Battle Of Hudson

Losing to the NHL-centric Cindy Pens is one thing. But getting completely annihilated by the 29th overall Candy Canes is quite another. How to explain a 5-1 loss, completing a perfect two-game homestand by doing what else…losing by a combined score of 9-3. If you’re keeping track, it’s now four consecutive losses. Here are some numbers for the most embarrassing Ranger roster since pre-lockout:

-4 losses in row
-shutout twice

-outscored 17-3

-0-13 PP

-7 defeats in last 9 (2-6-1)

-blanked 4 times

-permitted 4-or-more in 4 of last 7

-in the 4 losses outscored 19-4

Read it and weep or laugh. And yet, with a 24-23-7 record with 55 points, they’re still in eighth for the playoffs, ahead of the Habs who were shutout by Tampa. PLAY—OFFS?!?!?!?!?! Paging Jim Mora! Well, look at the bright side. They now hit the road for three and can’t torment the disgusted Garden Faithful. Pretty soon, they’ll be handing out puke bags.

But come on! This ain’t so bad. It’s not the end of the world. Jazzy Jim is still insulting “real fans” while kissing the royal asses of lame corporate stench who wouldn’t know the difference between a hockey puck and a burnt to a crisp burger. Second class citizens in our own building. Glad we didn’t go. Just hearing the disbelief in non-company man Dave Maloney headed back from BK was enough to tune out. Well, at least I made a nice chicken dinner with blueberry marmalade sauce as the score went from 3 to 5-1.Cally scored. That’s it. Also see Lundqvist is back to giving up his softie. Poor guy can only take so much.

Good for the Caniacs. They showed and followed up a blowout win of the equally putrid B’s with another stellar performance. Kudos to the white hot Eric Staal, who continued his torrid play tallying twice as did Sergei Samsonov. Yes. Two goals to the former Calder winner. When was the last time he was relevant? Remember when he was supposed to be great? Even lowly Pat Dwyer managed to redirect a Joni Pitkanen shot 3:11 in. And then Staal scored on the next shift 25 seconds later!

You just can’t make this stuff up. I also saw Callahan cut it to 2-1 only to see/watch Samsonov restore the two-goal lead 41 ticks later. Holy ******* ****! At least Tinman, who got victimized, went back into Tort’s doghouse. Well, Aaron Ward and Matt Cullen each had a helper in MSG returns. Can you imagine what was said on the bench? And Conn Cam made 37 stops against our offensive juggernaut.

Ally returned in place of Huggy Bear to go minus-two in 17 shifts. Why? I have no idea. Redden btw got nine shifts totaling 7:13 of ice. $6.5 million just don’t get ya much these days. J-Bo is doing the same thing under Brent “Benedict” Sutter in fading Calgary, who lost again this time in the gimmick. Naturally, Flame scouts have been at our games trying to pawn off Dion Phaneuf. He of 12 assists. Washed up already before 25??? Elisha Cuthbert just may have destroyed two careers within a year. I like ya Elisha but please stay away from the rest of our players. We suck bad enough.

So, what else is there to say? The poor BC kids who were blown out in hoops tried harder. That’s cause they aren’t getting paid and still have H-E-A-R-T. Our circus clowns are all Tinmen who should be sponsored by the Wizard Of Oz. I’ll take the cowardly Lion over any of them. Dorothy and Toto could do a better job running the team. And somehow by some huge f—d conspiracy, the Cuban cigar smoking son of a gun keeps his job.

Here’s a date to remember:

Day: Sunday
Date: March 7, 2010
Where: Outside 1 Penn Plaza
Event: Fire Sather Rally

This better be a lot more organized than that awful one versus the Avs during the Dark Ages. What a farce that was. For more info, here ya go:


SLATS MUST GO
 

3rd Star-Cam Ward, Car (37 saves incl.21/22 in 2nd)
2nd Star-Sergei Samsonov, Car (2 goals, 3 SOG, +2 in 13:56)
1st Star-Eric Staal, Car (2 goals incl.PPG, 3 SOG in 18:45)

Okay I admit it, now the losing’s starting to bother me. Or specifically the team’s compete level which has been totally non existent tonight in Ottawa as they’re behind 3-0 and about to let Brian Elliott (yes, really) shut them out. This is one game I really thought they’d compete more considering they actually had two days off beforehand and had won two of three games prior. While I supported Jacques Lemaire‘s decision not to crack the whip after their wonderful performance in Long Island last week and you really can’t with the number of games this team’s played this month, they need at least a stern talking to at this point. The schedule shouldn’t be an issue when you have two days off beforehand and know you have to show up considering on deck is a trip to Buffalo in less than twenty-four hours.

That said, what is annoying me even more than all that at this point is Lemaire himself. I admit it, I wasn’t a fan of his hiring because I saw nothing during his tenure in Minnesota that suggested he’d changed his pre-lockout approach and adapted to the new NHL. Early on though with the team going great guns and young guys getting quality minutes I was saying, hey maybe he really did adapt after all and his issues in Minnesota were caused by lack of talent instead of stubborness. Clearly I was mistaken. He’s had the same problems with this team that he did with the ’96-98 teams that dissapointed.

For one, the overplaying of a washed-up checker (and the overall use of a no-talent checking line at the expense of players who can actually contribute at both ends). Then it was Bobby Carpenter, now it’s Jay Pandolfo. I thought maybe this organization had learned from the Brent Sutter debacle last year – well the one on-ice – when he had a checking line older then dirt but the only difference this year is John Madden‘s been replaced by Rob Niedermayer, who doesn’t even win faceoffs or compete as much as Madden. Lemaire’s response if you challenge him on the checking line, well Pittsburgh and Detroit use one. Difference being both actually use two-way players on their checking line, and it’s not at the expense of their other talented players.

Not to mention the whole Andrew Peters disaster, why this guy is allowed to continue to screw up is beyond me. He can’t play hockey, and can’t even keep his jersey long enough to fight which is supposedly why we got him to start with. Mark Fraser isn’t doing much these days, why not let him fight? He’s had plenty of experience at it in Lowell. Or call up some hungry youngster who’ll actually provide energy in that role. During his last tenure Lemaire infamously benched Patrik Elias for the immortal Scott Daniels, I can see him pulling something similar only this time with Peters over Nicklas Bergfors – who granted has been bad lately but maybe part of that is the coach roasting him over every little thing while Mike Mottau can basically cause a goal against him every night and never get castigated. Or Johnny Oduya and Brian Rolston can steal money and never a peep out of the coach about either one of them.

Yet all these issues are periphery to my main sticking point – the ridiculous overplaying of Martin Brodeur. Early in the season it seemed like that wasn’t going to be an issue either as Yann Danis looked good in two wins early in the season. Then late November in Dallas, Danis got pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots in the first period. Though the goals weren’t really his fault it seemed like something changed and the coach once again became afraid to ever use the backup. Since that day, Brodeur has started thirty – yes thirty! – consecutive games and is now starting to show the strain as evidenced by his own up and down performances since New Year’s.

Nevermind that Danis actually picked up a win in relief of Brodeur in Atlanta and played good periods in his other appearances (Danis has actually come in for Marty four times within a short time span…I guess one period qualifies as enough rest in Lemaire’s book), gotta throw #30 out come hell or high water and no doubt he’ll be in net again tomorrow at Buffalo. This is a team that even now has a cushion as far as games in hand over the Penguins for the division, not to mention they got off so good early in the season there’s never been any reason to worry about even making the playoffs! Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war though. Obsessing over first place and home-ice is going to cost us again in April as we lose to another inferior team and Brodeur has a 2.5-3.2 GAA and sub .900 save percentage.

I thought Lemaire would have to adapt to win, and clearly the team itself has some issues. That might be the subject of my next blog after the expected raping in Buffalo tomorrow night. But let’s be honest, the team will be a lot better once all the hands get back on deck (as if we can actually ice a full roster before someone else goes down). Particuarly Elias and Paul Martin, who can’t get back fast enough now that the clock’s struck midnight on Andy Greene and with Mottau and Oduya flat-out stinking. However, first place and all the points we get between now and April 11 are going to mean absolutely nothing if this coach – who I still adore in spite of my frustrations with him – does not adapt.

Rather than bore you with a preview of tonight’s latest catastrophe versus the Cindy Pens, I’m just going to supply a Tweet on what’s wrong:

BattleOfNewYork

the biggest problem with the #NYR is all they care about is self-promotion

Just listen to Joe Micheletti. A buffoon who actually tried to allude to the Habs’ 5-goal comeback. As if our joke of a team had a prayer. There’s an old saying. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.

Before I leave, here’s one more from a close Tweep equally frustrated:


howie9416 

@BattleOfNewYork yup so they dont care about the on ice product cause all they care about is $$$ and the team can suck forever

And one more from close friend The Mouth:

RangerCrisis

that blueshirts united is a disgrace. NYR has a fan club. that fans run & donate their time to. They just threw them under the bus for $$$

In hockey, leadership is vital to a team’s success. Just about every team has a captain who’s expected to lead by example not just on the ice but in the locker room as well. Especially when things aren’t going your way.

Judging from the Rangers’ performance last night, it’s easy to conclude that Chris Drury didn’t make a difference. If one were to look at the inconsistencies of the club on Broadway, it points to no leadership. Even if the roster was poorly constructed, that’s not an excuse. Your most proven players must step up.

While one New York team continues to look lost, the other that resides off the Meadowbrook doesn’t seem to have that problem. Seasoned vets such as team captain Doug Weight, Brendan Witt, Andy Sutton and Trent Hunter have done a respectable job keeping the rebuilding club focused. Picked by many including us to finish near the bottom, these Islanders are defying the odds by not only improving with prize rookie John Tavares but moving ahead of schedule, competing for the postseason.

In what’s an unpredictable East even with Saturday’s disappointment against the Devils, Scott Gordon’s club is tied for 10th with fading Boston (5-1 losers to Carolina)- trailing the Flyers (lost to Pens 2-1), Rangers and Canadiens by a point. They have exactly 30 games remaining in this hectic Olympic year. With a 23-21-8 record good for 54 points, the Islanders are seven points away from matching last season’s league worst total. They’ve done it by outworking opponents and getting contributions from everyone. Without Dwayne Roloson, they wouldn’t be in this position. One of Garth Snow’s wisest choices last summer with camp gem Matt Moulson (team best 19 goals) an unsung hero.

A key player who struggled in the first half is resurgent Kyle Okposo. The third year power wing who the club took seventh overall in 2006 is evolving into an Isles’ leader. Still just 21, the St. Paul Minnesota native is wise beyond his years, fully grasping what it’s all about. Following a dismal first period against the Devils in which his team trailed by one, he criticized their effort feeling they didn’t come to play. Perhaps the club scoring leader (11-24-35) let teammates know about it because they certainly responded, connecting twice on a major, including a goal and a helper from KO, demonstrating that he can back up the words.

Unfortunately, the Islanders were a bit unlucky with Zach Parise’s centering feed deflecting off Freddy Meyer past a helpless Rick DiPietro for the first Devil shot spanning 20-plus minutes. On a night in which they also hit four posts, the club simply couldn’t recover from the bad break with their opponents likely getting a stern talking to from Jacques Lemaire. The Atlantic leaders responded by dominating the third in shots (11-3) and scoring twice, including Bryce Salvador’s seeing eye decider that may have caromed off rookie Kyle Palmieri. The more aggressive team completely neutralized the Isles’ forecheck, forcing turnovers.

Not surprisingly, Okposo and ‘mates expressed frustration, alluding to the non-aggression which cost them a valuable two points in an ever changing race where every point matters. To a man, they’d probably say it was winnable. Good teams don’t give a ton of credit to opponents no matter how good they are. Something which was evident in the Isles’ case.

“We didn’t match their intensity in the first period,” Okposo acknowledged. “In the third period, we just didn’t have it. That was the game right there.”

“We didn’t get our forecheck established and we weren’t putting as much pressure on their (defense) in the offense zone,” DiPietro lamented backing up Okposo. “We got away from it in the third and need to learn from our mistakes.”

Part of the issue was the Devils, who were fortunate to be tied entering the critical stanza. They did a masterful job taking away the middle of the ice while taking the play to the Isles, who were sloppy forcing passes into the teeth of the D. Thus allowing the guys in white, red and black to dictate and come out on top. Gordon was disappointed that they got away from the plan. 

“We didn’t push the pace to allow ourselves the opportunity to win the game,” the second-year man pointed out. “We played the game not to lose.”

As we already noted in yesterday’s piece, Gordon’s scrappy bunch play hard lunch pail hockey based on their speed and grit. When on, they’re capable of putting together superb efforts like the 4-0 shutout of the same Devs a week ago. His players have all bought in. Boasting young pieces Tavares, Okposo and improving soph Josh Bailey, the club has a bright future.

“Our scouting staff has done a good job of finding character,” Gordon told NY Post columnist Jay Greenberg. “We don’t have a bad apple on our team.

“Tavares and Bailey are mature kids at 19 and 20. I couldn’t compare myself at what I was like at 19 to what Tavares is. We haven’t come close to seeing what Okposo can do offensively, but even when he was not scoring, he was one of our most important players for what he brings every night.”

Even when he’s not scoring, KO always gives an honest effort utilizing his size and speed to wreak havoc. If lack of production cost him a spot on Team USA with Brian Burke opting to go with experience in Drury, it wasn’t from taking shifts off. True enough. He hasn’t untapped his full potential but already is a solid two-way player who plays big minutes for Gordon, including a PK fixture. It was that attention to detail which led to Blake Comeau’s shorthanded goal in a hard fought 3-2 overtime road win over the Blueshirts. Fittingly, No.21 won it late off some nice work from Bailey. On the kind of game the coach wants to play, he noted:

“They can all move the puck. I want our team to be so good on the forecheck we don’t have to play a lot of defense.”

It doesn’t hurt to have Okposo, who is relentless on the forecheck and strong on the boards always finishing checks. If we were to toss a little kudos their bitter rival’s way, the closest is Ryan Callahan, who ranks in the top three in hits. While he’s not credited with many, the younger Islander forward more often than not comes out with the puck leading to more attack time. Something needed to play such an up-tempo style. Both are similar players but only one was a No.1 pick. With all due respect to the Rangers’ heart and soul, KO possesses more skill as evidenced by his 35 points to Cally’s 27 (12-15-27). Ironically, he’s on Team USA and should comprise a checking line and PK teamed with Drury and possibly captain Jamie Langenbrunner. Had Okposo made it, we may have seen a Devil, Islander and Ranger all on the same line. Maybe next time.

Instead, Okposo- who’s been on a good run since that Dec.26 victory tallying 12 points (6-6-12 in 14 GP) including more than half his 11 markers- will continue playing the rugged game which will make him a pain in the butt to play against for quite a while. No doubt he’ll keep improving maybe even one day becoming the Islanders’ captain. Don’t doubt it for a second.

1. Bryce Salvador (goal, assist, +2 in 24:02)
2. Zach Parise (two goals, +2)
3. Jamie Langenbrunner (goal, assist, +2)

It’s easy for us to hate the Islanders because that’s in our blood. Potvin Sucks! Islanders/Rangers is a great rivalry that brings out plenty of passion on both sides. It’s what Battle of New York stands for. Two bitter rivals since the Islanders’ inception in 1972 where the intensity spills over into the stands. Sometimes albeit irrationally. The games take on a whole different meaning. With all due respect to the Devils who are in a battle with the Long Island club, there’s only one true rival for our club.

Hint: It’s the one who’s wearing the nice traditional dark blue and orange jerseys. What separates them from the Rangers is how hard they compete daily under the leadership of Scott Gordon, who should be in the mix for the Jack Adams if they get in the playoffs. He has done a magnificent job, getting his cohesive group to believe. Just a look at how organized that power play was, converting not once but twice on Colin White’s major tells the story. Scary to say but they easily could’ve had four on it against one of the league’s better defensive teams. Such quick passing and actual battles being won in the trenches to keep plays alive. Hungry players putting on their hard hats getting dirty.

When has our power play ever been like that? There in lies a big part of the problem, explaining why there’s such a big difference between these two teams. One fights for every inch of ice, sacrificing all the time as evidenced by not allowing the Devils one shot in 20 minutes before Zach Parise got a lucky bounce right off Freddy Meyer to tie it, ending New Jersey’s decade PP drought. Kyle Okposo– who tied the game and assisted on Jack Hillen’s PPG- felt his team didn’t come to play in the first which the Devs led on captain Jamie Langenbrunner’s early tally. Imagine any Ranger saying that. So, they came out gangbusters outplaying the Devils by a wide margin. Sure. They’re tied as they begin the third due to a tough break. But do you think it will stop them from giving everything ounce to earn victory, moving past a lifeless Ranger club down 5-zip in Montreal on HNIC no less?

Hell no! Because that club cares which can’t always be said for the pathetic guys wearing the white, red and blue jerseys tonight. Too often, that’s been the case. So, we might loathe the Islanders but it sure is a lot easier to respect them. They care!

Look. Anyone with a pulse who roots for our beloved team knows how vanilla they are. Sadly, what went down the other night in Filthy was predictable. That toddler Daniel Carcillo could get away with such a bush league move speaks volumes. What if the Great Gabby had been seriously hurt? Reggie Dunlop’s rolling over in his grave. Where are The Hansons these days? We need ’em along with Fulton Reed and Dean Portman pronto.

Sad to say but fellow Ranger blogger Scotty Hockey’s right. As disgusting as it was, Carcillo was wise to do it because he knew he could get away with it. This was something close Devil The Program buddy Chris Wassel warned about when we signed Marian Gaborik. Who’s going to ride shotgun? As much character as he has, you can’t stick Aaron Voros out there on our top line. And while Sean Avery beat Carcillo in the fight later where at least the Grade A punk had his visor off unlike clown Scott Hartnell, it was much too late. Besides, we were already down in an important game 1-0. But the way the Flyers played standing up at their blueline and being physical, the score may as well have been 10-zip. Simply put. They weren’t tying it.

I said it a while back. But this is the most embarrassing roster that’s worn the Ranger logo in years. Even some of the sadsack teams during the Dark Ages mixed it up. Even if we had jokers like Sandy The Sniper and an insane Theo. Where’s the beef? Even Marc Staal’s been a disappointment in that critical area. Granted. He’s only in Year 3 playing a tough position. But I wish Staalsie would play with the same edge he did last year. At least then opponents would have to keep their heads up. How many times have we seen Henrik bowled over without any response? It’s just path——etic!

As flawed as this club is and what he has to deal with, it’s amazing to think that The King has allowed two or fewer in 10 consecutive starts. With what exactly? There are no crease clearers. And hardly enough grit to make a difference. What the Flyers did was show the book on how to shutdown the Blueshirts. Which speaks to how out to lunch Slats is. But hey. He and Jazzy Jim are buddy buddy. So, he’ll continue to steal money until a stroke or something. I know. Bad. But it can’t be helped.

Speaking of strong takes on our beloved pansies, The Rodent had a great one yesterday. A few gems:

No Ilya frikkin’ anything was gonna change what went down today. Look at that spectacle again and tell me Vincent Lecavalier is gonna solve that vacuum of aggression on that bench.

Give me a few less Enver Lisins and a few more Sean Bergenheims or Ben Eagers to put the fear of god into the opposition rearguard.

The Flyers were pounding, pounding, pounding and the Rangers failed to respond. Ryan Callahan finished an early check in Period 1 and then your heroes pussilatingly pussiated the rest of the way, shying from checks, absorbing punishment without reciprocating.

If this is the first round of the playoffs, the good guys are four and out.

This lineup is composed of pussies! who never finish their checks unless they wear 24

What part of that do you not understand?

Why wasn’t Boyle finishing checks and initiating contact?

What about the pussiest pussy of them all, Michal Roszival whose size is utterly useless because he is such a wuss?

 
It’s an illusion. Until this locker room is purged of this purrthetic pacivity, they’re going nowhere.

Where was Chris Drury leading by example? When… tell me when he stood up to anyone wearing pumpkin and white?

He didn’t. He didn’t because he is a pussy who doesn’t want to muss his coif.

It’s the wussiful showing that’s so embarrassing to MSG cognoscenti.

It’s the wussiful display that portends ouster in the early rounds for this crew.

Couldn’t have said it any better myself. The Rodent’s one of the best NYR bloggers. Period. And quite entertaining. He’s also a huge Petr Prucha backer. Has anyone noticed how he’s doing on the surprising ‘Yotes? Part of a good third line that injects energy. For as much as he got shafted by Renney here, one thing about Pruuuuuu is he never backed down from anyone. Always getting involved in scrums and throwing players away. The way it’s supposed to be done. Now, you have cool bloggers like close Tweep Yotesgurl singing his praises with riveting posts such as “Playoff Prucha Point.“

Speaking of Tweeps, a classic one from Ranger buddy Somelikeitblue on former Ranger Paul Mara, who’s out for tonight’s game in Montreal:

Somelikeitblue

  

So sad Paul Mara’s not in tonight! =( He wouldn’t have let Gaborik get his faced punched in.

Both Pru and Mara wore the Ranger jersey with pride. Something few manage these days. It speaks to a losing culture that’s going nowhere. That’s why they should sell. It’s high time they make necessary changes moving forward. Will logic prevail or will it fall on dead air?

While the Devils’ shutout against the Panthers Wednesday took some of the pressure off by halting a losing streak, clearly the offensive woes still need some work and it showed again last night at the Rock, as New Jersey went down 3-1 to the Canadiens. Other than Zach Parise‘s breakaway goal in the first period and Mark Fraser‘s beatdown of Matt D’Agostini early in the third, there wasn’t much for the sellout crowd to cheer about last night. Unless you were one of the thousands of visiting Hab fans – who took over entire sections in the mezzanine, the seats that seem to have the hardest time selling for us most nights.

Admittedly the back-and-forth with the Habs fans is more fun and not as mean-spirited as it can get with other teams’ fanbases. Montreal’s appeal across North America even drew three visiting Bruins fans, who sat in the row behind me. Other random fan sightings included a Stephane Quintal jersey (hopefully the guy didn’t actually pay money for it) and a Boston College Brian Gionta jersey in 209. Well okay the latter isn’t random since I know her and figured she would be there last night, but it’s as good a way as any to lead into Gionta’s return which was surprising on a number of levels.

First of all when the starting lineup was announced, Gionta got razzed about as badly as anyone and there were no divided loyalties like there were with Scott Clemmensen a while back. Then again, Clemmensen did well for us last year while Gionta’s goal total declined each of the last four seasons after his team-record 48 in 2005-06, and clearly Devil fans weren’t high on Gionta when he was still wearing the uniform so why should I have been surprised he got a chilly reception last night?

Still, I was to a degree. You gotta figure effort and class count for something, and Gionta was one of the few Devils still remaining from their 2003 Stanley Cup winners. Plus you could hardly fault him for taking Bob Gainey‘s insane contract offer. And though he’s slowed down lately, Nicklas Bergfors seems more than capable of filling in Gionta’s shoes, at least offensively so it’s not like his departure left us in the lurch. Of course Scott Gomez got his requisite boos and jeering, as he might possibly be the only player in the league to somehow have three fanbases on his back to that extent, including his current team’s.

Things got off to a weird start, as the group who sang the national anthems made O Canada! seem like a Christmas carol, and didn’t do much better with the US anthem. Even the goalie sucks chant in 208-209 got off to a rocky start, as it got started with ‘Hey Price, you suck!’…apparently someone didn’t realize Jarsolav Halak was in goal last night for Montreal and has in fact been the main guy lately. Of course that got corrected later on, but it wouldn’t be the last crowd snafu of the night.

After our power play continued its zero for the decade ‘slump’ (o for its last 23 after last night to be exact), the Devils caught a break when Jamie Langenbrunner found a streaking Parise wide open past center ice and he started this game the way he ended the teams’ last tilt in Montreal, with a breakaway goal – though this one wasn’t actually in shootout mode it might as well have been. Parise’s goal at 5:16 was his 21st of the year with assists from the captain and Mike Mottau. Little did I realize that would be the only goal of the night.

Though the Devils led and looked the better team early, Montreal took control midway through the first and swarmed our embattled defense, breaking through at 16:10 when Gomez found a wide open Benoit Pouliot in the slot for the tying goal. Given the two teams’ last confrontation at the Rock, the run-and-gun nature of the latter first period and early second was a little surprising and it didn’t favor the offensively challenged Devils as Halak would make 31 saves in the game, but most weren’t off of high-quality offensive chances.

As those of you who read this blog on a fairly consistent basis know, I love the 208-209 section on most nights, even when they’re nonsensical they’re lively and get the people around them into the game more than any t-shirt throwing guy merc (thankfully Cameron’s a thing of the past, as NJay does that now). That said, they do annoy me at times with their anti-Jets stuff, which usually is confined to a ‘J-E-T-S…suck, suck, suck’.

Last night however they did an elaborate knockoff of ‘Let’s Go Devils’, only substituting Colts for Devils. Give me a C! Give me an O!…etc, etc. It made for a two and a half minute production that made me roll my eyes. If you hate the Jets that’s fine, don’t go out of your way to annoy half your fellow fans at a hockey game just because you people are bitter Giant, Dolphin and Cowboy backers who can’t stand the attention the Jets are finally getting. Perhaps fittingly just as they were finishing the Let’s Go Cooolts part of the chant, the Canadiens scored the lead goal when the immortal Mathieu Darche tipped in a Gionta slapshot at 4:35 of the second period. As I told one of the ringleaders of the chant after the period, just goes to show thou shalt not diss the Jets in the tri-state area!

After Darche’s goal, there really was little action the rest of the second period as the Habs went into full trap mode, while the Devils’ power play was inept for the second (and mercifully final) time of the night. Even Fraser’s fight early in the third did little to change the momentum although the Devils did dominate in terms of shots, they still couldn’t take advantage of their scoring chances. Early in the period I was beside myself when Jay Pandolfo and Rob Niedermayer went out for a shift just after the Parise line won a faceoff in the Habs’ end, wondering where the other offensive players were.

That’s pretty much when it hit me – we really don’t have any proven offensive players right now besides the Parise, Langs and Travis Zajac trio. Not when Brian Rolston‘s in one of his elongated dissapearances or when Bergfors is either hitting the rookie wall or showing the effects of being jerked around by Jacques Lemaire, depending on which fan you ask. Of course having an entire line of second and third-line forwards on the shelf doesn’t help, including Patrik Elias. Especially when Niedermayer’s your second-line center and the immortal Dean McAmmond is the third-line center. How long can this go on?

Not to mention the defensive issues recently and missing Paul Martin, who’s not only the team’s best defenseman but also Johnny Oduya‘s personal pacifier. I was one of the few people who said this when Oduya was playing well the latter part of 2007-08 and all of last season, he mysteriously became a good defenseman the minute he got paired with Martin and wasn’t all that great beforehand. Without Martin for much of this season, Oduya’s been awful – injury or no injury.

Those defensive woes showed on the Canadiens’ goal at 11:53 of the third, which basically put the game away when Darche forced Bryce Salvador into a turnover, then started a tic-tac-toe passing play with Andrei Markov and finally a wide-open Mike Cammalleri in front, and the Habs’ star winger beat Brodeur with a quick wrister from the slot that he had no chance on to give them their 3-1 margin of victory.

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Jaroslav Halak (31/32 saves)
2. Matt Darche (goal, assist, +2)
3. Zach Parise (goal, +1)

Forget the fact the Rangers were blanked 2-zip against the hated Flyers. And as grating as it is, I don’t care that we’ve been shutout two times in a row by that pile of dirt team for the first time since 1999. When actual hockey was played, the more physical team was simply better, earning the two points.

The latest installment of this classic Patrick Division rivalry wasn’t about that unfortunately. But rather Grade A punks like Daniel Carcillo who had the audacity to pick on our superstar Marian Gaborik. Just listening to Dave Maloney chew out Dan Girardi on ESPN Radio was enough to incense me. He was absolutely dead on calling out Girardi for not stepping in for Gaborik, who actually had had a fight before back in 2008 against ironically current Flyer Ian Laperriere. Go figure. It was just appalling listening to Maloney trash Girardi because it typified how soft this team is. How could you allow a garbage player like Carcillo to start throwing punches at our meal ticket??? Especially after play had stopped.

There are a zillion tweets from furious NYR Tweeps who cannot believe this happened. Tonight, we feature snowkitten35 for her excellent insight on this embarrassment:

snowkitten35

  

@tsnjamesduthie that’s bcz Carcillo is a punk but WORSE than him was Dan Girardi ALLOWING Carcillo to “fight” Gabby, he should’ve stepped in.

Anyone associated with hockey knows you don’t let an opponent mess with your star player. Not only did Girardi allow this but risked seeing his teammate seriously injured by a resident clown who violated The Code. It’d be one thing to take on Jarome Iginla, who can handle himself as good as anybody. But quite another to force a fight with a superstar who isn’t known for his fists. Make no mistake. This was a gutless move by a Grade A punk who doesn’t belong on the ice.

Haters talk about how Sean Avery should be elsewhere but at least he’ll challenge guys who can handle themselves and not just throw punches for no reason. Kudos to Sean for stepping in for Gabby later in the second and doing well against Carcillo in an even fight where he got the takedown. Aves also lost to another clown Scott Hartnell, who took exception to a clean hit and got off three rights- two of which landed knocking Sean down. I hate Hartnell but at least he can play the game a little. Aaron Voros also fought Arron Asham three seconds into the third.

Good on at least two of our players for standing up. Too bad it didn’t help on the scoreboard where the Flyers on goals by rookie James Van Riemsdyk (putback off break-in) and captain Mike Richards (PPG w/2.5 ticks left in 2nd off Marc Staal’s skate) made it stand up, getting shaky Ray Emery a routine shutout. Credit the hosts for playing an aggressive, physical defensive game where they simply didn’t allow the Blueshirts to get one single scoring chance. Sorry Voros. But you’re not Gaborik, who was in the box seven minutes, including one of those slash’s where the weakass composite stick snaps in half like it came from KB Toys. Yeah. I know it went out here at our Mall. Toys R Us. Same difference.

Gabby, Prosp and Dubi were a non-factor, even getting split up by a furious John Tortorella, who apparently had at it with favorite target Larry Brooks. All clean btw. Suck it Bettman! I didn’t see it. We’ll get the video up ASAP. I love Tort’s fire and he’s absolutely right. Tonight, hockey lost. What Carcillo did was childish. Did you see him in that penalty box? He was like a kindergartener. How is he allowed to play? He needs a serious beatdown and a lot of therapy. Oh. I’m just sure the NHL will treat him the way they treated our EZ Target. This league can go screw themselves.

Anyway, I probably wouldn’t have broken up our top line because it still gave them their best chance of any comeback. Even if it wasn’t happening. Chris Pronger was a beast and Richards the best player. Gotta agree with Brian Leetch on our team not engaging Richards. Wouldn’t it have been wiser to see if they could get him to take a penalty? Oh well. All moot.

I’ll finish this post by using a Tweet I made off the insanity:

BattleOfNewYork: this is the angriest I’ve felt after a #NYR loss Daniel Carcillo is a Grade A punk

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Sean Avery, NYR (2 fights-10 PIM, -1 in 11:20)

2nd Star-Chris Pronger, Phi (assist, +1 in 27:06)

1st Star-Mike Richards, Phi (PPG, 6 SOG in 19:46)