Battle Of Hudson

The Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7pm in Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts will be looking to get back to winning ways against a Marc-Andrea Fleury-less Penguin team who has played the Rangers tough all season long.

As of yesterday, Tom Renney had switched up the lines a bit. They looked like this:

Straka – Gomez – Jagr
Shanahan – Drury – Dawes
Prucha – Dubinsky – Callahan
Orr – Betts – Hollweg

Defense sees Marek Malik back on the bench.

Al Montoya has also been recalled, in case Henrik Lundqvist is too sick to even back up Stephen Valiquette tonight. Greg Moore has been sent back to the minors. Callahan must have been conditioned in 24 hours, because he’s back with the team and playing tonight.

I’ll be away from the computer all day today, but should be back before first drop of the puck.

That’s certainly what happened in tonight’s Rangers vs Coyotes game today, and the Rangers were on the receiving end.

I won’t go too into detail, because there isn’t much to tell. Stephen Valiquette wasn’t sharp, the offense never got started, the defense was out of sync and coaching decisions weren’t the best. Overall, it couldn’t get much worse tonight for the Rangers. The Coyotes completely out worked, out chanced and out played the Rangers on their way to a 5-1 win. Dan Girardi was the only bright spot on offense with his slap shot past Ilya Bryzgalov in the third period, but his defense was off, much like the others.

Now for the blunders, and there were many. The first came before the opening puck drop. Tom Renney scratching Ryan Hollweg on a day where Marcel Hossa and Ryan Callahan weren’t in the lineup, was a mistake. The physical game was extremely lacking, which Hollweg would have helped out with. The fourth line has also been the Rangers more consistent line, which didn’t make much sense from the start. Renney understandable needs more production, but from the fourth line, you can’t expect too much.

Marek Malik’s reassertion into the lineup was a mistake as well. Maybe it was rust, or maybe Malik just isn’t the right fit in New York anymore. We’ve seen it with Tom Poti, Eric Lindros, Bobby Holik and Pavel Bure. Good names that just didn’t pan out in New York.

The defense was terrible tonight. Even Fedor Tyutin and Girardi were off their game. Girardi seemed to not know where Tyutin was on the ice like he usually does. Malik and Michal Rozsival was a poor pairing and Marc Staal looks much better with Rozsival than with Paul Mara.

Renney juggles lines around whenever things look bleak in much closer games, but for some reason today he kept the same combinations for much of the night. Brandon Dubinsky needs a little more on his game, and while he looks good with Jaromir Jagr on several occasions, there are plenty where it just looks like he is getting in the way. It may be time to try Chris Drury on that line again and see where it gets the team.

Stephen Valiquette is the back up goaltender, and he was forced into action tonight. He was clearly not up to the challenge tonight. He made some good saves, but he played like a back up goaltender tonight. Let’s hope that Henrik Lundqvist is ready to go on Tuesday against the Penguins.

So, how to fix this problem in the day off tomorrow. Sean Avery is almost ready to come back. His spark will undoubtedly help the team. If he is not ready for Tuesday, you need Ryan Hollweg in the lineup. Especially against a Penguins team who showed that they are willing to be feisty if they have to. Greg Moore and Nigel Dawes looked alright tonight, but if Avery is ready to play, Moore should sit. Marcel Hossa should sit in favor of Dawes for right now as well. Malik has got to go also. The fans are against him and it’s obviously negatively affecting him. If Renney wants to send a message, benching someone like Drury or even Jagr would get the point across much better than Hollweg.

It’s no time to panic still, as the Rangers are still a good team, with a mediocre record. Tonight was a low point in the season, and there isn’t much to do but look back on things to improve upon. They need to go back to the winning formula that was working for them last month. They need to stick to the fundamentals and stay in the game for all 60 minutes. They’ll be alright, just have a little work to do especially with Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Colorado and Ottawa coming up on the schedule.

If I could, I would like to throw my two cents in on the Chris Simon incident before I end this post. I want to see the league suspend him for 50 games this time. Not because he’s an Islander, not because he attacked one of my favorite players with a stick last season and not because I am prejudice in any way. I want him suspended because a stick or a skate can be deadly. If he had hit Jarkko Ruuto three inches higher, it could have sliced his leg pretty badly. There was a legitimate intent to injure and there is no place in the game for that. The game is better without people like him running around. There are goons, there are enforcers and then there are idiots. This would qualify as an idiot move. Just my opinion. Take care all.

“Tonight we play with honor, passion. Tonight we play with heart, effort and
determination. Tonight we play for New York.”

So says Ranger coach Tom Renney in each annoying pregame around the three minute mark of the superhyped Blueshirt highlight package. Apparently, his pathetic team forgot what those words mean because there was no heart, effort or determination in tonight’s humiliating 5-1 home defeat before a predictably dead and sparse MSG crowd (thanks NHL schedule makers).

How weak was it? Well, by the time former Ranger Wayne Gretzky’s much harder working Coyotes showed New York how it’s supposed to be done with textbook passing for recall Joel Perreault’s second of the night, it was Phoenix by five with fans including yours truly headed for the exits.

Hey. If they don’t want to put out the effort, why should we? This team has been dogging it for a while. I wonder if those same idiot fans I argued with about our great fearless captain still feel the same way about him and this team. Might want to drink up.

Let’s be honest. The mantra of Renney isn’t being done anymore. The majority of our players are just showing up to cash a paycheck and have stopped working. Instead, it’s the Rangers’ opponents who come to the ice ready to put in solid shift after solid shift. And what’s most troubling is that our coach who I admire doesn’t hold anyone accountable.

Want proof people? Here it is:

J. Jagr
20:01
0
0
-1
4
2

M. Malik
19:53
0
0
-1
1
0

M. Straka
22:04
0
0
-1
1
0

M. Rozsival
23:42
0
0
-1
2
0

By not making some of the star players accountable for another game where an opponent dominated scoring more than three, something which wasn’t common a couple of weeks prior, Renney also must take some criticism here. He is good at identifying the problems during the postgame press conferences. However, it’s time for him to make an example out of a star, especially if they aren’t doing what’s expected every shift.

I know it would never happen because the coach doesn’t want to ruin his relationships with the players, especially the moody Jagr.

But here’s something which begs a question:

Jagr- 7 goals
Fredrik Sjostrom– 8 goals

Want me to start naming more players who have scored better than No.68?

Radim Vrbata– 12 goals
Todd White– 8 goals
Chuck Kobasew– 12 goals
Ales Kotalik– 9 goals
Matt Cullen– 8 goals
Patrick Sharp– 14 goals (5 SHG)
Nikolai Zherdev– 12 goals
Marek Svatos– 10 goals
Niklas Hagman– 11 goals
Daniel Cleary– 10 goals
David Booth– 8 goals
Dustin Brown– 14 goals
Radek Bonk– 10 goals
Jay Pandolfo– 8 goals (one more despite missing the last 8 games)
John Madden– 10 goals
Josef Vasicek– 10 goals
Joffrey Lupul– 12 goals
Ryan Malone– 9 goals
Steve Bernier– 8 goals
Brad Boyes– 18 goals
Matt Stajan– 8 goals
Ryan Kesler– 8 goals
Mike Green– 8 goals

There are a few good players on the list but do any have the physical skills that Jagr possesses?

You know the answer to it.

Until he starts performing, the Rangers will continue to struggle. Scott Gomez (6-19-25) is doing his part as is Brendan Shanahan (11-12-23). When does the same hold true for Jagr (7-15-22), one of the most talented stars in the game? He was without a point again today making it no goals and only one assist with a minus-seven rating in his last half dozen contests.

One word comes to mind (Jagr homers cringe). Pathetic!

And to the fans who mocked poor backup Steven Valiquette in his first home start. You should boo yourselves. Sure. He wasn’t sharp. But this was a total team effort. The kind this team has deserved for a while.

Maybe this is rock bottom and the light switch finally is flipped. We’ll have to wait and see.

Its been a while since I posted, simply because my job is very busy during the holiday season. Last night I got some time to take in an Islander game. Its probably my 6th or 7th game of the season and personally, I have been undefeated. Every game I have gone to this season, the Isles have won. Tonight would have been no different if it wasn’t for Marc Andre Bergeron.

The Pens took an early 1-0 lead on an UGLY, and I mean with a capital U, lead when Bergeron took it upon himself to gift wrap a pass to Sidney Crosby. Bergeron, who has made countless mental mistakes in the defensive zone this year, went to pass the puck around the net only banking it off the side and out in front. As Rick Dipietro went to retrieve it, Bergeron realized his mistake and also went to get it. Bergeron ended up running into Dipietro, knocking him down and leaving the net wide open as Crosby had a day and a half to put it in the net. The fans booed loudly, especially after Ryan Whitney banked a puck off of Brendan Witt’s skate for a 2-0 lead.

The Isles would bring the fans back into the game as Richard Park and Josef Vasicek scored within a 45 second span to tie it up. Brendan Witt displayed excellent defense on Sid all night even getting into a little shoving match where it was clear that both players were throwing punches. Unfortunately, Crosby gets all the calls and Witt was sent to the box alone. It was probably one of the most 1 sided calls I have ever seen. The Pens quickly scored another goal to take the lead.

Andy Sutton, Trent Hunter and Sean Bergeheim were throwing hits all night, probably the only ones who care about this team [outside of Witt] and made their presence felt. Sutton even took on 41 year old Gary Roberts in a spirited fight that got the fans back into the game.

Chris Simon, who was on everyone’s “most hated list” last season was pretty much forgiven…up until last night where he once again took his frustration out…..which cost his team. Simon took a 5 minute match penalty with six minutes to go in the game for deliberately stepping on Jarkko Ruutu’s leg. Simon will most likely receive yet another suspension from the league. In the ensuing Penguin Power Play, the Isles pressed hard and Mike Sillinger almost tied the game but missed the entire net on a shorthanded breakaway. The Isles were overpowering the Pens late, with DP off for an extra skater, but once again Marc Andre Bergeron ruined all momentum the Isles had by turning over the puck not once but twice and then falling down with less than 30 seconds to go in the game.

I’m really not going to comment on Simon right now but as for Bergeron, can someone say FREDDY MEYER! I cant believe those words are coming out of my mouth, but I’d rather see Meyer out there since he’s a little more responsible defensively than watching that train wreck Bergeron lose us games with his mental lapses. The Isles are home against Buffalo this Wednesday.

**Update**
Ryan Hollweg has been scratched by Tom Renney tonight. Renney said “he has to do more.” Not the best of times to scratch him with the lineup as thin as it is already. Jason Strudwick takes his place on the 4th line and Marek Malik is paired with Paul Mara on defense.

Stephen Valiquette will get his fourth start of the season as Henrik Lundqvist is battling the flu and a sore wrist.
******************

Wayne Gretzky makes his return to Madison Square Garden this evening when the Rangers take on the Coyotes at 5 pm. Gretzky won’t be the only returnee, however.

Greg Moore and Nigel Dawes were recalled from Hartford in time for today’s game, and will immediately be placed in the lineup. Marcel Hossa is battling the flu, so Dawes takes his spot, and Ryan Callahan was sent down to Hartford on a conditioning assignment, so Moore takes his spot. The defense will probably remain the same, with Marek Malik sitting out his fourth straight game as a healthy scratch.

Henrik Lundqvist battled the flu bug this week as well. He practiced yesterday though and should be ready for the game. Jaromir Jagr sat out of Thursday and Friday’s practice with a stiff back, which would explain his lackluster play against the Caps.

The ‘Yotes are not a good team, but should not be taken lightly. They have the potential to do well with veterans such as Mike York and Ed Jovanoski, and youngsters Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal. They are also coming off of a solid win against the Devils last night.

After the Caps game on Wednesday night, the Rangers need to rebound and put some pucks past Ilya Bryzgalov. Hopefully Dawes and Moore can contribute and spark this offense that have been long overdue.

It was an uphill battle for the Islanders all night against the Penguins in a tough 3-2 defeat at The Coliseum tonight.

They fell behind by two quickly on goals by Sidney Crosby and Ryan Whitney less than four minutes apart in the opening stanza. However, Ted Nolan’s hard working club fought back in the second to tie things up on a power play goal from Richard Park and pleasant surprise FA addition Josef Vasicek’s 10th only 45 seconds later.

But an extra roughing penalty to Islander defenseman Brendan Witt during a scrum led to rookie Tyler Kennedy’s deciding marker. Jordan Staal’s stuff attempt out of the corner was stopped by Rick DiPietro but caromed out right to Kennedy who didn’t miss netting his sixth at 14:16.

Despite a foolish major penalty by Chris Simon for trying to injure Pens’ antagonist Jarkko Ruutu, the Isles still were able to generate plenty of shorthanded chances to tie the game late.

But Dany Sabourin made some strong saves to thwart the Isles’ 11 shots en route to the victory finishing with 27 altogether.

DiPietro faced 40 shots and got 37 to give his team an opportunity late. Too bad Simon’s latest bush league move probably cost the Islanders a couple of points.

During a stoppage with less than six minutes remaining, the same player who lost his mind last season with that stick swinging incident with Ryan Hollweg apparently tried to step on Ruutu while he was down.

“It was a bad time for a penalty,” Islander coach Ted Nolan explained to the AP. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t have the time to look at it and see the severity of it. We’ll look at it and probably make a comment on it (Sunday).”

Simon will probably be disciplined for this latest incident.

Nolan wasn’t pleased with the one extra minor on Witt which led to Kennedy’s PP tally as was the defenseman.

“I still can’t understand how two guys have a little pushing match, and then two guys jump one of our guys and we end up in a short-handed situation,” Nolan noted.

“Crosby and I are shoving,” Witt described. “For him to come out of there with nothing, that doesn’t surprise me. It’s one of those things. He’s going to get a lot of calls that way.”

I don’t think anyone would debate that. I’ve seen Sid the Kid get more of his fair share. The ‘star treatment.’

This was one the Isles could’ve gotten. Now they’ll have to regroup this Wednesday for a resurgent Buffalo team and try to avenge a 5-3 loss at HSBC last week.

It was all Coyotes as they surprised the first place Devils before a nice crowd of over 16,000 with a well earned 4-1 victory at The Rock in Newark.

They really controlled the second period outshooting Brent Sutter’s club 17-13 including the first of two goals from Fredrik Sjostrom on the day for a one-goal lead.

Radim Vrbata and Sjostrom would tally less than four minutes apart to put Phoenix firmly in command up three with only 11:52 left.

The lone bright spot for the Devils was their leading scorer Zach Parise tallying his first career NHL shorthanded goal for his club best 15th off a scramble in front from Sergei Brylin and Patrik Elias to cut it to 3-1 with six minutes to go.

But with the Devs trying to mount a late rally on a power play, rookie Martin Hanzal got behind a defenseman on a NJ man-advantage and beat Martin Brodeur on a breakaway for a shorthanded goal with 2:0 remaining- the 20 year-old Czech’s fourth point of the afternoon en route to being selected No.1 star.

Vrbata chipped in with his 12th goal and two helpers and Sjostrom tallied his sixth and seventh as Phoenix was able to rest starter Ilya Bryzgalov for tomorrow’s MSG visit as backup Mikael Tellqvist was sharp stopping 31 of 32 in outdueling Brodeur who was very busy in seeing a season high 38 shots his way. He finished with 34 saves in a losing effort.

Despite WFAN radio Devils analyst Sherry Ross questioning whether Marty will be in net for tomorrow’s 5 PM game against the Turnpike rival Flyers, you have to believe he’ll start given who it’s against. NJ has won two of three against them so far.

The Islanders aim for their second straight at The Coliseum later tonight when they play host to Sidney Crosby and Penguins in a fourth place battle.

They’re nearly halfway through regulation and only one goal has been scored. Fredrik Sjostrom’s sixth 3:22 into the second period has Wayne Gretzky’s hard working Phoenix team in front of the first place Devils.

Though the Coyotes (13-16-0) have only 26 points which is tied for last in the league with the Caps and Kings, they have been surprisingly competitive despite a very young roster which includes rookies Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal and Daniel Carcillo.

Phoenix dropped the first game of this metro area visit the other night 3-2 to the Islanders. So far, they’ve surprised New Jersey and played a solid middle stanza and continue to lead by one even though backup Mikael Tellqvist got the start to give starter Ilya Bryzgalov a day off to prepare for tomorrow’s MSG visit against the Rangers.

Speaking of the Blueshirts, they had a brutal 5-4 overtime loss to the Caps three days ago. Sloppy play was the theme as New York opted to take the easy way out after building a quick two-goal lead on the strength of goals from leading scorer Scott Gomez and Martin Straka.

The Caps outworked Tom Renney’s club. When Donald Brashear who won a decision over Colton Orr is netting two primary helpers for goals, it’s not a good sign.

Trailing by one in a wild third (four goals), Brendan Shanahan’s club leading 11th forced OT to get his team a point they didn’t deserve. Washington D Mike Green tallied the winner with over a minute left when Shanny fell down converting a two-on-one for his eighth as the Rangers continued to struggle in the nation’s capital.

Henrik Lundqvist who gave up all five is questionable for tomorrow battling the flu. Jaromir Jagr who hasn’t missed a game since the lockout (played in all 195) has a stiff back. Don’t expect it to keep the team captain out.

Meanwhile, the Devils continue to trail at The Rock by a goal. Coach Brent Sutter used a timeout to wake up his team and they drew a power play but were unable to convert despite a couple of weird chances off the boards.

Phoenix now has a man-advantage. We’ll try to update what happens later.

Two interesting developments yesterday:

1.The Flyers re-signed center Mike Richards to a 12-year extension worth a reported $69 million. That averages out to a shade underneath six million-per-year. Certainly the former 2003 first round selection (24th overall) is having a breakout season with already a career best 14 goals plus 21 helpers for 35 points and a plus-nine rating. He has four power play goals, three shorthanded goals, three deciding markers and 32 PIM including a few majors.

There’s plenty to like about the budding 22 year-old future Flyers captain’s game. Locking up is wise. But any time you commit those kind of years, it’s still a risk. We’ll just have to follow Richards’ career to see how it pans out.

2.With Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer preparing to return, the Ducks made a move Friday dealing away playmaking pivot Andy McDonald to the Blues in exchange for veteran center Doug Weight, Michal Birner and a 2008 seventh round pick. The 30 year-old McDonald was an integral part of Anaheim’s first Stanley Cup last June anchoring the top line. He was in the second year of a three-year deal worth $10 million and became expendable due to the development of leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf. Plus with Niedermayer coming back,

GM Brian Burke had to move someone to make room to fit their leader under the cap. McDonald will try to help John Davidson’s Blues make the playoffs. He had struggled with 14 points and could fit in better there. Meanwhile, the 36 year-old Weight has 11 points and gets another opportunity to win a Cup. He helped Carolina win one in 2006.

It should be interesting to follow how the players perform after this deal.

The Devils still trail 1-0 after 40 minutes where the Coyotes registered 17 shots in the second. New Jersey has a five-game home win streak on the line and are coming off a 3-1 win at Boston which snapped a two-game skid. They’ll need a stronger third to win their second straight and increase their lead in the Atlantic.

Good preview below this post for tonight’s game, but I wanted to add a few things.

– The lineup remains the same, with Marek Malik a healthy scratch again.

– Greg Moore was recalled from Hartford yesterday, but only as a precaution. Ryan Callahan was experiencing some soreness in his knee and was a question mark for tonight. Moore will likely be returned shortly.

– Sean Avery began skating yesterday. Looks like he has a little more than a week, possibly two left before he sees game action.

– Tom Renney had an interesting quote today, saying it was “just a matter of time” before Nigel Dawes is back with the Rangers. Dawes had a six point night the other night for Hartford, and clearly does not belong in the AHL anymore.

– Has anyone seen Michael Nylander? A “mysterious injury” has kept him out of the Capitals’ lineup for the last three games. It isn’t known if he will play tonight.

– Anyone see the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia game last night? Pittsburgh has lost Marc-Andre Fleury for 4-6 weeks due to a high ankle sprain, the Penguins got rocked 8-2, and Sid the kid caused some bad blood between himself and Martin Biron, which was then taken way overboard by Georges Laraque. Crosby tripped Biron behind the net. Marty was unhappy, and words were exchanged. Then later in the period, Laraque pretended to fall and took out Biron. There was no reason for it, and I hope the league looks at it. No reason for any of that. Brings back memories of Calgary and Anaheim years ago.

Enjoy the game. Let’s see if the Rangers can keep the momentum going.

It’s been three days since the Rangers posted a hard earned 1-0 shutout of the Devils Sunday. Now, with a couple of days off and a visit to the Verizon Center to face the Caps fresh off a 3-2 win over those Devs, the Blueshirts must be careful not to take their opponents lightly tonight.

Under new coach Bruce Boudreau, Washington has played better posting a 5-3-1 mark. They’ve won three of their last four and should be as feisty as ever against New York.

The Rangers already took the first couple of games of the regular season series at MSG. However, it’s little secret that in recent years, they have struggled in DC.

In order to maintain the momentum they got against their first place Atlantic rivals, they must show up with the same work ethic for 60 minutes.

Former Cap Jaromir Jagr enters without a point in his last four with a minus-seven rating. The 36 year-old Czech leader of his team must pick it up. The good news he did play better against New Jersey. So maybe it’s just a matter of time before he starts scoring again.

We’ll find out how No.68 and his teammates fare tonight.