The Rangers were so impressed with Montreal celebrating their 100 year anniversary they not only watched the ceremony with interest they also watched Montreal for sixty minutes. They left Lundqvist totally naked.
Our friend Blow-Me-Down drew some positives out of last night's woeful performance:
Rangers looked really good tonight. All their socks matched, jerseys with the numbers on the back where they should be. Gomez had just the right amount of stubble for that 'rugged' look, I noticed when the camera panned in for his reaction after his silly penalty (I mean his second one, not the first one which was much less dumb), he just might have one of those 'leave a half-inch of stubble so you look like Sonny Crockett' razors they sold on late-night infomercials in the '80's (or so I am told).This team is indeed dashing. They'll dash this season on the rocks if they keep pulling these disappearing acts.
And the coaching staff looked absolutely dashing... Renney quite dignified but with a certain rakishness. And Pearn, absolutely natty, forgive me if I go so far as to say debonair.
Really, really good looking team.
Where was the physical play that slowed down the Pens high scoring juggernaut? Colton Orr gets less than two minutes in the first period after setting the tone for the Pens game. So that is how Renney rewards physical play that wins games?
All 21,273 in attendance had a magnificent night to remember thanks to the potted plant Rangers, who nicely dressed the spectacle up.
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ICINGS:
Avery leaves NHL headquarters after meeting with Gary BettmanThe NHL slaps down Avery's potty mouth with a six game suspension.
NHL.com:
Avery banned six games --
The verdict is in, and Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery will be sitting out a little while longer for the inappropriate comments he made earlier this week.Stan Fischler mentioned last night that Brett Hull has taken a big hit over his signing of Avery. The NY Times has the latest on Bret Hull's Bad Management Moment:
The National Hockey League announced Friday that Avery has been suspended for six games without pay, retroactive to Tuesday's game in Calgary, as a result of the comments he made Tuesday morning after the his team’s morning skate at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Avery also agreed to seek professional anger-management evaluation and, if necessary, structured counseling in light of his pattern of behavior, which the NHL has deemed unacceptable and antisocial...
The Sean Avery debacle in Dallas has given Brett Hull an uncomfortable few days in the spotlight as the Stars’ co-general manager.NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly released this statement regarding the NHL's punishment of Avery:
He stood up at a news conference on Friday, after N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Avery’s six-game suspension for his latest clash with polite society, and had the difficult job of describing how the signing of a player he championed had gone so wrong...
While the NHLPA does not condone Sean’s comments, which were clearly inappropriate, the discipline imposed by the Commissioner is unprecedented both in its severity, as well as the process by which it was handed down. We have also seen signals from the Dallas Stars that Sean’s contractual rights might be challenged. We are monitoring the situation as it develops, and we will evaluate all legal options as the circumstances warrant. In the meantime, our first priority is supporting Sean’s efforts to learn from his mistake and move forward in a positive manner.
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The Rangers are always working hard to look their best
And they just stood around. How many times do we have to watch players not hit the opposition? And forget those 'hit' statistics. Hitting is an attitude, not a brush against an opposing player. I wouldn't doubt that a breeze-by counts as a hit.
Wanna stop top teams like Montreal, great skating teams with skills to match? Get in their way.
They were flying against the Rangers. They looked great.
Yes, a great skating team with a bit of a punch with the likes of Georges Laraque. By the way, I checked and see that he won a fight over Colton Orr last January. Hockey Fights: Colton Orr vs Georges Laraque. Guess that's why they were 'chatting.' Maybe Orr needs to get every game started with a fight to get these guys fired up, seriously.
I blame the coach again for not getting the Blueshirts to 'get in their way' and slowing down the Canadien Express. The Rangers were content to be passengers on that train. Colton Orr sure helped slow down Crosby.
Renney, does not think outside his box. He's become the box. And his style of play ends up putting the entire team in a box. Meaning no flexibility.
Obviously the Canadiens have never been an overtly physical team. They are a skating team first and foremost, but they do balance it nicely with guys like Komisarek and actually, even guys like Kovalev will do what is necessary. But they never even had to, at least from what I saw.
The Flames play a consistently physical game, I can't really think of a team less likely to come out flat in that department. Everyone can say what they please about Mike Keenan, but he will crazy glue your butt to the bench if you take a holiday on the hard work and the physical aspect. I think it is paying off for him and will continue; they are a hard working team.