Battle Of Hudson

The Rangers take on the Thrashers tonight after back to back games where they played like the Charlotte Checkers. Stephen Valiquette will be in net for the Rangers, who have been outscored 10-2 over the last two games. The break gives Henrik Lundqvist some time off before Sunday’s tilt against the Devils.

Colton Orr may also not be in the lineup tonight, as he was still suffering from some blurred vision and a swollen eye from his fight last night with Wade Belak. If he can’t go, which will be decided at pre-game warm ups, Jason Strudwick will move up to the fourth line, Paul Mara will be reinserted into the lineup and play with Marc Staal or Marek Malik as the third defense pairing. A Malik-Mara pairing doesn’t really excite me, but Staal has played better with Michal Rozsival.

Tom Renney also said that depending how tonight’s game goes, a call up tomorrow is possible. With the lack of production from Ryan Callahan, Marcel Hossa and Petr Prucha, their jobs could be in jeopardy right now. They all play a fantastic hardworking game, but they are not producing. If the top lines were scoring though, this wouldn’t be a problem. We’ll see how they come out against the revamped Atlanta Thrashers.

Since the game is on MSG2, I won’t know if I can see the game until moments before puck drop. Enjoy the game and I’ll check in later.

If you want to say the other night against Carolina was a fluke, maybe not. There were absolutely zero excuses for how pathetic the Rangers were in tonight’s 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs before a disappointed Garden crowd which booed loudly and then quietly filed out as Leafs Nation enjoyed their team’s win.

This was a real stinker. 6 GA on just 16 shots with King Henrik permitting four on only 10 before being lifted in favor of backup Steven Valiquette who gave up a couple of more on six shots in the final stanza.

“I don’t know the reason,” Lundqvist admitted to the AP afterwards. “I know I have to play better. … The first one was a bad rebound. The other three were not bad goals. I need to work harder in practice and get my game back.”

You really couldn’t pin this one on the all everything Swedish netminder who has carried his team despite a continued lack of support.

From the very outset, the Blueshirts looked out of synch for the second straight game and they paid for it on the scoreboard almost immediately as Matt Stajan got to a bad rebound on a delayed call 3:30 in. Toronto captain Mats Sundin also was allowed to get to a rebound and stuff one home 7:06 later for a two-goal Leaf lead.

But the Rangers rallied with two power play goals in the last four minutes from D tandem Dan Girardi and Fedor Tyutin to tie the score. Scott Gomez and Chris Drury notched the helpers on each.

The big issue on this night was it was the only instance where Tom Renney’s club showed any heart. They then went right back into the tank thanks to a mistimed Marek Malik double minor for high sticking which Leafs’ forward Nik Antropov capitalized on steering one home in front en route to a natural hat trick- the gifted Russian’s second career trifecta nearly eight years later (Dec. 20, 1999 at Florida as a rookie).

He would deflect home two more finishing off the hat by perfectly tipping home a Pavel Kubina slapper 3:34 into the final stanza for a 5-2 lead.

“Almost exactly eight years,” he later noted. “I remember it though.”

Oddly enough, after a scorching start, Antropov had gone ice cold for a 10-game stretch but seems to have found the magic touch again notching five goals in his last three.

“It was (10) games without a goal but I didn’t think about it a lot. I did pretty much everything the same, it just didn’t go in,” he said. “Nobody can go the whole the 82 games scoring every game or every second game.”

So right he is. These days, Antropov and the resurgent Leafs are winning after all the calls for John Ferguson, Jr. and Paul Maurice’s heads. They’ve now won four in a row and are right back in the mix at 12-11-6 for 30 points, vaulting ahead of the slumping Islanders for eighth in the conference despite three more games played.

Now with 14 goals and 15 helpers for 29 points, the still 27 year-old who the Leafs selected in the first round back in 1998 is starting to untap the potential which once saw his name in rumors such as for Eric Lindros when No.88 was a superstar. Good thing they never did that deal as Lindros eventually spent an injury plagued season in Toronto before retiring just a couple of years later a month prior.

Antropov has never had better than 45 points (16-29-45) in a season and that came back in 2002-03 when the versatile forward played in a career best 72 games.

If the Leafs are to continue their climb up the standings and get back to the postseason, they’ll need the gifted Russian in their lineup.

As for the Rangers (15-11-2, 32 pts), they’ve now been outscored 9-2 in two embarrassing home defeats and must travel to Atlanta for a game tonight against a Thrasher team which has turned it around since GM Don Waddell took over behind the bench for Bob Hartley.

That turnaround began when Atlanta thrashed the Rangers 5-3 in a game which never was a contest on Oct. 18.

So how do you think this suddenly struggling team will deal with league leading finisher Ilya Kovalchuk (23 goals). Gulp. Did we mention Marian Hossa’s getting healthy finally and Slava Kozlov is always dangerous?

Yeah. This might not be the right time to play them. But it gets even better because they then return home on football Sunday (why does the league insist on playing games against the NFL) to host the red hot Devils. Can you say disaster?!?!?!?!?! Not literally of course but potentially this could get really bad very quick. And in this conference, you can go from the penthouse to the outhouse in a hurry.

“You always feel good about yourself when you come from behind and tie the hockey game. It didn’t help us much,” Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr said after being invisible for the second consecutive game. “We know we didn’t play very well. Tomorrow we get another chance to prove we are a good hockey club.“

Speaking of No.68, why is it that a guy of his calibre seems to take nights off? Is this what you expect of one of the greatest superstars to ever lace’em up?!?!?!?!?!

Tonight, the third period was a perfect opportunity for Jagr to step up and get his team back in it. They were only down two goals against a miserable Leafs’ team who wouldn’t know the term “defense” if it hit them right in Mats Sundin’s cranium. Apologies to Sundin who btw did show up and never seems to stink no matter if his linemates are Jonas Hoglund, Mikael Renberg or Chad Kilger.

He just might be the most overlooked superstar in the game. If only the Leafs had a better blueline.

Jagr is as physically talented as any player in hockey. When he wants to, he can flat out dominate a game like no other. Why is it only in spurts these days? It’s certainly not the skating. And it’s not the strength cause that’s still there in shifts. Is it the willingness to compete daily? Is it a 36 year-old athlete wearing down or not wanting to push his body to the limit during a long 82-game schedule saving it for next Spring?

What if they don’t make it? Crazy thought. But in this wacky division and conference, unless you’re Ottawa who lately has stunk, you aren’t safe.

Now you tell me who’s performing up to capabilities out of these forwards?

Jagr- 28 GP, 7 goals, 14 assists, 21 pts
Gomez- 28 GP, 5 goals, 16 assists, 21 pts
Shanahan- 28 GP, 9 goals, 9 assists, 18 pts
Drury- 27 GP, 6 goals, 13 assists, 19 pts
Straka- 13 GP, 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 pts

And I really hate to do this but this problem actually goes a little further:

Prucha- 28 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 pts, 37 lousy shots
Hossa- 24 GP, 0 goals, 5 assists, 5 pts, 32 SOG and plenty of spin-a-ramas
Callahan- 12 GP, 1 goal, that’s it

I will exclude the fourth line cause they never dog it. Yeah. They have hands of stone but those guys are the only ones who really tried the last two games.

And what’s more? The Rangers suddenly have dropped four of their last five at the Garden. That can’t continue.

Neither can Girardi’s blunders which are becoming Malik-esque. Two more giveaways tonight led directly to two Leafs’ goals. Is the kid tired? He’s never played a full 82-game schedule. He’s definitely not making the crisp decisions we’re accustomed to.

On a night where Malik got brutalized like usual, I didn’t hear anyone muttering a word about what’s happened to Girardi’s game (minus-six now).

When you lose as bad as this team has the past two games, every player is accountable.

They have a lot of soul searching to do.

The Rangers take on the Maple Leafs again tonight, but will be without Sean Avery. Radio announcers will probably take the time to think up the most ridiculous lines that Avery is yelling from the press box. No lineup changes are expected from the Rangers’ end, which means Marek Malik is still in with Michal Rozsival as Paul Mara continues to nurse his sore shoulder. The Rangers that played on Monday night will be left somewhere on the side of the Hudson River, one would hope, and they should come out flying tonight.

My posts for the next week may be limited to pre-games and possibly post-game wrapups. It’s final paper and exam time, which is putting a damper on everything from television to hockey to sleep. In the mean time, Derek continues to pop out posts for you all to enjoy, if you can keep up with him. At this rate, he’ll be covering every team in the NHL and doing the news and weather by this time next week. A big thanks to him for stepping up.

Enjoy the game, and I will do my best to get something out for you before the next game.

It’s all going the Devils’ way these days. On the night new coach Brent Sutter appropriately tabbed Jamie Langenbrunner the team’s eighth captain in their history, the Devils mounted a three-goal comeback to post a 4-3 overtime win and pull into a three-way first place tie with the Flyers and Rangers in a crowded Atlantic.

Once again, the catalyst was the Devs’ best player Zach Parise. This wiz kid just gets better and better every game. His two goals and assist carried New Jersey back from three down after one period of play.

Parise just has a knack for being in the right spot with the puck. Look no further than his first of the night via a man-advantage where he snuck one past Tim Thomas from a tough angle behind the net. It was the smart play because the Boston netminder was stopping every tough chance he saw. So the crafty kid did the wise thing and caught a break by surprising him.

If you thought that was good, the tying marker was one of the best examples of hand eye coordination I’ve ever seen. Sheldon Brookbank took a right point shot and with Parise with back turned bunted it down past a shocked Thomas to force OT with over five minutes left for his club-leading 14th. What a player!

How did the Islanders and Rangers and all those other teams pass this kid up again in 2003? He’s just amazing and is the offensive catalyst for this Devil club.

Sutter did the smart thing and stuck slumping winger Patrik Elias with Parise and Brian Gionta. The move paid dividends as the 31 year-old Czech tallied twice and notched a helper.

But no goal was bigger than Elias’ deciding one in OT. How was it created? How else? By the speedy Parise backing up the Boston D and then dropping a pass for a streaking Elias who used Andrew Alberts as a screen to fire past Boston backup Tuukka Rask for the winner.

Given how well Parise is playing, it’s hard to single out any other Devil and that includes Martin Brodeur, Langenbrunner, Gionta, Colin White and new December alternates John Madden and Paul Martin.

Parise is the man carrying this team. He’s the biggest reason the Devils aren’t dead and buried in a very competitive conference.

If only more players could play the game with his vigor.

While the first place Rangers were being handled by Carolina 4-0 over on Broadway, the Islanders were dropping another game; this time at home to the Bruins 3-1. It was their third consecutive defeat.

Over that span, they’ve been outscored 11-3 bringing to mind the scoring epidemic that’s stricken Ted Nolan’s club. While they’re still sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 13-11-1 record good for 27 points, lack of offense has become a problem.

Team scoring leader Mike Comrie (8-12-20) has just two points in his last seven games and is now tied with slumping winger Trent Hunter (4-6-10) for a club worst minus-10.

After a promising start, Ruslan Fedotenko has gone in the tank. The former 2004 Bolts’ playoff hero hasn’t lit the lamp in eight straight and has only two helpers over that span. That just won’t cut it and explains why Tampa let him go.

Most discouraging has been the lack of production from team captain Bill Guerin. After a promising beginning, the 37 year-old veteran power forward hasn’t registered a point in the last 14 spanning over a month since he tallied a deciding marker in a rare win over Tampa Bay.

With just five goals and six assists for 11 points, Guerin is hurting his team big time. He hasn’t been the same since missing a couple of games due to injury. But still, it’s been a while now since he’s returned. It’s time for the emotional Isles’ leader to step up.

Meanwhile, Miroslav Satan continues to be streaky. The Slovak has good stretches and then suddenly disappears. Would it kill the ex-Sabre to be more consistent and show up on a nightly basis?

Veteran pivot Mike Sillinger (4-5-9) has slumped badly after a nice first season on Long Island.

About the only player who’s exceeded expectations up front is Josef Vasicek. He centers the Isles’ second line and has a team best nine goals including two shorthanded plus three assists and a respectable plus-four rating. The former Hurricane has never been known as a big finisher and needs just one more goal to match his output for the past couple of seasons with Carolina and Nashville.

His career best in goals came back in 2003-04 when he tallied 19 while also registering a career high 26 helpers and 45 points for the Canes during his fourth season.

The Fishsticks will continue to need that kind of production from the 27 year-old Czech.

But if they’re to hang around in the division and postseason race, they’ll need some of those other slumping players to rediscover their scoring touch.

Rick DiPietro can’t do it alone. He needs help.

You had to figure that the Hurricanes would come out flying in this game tonight at MSG. Especially after being thoroughly embarrassed by Buffalo 8-1 the other night.

That’s exactly what happened as Peter Laviolette’s first place club came in more determined and carried the play in a 4-0 shutout of the Rangers before a frustrated crowd who hardly saw a semblance of a scoring chance. A testament to just how sharp the Canes were throughout. They won all the battles to loose pucks and were extremely defensively sound which made it a lost cause for Tom Renney’s club which for some inexplicable reason wasn’t ready after two good efforts in a row.

Maybe they rested on their laurels and thought the struggling Canes wouldn’t come hard. Or maybe they just weren’t ready to play which is inexcusable. Especially in such a tight knit division and conference where you can easily go from top three seed to fighting for the final spot just like that.

Carolina was much sharper from the outside with their aggressive forecheck which helped generate two first period goals. Not surprisingly, ex-Ranger Matt Cullen was involved in both.

“It was fun to come in and get a win,” a pleased Cullen expressed to the AP later. “It’s important for us because we’ve sort of been struggling. It was important for us to have a good defensive game which was key to the whole night.”

Making his first return to Broadway after anchoring the third line in his only year here, the overlooked 31 year-old American notched a couple of more assists to hike his point total to 27 (6-21-27) which btw is more than any Ranger.

Think that has to do with the system he plays in? You don’t say. Some Ranger fans will have you believe that Renney is a great coach and that this team is perfect. When you see the kind of success Cullen is having back in his familiar spot with the more North American Canes, it clearly raises a question as to why the New York team doesn’t get more offense consistently.

After netting nine in their last two wins over the Islanders and Senators, Renney’s club had nothing. How was it possible that only the fourth line of Hollweg, Betts and Orr could show up ready to play while the other three lines did absolutely nothing?

Yes. It was the stonehand fourth line which worked very hard and generated the team’s best chances against Cam Ward who stopped all 28 for the easy shutout. That’s how uncompetitive the Blueshirts were. Almost every shot came from the outside with nobody in front to get to rebounds or deflect pucks.

“You’d like to think that we’re sort of mature enough as a team to recognize you’ve got to sort of maintain some equilibrium,” Renney lamented afterwards. “Tonight it just wasn’t there. There wasn’t sort of that synapse between the brain and feet. … They earned the win right from the drop of the puck, but we didn’t measure up as an opponent.”

Summing up the opening stanza in which the Canes got nine of the first 11 shots, rookie Brandon Dubinsky had two chances to clear the zone but made awful decisions which led directly to Cullen feeding an open Scott Walker who tucked the puck past Henrik Lundqvist to give Carolina a lead they would never relinquish.

Just when New York began to play a little better, a brutal shift at the conclusion of the stanza led to Cory Stillman’s first of the night with only 16 seconds remaining. With the top line unable to get the puck out, Justin Williams fed Stillman who centered the puck off a defenseman in front past Lundqvist for a two-goal lead.

The Rangers came out sharper in the second and dictated the play for several minutes with an aggressive cycle led by Jaromir Jagr. But they couldn’t find a way to get a puck past Ward and make it a contest despite an 11-5 SOG advantage.

The final stanza saw the Blueshirts flounder on a couple of power plays despite a few opportunities. But Michal Rozsival’s usually accurate one-timers sailed wide and then a setup for Jagr was flubbed by one of those moronic sticks which break way too easily. When are these players going to wake up and go back to wood?

Jagr’s miss led directly to the Carolina third goal as a streaking David Tanabe flew out of the box and into a breakaway wristing one past Lundqvist’s stick into the back of the net with 8:30 left sending most of the fans including myself to the exits.

Stillman would add his second of the night a couple of minutes later to complete the scoring.

It was that kind of game. You never got the impression the Rangers were ever in it or would come close to scoring. That’s how diligent the Canes were in every zone. They skated, scored, backchecked ferociously and played like a desperate team who had been read the riot act by a good coach after being routed.

I actually wasn’t too surprised by what transpired. Whenever you have a struggling team which is good coming in on the heels of a blowout, it usually becomes a trap game which is difficult to win.

It’s not the end of the world.

The Rangers must regroup and prepare for the Maple Leafs Thursday before heading to Atlanta the following night.

“It was a real stinker,” Shanahan said. “There was nothing good about this one.”

That’s about what kind of night it was. One to forget for sure.

Time to move on.

Sorry for the late post but the Rangers take on the Hurricanes in a few minutes. Matt Cullen makes his return to face the team he played for last season. Cullen is enjoying a fine season so far, and should challenge the Rangers for most of the night. Marc Staal also faces brother Eric Staal for the first time in their careers. Henrik Lundqvist will be in net against Cam Ward. The same lineup with be in for the Rangers as Saturday afternoon. I’ll check in later on. Enjoy the game.

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell Brian Gionta and the Devils that they weren’t supposed to be this good. Well, at least good enough to reel off seven in a row to get themselves right back in the Atlantic race tied with the Flyers just a couple of points behind the first place Rangers.

The royal pain in the ass Mighty Mite’s shootout goal stood up as the difference in a 3-2 home win over the Thrashers yesterday before a good crowd close to 15,000 at The Rock.

Gionta’s bread and butter backhand deke sparked his red hot team to another win as Martin Brodeur gloved Ilya Kovalchuk’s bid to keep the skills competition going.

“I just wanted to stay with him as long as I could, while he was going across the crease” Brodeur later said to the AP.

“He’s a good goalie, one of the best ever,” Kovalchuk admitted. “You need to be real good and real sharp to beat that guy. He moves quick from post to post so I tried to go high.”

We didn’t catch this one live as we were busy locked into a crucial NFC game between the Giants and Bears for our Giants Bits blog.

But just from watching the highlights, this looked like a very competitive and entertaining contest which could’ve gone either way.

Both Brodeur (23 stops) and Johan Hedberg (34 saves)made some stellar saves to give their respective teams at least a point before it got decided in the shootout.

The Thrashers got the scoring started in the first when Todd White one-timed home a Tobias Enstrom feed from behind the net for a power play goal with 5:09 left.

However, the Devils would get the equalizer in the final minute thanks to Sergei Brylin’s third in the slot 15 feet out off a broken play from Paul Martin and John Madden with just 51 ticks to go. From the yahoo highlight package, it looked like Madden might’ve gotten away with an undetected trip of a Thrasher near center ice which helped lead to the tying goal. It was hard to say if the Atlanta player lost an edge while competing for the puck or if Mad Dog’s stick really did trip him.

In any event, the two teams would be tied until that same Madden finished off a nice pass from Karel Rachunek for a tip-in to give his team the lead going into the third.

However, a determined Kovalchuk finally got the equalizer with 10:26 remaining when he one-timed a Bryan Little feed in the high slot past Brodeur for the Russian sniper’s league-leading 22nd. What a season he’s having.

Key saves by Hedberg and Brodeur from in close forced OT. In it, the best stop was made by the future Hall of Famer on Marian Hossa, who was setup and fired a laser of a wrister from about 25 feet out. But Marty read and gloved it harmlessly to help force the shootout which his team prevailed in.

He denied all three superb Atlanta shooters Slava Kozlov, Hossa and Kovalchuk to notch the victory. No small feat.

The Devils are now 14-10-2 with 30 points. A great recovery after a slow start where they went only 3-5-1 on that nine-game road trip. Brent Sutter and the coaching staff must be given some credit here for keeping it together.

They’ve played much better defensively since top defender Colin White and valuable two-way winger Jamie Langenbrunner have returned.

The only player who continues to not contribute is former captain Patrik Elias. You have to wonder what the heck is going on with the 31 year-old gifted Czech. It’s hard to get into the mind of a player and even harder to conclude that they’re not trying. That’s not the case. But the lack of production from someone who’s always been pretty reliable as a team leader is alarming.

Elias has only four goals and eight helpers for 12 points in 24 games this season with a team worst minus-six rating. It’s not like he hasn’t attempted shots. His 79 SOG rank third behind leading scorer Zach Parise (100) and Gionta (82).

The growing question is can New Jersey continue to win games without getting much in the scoring department from Elias?

They also have gotten just 13 points from sophomore Travis Zajac (4-9-13). But he centers their best line and the effort is never questioned. The former first rounder out of North Dakota makes smart decisions with the puck and generates plenty of chances. It’s probably a matter of time before a few bounce his way.

As for Brodeur, the Mr. Everything in net has turned his season around and now has 12 wins, a 2.29 GAA, .911 save percentage and two shutouts which tie him for second all-time with George Hainsworth for 94 regular season blankings- just nine behind Terry Sawchuk’s league record 103.

The 35 year-old franchise goalie has been a model of consistency during his 14-year career in backstopping the team to its three Stanley Cups while also winning the Vezina three times and Olympic Gold with his native country Canada in 2002.

With his team again being written off with the key departures of Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski, Brodeur continues to elevate his game to give his team a chance to remain competitive which is what they’ll be until No.30 retires.

That’s truly the mark of an all-time great.

Apparently, someone forgot to tell Wade Dubielewicz to stop a few pucks in the first period against the Thrashers in a dreadful 4-0 defeat at the Coliseum Saturday night.

The backup who was a hero last season in helping miraculously backstop the Isles into the postseason was predictably rusty in his first appearance since November 3 (3-2 win over Pit in relief). In just his second start of the year, the 28 year-old British Columbia native allowed four goals on 13 shots in a flat opening stanza for the home team including league leading goalscorer Ilya Kovalchuk’s 21st only 34 seconds in off a rush.

It wouldn’t get any better as Eric Boulton and Marian Hossa struck in a 50 second span before the halfway point of the first to put Atlanta up a trifecta. Slava Kozlov’s seventh closed out the scoring with 13 seconds left as the Thrashers improved to 12-7 under GM Don Waddell.

“It’s tough,” explained a disappointed Dubielewicz later to the AP. “It just feels like we got behind the 8-ball, and I got rattled out there a bit.“

The awful opening 20 minutes made it an easy night for returning Thrasher starting netminder Kari Lehtonen, who turned aside all 33 shots for a shutout.

“I thought we would be ready to play,” Islander coach Ted Nolan later thought.

“I was wrong. We just weren’t prepared right from the beginning. We
underestimated their team speed. They really took it to us the first 5-10
minutes of the game.”

Usually, the Fishsticks struggle after a Ranger game. But that’s when they win. This time, they were coming back to the Meadowbrook Parkway off a loss. So, one would’ve expected Nolan’s club to be ready to go. Instead, they dropped their second straight and fell to 13-10-1 remaining in fourth place in a tight Atlantic a point behind the idle Devils.

Part of the problem right now is that team captain Bill Guerin hasn’t been the same since an injury kept the veteran right winger out of a couple of games. With another scoreless night, the 37 year-old former New Jersey first round pick has been held without a point in 12 straight games. He’s been stuck on five goals and 11 points since tallying the deciding goal in a 4-0 shutout of Tampa exactly a month prior.

Given what’s expected out of the gritty power forward, the Isles’ captain must elevate his game and find the back of the net or the lack of scoring is going to become a team wide epidemic.

It’s little secret that the Islanders haven’t been scoring enough lately. They’re 5-6-1 in their last 12 and haven’t reached three goals in regulation or OT. That must change if Nolan’s gritty bunch is to stay in this ultra competitive division.

We’ll see if Guerin and Co. can get back on track.

Derek has done a fine wrap up at the end of his last post on the Rangers’ 5-2 win over the Senators tonight. Nice to see some offense from the Blueshirts. Ottawa is not this bad, so everyone they play right now needs to take advantage of this stretch of poor play.

I wanted to send a thank you out to Steve for giving me a chance to write on here day in and day out. I appreciate the chance he has given me to write about one of my passions on a daily basis. So, thank you Steve. Good luck to you, and thank you for creating an enjoyable blog for all to read. Hopefully you check up on it frequently, and when it starts pulling in millions of hits a day, you can say you were the founder. 🙂

I, too, will weigh in on the other teams every once in a while without stepping on anyone’s toes of course. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and have those snow shovels ready for anyone in the New York area. I’ve already gotten it upstate. Snow makes it really feel like hockey season.