redden, Drury, and the rest of the Fab Five, are valuable to their own teams.
Now I thought Montreal was going to contend for top spot in the East. Obviously the 100th season in Montreal was anything but what Habs fans thought it would be (understatement of year). I still think they'll fall to the middle of the playoff pack though.
Milestones:
Big kudos to Flames Captain Jarome Iginla for now being the all-time leader in points for the franchise. It's unfortunate that on a night where their leader and captain had five points (2G, 3A) including his 400th career goal, that the Flames could not overcome Tampa Bay, falling 8-6.
Takes nothing from his great accomplishment though. The do-everything poster boy has now, well, done everything.
Almost.
In NJ, Marty continues to shock us all. Although should we really be shocked anymore? Four months off. Surgery for the worst injury of his career. Guy comes back to record two shutouts for his club in three games, the second being the 100th of his NHL career, leaving him only three behind the all-time mark set by Terry Sawchuk. With five more wins, he'll pass Patrick Roy for most wins in league history.
It should be more shocking. But it isn't. We're apparently accustomed to his greatness.
Rangers - Buy/Sell/Stand Pat?
If I had a vote, I'd say stand pat. Well as much pat as you can stand when it's essentially a given they will at least do all within their power to regain their fallen winger, Sean Avery, as Dallas is supposed to waive him today, at noon.
And I'm fine with that. If this is truly the only place that Avery can play, then let him play here. A 6-1 win over Colorado is nice, but I still think Avery can help provide a spark to this team. I'm still really holding onto my words earlier this year that Avery has been and can be an effective NHL player. If he couldn't prove it in Dallas, then let him come back here. I'll welcome him, with open arms.
My concern - hence the Tums and Tylenol Part 2 - is what exactly the Rangers will do besides that. The cause of all my worries.
When I was younger, Trade Deadline Day did not hold the joy and anguish it does today. In fact, it's now a seasons worth of Tums and Tylenol days, especially being a Rangers fan.
But it's at this time of year (July 1st Free Agent Frenzy Day being the other), that I keep both medicinals close at hand as a buffer to whatever Glen may do.
Look, bottom line: I think the Rangers can and should make the playoffs. As is. I really do. It might be close, but I think they do. I had them in at 6. I can see them being no higher than that, or certainly being 7 or 8. It remains to be seen whether the final team becomes Pittsburgh, Carolina or Buffalo. But I think the Rangers can make it.
That being said. I do not see this team being a contender. Again, 6-1 was nice. And I think Torts will make them a better team going forward. BUT, the big contracts have and will continue to handicap. That's a fact. And them, along with the other less expensive pieces, just do not have it. At least not that I can see. They probably will/should make the playoffs, but I do not see them making it past round one, unless whoever they are playing stumbles, badly.
Therefore, I am hoping - probably in vain - that there is no major, major shakeups to this team. Because I would hate - HATE! - to see them mortgage the young guys and the future - AGAIN! - to get some old guy/rental player that will not be on this team next year and will not make them better this year.
Besides Avery, I don't see what you do. I hope they don't mess it up.
Tums, Tylenol...the countdown continues.
Where Are They Now. . . ?
Team Player Action Note
New Jersey Brendan Shanahan Assist
Calgary Jamie Lundmark G(2)
Columbus Manny Malhotra Assist
Sunday, February 22, 2009
This Is Getting Old Folks. . .
It is indeed getting old folks. And not just the losses. No. I've been a Rangers fan long enough to see them lose plenty - plenty! - of games.
No. It's the way they are losing. The same way, over and over. With lifelessness. With an utter lack of intensity. With what appears to be an almost unbelievable inability to score goals. And with the same - same! - stale answers from the players and from the coaching stuff.
It's getting hard to take.
Hockey is a pretty fundamental game. To win, you must score goals. Note, no team has ever WON a game without scoring a goal (And for all those trying to prove me wrong, you inevitably have to net a goal in a shootout in order to win that too. Back when there were ties, it could be 0-0 forever, but well that is not a win either).
To score goals, you don't have to be fancy with the puck. But you do have to be decisive with it. You can be simple, but not so simple that the goalie has no problem whatsoever stopping the puck.
The Rangers, it seems, have lost all fundamentals, and the most basic of all is the prime example. The cannot score. And if they do, it's four goals in a game, and then right back to struggling mediocrity the next.
I didn't watch the game. Yet I can very easily imagine, based on the last ten or so, how it went down. Fell down 2-0 early. (Sound familiar?). Fell down 3-0. TV sets around the greater NY metro area turn off because all Rangers fans know there is a one in a million chance the Rangers will come back to tie. A one in a billion chance they will come back to win.
I have no major insight as to why they are so horrible. Why they can't do the one thing so fundamental to this game we all love. I don't. I do think it's beyond comprehension that an entire team of professionals - yes professionals - would all go dry at once. I do. For let's face it, it's not just been these last ten or so games. It's been the whole damn year. And the powerplay woes. The powerplay hasn't been good in three years now. Tell me that's not a drought of epic proportions, one that is probably close to rivaling all time worst status, for any team.
And yet, same stale team. Same stale response. Same stale answers.
Look, I'm not sure what else they are supposed to say, except stale responses. But it is so rare to get one of them - any one of them - save Mara and Hank to show some emotion post game.
I like Hank. Hank is an open book. He might give post game interviews that are easy to digest, but he is one of the - if not the - most intuitive about his own performance. I feel his answers, while not flashy, are extremely thoughtful. And at times when he is angry at himself- as I've seen more often this year than in the last three preceeding it - you can tell. You can look in his eyes, hear the tone in his voice, and tell. He's still professional. But you can tell.
I'm not even going to get into Renney's repetitively stale answers and why for that reason alone this guy should not be let within 20 feet of an interview room. Accountability? For the players? We all know how well that has gone. What about himself? What about accountability for himself and his staff? Are they fooling anyone into thinking they are actually trying to fix this team? Trying anything different? Trying anything at all?
I was a few weeks behind on HNIC and caught up a bit yesterday. Kelly Hrudey and PJ Stock brought up something very interesting in their now apparently weekly analysis of the Montreal team. (And parallels between here and there are sometimes very eerie).
They talked about how a goalie's body language can affect the rest of the team and how the personality of a player or two can carry over to the rest. They showed the sequence of the 7-2 pasting that Montreal got at the hands of the Oilers. Carey Price looks defeated. They showed his eyes. Wide, staring at his defensemen. Asking, what is going on here? Staring to the bench. Defeated. A man defeated. A team defeated.
Now, they used Price as the example. There is a lot more going on there than he, that's for sure. And I'm not even trying to parallel goalies here, although in that game in - wait for it - Montreal when Hank and Renney got into a little screaming match on the bench and Hank started screaming at Gomez, I could see a parallel. Hank (and Vali) this year have been let down by their entire team. Watching the Montreal D not do anything to stop Edmonton (literally standing there) was no different than watching the Rangers D against Dallas when Vali was in net in their 10-2 diabacle. Absolute statues.
Before I get too far from where I was going with this, I have thought and perhaps I have alluded, but I think now, more than ever, this team has taken on the personalities of each other.
Look perhaps Drury, Redden, and the crew were always softspoken men with out the ability to dazzle. Maybe on that we should not be shocked.
But surely Naslund had more life in his years in Vancouver. We've all seen Gomez with more life. Zherdev. Dubinsky. The list can go on and on.
This team admits they like each other - they really like each other. That's all fine and good. But...if they have fallen - as it desperately appears they have - into this hole of complacency, this world of free-fall of which there seems to be no cure, then it is not fine. It's NOT fine.
And the only thing that makes it worse is how every player (save a precious few), has taken the same exact nosedive. At the same exact time. In the same exact way.
One passionless player can affect a team. Look no further than whatever the heck was going on in Montreal with Alex Kovalev.
Kids on a team look to the leaders. Teammates on a team look to those that have done it before.
Maybe Gomez worked in NJ, because the team fed off personalities like Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko. Perhaps Drury worked in Colorado because he had a team of big talent and everyone followed the Joe Sakic mold. (Goalie troubles understood, but that Colorado team is a shadow of it's former self without Sakic to look up to, I feel).
Then take those two players - Gomez and Drury - and throw them into a situation where they have to lead, they have to inspire. Look at what happens! There is no heart. There is no passion. It's a sad group of non-leaders leading this team right back into obscurity. I really feel the whole damn thing has been contagious. I really do. Not everyone can possibly be this bad.
And if it's not the teams "leaders" and their stale personalities that are poisoning this team, perhaps it is the other man in charge that let it get that way.
If this is the team you wanted, Tom Renney, congratulations. They keep doing the same thing over and over, and failing miserably at it. They keep displaying boring and vanilla to the point that it's become the norm. And to justify it, they keep throwing out the same stale worthless answers - "We've got to be better. I thought we played well. We need to get back to winning." - night after night.
Sound familiar coach? Don't tell me you haven't heard it before.
I have no more words than that. No more pressing thought that that. This team's troubles are at an all time worst, and there is no one - no one on this team right now - that can fix the personality crisis that is so obviously poisoning this team.
Gomez was right though, in what he said after the Dallas game earlier this month. That was not rock bottom.
The only thing sadder than that realization of truth: there is not that much further this team has room to fall.
No. It's the way they are losing. The same way, over and over. With lifelessness. With an utter lack of intensity. With what appears to be an almost unbelievable inability to score goals. And with the same - same! - stale answers from the players and from the coaching stuff.
It's getting hard to take.
Hockey is a pretty fundamental game. To win, you must score goals. Note, no team has ever WON a game without scoring a goal (And for all those trying to prove me wrong, you inevitably have to net a goal in a shootout in order to win that too. Back when there were ties, it could be 0-0 forever, but well that is not a win either).
To score goals, you don't have to be fancy with the puck. But you do have to be decisive with it. You can be simple, but not so simple that the goalie has no problem whatsoever stopping the puck.
The Rangers, it seems, have lost all fundamentals, and the most basic of all is the prime example. The cannot score. And if they do, it's four goals in a game, and then right back to struggling mediocrity the next.
I didn't watch the game. Yet I can very easily imagine, based on the last ten or so, how it went down. Fell down 2-0 early. (Sound familiar?). Fell down 3-0. TV sets around the greater NY metro area turn off because all Rangers fans know there is a one in a million chance the Rangers will come back to tie. A one in a billion chance they will come back to win.
I have no major insight as to why they are so horrible. Why they can't do the one thing so fundamental to this game we all love. I don't. I do think it's beyond comprehension that an entire team of professionals - yes professionals - would all go dry at once. I do. For let's face it, it's not just been these last ten or so games. It's been the whole damn year. And the powerplay woes. The powerplay hasn't been good in three years now. Tell me that's not a drought of epic proportions, one that is probably close to rivaling all time worst status, for any team.
And yet, same stale team. Same stale response. Same stale answers.
Look, I'm not sure what else they are supposed to say, except stale responses. But it is so rare to get one of them - any one of them - save Mara and Hank to show some emotion post game.
I like Hank. Hank is an open book. He might give post game interviews that are easy to digest, but he is one of the - if not the - most intuitive about his own performance. I feel his answers, while not flashy, are extremely thoughtful. And at times when he is angry at himself- as I've seen more often this year than in the last three preceeding it - you can tell. You can look in his eyes, hear the tone in his voice, and tell. He's still professional. But you can tell.
I'm not even going to get into Renney's repetitively stale answers and why for that reason alone this guy should not be let within 20 feet of an interview room. Accountability? For the players? We all know how well that has gone. What about himself? What about accountability for himself and his staff? Are they fooling anyone into thinking they are actually trying to fix this team? Trying anything different? Trying anything at all?
I was a few weeks behind on HNIC and caught up a bit yesterday. Kelly Hrudey and PJ Stock brought up something very interesting in their now apparently weekly analysis of the Montreal team. (And parallels between here and there are sometimes very eerie).
They talked about how a goalie's body language can affect the rest of the team and how the personality of a player or two can carry over to the rest. They showed the sequence of the 7-2 pasting that Montreal got at the hands of the Oilers. Carey Price looks defeated. They showed his eyes. Wide, staring at his defensemen. Asking, what is going on here? Staring to the bench. Defeated. A man defeated. A team defeated.
Now, they used Price as the example. There is a lot more going on there than he, that's for sure. And I'm not even trying to parallel goalies here, although in that game in - wait for it - Montreal when Hank and Renney got into a little screaming match on the bench and Hank started screaming at Gomez, I could see a parallel. Hank (and Vali) this year have been let down by their entire team. Watching the Montreal D not do anything to stop Edmonton (literally standing there) was no different than watching the Rangers D against Dallas when Vali was in net in their 10-2 diabacle. Absolute statues.
Before I get too far from where I was going with this, I have thought and perhaps I have alluded, but I think now, more than ever, this team has taken on the personalities of each other.
Look perhaps Drury, Redden, and the crew were always softspoken men with out the ability to dazzle. Maybe on that we should not be shocked.
But surely Naslund had more life in his years in Vancouver. We've all seen Gomez with more life. Zherdev. Dubinsky. The list can go on and on.
This team admits they like each other - they really like each other. That's all fine and good. But...if they have fallen - as it desperately appears they have - into this hole of complacency, this world of free-fall of which there seems to be no cure, then it is not fine. It's NOT fine.
And the only thing that makes it worse is how every player (save a precious few), has taken the same exact nosedive. At the same exact time. In the same exact way.
One passionless player can affect a team. Look no further than whatever the heck was going on in Montreal with Alex Kovalev.
Kids on a team look to the leaders. Teammates on a team look to those that have done it before.
Maybe Gomez worked in NJ, because the team fed off personalities like Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko. Perhaps Drury worked in Colorado because he had a team of big talent and everyone followed the Joe Sakic mold. (Goalie troubles understood, but that Colorado team is a shadow of it's former self without Sakic to look up to, I feel).
Then take those two players - Gomez and Drury - and throw them into a situation where they have to lead, they have to inspire. Look at what happens! There is no heart. There is no passion. It's a sad group of non-leaders leading this team right back into obscurity. I really feel the whole damn thing has been contagious. I really do. Not everyone can possibly be this bad.
And if it's not the teams "leaders" and their stale personalities that are poisoning this team, perhaps it is the other man in charge that let it get that way.
If this is the team you wanted, Tom Renney, congratulations. They keep doing the same thing over and over, and failing miserably at it. They keep displaying boring and vanilla to the point that it's become the norm. And to justify it, they keep throwing out the same stale worthless answers - "We've got to be better. I thought we played well. We need to get back to winning." - night after night.
Sound familiar coach? Don't tell me you haven't heard it before.
I have no more words than that. No more pressing thought that that. This team's troubles are at an all time worst, and there is no one - no one on this team right now - that can fix the personality crisis that is so obviously poisoning this team.
Gomez was right though, in what he said after the Dallas game earlier this month. That was not rock bottom.
The only thing sadder than that realization of truth: there is not that much further this team has room to fall.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Around the League: More From Montreal, Snaps for Stamkos, and A Promise of Interesting at MSG . . .
Can I Get Bread With That?:
Speculation out of Montreal (courtesy Team990) includes a theory that Alex Kovalev has been traded to Pittsburgh, but that Gainey will not let Kovalev go until after the two teams play tomorrow. Any truth to it? We'll have to wait til Friday to see, I guess. It's just a little more than mildly interesting the way everything has played out there in this the Habs 100th season, no?
If you can care less about the Canadiens but still want to know what's up in Montreal. I found out today you can go to Bocci Resto Cafe for the Max Pat sandwich. Named for Habs young-un Max Patioretty, it has sausage, steak, pepperoni, mushrooms and peppers - all for your enjoyment.
Only in Montreal. I mean seriously, where can I get my PowerPlay Unit sub here in New York? The one named for the Rangers now infamous super unit. You know the one with stale bread, moldy eggs, sardines, mayonaise, and chocolate sause? Because just like the powerplayers in New York - those random spare parts go together all so well!
(Giving everyone a two second break to try not throw up).
Stamkos Likes Vanilla Ice Cream:
Young Steven Stamkos did something anything but vanilla last night, scoring three goals for his first hat trick (might I add it was Natural). We at Natural Hat Trick Productions appreciate hat tricks whenever we can find them (preferably not against the hometown Rangers, but, eh, we have no such control over these things). Therefore a special kudos to someone who likes vanilla but does not play that way.
Unfortunately Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews ruined his moment as the Blackhawks ended up beating his Lightning.
New York, New York:
I'm really (really) trying to avoid saying anything today about the team so I don't go on another long rant I don't have time for. And would it really be much different; that can be debated. So I'll keep it short and sweet. Korpikoski is injured, which means approximately 50% of the Rangers scoring over this slide is now not in the lineup. Rut roh!
Honestly, I do not know what to think of tonight but that it will be interesting. Interesting in a shocking way if the Rangers somehow find a way to win. Interesting in a disgusting way if they get blown out. And interesting either way to see how much longer the present team (players, coaching staff, management) continue as is. Interesting. . . it's almost a guarantee tonight.
Speculation out of Montreal (courtesy Team990) includes a theory that Alex Kovalev has been traded to Pittsburgh, but that Gainey will not let Kovalev go until after the two teams play tomorrow. Any truth to it? We'll have to wait til Friday to see, I guess. It's just a little more than mildly interesting the way everything has played out there in this the Habs 100th season, no?
If you can care less about the Canadiens but still want to know what's up in Montreal. I found out today you can go to Bocci Resto Cafe for the Max Pat sandwich. Named for Habs young-un Max Patioretty, it has sausage, steak, pepperoni, mushrooms and peppers - all for your enjoyment.
Only in Montreal. I mean seriously, where can I get my PowerPlay Unit sub here in New York? The one named for the Rangers now infamous super unit. You know the one with stale bread, moldy eggs, sardines, mayonaise, and chocolate sause? Because just like the powerplayers in New York - those random spare parts go together all so well!
(Giving everyone a two second break to try not throw up).
Stamkos Likes Vanilla Ice Cream:
Young Steven Stamkos did something anything but vanilla last night, scoring three goals for his first hat trick (might I add it was Natural). We at Natural Hat Trick Productions appreciate hat tricks whenever we can find them (preferably not against the hometown Rangers, but, eh, we have no such control over these things). Therefore a special kudos to someone who likes vanilla but does not play that way.
Unfortunately Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews ruined his moment as the Blackhawks ended up beating his Lightning.
New York, New York:
I'm really (really) trying to avoid saying anything today about the team so I don't go on another long rant I don't have time for. And would it really be much different; that can be debated. So I'll keep it short and sweet. Korpikoski is injured, which means approximately 50% of the Rangers scoring over this slide is now not in the lineup. Rut roh!
Honestly, I do not know what to think of tonight but that it will be interesting. Interesting in a shocking way if the Rangers somehow find a way to win. Interesting in a disgusting way if they get blown out. And interesting either way to see how much longer the present team (players, coaching staff, management) continue as is. Interesting. . . it's almost a guarantee tonight.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
In The Wake of The Rangers Scoring Four Goals. . .
I'll try to give them a little bit of a break today.
Look I have not apologized (too much) this season, and I am not going to start this late in the year. I'd rather tell the truth, as I see it, day in, day out. Whether it's harsh or happy, I'll at least try my hardest to be honest in my feelings and my opinions. Of that you can be assured.
That being established, a few thoughts came to mind as I watched the game last night and reflected on it into this morning.
The question has been raised over and over recently - has Tom Renney lost this team? Many thought yes. Others thought no. The players keep saying we want to play, we are behind him, blechety blah, bleckety blah.
Yet why, last night, when they essentially stopped playing Renney-style hockey, skated to win, skated with energy, did they finally find a way to score, and inevitably come away with a win? More importantly, I ask myself, was this decision made by the players? Was tonight's different energy and momentum just a result of their going against the coach's wishes? Because please don't tell me the coach of garbaly-gook disguised as highly intelligent analysis actually said to them, go out there, go play wide open hockey, and go play to win?
Am I the only one that has trouble believing that?
Is it not more likely that this, like the last 10 minutes against San Jose and like the last 10 minutes against Boston more recently, was just the players realizing that they had to abandon the system in order to score and consciously knowing, in the wake of their late embarrassing games, they had no choice but to score. In San Jose and in Boston it was to push the tie. Players essentially said, when they were down, they had no choice but to do anything to try to score. Including putting unrelenting pressure on. Including letting up on defense.
Is it not so hard to believe that last night was simply a larger magnification of the same thing. After going 0-4-1 in their last five games and scoring a total of five goals during that span, was it not just an utter need to score, and score at all costs, that made the Rangers, umm, score.
I truly think so.
I'm still baffled and amazed that this team was capable of scoring four goals. I am.
But maybe I shouldn't be. Maybe I really shouldn't be. Maybe, if they were to fully skate, fully let go of the defense-first, win 2-1 or bust mentality, maybe they would have won more games. Maybe they would have scored more goals.
Look I am not for a second saying that this team's one game has made me reconsider any of the disgustingly inexcusable and horrificly embarrassing play of late - or definitely not the lack of defensive responsibility, lack of energy and heart, lack of urgency, lack of offensive prowess, lack of consistency, lack of powerplay production, and lack of accountability that plagued this team all year.
The jaded me, the part of me that usually wins out, still thinks that perhaps last night was just a drop in the bucket. To borrow a line from a Angels in the Outfield, that it was "merely a blip on the screen of a terminally ill patient."
Don't forget, this team still cannot and did not - in its four goals - score on the powerplay last night. That including a string of four consecutive Washington penalties in the third, one being a four minute double minor. Also not to be forgotten in the excitement over the team scoring four goals was the fact that they gave up four goals as well. Ovechkin, although hitting everything in site - twice - had a relatively quiet night on the scoresheet. Beggars can't be choosers, but I'm just stating facts here.
I don't know. The game in Florida on Friday and the game against Philadelphia on Sunday will both be very telling to that question of whether this was a corner turned or a moment of sanity in an otherwise insane run. The Rangers have been a team of good and bad this year, mostly bad it would seem, so whether they build on scoring four goals and beating a very good Washington team or quickly resort back to the futile past efforts will tell you what this team can and is willing to do going forward.
At the very least - and this is what I will take away from last night - it was more entertaining on the part of the Rangers than any game I've seen them play in a month, perhaps longer. Starting with the Orr/Brashear fight that was quite remarkable really, filling in with a beautiful goal by Callahan off a feed by Korpikoski (did those two have a nice night. Just imagine them getting - or giving themselves - the green light to go free more often) , and topped off with a shootout victory that didn't feel as forced or undeserved as some of the others this year have.
I said if they were going to win, let them win by trying. They most certainly did that.
Around The League:
Capitals defensemen Mike Green scored two more goals last night - his 20th and 21st on the year - to tie an all time record for defensive scoring in consecutive games (7). I don't get people that don't like good players from other teams doing something cool, something that hasn't been done in a long time. As it turns out, Green's goals really had nothing to do with the outcome of the game either way. They were not game winners. They did not eliminate our team from playoff contention. Let the guy be congratulated. He's been a marvelous player to watch.
As I drove home late last night and put on the Calgary/Anaheim game, the announcer told the score of the OTHER late game - Montreal/Edmonton. Me guessing the bowling idea didn't work out quite as planned, huh Guy?
Rut Roh.
But seriously, let's not kid ourselves. The only true difference between Montreal and the Rangers right now - cause trust me the comparisons between the NYR fans complaining on the blogs and the Montreal fans complaining on the Team990 are so eerily similar - is that the Rangers won last night and Montreal's losing streak continued.
Look I have not apologized (too much) this season, and I am not going to start this late in the year. I'd rather tell the truth, as I see it, day in, day out. Whether it's harsh or happy, I'll at least try my hardest to be honest in my feelings and my opinions. Of that you can be assured.
That being established, a few thoughts came to mind as I watched the game last night and reflected on it into this morning.
The question has been raised over and over recently - has Tom Renney lost this team? Many thought yes. Others thought no. The players keep saying we want to play, we are behind him, blechety blah, bleckety blah.
Yet why, last night, when they essentially stopped playing Renney-style hockey, skated to win, skated with energy, did they finally find a way to score, and inevitably come away with a win? More importantly, I ask myself, was this decision made by the players? Was tonight's different energy and momentum just a result of their going against the coach's wishes? Because please don't tell me the coach of garbaly-gook disguised as highly intelligent analysis actually said to them, go out there, go play wide open hockey, and go play to win?
Am I the only one that has trouble believing that?
Is it not more likely that this, like the last 10 minutes against San Jose and like the last 10 minutes against Boston more recently, was just the players realizing that they had to abandon the system in order to score and consciously knowing, in the wake of their late embarrassing games, they had no choice but to score. In San Jose and in Boston it was to push the tie. Players essentially said, when they were down, they had no choice but to do anything to try to score. Including putting unrelenting pressure on. Including letting up on defense.
Is it not so hard to believe that last night was simply a larger magnification of the same thing. After going 0-4-1 in their last five games and scoring a total of five goals during that span, was it not just an utter need to score, and score at all costs, that made the Rangers, umm, score.
I truly think so.
I'm still baffled and amazed that this team was capable of scoring four goals. I am.
But maybe I shouldn't be. Maybe I really shouldn't be. Maybe, if they were to fully skate, fully let go of the defense-first, win 2-1 or bust mentality, maybe they would have won more games. Maybe they would have scored more goals.
Look I am not for a second saying that this team's one game has made me reconsider any of the disgustingly inexcusable and horrificly embarrassing play of late - or definitely not the lack of defensive responsibility, lack of energy and heart, lack of urgency, lack of offensive prowess, lack of consistency, lack of powerplay production, and lack of accountability that plagued this team all year.
The jaded me, the part of me that usually wins out, still thinks that perhaps last night was just a drop in the bucket. To borrow a line from a Angels in the Outfield, that it was "merely a blip on the screen of a terminally ill patient."
Don't forget, this team still cannot and did not - in its four goals - score on the powerplay last night. That including a string of four consecutive Washington penalties in the third, one being a four minute double minor. Also not to be forgotten in the excitement over the team scoring four goals was the fact that they gave up four goals as well. Ovechkin, although hitting everything in site - twice - had a relatively quiet night on the scoresheet. Beggars can't be choosers, but I'm just stating facts here.
I don't know. The game in Florida on Friday and the game against Philadelphia on Sunday will both be very telling to that question of whether this was a corner turned or a moment of sanity in an otherwise insane run. The Rangers have been a team of good and bad this year, mostly bad it would seem, so whether they build on scoring four goals and beating a very good Washington team or quickly resort back to the futile past efforts will tell you what this team can and is willing to do going forward.
At the very least - and this is what I will take away from last night - it was more entertaining on the part of the Rangers than any game I've seen them play in a month, perhaps longer. Starting with the Orr/Brashear fight that was quite remarkable really, filling in with a beautiful goal by Callahan off a feed by Korpikoski (did those two have a nice night. Just imagine them getting - or giving themselves - the green light to go free more often) , and topped off with a shootout victory that didn't feel as forced or undeserved as some of the others this year have.
I said if they were going to win, let them win by trying. They most certainly did that.
Around The League:
Capitals defensemen Mike Green scored two more goals last night - his 20th and 21st on the year - to tie an all time record for defensive scoring in consecutive games (7). I don't get people that don't like good players from other teams doing something cool, something that hasn't been done in a long time. As it turns out, Green's goals really had nothing to do with the outcome of the game either way. They were not game winners. They did not eliminate our team from playoff contention. Let the guy be congratulated. He's been a marvelous player to watch.
As I drove home late last night and put on the Calgary/Anaheim game, the announcer told the score of the OTHER late game - Montreal/Edmonton. Me guessing the bowling idea didn't work out quite as planned, huh Guy?
Rut Roh.
But seriously, let's not kid ourselves. The only true difference between Montreal and the Rangers right now - cause trust me the comparisons between the NYR fans complaining on the blogs and the Montreal fans complaining on the Team990 are so eerily similar - is that the Rangers won last night and Montreal's losing streak continued.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Around The League: Flashback One Year, Bowling for Wins, and Renny's Illogical Prucha Theories [UPDATED]. . .
Somtimes one year does indeed a difference make. Just ask Florida Panther's Richard Zednik.
It was one year ago last night he almost lost his life, let alone his career, in a freak accident where teammate Olli Jokinen's skate met his neck.
I happened to be watching that Buffalo/Florida game that night at that moment, even though I'm still not sure why. (I also, somewhat eerily found myself tuning to the Red Wings game right as Jiri Fischer collapsed and was revived on the bench years earlier.)
Zednik's situation was so incredibly scary. I'm sure no one on the ice could stop thinking about it. The fact that the game continued almost surprised me because who could really think about hockey when they'd just seen one of their fellow players go through something so horrific.
Credit all of the medical staff on hand and those in hospital for turning what could have been a tragic story, into an inspiring one.
For Richard Zednik returned to the game he loved, seven months after his injury I'll be honest. If I were him, I'd have a serious fear of getting back out on the ice; a constant thought in the back of my mind of what if. But Zednik apparently had no such fear, or if he did, he worked hard to overcome it. That's a great testament to the person and his love of the game.
And last night, exactly one year later, in Florida's game versus Toronto, he scored both the game tying and game winning goals.
I guess some stories do write themselves.
Les Habitants:
Things have gotten so bad in Montreal that apparently, rather than practice on ice, they've taken it to the lanes. . . literally. Instead of an on ice workout yesterday, the Habs went bowling.
Yes, bowling.
You heard it here first. Unless of course you hear it elsewhere.
Rangers:
In random Rangers news Andrew Gross's at Ranger Rants teases that he'll have some "interesting" quotes on Prucha from Tom Renney.
I wait with baited breath.
The Update:
I'm not shocked Larry Brooks got the ball rolling on this conversation, as he's been Prucha's most ardent supporter this year. But BIG kudos to Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants for typing the entire conversation with Renney out. It is much appreciated. Gross often takes the extra time to write tidbits and convos you don't always see on other blogs. Thank you for that!
However, since what Renney said is so completely and utterly moronic and nauseating, I am going to hold off all comments in hopes of not getting violently ill at work.
It was one year ago last night he almost lost his life, let alone his career, in a freak accident where teammate Olli Jokinen's skate met his neck.
I happened to be watching that Buffalo/Florida game that night at that moment, even though I'm still not sure why. (I also, somewhat eerily found myself tuning to the Red Wings game right as Jiri Fischer collapsed and was revived on the bench years earlier.)
Zednik's situation was so incredibly scary. I'm sure no one on the ice could stop thinking about it. The fact that the game continued almost surprised me because who could really think about hockey when they'd just seen one of their fellow players go through something so horrific.
Credit all of the medical staff on hand and those in hospital for turning what could have been a tragic story, into an inspiring one.
For Richard Zednik returned to the game he loved, seven months after his injury I'll be honest. If I were him, I'd have a serious fear of getting back out on the ice; a constant thought in the back of my mind of what if. But Zednik apparently had no such fear, or if he did, he worked hard to overcome it. That's a great testament to the person and his love of the game.
And last night, exactly one year later, in Florida's game versus Toronto, he scored both the game tying and game winning goals.
I guess some stories do write themselves.
Les Habitants:
Things have gotten so bad in Montreal that apparently, rather than practice on ice, they've taken it to the lanes. . . literally. Instead of an on ice workout yesterday, the Habs went bowling.
Yes, bowling.
You heard it here first. Unless of course you hear it elsewhere.
Rangers:
In random Rangers news Andrew Gross's at Ranger Rants teases that he'll have some "interesting" quotes on Prucha from Tom Renney.
I wait with baited breath.
The Update:
I'm not shocked Larry Brooks got the ball rolling on this conversation, as he's been Prucha's most ardent supporter this year. But BIG kudos to Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants for typing the entire conversation with Renney out. It is much appreciated. Gross often takes the extra time to write tidbits and convos you don't always see on other blogs. Thank you for that!
However, since what Renney said is so completely and utterly moronic and nauseating, I am going to hold off all comments in hopes of not getting violently ill at work.
Monday, February 2, 2009
When You Wear Your PJs On Game Day and Other Musings From Around the League. . .
Oh those Canadiens. After being in Boston on Saturday, and thus being reminded of the Boston/Montreal afternoon Super Bowl tilt yesterday, I decided to tune in. Not right away, but about halfway through the game.
When my eyes adjusted to the site before me, my first thought was, oh, the Canadiens decided to wear their pajamas to the rink. Excellent.
Note, if you haven't had the chance to seen them, I'll try to post a photo later. To paint a picture, the sweaters were your bleu, blanc, et rouge, in horizontal stripes. Their socks were the same pattern as well. It was dizzying to say the least.
As a note, they were apparently worn during the 1912 season when the Canadiens were a NHA franchise. The CAC on the white maple leaf, stands for "Club Athletique Canadien."
Well in 2009, however, they did not prove to inspire, apparently.
In the part of the game I watched the Canadiens looked flat. The Canadiens dominance of their Boston rivals has definitely slowed since last year's playoffs, but it just looked outright gone yesterday. The only thing that felt old time about the rivalry was listening to the broadcast by Bob Cole. He has a way of making it all seem incredibly nostalgic, which is somewhat rare nowadays.
Back to the teams at present. As if it wasn't bad enough losing to your rival, on Super Bowl Sunday, wearing your pajamas, things did get worse for Montreal.
In a short time period, Robert Lang, Matt D'Agostini, and Guillaime Latendresse all went down and went off the ice. D'Agostini would return. Latendresse and Lang were not so lucky. Lang, I heard this morning, had his tendon cut by a skate blade. For the life of me and throughout the replays, I did not see that at all. But he will be out indefinitely.
So the Canadiens were down three men, four if you count #27.
For Alex Kovalev, the most baffling of superstars, was benched by Carbonneau for about 90% of the third period. This is yet another chapter in the long standing external battle between coach and player, and the long standing internal conflict between Alex and, well, Alex.
After the game, PJ Stock called him - potentially - the most talented offensive player EVER.
The problem is, it's only under the most extreme of circumstances that we see THAT Alex. I've seen that Alex. I have. For love of all the gracefulness that hockey can be, I'd hope that everyone at least once got to see that Alex.
Unfortunately, he is the undefinable example of up and down. I say undefinable because there is really no reason I can see why he plays when he plays and why he doesn't when he doesn't. I'm sure that's the million dollar question in Montreal this morning.
Almost chased out of town in 2006-2007, the best player and team MVP candidate in 2007-2008, and back to being ineffective and openly criticized in 2008-2009. Not many have had the relationship with the fans that Alex Kovalev has had in Montreal during his time there. His rise from Hero last weekend in the All-Star Game to his fall to Villain yesterday afternoon took not a full week to accomplish.
It's interesting to note, however, that Carbonneau had no problem benching his star player when he did not show up.
{pause for affect}.
Post game, Kelly Hrudey and PJ Stock discussed double standards. Apparently Kovalev played better this year with the C he was given in Koivu's absence. PJ questioned why a player who was having as horrible a year as Kovalev got the C. He said another younger player would be called out for having a bad performance, but Alex was almost rewarded. Hrudey said he thinks there can be double standards among stars, in that case. PJ obviously disagreed. Although, let it be noted, neither were defending Kovalev and his season this year. Apparently PJ was quiet the whole game because Hrudey was laying into Alex the whole time.
Anyway, Stock had said perhaps it was the PJs they wore that did the Canadiens in.
Later, he mentioned PJ Axelsson had a great game for Boston.
Ron: So PJs were good for Boston.
PJ: PJs are great.
[I was waiting for that]
PJ pokes Ron.
Ron: Why watch the Super Bowl, when you can listen to this.
Gotta love it.
Around The League:
I spent a lot of time on the way driving back from Boston and once I arrived back home listening to and watching other games.
I listened to Montreal come back against LA late in the game.
I listened to Anaheim/Colorado for a bit.
My 7pm game of choice was the Toronto/Pittsburgh game where they retired Doug Gilmour's #93 before the game.
Oh and before we continue with the game recap, we've run into Leafs Senior Advisor Cliff Fletcher.
Cliff: Who is this guy?
Burke: Doug Gilmour?
Cliff: Dougie Gilmour. hmm. Sounds familiar. Did I draft him?
Burke: Draft him? You traded for him!
Cliff: Woo-wee! What a steal. When's he going to lace up?
Burke: Lace up? They are honoring his jersey tonight. That's why we are here.
Cliff: Honoring his jersey? For what?
Burke: Uh...
Cliff: He hasn't even played a game yet and they are honoring his jersey?
Burke: But Cliff, he was the captain of the team back in...
Cliff: [smiling] I must have picked a winner. Woo-wee!
Thanks Cliff for always looking so, awake.
The real moments of the game, however, came from rookie d-man Luke Schenn.
Listening to the radio broadcast was perhaps as thrilling as watching it.
Their call as Schenn hit Malkin! And the call of the mauling of Tyler Kennedy by Schenn was beautifully intense. I didn't need to see it, I got it.
I guess you can say the Toronto radio team do not exactly love Crosby. I think that's fair to say. They made mention of when Crosby grabbed Brett Mclean off a faceoff and mauled him, tallying 19 or so minutes in penalties. If anyone else did that, they mused, it might have been a bigger deal. But because it was Sidney. . .
But back to Schenn. I later got home and watched his post-game interview. How adorable is he? Laughing, smiling, generally amicable. He really seems ages older than his 19 years. And ready, apparently, to assume responsibility for the Leafs franchise. Their steadiest defensemen happens to be their youngest. And he won't back down from anyone. It's great to see.
Also great to see, would be TWO Schenns playing for Toronto next year. But Luke won't worry about that, just enjoy the moments this year is bringing him:
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/580744
Lastly, I watched the Minnesota/Vancouver game, mostly to see how Dan Fritsche was making out with his new team. I saw him on the ice on a regular basis, which already was a marked change from his time in New York.
And guess what - he was playing center. And taking a couple faceoffs. And, well, playing his natural position.
Tom Renney, take note.
Not that I'd say Dan had a startlingly great game, but, heck, if I hadn't played more than one game in two months, I'd need a few games to get my legs under me too. It's just good to see him playing.
In other thoughts on the game. Cal Clutterbuck. Tell me that's not a fun hockey name? Wow. I kept hearing this guy's name for a while this season, but finally got to see him play. He is fun to watch. Well, he was fun to watch until he took the 5 minute boarding major and was tossed for hitting Alex Burrows from behind. Burrows got a nasty gash by his right eye.
In Vancouver, Mats Sundin is getting booed. Booed badly. And Vancouver is just not playing well. By losing at home on Saturday night, the Canucks continue adding games to their franchise worst home ice losing streak. Not a distinction a team that is trying to turn its franchise around wants to be making.
Now look, I didn't pick Vancouver to make the playoffs here, but I didn't think that adding Sundin would make them worse. If there even is a connection between the two at all.
When my eyes adjusted to the site before me, my first thought was, oh, the Canadiens decided to wear their pajamas to the rink. Excellent.
Note, if you haven't had the chance to seen them, I'll try to post a photo later. To paint a picture, the sweaters were your bleu, blanc, et rouge, in horizontal stripes. Their socks were the same pattern as well. It was dizzying to say the least.
As a note, they were apparently worn during the 1912 season when the Canadiens were a NHA franchise. The CAC on the white maple leaf, stands for "Club Athletique Canadien."
Well in 2009, however, they did not prove to inspire, apparently.
In the part of the game I watched the Canadiens looked flat. The Canadiens dominance of their Boston rivals has definitely slowed since last year's playoffs, but it just looked outright gone yesterday. The only thing that felt old time about the rivalry was listening to the broadcast by Bob Cole. He has a way of making it all seem incredibly nostalgic, which is somewhat rare nowadays.
Back to the teams at present. As if it wasn't bad enough losing to your rival, on Super Bowl Sunday, wearing your pajamas, things did get worse for Montreal.
In a short time period, Robert Lang, Matt D'Agostini, and Guillaime Latendresse all went down and went off the ice. D'Agostini would return. Latendresse and Lang were not so lucky. Lang, I heard this morning, had his tendon cut by a skate blade. For the life of me and throughout the replays, I did not see that at all. But he will be out indefinitely.
So the Canadiens were down three men, four if you count #27.
For Alex Kovalev, the most baffling of superstars, was benched by Carbonneau for about 90% of the third period. This is yet another chapter in the long standing external battle between coach and player, and the long standing internal conflict between Alex and, well, Alex.
After the game, PJ Stock called him - potentially - the most talented offensive player EVER.
The problem is, it's only under the most extreme of circumstances that we see THAT Alex. I've seen that Alex. I have. For love of all the gracefulness that hockey can be, I'd hope that everyone at least once got to see that Alex.
Unfortunately, he is the undefinable example of up and down. I say undefinable because there is really no reason I can see why he plays when he plays and why he doesn't when he doesn't. I'm sure that's the million dollar question in Montreal this morning.
Almost chased out of town in 2006-2007, the best player and team MVP candidate in 2007-2008, and back to being ineffective and openly criticized in 2008-2009. Not many have had the relationship with the fans that Alex Kovalev has had in Montreal during his time there. His rise from Hero last weekend in the All-Star Game to his fall to Villain yesterday afternoon took not a full week to accomplish.
It's interesting to note, however, that Carbonneau had no problem benching his star player when he did not show up.
{pause for affect}.
Post game, Kelly Hrudey and PJ Stock discussed double standards. Apparently Kovalev played better this year with the C he was given in Koivu's absence. PJ questioned why a player who was having as horrible a year as Kovalev got the C. He said another younger player would be called out for having a bad performance, but Alex was almost rewarded. Hrudey said he thinks there can be double standards among stars, in that case. PJ obviously disagreed. Although, let it be noted, neither were defending Kovalev and his season this year. Apparently PJ was quiet the whole game because Hrudey was laying into Alex the whole time.
Anyway, Stock had said perhaps it was the PJs they wore that did the Canadiens in.
Later, he mentioned PJ Axelsson had a great game for Boston.
Ron: So PJs were good for Boston.
PJ: PJs are great.
[I was waiting for that]
PJ pokes Ron.
Ron: Why watch the Super Bowl, when you can listen to this.
Gotta love it.
Around The League:
I spent a lot of time on the way driving back from Boston and once I arrived back home listening to and watching other games.
I listened to Montreal come back against LA late in the game.
I listened to Anaheim/Colorado for a bit.
My 7pm game of choice was the Toronto/Pittsburgh game where they retired Doug Gilmour's #93 before the game.
Oh and before we continue with the game recap, we've run into Leafs Senior Advisor Cliff Fletcher.
Cliff: Who is this guy?
Burke: Doug Gilmour?
Cliff: Dougie Gilmour. hmm. Sounds familiar. Did I draft him?
Burke: Draft him? You traded for him!
Cliff: Woo-wee! What a steal. When's he going to lace up?
Burke: Lace up? They are honoring his jersey tonight. That's why we are here.
Cliff: Honoring his jersey? For what?
Burke: Uh...
Cliff: He hasn't even played a game yet and they are honoring his jersey?
Burke: But Cliff, he was the captain of the team back in...
Cliff: [smiling] I must have picked a winner. Woo-wee!
Thanks Cliff for always looking so, awake.
The real moments of the game, however, came from rookie d-man Luke Schenn.
Listening to the radio broadcast was perhaps as thrilling as watching it.
Their call as Schenn hit Malkin! And the call of the mauling of Tyler Kennedy by Schenn was beautifully intense. I didn't need to see it, I got it.
I guess you can say the Toronto radio team do not exactly love Crosby. I think that's fair to say. They made mention of when Crosby grabbed Brett Mclean off a faceoff and mauled him, tallying 19 or so minutes in penalties. If anyone else did that, they mused, it might have been a bigger deal. But because it was Sidney. . .
But back to Schenn. I later got home and watched his post-game interview. How adorable is he? Laughing, smiling, generally amicable. He really seems ages older than his 19 years. And ready, apparently, to assume responsibility for the Leafs franchise. Their steadiest defensemen happens to be their youngest. And he won't back down from anyone. It's great to see.
Also great to see, would be TWO Schenns playing for Toronto next year. But Luke won't worry about that, just enjoy the moments this year is bringing him:
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/580744
Lastly, I watched the Minnesota/Vancouver game, mostly to see how Dan Fritsche was making out with his new team. I saw him on the ice on a regular basis, which already was a marked change from his time in New York.
And guess what - he was playing center. And taking a couple faceoffs. And, well, playing his natural position.
Tom Renney, take note.
Not that I'd say Dan had a startlingly great game, but, heck, if I hadn't played more than one game in two months, I'd need a few games to get my legs under me too. It's just good to see him playing.
In other thoughts on the game. Cal Clutterbuck. Tell me that's not a fun hockey name? Wow. I kept hearing this guy's name for a while this season, but finally got to see him play. He is fun to watch. Well, he was fun to watch until he took the 5 minute boarding major and was tossed for hitting Alex Burrows from behind. Burrows got a nasty gash by his right eye.
In Vancouver, Mats Sundin is getting booed. Booed badly. And Vancouver is just not playing well. By losing at home on Saturday night, the Canucks continue adding games to their franchise worst home ice losing streak. Not a distinction a team that is trying to turn its franchise around wants to be making.
Now look, I didn't pick Vancouver to make the playoffs here, but I didn't think that adding Sundin would make them worse. If there even is a connection between the two at all.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Surprising and Yet Not SO Surprising. . .
Despite the outcome and the big handful of negatives from last night, I actually was still quite entertained for the majority of it.
I am not sure what that is saying about me that something like last night was entertaining, but. . .
The Good/Suprising:
Drury/Dawes/Prucha line impresses for the second game in a row. I just did not (repeat DID NOT) think this would work. I'm not going to credit Renney for it. Instead I'm going to say that Prucha's coming back into the lineup with spunk and creativity - both sorely lacking on this team - possibly made it easier on whoever he played with. And he's been highly impressive. If he's not scoring, he's making assists now. Got one last night, and came close to two others, making nice passes to Drury and Dawes in the slot. Very good stuff from that line.
The Bad/Surprising:
After a great game on Monday, Hank looked very, very bad last night. No way around that. He should, at times, be tethered to the net for his own protection. See Montreal's first goal as an example. I just do not understand how a goalie who is stellar in shootouts, looks embarassingly human on almost any odd man rush. Don't get it. Just don't get it. Rebounds aplenty, Montreal capitalized, not surprisingly. Whether it was IceCap last night or Hockey This Morning, this morning, someone said that Hank was not having a good year. And numerically that's probably spot on. But I guess in my mind, he's been playing well overall considering being over worked and over tested. But maybe that has faded since the earliest part of the season. I don't know. I'm usually the first to admit when Hank doesn't have it. Is the rest of the team's follys making me blind to our own goalie's hardships?
Marc Staal, who has been in my opinion the single best player all season, looked bad last night. Not just once or twice, but for much of the night overall. And that is going to happen. Off night's happen. It's just he's played so well, it was hard to not notice how he was struggling.
The Rest of It All:
Jaroslav Halak had some masterful saves, and played very well for Montreal. Robert Lang shocked me, honestly, with his performance. Roman Hamrlikand young guy Max Patioretty played well too.
The Habs were 27th on the PP heading into last night's game. And yet they still managed to score two on the Rangers when the Rangers were stupid and vulnerable. It's amazing. I kept telling people, no, the Habs are not a powerplay machine THIS YEAR, it's just when they play NEW YORK that they wake up. And credit them for it. Definitely. The penalties killed the Rangers. End of story.
I do not understand completely the boo-ing of Alex Kovalev. I mean yes he was up/down/here/gone, and while his last tenure was anything but perfect, he got shipped out in the firesale like everyone else. No?
The Not Surprising:
Aaron Voros did not look good. His linemates Dubinsky and Zherdev didn't really look too great either, but I only saw one of them laboring to get back to the bench. More than once. Embarassing. It really is. I like him and I liked him a hell of a lot back in the days of the PS3 line, but come on. He cannot be in the lineup when he can't finish a shift or skate back to the bench without laboring, when you have Lauri Korpikoski, and even Dan Fritsche sitting out. Inexcusable!!!
My favorite part of the game:
Prucha standing up for himself - again - to Maxime Lapierre, who is just after him for some reason. Love the fiesty-ness. I really do. And Prucha becoming - wait for it - a playmaker, and not just a goal scorer. It's really refreshing stuff.
Larry Brooks quote of the day on Pete: "As he has been since brought out of witness protection, Petr Prucha was the Rangers' most creative and best offensive player, not that he gave up anything on the other side of the puck."
Not only has he done nothing remotely defensively liable, if you will, he's been one of the best players since he's coming back to the lineup (not that he did anything wrong before mind you), but he has a four game point scoring streak (2G, 2A). And he's a playmaker now, if you are paying attention Coach Renney!
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01082009/sports/rangers/bad_hab_its_spell_doom_for_rangers_149149.htm
The Rangers have a big test coming up on Friday. Should be interesting to see which team shows up in Buffalo.
Around the League:
Because I was without access to internet yesterday :( I'm a day behind. But, if you missed it, super annoyance Jarkko Ruutu was suspended for two games for biting Andrew Peters earlier this week. I am not sure what to think about this. Apparently, it happens. It used to happen more frequently. But I just can't wrap my head around it. As for Ruutu trying to deny it? Please. What does this really mean besides yet another example of how Ruutu really does physically and not just verbally dance over the line, - - he will be out against the Rangers on Saturday. Last time the Rangers played in Ottawa he was a big reason Ottawa won. Maybe this is the difference maker, if the team comes to play that is.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/HomeMainStories/2009/01/07/7947441-ap.html
Mats Sundin made his debut for Vancouver last night to no real fanfare, but a lot of booing from Edmonton. He didn't know why. Did he look unnatural, in blue, white and green? Considering he spent so long in various colors of blue and white, this is not a stretch. Now if he had actually signed with Philly or the Blackhawks, that'd look odd. As is, he looked fine. In uniform at least.
I am not sure what that is saying about me that something like last night was entertaining, but. . .
The Good/Suprising:
Drury/Dawes/Prucha line impresses for the second game in a row. I just did not (repeat DID NOT) think this would work. I'm not going to credit Renney for it. Instead I'm going to say that Prucha's coming back into the lineup with spunk and creativity - both sorely lacking on this team - possibly made it easier on whoever he played with. And he's been highly impressive. If he's not scoring, he's making assists now. Got one last night, and came close to two others, making nice passes to Drury and Dawes in the slot. Very good stuff from that line.
The Bad/Surprising:
After a great game on Monday, Hank looked very, very bad last night. No way around that. He should, at times, be tethered to the net for his own protection. See Montreal's first goal as an example. I just do not understand how a goalie who is stellar in shootouts, looks embarassingly human on almost any odd man rush. Don't get it. Just don't get it. Rebounds aplenty, Montreal capitalized, not surprisingly. Whether it was IceCap last night or Hockey This Morning, this morning, someone said that Hank was not having a good year. And numerically that's probably spot on. But I guess in my mind, he's been playing well overall considering being over worked and over tested. But maybe that has faded since the earliest part of the season. I don't know. I'm usually the first to admit when Hank doesn't have it. Is the rest of the team's follys making me blind to our own goalie's hardships?
Marc Staal, who has been in my opinion the single best player all season, looked bad last night. Not just once or twice, but for much of the night overall. And that is going to happen. Off night's happen. It's just he's played so well, it was hard to not notice how he was struggling.
The Rest of It All:
Jaroslav Halak had some masterful saves, and played very well for Montreal. Robert Lang shocked me, honestly, with his performance. Roman Hamrlikand young guy Max Patioretty played well too.
The Habs were 27th on the PP heading into last night's game. And yet they still managed to score two on the Rangers when the Rangers were stupid and vulnerable. It's amazing. I kept telling people, no, the Habs are not a powerplay machine THIS YEAR, it's just when they play NEW YORK that they wake up. And credit them for it. Definitely. The penalties killed the Rangers. End of story.
I do not understand completely the boo-ing of Alex Kovalev. I mean yes he was up/down/here/gone, and while his last tenure was anything but perfect, he got shipped out in the firesale like everyone else. No?
The Not Surprising:
Aaron Voros did not look good. His linemates Dubinsky and Zherdev didn't really look too great either, but I only saw one of them laboring to get back to the bench. More than once. Embarassing. It really is. I like him and I liked him a hell of a lot back in the days of the PS3 line, but come on. He cannot be in the lineup when he can't finish a shift or skate back to the bench without laboring, when you have Lauri Korpikoski, and even Dan Fritsche sitting out. Inexcusable!!!
My favorite part of the game:
Prucha standing up for himself - again - to Maxime Lapierre, who is just after him for some reason. Love the fiesty-ness. I really do. And Prucha becoming - wait for it - a playmaker, and not just a goal scorer. It's really refreshing stuff.
Larry Brooks quote of the day on Pete: "As he has been since brought out of witness protection, Petr Prucha was the Rangers' most creative and best offensive player, not that he gave up anything on the other side of the puck."
Not only has he done nothing remotely defensively liable, if you will, he's been one of the best players since he's coming back to the lineup (not that he did anything wrong before mind you), but he has a four game point scoring streak (2G, 2A). And he's a playmaker now, if you are paying attention Coach Renney!
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01082009/sports/rangers/bad_hab_its_spell_doom_for_rangers_149149.htm
The Rangers have a big test coming up on Friday. Should be interesting to see which team shows up in Buffalo.
Around the League:
Because I was without access to internet yesterday :( I'm a day behind. But, if you missed it, super annoyance Jarkko Ruutu was suspended for two games for biting Andrew Peters earlier this week. I am not sure what to think about this. Apparently, it happens. It used to happen more frequently. But I just can't wrap my head around it. As for Ruutu trying to deny it? Please. What does this really mean besides yet another example of how Ruutu really does physically and not just verbally dance over the line, - - he will be out against the Rangers on Saturday. Last time the Rangers played in Ottawa he was a big reason Ottawa won. Maybe this is the difference maker, if the team comes to play that is.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/HomeMainStories/2009/01/07/7947441-ap.html
Mats Sundin made his debut for Vancouver last night to no real fanfare, but a lot of booing from Edmonton. He didn't know why. Did he look unnatural, in blue, white and green? Considering he spent so long in various colors of blue and white, this is not a stretch. Now if he had actually signed with Philly or the Blackhawks, that'd look odd. As is, he looked fine. In uniform at least.
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