Tonight’s game was no exception. The curious thing is that fate stepped in and saved me from myself and the Rangers from a certain doom, as I am the kiss of death when in attendance in Nassau. I was supposed to be at the game. In fact, I was supposed to be two rows off the glass at the center ice. 

My very good friend Scott called me yesterday asking me if I wanted his tickets to tonight’s game. He had a scheduling conflict. Seems the girlfriend had gotten other tickets and, being the great guy he is,  he felt obliged to fore-go the game in favor of  her show.  As Tom Renney once said of Marty Straka, Scott’s the kind of young man you hope your daughters will bring home to meet you.

Scott Fedex’d the tickets to my office this morning. When I opened the envelope, I found he had enclosed tickets to the Ranger/Fish game in March, not tonight’s game. When I called to let him know, he told me the tickets to tonight’s game were at his home. He could not leave work and get them. So, two prime seats sat empty at the Mausoleum. That’s okay. Their probably used to being empty.

I love Scott dearly but he’s always in too much of a a rush. He’s always dashing off somewhere, always on the go. Ah, youth! I just feel badly that he’s out the money, a considerable sum, because of the gaffe.  Still, he’s such a great guy I am sure the hockey gods will bring him better luck in the future. 

For those watching the Rangers from home,  I’ll bet an M-80 going  off under your old easy chair wouldn’t have woken most viewers up during this game.   In another low scoring affair, the Rangers took a 2-1 lead after two. It was shut down hockey the rest of the way.

Chris Campoli scored the only Fish goal in the final two minutes of the first period. What is with the Rangers? They are like a trail horse going back to the barn at the end of periods. I can’t count the number of times this season that the Rangers have been scored on in the final minutes of play. Surely they must  have as many late goals against as shorthanded goals against.

No matter.  Unlike the game in Buffalo on Friday, the Rangers were able to score the go ahead goal and shut the Icelanders down in the third period. It wasn’t entertaining. It wasn’t exciting, except for the heroics of Henrilk Lundqvist. The Rangers earned two more points and are back atop of the Atlantic Division thanks to, of all teams, the Penguins. 

Once again, the Icelanders played better then their record.  The premature departure of Icelander goaltender Joey MacDonald, Ranger Killer, was a bonus for the Rangers. In this five game segment, the Rangers earned 7 points out of a possible 10. I’ll take it. With three games left before the All Star break, the Rangers are 26-15 and 4 and have 56 points. Boring=Success.

I will also be taking a break. I’ll be in LA on Thursday hoping to score tickets to the Wings/Kings game. On Saturday I will be cruising to sunny Mexico. I’ll be back after the All Star game.

Until then, Let’s Go Rangers!

As I previously stated in this blog and elsewhere in the Rangers blogosphere, the Rangers early success has lead to unrealistic, and might I say unwarranted, expectations. Let’s face it, the pundits over at ESPN and Fox had the Rangers pegged to be out of a playoff spot this season. All of the Rangers fire power, Jagr, Shanny, Straka and Avery,  left over the summer. The only saving grace for the Rangers was Henrik Lundqvist. One goalie cannot save a team. According to experts, the Rangers would finish near the bottom of the Atlantic Division and out of a playoff berth.

The Rangers came out of the box and surprised everyone, making some pundits look foolish. So, now that the Rangers are finding their level, various and sundry naysayers are having a field day putting down the Rangers for hitting one of many speed bumps on the road to the postseason. Who do these critics think the Rangers are, the Detroit Red Wings? The San Jose Sharks?

Notwithstanding their terrible powerplay, swiss cheese defense and the highest shorthanded goals against record in the league, the Rangers have earned 40 out of a possible 62 points. It means the Rangers have 51 games left in which they can earn 58 out of a possible 102 points to secure a playoff berth. How long has it been since the Rangers were this far ahead this early in the season?

All things considered, I find it annoying that some ”fans” out there are whining about the lack of entertainment value of recent games. The Rangers are attempting to play boring, defensive hockey like their cross-river rivals. I can recall how before the lockout the mantra was that the Devils were destroying hockey by playing the “boring” trap. They may have played boring “trap” hockey but they won. They won the Stanley Cup three times since 1994. The Rangers have won once.

My question to fans is: Do you want to be entertained or do you want to be in the playoffs? Not every game will be wildly entertaining. The Rangers need to score more for sure. But, I’ll take some hitting, scoring chances and yes, fighting, where I can get it and put up with ennui occassionally.

Rangers fans sometimes remind me of the actor George Sanders. He left a multi-page suicide note saying he was killing himself because he was bored.

Some fans are wholeheartedly in favor of bringing back Brendan. They feel Shanny brings experience, skill and the leadership needed to move past the second round of the playoffs. They attribute Shanny’s lack of production in the second half of last season and in the playoffs to injury. When healthy last season Brendan did score 23 goals. With Jagr and Straka gone, Shanny’s goal scoring capability takes on more importance.

Others, considering Brendan’s age and slowness, are dead set against Shanny taking a roster spot away from up and coming youngsters like Prucha and Korpikoski at left wing. They feel there is no place for the future first ballot Hall of Famer on the Rangers anymore.  They want to move on with the youth movement and leave the leading to Drury, Gomez or Redden.

Where and how Tom Renney deploys Brendan is the key to Shanahan’s success. If Shanny is lightly used for the lionshare of the regular season, he should have something left for the playoff run and beyond. “If” he is lightly used. “If”. If Shanny is going to play, it shouldn’t be on the checking line with Betts and Orr. He’d be fried by November. If Renney reserves Shanny for the powerplay and shootouts and gives him the occasional game off, he’ll be in better shape and more effective in March.

There is a little wiggle room on the left side if the Rangers go with six defenseman. They look much more solid on D then last season so it’s possible they’ll go with six. They are overloaded at center and right wing. Gomez, Drury and Dubinsky are basically a lock at center. Betts is fighting with Anisimov and Fritsche for fourth spot. We may not see either Anisimov or Fritsche season. They’ll be headed to Hartford. That’s too bad. Anisimov looked so good in preseason last year. On the right side, Parenteau and Jamtin will probably stay in Hartford, leaving Moore and Orr to fight for the fourth spot.

Naslund Gomez Zherdev
Prucha Dubinsky Callahan
Shanahan Drury Sjostrom
Dawes Betts Orr

Orr and Sjostrom will have to stay up or clear waivers to come back. Of all the other forwards looking for the last spot, I would say Korpedo and Anisimov have the best shot. Korpikowski or Dawes can replace Shanny on third line and can be flipped with each other on the fourth line. Betts is really going to have to fight for his job. He is a good defensive fourth line center for face offs and penalty kill. Anisimov is a much more skilled player who can bring scoring to the fourth line. The question is, how is Anisimov defensively? Will he be as good as Blair on face offs? Will he block shots? I have no doubt of Artem’s desire but his effectiveness as a fourth line grinder and checker is what counts.

So, I’ve drawn my lines. Now let’s see how close I’ve come come October.