Battle Of Hudson

If the circumstances favored us on Thursday when the Devils shut out a Pens team without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, we had things up against us today. Facing our nemesis in Philly (who’d taken three of four from us so far this year), a team that’s leading the entire NHL with 67 points while we’re still fighting to get out of dead last. Not to mention we had backup Johan Hedberg in net for the first time in two weeks, since he got pulled after allowing two quick goals against that same team in that same city. To top that off, hot rookie Nick Palmeri sat out the game due to injury and we also lost top defenseman Colin White early in the game due to whatever-body injury.

Yet, the Devils overcame all that to pull off a 3-1 win that might have been the team’s most satisfying of the season. For starters, it was the team’s third straight win – as I’ve been harping on for a long time, a win streak of that long hadn’t occured since December of 2009. In addition, the Devils don’t have a regulation loss in their last six games, all since the halfway point of the season. You didn’t even roll your eyes when you heard Steve Cangelosi and Ken Daneyko whispering in the postgame about how the resurgent Devils may be the hottest team in the league right now.

Hedberg played well with 26 saves, many of the highlight-variety in the final two periods. Yes, I would have played Martin Brodeur myself, especially after his shutout Thursday – and after all, there’s really nothing to save Brodeur for this season (unlike prior years where I wanted him to sit more to have some gas in the tank for the playoffs). Thankfully Jacques Lemaire went with his own instinct and now Hedberg feels a part of the win streak as well, just like everyone else. Not to mention we don’t run Marty completely into the ground before the break, since today’s game was our fourth in a week’s time.

While other vets like Patrik Elias – two goals this afternoon – you sort of expected to turn it around, even guys like Henrik Tallinder and Brian Rolston (!) are contributing to the six-game result streak, with Tallinder getting a goal and an assist today in about twenty-six minutes of icetime. Rolston added two assists, giving the embattled vet eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last six games, which is nothing short of remarkable considering that Rolston had just five points in twenty-four games before this. Maybe putting him through waivers, which seemed like a fruitless exercise at the time, actually did have an upside?

Now the Devils are just four points back of the Isles for last place, with two games left before the All-Star break, a home tilt against Scott Clemmensen and the Panthers tomorrow (unbeaten in his three starts against us since leaving) and then a trip to Detroit against a team that suddenly has problems in net – exacerbated when the Isles blocked the Wings’ attempt to sign Evgeni Nabokov from Russia by putting in a claim for the former Sharks goaltender. Presumably Brodeur will be back in the net for those final two games as the Devils attempt to go into the break on the kind of high that seemed impossible just two weeks ago.

Of course, now the Devils’ resurgence has left yours truly with a dilemma. Do I go to the game tomorrow afternoon, with the Jets playing at 6:30? True, the hockey game itself wouldn’t overlap with the start of the AFC Championship since it starts at 3 but I would have to drive – something I’ve only done once since the move from the CAA – and pay for parking there in order to get home in time for the game (since the train wouldn’t get me home till 7:15, unless I left the game early). With as bad as the team’s played for much of the season I really do want to go now, especially since I’ve missed going to several games lately for a variety of reasons – blizzard, New Year’s eve stuff, selling my pair against Tampa in case the Jets were playing that day on Wild-Card weekend.

Then again, the only bad thing about going tomorrow – besides the hassle in getting in home on time for the game – is the fact that most Devils fans seem to be bitter football Giant fans who get jollies out of chanting ‘J-E-T-S suck suck suck’! Certainly the goofballs in the back of 208 were doing this on Thursday, as well as changing the ‘Rangers suck, Flyers swallow’ chant by substituting Sanchez for Flyers. Perhaps it was inevitable there’d be a confrontation at the end of Thursday’s 2-0 against the Pens, with an incensed season ticket holder behind me going up after the instigators, with another sth in the back row (one of the main antagonists) egging him to come on up.

Fortunately the sth at the end of my row (who’s also a Jets fan) held the other guy back to avoid any real fisticuffs but really if you’re coming to a Devils game and ragging on a team you know at least a good portion of the crowd likes, you’re just asking for trouble. And these guys are all sth’s, they’ve all been at the games since the team moved to the Rock so one way or the other, everyone’s gotta live with each other. I don’t care for the chants, but if people want to act like doofuses, fine by me just so long as they’re not in my face with it.

In any case, I don’t know how much hockey’s going to be on my mind tomorrow as the football game draws closer but I do know with two games left before the All-Star break I finally want to see this Devils team play. And that’s about as big an accomplishment as I could have hoped for out of the second half, at least intangibly. Tangibly, there’s a chance this team can still get to .500, as far away as that seems. It would take something like a 22-8-5 stretch to do it but with what I’ve seen in the last six games, why not?

If you were playing the lotto, the winning numbers were 43. Well, at least a successful pair that worked its magic for the Marian Gaborik and the Rangers in a game of 7up over a bad Leaf team last night on Broadway. It’d be easy for us to poo poo the offensive explosion 10 games in the making due to the opponent. However, unlike other bloggers I’m going to accentuate the positives of a game the Rangers badly needed to snap a two-game skid.

For starters, Gaborik answered the bell after learning Brandon Dubinsky was out with a stress fracture three to four weeks. It’s essential for the Great Gabby to pick it up and by that, I don’t mean just the first four-goal game in the league this season. Here’s the facts. With his finest outing that also included a helper for a five-point effort since that virtuoso five goal, six point performance victimizing us when he played for Minnesota, that makes it 10 of his 15 goals scored in three games with the other two hat tricks coming against lesser lites Edmonton and the Islanders. One thing I agree with from the cynics is that Gabby must remember to save some ammunition for stiffer competition starting with a visit to ninth Carolina tonight. The Blueshirts need No.10 to be consistent during this pivotal stretch before the break.

Yesterday was a great start with John Tortorella taking our easy advice of moving Sean Avery up with Gabby and Artem Anisimov, who netted a career high four assists, including a pair of beauties right on the Slovakian sniper’s stick which was smoking literally. He started quickly thanks to a great Avery feed with Gaborik doing the rest undressing poor Leaf starter Jonas Gustavsson who was without a stick for the first goal.

It began an onslaught of four in a 4:45 span, blitzing a putrid Toronto club that may have been feeling the effects of a recent road swing that includes stops out West. Ironically, Ron Wilson’s club laid a smackdown on the Thrashers recently. On this night, they were no match for a determined group of Blueshirts who made a statement after finding out before the game about Dubinsky’s injury. Brian Boyle followed up Gaborik with a neat redirect of a Marc Staal shot for a power play goal. Already with a goal and assist, Gabby lit the lamp again courtesy of a brilliant Anisimov backhand feed across the goalmouth for a tap-in 36 seconds later.

“It feels good,” Gaborik said after ending an eight-game drought in fine style. “It has been a battle lately. I need to get going. It is always a big relief to get the first one. It just took off from there.”

They weren’t done with Ruslan Fedotenko’s peculiar shot dipping under temporary reliever J.S. Giguere for 4-zip 2:19 later. Brandon Prust set it up with a nice pass in the neutral zone. His second point in three after going dry the previous seven this month.

With Wilson wanting to save Giguere for his ex-team tonight, Gustavsson mercifully came back in for more punishment. Before Gaborik completed his third hat trick followed by No.4, the Leafs played more physical with Mike Komisarek throwing his weight around. One such hit came after Fedotenko released the puck with the rugged defenseman going shoulder to shoulder KO-ing the ex-Lightning forward for an extended period. Fedotenko suffered a separated shoulder, meaning Brodie Dupont gets recalled from Connecticut. The way things have been going in that department, pretty soon we’ll be fielding an AHL roster. I’m not gonna bother listing the guys who are still here for fear of jinxing them.

Rookie Dale Weise lost a fight to Luke Schenn. Kris Newbury would late take on Dion Phaneuf stemming from a hit from boarding the Toronto captain early on. Former Ranger enforcer Colton Orr also got involved, taking a charging minor which Gaborik finished off for his fourth with a laser past a helpless Gustavsson. Prior, Gabby turned the trick when a harmless shot snuck through The Monster. Anisimov and Wojtek Wolski netted helpers.

Up six having allowed just 13 shots with Henrik Lundqvist hardly breaking a sweat, the Rangers made it a touchdown and a PAT when rookies Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello worked a give-and-go with MZA finishing off his third 53 seconds into the final stanza. Wolski drew his second assist as well. He’s 2-3-5 over five thus far and seems to have good chemistry with D-Step and Zucc. The Rangers will need that trio big time without Dubinsky with Ryan Callahan close to returning. The target date is February 1 versus his favorite opponent Pittsburgh. He began holding a stick the other day.

As sometimes happens when you’re up big, you let down. That allowed the Leafs to take a few cracks at breaking the shutout. However, Lundqvist wasn’t biting. The King made a pair of scintillating stops from in tight late to huge support and the familiar chants of “Hen—rik, Hen—rik, Hen—rik.” Even in a rout, the emerging Vezina candidate kept his focus stopping all nine shots in the third (22 overall) for his league high seventh shutout- tying him with frontrunner Tim Thomas.

“They got a couple of chances,” Lundqvist said. “I wanted to get a shutout.”

With the contest winding down, Orr lost his mind intentionally slashing Steve Eminger, earning a major and game misconduct. The kind of ugliness we didn’t see when he donned our jersey. I don’t know if it’s because he’s playing for Brian Burke but the way that team plays sometimes leaves something to be desired. Colby Armstrong again tried to pull some shenanigans but Ryan McDonagh wasn’t having it. Speaking of McD, he quietly gets better and better combining with Eminger to go plus-six while logging a career best 21:21, including a late power play shift and some PK time as well.

This was one game against inferior competition. The Rangers finished 3-0-1 in the season series against the Leafs. Now, it gets tougher with the Canes tonight, visits to Atlanta and D.C. before returning for the Panthers. Eight points up for grabs. Every single one valuable. Time to put the pedal to the metal.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Sean Avery, NYR (3 assists-1st helpers since 12/16 vs Phx)
2nd Star-Artem Anisimov, NYR (career high 4 assists, +3 in 13:56)
1st Star-Marian Gaborik, NYR (4 goals-12, 13, 14, 15/assist, 7 SOG, +3 in 17:28)

When it rains, it pours literally. How else to explain Brandon Dubinsky going down at the most important stretch? A day after Larry Brooks wrote a suggestive piece advocating returning our leading scorer to center to boost slumping Marian Gaborik, the Rangers learned that the fourth-year emerging star has a stress fracture in his left leg which will keep him out three to four weeks.

To say I’m mystified would be an understatement. When you don’t have a working computer and your brother needs your phone, you fall out of the loop. I had no idea Dubinsky was out until I saw a Facebook status which of course said our season was over here at the Library in Great Kills. Look. I’m not going to overlook Dubinsky’s importance. It’s my opinion that he’s been the Team MVP in this surprising season that still has the Rangers seventh a point behind the Canadiens and two up on Atlanta. When Ryan Callahan went down, Dubinsky elevated his play to another level. It might not always be scoring goals cause he’d also cooled off considerably since a hot start but the plays he made helped the team win games. Whether it’s winning a battle along the wall to set up Sean Avery a couple of weeks ago or just being in the right position defensively, Dubi has grown up this year.

He’s more than the club-leading 17 goals, 21 assists, 38 points, four power play goals, two shorthanded goals and 124 shots. The 24 year-old Alaskan is playing the best hockey of his young career and is about to eclipse career bests across the board. For the Blueshirts to lose him now when Gaborik isn’t scoring and the team hasn’t scored more than two since a 3-1 win over the Devils concluding 2010, it’s dire. There’s no questioning the heart of a team that leaves everything out on the ice. Now, they’re facing the toughest challenge of their season. Will they bury their heads like a few nervous nellies or will they stand up as they’ve done all year and fight a la William Wallace’s epic speech in Braveheart.

“He’s been struggling through it for the past couple of weeks here,” John Tortorella pointed out. “He still was playing very well. It was a surprise. But you’ve got to move right by it, give the other guys opportunities and just go out and play.”

“You can’t worry about how difficult it is. You have to find a way to get it done. We have five games in seven nights here. There’s no time to think, no time to whine. It’s time to fight and you have to find a way to get points.“

Well stated by a coach who’s gotten the most out of his players. This is a team that wouldn’t be where it is without the valuable contributions of Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko. They’ve been a constant. No question Tort needs them to chip in when they can. As was echoed in yesterday’s post, it’s time for Gaborik to step up. Henrik Lundqvist can’t do it alone. Sure. Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Mike Sauer have his back along with an underrated D corps that still makes mistakes due to being the youngest in the league. More will be asked of Artem Anisimov who’s capable of scoring more. Maybe they should slide Sean Avery with them. He’s been playing much better lately by forechecking with vigor and winning battles. He can create space for our Gabby and Arty.

Keep Derek Stepan, Wojtek Wolski and Mats Zuccarello together. They scored both goals in a grueling 3-2 loss to No.1 overall Philly. The trio combines speed, skill and playmaking forming solid chemistry. It doesn’t make sense to break them up. Tort has to be careful not to tweak the lines too much. Chris Drury is what he is at this point. A veteran who can win draws and kill penalties. Keep him on the fourth line with Dale Weise and Kris Newbury if he’s still trusted after his idiocy the other night jumping Matt Walker from behind. They’ll have to recall someone. Perhaps Chad Kolarik or Jeremy Williams.

In the meantime, the challenge presents itself. They host Toronto tonight, visit Carolina tomorrow and then take on Atlanta and Washington on the road before returning to MSG for Florida. A tough stretch which could prove pivotal if they’re to make it back to the postseason. These five games in seven days come before the All-Star break.

“He’s in every situation,” Tortorella added of losing Dubinsky. “He’s maturing, becoming a leader. That’s just stuff on the ice. You can see him maturing off the ice. He’s a big player for us. He’s a very important guy in all situations, offensively and defensively. Because of our struggles in our faceoffs, we’ve been using him more there. It’s a big hole.”

Are the Rangers ready to step up? We’re about to find out.

Not much has gone right for the Sabres. A season disappointment that’s included injuries to top stars Ryan Miller, Derek Roy, Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville hasn’t helped Lindy Ruff’s club. However, last night a couple of those now healthier parts helped the Sabres post a nice 2-1 overtime win over the hated Canadiens at HSBC Arena.

Not surprisingly when these two bitter rivals get together, there was plenty of chippiness with antagonist Patrick Kaleta infuriating former Islander James Wisniewski after boarding one of his teammates from behind. Wisniewski lost his cool and negated a Montreal power play with a retaliatory crosscheck on Kaleta’s teammate Nathan Gerbe. At the moment, Montreal was already leading 1-0 thanks to diminutive rookie David Desharnais’ second of the season on their first man-advantage. Wisniewski helped set up the goal along with another ex-Islander Roman Hamrlik to loud cheers from a strong Habs’ contingent. Whenever these teams get together, there always are Montreal fans who make the trip across the border to support their heroes. Something quite familiar to Buffalo whenever another top rival Toronto visits.

It makes for an incredible atmosphere. Even if I’ve never been to a Sabres game, just listening to the “Go Habs Go,” chants followed by “Let’s Go Buffalo” is enough to enjoy the action. Perhaps that’s why Versus wisely selected the heated Northeastern battle over a depleted Red Wing squad that fell to the Crosby-less Pens last night. For those who went, it must’ve been awesome. When the viewer can feel the environment through the television, it speaks to the nature of an intense rivalry similar to what we get closer to home whenever the locals do battle.

Carey Price was on making it tough for Buffalo to put one past him. The 23 year-old former No.1 pick who’s flourished since the club dealt Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis was on top of his game, making plenty of sparkling saves en route to a game high 37 in what amounted to a losing effort. It was still good enough to earn the Habs a point, pushing them one up on the idle Rangers for sixth in the East. One issue for Montreal was that of fallen teammates with Jacques Martin’s club losing Max Pacioretty for the remainder after a Wisniewski point shot struck him in the right side. While he was taken to the hospital, top line finisher Mike Cammalleri was already lost due to the dreaded upper body injury. They also lost Jeff Halpern as well. Down three, the Habs competed hard supported by Price’s strong goaltending.

It took the power play for the Sabres to finally draw even when rookie Tyler Ennis was able to put home a Thomas Vanek rebound for his 11th with Connolly netting the other helper. The first-year left wing hasn’t gotten much pop in a deep rookie class but deserves more attention. His playmaking and wherewithal to get dirty despite a smallish 5-9, 163 pound frame can’t be ignored. Ennis wasn’t done also helping set up Pominville’s OT winner which also came via a power play. He’s now up to 23 points (11-12-23) in 45 games after impressing with nine (3-6-9) in 10 last year. The 21 year-old former No.1 pick selected 26th overall in the ’08 Draft is definitely one to keep an eye on for Sabre fans, who must admire the edge he brings.

“It’s big, but we have got to have some consistency here,” explained the kid from Edmonton of getting two points while erasing a bad 5-3 loss to the Islanders victimized by John Tavares’ second hat trick of the season. “We’ve got to build off this.”

Ultimately, it was a loss of discipline from ex-Devil/Ranger Scott Gomez which proved to be the difference. Late in regulation, he lost his cool during a battle with Nathan Gerbe retaliating a slash with a punch to the face. While his second minor of the contest didn’t cost his team a point in regulation, it had to hurt watching the Sabres work some magic with Ennis handing for Vanek who wheeled to the front before making a sweet dish to a vacated Pominville for the decider 69 seconds into overtime.

“I’m not going to sit here and blame anyone,” Gomez lamented. “I know better than that. I know not to put myself in that position. I did and it cost us a chance at two points.”

 “Gerbe did a great job getting the penalty to get that power play,” Ennis noted. “When you get a chance in overtime like that, you have to bury it. It was big for us for Pommer to do that.”

In his career high 22nd consecutive start, Miller was also solid turning aside 29 of 30 in notching his 18th win of the season. The Sabres also were down a player with the sizzling Drew Stafford lost after two shifts after injuring his groin. The former University of North Daktota product has come into his own scoring 15 goals, which ranks second on the club behind Vanek (17). He has 23 points in just 30 games thus far, having missed 15 games. Buffalo can ill afford to lose him.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Jason Pominville, Buf (OT winner at 69 seconds-9th of season)
2nd Star-Carey Price, Mtl (37 saves)
1st Star-Tyler Ennis, Buf (11th of season, assist)

For most of the season, the Rangers have overachieved courtesy of hard work and determination- willing themselves to big wins such as the Pens and Canucks. That kind of yeoman effort is what Garden Faithful have come to expect from Jack Adams candidate John Tortorella’s club which is tied with Montreal for sixth with 55 points entering tomorrow’s match-up against Original Six Toronto at The Garden.

However, as the lost weekend proved in gut wrenching one-goal defeats to the Canadiens and Flyers, there’s still work to be done if this team is going to get back to the playoffs. By dropping both ends of a crucial back-to-back against two playoff calibre clubs, the Rangers suddenly find themselves two points up on eighth Atlanta who pulled off a crazy late comeback win over Florida Sunday. What’s even more is that the Hurricanes sit just five out playing better hockey until taking it on the chin 7-zip in Beantown yesterday. Loose translation: Unless Marian Gaborik gets it together, the Blueshirts could be in trouble.

Since the new calendar year, they haven’t scored more than two goals yet. That’s nine games with a slump also hitting leading scorer Brandon Dubinsky, who had a horrific night in Montreal Saturday getting nabbed for a couple of retaliatory penalties due to rookie punk P.K. Subban. It’s understandable why our Team MVP wanted a piece of Subban for his unpenalized and remarkable unsuspended spear to Marc Staal’s private area in a previous match last Monday. But getting sucked in hurt the team’s chances with our club out of sorts giving up three goals in less than three minutes putting them behind the eight ball. The 13 shots on Carey Price through two periods wasn’t enough. Especially with Henrik Lundqvist responding strongly by taking action on Benoit Pouliot for bumping him. Lundqvist is playing his best hockey, emerging into a heated Vezina race with Tim Thomas, Jonas Hiller, Marc-Andre Fleury, Price and Ondrej Pavelec.

If not for King Henrik’s stellar play, it could be worse for a club that’s a mediocre 4-4-1 in January with no let up in sight. Not even the visiting Leafs should be easy with them able to score goals thanks to Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Kulemin and dangerous sniper Phil Kessel. It’s a must win for the Blueshirts who then see those Canes in Raleigh Thursday as part of a pivotal three-game Southeast road swing with stops at Atlanta and Washington before the pesky Panthers visit the Big Apple before the All-Star break. Now isn’t the time for the Rangers to fall into bad habits with poor starts that have them playing catch up as we saw in falling behind 3-1 and 3-0 to the hated Flyers before a furious rally fell short thanks to splendid goaltending from Brian Boucher and a couple of Dubinsky near misses.

Consistency has been a key in why the Blueshirts are 26-18-3 still in playoff position. They can’t let up now. Perhaps Tortorella benching Gaborik for long stretches Sunday will finally ignite the slumping Slovak, who’s got only three goals in his last 19 games. Hardly the kinda production you expect from one of the game’s top finishers. Finding the right linemates shouldn’t matter. Gaborik hasn’t made any excuses, noting that he must be better by working harder to get out of this. Needless to say, the power play has struggled mightily with so much depending on Gabby. It’s not just about the megastar in his second year but also about kids like Artem Anisimov finding the net with more regularity. He has one of the best shots but has only 10 goals so far. Not enough for a guy who should easily be 20-25 goals with any consistency.

The Rangers can’t depend solely on rookie Derek Stepan to carry the burden with new linemates Wojtek Wolski and Mats Zuccarello. They need more from Sean Avery who’s playing better aside from his stupid cheap shots on a fallen Matt Carle with him beaten up. Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Prust need to pick up the slack as does Chris Drury, who really must contribute a little more.

Now we find out what this team is made of.

Earlier in the season it was an accomplishment for the Devils to score more than one goal in a single game. However, during these last eight days a hibernating offense has suddenly come to life by getting eighteen in just four games, including five today on Long Island – finally gaining a measure of revenge for two humiliating defeats this season by disposing of the Isles 5-2 to conclude a three-game trip where the Devils got five of a possible six points. Yes, they failed to win Saturday in Florida to extend a streak to three straight wins for the first time in thirteen months but even getting points in four straight games is something of an accomplishment and now I’m finally starting to feel some life watching this team.

Not so coincidentally the kids have figured prominently in this recent surge, with Nick Palmeri getting a goal Saturday to help the Devils get to overtime against nemesis Scott Clemmensen. Our younger players were even more prominent today though, with Matthais Tedenby finally getting out of the doghouse after six straight games as a healthy scratch in a big way, registering a goal and an assist. Most satisfyingly, that assist went to second-year player Vladimir Zharkov, who finally scored his first NHL goal off a rebound in his 49th game early in the first period though if you watched him play you’d be astounded it didn’t happen sooner.

Even our kid defensemen haven’t been too bad lately since Jacques Lemaire came back. True, Mark Fraser was caught out of position twice as the Isles put on their one surge in the game, turning a 3-0 lead into 3-2 in a matter of less than a minute but Fraser also got two assists in just over eighteen minutes today. And Mark Fayne has been a lot better since his second recall from Albany. Heck, Lemaire’s finally gotten Andy Greene above a -20 on the season, how about that?

Yes, other than a young, flawed Tampa team the Devils haven’t exactly been playing the murderers’ row my Jets are going through in the NFL playoffs and might catch a break Thursday if Sidney Crosby is still out due to a concussion that’s caused him to miss the last several games but who we play is kind of irrelevant at this point. You’re just looking for progress, particularly from the younger players but you also want to see the vets show they not only can still play but want to be here.

Sure enough, the vets figured into today’s game as well with Ilya Kovalchuk scoring on the power play in the first, creeping his goal total upward (he now has 13 on the season). Danius Zubrus scored a second-period goal for his seventh of the season and the Devils’ fifth of the game. Even fourth-line grinder Rod Pelley was getting into the act with a goal and an assist this afternoon against Isles prospect Kevin Poulin. And there’s no way I can leave out the resurgent Martin Brodeur, who was again strong with 27 saves for his fifth straight good-great performance since returning to the lineup last Saturday in relief of Johan Hedberg.

About the only dark cloud over this streak was the fact that the team’s continued improved play seems to prove that much more that longtime Devil John MacLean was over his head earlier in the season. You do start to wonder how different things could have been this season if then-captain Jamie Langenbrunner didn’t lead a mutiny against Lemaire last year, causing Lemaire’s ‘resignation’ at the end of last year. Of course this recent streak didn’t start until Langenbrunner’s trade so one could say having an unhappy captain around was part of this team’s malaise, which to be fair did start late last year.

Whatever the case it’s clear Lemaire’s a lot stronger of a coach with Langenbrunner no longer here. Not to mention having old buddy Larry Robinson behind the bench with him for the first time since 1995 helps. Having Brodeur return to form certainly doesn’t hurt either, you can’t really blame MacLean or goaltender coach Chris Terreri for Marty’s early-season injury and uncharacteristically long slump. And if Lemaire actually lets the kids play then hey, just leave him alone and let him do what he does best – teach.

When it comes to ranking lists, they’re always fun and subjective. You’ll always get different opinions on who belongs where and why. Over the years, goalie rankings have become one of the hottest topics for puckers- emerging into great debates.

In this part, we will give our criteria for why a goalie should be where they are. Where do Henrik Lundqvist and Ryan Miller fall? And is there a place for arguably the greatest ever Martin Brodeur? If you judge off current seasons, the incumbent Miller would drop out of the top 10 while Brodeur wouldn’t even crack the top 25. However, is such a reactionary way of thinking conducive to ranking our favorite goalies overall? Perhaps there needs to be a change in how we view the most important position in the game. You’re seeing more goalies victimized by injuries, bad teams and sometimes slumps which allow cynics to write them off.

The question is is it fair? Not long ago, Lundqvist was struggling and some were even pondering if Martin Biron was going to get the job. About as nonsensical as when Brent Johnson got out hot while Marc-Andre Fleury couldn’t stop a beach ball. Eventually, the best rise up and reclaim their status, regaining confidence of both peers, media and fans.

So, how should we rank the goalies?

1.Consistency-in any sport, the best must show that they can perform on a nightly basis. Otherwise, they wouldn’t reach the pinnacle. For goalies, it’s based on number of starts, winning and their history. Are they where they should be?

2.Durability-it’s vital for any No.1 goalie to be able to carry the workload, meaning at least 60 starts. If they can’t be depended on, what’s the point?

During 2010 there wasn’t much to cheer about as a Devils fan, what with the team being dead last by a mile during this season and going 30-42-8 overall in the calendar year. Despite the fact the team was finally starting to be more competitive after a series of frightening blowout losses, 2011 wasn’t starting much better with losses in their first four games and trailing 2-1 against Tampa on Sunday after two periods at home.

However, the third period Sunday and the first period tonight show that maybe, just maybe there’s some fun to be had watching the Devils in the second half after all. In the third period of that game Sunday the Devils scored five – yes FIVE! – goals including a couple of empty-netters to break a four-game losing streak with a 6-3 win. Fortunately four days off didn’t dull the momentum from that sudden goal-scoring binge as the Devils came out flying with four more goals in the first tonight (all after Steven Stamkos opened the scoring for the Bolts on the power play), getting vet Dwayne Roloson pulled before the first twenty minutes were over en route to a relatively smooth 5-2 win.

At some point last week, Jacques Lemaire compared the Devils’ predicament to having heart surgery. What he could have added was that the surgery entailed actually giving this team a heart. Or at least an opponent it can get goals against although perhaps they deserved a better fate in some recent games. Still, the team needed tangible proof of progress and these two games against a playoff-caliber team provided it. Tonight’s win, in particular was our first road win in over two months after eleven straight losses outside of New Jersey.

Perhaps just as encouraging as the goal-scoring is who’s getting them. For only the second time as a Devil, Ilya Kovalchuk had a multi-goal game tonight, pushing his total to a team-leading twelve. Patrik Elias also got into double digits with his tenth during the first period tonight and a short-handed tally by Travis Zajac near the end of the period gave him his seventh. Even twice-waived Brian Rolston got into the act, with a goal and an assist. Other struggling Devils, such as David Clarkson and Jason Arnott were among the heroes in Sunday’s third period outburst and Clarkson in particular is finally starting to look like the well-rounded player of two years ago again.

If the scoring’s been encouraging at last it’s also nice to see Martin Brodeur start to resemble his old self again, after sitting out those three games he’s been strong since returning to the lineup early last Saturday against the Flyers in what turned out to be a scoreless 50+ minute relief effort (though the team still lost 2-1) to go along with 30+ save performances in the last two games against Tampa. Ironically with the team so far out of the playoffs there’s really no reason to worry about Marty’s workload at this point so I’d expect him to get the call tomorrow in Florida for a big game.

Why is tomorrow a big game, you ask? Well, the Devils’ last three-game winning streak was two Decembers ago – that’s December 2009. In case you’ve been hibernating for the last month we’re now in 2011. And even if the Panthers play ex-Devil Scott Clemmensen against us again (he won both his starts last year in New Jersey), Florida’s still a beatable team. If we finally get over that hump and win more than two in a row, maybe this could be the start of a really fun second half…well unless you’re one of those weenie fans that wants the highest draft pick – in a weak draft ironically enough.

And if you’re keeping score at home that’s three straight good performances by the team (including the loss in Philly) since former captain Jamie Langenbrunner was traded. Coincidence? It’s starting to look far less so with each game. Maybe that was the real heart surgery Lemaire was talking about. Yes the coach isn’t thrilling me with placing top prospect Matthais Tedenby in limbo, scratching him for the last several games without either giving him a chance or sending him down but that’s an argument for another day.

For now I’m just glad to see a competitive team again, one that can actually score more than a goal a game. Hopefully this success isn’t fleeting.

Entering yesterday’s big showdown against the league best Canucks who came in having not lost in regulation in 18 games, Rangers coach John Tortorella didn’t believe his team could win 1-0 over such a lethal opponent. Considering that goals have been hard to come by lately despite the Rangers’ good play, you had to figure they needed to heed Tort’s advice. Perhaps the fiery coach was just using a wise tactic to get this cohesive group ready to play.

It sure worked. In one of the most exciting 1-0 games you’ll see this season, the Rangers responded again following a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Canadiens by going toe to toe with The Sedins and the torrid Ryan Kesler– coming away with a well earned shutout that felt like a playoff game. Dare we say Cup intensity?!?!?!?! Considering how well each team played along with how hard, this wasn’t your normal regular season game. Even if unsung hero Brian Boyle’s former college Boston College teammate Cory Schneider got the call over Roberto Luongo who was in the previous night in a win over the Islanders, it didn’t change the dynamics. Not when the Canucks’ superb backup entered unbeaten in regulation with an 8-0-2 mark, making it easier for Alain Vigneault to rest Louie.

The headline was how could our lesser skilled club slow down the high flying Canucks? They’d been a thorn in Henrik Lundqvist’s side with our Swedish King having never won against them. That included an embarrassing blowout loss a couple of years ago in which he removed himself from the game, drawing criticism. Last night proved to be different with Lundqvist intent on making every big save after permitting Benoit Pouliot’s winner from a sharp angle the other night. Indeed, the All-Star netminder was at his best turning away Daniel and Henrik Sedin along with Kesler and antagonist Alex Burrows, stopping all 31 his way en route to his league-tying sixth shutout and 30th career.

“Every shutout is important,” he said after recording his 196th win a Ranger, closing in on 200. “Even though there is a lot of hockey left, you want to keep your position in the standings.”

While Henrik made some awfully tough stops on tricky shots like a Kesler try that hopped forcing him to kick it out and another off a seeing eye left point shot with similar results, he also got plenty of help from teammates led by Boyle. His line with Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko had a rare off night versus Montreal victimized for the tying goal. However, they redeemed themselves with a virtuoso performance limiting the Sedin line to only six shots. Tremendous attention to detail along with physicality neutralized maybe the best line in hockey. In particular, Boyle had a night to remember coming through with an inspired penalty killing shift with the Blueshirts down two men thanks to a bogus call on Marc Staal after Burrows speared him in the jewel area, retaliating with a slash. As our coach put it, how two refs could miss such a cheap/dangerous play is beyond me. Disgusting. What made it even more galling was Chris Drury getting nabbed for an equally bogus delay of game when he made a great defensive play batting a pass with his stick in mid-air which unfortunately went over the Vancouver bench.

Protecting a 1-0 lead on newest Ranger Wojtek Wolski’s first off a wild scramble in front on the power play, the defining moment of the game came on the next shift when the Canucks couldn’t find a way to beat Lundqvist. That they only got four shots through was a credit to one of the game’s best PK units which always does whatever it takes to get the job done. There was Boyle standing out with not one but two gigantic blocks still limping with the Garden in a frenzy. That kind of warrior-esque effort is what’s made him a heart and soul player for this team. It’s why his line gets so many minutes against top scoring lines and is out at the end of games, helping boost our one-goal record to 13-3-3. If that’s not Selke worthy, then you need your eyes checked. In a star-cessed league where it’ll probably be Kesler, Henrik Zetterberg and Mike Richards, Brian Boyle is a throwback resembling former Devil John Madden. He never quits. Neither does Robin sidekick Prust who can always be counted on to be in the right position. Whether it’s playing physical or making a strong defensive play transitioning to offense like they did last night with Schneider beating Boyle with a sliding glove save, this duo epitomizes what the Rangers are. Perhaps they should share the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how well everyone played. Every Ranger contributed. Especially the fourth line of Drury, Sean Avery and rookie Dale Weise who is looking better, even coming close to his first goal. They don’t see as many minutes but you wouldn’t know it by how they work the corners providing a lift. It was nice to see Drury out in that final minute winning a big faceoff and then getting more stellar defensive work from Boyle, who somehow wasn’t named one of the Three Stars. Yes, Wolski scored his first as a Ranger but even he’d tell you that Boyle deserved his No.2 Star.

What else was encouraging was that Marian Gaborik looked better with Artem Anisimov generating chances, including a breakaway after blocking a shot. But Schneider beat him, refusing to give five-hole. Every line is working right now. It’s just a matter of time before they break out. Perhaps in tomorrow’s Habs rematch with the Flyers the following day.

The defense played superb with Marc Staal and Dan Girardi getting plenty of support from improving kids Mike Sauer, Matt Gilroy and Ryan McDonagh. Steve Eminger was large again. So much to like about this team. A reason to cheer!

Yesterday, the NHL released the rest of the 2010-11 All-Stars with teams getting decided the old fashioned way. Like a pickup game with two captains choosing which players they want in what should be a fun format. Imagine Henrik Lundqvist coming up against Marc Staal or better yet, Staal facing off against brother Eric. Could the Sedins be matched up against each other or perhaps Crosby battled Malkin assuming he recovers from a concussion to play in Raleigh.

The possibilities are endless for nothing more than an exhibition showcasing the game’s best talent. Thus adding a little spice to it which should liven things up for everyone involved.

The Rangers will be well represented with both Lundqvist and Staal appearing in the game while bright rookie Derek Stepan takes part in the Skills Competition. While you could make a strong case for Brandon Dubinsky over Lundqvist, it’s hard to argue over the selections. Though one wonders if maybe Jonathan Quick should’ve gotten the nod over Henrik or hometown Cane Cam Ward, who we have always been a fan of. It’ll be Lundqvist’s second appearance while Marc Staal makes his first. Well deserving in our book, emerging as the Rangers’ top defenseman while teamed with overlooked Dan Girardi, who you could make a case for.

The Islanders are represented by rookie Michael Grabner, whose fared well since the club claimed him off waivers from Vancouver. With John Tavares being passed up, Grabner gets the call. His nine goals rank fourth on the club with each coming at even strength. If he can become more consistent in that department, he could be a vital part of the Isles’ core. One which will include Kyle Okposo, who’s finally skating.

Patrik Elias goes for the Devils over team minus Ilya Kovalchuk and sentimental choice Martin Brodeur. This is probably the right call for the last place team who’s still getting a decent year from the popular veteran left wing. Despite only nine goals, the classy Elias paces the club with 21 assists, 30 points and five power play goals, proving he’s still a good player even in a trying year. Just look at his plus/minus (-9) compared to Kovalchuk (league worst -29). It tells you everything you need to know about the prideful Elias, who will always be one of our most admired Devils.

The Sabres will be represented by Thomas Vanek, who after a slow start has done his part pacing Lindy Ruff’s club in goals (16), power play goals (8), power play points (15) and shots on goal (128). If only Derek Roy hadn’t gone down, Buffalo might have a shot at getting back in it. At least Drew Stafford’s (14 goals) finally fulfilling potential and Jordan Leopold (10-14-24) has been a pleasant surprise. Rookie Tyler Ennis will also take part in the skills with his 19 points showing promise for Buffalo’s future.

Along with fan selections consisting of Pens Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury along with Hawks’ tandem Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, here’s a look at the entire roster by team:

Ana-Corey Perry, Jonas Hiller
Atl-Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom
Bos-Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas
Buf-Thomas Vanek
Cgy-Jarome Iginla
Car-Eric Staal, Cam Ward
Chi-Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp
Col-Matt Duchene
CBJ-Rick Nash
Dal-Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson
Det-Nick Lidstrom
Edm-Ales Hemsky
Fla-Evgeny Dadonov*
LA-Anze Kopitar
Min-Brent Burns
Mtl-Carey Price
Nsh-Shea Weber
NJD-Patrik Elias
NYI-Michael Grabner*
NYR-Marc Staal, Henrik Lundqvist
Ott-Erik Karlsson
Phi-Claude Giroux
Phx-Oliver Ekman-Larsson*
Pit-Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury
Stl-David Backes
SJ-Dan Boyle
TB-Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis
Tor-Phil Kessel
Van-Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler
Wsh-Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green

Rookies

Logan Couture, SJ
Jordan Eberle, Edm
Taylor Hall, Edm
Cam Fowler, Ana
Tyler Ennis, Buf
Derek Stepan, NYR
Kevin Shattenkirk, Col
Tyler Seguin, Bos
Michael Grabner, NYI
Evgeny Dadonov, Fla
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Phx
Jeff Skinner, Car