Dawes Does Ducks

Nigel Dawes not only stole a puck he also deked Chris Pronger out of his skates and then scored the go ahead goal, his fourth, that would lead the Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Watching it last night brought me back to the days of watching The Late Show on TV which then was a movie, accompanied by the tune, Syncopated Clock, which was enough to put me to sleep. Dawes doesn't get many chances to score goals, even play, these days as he and Prucha are subs 1 and 1A. Actually this was Dawes 22nd game and Prucha who may be headed for greener pastures has only 11.

It was a weird game and a big win for the Rangers. All three goals were unassisted. Drury notched his ninth by stealing the puck and blistering one past Duck goalie Jonas Hiller, who made 27 saves. Nikolai Zherdev was credited with a goal, his eleventh, when he was pulled down by Pronger while skating toward an empty net. The Ducks had pulled their goalie while the Rangers were on a five on three PP. The goal gave the Rangers an inflated 1-4 on the PP.

The game was overshadowed by the rumors and constant references to the hoped for signing of Mats Sundin. It's between The Rangers and Vancouver. Vancouver has the money, two years at $20 Mil. The Rangers hope that Sundin likes the limelight of New York, the travel advantages of playing in the East and the chance to reunite with Swedish stars like Naslund and Lundqvist, who won the World Cup for the Swedes. The Rangers will have to unload some players, perhaps one of the core, to get down to the salary cap needed to sign Sundin. Signing Sundin will obviously change the makeup and chemistry of the team. It will be worth it.

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ICINGS:

Left Coast views on the game. The famous Rangers trap works its magic.

Helene Elliott: / LA Times:
Ducks give one away to Rangers --

Niedermayer, once a model of calm and steadiness on defense, gave the puck away with a poor pass to set up the Rangers' first goal, by Chris Drury, at 2:26 of the second period.

The Ducks pulled even late in the period when Chris Kunitz converted a rebound, but defenseman Kent Huskins fanned on an intended pass in his own zone late in the third period and Nigel Dawes walked in alone on Jonas Hiller to score the go-ahead goal with 3:16 to play.

"They play the trap," Huskins said, "and you can't put it in the middle against a trapping team. It was just a bad play on my part."

Chris Pronger didn't help matters by resembling a statue as Dawes danced around him, and if Niedermayer and Pronger can be so fallible, what can be expected of their less talented teammates? ...

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Dan Wood / OC Register:
Turnovers ruin Ducks against Rangers --

Egregious defensive-zone turnovers by Ducks defensemen Scott Niedermayer early in the second period and Kent Huskins late in the third gift-wrapped two New York goals that effectively halted a five-game Ducks home winning streak.

“We just didn’t react well to their forecheck,” Niedermayer said. “They skated well, and those were a couple of bad decisions, obviously. When a team is trapping like that, the safest play is up the boards. We chose not to do it, and paid the price.”...

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We're all still "Waiting for Godot Sundin."

NY Times:
The Morning Skate: Crossroads for Sundin and Avery

So the news media grinds the rumor mill like a zealous waiter over-peppering your salad...

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