Battle Of Hudson

Lately, I’ve been pretty busy with work. However, I did get out to the Garden last night for that dreadful showing by the Deadshirts.

Flat out pathetic. How in the world could they play so miserably when fourth line stone hand member Ryan Hollweg recorded his first career NHL two-goal game?

The game turned on a Chris Drury throwing the stick penalty near the conclusion of the first. When the Flyers tied it, you just knew what to expect. The latest awful goal slumping netminder Henrik Lundqvist allowed to Scott Hartnell from a sharp angle took the wind out of their sails.

Maybe it’s that type of inconsistent goaltending from Lundqvist which hurt his All-Star chances as he was passed over for Islander goalie Rick DiPietro and Florida’s Tomas Vokoun.

Somehow, Tim Thomas didn’t make it. That’s what happens when you have to have every team represented. What a stupid process.

In any event, the Blueshirts (soon to be renamed Booshirts) managed to allow Hartnell to score three consecutive goals for a hat trick. I can at least say that I wasn’t in the building for that as I did the only logical thing. I left when it was still 3-2 after watching this heartless bunch do absolutely zilch on another power play. I only needed to see about 45 seconds before heading to the exits for Gerry Cosby’s.

That’s how bad it’s gotten with this team. So, when does the organization get their collective heads out of their asses and make changes? It’s painfully obvious that Tom Renney’s message and silly defensive system isn’t getting through. He’s holding the team back. However, the affable coach is only part of the issue. The bigger one involves Michal “I never shoot” Rozsival and butt buddy Jaromir Jagr. Would somebody please tell Rozy that it’s okay to shoot more and pass to other teammates rather than his Czech buddy?!?!?!?!?!

I’ve had it up to here with both. Just get them out of here. Seriously, this team will never win anything with these guys. Ship every Czech out except Petr Prucha.

I’m so tired of the wussy Euro-style. This East-West stuff just doesn’t work. How many times can we see these guys pass up glorious chances going wide and away from the net in circles??? Welcome to the Broadway version of Ice Capades! I thought the days of Valeri “The Ballerina” Kamensky were over. Apparently I was wrong.

I also don’t want to hear all the injury excuses. The Devils had injuries and overcame them like all good teams do. Every team loses players. Save me the Sean Avery and Martin Straka x-factors. If that’s what they need, then they’re already done and should just make their offseason plans.

Another thing. To all those obnoxious drunken Ranger fans who cheer every time Marek Malik is scratched, how’s that working out? Can’t blame No.8 anymore for the lack of D and inconsistencies. Jason Strudwick is a hard worker with character but he’s nothing more than an extra defenseman. This business of him playing every night over Malik is moronic.

Also, how in the hell is Nigel Dawes on the third line? He had better chemistry with Drury and Brendan Shanahan. What the heck did Greg Moore do to deserve the nod? I’d love to hear that explanation.

There’s a lot wrong with this team. And I don’t really know how it gets fixed. Does anyone think they’re beating the Canadiens tonight? Or winning at red hot Pittsburgh where Ty Conklin has morphed into Dominik Hasek?

I’m going to AC later today. If I had a chance to bet, I’d bet against the Rangers right now. That’s how down I am.

Can they turn it around? I no longer know cause I’ve seen this disgusting act before. It’s like being in the real life version of Back To The Future and going into the time machine.

At least the Devils and Islanders play hard for their coaches and get results. I wish I knew the answer.


P.S. That Alexander Ovechkin NHL record 13-year $124 million deal is sick. Wow. Talk about commitment! I think the Caps had to do it for the good of the franchise. Otherwise, how would they survive? They don’t even draw much to begin with. Their team has played much better since the coaching chance and AO is one of the top five players in the league. His 32 goals ranked second coming into the night. I’m sure Jarome Iginla passed him during the Islander game.

Ovechkin is just 14 shy of last year’s total and already has 130 goals during his brief NHL career. The guy is awesome. Is it too many years for the 22-year old Russian superstar? Probably. But I also see the rationale as explained above.

Would anyone ever have believed some of the crazy long-term deals we’re now seeing become more the norm during the lockout? Positive or negative? What do you think?

My apologies on a late post. Truth is, about 12 hours ago I was in the middle of a post and my computer crashed. I have yet to get it going again and it’s looking like I may be computer-less for a few days. This is just a temporary solution. Any suggestions for a new laptop?

Anyways, back to the Rangers. If the team that played the final 25 minutes of the game showed up every night, we would be better than Ottawa. I’m tired of saying that though. The first 35 minutes of the game was an abysmal performance. There was little heart and even less effort. It was kind of like they were expecting much less from the underachieving Lightning. No excuses. Come out and play hard for 60 minutes or we should trade for people that will.

I’m glad that Nigel Dawes and Greg Moore are back with the big club. P.A. Parenteau has been returned to Hartford. Tom Renney’s use of them yesterday was extremely questionable though. 9:44 of ice time for Greg Moore and 10:12 for Nigel Dawes. Sure, that would cut it if we had four healthy lines, but with the second line not doing anything, the fourth line unable to score and the top line working on chemistry, there is no reason why that third line couldn’t be out there for 15 minutes or so. Chris Drury logged 23+ minutes of ice time, which cannot be expected from any forward day in and day out.

Steve Zipay asks if the Blueshirts are working on a deal now that there are numerous injuries, Sean Avery and Martin Straka being out indefinitely at this point. One name he mentioned was Jason Chimera, but what would we be giving up? Obviously, we cannot trade Marek Malik and a struggling Ryan Callahan or Marcel Hossa for Ilya Kovalchuk, so any trade would mean parting with Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, Greg Moore or Al Montoya.

Three games remain before the All-Star break. It will be a welcomed break, if only for the several days off to get healthy. Let’s look at righting this ship before then.

I can’t guarantee being able to get on to get a post out tomorrow, but I’ll try. I should hopefully be set with a new computer in the next week or so, but am having trouble deciding on what I want. I’m open to suggestions. I’ll be back from the new device sometime really soon.

I wish I had more time to say what I want here but I have a Hard Hits Special NFL Playoff show coming up at the top of the hour including a preview of the first ever Giants-Cowboys postseason match-up in the Divisional Round.

Maybe it’s for the best because the other New York team who wears those same Giant colors is anything but these days.

The latest embarrassing loss to the East’s worst Tampa Bay- I don’t care if they cut it from 4-1 to 4-3 and had nine zillion chances to tie late- it’s just another reason to feel if you’re a Blueshirt supporter.

Screw all the injury excuses!!!!! I don’t care and will be damned if any Ranger fan uses that for why this team can’t consistently play close to 60 minutes of hockey and remains an underachiving bunch which could actually miss the playoffs.

This team needs to seriously consider making a change with the coach. I have had it up to here with Tom Renney. His insistence of rolling four lines late in this game cost his team any realistic chance to tie it.

Why with your bench short as is would you send out the stonehands fourth line which has a grand total of two goals at even strength when there’s only 4+ minutes to go?!?!?!?!?!?!

Can anyone out there answer that?

With that, I’m done. Renney must go! This team just won’t get the results the organization’s looking for until they get someone in who’s not afraid to pull punches.

Maybe I’ll have more after.

Renney is a nice guy but not the right fit for this team. It’s time to fire him and save the season from a humiliation.

Who’s with me?

Update: Shanahan is in tonight. He wasn’t supposed to be but he is. Parenteau is the scratch. The below lines are useless, and I have no idea what they will be. Drury with Shanahan and Prucha sounds like a safe bet, with Dawes with Gomez and Jagr and Moore with Dubinsky and Hossa. That’s just a guess though.

Just under 30 minutes from now, the Rangers begin a homestand, starting with facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With all of the hooplah that I reported before, it looks like we have some solid line combinations for the game.

Drury-Gomez-Jagr
Hossa-Dubinsky-Prucha
Dawes-Moore-Parenteau
Hollweg-Betts-Orr

Tyutin – Girardi
Staal – Rozsival
Mara – Strudwick

Marek Malik will be a healthy scratch and even though Brendan Shanahan is skating pre-game warmups right now, he has been ruled out for tonight. He should be ready to go for Thursday night’s tilt against Philadelphia. Martin Straka’s concussion is a minor one, but he will miss some time. About a week is the timetable for Straka. Sean Avery is on the IR, meaning he will miss a minimum of a week as well. Enjoy the game.

Earlier today, the league announced the starters for the upcoming All-Star Game.

Here’s who that elite list of stars will include:

2008 Eastern Conference All-Star Team Starting Lineup

Goal: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey

Defense: Andrei Markov, Montreal
Defense: Zdeno Chara, Boston

Forward: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
Forward: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay
Forward: Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa

2008 Western Conference All-Star Team Starting Lineup

Goal: Roberto Luongo, Vancouver

Defense: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit
Defense: Dion Phaneuf, Calgary

Forward: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit
Forward: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
Forward: Jarome Iginla, Calgary


From the look of things, two quick notes:

1.No Ilya Kovalchuk for the stacked East
2.The Western lineup with the exception of goaltender is made up of all Red Wings and Flames.


We’ll have much more later on.

Updated seconds after posting: This goes at the top because it is out of control. Marek Malik skated on the third line, yes the third line on offense with Parenteau and Hossa towards the end of practice. Shanahan is definately out. This just may be a game you want to record and play back a couple of times. Or maybe the complete opposite.

The Rangers haven’t played a game since Saturday night, yet as the days pass, so do the bad fortunes. I need to use bullet form to fill you in on everything that is going on, so here we go.

– Brendan Shanahan did skate this morning, will try out the contusion on his knee in tonight’s pregame warmups, but Tom Renney is leaning towards sitting him until Thursday to rest up.

– Martin Straka is out at least one week, possibly more. More will be known after he sees a doctor today to gauge his concussion.

– Sean Avery was slashed on December 30 against Montreal. Because of that slash, Avery has been placed on injured reserve. He played through the pain for the three game road trip, but it was too swollen to continue and a week off will supposedly solve that problem and then he will be good to go.

– Greg Moore was welcomed back to New York with a nice case of the flu. He did not skate this morning and may not play tonight.

– Pierre Parenteau has been recalled from Hartford. If Moore can skate tonight, the line of Parenteau, Moore and Nigel Dawes will be formed. This line has been together in Hartford, so we’ll see what happens on the big stage. Chris Drury would move up to the wing with Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr.

So to recap; If Shanahan is out and Moore is in, the line combinations look like:

Drury – Gomez – Jagr
Prucha – Dubinsky – Hossa
Dawes – Moore – Parenteau
Orr – Betts – Hollweg

If Moore is out and Shanahan is in:

Dawes – Gomez – Jagr
Shanahan – Drury – Prucha
Parenteau – Dubinsky – Hossa
Orr – Betts – Hollweg

Shanahan and Moore in:

Dawes – Gomez – Jagr
Shanahan – Drury– Prucha
Moore – Dubinsky – Hossa
Orr- Betts – Hollweg

Shanahan and Moore out:

Dawes – Gomez – Jagr
Prucha – Drury – Hossa
Hollweg – Dubinsky – Parenteau
Orr – Betts – Strudwick

Marek Malik would be inserted back onto defense should Strudwick be forced to step in at forward.

No matter how you slice it, tonight’s game is going to be a tough one. Kari Ramo is expected to be in net for Tampa Bay, and he has been much less than stellar since being called up to compete for a goaltending spot in Tampa.

I won’t be around until just before game time, but I’ll update around then if anything else breaks. These line combinations are in no way set in stone, and with six hours until puck drop, another call up may even happen. Tough time in Rangerland right now folks.

Not much, but I didn’t want to let this go too long without telling everyone. Martin Straka has been diagnosed with a concussion and has been ruled out for at least the next two games. Skating in his place on the top line today at practice was none other than Tom Renney’s favorite kid, Nigel Dawes. Greg Moore skated on the second line with Sean Avery and Chris Drury, while Brendan Shanahan took the day off. If Shanahan was seriously injured, Moore probably wouldn’t be on the second line, but the third with Brandon Dubinsky and Marcel Hossa. Instead, Petr Prucha remained there today, which could mean that Shanahan is merely day to day.

Still no word on Marek Malik. I’ll check in with anything else.

Usually, the quotes they send from the NHL Today come from hockey players or coaches. But this one actually was made by NBA star LeBron James on 2006-07 Hart Trophy winner Sidney Crosby’s impact:

HE SAID IT

How cool is that? When most would figure a basketball star wouldn’t even notice hockey, it turns out not to be true in LeBron’s case.

And while it’s fairly accurate that most puck fans can’t stand basketball, not all athletes who play one of the two winter sports feel the same way about the other.

Just look at Jaromir Jagr as example No.1. The Ranger hockey superstar has gone to Knick games (hopefully not this season though as they suck) and even used basketball terminology and applied it to the game he plays.

If you’ve also watched how No.68 uses his ass to protect the puck and back in opposing defenders, it looks eerily similar to a low post player making a move trying to score a basket. But in Jagr’s case, a goal in the net.

Team defense is actually similar in that you have to move with your man in the defensive end or they’ll get free to score an easy basket. In hockey, it’s a little more difficult because you still have to beat the goalie even with a quality chance.

But you have a much better opportunity to score if you get away from the defender and are one-on-one with the netminder.

Who would’ve believed that two totally different sports could be so similar? The more structured you are defensively with your system, the better chance you have of being successful in hockey terms. And the more fundamentally sound you are in your end, the better off you’ll be if you want to go far in the NBA playoffs.

This explains why the Spurs have won three NBA titles in the past five years and four dating back to 1999 proving just how valuable Tim Duncan really is. Sure, it helps to have played alongside David Robinson and now the fundamentally sound core of Finals MVP Tony Parker and the versatile Sixth Man Manu Ginobili.

That’s why high flying teams such as the Suns never win when it really counts. In the NHL, you have the Thrashers and Lightning who play wide open run and gun styles similar to the one Steve Nash runs in Phoenix. However, unlike Nash who has stars around him that can at least guarantee them some postseason success, Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa don’t have enough pieces around their respective teams to even guarantee making this year’s playoffs.

Whether it’s the lack of consistent goaltending or D as is the case with both Tampa Bay and Atlanta, they’re probably on the fringe as far as making the cut in the ultracompetitive East.

Maybe you never viewed these two different sports in this context. But it just goes to show you that LeBron appreciates how special a player Crosby is and can learn from him.

Now that rocks!

After an 0-1-2 Western Canada tour, the Rangers made some roster changes this morning. Ryan Callahan was officially sent down to Hartford on a conditioning stint. Hopefully he can regain his scoring touch that he exhibited last season and before the untimely knee injury. Being called up to take his place are Nigel Dawes and Greg Moore. They are also up to provide a little insurance as Brendan Shanahan and Martin Straka are both question marks for tomorrow’s game at home against Tampa Bay. Straka suffered a neck stinger when he went hard into the boards, and Shanahan has a leg bruise from his leg on leg collision with Dustin Penner. Both diagnoses are good news, as knee injuries and concussions would have been much more serious.

Also revealed today was that Henrik Lundqvist’s father underwent brain surgery a couple of weeks ago. The netminder’s father has been in Lundqvist’s head over the course of his up and down play, which would explain his recent struggles. Best of luck to Henrik’s father, and here’s to hoping a speedy recovery for his and Henrik’s sake.

There is no new news yet on the Marek Malik situation. If it is in fact true that he walked out on his teammates in Edmonton, then he does not deserve to be with them anymore. I was never a supporter of the boo birds that he receives at MSG, but if he is inserted back in the lineup, the chorus will be much louder than usual. A change of scenery would be best for everyone involved.

Should Shanahan and/or Straka not be able to play tomorrow, there would be some interesting line combinations. Anyone want to venture a guess? The only line that would remain the same would be the fourth line, so the options are a plenty. I’ll check in later if I hear anything new, or tomorrow before the game.

My apologies for not finishing with my updates late last night. After that baffling third period, I couldn’t take rehashing it in my mind to write it up. Derek has summed it all up nicely, so I’ll just add my opinions.

–Brendan Shanahan’s penalty was as undisciplined as it gets. It was stupid and led to the first goal. He doesn’t make a habit of it, and has never done so in his 18 season career. That should tell you how frustrated these Blueshirts are getting. His collision with Dustin Penner left him writhing on the ice and caused him to miss all of one shift through the remainder of the third and overtime. He also could not participate in the shootout because of his left leg. Let’s hope it is nothing serious, because we need him on the ice for us.

— Martin Straka was also a little shaken up last night after going hard into the boards. He looked dizzy skating back to the bench, but came back for a couple more shifts. Here’s hoping he’s alright as well.

— While there were tons of penalties in that third period and overtime, I didn’t think half of them were necessary. Ryan Hollweg undoubtedly deserved a penalty, but a game misconduct and five minute major may have been unnecessary. Maybe just the five minute would have been sufficient, but as someone who preaches that the hits from behind need to stop, I can see how the referees were inclined to throw him out. Straka’s hold, Blair Betts‘ goaltender interference, Joni Pitkanen’s roughing and Jared Stoll’s interference penalties were all calls that didn’t have to be made, especially late in the third period and in overtime. Betts‘ was the only one that you could really argue, especially coming off of Chris Drury and Sean Avery running into Mathieu Garon.

— Speaking of Garon; how do the Blueshirts manage to make mediocre goaltenders look like hall of famers? Garon is a good netminder, but not as good as the saves he was making last night. Three posts also doomed the Rangers.

— There were some things I did like about last night’s game, however. While Drury, Avery and Betts all crashed into Garon, they were playing hard to and around the net. If we want to regain the winning ways, we need to be tough in and around the blue paint. Avery was being a pest in front of the net on the game-tying goal by Drury (which was amazing to see) and was on the ice for only that reason. Jason Strudwick stepped in and did a fine job in Marek Malik’s absence. He made some silly plays, much like Malik, but at 2.5 million dollars less, I’ll take the occasional boneheaded move from him. He never makes the boneheaded moves that end up in our net either. There’s no reason why he cannot remain in the lineup.

That’s all I have on the Rangers front for now. There may be some lineup changes in the coming weeks, although I hope they will be of the “oh that makes sense” variety, and not the “Rangers trade Dawes and Prucha for Martin Ruchinsky” variety.

Not sure how many people have noticed, but thanks to Derek for some new additions to the blog’s page. The youtube clips along the left are great, links to new websites have been added and we now get full league roundups. He has really stepped up in since Steve left. Kudos go out to him.

Enjoy today’s football games. Go Big Blue. Please Eli, do not suck.