Battle Of Hudson

First of a long, long series of previews for Greg Wyshynski’s SFM. Derek and Frank will show up soon enough. Enjoy. First of, our friend at the BoC Earl Sleek previews the champion Ducks with me:

http://www.sportsfanmagazine.com/sfm/articles.html?id=3521

The score was lopsided in yesterday’s Rangers vs. Flyers game, but there are several positives that could be seen on the ice. Along with those positives, however, there were negatives. Let’s start with those. Keep in mind that this was preseason game number two, so there is still time to work the kinks out.

Michael Roszival looked flat and out of position several times. He also coughed the puck up on several occasions.

There was little chemistry with the Rangers’ top line of Gomez, Jagr and Dawes. A little more playing time could fix that, but it might be better to have Hossa or Avery playing with them to at least start the season.

Henrik Lundqvist was out of position towards the latter parts of the game. Maybe it was fatigue, but especially the couple of times he went to play the puck, he had to scramble to get back in position. No doubt he’ll be fine to start the season.

Drury made some nice defensive plays, but was otherwise unnoticeable on the ice.

Some positives that were noticed last night:

Petr Prucha. One of the best players on the ice last night. Offensively and defensively he looks great. He looked faster if that’s possible.

Blair Betts on the penalty kill was like Betts of last year. Faceoffs as well.

Colton Orr not only fought well, but looked better offensively on the ice. He parked himself in front of the net several times and almost had a great scoring chance as he cut through the middle of the ice in the 2nd period.

Paul Mara shooting. He was also a little shaky with positioning and giveaways, but he needs to shoot more during the season. He has a nice slap shot that was blocked several times last night, but he was trying, and if that gets through it’s a nice asset to have.

Jessiman, Baranka and Liffiton were all sent to Hartford after the game. Look for more of a regular season lineup in on Monday against the Islanders.

While the Rangers made some big offseason news on the first day of free agency landing the center duo of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, the Flyers were making news of their own by revamping their team up front and on the blueline.

If tonight’s 5-0 beatdown of the Rangers which featured their two key offensive additions is any indication, then the new look Flyers are going to be heard from this season.

New Flyers such as ex-Sabre Daniel Briere along with former Preds Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen looked sharp as Philadelphia succeeded in shutting down the Ranger offense with plenty of attention to detail.

Sometimes stats are misleading. Despite getting outshot 33-23, the Flyers were in control of this one from almost start to finish capitalizing on sloppy Blueshirt turnovers for most of their goals.

After Sami Kapanen failed on his shorthanded penalty shot against Henrik Lundqvist, he scooped up a Michal Rozsival turnover and roofed one past the Ranger netminder to get the Flyers on the board.

As Tom Renney later indicated in a postgame conference, it was that kind of night for his club which despite having Jaromir Jagr, Petr Prucha, Drury, Gomez, Lundqvist, Rozsival, Fedor Tyutin and Paul Mara struggled mightily with several mishandles leading to transition opportunities for the Flyers.

Blair Betts and enforcer Colton Orr also dressed. Orr had the lone Ranger highlight when he KO’d Jesse Boulerice with one punch using the same right hand which knocked out former Flyer Todd Fedoruk unconscious last season. Orr definitely won some more points from his teammates and Garden supporters who appreciate what he brings to the table.

The problem for the Rangers was that was about it as they couldn’t solve Martin Biron who looked like a brick wall in his new jersey (see above). Was it me or did the ex-Sabre resemble the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters in stopping all 19 Ranger shots the first two periods?

And you thought this epidemic was over with. Just look at him! I thought those “formfitting jerseys” were supposed to resolve this issue.

Not only do these new jerseys come apart during fights, they also fall apart literally. Just ask Gomez as his ‘A’ fell off and had to be sewn back on. You can’t make this stuff up.

But hey. Bettman Inc. tested the jerseys. I can see it now. That cool NHL slogan:

New NHL. New Jerseys. Not only do they come apart but they’re overpriced!

:as someone can be heard laughing in the background like Jack Nicholson’s Joker character in the first Batman: “Care to dance with the Devil in the pale of the moonlight?”

Suckkkkkkkkkkkka!!!!!!

Couldn’t resist.

So what else could be said about what was one of the most unwatchable games we’ve seen? And no. It’s not because the Rangers lost. It really was that bad. From all the penalties to the choppy play and whistles, it was very slow and could’ve put fans to sleep.

Well, the Flyers were sharp. Ex-Ranger and current killer Mike Knuble scored twice. The Rangers were careless with the puck on a Mike Richards goal with a brutal coverage down low. Jagr also turned it over for Knuble’s first goal which was one of his patented tip-ins of a Simon Gagne shot who btw was flying all night.

Even agitator Steve Downie got into the act. He beat Hugh Jessiman in a scrap and scored a goal. Not a bad night for the 20 year-old former Philly first round pick. Somewhere, Bobby Clarke was smiling with a bottle of scotch.

So what can concluded other than the Flyers were just superior all night playing their trademark physical brand of hockey down low and using their speed to generate goals?

Well, for starters, Drury’s line stunk and was victimized three times at even strength. On Kapanen’s goal, his backpass put Rozsival in a tough position and the top defenseman who had his own rough night coughed it up leading to the first goal.

Marcel Hossa was fairly quiet. Prucha on the other hand was more active despite the minus-three and created a few chances. He looked stronger on the puck.

Gomez was teamed with Jagr and Nigel Dawes, who did have a couple of early PP chances on a nice set play where Gomez threaded the needle in the slot and Dawes tried a misdirect tip and rebound but Biron stopped both.

Gomez looked alright. He made some good passes on a couple of power plays and generated some chances. He also missed wide on a chance from close in on a backhand before setting up another which just missed.

Rozsival and rookie Ivan Baranka had tough nights. Fedor Tyutin who also was minus-three looked alright compared to his D partner.

Positives came from Betts along with Hartford duo Hugh Jessiman and Lauri Korpikoski. The pair of former first rounders generated a cycle down low and worked very hard during their shifts. Korp also used his speed to create a break in but his backhand from in tight was kicked away.

Dane Byers had his second straight active game taking rhe body and playing north/south hockey.

Also not making many glaring mistakes on a mistake-prone night was the pair of Thomas Pock and David Liffiton who are fighting for spots.

But this was mostly a Flyers night as most of their regulars dressed and impressed to improve them to 2-1 on the preseason while the Rangers dropped to 1-1.

Things are looking up for Marc Staal and Michael Sauer.

One other random thought: Why the hell would you schedule meaningless exhibition games on a college football Saturday? Only the NHL. But hey. That Hockey Heritage game up in Buffalo will be competing with good college Bowl Games on New Year’s Day. You gotta love it.

Flyers 5-0 Rangers
Key Goal-Getters: Mike Knuble – 2 Goals, Sami Kapanen, Mike Richards (PHI)

Leafs 4-3 Bruins (Shootout)
Key Goal Getters: Phil Kessel (BOS), John Pohl (TOR)

Blues 3-2 Thrashers
Key Goal Getters: David Perron (STL), Marian Hossa – 2 Goals (ATL)

Senators 2-1 Canadiens
Key Goal Getters: Jason Spezza (OTT)

Red Wings 5-2 Penguins
Key Goal Getters: Kris Draper, Henrik Zetterburg – 2 Goals (DET), Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

Capitals 2-1 Lightning
Key Goal Getters: Alexander Semin (WSH), Martin St. Louis (TB)

Hurricanes 1-4 Predators
Key Goal Getters: Jason Arnott (NSH)

Oilers 5-4 Flames (Overtime)
Key Goal Getters: Jarret Stoll, Shawn Horcoff (EDM), Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla, Marcus Nilson (CGY)

Preseason game number two for the Rangers is tonight when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at 7pm. The game can be seen on MSG. Also, Rangers fans should tune in early to see the preseason preview from 6-7 if possible. Some good material on young kids, position battles and other preseason issues. I won’t be around to do anything live, but I will be dvr–ing the game and watching it later on tonight. I’ll check in with my thoughts after but feel free to leave your thoughts for me to read when I get back. Watch the line combination of Dawes-Gomez-Jagr to see how they look. Also we’ll see Jessiman and Byers in the game as well today. The Rangers are going with 8 defensemen and the matchup will pit former co-captains Drury and Briere against each other for the first time. Enjoy the game.

It was kind of eerie to be back at the Garden last night for the Rangers’ first exhibition game of a much anticipated season. That it came against the Devils was probably a good thing because it definitely kept interest.

Not surprisingly, when the two teams came out for the warmup, the Devils were booed and the Rangers got a pretty good reception considering that the place wasn’t packed. But it still was a decent turnout.

As for the game itself, it was pretty good. There was an edge despite several regulars for each team including the two starting netminders being out.

Maybe that’s what happens when these teams get together no matter what the occasion is. Or maybe it’s got something to do with Ranger antagonist Sean Avery. Just watching him warm-up circling around the ice, you got the feeling he would make this meaningless game interesting by spicing things up.

Not surprisingly, Avery did just that by shoving Devil defenseman Johnny “5” Oduya into ex-Ranger Kevin Weekes drawing an interference minor and injuring the new Devils backup who landed hard and was tended to several minutes before limping off the ice. You hoped the classy guy would be okay but the way he looked, it sure didn’t seem that way. Fans clapped as he left and a few including myself chanted “Weekes.”

I sure hope he isn’t out long. If you’re Lou Lamoriello, you are keeping your fingers crossed. Jordan Parise didn’t play badly but he looked a little out of place on pucks behind the net scrambling around and giving up a couple of goals down low. That btw was where Tom Renney’s club had the clear edge against half of the New Jersey D core minus the injured Colin White, Vitali Vishnevski and Karel Rachunek.

In particular, second-year forward Ryan Callahan who netted an easy two-man advantage goal with a vacant net and rookie pivot Brandon Dubinsky created chaos all night along with Avery who was very visible even after the Weekes injury.

Despite seeing one of their new teammates go down, the best the Devils could offer in terms of retaliation were a couple of good hits as well as a dirty charging penalty Mike Rupp and a cheap elbow by Dainius Zubrus. What would you expect? He’ll be easy to despise because he’s a dirty player.

One would’ve figured a Devil might actually challenge Avery and fight him. They also had Grant Marshall in the lineup who was busy renewing acquaintanaces with a slimmed down Darius Kasparaitis. But despite Avery having his name chanted by the Ranger faithful and playing his usual chippy game driving his new favorite target nuts, there wasn’t one scrap which can only be summed up one way. Disappointing.

Especially when you consider that the Rangers dressed Hartford nutcase Francis Lessard. Ryan Hollweg banged some bodies and Dane Byers who netted the first PPG by parking himself in front of the net for a rebound took the body.

Outside of Rupp, only David Clarkson mixed it up with a few solid hits and some hustle.

Zach Parise scored a beautiful goal using and abusing Kasparaitis before roofing a shot shortside on Stephen Valiquette. He was the Devils’ best forward.

Kaspar who is trying to comeback after getting in great shape by shedding some extra weight and changing his hairstyle struggled. He did look faster but also was a little indecisive in his end turning it over a couple of times.

If he showed rust, the rest of a Ranger D which was without almost all the regulars with the exception of steady second-year player Daniel Girardi were solid.

In particular, Girardi and Marc Staal worked well together which had to be encouraging for the staff and fans. Staal didn’t look out of place nor make any glaring mistakes.

Also not doing a bad job was Michael Sauer. The former second rounder had a solid camp and is getting a look.

Vet Jason Strudwick and pickup Andrew Hutchinson (Carolina) also got time and did alright.

Aside from a puckhandling gaffe behind his own net which led to a Zubrus unassisted tally, former No.1 pick Al Montoya looked sharp in his half of action turning aside 12 of 13.

Ex-2003 first round selection Hugh Jessiman took part getting third line duty. The project was up and down. On some shifts, the ex-Dartmouth product used his size to recover pucks along the wall and cycle. But he also took a lazy holding penalty. You can tell he still needs time in Hartford. And that’s where he’ll be.

Russian Artem Anisimov showed some excellent speed and didn’t look out of place centering Avery and Callahan registering four shots and creating some opportunities. But he did also get caught napping on a downlow coverage which led to the 2006 second round pick taking a minor to prevent a Devil goal.

If you were comparing his performance to Dubinsky who was very active and registered a couple of assists, the Alaskan who played last year with the Wolf Pack would have the edge.

Marty Straka scored what turned out to be the winner and skated fine showing no ill effects from offseason surgery. Brendan Shanahan looked alright.

The Ranger PP looked dangerous in this game moving the puck quickly and keeping the Devils off balance for two PPG.

The Ranger PK did a solid job against a Devil power play which overpassed the puck and looked tenative without Jamie Langenbrunner (injured) and ex-Devils Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski. They’ll hope Rachunek can help there. Paul Martin just isn’t cutting it.

Former Devils’ 2006 first rounder Matt Corrente was okay but definitely needs another year of development.

Finn Jari Viuhkola wasn’t really noticeable.

All in all, this preseason tilt kept our interest for the most part due to how the rosters competed. But we still came away a little disappointed that there were no fisticuffs which we’re sure Gary Bettman and his cronies who put together these new jerseys which apparently come apart during scraps (just ask Cam Janssen) thanked God for.

The Rangers are back in action tonight against the Flyers. Expect some different players to suit up.

1 1:53 PP NYR 54 D.BYERS(1) 46 D.GIRARDI(1) 42 M.STAAL(1)

1 12:42 PP NYR 43 R.CALLAHAN(1) 48 B.DUBINSKY(1) 46 D.GIRARDI(2)
2 1:53 EV NYR 15 B.BETTS(1) unassisted
2 2:54 EV N.J 16 D.ZUBRUS(1) unassisted
2 13:19 EV NYR 82 M.STRAKA(1) 48 B.DUBINSKY(2) 43 R.CALLAHAN(1)

2 17:01 EV N.J 9 Z.PARISE(1) 48 D.CLARKSON(1) 14 B.GIONTA(1)

3 13:35 EV N.J 14 B.GIONTA(1) unassisted

Continuing from the last post, after two periods at the Garden, the Rangers lead 4-2. Goals 3 and 4 were scored by Betts and Straka. I missed one of the Devils goals, but I know Parise has the other.

Valiquette is in now for the Rangers. Montoya was sharp for the most part, handling the puck fairly well on several occasions. He looked calm and minus some scrambled moments, looked good. He gave up the one goal that I missed.

Parise’s goal was a great shot by Parise after he deked Kasparaitis on the powerplay.

Brandon Dubinsky looks incredible. Fighting along the boards, centering passes and knowing where to go defensively. The game also has a bit of a regular season edgy kind of feeling to it.

Should be an interesting third period.

2-0 Mid-first period.

Ain’t it good to hate Sean Avery again?

What a punk move that was, pushing Oduya into Weekes so blatantly.

John Giannone is an awful play-by-play man. Just putrid. At least Cango can follow the play, he just…aagh.

Dave Byers and Ryan Callahan have the Ranger goals. Weekes and JParise each gave up one.

Devils in the midst of a power play that isn’t going well.

In just under a half hour, the Rangers officially start preseason games. The game will be on MSG starting at 7pm. I’ll be around if anyone wants to talk about it as it is going on. Some things to look for both tonight against the Devils and tomorrow against the Flyers are chemistry between lines such as Gomez, Jagr and Dawes which will be the top line tomorrow, and defensive chemistry between pairs like Kasparaitis and Hutchenson, Tyutin and Girardi who we know can play together and Mara and Pock. Marc Staal will see his first action in the NHL and we’ll get a look at players such as Byers, Jessiman, Anisimov, Dubinski and Liffiton as well. Feel free to comment during the game tonight. I’ll check back every so often.