When I was a kid, now that's a real long time ago, I believe there was a late night radio show called the Yawn Patrol. It was dreamy, doctor's office, elevator style type music to put you to sleep. The NHL has the answer to that show and its coach clueless's New York Rangers. You know the rule. "Not playing defense is not an option." What makes this work so well is that the opposition goes along with it. How else to explain how a once formidable offensive juggernaut like the Senators are now reduced to Jerko Ruutu as their offensive threat. Offensive is really the word for Ruutu. I still remember him putting his stick in Rozsival's face in last years playoff game and not one Ranger, especially Rozsival did anything about it. Last night it was taking a shot at Lundqvist after he had fanned on the shootout. Is Colton Orr on a sabbatical?
Rozsival is another story and he kept the boos and the boo birds to a minimum last night by playing a sterile, passive game. I guess the good news is that if you don't make any mistakes you must have played a good game. Never mind that he did no good, the main fact was he did no harm. In coach clueless's system this is good. But let's not blame Rozsival when in fact very few Rangers did good. Except for Lundqvist, who lately has not been just good he has been fantastic. Lundqvist has not given up more than two goals in twelve straight games. While this would indicate a great record for the Rangers it is due to the fact that they are not scoring much more than that per game.
Lundqvist is the reason the Rangers are where they are. Look at the Ranger record. They are scoring an average of 2.7 goals per game and they are giving up an average of 2.1 goals per game. Pretty thin margin for a team that purchased all that firepower. Long live The Prince, Henrik Lundqvist.
I hated the 2002-2003 Devils, but respected them. They bored you to death, and won. This year's Rangers are the same type of team. Each team is likely to have 4 twenty goal scorers and no one 30 or more. Each team has a goalie with around a 2.00 goals against average. The Devils scored 2.63 goals a game. They gave up 2.02. We are on track for the same.
I miss Messier.
BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT photoshop treatment of The King!!!!!! Keep up the good work, fellas.
section 335-You miss Messier? Hell, I miss Avery.
tdr-We try!
If the Rangers keep playing like the 2002-2003 Devils, MSG will end up like the Prudential Center -- half empty.
Did anyone else hear Joe Micheletti and Sam Rosen trying to do some "selling" of this game as "terrific" hockey between two well matched teams?
Would MSG announcers dare say they were calling a boring game?
What a pansy game that was. I heard Sam and Joe waxing about 37 hits by the Rangers. Did anyone see a Senator get totalled by a Ranger? Did anyone see Spezza, Heatley or Alfredson sliding across the ice on their ass after a hit that disrupted their excursion into the Ranger zone? Not much 'wanna knock those guys and screw up their plans' hitting at all, if Messier was watching that game he probably threw up.
I did see Girardi come from behind on a backcheck and knock someone down. I would like to send him a gift, way to go Dan!
Okay, if you say Girardi coughs up the puck now and then, I hear you. He at least will improve. On the other side of the coin, when was the last time you saw Rozsival hunt someone down and make them pay? But of course as I have heard many times, Roszsival is not that kind of player. Point made.
When it comes to real hitting, last night a hot dog tasted like a steak. People are completely wrong if they think it is okay to pass up an opportunity to knock an opposing player down when it is part of the play, part of the fluidity and beauty of the game. That's great, Rozsival, wasted your big hulking frame by doing finesse...oh wait, the finesse isn't really there either?
Am I crazy to think that you could be a team that tried to hold possession of the puck with your talent, and still have people that hit? They're not mutually exclusive, are they?
Two camps of Rangers fans.
1. Look at our points, first in the conference, we manage to win anyway. We are fine, we always pull it out. We have character.
2. Love the team, realize they have grit. Also realize that if Henrik has a bad game, or if he gets hurt for an extended period of time, good luck to NYR, and there isn't enough luck to get them through.
Damn!
I just get so angry with players who don't hit. Ratelle hit people harder than Rozsival.
Damn!
Can I take back that 'realize they have grit' portion and turn it into 'realize they have some gritty players, but the overall stance of the team is pacifist'.
thanks,
p.s.
Section 335 is a scientist, I'm a blathering ranter!
The hit statistics in the league is crazy. It varies wildly from rink to rink. Someone else scoring that game would say six hits, not 37. The only time the hit statistics take on some consistency is in the playoffs, when they really do hit, and you can count them yourself.
As long as the Rangers are winning with soccer scores, I don't mind. But twice now in three years Sather in a wild stab at fixing the power play with a QB at the trade deadline brought in duds, Ozolinsh and Backman, who both screwed up the team royally. Better to go to a fourth forward on the point as an option. They can't give up more short-handed goals than they are now with a forward there.
I miss Avery too.
I miss HOCKEY!!
Guess who said this!
"We are finding ways to win," _____ said. "There've been teams in this league that haven't scored an awful lot and won Stanley Cups and they don't operate too far away from us. And we're good with that."
Okay, last post of the morning.
Shanny isn't getting offers near his home in NY. Our power play sucks. How about hiring him as an assistant coach and let him fix the damn power play.
And, if we lost Gomez or someone else, he can lace it up.
A lot of comments on an article I wrote while I was dozing off.
First of all it was coach clueless who made that brilliant remark about close games and Stanley Cups. Secretly he is trying to emulate the Devils. Did he notice there were different coaches that had interchangeable parts but players who had a mission and not just skaters. Trust me clueless, The Stealth is no Lou Lamorella and you are no Lemaire, no Burns and no Robinson.
Rozsival pure and simple is a waste.Can't or wont hit. Can't or wont shoot. Can and will give up pucks.
Lundqvist. I call him The Prince. Young, talented and will become King one day. He goes down and we will have trouble finishing in front of the Islanders.
Miss hockey? Miss Avery? Heck, I miss "Bones" Raliegh, Andy Bathgate, Bill Moe, Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Brad Park and especially Emile Francis.
We need offensive help. Bring back Shanahan, go get Sundin and get rid of The Stealth and coach clueless.
Thanks guys.
Hmmm, maybe we should be renamed the New York Ranvils.
Last night reminded me of December 2, 1995. On that night, Number 33, Patrick Roy, took a bee line for the bench after his team left him hang out to dry. As I watched the Prince head to the bench, I felt him feel that same pain.
Any coach worth the name coach would be yelling at his players for their performance last night. Three or four break aways in ten minutes! I have not seen that since Peewees.
This was the game where we missed Avery or Shanny the most. Either one of them would have started a fight, ran their goalie, done something to break up his teams funk.
The 2008 Rangers are a talented team, but a work in progress. Let Prucha go and get his 30 goals with Philly - which he would. Free up that 1.6 million and bring back Brendan. If we cannot get rid of this coach, we at least should have someone who understands the game in the locker room between periods.
Every thing in New York is crashing. The stock market, our team, and our Prince. We must have put the kibosh on him with the Wayne & Garth homage.
Can't anyone stand-up and give this team some backbone?
After the game 'Malooney' was saying Lundqvist should have asked one of the players to tell the coach to take him out and not just skate off. He said it's a European thing, but it's bad, because it kind of shows up the other players.
But, I think they deserved to be shown up or fired up. They were not giving him any thing.
Right, they did need some one like Avery or Shanney to start something, to show these teams that are pumped to play in the Garden you can't come in here and make us look bad. The Islanders just beat these guys. It's all a motivation issue an Renney again is failing to bring any heat.
Only plus, at least Valley got some confidence back with his outstanding work.
Sec 335,
It was Tom Renney who said:
"We are finding ways to win," . . . "There've been teams in this league that haven't scored an awful lot and won Stanley Cups and they don't operate too far away from us. And we're good with that."
Yes, it looks like he's confirming he wants to play Devils hockey and that is a "good thing."
Agony, thy name is Renney.
Dov,
Our PP QB's have been like Jake "The Snake" Plummer, maybe once they had a glimmer of talent, but they come here and flop. Yes, a 4th forward on the PP can't do any worse than what we've seen so far.
If you love Rangers hockey, check this out http://msg.com/msg/greatestdays.html or go onto the MSG.com and look at the 50 greatest moments of hockey with the Rangers having several epic moments. Awesome time