I want to be quick about last nights game and move on from it in the hopes that the real NYR team shows up tonight in the windy city..
- Stall got burned on two of the goals and as I have been saying I don't think he is near back to what he was last year and who knows if he ever will be. It seems like he is tentative with the puck in his own zone, doesn't want to joint he rush as much as he did last year and seems to be shying away from contact. Now none of us know how he is really feeling and most importantly whether or not he is mentally fully back, but we know that we need him in order to get things back rolling...
- Here is another point I will say that I have been saying for quite some time. Gabby needs to stop playing around with the puck and get to open areas of the ice and go. He is not Malkin, kovy, crosby, ovie, etc, he is not big enough and strong enough on the puck to stick handle into the zone all the time. His best attribute is quick hands around the net and from the circles and in and that is where he should be all the time, let BR handle the puck, let AA, cally, step, or whoever it is grit it out down low and you move around and get open.. He got beat off the puck on multiple occasions last night and it lead to immediate chances down the other end. Get the puck deep and let the grinders do their jobs..
- Is torts message wearing thin on these guys? I spoke to my cousin another die hard fan after the 24\7 documentary was put on and I said to him then, we could have another Bruce boudreau type disaster on our hands with Torts. I never played at a high level like these guys, but was a division one caliber baseball player and was offered scholarships and I know one thing a coach who gets all over players, one who tries to assert his dominance over players even at the college level, it can get old really quickly. I know every player is saying the right thing, continuing to work hard, but I worry as we look like the capitals from a few years ago... So I ask you again do you think Torts' message is wearing thin? do you think the players are over it? Do you think he needs to find that happy middle ground of yelling and cussing, but also being a players' coach?? Thoughts please....
- As for tonight, hank back in the net, having given up 10 goals in his past three starts with a record of 1-1-1, he needs to get back in the swing of things for sure and get back to the Vezina style play he had been producing prior to this latest downturn. No news on whether dubi will go tonight, but its easy to see that we need him in the lineup. Even though he is not producing goals like he did last year, his presence is a worry to other teams and allows the star players to have a little load taken off their shoulders. As for those star players, they are all saying the right things to the Larry Brooks' and the Steve Zipays' of the world, but at this point in the season, players shouldn't have to say anything. It should be known what they have to do, how they have to play and who needs to produce when and where.. Its truly as simple as that, SHUT UP AND PLAY HARD AND START WINNING AGAIN..
Keys to tonight's games-
-Try to limit the amount of touches that Kane and Hossa get on the puck. Do not let Hossa control the play from center ice like Kovy did in the NJD game.
-Try to get the PP going and do not take penalties as Chicago with their talent on the back end and up front will kill us.
- Need a big game from Hank, a comeback game from Girardi and Stall, and more production and creativity from the big 6 guys up front...
Here is to two points in the windy city in front of 20K+ after that debacle last night... Go NYR
E-NO Out....
Friday, March 9, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Must Win Tonight???
I only have ten minutes so I have to get this going. As I have been saying for some time now, the biggest worry we have is Pittsburgh coming from behind us to grab the number one spot pushing us down to #4 and a first round match up against Philly. It would be intriguing to play Philly, but I don't want that and I know you all don't either. Here are the remaining games for both teams:
NYR-
Home- Isles, Hurricanes,Pens, Avs, NJD, Detroit, Sabres, Montreal, Boston, Wash
Away- Pens, Philly, Jets, Wild, Leafs, hawks and Sens
Pitts-
Home- Fla, Boston, Jets, Nash, NJD, Isles, Philly, NYR, Philly
Away- NYR, NJD, Philly, Sens, Isles, Sabres, Boston
So If we win tonight we enjoy an 8 point cushion with 16 games remaining and two crucial games against the Pens. If we lose we are 6 points ahead of the pens for the top spot and would be riding a two game losing streak, to me its as close to a must win game or at least a must point game as we have had all season. We have to go out there and send a message to another one of the top teams in the east the Sens by playing physical but smart, gritty and determined and score goals early and often. Step and AA need to continue to pound the net with shots, Hags needs to use his speed to create space and time in and around the net, BR needs to wake up, gabby need not make dumb errors with the puck, Cally needs to continue to progress and get his stride back, the Boyle line needs to produce more goals and scoring, and the Mitchell line needs to just play their 5-7 minutes well and don't take any stupid penalties.. That's easy enough isn't it?
Here's to a big time W in Ottawa against a really solid and potent Ottawa team... Play hard, stay focused and get back on track already would ya....
E-NO Out
NYR-
Home- Isles, Hurricanes,Pens, Avs, NJD, Detroit, Sabres, Montreal, Boston, Wash
Away- Pens, Philly, Jets, Wild, Leafs, hawks and Sens
Pitts-
Home- Fla, Boston, Jets, Nash, NJD, Isles, Philly, NYR, Philly
Away- NYR, NJD, Philly, Sens, Isles, Sabres, Boston
So If we win tonight we enjoy an 8 point cushion with 16 games remaining and two crucial games against the Pens. If we lose we are 6 points ahead of the pens for the top spot and would be riding a two game losing streak, to me its as close to a must win game or at least a must point game as we have had all season. We have to go out there and send a message to another one of the top teams in the east the Sens by playing physical but smart, gritty and determined and score goals early and often. Step and AA need to continue to pound the net with shots, Hags needs to use his speed to create space and time in and around the net, BR needs to wake up, gabby need not make dumb errors with the puck, Cally needs to continue to progress and get his stride back, the Boyle line needs to produce more goals and scoring, and the Mitchell line needs to just play their 5-7 minutes well and don't take any stupid penalties.. That's easy enough isn't it?
Here's to a big time W in Ottawa against a really solid and potent Ottawa team... Play hard, stay focused and get back on track already would ya....
E-NO Out
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Ugly is all I can say...
As the title states, all we can say about lasts night game is UGLY... We got outplayed from the get go and throughout. kovy ran circles around Mac and Girardi and all the other d-men, which is why I said it was one of the keys to the game to slow him down. I am not going to go into much detail about it as we have to throw this game out and start over from scratch on Thursday night against Ottawa.
- Girardi saw the pine in the last half of the 3rd period after multiple give a ways and just simply put some poor play. He looks tired, beat up and in need of a break and unfortunately there in no time for that right now. Mac didn't help him much on the 3rd goal I believe when Girardi just gave the puck away cross ice and then Mac stood on the blue line flat footed and let Josefson and Carter in behind him for the 2 on 1 and eventual goal. Here is a thought for all you guys who think Marc Stall is back in full form or at least near full form, why not put Stall with Mac and let Girardi slip down for a few games to the second line with Delz or third with bickell? Is it a righty lefty thing? Why not give Dan G about 18 minutes a night and move Stall up to 22-23 a night? Think about that, it will keep Dan G fresh for the playoff run, get Stall his wind back from the long crazy playoff games and perhaps give the whole team a bit of a boost...
- I liked the changes in the lines yesterday with Gabby, BR and Cally and Hags moving to play with Step and AA. I know that had to due with Dubi being injured and being down a man, but Torts did that for spurts in the previous game also. I have said this before, gabby wants the puck on his stick way to much, he needs to get to open areas and get ready to shoot and score, that's his game, that's what we pay him for and got BR for, to put straight forward for you. Cally obviously was a bit rusty last night and will be for a few until his foot is fully healed so not much can be said there. As for the 2nd line of AA-Step-Hags, I loved it, we can call it the "Kick you ASH" line. They could be dynamic with both Step and AA having killer shots when they take it and Hags using his speed to create long range plays with Step who we know has great ice vision. I like that line and would love to see them get a bit a run at it over the month of march. The Boyle line are what they are, not much can be said, for what they are supposed to bring, they do night in and night out. It would be great if we could get a little more goal scoring from our 3rd line, but one can't be picky. As for the 4th line before dubi got hurt, Scott-Rupp-Dubi, really.. Was John Mitchell really hurt or is torts so stuck on this overly physical game that he needs to play John " Flat Footed, Slow as a snail" Scott? At least Rupp can skate when he gets his motor running and we know what Dubi brings when healthy and mentally there, I am not a fan of Scott at all.. I hope Mitchell is back in the lineup and Scott can take a seat on the pine...
- Hank as of late has been fighting the puck a bit and his weaknesses are starting to linger back into his game. The upper 3rd of the net was a soft spot for him in previous years, but this year he has remedied that situation until these last few weeks. Hank has surrendered 10 goals in the last three games, that's not good enough for this team which has trouble scoring at a high rate. He went through a similar stretch in mid January where he gave up 10 goals in 4 games against Ottawa, Montreal, and Pittsburgh with a shutout of Nashville stuck in between. So hopefully he has just hit a little pothole in the road as we all know how bumpy the drive can be in NYC and the surrounding suburbs, and will get back on track soon... We will need him if we want to make any run through the playoffs for sure...
- Dubi hurt himself in a fight that he got rocked in. Ryan Carter who as the Announcers stated is not a fighter, took it to Dubi during that square off, and to top it all off, dubi hurts his hand in the fight and doesn't return for the remainder of the evening. I know he was trying to jack the team up a bit and get himself going, but there are guys on the team(Rupp & Scott) who are supposed to be the guys who take care of that stuff. Torts is supposed to have so much control over these guys where they listen to him, they buy into all he is teaching and talking about, yet each and every night lately we have seen stupid things like this. Just go back to Prust fighting Lucic, what a dumb idea. Why didn't torts put Rupp out there once he saw Lucic? I don't know where to lay the blame, some on the players, some on the coach, where? Bottom line is the we can't afford stupid mistakes and we need to limit them the rest of the season and int he playoffs for sure...
That's all for this entry as there really isn't much else to go into. Here is to hoping that we get a full compliment of players back for Thursday night and we see the lineup the following way..
BR-Gabby-Cally
AA-Step-Hags
Boyle-Prust-Feds
Mitchell-Dubi-Rupp
Mac-Stall
Delz-Eminger
Girardi-Bickell
Here is to Hank getting re-focused and getting back to playing the way he has all season, BR getting back on a hot streak and waking up, more production from the 3rd line, and a healthy enough Cally to make a difference(the heart and soul)... Let's Go Rangers beat Ottawa on Thursday night..
E-NO Out
- Girardi saw the pine in the last half of the 3rd period after multiple give a ways and just simply put some poor play. He looks tired, beat up and in need of a break and unfortunately there in no time for that right now. Mac didn't help him much on the 3rd goal I believe when Girardi just gave the puck away cross ice and then Mac stood on the blue line flat footed and let Josefson and Carter in behind him for the 2 on 1 and eventual goal. Here is a thought for all you guys who think Marc Stall is back in full form or at least near full form, why not put Stall with Mac and let Girardi slip down for a few games to the second line with Delz or third with bickell? Is it a righty lefty thing? Why not give Dan G about 18 minutes a night and move Stall up to 22-23 a night? Think about that, it will keep Dan G fresh for the playoff run, get Stall his wind back from the long crazy playoff games and perhaps give the whole team a bit of a boost...
- I liked the changes in the lines yesterday with Gabby, BR and Cally and Hags moving to play with Step and AA. I know that had to due with Dubi being injured and being down a man, but Torts did that for spurts in the previous game also. I have said this before, gabby wants the puck on his stick way to much, he needs to get to open areas and get ready to shoot and score, that's his game, that's what we pay him for and got BR for, to put straight forward for you. Cally obviously was a bit rusty last night and will be for a few until his foot is fully healed so not much can be said there. As for the 2nd line of AA-Step-Hags, I loved it, we can call it the "Kick you ASH" line. They could be dynamic with both Step and AA having killer shots when they take it and Hags using his speed to create long range plays with Step who we know has great ice vision. I like that line and would love to see them get a bit a run at it over the month of march. The Boyle line are what they are, not much can be said, for what they are supposed to bring, they do night in and night out. It would be great if we could get a little more goal scoring from our 3rd line, but one can't be picky. As for the 4th line before dubi got hurt, Scott-Rupp-Dubi, really.. Was John Mitchell really hurt or is torts so stuck on this overly physical game that he needs to play John " Flat Footed, Slow as a snail" Scott? At least Rupp can skate when he gets his motor running and we know what Dubi brings when healthy and mentally there, I am not a fan of Scott at all.. I hope Mitchell is back in the lineup and Scott can take a seat on the pine...
- Hank as of late has been fighting the puck a bit and his weaknesses are starting to linger back into his game. The upper 3rd of the net was a soft spot for him in previous years, but this year he has remedied that situation until these last few weeks. Hank has surrendered 10 goals in the last three games, that's not good enough for this team which has trouble scoring at a high rate. He went through a similar stretch in mid January where he gave up 10 goals in 4 games against Ottawa, Montreal, and Pittsburgh with a shutout of Nashville stuck in between. So hopefully he has just hit a little pothole in the road as we all know how bumpy the drive can be in NYC and the surrounding suburbs, and will get back on track soon... We will need him if we want to make any run through the playoffs for sure...
- Dubi hurt himself in a fight that he got rocked in. Ryan Carter who as the Announcers stated is not a fighter, took it to Dubi during that square off, and to top it all off, dubi hurts his hand in the fight and doesn't return for the remainder of the evening. I know he was trying to jack the team up a bit and get himself going, but there are guys on the team(Rupp & Scott) who are supposed to be the guys who take care of that stuff. Torts is supposed to have so much control over these guys where they listen to him, they buy into all he is teaching and talking about, yet each and every night lately we have seen stupid things like this. Just go back to Prust fighting Lucic, what a dumb idea. Why didn't torts put Rupp out there once he saw Lucic? I don't know where to lay the blame, some on the players, some on the coach, where? Bottom line is the we can't afford stupid mistakes and we need to limit them the rest of the season and int he playoffs for sure...
That's all for this entry as there really isn't much else to go into. Here is to hoping that we get a full compliment of players back for Thursday night and we see the lineup the following way..
BR-Gabby-Cally
AA-Step-Hags
Boyle-Prust-Feds
Mitchell-Dubi-Rupp
Mac-Stall
Delz-Eminger
Girardi-Bickell
Here is to Hank getting re-focused and getting back to playing the way he has all season, BR getting back on a hot streak and waking up, more production from the 3rd line, and a healthy enough Cally to make a difference(the heart and soul)... Let's Go Rangers beat Ottawa on Thursday night..
E-NO Out
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
NJD at the Rock
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.....
Monday, March 5, 2012
Well I have had my time to digest what happened in the game yesterday and I figured now is as good a time as any to get it going on my blog... First and foremost, a very impressive win yesterday with the absence of one Ryan Callahan for the 3rd straight game and who Ek is calling perhaps the best "C" in the game. Do you agree with that assessment? If yo haven't seen it, check out his article on hockeybuzz. Cally to me is the true heart and soul of a heart and soul type team, he personifies everything a current NYR rangers stands for, grit, determination, hard work, guts, skill, and a whole host of other attributes. Even though we have been able to get points and win games without him, the team truly misses him for sure and needs him back asap...
So onto my thoughts of the game yesterday. I don't want you to think i am trying to steal Carp's way of blogging, but its just a lot easier to put bullet points and opposed to writing an article type blog.. So Carp I thank you for generating the idea and I hope its ok that I do it with my own style and flair..
- Let's start by talking about Hank. We know he has been nothing short of spectacular for us all season, but as of late he seems to be fighting the puck. Back in the past when Hank was playing to the levels of his career stats and not playing off the charts like he is this year, the only way you could beat him was high. He was always the best far and away down low in the league, but glove side and stick side high, he couldn't stop a pee wee league player. This year he has remedied that problem a bit which is why his GAA is significantly lower then in years past, but as of late he seems to be getting back to his old ways. maybe the HBO real sports interview was on his mind or the concerts he does were preoccupying his thoughts, but whatever it is, he better start to focus, get his wind back and start playing the same way he has all season or it could be an early exit out of the playoffs for the NYR..
- Let's talk a bit about Gabby, he is currently riding a 3 game goal scoring streak which he has done only twice before this season.. Gabby has 5 two goal games and 22 one goal games so far this season yet it feels as if he is as inconsistent as a minor league fringe player. He has been highly relevant in a lot of games, but has disappeared off the score sheet on way to many occasions for my liking.. Here is to hoping that he finds the consistency we need down the stretch and into the playoff run. If he has to go quiet for a few games to get his head back, them let it be this month and not next, need him firing on all cylinders for sure..
- Now let's talk a bit about the defense and what I see happening.. I think we have a tired crew out there. I think the 25+ minutes a night is starting to wear on girardi and Mac, and delz picking up a knock certainly had something to do with his being tired and not being able to fight off the bump that jarred him into the net.. Girardi seems to be making a few more boneheaded passes of late, which is very uncharacteristic of him for sure. Unlike everyone else, I don't think Marc Stall is playing nearly as good as he should by now and he is nowhere near where he was last year. He is still very tentative on the puck in his zone, not decisive enough and getting beat off the puck which rarely happened last year. He seems to be a bit scared of serious contact and is going to have to get over that come April for sure... I can't say much about Stralman, Bickell, Woywitka, Eminger, etc as they are really fill ins and have done their jobs admirably when asked for the most part...
- Tuesday starts another 3 games in 4 nights on the road starting with the NJD, then off to Ottawa, then to the Windy City. I would expect to see hank in Net against NJD, then Marty against Ottawa and Hank again against the hawks. We always have trouble in Canada so that will be a tough one, you know Jersey will come out fired up and the Hawks in Chicago will be a tough one, so if we could get 4 out of 6 points I think I would be happy... Thoughts???
One last thing and this it totally off the topic of Hockey. I want to congratulate Rory Mcilroy on his Honda Classic win and becoming the number one golfer in the world. It was well deserved as he played a tiger like tourney even with Tiger charging from behind yesterday. Rory went out and shot 66,67, 66, 69 which is amazingly consistent and purely flawless. When Tiger was playing in his prime it was rare for him to shoot ultra low scores like he did yesterday (62 which marked his lowest final round score ever), and Rory did exactly that, he put together four really solid if not spectacular round of golf and made a tough golf course(I would know as I have played it about a dozen times) look moderate.. Congrats for sure, now you have to get your Girlfriend to win a major and you will be the power couple of Sports, the Brad and Angelina of the professional sports ranks.. Can't wait to see that day..
E-No Out for Now......
So onto my thoughts of the game yesterday. I don't want you to think i am trying to steal Carp's way of blogging, but its just a lot easier to put bullet points and opposed to writing an article type blog.. So Carp I thank you for generating the idea and I hope its ok that I do it with my own style and flair..
- Let's start by talking about Hank. We know he has been nothing short of spectacular for us all season, but as of late he seems to be fighting the puck. Back in the past when Hank was playing to the levels of his career stats and not playing off the charts like he is this year, the only way you could beat him was high. He was always the best far and away down low in the league, but glove side and stick side high, he couldn't stop a pee wee league player. This year he has remedied that problem a bit which is why his GAA is significantly lower then in years past, but as of late he seems to be getting back to his old ways. maybe the HBO real sports interview was on his mind or the concerts he does were preoccupying his thoughts, but whatever it is, he better start to focus, get his wind back and start playing the same way he has all season or it could be an early exit out of the playoffs for the NYR..
- Let's talk a bit about Gabby, he is currently riding a 3 game goal scoring streak which he has done only twice before this season.. Gabby has 5 two goal games and 22 one goal games so far this season yet it feels as if he is as inconsistent as a minor league fringe player. He has been highly relevant in a lot of games, but has disappeared off the score sheet on way to many occasions for my liking.. Here is to hoping that he finds the consistency we need down the stretch and into the playoff run. If he has to go quiet for a few games to get his head back, them let it be this month and not next, need him firing on all cylinders for sure..
- Now let's talk a bit about the defense and what I see happening.. I think we have a tired crew out there. I think the 25+ minutes a night is starting to wear on girardi and Mac, and delz picking up a knock certainly had something to do with his being tired and not being able to fight off the bump that jarred him into the net.. Girardi seems to be making a few more boneheaded passes of late, which is very uncharacteristic of him for sure. Unlike everyone else, I don't think Marc Stall is playing nearly as good as he should by now and he is nowhere near where he was last year. He is still very tentative on the puck in his zone, not decisive enough and getting beat off the puck which rarely happened last year. He seems to be a bit scared of serious contact and is going to have to get over that come April for sure... I can't say much about Stralman, Bickell, Woywitka, Eminger, etc as they are really fill ins and have done their jobs admirably when asked for the most part...
- Tuesday starts another 3 games in 4 nights on the road starting with the NJD, then off to Ottawa, then to the Windy City. I would expect to see hank in Net against NJD, then Marty against Ottawa and Hank again against the hawks. We always have trouble in Canada so that will be a tough one, you know Jersey will come out fired up and the Hawks in Chicago will be a tough one, so if we could get 4 out of 6 points I think I would be happy... Thoughts???
One last thing and this it totally off the topic of Hockey. I want to congratulate Rory Mcilroy on his Honda Classic win and becoming the number one golfer in the world. It was well deserved as he played a tiger like tourney even with Tiger charging from behind yesterday. Rory went out and shot 66,67, 66, 69 which is amazingly consistent and purely flawless. When Tiger was playing in his prime it was rare for him to shoot ultra low scores like he did yesterday (62 which marked his lowest final round score ever), and Rory did exactly that, he put together four really solid if not spectacular round of golf and made a tough golf course(I would know as I have played it about a dozen times) look moderate.. Congrats for sure, now you have to get your Girlfriend to win a major and you will be the power couple of Sports, the Brad and Angelina of the professional sports ranks.. Can't wait to see that day..
E-No Out for Now......
Saturday, March 3, 2012
I blame the loss on torts...
I am going to preface everything by saying exactly what the title of this blog is, I blame this loss on torts. Of course part of the blame goes to the players as it has to because the coach is not playing, but torts' line combos from the beginning of the game were just plain wrong. You sent a message to dubi through the last two periods of last game' then in the media, then you plant him on the 4th line, just wrong... All else in the media that cover the rangers will claim that move is what made dubi score, it's what fired him up, but that's just plain wrong. Dubi had the same jump in his step all night, but playing with rump and useless John Scott, ( gave up s 5th rounder, and for all you that don't know, Carl hagelin was a 6th rounder), looks to be pointless. Dubi should have been playing on the second line with br and hags from the beginning instead of Feds who is one of those guys that torts just loves. Torts plays the Boyle line way to much in to many critical situations in my eyes and one more critism I have is why do we even dress 6 defenseman? Woywitka and bickell played 8:20 & 9:26 respectively. So why not dress five d-men and rotate all night, torts is running them dry anyway... Oh yeah and why not call up MZA? It was a perfect opportunity to slot him in as a top six forward which is what torts always says when asked why he isnt getting a shot.... Strange...
- hank is allowed a bad game here and there, but he can't let that goal in from Malone. On a night like last where we are missing two of our top scorers he needed to step up and play lights out and he didn't.
- Dubi was wrongfully benched for two periods in the Carolina game which almost cost us and then he gets relegated to the 4th line which was clearly a mistake. He should have been on the second line all night, creating and playing down low with br and hags...
- I feel as if Tampa took the game to us all night long, they were tougher, more productive and more creative. We did to keep stammer off the puck like we did against kovy in the devil game. Same goes for st. Louis. I feel like there is an unofficial rule that players like st. Louis, older, smaller, and star player types are not allowed to be hit, or the opposing team is not supposed to hit those guys.. Thats pure bs to me, he is the type of guy who you need to hit and get under his skin, and we didn't...
- tough week ahead starting tomorrow against Boston, then away to njd, Ottawa and chicago and the last three of 3 in 4 nights... Right now we have a ten point lead with Boston having one game in hand on us which is today against NYI, so assume an eight point lead going into our battle with them tomorrow afternoon. We still have two games in hand on the western conference teams and currently tied with Detroit and one point behind Van. Need to get at least 5 of the 8 points in this tough four game stretch to keep up with the pace of the other eastern teams and more importantly the western teams.
- Onto the injuries. How significant is the cally injury? Contusions can be worse then break as they linger, and of course the foot area for a hockey player is a tough area. The hip area is also one that is needed to push off and get the speed that delz needs to be productive. One top six forward and one top four defenseman down and no one to replace them, this is why we needed to trade for someone other then John Scott who reminds me of and may he rest in peace, Derek Boogard. Can't complain about it anymore as its over so we have to hope the cally and delz injuries don't linger...
Here is too a toy game tomorrow and hoping the cally and delz can get back and if not, bring up some scoring threat from Hartford.... Let's go NYR
E-No out....
Friday, March 2, 2012
3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes who have been playing some very good hockey as of late, we will take it for sure. I want to make a few points and I don't want you all to think I am copying Carps style, so here goes..
- Injuries- Delz that could be concerning and something that could linger for a while. If I were the staff both training and coaching, I would seriously consider sitting him tonight against the TBL and that would give him two full days to rest up the bruise in the hopes that he will be ready for Boston on Sunday. I think the same goes for Cally assuming the injury is to the level that the team is leading us to believe, not so bad just day to day... Girardi took that slap shot last night to the chest/arm area so hopefully he shrugs that off and moves on. We have been lucky to be very healthy this year on the front end so lets not screw that up now...
Dubi- Look we all know what he did even though we or at least I didn't see it during the action or on replays was stupid and unnecessary. He is clearly frustrated with the fact that he is not scoring, but for torts to sit him for 40 minutes is absolutely insane and highly unnecessary in my view. There is a time to make a point to a player and to get out of the way and let the player make it back up to the team. Torts doesn't seem to know where that line stands and I worry about that. In honesty it almost cost us the game last night and proving a point of being the man on the bench is not worth two points in my view..
Marty Biron- He looked extremely solid in net, getting his body set, getting into the areas where he thought and knew the puck was going to be and making crucial saves to keep the team in the game when down 1-0 which eventually opened up the goal scoring for the rangers. If he plays this way in March where he is likely to get at least 5 more starts, then we are in good shape to secure the Eastern Conference title and home ice...
Buffalo Sabres- Watch out is all I am going to say... They have won 5 of 6 with points in all 6 games and only a SO loss to the rangers in between. Back to back shutouts for Ryan Miller and .970 Save % with a 1.17 GAA in the Six game run.. They currently sit in the 10th spot only 4 points from a playoff spot.. I will sure be rooting for the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers to keep winning as I would not want to face Ryan miller and the sabres in the first round of the playoffs... Watch Out
Tampa Bay Lightning- This a prime opportunity to get over the hump of the first of four back to back games this month. We have to take the two points from the TBL who have always given us fits in their buildings. Go out early and take the body on Marty and Stammer assuming they are playing and make sure you all wear your surgical masks so not to get the flu bug that is going around that team... Get up early and shut them down all night, no penalties as Stammer will kill you from the face off dot with that nasty one timer... Play a solid NYR type game and get the two points and get ready for Boston on Sunday...
GO NYR
E-No Out...
- Injuries- Delz that could be concerning and something that could linger for a while. If I were the staff both training and coaching, I would seriously consider sitting him tonight against the TBL and that would give him two full days to rest up the bruise in the hopes that he will be ready for Boston on Sunday. I think the same goes for Cally assuming the injury is to the level that the team is leading us to believe, not so bad just day to day... Girardi took that slap shot last night to the chest/arm area so hopefully he shrugs that off and moves on. We have been lucky to be very healthy this year on the front end so lets not screw that up now...
Dubi- Look we all know what he did even though we or at least I didn't see it during the action or on replays was stupid and unnecessary. He is clearly frustrated with the fact that he is not scoring, but for torts to sit him for 40 minutes is absolutely insane and highly unnecessary in my view. There is a time to make a point to a player and to get out of the way and let the player make it back up to the team. Torts doesn't seem to know where that line stands and I worry about that. In honesty it almost cost us the game last night and proving a point of being the man on the bench is not worth two points in my view..
Marty Biron- He looked extremely solid in net, getting his body set, getting into the areas where he thought and knew the puck was going to be and making crucial saves to keep the team in the game when down 1-0 which eventually opened up the goal scoring for the rangers. If he plays this way in March where he is likely to get at least 5 more starts, then we are in good shape to secure the Eastern Conference title and home ice...
Buffalo Sabres- Watch out is all I am going to say... They have won 5 of 6 with points in all 6 games and only a SO loss to the rangers in between. Back to back shutouts for Ryan Miller and .970 Save % with a 1.17 GAA in the Six game run.. They currently sit in the 10th spot only 4 points from a playoff spot.. I will sure be rooting for the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers to keep winning as I would not want to face Ryan miller and the sabres in the first round of the playoffs... Watch Out
Tampa Bay Lightning- This a prime opportunity to get over the hump of the first of four back to back games this month. We have to take the two points from the TBL who have always given us fits in their buildings. Go out early and take the body on Marty and Stammer assuming they are playing and make sure you all wear your surgical masks so not to get the flu bug that is going around that team... Get up early and shut them down all night, no penalties as Stammer will kill you from the face off dot with that nasty one timer... Play a solid NYR type game and get the two points and get ready for Boston on Sunday...
GO NYR
E-No Out...
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