Young Guns Pop Caps

As you all know I love to talk about the old guys, in the old days, that weren't so good either, I might add. But there is nothing better than watching the young ones. Last night the young ones, Hagelin, Stepan continued their fine play and as a result the Rangers beat the Caps at the Garden before a noisy packed crowd including the Pundit.

Sure, Lundqvist was his usual steady self, 27 saves. Callahan was Captain Crunch with 5 shots, 6 hits and 6 blocked shots, including two in the last minute. Nash had 8 shots in over 20 mintes and Gaborik had 6 shots including at least two which looked like gimmees, but he missed. Girardi was his usual Dan The Man. But it's the young guys who impressed me.

The Washington goalie, Braden Holtby, almost stole the game for the Caps. Holtby had 38 saves, 20 in the first period. Alex Ovechkin tried mightily to derail the Rangers with 7 shots in a little over 21 minutes, with one shot ringing off the crossbar after a Lundqvist save. It was probably the best game of the Garden year and not because I was there. My son said, it was in spite of me being there.

Hagelin continued his fine play scoring his sixth goal of the season, five goals in four games, tying the game at one. He seems to have a nose for the net, is always in the right spot and has quick hands. The winning goal was scored on a power play, believe it or not, on a beautiful tic-tac-toe, Richards to Del Zotto to Stepan and poof, 2-1 Ranger lead. The goal was Stepan's third of the year and it's good to see him hitting the back of the net as his overall played has improved.

There was a real scary moment when Darroll Powe fell to the ice after missing a check on Cap center Matt Hendricks and lay motionless for what looked like an eternity. It happened in Powe's 300th NHL game. No word on his status. Also had the pleasure to meet with ex-Ranger goalie, Dan Blackburn in between periods. In two seasons with the Rangers he played 63 games. His final season he had a 3.17 GAA and save % of .890. He was injured that year and never returned and many questioned the rehab the Ranger management proscribed. He is now married, living in Dallas and is a real estate agent. Nice guy and he was great for a short period. Good luck Dan.

So let's see if we can keep this youth thing going. Hagelin, Miller, Kreider, Stepan and gang and maybe get the "older" guys clicking and maybe regardless of the coach we may have something going.

Related Articles by Categories