It was an amazing game last night with an equally amazing comeback led by the 'bus rider', the 'jitterbug' and 'the hands of stone' players. When it was all said and done the Rangers won a game, in OT no less, scored a power play goal, no less, our goalie made 37 saves, what else is new, and one of our star franchise players sat and watched the game from a luxury box.
In the order of importance, Chris Kreider, who has spent more time riding The Tortorella Express back and forth to Hartford, then being on the ice scored the game winner in OT by flying to the net and redirecting a beautiful feed from Rick Nash past a surprised Tuukka Rask. Thereby giving the Rangers a return trip to beantown and the thought that hope springs eternal.
The 'jitterbug, Carl Hagelin, turned the game around when Rask fell in the crease and allowed the puck to slip by him for the Rangers first goal to make it 2-1. Stepan then scored the tying, 2-2, goal by picking the great Zdeno Chara's pocket for a beautiful wraparound. Chara did not have a good night. He was playing Nash very loosely on the game winning goal. The 'hands of stone' man, Brian Boyle, got the tying goal, 3-3, off a beautiful set-up by Derek Stepan.
The coach spent an inordinate amount of time, for him, explaining his benching of Richards. Or did he explain it? Me thinks that thou protested too much. Anyhow, it's a win. The Rangers are alive and live to play another day. It's still one at a time and Saturday's game should be a beaut. Back to what I have been saying all year. We always have a shot with Lundqvist in the net.
Stan got a little worked up last night.
A few select tweets from Stan Fischler.
@Stan Fischler / Twitter:
- #Rask unbelievably bad. Bad. #Rangers come right. Bs better start worrying.
- Has #Rask gotten the heebie-jeebies, or what? Now the Rangers should come back with the power play.
- #Rangers have to leave it all out there on the ice in the third period. We shall see. In 1942, Leafs rallied in the third and won. +3 more.
- As I predicted, Rask blows one, Stepan scores. Bs in disarray. Rangers start the miracle.
- What did I tell you -- a fourth-liner did the trick. #Rangers have #Bruins where they want them -- in Panics-vlle. #Rask won't be the same.
- Tuukka Rask slipping on invisible banana peel on ice is latest in the endless collection of #Boston sports blunders. Blowing series next.
Bruins Lose to the Bruins. BRUINS LOSE. --
Not even concerned. Seriously. Fools like Stan Fischler are going to bring up all that 2010 crap. The Bruins learned from that. It won't happen again.
They beat themselves tonight. Really, they did. Rangers fans can try to tell us we're being sore losers or whatever but let's review: Rask just flat out fell on that first goal. Defense took themselves out of the play on the power play goal. Rangers can have hope all they want. Bruins will just stop them on Saturday...
How the hell is Johnny Torts considered a good coach? Down 3-0 in the series, you bench Brad Richards for a player (Roman Hamrlik) that even Rangers fans said isn't good enough to be in the AHL, nevermind the NHL...
Wikipedia:
2010 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Semi-Finals: --
The Bruins lost game seven on a Flyers power-play goal as a result of a too many men penalty. Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe said that "watching the Bruins blow a series on a too-many-men penalty is like watching the 1978 Red Sox lose a one-game playoff on a homer hit by a guy named Bucky." The collapse as a result of the penalty brought back memories of the 1979 Stanley Cup semi-finals when they lost to their bitter rivals (and eventual champions), the Montreal Canadiens.
Richards a healthy scratch in Game 4 --
The end of Brad Richards’ tenure with the Rangers may have come even sooner than anticipated.
The struggling veteran, expected to be the team’s No. 1 center and power-play catalyst when signed as the premier free agent in 2011, was a healthy scratch Thursday night as the Rangers survived elimination with a 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.
It marked the first time coach John Tortorella has ever made Richards a healthy scratch...
Richards said Tortorella called him at his Manhattan apartment early Thursday morning with the news.
