One of the posters on HockeyRodent’s message boards, who goes by the handle “Chimp”, had this to say about the New York Rangers in particular and the NHL in general. I asked if I could quote him,  Since he didn’t say no, I took his nonresponse as approval. This person is from Europe. Not sure which country.  I believe it gives one some insight into what non-North Americans think and speaks volumes. For what it’s worth:

“It feels a little bit weird, but totally right. I’ve been watching the NHL since 2005 and the entertainment value has seriously gotten worse year after year.

I’m sort of bailing ship right in the middle of the playoffs. Watching that World Championships tournament was a serious wakeup call for me. Less hitting, yes, but goddamn, they actually played some hockey. They passed the puck, connected with more than 2(!!) passes in a row, used the D-men to restart the attack to try to enter the zone with puck possession, the cycling game actually lead to something constructive, I just loved it.

No grinding along the boards for 50 minutes where nothing happens. No dumping the puck for the automatic backcheck. More than 3 legit scoring chances during an entire game. Not 0/2000 on the PP. Not blocking 90% of every shot fired. Not horrible ice where the puck bounces around like it has its own life.

Today’s NHL and the Rangers/ Boston especially? It now feels as agony to watch them play. I couldn’t even bear myself to watch game 2 even when it was an evening game here, because I knew it would suck from a quality standpoint, I knew I would be disappointed, I knew I would be frustrated and I knew I would not be entertained. It has been the same feeling this whole season.

I’ll see when I get an interest in Rangers hockey again, perhaps when Torts is fired and/ or when Bettman is. Because the NHL today is unwatchable from an entertainment standpoint, even as a hardcore hockey fan. Torts is single handedly sucking the interest of watching the Rangers play out of me (well obviously not true after that rant, but coaches like him still needs to go).

I’ll think I get my beauty sleep instead. I’ll chime in once and then and check how it goes, but no way in hell I’m watching another minute of NHL hockey like it’s played today. Something seriously needs to be done, because I honestly can’t waste sleep watching this.”

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The Rangers are on the brink of elimination by the Washington Capitals on Mother’s Day. That’s just wrong. In this crazy hockey orb we all inhabit, we come across some really funny people. One of my Facebook/HockeyRodent friends, Chris Pell, posted this sentiment this morning. I’d like to share it with you:

“The Washington Capitals don’t even have Mothers. They hatch from spores, and live off rain water and mold. The Rangers can’t lose to these freaks on Mother’s Day. Do it for Mrs. Stepan!”

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, especially to the all the hockey moms. Without the Mrs. Staals, Mrs. Callahans, Mrs. Lundqvists and Mrs. Stepans of the world where would the Rangers be?

Mrs. Richards and Mrs. Nash need to call their sons and tell them to get their acts together and pot a few plants for them for Mother’s Day.

Congratulations to Jack Capuano and the New York Islanders and all their mothers. They put together a hell of a season and a respectable playoff run. Next year can only get better for them.

I offer no congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also were hatched from spores…

Let’s Go Red Wings!

LET’S GO RANGERS!!!

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Looking like he was about to cry in the post game interview, Ryan  McDonagh took the weight of the Rangers overtime loss all on his shoulders. Mac Truck put the puck over the glass allowing the Capitals the powerplay opportunity. As opposed to the Rangers, the Capitals have one of the the most lethal powerplays in the league. Law of averages they would finally score.

There is something positive to be taken from this game 2 loss to the Capitals this afternoon. The Rangers were the equal of the Caps 5 on 5.  The players did there best but unfortunately their failure to score is not on the players. It’s on the coaching staff.

It’s on John Tortorella and Mike Sullivan for throwing out Brad Richards on the point on the first unit. It’s on John Tortorella for the mind boggling line juggling. It’s on John Tortorella for not putting Stepan with Nash. It’s on John Tortorella for burying Chris Kreider. Tortorella should be the one choking back the tears, not Ryan McDonagh.

The Craps have to win four games. The Rangers can come home and win the next two. Nothing is over yet. I wouldn’t be so quick to write these Rangers off. They were the equal of the Craps in almost every phase of the game today save for the powerplay. The Rangers may still prevail in spite of Tortorella and Sullivan.

Hold Your Head Up – Argent

And if it’s bad
Don’t let it get you down, you can take it
And if it hurts
Don’t let them see you cry, you can take it

Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high

And if they stare
Just let them burn their eyes on you moving
And if they shout
Don’t let them change a thing what you’re doing

Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high

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If the Rangers want to win tomorrow afternoon, they need to take a page out of the Islander’s playbook and take the body.

After going down 3-1 in the first period, the Islanders came back to tie the game because they refused to back down. They did it by finishing their checks and not taking any crap from the Penguins.

Kyle Okposo destroyed Matt Niskanen for leveling Matt Moulson at center ice. Way to go Kyle. The Rangers should be made to watch film of this. This is the way you defend a team mate and make a dirt bag like Niskanen pay. The Islanders scored on the next shift.

The Rangers need to take the body, finish their checks and put a big time hurtin’ on Alexander Rasputin & Co. tomorrow. Nash has a giant body but shies away from contact, as does Richards and most every player on the team (except Asham and Callahan). You gotta take a hit to make a play. You hear that, Dan Girardi? Ryan Mcdonagh?

The Rangers lost by the score of 3-1 last night. The Islanders came back in the second period to tie the Penguins at 3-3 killing off a 3.5 minutes of  penalty time at the end of the period. The Islanders pounded the snot out of Pittsburgh in the second. Strait even got a nice hit on the Cry Baby. He didn’t give a crap about Crosby’s full cage to protect his glass jaw.

The Rangers should knock Ovechkin down on that giant ass pad he has protruding  uncovered half way up his back. Rule 9.5 says that’s a penalty. Tortorella should call him out if the Rangers get behind.

If the Rangers want to win, they better come out banging tomorrow. Screw the officials, screw the penalties and screw Tortorella if he benches anyone for getting a penalty for playing old time hockey.

The Rangers need to be meaner and hungrier. They didn’t look like they really wanted it last night. In homage to my young friends, Ron and Bob Doda, “Put him in a body bag” should be the Rangers matinee mantra manana.

The Islanders won 4-3 because they never gave up. Good on them.

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When  I look back on this half-season, it reminds me of the relationship between Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit in “Guys and Dolls”. Nathan always scamming, running his “oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York”. Adelaide always disappointed because Nathan never gets her to the alter.

The Rangers making the playoffs was certainly like a Nathan Detroit crap shoot. And, like Miss Adelaide, Ranger fans thought they’d be left at the playoff alter again, another shot at the Stanley Cup like a spinster’s day dream.

How far will the Rangers go in the playoffs? Las Vegas odds makers give the Rangers 16 to 1. The  Penguins and the Blackhawks 4 to 1. Harry the Horse is being generous to the Rangers. He’s got the Icelanders at 33 to 1.

So, in my best, nasally, Miss Adelaide voice, I’ll sing my part of the duet with the Rangers:

Adelaide:

You promise me this, you promise me that,

you promise me anything under the sun

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This evening on Twitter, Sean Avery blasted John Tortorella:

“Fire this CLOWN, his players hate him and wont play for his BS”

Derek Stepan’s response:

“I don’t agree with Avery’s tweet at all, no. I think it’s safe to say that all 23 guys on our roster would say that’s not the case.”

Okay, if Stepan is telling the truth ( that the players don’t feel this mess is on Torts), then logically the fault must be on the players. It’s easy for Stepan try and deflect blame from Torts but the buck has got to stop somewhere.

Granted Avery hates Tortorella but deep down he is still a hockey player. He can read and analyze what’s happening on the ice and behind the bench way better the any of us mere fans.

You don’t have to be a rocket surgeon to see what’s happening. Torts has been routinely outcoached. Every team in the league has the Rangers scouted and knows how to keep them to the outside and beat them along the boards.

Tortorella has misused players (Gaborik in particular) and emasculated others. He’s propping up players (Richards) who aren’t putting in the effort or doing what they are getting paid to do. He isn’t teaching the rookies, he’s screwing with the poor kid’s heads. He benches anyone who makes a mistake.

What about Tortorella’s mistakes? What’s with the continual line juggling? Why isn’t he rolling four lines when he has the players to do so? Why is he wearing down the better players with his bench shortening? And what about the coaching staff’s biggest mistake of all, the worst powerplay in the league?

It’s time for the “Fire Torts” chants to reign down in the Garden. It’s time for the fans to start unfurling “Fire Torts” banners. He’s had his chance. Let’s get someone (anyone) else in now and see how the players respond. Time to reevaluate the players we have in the system with a view towards the future. This season is over as far as I’m concerned.

You all may hate Sean Avery but he’s calling it as he sees it. He’s not the only one. Dave Maloney has been critical of Torts too. What axe has Dave to grind? I give Dave credit for not pushing the Garden’s Kool Aide on the fan base the way Rosen and Micheletti do.

I’ve held my tongue until now to be fair and to see if things would turn around. They haven’t, so I’m not.

Times Up Torts.

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Like Marc Staal’s mother, I am sick with worry over the injury her son sustained in last night’s win over the Flyers. And no, I’m not worried about how it will effect the Rangers position in the standings. I’m worried about Marc’s well being.

When I saw him get hit with that puck, I knew he was severely injured. I was shaking with fear for this young man. I could only guess what his mother was feeling.

Being the mother of two daughters, I constantly worry about them. Are they doing well? Are they safe? No matter how old they are, parents are always upset when their children are injured or in danger.

I have watched Marc Staal since his first game in a Ranger uniform. It was at the first preseason game after the 2004-05 lockout at the Nassau Coliseum. I sat right next to Marc in the first row on the glass. He was no more then a foot away from me on the visitor’s bench.

He was sent down to the WolfPack at the start of the regular season but I could see the greatness in him on that night in Nassau. From the very  beginning, Staal has more then delivered on his promise. He’s shut down the best scorers in the league.

Ranger fans have watched this boy grow up. Marc Staal came to us as an eighteen year old kid barely out of high school. He has grown into a great player and a fine young man. Staal, Callahan, Girardi, Lundqvist, Del Zotto, Stepan are all like sons to us “older” Ranger fans. They are home grown. I even look out after our boys that have moved on.

As a mother and a concerned fan, I implore the NHL to make visors mandatory. I beg all players to starting using a visor immediately, NHL mandate or no. Your fans love you. We don’t ever want to see anyone hurt or have their careers ended when a visor could have saved you.

My thoughts and prayers are with Marc. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he has not sustained any long term injury.

But, my heart goes out to Marc’s mother (and his father). I cannot imagine the worry four sons have caused them throughout the years.

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Today, February 17, 2013, is Hockey Day in America. I’m going to celebrate it by watching the Sabres-Penguins game on NBC before I head out to the Rangers-Caps game tonight at the Garden.

NBC is hosting over six hours of coverage today in honor of Hockey Day in America. Too bad a programming executive at NBC Sports didn’t remind the “Today Show” about Hockey Day in America.

The “Today Show” did a live remote broadcast from Boston this past week and didn’t mention word one about the Bruins. The 2011 Stanley Cup Champions didn’t even rate a mention. It was the perfect opportunity to cross promote today’s NBC hockey programming schedule. The “Today Show” didn’t.

Instead, they chose to talk about, what else, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the New England Patriots. In the city that holds the Beanpot Championship, that has a host of colleges vying for the Frozen Four Championships most years, “Today Show” producers failed to do their homework.

They ignored Boston’s hockey tradition. Who knows? Maybe NBC sports told them to steer clear of the subject because of the lost revenue during the lockout. NBC  lost huge dollars on the cancelled Winter Classic. After all, it was the likes of Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs taking a hard line that prolonged the lockout.

The”Today Show” producers really dropped the puck, I mean ball on this one. The blizzard last weekend prevented “Today” from doing their broadcast from Chicago as planned.  Maybe some suit at NBC Sports should send a memo to the producers of  the “Today Show” and remind them that the Chicago Black Hawks were the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions?

Just a thought.

To all who play, watch and enjoy the sport of hockey, today is our day. Enjoy!

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For New York Ranger fans and all hockey fans today, January 6th, is indeed a Merry Little Christmas as the Players Association and management reached a tentative agreement on a new CBA.

When I was a child we really celebrated “Little Christmas”. Our tree stayed up until the 7th. A small gift was held back from December 25th and opened on January 6th to commemorate the Feast of the Epiphany (also known as Three Kings Day in Hispanic countries). It is the day the Magi, the Three Kings from Orient Far,  brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh to the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

Today, three Magi in the persons of Bettman, Daly and Fehr gave the players and the fans the best Little Christmas gift of all, their game back. And although pundits will ponder who came out on top in this new deal, people should put aside their bitterness and embrace their teams and their players.

Sure, don’t buy merchandise or subscribe to NHL Center Ice to show your anger at the league for unnecessarily dragging the fans through another protracted labor dispute. But don’t forget that kids we’ve watch grow to men, to husbands and fathers and mature players can’t wait to play the game for us. They are our Rangers. We are their fans.

Support them, not the League.

Let’s Go Rangers

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Team USA won the World Junior Under 20 Championship in UFA Russia after defeating the Swedes 3-1 in the gold medal game.

I taped the game while I was at work this morning, came home and watched it without hearing any spoilers. What a game! It was as exciting as any gold medal game/Stanley Cup game I have seen in recent memory.

John Gibson was nothing short of sensational. Lowest GAA and SAV in the Tournament. He shut down the Swedes when they dominated the third period.Some of these boys have played in a few world tourneys together. USA defense was amazing against the Swedish onslaught.

New York Rangers first round draft pick JT Miller showed he will be a major asset to the Rangers when he is ready. He’s a smart two way player with 8 points in the tournament.

Rocco Grimaldi scored two goals (the game winner) in this game after riding pine in the USA’s must win game against the Slovaks.

Johnny Hockey Gaudreau was very impressive.  He’s not even as big as a smurf. He’s smaller then Theo Fleury and Martin St Louis. Could he cut it in the NHL?

My overwhelming feeling on seeing some of the faces is that these boys still look like children to me.

The Swedes played a great tournament. It’s a shame someone has to lose. It is so hard on those boys. There is no shame in silver. And, I am sure Swedish fans are not reviling their young goalie Lundstrom the way some Canadian fans are disparaging Malcolm Subban.

NHL? Lockout? Hockey Related Revenue? Too bad we can’t watch more international tournaments. We wouldn’t need the NHL.

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