The Comment
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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!!!”

So I think I’ve written about Avery more than anything else, so I’m thinking I’m gonna become the Avery and Leafs writer from now on. Rangers bloggers, gtfo! Haha.

Anyway, here’s some footage that was caught of practice…he pretended to do what he did to Brodeur, and then gave the camera a certain finger when he realized they were there. On top of this, Henrik Lundqvist seems to have had it happening to him in practice now. Quite awesome in my opinion, Avery’s quickly become my #2 favourite player (step aside, Malkin).

From the Spawn.com forums (nerdy I know, but for your information I was linked there via digg on a different article regarding Seanny-boy)

“ok im a huge devils fan and of course i hate the ny rangers. But im sure all of you baseball fans remeber when shelly duncan signed a kids baseball sayin “red sox suck”. well i ran into pretty much the same thing. i friend of mine met Sean Avery through a steiner sports store in long island last week and he got a 16×20 signed by avery but he wrote ” Marty is a whinner” on the photo. please someone emial me and i will send you photo bc i dont know how to upload from my camera fone to comp. Now this is a great player but what a a-hole. the kid that got this photo signed was 13 years old. “

The photo can be found below. (Click for full size)

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.

Good for you Sean!

As much of a dick as you are some times, its good to see innovative plays every now and then.

Discussion on FOB: http://faceoffboards.com/goalie-screening-t270.html

UPDATE: NHL CLARIFYS RULES
— MEDIA ADVISORY –

NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) — National Hockey League Senior
Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell
today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 -
Unsportsmanlike Conduct: “An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule
75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation
when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender
and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the
goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or
distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make
a play.”

 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 scoring has come from all over the place this season, and this is good and bad. First, its good because that means we infact do have many offensive threats, 3 full lines of them. This can also be bad because not one player is a sure bet to put up points consistently. Overall though, this is a good thing because it exemplifies the Rangers depth, which is key in the playoffs.

- Henrik Lundqvist is playing like the Gold-Medal winning goalie that he is, good timing eh?

- I have a feeling not many players will be rested over the next two games. http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/ reports that Shanny will be back in tonite with Avery and Gomez, while Blair Betts will be sitting out one more game for conditioning reasons.

- One more player to make decisions with is Steven Valiquette. That same site reports that Henrik Lundqvist is starting tonight. I’m liking Renney’s commitment to attempt to grab the 4 seed, as I think we would desperatley benefit from home ice, but do you give Vally the start Sunday in the finale with the Devils? You wan’t to keep him sharp, but if the Devils drop their game tontie to the flyers and we tie them in points, Sunday’s game will be for fourth, at which I can almost guarantee a Henrik Lundqvist start. Valiquette is a class act as many of you know, and he deserves games when Henrik needs rest, but if the difference comes down to rest and 4th place, I think Vally might not touch the ice the rest of the NHL Season and PostSeason.

Islanders @ Rangers, 7 PM, @ MSG. TV is looking like MSG 2 from my sources. The Devils visit Philly tonight, and we are two points behind them for fourth. Here’s to Philly actually helping us for once. - Rob

Now, with only one game left in March and four total, the Rangers need another spark before their (hopefully) playoff run. The candle is still burning, but the wind has been blowing in March. They won 3, lost two, won two, then lost two during a 9 game stretch in the middle of march. Now to be fair, they could have run into some hot teams at the time, but what that tells me that is the Rangers have not been consistent since finding their game in the middle of Feburary. The Blueshirts NEED to win at least 3 of their final 4 games in order to help themselves not end up in the 7 or 8 spot of the Eastern Conference. Not to mention it wouldn’t hurt to play that well at the end of the season for a confidence booster.

Tommorow night is the key time to start this. Today’s game wasn’t what many Ranger fans were hoping for, but their was hope. They outplayed the Penguins in stints (once again, incosistent), Henrik played great per usual, and Fleury did well too. Tommorow night is key because we have had the Penguins number at MSG this year, and we need to continue that. Following the Pens Monday are the Islanders on the Island Thursday. The Islanders have been tough this year which is why, in my opinion, we need two points Monday to make up for today. After Thursday its a date at MSG with the Islanders and then the Sunday finale with the Devils at the Rock. All 4 games are cause for concern, which is why the Rangers need another spark ASAP.

As for today’s loss at Mellon to the Pens, I think the Rangers need to have some amnesia. Here is the good, bad, and other:

- The Rangers played ok, in stints. For Example, the Rangers outshot the Pens 11 to 4 in the second period, but really got nowhere with it. Thats how I felt the whole game. The Rangers played ok, but just not well enough. I was only on edge during the game right after Dubi scored to take the lead, I was into it. Past that, the Rangers got nowhere. They didn’t get any really spectactular chances and failed to even produce chances on the PP.

- Speaking of the PP, we need someone in front, constantly. It is a big key to any good power play, go take a look at Montreal’s highlights.

- I thoughts the refs sucked.

- Off Topic: Clarkson loses in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Ice Hockey Tourney, here’s to a good season boys!

Thats it for now, I kind of lost my train of thought as I had to tend to a small issue while I was writing this. Remember, Pens @ Rags tommorow, 7 PM EST, MSG Network. Look for a post after it! Peace - Rob

 - If anyone thinks Brenadan Shanahan’s PP goal was an “awakening” of the Power Play, they have another thing coming. Sure, it was a nice pass by Gomez who did some great work behind the net, along with Shanny showing his experience by getting to a great spot and staying open; but it wasn’t because of good Power Play work. The PowerPlay needs to keep working on getting set up, and then moving to open ice.

- Henrik played a fantastic game last nite, obviously. My question is, can he continue THAT level of play. He has always been good, but last night was playoff-caliber greatness. If he continues that level of play for the rest of spring, I feel good about our chances.

- Christian Backman. Now, most of my buddies were not happy with the Parise turnover, which is understandable. The pass choice was an awful choice, BUT, Parise made an absolutely perfect play to bat the hard pass out of mid air, perfectly to the ice without a bounce. AND, not to mention, he had to beat Lundqvist, whom he beat high glove, Hank’s weakness. So as much as it wasn’t a great choice by Backman, it was a great play by Parise. Backman would redeem himself  with an absolute beaut of a shot labeled for the top left of the goal in the third to tie it at two.

- Once again, Nigel Dawes confirms my opinion on the fact that he is much more deserving of a roster spot than Petr Prucha. His hustle is phenominal and he creates so much offense.

- The Rangers are one more win away over the Devils for a season sweet of 8-0. They will go for it in the last game of the season, April 6th, at the Rock, at 3 pm. Also its Masters Sunday :D. Next up are the Penguins Sunday @ Mellon, which will be a tough test as always.

 Short Post, but I watched the game with friends, so I didn’t notice as much as usual. Look for one Sunday night! Peace

- Rob