The Comment

Following the Rangers 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark that gave the Rangers a 4-1 series win in the Battle of the Hudson, Devils Goalie Martin Brodeur skated past Rangers forward Sean Avery in the handshake line, without extending his hand.

When asked about the snub from Brodeur on MSG Network’s Rangers Postgame Show, Avery said, “everyone talks about how classless I am, but I guess Fatso there just forgot to shake my hand.”

Good for Avery. Brodeur’s constant flopping, diving and complaining was far more of a disgrace to the game than Avery’s faceguarding. And, the Hall-of-Fame whiner capped off the Devils’ series-long lack of class by not shaking Avery’s hand.

Devils President Lou Lamoriello should be embarassed by the example set by his Head Coach Brent Sutter and franchise goalie Brodeur. Sutter got it started with his childish stick-throwing in Game 2. It continued with his beyond hypocritical hissyfit about the Avery faceguarding. Then, after the Rangers spent Games 3 and 4 on the short end of the whistle, Sutter had the gall to continue his incessant whining about the contact with his goalie.

Throughout the series, Brodeur spent so much time worrying about Avery and other Rangers near the crease that he seemed to suffer nurmerous mental lapses, to the point that he allowed at least one soft goal in each game, and was badly outplayed by Henrik Lundqvist.

By tonight’s Game 5, the Devils were so consumed with Avery and the contact with Brodeur that they spent much of the first half of the game running around and chasing the Rangers’ agitator, causing them to dig a 4-1 hole that they simply couldn’t overcome.

The Devils, beginning with Sutter and Brodeur, allowed themselves to lose focus and discipline. That is not how the Devils won three stanley Cups.

It is not often you see Brodeur get taken off his game. It is just so sweet to see it happen, yet again, against the Rangers.

And, just one last time for this season, “MAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRTTTTYYYYYY!!! MAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRTTTTTTTYYYYYYY!!!”

Now, we all know a hockey season isn’t judged on the regular season, unless, of course, you don’t make the playoffs.  The Rangers are in the playoffs, and they are expected to make a serious run through the Eastern Conference.  While the playoffs appeared to get off to a good start for the Blueshirts, as they won the first two games of their opening round playoff series on the road against the Devils, there was cause for concern.

And, when the Devils got on the board in the series by taking Game 3 at MSG in OT, it seemed easy enough to chalk the game up to the fact that the Devils won the game on a lucky-bounce OT goal by John Madden.

But, the fact of the matter is that the Devils have carried the play far more than the Rangers have throughout the first three games of this series.  The Devils have worked harder, initiated the physical play and done the little things that win hockey games.  The only reason the Devils didn’t have anything to show for their effort in the first two games, is that Henrik Lundqvist considerably outplayed Martin Brodeur.

Brodeur is a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer and, quite possibly, the greatest to ever play between the pipes, but he has not been close to his A game in this series.  King Henrik, on the other hand, was brilliant in the two games at The Rock.  Lundqvist, however was not at the same level in Game 3, and the Rangers suffered for it.

Heading into the series, it seemed obvious that Brodeur would have to steal games for the Devils to have a chance to win.  That the Rangers had enough other big-time playoff performers to overcome a hiccup here and there from The King, whereas the Devils didn’t. 

In hindsight, that line of thinking ignored everything we had seen from the Rangers all season long.  While the devils managed to win a game last night when Brodeur wasn’t on top of his game, the Rangers have not yet shown they can win a game in this series when King Henrik doesn’t win it for them.  It’s 85 games and counting for the Blueshirts this season, and for most of those 85 games, it’s been Henrik or bust for the Rangers.

The Rangers have gotten strong play from a few individuals.  The Captain, Jaromir Jagr, has been dominant in this series.  Sean Avery, faceguarding and all, has been tremendous.  And, rookies Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal have played far beyond their years.  But, not enough Rangers-certainly not enough of their big name players-have performed at an acceptable level. 

Scott Gomez and Chris Drury were brought to Broadway, because during last year’s playoffs, the Rangers couldn’t score enough goals when it counted to advance beyond the second round.  While Gomez got off to a fast start, torching his former team by dishing out 3 assists in Game 1, he has been rendered ineffective since.  Drury has struggle mightily in this series and Brendan Shanahan has not contributed offensively, since his bad-angle goal opened the scoring in Game 1.

It was ok when this happened during the course of the regular season, because there were nights when they looked every bit the the team to beat in the East.  It was a veteran team that knew how to pace itself.  A team that knew it wasn’t about finishing first in the Eastern Conference in April.  It was about finishing first in the Eastern Conference in June.  On nights when they played disinterested hockey, it was ok, because, once they reached the playoffs, where every game is critical, they would raise their game.

Well, here we are.  Game 4 of the playoffs and Game 86 of the season Wednesday night on Broadway.  They will be playing in front of a raucous crowd at The Garden in a game that will either give the Rangers a stranglehold on the series, or give control back to the Devils.  If the Rangers best players were waiting for a big game to step up, this is it.  There are no more excuses.  This is the time to step up and get the job done, and not wait for The King to steal the game for them.

***

The NHL’s directive, in the wake of the Sean Avery incident in Game 3, instructing officials to call unsportsmanlike conduct on players who attempt to distract the goalie while facing the goal, is another example that the league’s leadership is asleep at the wheel. 

There is nothing in the rule book that makes it illegal, thus this rule “interpretation” is nothing more than changing the rules in mid-season, which is supposed to require a 30-0 vote of the Board of Governors.  So, the NHL’s method of Law & Order is to violate its own rules to stop Avery from doing something that doesn’t violate any rules at all.  And, of course, if the player who did this wasn’t named Sean Avery, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. 

Suggesting that players in front of the net have to be there to make a play is a joke, and goes against all of hockey history.  Not that we should expect the current NHL leadership to know much about hockey history.  So, are we supposed to believe that when the Bruins park Zdeno Chara in front of the goal, he is there for his superior playmaking skills?  Yeah, the fact that he’s 6′9″, 251 LBS and the perfect size to completely obstruct the view of the goalie has nothing to do with it.

It is interesting, though, that the NHL had to invent a new addition to Rule 75, which governs unsportsmanlike conduct, when they failed to enforce a part of the rule already on the books in Game 2.  As the rule book states regarding Rule 75.3 section (i):

A bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct shall be assessed under this rule for the following infractions:

When a player, goalkeeper, Coach or non-playing Club personnel throws any object onto the ice from the players’ or penalty bench (or from any other off-ice location) during the progress of the game or during a stoppage of play.

Devils Head Coach Brent Sutter clearly threw a stick on the ice late in the game in frustration over shoddy officiating.  As if to prove his point, the referees allowed this to go unpenalized. 

Perhaps before Colin Campbell interprets new meaning to Rule 75, he should instruct his officials to read the parts that actually exist.

One more thing on this topic.  Many hockey pundits have reacted to Avery’s actions in such dramatic fashion, tossing around phrases like “embarrassing the sport” and “this is not how the game is supposed to be played.”  Spare me the hyperbole.  Let’s see one of these guys gets the courage to bash players (yes, that means you, Sidney Crosby) for feigning injury to draw high-sticking penalties, which actually is far more embarrassing to the game than finding a creative way to screen the goalie.

 And then, the unthinkable happened:  The game turned on a crucial mistake by future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur.  With the Rangers shorthanded, Scott Gomez carried the puck across the Devils’ blue line and left the puck along the right-wing boards for Ryan Callahan, who fired a sharp-angle shot on goal.  Brodeur made the save and controlled the puck in the crease.  As Brodeur hesitated for just a second looking to spring a teammate with a breakout pass, Callahan hustled around the net, darted out in front and jammed the loose puck through Brodeur’s pads to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

 The goal by Callahan came on the Rangers’ first shot of the third period, as the Devils opened the final stanza by recording the first nine shots and completely dominating the action.  After the Callahan goal, the game clearly belonged to the Rangers, who would tack on two goals in the final three minutes to take Game 1 by the misleading score of 4-1. 

Following another Rangers’ penalty kill, Gomez, who recorded three assists in his first playoff game as a Ranger, once again tormented his former mates.  Gaining the Devils’ zone with speed, the Rangers’ center cut left, drew three Devils toward him, and made a gorgeous centering feed to Sean Avery, who caught Brodeur out of position and buried the puck into the open net to provide the insurance goal with three minutes left. 

Nigel Dawes, who received an unselfish pass from Brendan Shanahan on a two-man breakaway toward an empty net, closed the scoring with his first career playoff goal at 19:55 of the third period.

Henrik Lundqvist was brilliant in goal for the Rangers, continuing his dominance of the Devils.  King Henrik made several spectacular saves, none bigger than moving to his left and robbing Patrick Elias of a sure goal with a pad save late in the second period.  Lundqvist also caught some breaks, as the Devils rattled a few shots off the iron.

Jaromir Jagr didn’t hit the scoresheet, but he did hit a post early in the game.  The captain played with jump and was strong on the puck all night, combining with linemates Brandon Dubinsky and Martin Straka for several dominant shifts.

The Rangers got strong, poised performances from Dubinsky and Defenseman Marc Staal, both playing in their first career playoff games.  And, while Chris Drury didn’t produce a clutch goal in his first playoff game as a Ranger, he played a terrific game, brilliantly killing penalties and winning 14 of 18 draws.

Shanahan opened the scoring for the Rangers 1:45 into the second period tallying his 59th career playoff goal on a wrister form the right-wing boards that beat Brodeur through a Gomez screen.

The Devils tied it 13 minutes later on a Paul Martin power play goal made possible by a terrific diving stick check by Zach Parise, preventing the Rangers from clearing the puck.  On the sequence, Straka was without a stick, and Parise’s hustle allowed the puck to work its way to Martin, who beat Lundqvist from the right slot.

The Rangers managed to leave New Jersey with a game 1 win and home ice advantage in this best-of-seven series.  They earned the win the same way they earned seven wins over the Devils in the regular season:  By taking advantage of virtually every opportunity they had.

But, if they continue to be outplayed for long stretches like they did tonight, they are going to find it difficult to escape with the four victories necessary to survive and advance in their quest for the cup.

The teams’ first meeting was in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals.  This marked the first season on Broadway for “The Captain,” Mark Messier, who led the Rangers to the President’s trophy, en route to capturing the Hart Trophy.  The Rangers struggled in that series, but still managed to dispatch the Devils in seven games.  Unfortunately, the Rangers playoff run would end in the following round, as they were beaten by the Pittsburgh Penguins, extending the Cup drought to a painful 52 years, and putting in motion a series of events that eventually lead to the dismissal of the late Roger Neilson, as Head Coach.

 Two years later, now with Mike Keenan at the helm, and a frantic wave of trade deadline deals to bring in playoff battle-tested veterans, the Rangers would meet the Devils in the 1994 Easter Conference Finals.  During the regular season, the Rangers owned their cross-river rivals, winning all six matches, leading many to believe the Rangers would easily cruise to the Finals.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  The Devils took Game 1 in what would be the first of three Double OT games in the series.  The Rangers bounced back in Game 2, and struck back themselves in two overtimes in Game 3 to take the series lead.  The Devils came right back to take Games 4 and 5 to push the Rangers to the brink of yet another post-season failure.  The final two games of the series could be boiled down to two words:  “Guarantee” and “Matteau!”  With his team trailing three games to two, Messier guaranteed victory in Game 6 at the Meadowlands.  Things did not get off to a good start for the Rangers.  They trailed 2-0 late in the second period, when Alexei Kovalev beat Brodeur to cut the Devils’ lead in half.  After picking up an assist on the Kovalev goal, Messier potted three of his own in the third period, capped by an 80-foot empty netter, to square the series at 3-3.  With the Rangers clinging to a 1-0 lead with time winding down in Game 7, Valari Zelepukin jammed home the game-tying goal with 7.7 seconds left in regulation, crushing the Garden faithful, and making it look like the Rangers had invented new ways to torture its beleagured fans.  But, 4:24 into the second overtime, newly acquired Stephane Matteau picked up the puck, circled behind the Devils’ net and beat Martin Brodeur on a wraparound to send the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1979, where the Rangers would eventually slay the dragon and beat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to end the 54-year curse.

In 1997, the Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference, while the Rangers, who boasted a lineup that included Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter, sputtered during the regular season.  Both teams dispatched their first round opponents in five games, setting up the third Battle of the Hudson.  This time, it was expected that the Devils would finally turn the tables, and Game 1 went exactly as expected.  The Devils shut down the Rangers big-name lineup, winning the game 2-0 and taking a 1-0 Series lead.  In game two, Captain Mark Messier set the tone with a vicious and unpenalized cross-check to the face of Doug Gilmore that clearly took the Devils off their game.  Mike Richter was brilliant, allowing only three goals as the Rangers took the final four games of the series, culminating with Adam Graves OT winner in Game 5 to send the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would be crushed by Eric Lindros and the Philadelphia Flyers.  Six weeks later, Messier would leave New York for greener ($$) pastures in Vancouver, beginning The Rangers’ seven-year descent into the hockey abyss, as they would not play in another playoff game until after the lockout.

When the lockout ended, the Rangers were not only expected to continue their post-season drought, but were predicted in most quarters to finish last in the Eastern Conference.  But, most fans and experts didn’t count on three things:  Jaromir Jagr would return to being the most dominant hockey player on the planet and set the franchise records for goals and points in a single season in what should have been a Hart Trophy season; Tom Renney would restore discipline, character and pride on Broadway, with everyone, to quote the late Herb Brooks, “playing for the name on the front of the sweater, not the name on the back; and, a little-known seventh-round pick becoming one of the top goalies in the NHL, as backup goalie Henrik Lundqvist, became “King Henrik” the franchise goalie.  Those three things were enough to get the Rangers into the playoffs for the since 1997, leading to the fourth Rangers-Devils playoff series in the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.  The Rangers entered the series playing their worst hockey of the season, blowing a chance to win the Atlantic Division in the final week of the season and dropping all the way to the sixth seed in the East.  King Henrik’s game had slowly come unraveled after leading Team Sweden to a Gold Medal in the Olympics in February.  And, Glen Sather’s attempt to bolster the blue line by acquiring Sandis Ozolinsh at the trade deadline proved disastrous.  As the final minutes of a Game 1 Devils rout were winding down, a frustrated Jagr took a swing at Devils Center Scott Gomez, causing an injury to Jagr’s shoulder.  Jagr would miss game 2, and be completely ineffective in hig Game 3 return, before re-injuring the shoulder in Game 4.  The Devils finally got over the hump against the Rangers, trouncing their rivals in a four-game sweep.  When  Game 4 was over at MSG, Ranger fans, disappointed by the season’s end, but recognizing the strides made by the team, sent their heroes off for the summer with a standing ovation.  The Garden faithful repeated this gesture last season, following the team’s second round loss to the Buffalo Sabres, in which they were 7.7 seconds away from taking a 3-2 series lead, before Chris Drury dashed their hopes.

That brings us to this season, this series and another critical point in Rangers history.  The Rangers’ post-lockout resurgence has lead to an Era of Good Feeling on Broadway.  After experiencing the pain of seven straight seasons without making the playoffs, fans knew just how far the team has had to come the past few years.  They appreciated the hard work and the change in culture, and they just plain enjoyed the fact that their team mattered again.  For the past two seasons, losing in the first and second round respectively was good enough for Ranger fans.  That’s not enough anymore.  After signing Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to expensive long-term contracts, just making the playoffs is not enough.  After gouging fans on playoff ticket prices (to the tune of $150 per blue seat for the Finals), just making the playoffs is not enough.

The Rangers didn’t bring Gomez and Drury to New York to finish first in the Eastern Conference in the regular season.  They brought them here to win 16 hockey games over the next two months.  And, Ranger fans expect a legitimate Stanley Cup run, beginning tonight. 

So, can and will the Rangers win this series after going 7-0-1 against the Devils in the regular season?  Here’s a look at the matcups in this series:

Offense

If you’re looking for an old-time wide-open run and gun game, this is not the series for you.  Both of these teams struggle to score goals, and this series is likely to be filled with low-scoring, one-goal games.  The Devils must get scoring from “The Big Four.”  Elias, Gionta, Parise and Langenbrunner must carry the team offensively.  If the Rangers can keep those guys off the scoresheet, the Devils are going to have a hard time winning the series.  For the Rangers, their big name players must also lead the way.  Jaromir Jagr has saved his best hockey for the end of the season, and he must continue to dominate the way he has the past 2 weeks.  As mentioned above, Gomez and Drury were brought here for this time of year, and they are going to be under tremendous pressure to deliver.  And, Brendan Shanahan must step up his game now that the playoffs are here.  The key for the Rangers is going to be secondary scoring from their young kids.  If the Rangers get offense from Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Nigel Dawes, that could be enough to give them an advantage.

Edge:  Rangers

Defense

Both teams play tremendous defensive hockey.  The Rangers and Devils were the top two defensive teams in the Eastern Conference in terms of shots and goals allowed.  The Devils are the most disciplined team in the NHL and no team in the league is as capable of executing a game plan.  Many people still question the Rangers defense, mostly, because they don’t have a single star on the blue line.  But, the results don’t lie.  The Rangers allowed the fewest shots and goals against in the Eastern Conference, and finished third and fourth respectively in the entire NHL in those categories.  Plus, they had the fifth-most goals scored by defensemen in the NHL.  The Devils defense corps is also greater than the sum of its parts.  Much of the credit has to go to Assistant Coach and Hall of Fame Defenseman Larry Robinson. 

Edge:  Devils

Goaltending

The goalie matchup in this series is as good as it gets.  Entering the playoffs, there were exactly two teams in the Eastern conference that don’t have questions about their play in goal.  Both of those teams are playing in this series.  When it’s all said and done, Martin Brodeur (boy it pains me to write this) may go down as the greatest goalie in NHL history.  He assumed another massive workload this season playing in a whopping 77 games and leading all Eastern Conference goalies in wins and goals against average.  Despite his 1-4-3 record against the Rangers, Brodeur was brilliant vs. the Blueshirts this year.  And, he is unbeaten in the playoffs against Henrik Lundqvist.  Lundqvist, quite simply, owns the Devils.  In his first game ever against the Devils, he allowed 3 goals.  Since then, Lundqvist has allowed 2 goals or fewer in 15 straight games against New Jersey.  This season, Lundqvist finished behind only Brodeur in wins and GAA among Eastern Conference netminders.  The only question for King Henrik is can he bring his regular season success against the Devils into the post-season?

Edge:  Devils

Special Teams

Both teams have been disappointing on the power play this season.  The Rangers and Devils finished 12th and 13th respectively in the Eastern Conference on the power play.  This is going to be the deciding factor in the series.  Whichever team wakes up its power play is going to be left standing at the end.  It’s not going to be easy, as both teams are tremendous on the penalty kill.  The Rangers were the top penalty killing team in the Eastern Conference, while the Devils were fourth.  Last year, in the playoffs, both teams picked up their power play, as they finished with the top 2 power play units in the post-season.  The Rangers power play woke up toward the end of the season and if Jagr continues to play with the confidence he has down the stretch, the Rangers power play can be dangerous.  The Devils have scored only one power play goal in 27 chances against the Rangers this season.  The Rangers went 4 for 30 on the power play against the Devils.

Edge:  Rangers

Prediction:

The Rangers have the better team and should win the series, although nothing is ever that simple for the Rangers.  It should be a tight-checking, defensive series.  Both goalies will play very well, and it will come down to who can find a way to score when it matters.  The Rangers have the right guys on the team to do that and will win the series in six games.  If they don’t, you can rest assured that the Era of Good Feeling on Broadway will come to a crashing halt along with the Rangers’ season.

Rangers in six

The Rangers’ approach that day was anything but conventional. Shocking the hockey world, the Broadway Blueshirts bagged both Drury and Gomez. The spending spree was the first post-lockout free agency splash made by a team that had become known for registering more wins in July than they did in October through April.

The reaction throughout much of the hockey world, including a majority of Ranger fans was that, after making the playoffs two straight seasons, the team was returning to the Same Old Ranger$. The signings were a reminder of past big name free agent acquisitions that ultimately led to seven straight seasons of missing the playoffs.

Of the two moves, the Gomez signing seemed to draw the most criticism. Seven years and $50 million for Gomez seemed outrageous for a team that had also invested five years and $35 million in Drury. Adding to the anxiety of Ranger fans was the fact that Gomez had come from the Devils. And, after the ill-fated signing of Bobby Holik, most Ranger fans were hesitant to throw big money at another Devil. The prevailing feeling was that the Rangers would have been better off just signing Drury and saving some cap space by bringing back Nylander, who had successfully meshed with Captain Jaromir Jagr.

The negative feeling toward the Gomez contract intensified when the Rangers decided to deal Matt Cullen Back to Carolina, in a move designed to clear cap space. While the 34-year old Nylander signed a 4-year $20 million deal in Washington. Was Gomez really worth losing Nylander and Cullen? While the Rangers were struggling to score goals in the early part of the season, and Head Coach Tom Renney seemed at a loss for finding the right line combinations, it certainly didn’t look that way.

But now, 70 games into the season, the answer is a resounding YES. The Rangers have brushed off their early struggles and have surged to a 15-3-3 record since January 20, and have gone 13 straight games in which they’ve earned at least a point, the team’s best stretch of hockey since 1993-94. And, they certainly seemed poised to make a run deep into May and possibly June.

This could not have happened without the Gomez signing. He leads the team in scoring and was the team’s lone representative at the All-Star Game. While the man he essentially replaced, Michael Nylander, is out for the season for the Capitals with a torn rotator cuff.

But, the value of the Gomez signing goes beyond the fact that he is better than Nylander at this point, and that ,when Gomez’s contract expires, he will be younger than Nylander is right now. It also must be understood that, without signing Scott Gomez, instead of re-signing Nylander, the Rangers never would have needed to clear cap space by trading Matt Cullen. And, while Cullen is a good player, his presence on the roster would have prevented Brandon Dubinsky from making the team out of camp, and developing into a Calder Trophy candidate.

The emergence of the 21-year old Dubinsky has not only energized Jagr, it has allowed Renney to settle on line combinations that give the team three lines that can strike at any time. Since moving between Jagr and Sean Avery, Dubinsky has centered the Rangers’ most consistently dominant line, while the Drury and Gomez lines have given the team the kind of scoring depth it has not possessed in more than a decade.

When judging the Gomez signing, understand that, in order to put it in proper perspective, you must compare the value of Gomez and Dubinsky versus Nylander and Cullen. Both Nylander and Cullen are good players and good people, but the Rangers would be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, with them on the roster in place of Gomez and Dubinsky.

Not only do the Rangers have two better players for essentially the same money, but Gomez is seven years younger than Nylander and Dubinsky is 10 years younger than Cullen. Imagine that. The Rangers opting to go for younger, better players.

While the Gomez signing was originally dismissed as the return of the Same Old Rangers, it has turned out not to be that at all. In fact, it is really the exact opposite.

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