My birthday has a habit of intertwining with Ranger hockey with mixed feelings. This year the feelings are good, so far. Remember, there is another game tonight. So in 84 years there has been about 77 of Ranger hockey. A lot of years. A lot of tears.
The Rangers won their fifth straight last night, 3-2, over Carolina in a shootout. It was their fourth straight road win. Always a good sign for a team, road wins. Good signs, bad sign. The worst was Lundqvist flubbing on a soft shot by Skinner, which gave the Canes a one goal lead about 20 seconds after JT Miller had tied it at one. Good signs. Miller playing strong again and that Bargain Basement Beauty, Kevin Klein, scoring his 7th of the year tying the game with about two minutes left. Lundqvist recovered in the shootout, stopping three Canes as Zuccarello was the lone scorer in the shootout.
The three stars, for me, were Klein, Lundqvist and Miller. The team seems to have found its stride. The early injuries and sickness, i.e. mumps, has given everyone on the roster to get ice time, hence we have a deeper squad with a lot of depth. Should help down the stretch.
Now to put icing on that cake, a win tonight.
ICINGS: The T/Birds won their second straight, a 8-0 win over Half Hollow Hills, that put their record at 5-6-1 and in the thick of the playoff hunt. Nicholas was given a game puck, symbolic of being one of the players of the game. The league is off 'til after January 1st.
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2 hours ago
Mike, I will speak for all your readers in wishing you happy birthday and always enjoy reading your blog. Hope the Rags have a good season. Happy holidays.