Well followers there is a lot to talk about in regards to lasts night game, but truly not a lot to write about. The bottom line is it was a less then overwhelming performance by either team. I felt like I was watching a pre-lockout game where there was very limited space on the ice, the neutral zones were clogged, everything was kept to the outsides and the puck movement was less then spectacular.
With that stated, Hank out duels Marty again for his 8th Shutout of the season and he is well on his way to eclipsing his own personal record of 10 in a season. I thought the Richards line had a phenomenal shift which created the first goal and I am not sure Hags is getting enough credit for sneaking that shot past Marty, and Cally not enough credit for the pass.. You could see it in his eyes that he saw that opening in between the pipes and Marty's back and played it right off Marty knowing that he had no shot to actually stop it and would only help it in the goal when he moved. Very creative, quick thinking and move of all very well positioned, I guess they really are that smart at UM... Now as impressive as the first goal was to me, the goal on the empty net by Cally which was none of his doing was a thing of effort and determination. I can't say it enough how impressed I was with the effort that Hags gave to get to the puck after he was molested by Zidlicky's stick over and over again. He kept moving his skates and slide the puck over to Cally for the dunk, hag was well deserving of the first star of the evening for sure.. And Ryan Mac who played 95% of the game like a Mac truck was well deserving of the second star. All I want to say is the next time they play the Penguins he needs to do the same thing to Malkin. The key to shutting down those monster Russians like Ovie, Kovy, Malkin is to stop them from getting their speed up. If you watch them, they circle back a lot to get their speed and for the most part any d-man is literally scared to try to stop them and poke check all the time. If the forwards limit their speed and keep them to the outside, Mac and Girardi and Stall, etc. will have a better chance of riding them out of the play and ending that rush...
So we picked up the two points we needed to keep the lead in the conference and inch closer to Vancouver with two games in hand on them for the race for the Presidents Trophy.. To me personally and I went over this in yesterdays blog I think that it is not only necessary, but our only chance if we want to win the cup to get home ice.. The garden and New York City will be rocking in June if we are still in it and man I would love to see it. Unfortunately I am stuck here in South Florida until I find a job in NY which I have been diligently looking for over the past few months.. If anyone has a lead, please let me know.. Thanks again for coming to my blog, please become a follower and lets open the lines of communication and get this game going.. Till the next time, a few days off, Ahhhhhh...
E-No Out
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Remainder of the season...
So as we come onto 3:30PM, a full 30 minutes past the deadline and just about all the deals are done, how do we feel about our boys? I can go on and on about it, but I am in the minority and to be honest I am writing this to get my own stress out as no one really reads it nor gives two shits about it. That said, the NYR did nothing except get another goon on D who will probably go straight to Hartford and never see the ice as now we have 9 D-men and 10 if you want to count erixson. So on to the remainder of the schedule and where we finish in my eyes.
Devils, canes, TBL, Bruins, NJD, Ottawa, Hawks, NYI, Canes, Pens, Avs, NJD, Wings, Sabres, Leafs, Wild, Jets, Montreal, Bruins, Flyers, Pitt, Caps..
22 games- 11-11 equals 22 points or 106 points for the season- .500 Pace for Remainder
22 games- 14-8 equals 28 points or 112 Points for the season -Wins & losses as YTD numbers
22 games- 14-6-2 equals 30 Points or 114 points for the season- Exact % YTD for W,L,OTL
So of the teams we have to worry about for the Presidents Trophy
Vancouver would end the year at 52-21-9 for 113 Points based on their current pace.
Detroit would end the year at 53-25-4 for 110 points based on their current pace.
St. Louis would end the year 50-22-10 for 110 points based on their current pace.
So assuming and baring any natural disasters from the NYR we are on pace to win the presidents trophy and quite honestly that is our only chance of making a big run this year. If we stay on this current schneid( no regulation wins in the last 5 games and 5 out of 10 points) then we will be in a bit of trouble. Tonight is a big game, the devils have won the last two meetings and have our number a bit but are coming off 3 in 4 nights and second of back to back.. Clearsly its not a must win, but we have to show up, dubi must be prime for a break-out game, GAS line needs to heat up again, BR line needs top keep creating and the boyle line needs to chip in a bit more.. Here is to two points and a good old fashioned ass whooping for the devils...
E-No Out...
Devils, canes, TBL, Bruins, NJD, Ottawa, Hawks, NYI, Canes, Pens, Avs, NJD, Wings, Sabres, Leafs, Wild, Jets, Montreal, Bruins, Flyers, Pitt, Caps..
22 games- 11-11 equals 22 points or 106 points for the season- .500 Pace for Remainder
22 games- 14-8 equals 28 points or 112 Points for the season -Wins & losses as YTD numbers
22 games- 14-6-2 equals 30 Points or 114 points for the season- Exact % YTD for W,L,OTL
So of the teams we have to worry about for the Presidents Trophy
Vancouver would end the year at 52-21-9 for 113 Points based on their current pace.
Detroit would end the year at 53-25-4 for 110 points based on their current pace.
St. Louis would end the year 50-22-10 for 110 points based on their current pace.
So assuming and baring any natural disasters from the NYR we are on pace to win the presidents trophy and quite honestly that is our only chance of making a big run this year. If we stay on this current schneid( no regulation wins in the last 5 games and 5 out of 10 points) then we will be in a bit of trouble. Tonight is a big game, the devils have won the last two meetings and have our number a bit but are coming off 3 in 4 nights and second of back to back.. Clearsly its not a must win, but we have to show up, dubi must be prime for a break-out game, GAS line needs to heat up again, BR line needs top keep creating and the boyle line needs to chip in a bit more.. Here is to two points and a good old fashioned ass whooping for the devils...
E-No Out...
Sunday, February 26, 2012
I will be very quick on this one as I am in the middle of watching the Carling Cup final and its at half right now. Again we were quite lucky to get the two points last night and all the credit goes to Cally for that insane move on Kaleta in OT off a great dish from Mac. Overall if you other fans all 15 of you who read my blog are like me and you want to win this year, you can see what we need. We still have so much trouble finishing shots and producing goals.. I think we have seen how good Step, Mac, Hags, AA, Dubi are going to be in there careers and I believe they are all capped. That does not mean they have peaked, it just means to me that there skill level is capped and they are not All stars in my book, but very good pieces who can be a part of this team for years. I know Gabby scored again last night, but his inconsistency is scary and I will let BR get away with it for now because its his first year on Broadway and we know how that can go. So I will say it again, I think we need to make the deal for Nash unless Slats thinks he has the inside push for Parise in the off season... Right now we have to many pieces in the minors not to trade some of them for a run at the cup. Where are they going to fit in on this team in the future, guys like Miller, bourque, Krieder, Thomas, Other Mac, Erixson, Etc... Just a thought for you guys.. What are your thoughts??? Good win, will take the two points, and lets Kick the Devils asses on Monday night..
E-No Out
E-No Out
Saturday, February 25, 2012
NYI get the better of the NYR and Torts
I want to start this blog off and get right into it about Chemistry. Now all us fans out there, myself excluded have been talking about the proposed deadline moves as possible chemistry busters. I ask you this, where has the chemistry been in the last four games and even the win against Boston. One regulation win in the last four, 3 points total out of the four games and even in the Boston game which we won on the back of Hank's Stellar performance, we were outplayed. So screw chemistry, its clear to see that we need to make a deal, we need to get more skill on this team as grit, determination and hard work can only go so far. Look people, let me explain it to you this way, I am a huge soccer fan, I watch La Liga, BPL, Serie A, Bundusliga, and so on and simply put what separates the good teams from the great teams in the long run are the stars, the ones with all the talent that might not work as hard as the middle of the road guy, but were blessed with all the moves, speed, shot, etc in the world. In my book the same applies to the world of hockey. More to come on this at the end...
As for last night, I thought John Tavares imposed his skill on the rangers from the first whistle all the way through the shootout. Although he missed his shootout attempt I thought by far he was the best player on the ice all night and his line was insane all night long as well with Moulson get 1 and 1 and Parentau getting 2 goals along with JT 2 assists. Our defense had a tough time staying with his moves and ability to see the ice and move the puck. Ryan Mac made a terrible breakout pass that led to an attempted clear from the isles that hit JT and he made an insane between the legs pass to a streaking Parentau who whistled a slap shot over Biron's shoulder, bottom line is mac has to do better with that puck. The first unit again looked sluggish on the PP and the second unit was buzzing everywhere which was apparent with the goal from Marc Stall that I am sure Nabokov wants back... We started to calm down and play a bit better after this PP and took it to them towards the end of the first... I thought Dubi played a great game, he was all over the ice, skating well, hitting, making plays, proving to the coaching staff that he is worth keeping around although I don't think that will happen. The Isles got their 3rd goal on the PP which is something that has become a ritual for the rangers as of late, giving up PP goals. Clearly in the fits 55 games of the season we did not give up that many at all which is why we are 3rd in the league on the PK, but as of late, the defense seems to be, perhaps a bit tired, or mentally drained, I am not sure what it is, but we are giving up way to much as of late. The game changed when Biron stopped Grabner on a break-a-way attempt in the middle of the second and then only minutes later Gabby buried a break-a-way attempt of his own off a nice dish from AA off the boards. The 3rd goal was a fluke goal from a shot by Step on the PP which went in off the isles d-man... The bottom line is we were lucky to get a point out of the game for sure and need to do a lot better thins evening..
A lot was made after the game of how Torts kept saying the rangers played "sloppy", which is not wrong at all, but one has to ask the questioning why? Is Torts' message not getting to the players anymore? Is there a Bruce Boudreau type Washington thing happening in the Rangers locker room that we the public are not aware of? I remember saying to my cousin when watching the HBo series 24\7, I felt like this team was going to stop listening to the screaming and cursing of Torts after a while and that type of coaching in all but uselsss in the professional ranks. I love the fire he brings, but to me he doesn't bring enough ice to cool things down when necessary. Now I am not around the team like some of the reporters and blogers, and I am only judging on what I see and what I feel or have felt for the past few seasons, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. I worry that some guys just drown Torts out and to me rightfully so sometimes.. This will be an interesting sage to watch and see how it works out.. Tonight in my eyes is a must win game to get this team back on track and show they are ready to take on the eastern conference in the playoff run... A loss tonight and expect Nash ont he team for Sundays game, and honestly a win tonight you can probably expect the same.. Heave ho one in a row....
E-No Out..
As for last night, I thought John Tavares imposed his skill on the rangers from the first whistle all the way through the shootout. Although he missed his shootout attempt I thought by far he was the best player on the ice all night and his line was insane all night long as well with Moulson get 1 and 1 and Parentau getting 2 goals along with JT 2 assists. Our defense had a tough time staying with his moves and ability to see the ice and move the puck. Ryan Mac made a terrible breakout pass that led to an attempted clear from the isles that hit JT and he made an insane between the legs pass to a streaking Parentau who whistled a slap shot over Biron's shoulder, bottom line is mac has to do better with that puck. The first unit again looked sluggish on the PP and the second unit was buzzing everywhere which was apparent with the goal from Marc Stall that I am sure Nabokov wants back... We started to calm down and play a bit better after this PP and took it to them towards the end of the first... I thought Dubi played a great game, he was all over the ice, skating well, hitting, making plays, proving to the coaching staff that he is worth keeping around although I don't think that will happen. The Isles got their 3rd goal on the PP which is something that has become a ritual for the rangers as of late, giving up PP goals. Clearly in the fits 55 games of the season we did not give up that many at all which is why we are 3rd in the league on the PK, but as of late, the defense seems to be, perhaps a bit tired, or mentally drained, I am not sure what it is, but we are giving up way to much as of late. The game changed when Biron stopped Grabner on a break-a-way attempt in the middle of the second and then only minutes later Gabby buried a break-a-way attempt of his own off a nice dish from AA off the boards. The 3rd goal was a fluke goal from a shot by Step on the PP which went in off the isles d-man... The bottom line is we were lucky to get a point out of the game for sure and need to do a lot better thins evening..
A lot was made after the game of how Torts kept saying the rangers played "sloppy", which is not wrong at all, but one has to ask the questioning why? Is Torts' message not getting to the players anymore? Is there a Bruce Boudreau type Washington thing happening in the Rangers locker room that we the public are not aware of? I remember saying to my cousin when watching the HBo series 24\7, I felt like this team was going to stop listening to the screaming and cursing of Torts after a while and that type of coaching in all but uselsss in the professional ranks. I love the fire he brings, but to me he doesn't bring enough ice to cool things down when necessary. Now I am not around the team like some of the reporters and blogers, and I am only judging on what I see and what I feel or have felt for the past few seasons, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. I worry that some guys just drown Torts out and to me rightfully so sometimes.. This will be an interesting sage to watch and see how it works out.. Tonight in my eyes is a must win game to get this team back on track and show they are ready to take on the eastern conference in the playoff run... A loss tonight and expect Nash ont he team for Sundays game, and honestly a win tonight you can probably expect the same.. Heave ho one in a row....
E-No Out..
Friday, February 24, 2012
TGIF and bring on the Isles... Now most of this blog will be in reference to the latest rumors surrounding Dustin Brown being available and the NYR being hot on the trail Now all the lastest rumors from the inside guys have him as our second choice behind of course RN.. So with that said, I would like to give you my take on this and see where you all stand..
If and only if slats was in on a top two or four defenseman, if any are still available, I would go after Brown. I know the argument that he would fit in and play our system and is another Cally, but do we really need another cally? I would say the reason we are going after a guy like Rick Nash is because we need his firepower and bringing in a guy like DB would only slightly increase the offense assuming you don't give an AA or Dubi for him... With that said, if its a staright up Dubi for DB deal and a pick or mid level prospect and we all think Slats has the inside track on Parise or someone of that stature int he offseason, then by all means go for it, free up the extra million plus in cap space, rid yourself of the moderately bad contract given to Dubi and get Parise to come to Manhattan, and then you have the makings of a contender for years to come. I know I am thinking ahead, but isnt the job of a GM to be a master Chess player and see two or three moves ahead? Thoughts everyone??
I woke up this morning and thought of this crazy trade and I really want to know your thoughts. When I ran it by my cousin who has been a fan and season ticket holder for over 45 years, he asked if I had taken LSD last night.. What is the Rangers Traded Gabby and one of their D propects for Drew Doughty and some mid level proscpet. The LAK have always had a slight infatuation with Gabby and the money works out perfectly. Then Slats goes and gets Nash under the same deal as he is running now.. I know your immediate response is are you bleeping insane, but think about it. Would there be a better defense in the league? Girardi, Mac, Delz, Stall, Doughty, Sauer(when healthy), all I can say is good luck scoring on that... So in essence you are giving up gabby who we all know has been a stud at times this season and been wildly inconsistent at times as well. He has gone on goalless streaks of three games or more 7 times this season. That includes a seven game goalless streak and the current five gamer he is on now.. He is getting older and softer and will wear down before his contract is up in my eyes.. I know I am going to get hammered over this and I can't wait to hear it, but the numbers bear out my point and it might be something worth taking a look at...
So to summerize my thoughts, Go after Brown if you are getting a top four D-man to solidfy the Top to pairs, and only if you are getting a top four guy. If no top four guy, then get Nash, move who you have to and make it work and win the damn cup this year. However if you are moving brown for Dubi if the nash deal can't work, then I do it for the Cap space to go after Parise int he off season.. Also a little bit on gabby in here that I hope to get hammered about.. Bring it on folks, comments are always welcome and I will get back at you for sure... Let go Rangers Kick the shit out of the Isles tonight...
E-No Out
If and only if slats was in on a top two or four defenseman, if any are still available, I would go after Brown. I know the argument that he would fit in and play our system and is another Cally, but do we really need another cally? I would say the reason we are going after a guy like Rick Nash is because we need his firepower and bringing in a guy like DB would only slightly increase the offense assuming you don't give an AA or Dubi for him... With that said, if its a staright up Dubi for DB deal and a pick or mid level prospect and we all think Slats has the inside track on Parise or someone of that stature int he offseason, then by all means go for it, free up the extra million plus in cap space, rid yourself of the moderately bad contract given to Dubi and get Parise to come to Manhattan, and then you have the makings of a contender for years to come. I know I am thinking ahead, but isnt the job of a GM to be a master Chess player and see two or three moves ahead? Thoughts everyone??
I woke up this morning and thought of this crazy trade and I really want to know your thoughts. When I ran it by my cousin who has been a fan and season ticket holder for over 45 years, he asked if I had taken LSD last night.. What is the Rangers Traded Gabby and one of their D propects for Drew Doughty and some mid level proscpet. The LAK have always had a slight infatuation with Gabby and the money works out perfectly. Then Slats goes and gets Nash under the same deal as he is running now.. I know your immediate response is are you bleeping insane, but think about it. Would there be a better defense in the league? Girardi, Mac, Delz, Stall, Doughty, Sauer(when healthy), all I can say is good luck scoring on that... So in essence you are giving up gabby who we all know has been a stud at times this season and been wildly inconsistent at times as well. He has gone on goalless streaks of three games or more 7 times this season. That includes a seven game goalless streak and the current five gamer he is on now.. He is getting older and softer and will wear down before his contract is up in my eyes.. I know I am going to get hammered over this and I can't wait to hear it, but the numbers bear out my point and it might be something worth taking a look at...
So to summerize my thoughts, Go after Brown if you are getting a top four D-man to solidfy the Top to pairs, and only if you are getting a top four guy. If no top four guy, then get Nash, move who you have to and make it work and win the damn cup this year. However if you are moving brown for Dubi if the nash deal can't work, then I do it for the Cap space to go after Parise int he off season.. Also a little bit on gabby in here that I hope to get hammered about.. Bring it on folks, comments are always welcome and I will get back at you for sure... Let go Rangers Kick the shit out of the Isles tonight...
E-No Out
Thursday, February 23, 2012
With about an hour to go before the puck drops at the rock in NJ I wanted to get a quick blog up about tonight's game. To it will come down to and it quite obvious slowing down the praise line and especially limiting kovy's touches in mid ice and not allowing him to get a full head of steam going up the ice. Looks like emitter back in the lineup and cally might be back which is good, Scott out with woywitka and stralman whose play has slowed as of late will sit on the pine. Need continued production from the gas line and with cally back assume he jumps right back in with br and hags. I would like to see a good game from Dan Girardi for sure as he has had a few sow ones of late and it appears the fatigue has sent in a bit. With that said, stall can keep climbing up the ladder and getting better each game and Mac and delz can continue their solid play.. Here's to a good solid hard fought game with Hank outlasting Marty again.. 3-2 Rangers.. Lets go rangers.....
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Predictions for the rest of the season... oh yeah and my pregnant wife has bronchitis
I got back from the doctors office with my 13 week pregnant wife and she has bronchitis so I am down in my home office listening to her cough and I feel terrible. I am sure she will be better in a few days.
So back to a bit more about the game last night and what lies ahead for the rangers pre trade deadline.
We have the Isles on Friday night and the Sabres on Saturday night.. Which one do you play Hank in or both? I think we have to get wins in both games, get the offense back on track and really set a tone for the remaining 22 games after these two post deadline day..
3 vs NJD
2 vs Carolina
2 vs Boston
2 vs Pittsburgh
1 each vs caps, flyers, Montreal, Jets, Minn, Leafs, Sabres, Wings, Colorado, Hawks, Sens, Isles, and Bolts.
So assume we take the four points from the weekend games vs. NYI and Buff, that would put us at 85 points through 60 games. So here is my take and I would love to hear all your input on these predication's..
NJD- 3 points of a possible 6, 1 win and 1 reg loss with one OT shootout loss..
Carolina- Take 2 points- Split
Boston- Split and take 2 points.
Pittsburgh- Split and take 2 points
Loses to Montreal, Hawks, Sens in reg
Wins against Jets, Minn, Buff, Colorado and TBL equals 10 points
OT or SO losses to Philly and Wash equals 2 points
OT or SO wins against NYI, Tor and Wings equals 6 points.
This brings our season total to 112 points.. Do we finish the season 12-7-3 or better? Does 112 points get us the Presidents trophy? Do we need the PT to win it all? Can this team as its constituted right now win the whole thing? Only time will tell.. Would love to hear your comments and get to know my followers a bit better.. thanks everyone and can't wait to hear from you..
E-NO
So back to a bit more about the game last night and what lies ahead for the rangers pre trade deadline.
We have the Isles on Friday night and the Sabres on Saturday night.. Which one do you play Hank in or both? I think we have to get wins in both games, get the offense back on track and really set a tone for the remaining 22 games after these two post deadline day..
3 vs NJD
2 vs Carolina
2 vs Boston
2 vs Pittsburgh
1 each vs caps, flyers, Montreal, Jets, Minn, Leafs, Sabres, Wings, Colorado, Hawks, Sens, Isles, and Bolts.
So assume we take the four points from the weekend games vs. NYI and Buff, that would put us at 85 points through 60 games. So here is my take and I would love to hear all your input on these predication's..
NJD- 3 points of a possible 6, 1 win and 1 reg loss with one OT shootout loss..
Carolina- Take 2 points- Split
Boston- Split and take 2 points.
Pittsburgh- Split and take 2 points
Loses to Montreal, Hawks, Sens in reg
Wins against Jets, Minn, Buff, Colorado and TBL equals 10 points
OT or SO losses to Philly and Wash equals 2 points
OT or SO wins against NYI, Tor and Wings equals 6 points.
This brings our season total to 112 points.. Do we finish the season 12-7-3 or better? Does 112 points get us the Presidents trophy? Do we need the PT to win it all? Can this team as its constituted right now win the whole thing? Only time will tell.. Would love to hear your comments and get to know my followers a bit better.. thanks everyone and can't wait to hear from you..
E-NO
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)