Battle Of Hudson

Is John Davidson the best national TV analyst ever? His work in Game 7 of last year’s finals showed it.

I will say that it didn’t seem as if his heart was in it during some of his OLN or NBC games last year. But Lord, was he a wonderful analyst. EASILY, the best hockey analyst ever. No one has been able to do it better.

When you watched a game on National TV, and you had Emrick and Davidson calling it, you knew what you were getting. Two passionate men who truly believed that they were blessed to be doing what they were doing, and it showed. They worked very well together. But JD and Sam, that’s just legendary.

We miss you JD. Even in Jersey. You never treated us like 2nd class citizens on all the Devs-Rangers telecasts before they started using both channels for games. You never shortchanged the Devs on national TV or local TV. And JD, did it ever take balls of thunder to not only attempt to run a team, but an awful one at that.

I only hope Doc is calling the St. Louis Blues winning a Stanley Cup Championship on TV, and Sam Rosen doing it on radio, soon. It would just be right.

Thanks a lot JD.
———————-

That said, as I’ve stated before, The NHL On NBC motors on with out JD this weekend. Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire are calling COL-DET. Unfortunately for us here in NBC4 territory, we will sit through yet another Penguin pecking of Philly. Dave Strader, Peter McNab (ugh) and Joe Micheletti have the call. Countdown to faceoff at 12 on NBCSports.com, gametime 12:30 on NBC. Enjoy! And see you tomorrow nite for Devs-Boston.

Mmmm…10 Dollar seats at the Rock.

Justice was served today by the NHL. After his late hit knocked out Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who left on a stretcher, Devils’ antagonist Cam Janssen was given a three-game suspension by the league today.

It was an interesting decision because he wasn’t penalized on the play in question. Most would agree that it should’ve been five and a game misconduct. But maybe reputation played a part here. Janssen had no prior history until last night and it’s well documented that the Devils are the least penalized team in the league. If they’re giving the tough guy three games for his first offense, that’s a heavy indictment of last night’s referees Kelly Sutherland and Brad Watson. Considering that both wussed out of being interviewed after this incident, they should also face heavy fine and possible suspension. Making refs accountable for mistakes serves a purpose.

Either way, Janssen will now sit out the next three games. But look for him to be in the lineup when the Devils visit Toronto on March 20. It will be interesting. Darcy Tucker returned during tonight’s Leafs’ 3-1 loss to Buffalo after missing the past two months due to a bad foot. If he along with goon Wade Belak are in the lineup in 17 days, it promises to be worth the watch.

Being at MSG for today’s reunion with JD was nice. That really was the only reason I went. I didn’t really care about the end result because you already know what I think about this team’s chances. So let’s first make a point about that pregame ceremony for a man who became a symbol of the Rangers, making a smooth transition from goal to the broadcast booth where he quickly turned into the John Madden of his sport. No, not that John Madden.

First, congratulations to Davidson on being honored before the drop of the puck. It was very fitting and as usual, a great job done by the Ranger organization. When it comes to PR, nobody’s better. They really made JD feel at home by showing a video tribute of his Ranger and broadcast career. And then presented him with a silver goalie mask and brought out former teammate Ron Greschner along with broadcast partner Sam Rosen. Even Sam’s wife Jill came out to sing the national anthem, which btw was nicely done. They would do all this for a man who was terrific upstairs working with Rosen. Just imagine what this regime would do if they won an actual playoff game for the first time since 1997. Before you get sick contemplating that, here’s our tribute to the man known to many as JD.

It’s rare that you find a color commentator who is so adept at breaking down a game. What I loved most about John Davidson was his passion for the sport. He always cared and went to great lengths to satisfy the audience. And the best part was this lovable fan favorite did it with class. If you had the good fortune to run into him at a team function or outside the arena, he would always greet you and have a huge grin. You could tell how much he loved his job. There aren’t many who had as much fun with it.

From teaming with Rosen on MSG to form “one of the premier broadcast duos” to working well with Doc Emrick on Fox and NBC’s number one broadcast teams, he always was a breath of fresh air. He never made it about him either. Sure, he got excited and showed it with his signature, “Oh Baby” call during the Ranger ’94 Cup run and other big NHL playoff games. But nobody broke down the game better. JD brought his wealth of knowledge to the air and let fans in during Hockey Night In Canada’s 2nd intermission Hot Stove. For 20 years, he was the best in the business.

It took a lot of guts for the former St. Louis Blue to return where he was drafted and become Team President under former Garden CEO Dave Checketts. JD had a cushy job which was great. But with his daughters getting older, the former netminder decided it was time for a change. And so he decided to take on the challenge of turning around the Blues, a franchise which once made the postseason 25 straight times from 1979-80 thru 2003-04. But after deciding to unload franchise defenseman Chris Pronger prior to the ’05-06 campaign, they struggled mightily in the first season since the lockout and missed the postseason last year- finishing 21-46-15 for a league worst 57 points which was one fewer than Pittsburgh.

Enter Davidson, who left the booth to return to the franchise which selected him fifth overall out of Calgary in the 1973 Amateur Draft. The first order of business for Davidson was selecting American defenseman Erik Johnson No.1 overall during last summer’s Entry Draft. While Johnson promises to be a huge part of the club’s future, Davidson dipped into the free agent market and signed veterans Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Dan Hinote, Jay McKee, Martin Rucinsky, Radek Dvorak and Manny Legace. The moves were meant to give the team much needed experience as they gradually rebuilt around youngsters Lee Stempniak, Jay McClement, David Backes, Marek Schwarz, Jeff Woywitka, etc.

When the club got off to a poor start and looked headed for another high lottery pick, Davidson made a coaching change, replacing Mike Kitchen with former Kings’ boss Andy Murray. Before he was axed, Murray’s Kings teams always were very hardworking and overachieved. Since he took over, the club has made a steady climb up the standings and entered today’s contest at MSG with a respectable 28-26-10 record, good for 66 points which placed them tied for 10th with Edmonton in the ultracompetitive West. That was also just a point less than ninth seeded Colorado. That kind of improvement under Murray speaks to how good a coach he is.

Despite several injuries to key vets such as McKee, Rucinsky, Jamal Mayers and Legace, the revamped Blues continue to remain competitive. Though they fell short today in blowing a two-goal lead with less than nine minutes left, they certainly were the better team for most of Saturday. But after Davidson got huge returns for Guerin and Keith Tkachuk, they’re lacking some of that experience to finish games off.

The good news for Blues fans is that since taking over the hockey operation, JD has already improved the club drastically and set them up for a bright future with so many draft picks in the first two rounds this summer. Though this year’s draft is not considered very strong, Davidson has given his club every opportunity to find a prospect under the radar who can help them out a few years from now. Having locked up defenseman Eric Brewer and re-signing Legace, the St. Louis Team President continues to work hard at improving his roster.

As he moves forward, good luck to him in helping bring respectability back to the Blue note. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that after Davidson joined the booth for some of the second with Rosen and Joe Micheletti. Afterwards, the big man who has aged more in the last year than probably the last decade came out and greeted Blueshirt fans who were more excited to see him than watching this current team which at the time was going through the motions down two to JD’s inspired club. As he made his way through, I went up to him and shook his hand for probably the sixth or seventh time and told him what a good job he’s done so far with St. Louis. The big man smiled and greeted a few more fans before heading back to work.

And that’s why I will always respect and admire this guy. Class to the very end. Cheers to you JD. You deserve it!

Good comeback from the Rags today, taking it in the skills comp. 3-2. Solid team effort on JD day.

JD’s hair is so freakin’ gray lol! He stopped dying it now that he doesn’t have to be on TV anymore.

Jagr again, non-existant for much of the game. Good defensive work in the OT, but they need more from Yammy.

Richter should be a color guy if he loses his political run. Good, American guy who can speak our language.

Islanders invade the Capital tonight at 7 on FSN.

Just some notes for Steve from the horse’s mouth:

-I was equally shocked that they rallied from two down to tie and win. Maybe that’s the winning formula they need since they never seem to protect a lead.

-Jagr wasn’t great again today despite what Renney said. But when the team needed someone to extend that shootout, No.68 pulled off a world class move reminiscent of Peter Forsberg, Henrik Zetterberg and Jussi Jokinen by going to the backhand to stuff it in. It allowed Marcel Hossa to win his third shootout with the same move he pulled on Martin Brodeur back in January.

-For as brutal a goal as he gave up, Stephen Valiquette steadied as the game moved along and made the necessary saves to give the club a boost in his first start of the season. When he denied Glen Metropolit with the glove, the 29 year-old veteran backup had his first NHL win since 2004. He gave the weary Henrik Lundqvist a much needed day off after the Swedish gold medallist made the previous 19 starts in a row.

-Despite a feel good comeback win which wouldn’t have been possible without the grunt work of Sean Avery and yes, Karel Rachunek, Tom Renney’s decision not to give Petr Prucha one overtime shift was baffling. Why not try him with Hossa? They’re only the two hardest working Euro’s on the team.

-Equally as mind boggling is how Hossa, who had scored seven in his last 10 on the top line suddenly was replaced by Brad Isbister and moved down to play with Jarkko Immonen and Prucha. How can Renney justify that? Nothing against Izzy, who worked hard and generated a decent wraparound chance in OT. But when you have Hossa going so well with Jagr, you don’t go away from it. Some of the coach’s decisions this year have been abominable.

-Michael Nylander just sucked today. Twice he had open nets including one minute into OT and didn’t finish. No.92 already drives fans nuts with his dipsy doos Ice Capades routine and overpassing. If he wants to continue that, he should try out for Ice Dancing instead. It might be a good career switch!

-The next 4 Ranger games are a home-and-home with the Islanders, at Pittsburgh and a home game versus Carolina. That in a nutshell will determine if this fragile club has a run in them.

It has been a very busy week for the Isles, basically stealing the show on trade deadline day at the eleventh hour. But did the Islanders do the right thing by giving up Nilsson, O’Marra, and a 1st round pick this summer for a guy that may only be here for a couple of months? My answer is heck yeah. First off, while the kids may hold significant promise, they were both mid round picks in the first round. Historically, those picks rarely turn out to be stars. Some have had good careers, and many have had short, insignificant careers. And this year’s draft is not deep, especially for the mid round pick the Isles would have gotten. So the upside here is numerous.

Ryan Smyth instantly makes the Isles all but guaranteed to make the playoffs. And with the addition of speedy, offense minded Marc Andre Bergeron on D, and quick Richard Zednik, this team may actually go to the third round. This may seem optimistic and getting ahead of myself, but I truly believe that the Isles can do some damage.

In addition, Smyth has brought more positive media attention to the Islanders than they have had in the past decade.Usually, the Canadian press only covers the team when they are bashing it, such as the Neil Smith fiasco. And what kind of signal does this acquisition send to free agents this summer? It sends the message that the Isles are serious about building a winning team. And with Ted Nolan at the helm, many star players may be interested in coming to LI.

Well, I am glad that Jason Blake stayed an Islander for now. I hear a lot of fans saying that he is selfish on the ice and is only in it for the money. All I can say to that is who knows where this team would be right now without Jason Blake’s performance this season. Is part of his success due to playing with Yashin? Sure, but he has played with many mediocre Islanders over the past few years and has posted good numbers every season. Personally, I say lock the guy up for 5 more years. I think the Islanders are going to give Smyth first shot at signing. If he does so, they will let Blake go. I hope they figure out a way to keep them both. And, I would seriously consider buying out Yashin. This is the team’s final opportunity to do so. The Isles have been playing their best hockey without him. If the Isles lock up Blake and Smyth, I would set Yashin adrift.

One final word. Just because we have Bergeron and Smyth now, doesn’t mean that we are the Penguins. I think the blown leads during the past few weeks makes it clear that the Isles need to play a controlled, opportunistic brand of hockey that is defensive minded first, and offensive minded second. Playing run and gun just unravels the focus of the defense and we all saw what happened the other night against St. Louis and last week against Philly.

Anyway, it is going to be an exciting stretch drive. I predict the Isles will finish 7th and make the playoffs. Stay tuned!!

Rob

From watching various replays courtesy of YouTube, Janssen caught Kaberle a couple of seconds after he released the puck. I’m going to correct something I previously concluded from one replay. He didn’t leave his feet. But it was pretty close. The biggest issue aside from the fact it was late was whether or not it was a shoulder or an elbow. It’s hard to decipher.

If you want, judge for yourself:

Janssen unpenalized late hit on Kaberle

Fyi…reading some of the reaction, it’s hard for anyone to conclude that Janssen did nothing wrong here. I think by his reaction afterwards, he knew he delivered it late and was concerned about the end result. I have to believe the Leafs will send the tape to the league and have them review it for possible fine/suspension.

What can be concluded was that this wasn’t a blatant cheapshot like the one Ottawa’s Chris Neil delivered to Buffalo’s Chris Drury last week which resulted in a concussion. That was even worse and from the blind side.

Either way, the rematch between the Devils and Leafs takes place in 18 days and should be intriguing.

There’s little question that it was a cheap hit. He definitely left his feet and delivered it late on Kaberle. How there was no call on that play is an utter disgrace. Why? I’d love an explanation from the league office on that one.

I understand what Cam brings in his shifts. Lots of energy and physicality. But he leaves his feet a lot and that’s how players get injured. It’s unfortunate that Kaberle had to be taken out on a stretcher. You hope that he’ll be okay.

While we did just catch the highlights, it’s nice to see Janssen showing good sportsmanship as Kaberle was taken out by tapping his stick in a show of respect. However, that didn’t stop Leafs’ antagonist Darcy Tucker from getting into a shouting match with the second-year Devil. Tucker wasn’t dressed as he is still out with a left foot problem suffered back at the beginning of the new calendary year. Given his history with Janssen which included an energized scrap in December 2005, look for Tucker if back healthy to go after Cam when the teams meet for the final time this regular season.

The rematch is set for Tuesday, March 20 up at Air Canada Centre. Don’t miss it!

I was just discussing this with my Devil buddy. On a reasonable March night when your team is honoring one of its Stanley Cup teams, how do they not sellout? I know the reasons behind why they draw what they do. But against a bitter rival who played a part in that particular team winning that championship, you would’ve figured they’d come a little closer than the 15+ they got. While I’m on the subject of attendance, how does any Fishstick fan explain the 12+ they drew in Ryan Smyth’s Islander debut last night? That’s inexcusable!

I didn’t see the game. So I can’t comment on Cam’s hit and whether it was cheap. Let me ask you this. Was it anything like Ryan Hollweg’s which I thought might get a suspension a few weeks ago?

One other question. Being that I didn’t see this one and heard that the Devs let in three in rapid fashion, how does Marty Brodeur and Sergei Brylin get the top two stars? A little home cooking here?

I guess this should’ve been appropriately titled questions.

In other notable games, Sabres outlasted the Canadiens 8-5 in a wild one. They continue to win despite all their injuries and pickup a point on the Devils in the process. The Habs’ defeat hurt because Carolina snapped out of it with a much needed 3-2 win over Pittsburgh to pull into a tie with the Islanders for seventh, leaving Montreal a point out. The Thrashers also got a huge win by doubling up on Ottawa 4-2 thanks to three helpers from Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis’ first as a Thrasher.

Here’s a quick look at the updated standings:

*1.Sabres 91 Pts 18 GR
*2.Devils 87 Pts 17 GR
*3.Tampa 78 Pts 16 GR
4.Ottawa 80 Pts 17 GR
5.Pens 77 Pts 18 GR
6.Atlanta 76 Pts 16 GR
7.Canes 73 Pts 15 GR
8.Isles 73 Pts 18 GR
9.Habs 72 Pts 15 GR
10.Leafs 71 Pts 17 GR
11.Rangers 67 Pts 18 GR
12.Bruins 65 Pts 19 GR
13.Florida 65 Pts 17 GR

*division leader

Note: While it’s true the Islanders have three games at hand on Carolina, they are eighth due to one less win. Wins are the number one tiebreaker.

Why can’t we use him over at least Langs and Sarge? C’mon Homer Julien, go with him.

While Cam’s hit was dirty, Kaberle has gotta stop admiring that pass.

Devils deserve to lose giving up 3 that quick.

If you like classic stuff, here’s a great Top 10 of Jaromir Jagr. Though No.68 did lift Ranger fans out of the seats during last year’s bounceback season, he has been disappointing this year. However, I don’t think the future Hall of Famer ever pulled off these moves since his Broadway arrival. The size and strength along with the puck magic displayed in this video is jawdropping. Enjoy the makings of a great superstar:

Jagr Top 10