I understand that Versus is more inclined to broadcasting bull riding and mixed martial arts, but give me a break...would 33 total games in 3 NHL seasons make any sense!?!?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Rangers win again...make it 7 straight
Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)
Another great performance by Henrik and the Blueshirts tonight in Toronto. They pick up their 7th straight win and are now 7-1 on the season. Their win also continued Toronto's dismal winless streak, who actually didn't look too bad at times in this game.
In much of the first period and part of the second, Henrik kept the Rangers in it stopping the flurry of shots coming from the Maple Leafs. Through the first 15 minutes, the Leafs outshot the Rangers 11-4. The turning point of the game, in my opinion, came when the Leafs had a 5 on 3 after Del Zotto and Boyle picked up penalties. Killing the 5 on 3, Ryan Callahan chased a puck in the neutral zone after clearing the zone and was slashed by Ponikarovsky. This ended the 5 on 3 and just thirty seconds later, Brandon Dubinsky scored to make it 1-0.
From this point on, it seemed that the Rangers picked up their game. They showed more control in their offensive zone and were better defensively. Not to say that the Leafs didnt keep the shots coming, they did. But King Henrik stood tall, only allowing one goal on 35 total shots which came during the second period after making the initial two saves on the play. Cant fault him on that one, he made the stops he needed to make but the Leafs were able to pick up a rebound a put it in the back of the net.
In the third it was all Blueshirts after Enver Lisin scored his first goal as a New York Ranger and seemed to take the life out of the Maple Leafs. Both the crowd and the Leafs seemed out of it at that point and the Rangers controlled for the rest of the third.
A few thoughts from tonight:
**Nice to see Dubinsky continuing to rack up points. I know we saw his hot start dwindle last season, but something tells me that being on the line with Gabby and Prospal will keep his scoring up for quite a while.
**Congrats to Enver Lisin for picking up his first goal as a Ranger. Hoping for more to come.
**Redden seemed to have turned his game around drastically from last season, nice to see that money put to good use somewhat. Rozy is also improving slowly, key word there, slowly.
**Interesting stat: The oldest goal scorer tonight for the Rangers was just 23. Enver Lisin, beating out Duby in age by just 7 days. Its nice to see that the future of this team is in good hands.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A Few Thoughts from Rangers 3-2 Win over Capitals...
Just a few thoughts from tonights 3-2 win over the Capitals...
First of all, Marian Gaborik is that good! The Slovak really has shown his stuff these past two games. Tonight's two goal, one assist effort was truly exciting to watch and even more exciting to hope for this season. I know this has been harped on numerous times, but barring any injuries, we have a 50 goal scorer on our hands...
Chris Drury seemed to be invisible this game. Apart from that penalty kill where he stole the puck from Ovechkin, sprinted for a breakaway and drew a penalty, I didn't notice much from him tonight. He is either doing all the little things that don't get notice, or he is just not the same Drury from a few years ago that we desperately need this year. I was hoping for a turnaround year for Drury this year, but it just doesnt look like he has any spark in his step. I hope i'm wrong...
Did anyone else wonder what was with the Third Star selection at the conclusion of the game...Wade Redden??? Just in case I missed some of his stats, I checked the box score and saw 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 shot and a +2 rating. The only thing impressive on his stats for the night was his ice time, 23:50, the most out of both squads (yes, even more than #8). Is that enough to claim 3rd Star selection? I guess so. What about Chris Higgins and his 2 point night, assisting on Gaborik's second goal and netting the game winning goal with just over a minute to go in the game? Either i'm not familiar with the criteria for 3 Stars and ice time precedes game winning goals, or something else was going on. Maybe there was some sympathy for Redden and his not so favorable popularity with the fans, that there was an effort to use the excitement from the win to trick the fans into not booing Redden. If so, it partially worked..I heard some boos from the crowd, but definitely less than usual. Who knows...
First of all, Marian Gaborik is that good! The Slovak really has shown his stuff these past two games. Tonight's two goal, one assist effort was truly exciting to watch and even more exciting to hope for this season. I know this has been harped on numerous times, but barring any injuries, we have a 50 goal scorer on our hands...
Chris Drury seemed to be invisible this game. Apart from that penalty kill where he stole the puck from Ovechkin, sprinted for a breakaway and drew a penalty, I didn't notice much from him tonight. He is either doing all the little things that don't get notice, or he is just not the same Drury from a few years ago that we desperately need this year. I was hoping for a turnaround year for Drury this year, but it just doesnt look like he has any spark in his step. I hope i'm wrong...
Did anyone else wonder what was with the Third Star selection at the conclusion of the game...Wade Redden??? Just in case I missed some of his stats, I checked the box score and saw 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 shot and a +2 rating. The only thing impressive on his stats for the night was his ice time, 23:50, the most out of both squads (yes, even more than #8). Is that enough to claim 3rd Star selection? I guess so. What about Chris Higgins and his 2 point night, assisting on Gaborik's second goal and netting the game winning goal with just over a minute to go in the game? Either i'm not familiar with the criteria for 3 Stars and ice time precedes game winning goals, or something else was going on. Maybe there was some sympathy for Redden and his not so favorable popularity with the fans, that there was an effort to use the excitement from the win to trick the fans into not booing Redden. If so, it partially worked..I heard some boos from the crowd, but definitely less than usual. Who knows...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
NHL.com Rangers Preview
NHL.com featured the NY Rangers in their 30 teams in 15 days season preview. Check out what Adam Kimelman had to say about the blueshirts...
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=498915
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=498915
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Waiting for Dubinsky
Over these past few weeks the issue of Brandon Dubinsky's signing has been at the forefront of Rangers news. Supposedly, Dubinsky definitely wants to return as a NY Ranger and Glen Sather and the Ranger organization shares that same desire. So the back and forth between Sather and Dubinsky's agent, Kurt Overhardt, has been and still is about the money involved. From what I understand, Sather has the upper hand in this case, as Dubinsky is still a youngster and is a restricted free agent. So, Sather has the right to low ball him and try to get him for cheap at least for this year.
The only thing that puzzles me is how this whole negotiation situation could be taking so long. I always thought that a negotiation starts with one side presenting an offer, the other side providing their counter-offer and then a compromise is made somewhere in the middle. Obviously I understand that its not exactly that simple, but it shouldn't be as complicated as it has been made up to this point. This whole process has been going on for so long that obviously both sides (Sather and Dubinsky's agent) know what they want and what the other side wants. How much more negotiation can be going on?? It has come to a point, so late in training camp, that each side should be coming to a breaking point. If the Rangers can't get him for the price they want and Dubinsky cant get what he feels he's worth, why even bother with the further "negotiations", lets just all move on.
Dubinsky is the one getting the short end of the stick here, because if he does end up settling and signing with the Rangers, he would have missed Tortorella's world famous training camp and will be that much more behind his teammates in his readiness for the upcoming season. Likewise, if he ends up on another team, he will have missed their training camp as well.
It seems as though there is something we aren't being told...simple contract negotiation between two very interested parties should not take this long...
The only thing that puzzles me is how this whole negotiation situation could be taking so long. I always thought that a negotiation starts with one side presenting an offer, the other side providing their counter-offer and then a compromise is made somewhere in the middle. Obviously I understand that its not exactly that simple, but it shouldn't be as complicated as it has been made up to this point. This whole process has been going on for so long that obviously both sides (Sather and Dubinsky's agent) know what they want and what the other side wants. How much more negotiation can be going on?? It has come to a point, so late in training camp, that each side should be coming to a breaking point. If the Rangers can't get him for the price they want and Dubinsky cant get what he feels he's worth, why even bother with the further "negotiations", lets just all move on.
Dubinsky is the one getting the short end of the stick here, because if he does end up settling and signing with the Rangers, he would have missed Tortorella's world famous training camp and will be that much more behind his teammates in his readiness for the upcoming season. Likewise, if he ends up on another team, he will have missed their training camp as well.
It seems as though there is something we aren't being told...simple contract negotiation between two very interested parties should not take this long...
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