I heard that the Pittsburgh Penguins are the new Stanley Cup Champions. I didn’t personally watch any of the Stanley Cup final games when they were broadcast.  I was so incensed by Gary Bettman and the NHL kowtowing to the NBC schedulers (putting all of the players at a disadvantage by making them unnecessarily play back to back games) that I vowed not to watch. After hearing about Crosby’s breach of Stanley Cup etiquette, I am glad I remained true to my boycott. 

Apparently Crosby was too busy celebrating to shake the hand of Nicklas Lidstrom when the line formed. Nick Lidstrom waited around awhile but Crosby wasn’t forthcoming. Being the gentleman he is, Lidstrom did not complain in the press. But his teammate of over 15 years, Kris Draper, another gentleman and fellow four time Stanley Cup Champion refused to remain silent. Now Draper is being castigated in the media for taking a shot at hockey’s Poster Boy, Sidney Crosby. How dare Draper?

Lidstrom and the rest of the Red Wings formed the line, as did most other Penguins, and went through the time honored ritual which makes hockey the greatest sport. The self-absorbed Sidney was nowhere to be found. Crosby can’t plead innocent by lack of inexperience. He was in the same line last year on the losing side.  Traditionally, Coaches and Captains seek each other out immediately to congratulate each other as soon as the lines form. Crosby may have captained his team to the Stanley Cup but that doesn’t mean he can flout tradition because he’s God’s newest gift to hockey.

I am very happy for Long Island’s own Rob Scuderi, a St. Anthony HS alum, who came up through the hockey programs out here in Suffolk County and later at Boston College. I am also happy that  another Staal brother gets his name on the Stanley Cup. I only hope that our Staal will have the same good fortune with the Rangers some day soon. 

In fact, I congratulate all the Pittsburgh Penguins, except Sidney Crosby. Bettman has chosen his Poster Boy well. Both have a lot of class, all of it low.

Posted under New York Rangers

As if we haven’t had enough of the NHL making up new rules to punish the unworthy, ie the Avery Rule, last night Evgeni Malkin got an instigator penalty during the last five minutes of  the game but he will not get the requisite one day suspension that goes along with it.

Is it because he’s Evgeni Malkin? (Rhetorical question) Some rules don’t apply to players like Malkin, Crosby and Ovechkin. Rules are only invented or “interpreted” to punish the unworthy, the goons, the fourth line pariahs of the league. But. you can bet you sweet assets if Niklas Kronwall or Tomas Holmstrom had been the instigator last night they wouldn’t see the white of the ice at the Igloo on Tuesday. They’re not worthy.

What with the Penguins being down 2-0 in the series, suspending Malkin would put the Penguins at a potentially insurmountable disadvantage for game 3. Gary and Colie couldn’t let that happen, now could they? They cant’ let the Ice Chickens and the Poster Boy go down in flames. They must have this series go on as long as possible to put that extra playoff money in Mario’s pocket.

I did not watch the game on Saturday or last night in protest of the NBC BullSh*t scheduling. I saw the play in question on NHL on the Fly. Malkin got 5 for fighting, 2 for instigating and a 10 minute misconduct. According to the NHL rules, Malkin should be suspended for one game. What happens if Malkin commits another suspendable offense? Because he was not suspend for the one game yesterday, will he get a pass on his next offense? 

Malkin was stymied all game by the Red Wings and by the end of the game was extremely frustrated and vented that frustration. So far, Makin has 41 minutes in penalties during the playoffs.  That’s about half the penalty minutes he’d had all season. While Malkin may not be a fourth line goon, judging by his performance last night he’s a powder keg waiting to explode.

47.22 Fines and Suspensions – Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) - A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at anytime in overtime, shall automatically be suspended for one game. The Director of Hockey Operations will review every such incident and may rescind the suspension based on a number of criteria. The criteria for the review shall include, but not limited to, the score, previous incidents, etc. The length of suspension will double for each subsequent offense. This suspension shall be served in addition to any other automatic suspensions a player may incur for an accumulation of three or more instigator penalties.

Following Campbell’s review of the situation, he determined Malkin should have been assessed a game misconduct for not having his jersey tied down during the fight but not suspended as an instigator. Now isn’t that conveeeeenient. (Church Lady font)

Way to go Colin!  Make the NHL more of a joke.

Posted under New York Rangers

With Montreal’s loss tonight to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Rangers first round playoff fate has now been decided. The Habs will be playing their most hated rivals, The Bruins, in Bean Town. The Rangers and Caps should start the ”Acela Series”  on Wednesday night in the Nation’s Capital.

Whether the Ranger’s faced Tim Thomas, the brick wall in Boston or the Ovechkin/Semin/Green firing squad in Washington, the odds of their weathering the first round rest squarely on the shoulders of the King, Henrik Lundqvist. With the scoring power of the aforementioned unholy triumvirate, poor Lundqvist will be flashing his glove in his nightmares until Wednesday.

Lundqvist has 37 wins, 25 losses, a 2.32 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Theodore  has 32 wins, 16 loses and 5 overtime losses. His goals against average is 2.81 and save percentage is .901. While Lundqvist  may have slightly better numbers on the year, Theodore has had a better, higher scoring team in front of him.

In their four games with the Capitals this season the Rangers are 1 and 3. The Rangers lost both games in DC and two of the four game ended in shoot outs. The Rangers last defeated the Caps on February 11th in a shoot out 5-4. Unfortunately, there are no shoot outs in the playoffs. The Rangers all time away record against the Caps is 34-46-9-3.

Considering the Rangers have no powerplay, bad defense and have trouble scoring at the best of times, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the the odds are clearly against the Rangers making it through the first round.  Compound that by the fact that in Alexander Ovechkin the Caps have a superstar that not only can score but hit and fight if need be. Ovechkin is not the whining, diving Poster Boy the Rangers faced last season in Cindy Crosby. He’s the biggest superstar in the NHL. He’s the league MVP.

At least true hockey fans will be entertained by the antics of Ovechkin. Ranger fans should sit up and watch regardless of the outcome. Afterall, we’ll get to see a team the Rangers could have been. Had not Sather kept throwing money and big contracts at mediocre, washed up players since he arrived here, we too might have an Ovechkin We too might be in the Tavares sweepstakes like the Islanders.

I sincerely hope that Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers make it through the first round. But, like waiting for shoes to drop, I am not holding my breathe.

Posted under New York Rangers

And I can’t get it out of my head,
No I can’t get it out of my head.
Now my old world is gone for dead,
‘Cos I can’t get it out of my head.

-Jeff Lynne, Electric Light Orchestra

I cannot fathom how a man who has won three Stanley Cups and four Vezina trophies can let the New York Rangers and their fans get into his head the way Martin Brodeur has done.

Here is a guy who kept his composure while going through a very personal and public separation during the playoffs in 2003. His then estranged wife taunted him that she was having affairs with his opponents.  It had so little effect upon him that he and his team went on to win the Stanley Cup. 

The gist of Martin’s personal life has been grist for the mill of taunting Ranger fans ever since. And while all the listeners to the Versus broadcast may have heard last night was “Maaarty”, fans in the Garden could hear chants of  ”Uncle Daddy” and “Al-i-mony” reigning down from the rafters of MSG.

Brodeur is currently involved in a law suit with his ex-wife who is seeking longer and larger alimony payment’s from Martin. Uncle/Daddy will have to work for as long as he can to support two families. I doubt he needs to be reminded of this but Ranger fans stick it to him at every opportunity.

Among the other chants I heard were, “Marty —–  his sister-in-law, do dah, do dah” and “Fatso”, the later courtesy of Sean Avery from last years playoffs. So, the media may think that it is only Sean Avery in the heads of Marty and the Devils but in actual fact, the Ranger fans in MSG are as much there as Sean.

Last night Sean Avery, the bad boy of the NHL, the anger management poster boy, fashionista bad boy, retained his composure while Marty and the Devils lost theirs. Oh yes, the fact that most of the Ranger players were engaged in the game and John Tortorella backed his defense away from his “safe is death” policy had something to do with the victory.  

But, deep down the whole Brodeur vs Avery rematch was in the hearts and minds of the Devils.  It was put there by the media and the fans. The fans are the Rangers seventh man whenever they play the Devils, be it at the Garden or the Rock.

Unlike 2006, should the Rangers make the playoffs, I live in hope that the first round is against the Devils. Question is, based on their late season slump, will Sutter still be behind the bench or will he be Lamarilloed?

Posted under New York Rangers

Well, I guess this game should quiet the doom and gloomers until at least Wednesday. If any one out there can point to a Ranger deficiency in this game, let them speak now or forever hold their peace. Statiscally, the Rangers were better at every aspect of the game, with the exception being shots on goal (27 Penguins/ 26 Rangers).

The Rangers out hit, out faced off, out fought, out goaltended, out penalty killed, out powerplayed and out hustled the Penguins tonight. This was their best game of the season. And yet, I still am reading message boards with the vindictive, bitter ravings of a lunatic fringe out there who attribute this victory to some perceived notion that it was a “walk in the park” against the slumping Penguins.

Please. Although the Penguins may be slumping, they are still the Penguins, with CryBaby Crosby, Genie Malkin and MA Fleury and the refs of this league in their pocket. The geniuses on Versus attribute the decline of the Penguins to the loss of Sergei Gonchar. I think these guys are hitting the same bong their tech crew was hitting tonight that caused the HD feed to black out. Versus must be owned by Disney because it continues to prove itself to be a Mickey Mouse network.

The Rangers held the Penguins off the boards despite ice-tilting by the referees in what I would characterize as one of the most brutally called games all season. These refs were embarrassingly trying to turn the game around for the Poster Boy and his buddies. Weak calls on the Rangers and no call on the Penguins. Shameful. Great job by the Rangers to kill all those penalties. Despite the bogus calls on the Rangers, Renney remained his usual controlled self. Those who want Renney gone would prefer to see a hot head like Tortorella behind the bench throwing folding chairs and cursing.

All of this aside, the biggest question one must ask oneself is, Why don’t the Rangers play like this all the time? They had 2 powerplay goals on 8 opportunities. (25%). They won 100% of their face offs, 8 for 8, on the powerplay. They even had a shorthanded goal when they were down 6 on 4. Does that Shorthanded goal expunge 2 of the 12 shorthanded goals previously scored against them. It damn well should.

Looks like every player bought into the “system” and that the “system” worked tonight. How is that? I thought this coach had lost this team. I though that this team had turned Renney off, that they weren’t buying in to his game plan. Did every single Ranger on the ice somehow have an epiphany tonight? Was every single Ranger suddenly blinded by the light like St. Paul on the road to Damascus?

Why can’t the Rangers play like this all the time? I am not saying that the coaching staff is perfect, far from it. But when the players execute the game plan, they win. When one sees a complete turn around like tonight, it clearly demonstrates that winning and losing is in the hands of the players themselves. The coaches and training staff can do their best to ensure the team has every advantage. But, at the end of the day, it’s up to the players  to play like they know they can and they will win.

I’ll shut up now and savor the two points. I encourage everyone to do the same.

Let’s Go Rangers

Last night I was a guest on the New York Hockey Talk Radio Program.  Have a listen here:

http://www.nyhockeytalk.com/

Download here:

http://sportsradiony.hipcast.com/download/0f1ec7a3-3c02-f498-94d1-cbe23ce13609.mp3

Posted under New York Rangers