The Rangers were able to defeat two original six teams by going deep into their lineup, rolling all four lines, judiciously doling out icetime and conserving their strength until the right moment. Against Toronto, it was jumping out to a commanding lead and protecting it with their third and fourth lines. Against Montreal, it was hanging on and not giving up.

The most important thing about tonight’s game was to see the Rangers battle through adversity and come back to tie and then win. After playing well in the first period, the Rangers lost their speed and their way in the second. After failing to score on the powerplay in the first two minutes of the third period, the Rangers still perservered. Jagr was still engaged throughout the game and didn’t throw in the towel. The Rangers were able to break Montreal’s attempt at a trap by successfully going up the boards and by dumping and chasing.

The troubling thing was the ineffective play of the penalty kill and King Henrik’s inability to stop the Habs from scoring 2 powerplay goals. In spite of these two serious shortcomings, the Rangers rallied and won. Offense compensating for a lack of defense is new wrinkle for this team. I thought at times tonight that Shanahan was having a pretty lousy game but part of the benefit of being a sniper is to get that one shot into the net at the key time. Drury did on the tying goal.

Renney coached another game where ice time was spread over all four lines. It was the key to victory in Toronto and against Montreal. If the Rangers can adjust in game to adversity and play a well rounded game with equal contributions from their offense and defense, it should bode well for the New Year. 

I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Let’s Go Rangers!

The Rangers couldn’t deliver for Christmas on Christmas Eve Eve but they certainly brought their fans a gift for Boxing Day.

Traditionally, Boxing Day in England is the day after Christmas. The Lords and Ladies of the Manor, the noble classes, would box up the left over Christmas food and gifts and wait upon their servants. The gifts in tonight’s game came at the hands of Jaromir Jagr, who had two even strength goals and the two powerplay goals were scored by the Shanahan unit. 

After failing to score on five succesive powerplays through the first and second periods, the Rangers finally capitalized when Chris Drury, assisted by Shanahan and Girardi, scored the tying goal. The go ahead and game winning goal was scored by Dan Girardi, assisted by Shanahan and Drury. In future, I would give that unit more ice time on the powerplay.  I pray God this is the start of a turnaround for the powerplay.

All of the Rangers came to play defense tonight, as illustrated by their successful defense of the 5 minute major “interference” penalty called on Colton Orr for his unfortunate open ice hit on Matt Cullen. Upon initial viewing, it looked intentional and on the dirty side. Upon further review, it seemed that Cullen was in possession of the puck with his head down. Orr was coming through the neutral zone full steam and put out his hands to protect himself. Let’s just hope Matty will be alright.

Together with a another stellar performance by Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers were able to achieve their objective tonight. The key to success is for the Ranger to remain poised when they are behind and to score on the powerplay. Let’s hope this level of performance can be sustained into the New Year and beyond.  

Tonight Ryan Hollweg had a monster game and wanted to play Santa to his teammates. Even though his heart was in the right place, no pucks went off his stick and into the net. And that’s okay. No pucks went off of Jagr or Shanahan’s sticks either, despite the fact they had many more opportunities. God love him, Ryan Hollweg tries his best and put in supreme effort but the kid has hands of stone. What’s Jagr and Shanahan’s excuse? 

To their credit, what had to be a worn out Ottawa Senator team took advantage of their opportunites after playing in a hard fought loss last night in Chicago. Martin Gerber was able to repell al but one of the shots the Rangers took directly into his midsection. The Rangers had 35 shots on Gerber, all but one of them imminently stoppable, low percentage softballs.

The Rangers were looking good in the first period after Gomez scored four minutes in but it went downhill after that. Spezza scored after a weird deflection of a slapshot off Staal that beat Lundqvist and Ottawa went on to score two more unanswered goals in the slot, down low. Lately, Henrik has been going down and staying down, letting those goals in over him.

More than anything, the Rangers burned themselves by not scoring on their MIA powerplay. They were 0 for 5 tonight. Their second unit looked better then the first most times tonight but that isn’t saying much. It looked more like an Ottawa powerplay when the Rangers had the man advantage.  

The Rangers can’t score with the man advantage. They can’t score 5 on5. You knew when they went down 3-1 with 9 minutes left to play in the game that they would not stage a comeback. They are that predictable. People were heading for the exits to hit Macy’s for a little late Christmas shopping.

No Christmas Miracles tonight folks!

PS. Someone should tell Avery that, all good intentions aside, it is not smart to throw punches right after having wrist surgery.   

Anyone attending the Rangers vs. Ottawa game tonight at the Garden is welcome to stop by my seat in Section 409 for Christmas Cookies and Candy between the first and second periods. Get ‘em while they last!

Section 409, Row E, Seat 18 on the aisle across from 408.

At this time I would like to thank all my readers and encourage everyone to leave some comments here whenever the mood strikes you.

Let’s hope the Ottawa Senators are tired and the Rangers bring their “A” game. Wouldn’t it be nice to see smiling faces leaving the Garden tonight after a Ranger win… a Christmas miracle!

Happy Holidays to All!

Let’s Go Rangers

I don’t feel like being nice tonight. I know it’s the holiday season but The Rangers really need to be ripped a new one and I’m just the woman to do it.

Here’s the $64 million dollar question. Is there a manjack on this team that will hit someone? Is there any player on this team that will make the opposition pay for touching the puck? Marian Gaborik scored 5 goals tonight because no one this team was willing to stop him.

Regardless of the officials deciding the outcome of the game early on, after the score was 4-1, I would have sat the top two lines and told the third and fourth line players to pound the living daylights out of the Wild. When the outcome of the game was clear, I would have salvaged my scorers (I use that term loosely) for tomorrow’s game against Colorado. Let the grinders exact as many pounds of Marian Gaborik’s flesh as possible.

Only Jason Strudwick stepped up when he had had enough. Our Captain and our Alternates were physically invisible. Jaromir Jagr has no business wearing the C. He does not lead. He does not hit. And this season, he does not score.

Brendan Shanahan needs to call up his old friend in Detroit, Chris Chelios, and be reminded of how to hit people and make them pay to touch the puck. Two years removed from Detroit is turning Brendan into a soft, old hockey player. Cheli is old but he’ll never be soft. I never thought I would be disappointed in Brendan Shanahan but I am tonight.

More than anything, tonight’s game begs the question, why are Colton Orr and Ryan Hollweg on this team? The only thing these two guys do well is hit. Tonight they were invisible. Our penalty kill was horrendous. Is Marcel Hossa the new Jed Ortmeyer? Is Sean Avery really that key a player to this team. No wonder he has every starlet in the universe at his beck and call. He’s the only guy on the Rangers who consistantly proves he has the cojones to be a hockey player.

Lastly, Henrik Lundqvist turned in another pedestrian game. He couldn’t stop Gaborik on the breakaway. Very disappointing. Valiquette redeemed himself by stopping Gaborik from getting a sixth goal. He stood up to the challenge. Too bad the rest of his teammates didn’t.

For an unprecendented second time in a fortnight, I left the game early to catch my train home. It was the 7:16 to Ronkonkoma this time. When I did it the night of the Carolina game, I had hoped it would be a one off and not happen again this season. Deep down, I felt that it wouldn’t be. Right now, the Rangers are a train wreck. They are 2-4-1 in their last seven games. I didn’t even watch Wednesday’s game. I skated on Wednesday night. The Rangers didn’t. 

Tonight, half the arena left after the second period when the Coyotes went up 5-0. People have plenty of things to do with Christmas a week away. Sitting and watching the Rangers get spanked by the Coyotes isn’t one of them. While Renney must bear some of the responsibility for tonight’s debacle, I tend to agree with those that ask “who else is out there who could turn this team around”? There really isn’t anyone. Renney reminds me of the guy from the “Plate Spinning Act” on the old Ed Sullivan Show. Lately, his plates have been crashing.

What needs to be done? Calling up Dawes and Moore and THEN letting them play was a start. Unfortunately, the players that sat so Dawes and Moore could play are not the root cause of the Rangers problem right now. Hossa and Hollweg don’t score goals. They do forecheck, kill penalties effectively and buy in to the defensive system. Lack of talent is not something Hossa and Hollweg have any control over. You either have scoring talent or you don’t and they don’t.

The problem is that the Rangers have no powerplay. Their goal scorers aren’t scoring because they do not shoot, whether on the powerplay or at even strength. They haven’t had a consistant powerplay all season. Then, when the “premium” players stop buying into overall team defense, their lack of scoring becomes more pronounced.

A trade might be the answer. Who should go? Malik, Hossa, Hollweg, (insert a name) for prospects and picks. Management should just openly acknowledge that they cannot make a Cup run with their present personnel, regardless of what their roster looks like on paper. Paper doesn’t play and neither did the Rangers tonight or most nights recently.

Once again, it is that time in the season when people scream for management to bring up the kids and management yells back, “They’re not ready”. Last year, when injuries started sidelining veterans, management had no other choice but to bring up some kids. Girardi and Callahan did just fine. They should bring up Dawes, Baranka, maybe Anisimov and get on with the rebuild.  

I hope you noticed that I am still going with a “musical” theme in my titles. Tonight, it’s The Clash. Next game, it might be Walk Away by U2  though I sincerely hope it’s Stay by Jackson Browne. I hope it never gets to Just Walk Away Renne(y) by The Left Banke.

Last night’s game was not about beating the Devils. It was about the Rangers beating themselves, defeating themselves. The Ranger’s problem this season is that they are failing to develop a winning culture. So far, the 2007-2008 New York Rangers have been a Karma Chameleon this season. 

The only time in the last score of years where the Rangers were on a even keel for a full season and had that winning culture was ‘91 thru 94′. It didn’t come from the coaching. It came from the players themselves. It came from their commitment to each other. Each and every player committed themselves to playing their best game every game.

Last night, the leaders of this team, Jagr, Straka and Shanahan stepped up and showed every other player on the team what commitment really means, no one moreso than Marty Straka. I have never seen a greater exhibition of self-sacrifice and bravery then what Marty Straka did on that penalty kill. Marty sacrificed his body twice after his stick was broken by Karel Rachunek’s shot. He got a long ovation from the appreciative Garden crowd. His teammates on the bench banged the boards with their sticks in appreciation. That’s the way to breathe life into your team and your building. That is the example you want to set for the youth on your team. That is how to build a winning culture.

Every Ranger brought their best game last night. Collectively, the Rangers executed their game plan and played good defensive hockey. The Ranger’s powerplay, however, continues to struggle, often failing to get set up until the first minute expired. As illlustrated in the overtime, the Rangers play better offensive hockey 4 on 4. Too bad they can’t decline the power play. It was brutal to watch.  

Many Ranger fans complained in game threads on various message boards that yesterday’s game against New Jersey was boring. It was a low scoring, defense first, bore.  Funny, but to those of us at Madison Square Garden, the game went by very quickly. 

The No. 1 line for the Rangers, Straka/Dubinsky/Jagr is now a collective -21 for the last three games. And yet, Coach Renney saw fit to give them the most ice time tonight.  Why?

I understand that Renney may feel that his number one line was his best hope to score when they got behind. But, the reason the Rangers were behind in the first place was because of the inability of their top line to commit to team defense.

What I have seen in these last three games is the inability and/or refusal of Jaromir Jagr to move his feet. He is not incapable of playing defensively. This line was defensively responsible against the Islanders and the Senators last week. In those two games Jagr and Straka had 3 points each and Dubinsky 2 points. Then, along come the Hurricanes on Monday night and Straka/Dubinsky/Jagr are a collective -11 in that game. This disease has continued Thursday night against Toronto and again tonight against Atlanta.

When one of the most positive Ranger fans I know, my friend Scott (RedlightNYR), was prompted Monday to characterize Jagr as “the laziest Captain in the NHL”, that’s pretty sad. Jagr displays no sense of urgency. He refuses to cycle. He refuses to forecheck. The most gauling thing of all is that Jagr was laughing his ass off when poor Dubinsky tried to kick the puck into the net in a desparate attempt to get a goal. That’s a fine example to set for a younger player. Maybe if Jagr tried to attack the net a little more and take more shots, some pucks might go in. The kid wouldn’t be trying to kick them in.

And I don’t want to hear the BS that Jagr’s numbers are down because Dubinsky is his center. If he would skate and play a north/south game and cycle and forecheck like the coaching staff is begging him to do, he wouldn’t be -7 in the last three game and have only 7 shots on goal. That’s right. Jagr has only seven shots in three games. These numbers are unacceptable.  Jaromir Jagr only plays when HE wants to play. Jagr doesn’t skate, he doesn’t forecheck and he doesn’t shoot the puck except when he thinks the result will be a highlight reel goal.

Committing to team defense means taking the time, space and puck away from your opponent. The more time your team is in possession of the puck, the less likely that the other team will score. Jagr gets stripped of the puck so often now, his very presence on the ice is becoming a liability. 

Win, lose or draw, I want to see players out on the ice who play with some spirit and passion. Prucha, Drury and Callahan brought it tonight. Hossa, Gomez and Shanahan did too. The fourth line brings it all the time but couldn’t score in a whorehouse.

Renney feels compelled to use Jagr because he thinks Jagr is his “go to guy”. Renney should think again. If Jagr doesn’t buck up, Renney should do whatever it takes to wake Jagr up. Sit Jagr. Waive Jagr, for all I care. Who would pick him up at his salary?

Jagr, to me, is now a pre-fire sale Ranger. And that is just about the worst thing you could say about any Ranger player in the post lockout era.

Last night, as I sat in Madison Square Garden watching Matt Cullen and the Carolina Hurricanes thoroughly embarrass some lazy and enigmatic New York Rangers, I found some solace in the fact that tonight I could watch a great hockey game. The first “hyped” Original Six match up of this season between the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings figured to be a great game to watch, despite the fact it was being televised on Versus. 

The reason why the Detroit Red Wings continue to be the best team in hockey year after year after year was clearly illustrated in Montreal tonight. After the first period, the Habs look liked an AHL team. I thought after “Smithtown” Chris Higgins scored his goal at 4:15 of the second period to tie the game, the Canadiens would make it a contest. Nothing could have been further from the case.

Detroit kept throwing the puck into the center of the ice, from the side, from behind, from up high. They outshot Montreal 33 to 17. I would venture a guess and say they were in possession of the puck for 50 minutes. Hasek made a couple of decent saves and let one in. When I saw “the Dominator” was playing, I thought that Montreal might have half a chance. Dominik is 42 and has been so uneven this season that Osgood is really number one.

Pavel Datsyuk’s second unassisted goal at even strength at 11:08 of the second period put the game away for the Red Wings. Every aspect of the Red Wing’s game is almost flawless. They relentlessly forecheck. Turnovers are minimal. They do exactly what Renney and the coaching staff have been begging the Rangers to do. They shoot the puck. They cause so much havoc in the slot that the opposition’s goaltender doesn’t have much of a chance of seeing the puck. Their cycle is clearly North/South. Their powerplay cycle is North/South. The vast majority of Detroit’s players are European. If they can play North American style hockey, why can’t the Euro-Rangers?    

The Detroit Red Wings have been at the top of their division almost every year since they last won the Cup in 2002. They have been coached by Bowman, Lewis and Babcock and they still are one of the most dominant teams in the league in the regular season. It’s more then coaching. It’s their culture. They refuse to settle for anything less then their personal best in every game they play. It is their committment to their teamates and the organization to be their best, to bring their best game evey game.

Montreal’s game is typical of Eastern Conference teams. If Tom Renney is looking for tapes to review, he should use tonight’s game to illustrate how to play a game where there is constant checking, constant puck movement and possession as shown by the Red Wings. The Red Wings make their opponent pay, not so much by banging them but by outhustling them. That, and the awesome goal scoring ability of Zetterburg, Holmstrom and Datsyuk.

Shanahan won three Stanley Cups with Wings. He and Steve Yzerman were the personification of the Red Wing’s ideology. Sean Avery came up through the Wings organization. I am sure he hasn’t forgotten what he learned there. We need them both to step up and lead the Rangers.  After witnessing the lackadaisical play of certain Rangers on Monday night, I too am close to calling for Shanahan to be given the “C”. It’s not Jagr’s team anymore. We need him to score goals, not be weighed down by the burden of being Captain.

I hate leaving games early. It’s a sign of disrespect to my team. I have only ever left one Ranger game early to attend a wedding. Tonight I decided to make an exception to that rule. We left after Carolina scored their third goal. It was time to cut bait and catch the 9:16.

The Rangers came out flat and the nail was put in the coffin at the end of the first period when Carolina scored late. The Rangers looked like a high colonic wouldn’t have gone amiss during the first intermission.

The Rangers played better in the second period but couldn’t get the few quality shots they managed past Cam Ward. They did not play the same offenseive game they played against the Islanders and Ottawa and their defensive game fell apart as well.

The powerplay was back to being nonexistant again. Lundqvist can’t bitch much because he looked pedestrian at best and should have had the Walter goal at the very least. The penalty kill was okay. They just couldn’t play with Carolina at even strength. The mind boggles.

The lesson the Rangers need to learn tonight is how to come back and not fold up like a cheap suitcase if they are down by two. The also need to know if they want the fans to stay, they’ve got to play.

I have a feeling this might be the first true mulligan of the season but I’m afraid it won’t be the last.