So for the third time, after struggling to make the playoffs in the last five of six season, the Rangers are bounced in the first round. They have never gotten past the second round the two times they were able to advance.  What should be the Ranger’s strategy for next season?

Ideally I would like to see more young players brought up and shown the ropes, playoffs be damned! If it means jettisoning veterans, so be it. The only way the “yutes” got to be seen at all this season, no less play significant minutes, was because of all the injuries to the veterans. For the most part, they were a pleasant surprise.

In addition to finally learning the lesson that you build from within, the powers that be should also realize that sacrificing the playoffs for a season or two moving forward is the way to go. By not back filling with overpriced, unproductive veterans and bringing in more kids, they can more accurately evaluate what talent they do have in the system.

They have a prodigious amount of talent in the pipeline, Hagelin, Bourque and Kreider to name just a few. They need to nuture and retain them, not keep them buried in Hartford. Think of how many promising players the Rangers have let go/walk because they had no room (because of the Gomezes, Drurys and Reddens) or patience. Guys like Parenteau, Moore, Montoya, even Malholtra are just a few who come to mind. They have gone on to prosper elsewhere.

Unfortunately, because they made the playoffs this year, expectation will be greater next year. If the Rangers do sign Brad Richards and he comes here and lays an egg, I hope it puts an end to overpriced veteran free agent signings for the foreseeable future. The pressure will always be on Sather to make the sexy, splashy signing. The pressure from Dolan to bring in the profit of at least two playoff games will always hang over Sather’s head.

But judging by the tenor of the fan base, the rank and file Blue Seat denizens, the front office should realize that the fans were okay moving on with the youth movement this season. I believe they would have no qualm in following the same strategy next. All we ask is that the on ice talent continue to work hard and put in the effort every game. The fans want a winner built from within. The fans want a team that will be a contender for years to come, not just a first round exit from the playoffs every year.

If patience is the price, I believe they will pay it.

Posted under New York Rangers

To win just once against the odds
And once be smiled on by the Gods
To race with speed along the track
Break the tape and not look back
To never have considered losing
As if to win is by your choosing
Bare you soul for all to find
An honest heart and an open mind

- The SawDoctors  Leo Moran/Davy Carton

Thank You, New York Rangers!

Posted under New York Rangers

Just when you thought our young Rangers were progressing nicely along the playoff learning curve, they came out in the second period last night and imploded. All the good things we saw in the four plus periods of hockey leading up to it were thrown out the window. A three minute offensive push by the Caps and a bogus penalty was all it took and they went down by two goals. Welcome to the real NHL playoffs, boys.

By the numbers, the Rangers did not play a bad game. Quite unbelievably, the Rangers had 3 giveaways to the Caps 8. The one stat most telling is that the Caps were able to block 21 of the Rangers 22 shots and 21 attempted shots. Both teams were pretty even on hits and faceoffs. Credit Chris Drury with being 75% on faceoffs. Now if Captain Clutch could have just scored a goal…:(

It’s a pretty sad day when Brian Boyle and Marian Gaborik have the same number of shots in a playoff game(4). Considering their skill levels, Boyle actually had the more creative chances of the two. Someone should put out an APB on Gaborik’s hockey sense. All four of his shots went right into the midsection of Neuvirth. My grandmother could have stopped them. Let’s hope he can get his head out of his ass and start taking some decent shots instead of pathetic attempts. Gaborik is looking like another Sather bust of a signing.

McCabe is another waste of space. He’s too slow and doesn’t take the damn shot from the point on the powerplay. Eminger has done a better job. Nice to see Matt Gilroy finally get tapped to play after being a healthy scratch for so many games this season. Of course, any mistakes he makes in the playoffs will put him in the running for team goat. This kid can’t win as a Ranger.  Were I Gilroy, I’d look elsewhere to make my mark in hockey. He’ll come back and be a Ranger killer just to spite his detractors. (Can you say Pascal Dupuis?)

If they’ll return for the same money, I’d take Prospal and Fedotenko back in a heart beat. They’re decent, hard working veterans. Decent and hardworking veterans/Rangers? Now there’s a novel concept. Somehow that description has long been inapplicable to veterans Sather has brought in to turn the franchise around. Since Brad Richards is a fait accompli, Prospal and Fedotenko staying just makes sense.

The penalty on McDonagh that lead to the Caps second goal was just complete horseshit. In the first game nothing was called. The officials swallowed their whistles. Last night, bullshit calls. Nothing like being consistent there with your officiating, NHL. This second goal might not have happened had Torts called a time out after the first goal when the Rangers were scrambling. The second goal is on Torts and the Refs. Let’s hope Torts’ in-game management is better tomorrow, when the Rangers have home ice advantage. Use the time outs, John, they’re not green stamps. No point in saving them.

What I find inexplicable is that the Rangers aren’t pounding the Caps every chance they get. One can only hope that the swagger and arrogance the Caps will walk into the Garden with tomorrow afternoon will work against them.  Especially Neuvirth. This young punk thinks he’s a Vezina candidate. He hasn’t been standing on his head. The only reason he looks half way decent is because the Ranger’s nonexistent offense hasn’t even been challenging him.

I’m hoping the Rangers can bounce back tomorrow and get a win so they are not swept. The kids on this team need to gain playoff experience. They don’t need to be embarrassed and demoralized. That’s not a part of the learning curve they need to be on.

As for my fellow fans at the Garden, I implore you, if things start to go south, if things get ugly, just remember that most of our players are kids with little or no playoff experience. They deserve your respect and applause for just making it to the playoffs. Anyone who boo’s them should be ejected from their overpriced seats.

I’ve got the balloons. I’m ready for the playoff bus to roll. Stay Positive.

Let’s Go Rangers!

Posted under New York Rangers

As the saying goes, “it’s an ill wind that blows no body some good”. The New York Rangers are in the playoffs because an ill wind and a bolt of Lightning blew the Hurricanes out.

Try as they might, the Hurricanes could not sustain the wind that brought them to the brink of a playoff berth. Try as they might, the NHL did not prevail in their attempt to eliminate the Rangers by virtue of their ridiculous tie break rules. Try as they might, the NHL and its officials ultimately did not dictate the outcome of this game.

Carolina was the beneficiary of seven powerplay opportunities to one for Tampa. 7 to 1. Carolina had almost an entire two minutes with a 5 on 3 advantage. They did score a powerplay goal then. Hell, the refs called a bogus boarding call on Tampa with less then five minutes left in the game. A last ditch attempt to get Carolina back in it.

I feel badly for the Canes. They are a good team with a terrific fan base. They struggled hard. The Rangers, however, are more deserving to be in the playoffs. After losing out last season by one point in a skills competition to Philadelphia, it would have been truly sad for the Rangers to have such a good season end because of the league’s bullshit tie break rules.

The NHL is watering down their product by making ties and shoot outs the desired result for their teams instead of victories in regulation. The Hurricanes didn’t loose tonight. Parity lost tonight. Mediocrity lost tonight. Homogenized hockey lost tonight. Gary Bettman lost tonight. Colin Campbell lost tonight.  The Islanders and their fans lost tonight. Atlanta and their fans lost tonight. Most importantly, Marty Brodeur, the Devils and their fans lost tonight. They all can kiss my ass.

The Rangers are in the playoffs. I don’t care if people say they backed in. They didn’t back in. They had more wins. They held a playoff spot all season. They deserve to be in the playoffs.

Let’s Go Rangers! Time to pay back the Caps for 2009!

Posted under New York Rangers

After the Bruins went up 2-0, I switched channels to Dancing With the Stars. I did not have the courage to watch the game live. I taped the game for later viewing. I left the HockeyRodent message boards, my usual internet hang out on game nights. What can I say? I’m a chicken. I can’t deal with adversity when it comes to my boys in Blue.

I watched Kirstie Ally and her partner fall, get up and continue to perform their best dance yet. They came back from adversity. But I don’t get as emotionally involved with Dancing. I do with the Rangers. The Rangers came back to beat Boston by scoring five unanswered goals. Five. They got. back. up. There’s an old saying in figure skating, “first you skate, then you die”. You only leave the ice if your legs are broken. You suck it up and  finish your programme. Tonight the Rangers finished their programme with all 6.0′s.

By the time the game was over the Rangers were essentially even with the Bruins is most aspects of the game. The Bruins were better on faceoffs, winning 57% to the Rangers 43%. The Bruins had 30 shots to the Rangers 26. The teams were pretty even on giveaways and takeaways. The Rangers did lay on more hits, 32 to 27 for the Bruins.

What the Rangers did have that the Bruins did not was a sense of urgency in the last half of the third period. Some poor defensive lapses by the Bruins and some excellent defending by the shot blocking Rangers allowed the Rangers to score three goals in the final five minutes of the third period.

The Rangers scored five unanswered goals on the league’s leading goaltender. They found a chink in Thomas’ armour. That said, I would sooner see the Rangers play the Flyers or Caps in the opening round, should they make the playoffs. That’s right, I said should they make the playoffs. Nothing is carved in stone yet. We must not get ahead of ourselves. The Rangers have two games left and need three points to secure a playoff spot. If they do, they will finish with 94 points. That’s what I estimated they would get last week before they choked in Buffalo and on the Island.

I am most happy for all my friends and former section mates up in 409. They faithfully sit up there through good games and bad. They don’t record the game and play it back. They watch it live. I am glad their faith and bravery was rewarded tonight. Ranger fans deserve it.

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!

Posted under New York Rangers