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I was never big on Marty Brodeur and all his greatness. Yes, I am a Ranger fan but there are quite a few opponents that I have respected over the years even though they killed the Rangers. He always gloated when he beat the Rangers and I was never overly impressed with a goalie who faced 12-15 shots a game behind a defense that was reminiscent of the old castles with the moat surrounding it. But times have changed and just maybe it's because he is now getting old, but it was enjoyable to watch last night even though the Rangers rope-a-dope defense in the third period was maddening to me.He always shook your hand going through the 'last mile' handshake and smiled a lot especially to those guys he had beaten down. After all he was the winner and he was Marty Brodeur. Last night he was selective and he didn't shake the hand of Sean Avery, who in my eyes was the number one star of the game and the star of the series. Billy Smith of the Islanders used to skate off the ice because he didn't want to shake anyone's hand. His call, and I respected it because it was whether he won or lost and he won most of the time. Avery summed it up beautifully on the handshake snub, "I'm going on, he's going home."
The Rangers blitzed Marty and the Devils last night to take a 4-1 lead on goals by Rozsival, Jagr, Gomez and Drury. On Gomez's goal, three Devils were busy pounding Avery, who was in front of Brodeur, where else? They even pulled him down after the goal. In fact, the Devils jostled Avery before the faceoffs, hit him during play and hit him after the whistle. Not once did he retaliate to give the Devils a man advantage. By going after him religiously, it opened the ice for other guys like Gomez to roam free. Last night, Avery was no detriment, he was a key force in leading the Rangers to the next round. Sean Avery got into the Devils heads early in this series and they couldn't shake him out no matter how hard they tried.
I've been quiet on the coaching front during this series and most of you have taken that to mean that I am happy with this coaching staff during this run. I am not and last night's third period was proof positive that the coaching has not caught up to the players. Why the defensive shell in the third period? Had John Madden tied the game on his penalty shot the Rangers would have been in deep trouble as their offense was non-existent. Jagr, who led the team in scoring and is showing his old form, alluded to this after the game. Basically he said that it would be hard to get the offense going after playing a defensive third period. Brodeur was vulnerable and his defense kept making mistakes, why not go for the kill? But this is a defense at all costs mentality and it will kill us as we advance. How many games can 'The Prince' (Lundqvist) steal? Also these are the offensively deficient Devils, what happens when we play the high powered teams like Montreal and Pittsburgh. Sure we need defense but if you are on the offense controlling the puck the way Jagr can, the other team can't score. What the hell do I know?
So the Rangers must wait out the results of the other two games in the East. If Montreal and Philadelphia, who both have three wins, win their respected series, they will face each other in one playoff series and the Rangers will play Pittsburgh, which has the other great whiner and probably the refs and the NHL on their side. So my pick, Washington to win the East, will go down along side some of my other great predictions like Dewey to beat Truman and Germany to win two wars. Like I said, what do I know? I do know one thing. "Let's Go Rangers."
ICINGS:
---Jay Greenburg: Avery Shows 'Class' -- In the end, the Devils' skin turned out to be thinner than even their scoring.Daily News:
Apparently having seen enough of Sean Avery's face during Game 3's infamous, rule-changing 5-on-3, Martin Brodeur turned away from the Ranger left wing in the handshake line following New Jersey's 5-3 Game 5 elimination last night.
"Everybody talks about how much class I don't have," said Avery. "It's the end of a series and men go to war against each other, and I guess he forgot to shake my hand."
Asked if he was going to shake Brodeur's, Avery said: "Of course I was." ...
Jay Greenburg: Henrik 'Saved' The Day -- The three-goal lead was down to one thanks to two caroms, one on a Bryce Salvador drive from outside the blueline, where perhaps John Madden should have taken his penalty shot to try to tie Game Five with 7:08 to go. Instead Madden, who had burst between Dan Girardi and Fedor Tyutin to take a David Clarkson pass, forcing Girardi to take the penalty, went to his backhand against Henrik Lundqvist, one of the league's most accomplished shootout duelists.
Mark Everson: Dust Devils -- It's not 54 years, yet. Still, the Rangers are off to bigger things and better teams. The Devils are just off. The MegaMillionaires have already come through for the Rangers, who avenged being swept by the 2006 Devils with the five-game manhandling they completed with last night's 5-3 triumph in Newark...
Larry Brooks: Gomez Factor The Difference -- This was the one free-agent defection that stung the Devils more than any other, the one that struck in their craws all season long, the one that prompted obvious resentment on the ice in the Battle of the Hudson that ended in rout last night...
Kristie Ackert: Marty Brodeur: No shake For Sean Avery -- The bitter feud between Rangers instigator Sean Avery and Devils goalie Martin Brodeur continued to the bitter end of their teams' playoff series. The two skated by each other in the post-series handshake line without shaking hands after the Rangers ousted the Devils, 5-3, at the Rock Friday night.Newsday:
John Dellapina: Rangers Beat Devils 5-3, Advance To Next Round Of NHL playoffs -- Ten months ago, the Rangers dove headfirst into free agency to retool their roster for the two-month march to the Stanley Cup. But the first step on that march required avenging a stomping from two years ago. Friday night at the Rock in Newark, the Rangers completed that first satisfying step. In a wild and woolly capper to a series most expected to last longer, the Rangers beat back the Devils, 5-3, to take their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series in five games.
Filip Blonde: Rangers Just Warming Up -- Tom Renney heard the news Friday night shortly before he faced the media outside the visitors' locker room, three hours before game time. He'd outlasted yet another Knicks' coach, his fourth since becoming head coach of the Rangers just four years ago. "That's pro sports," Renney said about the fate of his corporate counterpart, Isiah Thomas. "Part of the business. I don't have my head in the sand so far that I don't think it can happen to me." ...
Arthur Staple: Lundqvist Swept Aside Devils' Penalty Shot Hopes -- Dan Girardi was the culprit, sweeping John Madden down to the ice on a semi-breakaway with 7:08 to play and the Rangers holding on to a 4-3 lead.Journal News
Madden was awarded a penalty shot, but Girardi, the second-year defenseman, was pretty calm about it. Helps to have Henrik Lundqvist in net...
Steve Zipay: Rangers Oust Rival Devils In Five Games -- In a series that could signal a changing of the guard in the metro area, the Rangers ousted the New Jersey Devils from the Stanley Cup playoffs Friday night with a 5-3 win, taking the first round in five games and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals next week...
Sam Weinman: Rangers Hang On, Eliminate Devils -- It was slipping away there for a second - all of it: the momentum, the lead, even the Rangers' command of this contentious opening-round series.A three-goal lead had been whittled down to one. An opponent was desperate to stave off elimination. If you were looking for the first real test of this team's playoff mettle, you had it in the third period of Game 5 last night against the Devils...Section 404:
Rick Carpiniello: Rangers' Renney Everything Thomas Isn't -- Tom Renney is everything that Isiah Thomas is not, and that now includes: employed as a coach of one of Jim Dolan's teams.Oh, they have a few things in common. They're both bright guys; say what you want about Isiah, but he's no dope. Incompetent? Yes. Delusional? Absolutely. But dumb? No way.
In 5! --Avery took a beating throughout the entire game with not one call...surprise, surprise. I think the officials have to just cut the crap at this point. We get it. You are not happy with him but that does not mean he should be allowed to be beat on nightly...Scotty Hockey:
No Mo' Mmmaaaaarrrrrrrttttyyy -- How many Devils do you think went into the locker room taking a page from Dino Ciccarelli, saying "I can't believe I shook that friggin' guys hand"?? Oh yeah, not all of them: Mmmaaaaarrrrrrrttttyyy continued to show he is more classless than he claims Avery is by not shaking his hand after the game. The one tradition that truly sets hockey apart from the other sports symbolizing sportsmanship and that bum pisses on it by being childish. What a piece of garbage...
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Post-gazette:Seth Rorabaugh: Brodeur right or wroing? -- The above is a video of the postgame handshake lines between the Rangers and Devils following New York's 5-3 series-clinching win in New Jersey last night. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur didn't shake the hand of Rangers forward Sean Avery.James Mirtle:
Was Brodeur wrong to do this? The handshake line is one of the more revered traditions in the NHL playoffs. Even if you've been trying paste each other into the boards for seven games, you always congratulate each other for playing hard. Regardless of the circumstances of this series, Brodeur violated that tradition. But does the fact that Avery is who he is merit a pass for Brodeur? ...
Quote of the Day -- Everyone talks about how classless I am, but I guess Fatso there just forgot to shake my hand. — Sean Avery on Martin BrodeurNewark Star-Ledger:
"I shook everybody's hand but one," Brodeur said...
Rangers complete domination of Devils
NY Times
Quick Start, Happy Ending: The Rangers Advance
Rangers Again Too Much For Brodeur And The Devils
Mike, I enjoyed your comments. Agreed too. You gave number one to Avery. I have to agree. But, I have to give a tie to him and Jagr. His shift after the Devils scored and his power play after that were difference makers too.
Four down. 12 to go. Let's go Rangers!!
section 335-As of this date, I proclaim you "The Official Stanley Cup Count Downer." "Let's Go Rangers."
Mike,
Tis an honour I shall carry with pride!
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