Archive Page 2
2/7 – Rangers vs. Ducks
Gonna be a good one tonight. It seems there has been some fire within the Ranger camp these last few days so tonight should be a good one.
UPDATE – 1st Intermission – The plus – the Rangers have come out and played a good game to start. The bad – they are still down 1-0. It would be one thing if they were getting walked all over, but they are not. In fact – the Rangers have played better, they just have yet to put one on the score sheet.
I am looking forward to a good second period. I am still confident that the Rangers will come away with at least 1 tonight.
UPDATE – 2nd Intermission – my confidence is waning – what started out as a great period quickly turned into a disaster. The Rangers came out firing with 2 fights in the first 3 minutes. They made it 1-1 and were flying. They came to within an inch of a goal when Mara pinched in, but the Ducks turned it back and scored a softy on Hank. Then the Ducks got a quesitonable PP and capitalized and here we are – down 3-1 with the Garden giving the Bronx cheer and most fans on the message board about to turn off the game and write a letter to Glenn Sather asking him to trade everybody on the team.
All I know is my patience as a fan is creeping towards deflated. If they can’t pull this one out, they will be ridiculously winless against the West. Time is seriously running out.
UPDATE – Endish of game – there is 7:00 left and I am turning this off. They are down 4-1 and this one is donezo. It is getting to be too repetitive. They will put a little string of 2-3 good games in a row and I will start to get excited. Then I get amped for game days and go to bed disappointed.
At least this game they showed flashes of having some heat. Sadly, that is the only thing I can hold on to as hope for the rest of this year. Fingers are crossed and I just keep saying to myself – “dark horse in the playoffs” over and over.
Unfortunately for me (but conversely great news for my fiancé) it looks like baseball season will be devoted solely to the Yankees come March.
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What’s that noise in Boston?
Could karma be coming back to take a nice bite?
First off the Massachusetts -proclaimed “Greatest team in the history of life, sports and the world” loses to a Giants team that did not stand a chance.
Today we found out that the critically-acclaimed author of www.38pitches.com might not have been so up-front when he signed his brand new $8-million deal. In fact, he might not be able to pitch at all this season.
In all seriousness though – I may severely dislike the guy, but he is a competitor. I find it highly unlikely that he will not pitch this year. I will say this though – Boston’s rotation just got a whole lot more interesting.
Beckett – Ace – No questions here
Matsuzaka – He is up and down – I have a lot of doubt about him being a serious #2
Wakefield – Can we trust a knuckleballer at this age? He is somewhat reliable, but prone to blowups at bad points(cough, Boone)
Lester – now we get to see how good he really is
Buccholz – I think he could be really good, but he is going to be leaned on a lot more now.
Overall not bad – but this would be a lot better with Curt in the lineup.
I am just happy this news did not break 3 weeks ago or I am pretty sure there would be 2 aces on this team, one named Johan.
Thoughts?
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In-fighting?
So Sean Avery and Marek Malik fought in practice yesterday…
I love it. A PO’d Sean Avery is always a good thing. A Marek Malik that just got his clock cleaned and figured out that he can at least hang in a fight with Sean Avery should also be a good thing when he gets back onto the ice.
Dare I say it? I am actually looking forward to Malik’s return to the ice!
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2/5/08 – Rangers vs. Kings
First Intermission – VERY sloppy first for the Rangers. Lundy stood on his head early and kept them in it but still allowed 2 goals. Drury had a nice goal on what seemed like the only effort driven play of the period. Unfortunately the Rangers simply cannot stay out of the penalty box and it is killing them thus far as they are down 2-1 after 1.
Is it just me or does it seem that Avery is trying to do too much against his old team? I understand him wanting to send a middle finger westward to the team that traded him and labeled him a “locker room cancer” but he just needs to relax and play his game IMHO.
Depending on how their react to a bad start after a nice road trip, this game is still within reach. LA is not a good team and their goaltending is questionable at best. Let’s hope they can come out strong.
UPDATE: 2nd Intermission – Good period but to this point it has not been enough. The Rangers severely outplayed the Kings that period just as they needed to. They had something ridiculous like 25 shots in the period but could only manage one goal in the flurry. The kings scored on a nifty play but Hank continued to look strong and made a string of 3 saves that kept the score at 3-2.
Well they are within one and if they can keep up this tempo, I am pretty confident that they will capitalize on a goalie that has looked marginal at best to this point.
Sean Avery tucked in the lone Ranger goal of the period. Best way he could have gotten revenge. Now if he can draw a penalty that they Blueshirst capitalize on, he will have made up for 2 really bad penalties in the first!
Update – Rangers Lose 4-2 – Well in the end it was a sloppy first that did them in. I firmly believe that had the Rangers played the entire game like they played the 2nd and 3rd – they would have won the game.
Games like tonight simply cannot happen if this team has plans to be part of post-season festivities. This was a game that everyone knew was a trap game – a game at home against the worst team in the league and the Rangers came out like the just finished sleeping off a bender from Super Bowl.
This was a pathetic effort. They need to come out much better than they did tonight when they take the ice on Saturday against a dangerous Anaheim team – or the outcome will be much worse than it was tonight.
Time to make a decision boys – which do you want more, the playoffs or Tavares?
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Been a while…
Sorry for the mini-absence. As many of you know (if you don’t then welcome back from under that rock and why is this the first site you are reading?) the Giants won the Superbowl with a tremendous effort against the heavily favored Patriots. I have been happy since then. Eli Eli Eli – how you have grown up.
As many less of you know, the Rangers also won on Sunday. They were down 3-0 at one point and came back with a strong 5 unanswered goal effort to win 5-3 in Montreal against a Habs team that has been playing great hockey lately. It was an impressive game and it reminded me of the game against the Blues last year that they won in similar fashion. As you may recall, that game was the turnaround for the team and they went on a hot run into the playoffs. One can only hope that Saturday’s game provides a similar spark this season. Chris Drury has been on a great streak of 2 point a game in his past 3 consecutive.
Odd note – today is the one year anniversary of the day that the Rangers got the greatest gift of last season – Sean Avery. The team that sent the official “Pain in the Glass” east (the LA Kings) visits the garden tonight. Should be a good one and I will be sure to post my usual updates and thoughts.
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Movies…
Got a chance to see some movies this weekend. I know I have been mostly reviewing sports, but with today being an off-day and tomorrow being a Rangers/Giants double-header, I got a chance to watch “Stardust” and “Mr. Jones”.
Stardust was a complete shocker. I got it because I am a huge DeNiro fan and he was on the cover – that’s it. Then I watched it and not only did DeNiro have basically a bit part – but the movie managed to take him out of his typical range and still be aamzing. Without ruining for everyone – the movie was a fantasy fairy-tale and tough to compare to anything else I have ever seen. In any event, it was really good and worth the entire 2 hours I devoted to it and also worth the 15 bucks I plan to shell out when I buy it.
Mr. Brooks was also very very good. For a usually squeaky clean guy, Kevin Costner also stepped out of his realm and played a truly creepy and intellectual murderer. Even Dane Cook was not as utterly annoying as he usually is. Altogetehr it was a good movie, but definitely only rent worthy. This is not one you need to own.
I have Netflix and it is amazing. It is very convenient, reasonably priced and it lets me see a lot of movies that I probably would not have otherwise, I will be mentioning my good arrivals from time to time and hope that some of you take my thoughts into consideration.
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1/31 Rangers at Devils
UPDATE – First Intermission – good first period. Rangers have a 1-0 lead on an absolutely blistering shot from Dubi. Again, the Rangers are playing pretty fundamentally sound and they look good. I worry about the level of playing being so high with this being the second night of a back to back, but time will tell if that is going to be a factor.
As a side note – Sean Avery – I cannot get enough of this guy. That interview was classic. Giannone asked him how he feels about the Canadian poll that is labeling him the “Biggest Pain in the Glass”. ”That’s just like Canada to be talking about that. You would think they might try to save the starving children in Africa or something, but no let’s talk about hockey. It’s not like they know anything else or have anything else to talk about”. More later…
UPDATE: 2nd Intermission – 2-1 after a flurry of entertaining hockey. The Debbies controlled play a little more than I would like to see, but we still have the lead and the scoreboard is where it matters. Nice little scrum at the end of the period there – always like to see punches being thrown in the vicinity of Brodeur.
Should be a nice 3rd to watch – hopefully the boys can hold on for 2 more important points tonight.
UPDATE: Game over – Rangers win 3-1
That was a fantastic, gutty effort for a third period. I simply cannot say enough about how great I feel after watching that game. Congrats to Scotty Gomez and Chris Drury on both recording their 500th NHL points tonight.
Lundy looked great with 33 saves on the night.
For a guy who has not really provided much offense (point wise anyway) Jaromir Jagr showed some true heart with the work he did on his shift late in the game. The guy may have lost a step, may not be scoring, but the point is he is a major factor on the ice every shift of every game.
I am going out to celebrate the good win. To any of you Baltimore folk, I will be somewhere in Canton. Night all. LET”S GO RANGERS!
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1/31 – Rangers at Flyers
Well Vally is in goal tonight. I am going to give updates between each period. Hopefully we can play 3 periods like we play the first on Tuesday.
UPDATE – 1st Intermission – good first period and the Rangers lead 2-0. Nothing brilliant – they recovered from a bad start and play smart hockey for the duration. Now is the question – can they maintain focus or will this be a repeat of 2 nights ago? Time will tell but I am going out on a limb here – The NY Rangers are too good a team to iss the playoffs. I believe they will find a turning point and eek into a 6-8 spot. This could be a very dangerous team in the playoffs – certainly not an easy team to beat in a 7 gamer.
UPDATE – 2nd Intermission – another good period – first time I have seen 2 solid periods of hockey out of this team in a long time. It is weird to say it with all this talent, but the Rangers are not being flashy, just fundamental and it is working for them. Holding a top tier team to 2 shots in a period is always a good sign. To be honest – this could be 2 wins in the last 3 and that is what they need to do.
We have 20 minutes left and a 4-0 lead. The Flyers are going to come out banging so as long as we play a night tight 3rd, I think we are going to get the 2 tonight.
UPDATE – 4-0 Rangers Win!!!! – Great overall team effort. Unfortunately the celebration needs to sotp now. Big game with the Debbies tonight and we all know how those games usually go. Going to be a dog fight and I am looking forward to it.
Good team effort that was a result of a combination of great individual efforts tonight. Congratulations to Steve Valiquette for his first career shutout. Tonight is a nice tribute to his recently deceased uncle. A good thing happens to a good person and that it always something to be happy about!
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well it took a while, but one of the loyal readers left a comment. In reference to my post about Johan, Scott wrote that I should not worry about the physical he will take before the trade.
I should have clarified myself – I know physicals are usually required – I just think that if something is going to keep Johan in Minnesottta – it will be his physical. For him to have such a drop-off at the end of the season – I think there is either something wrong or he simply suffered from a dead arm. Either way – it is not a good sign and was one of my main concerns regarding the Yankee paying so much for him. The comparisons will always happen, but Johan just reminds me too much of Pedro (except I do not hate Johan with a passion). Great talent, but there will always be second thoughts in my head about smaller power pitchers
In any event, thanks Scott for the comment. Makes the writing seem more worth it. I encourage anyone to follow Scott’s lead as I would love to have more discussions on here.
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Rangers just killed off a full 5 on 3 and it looks like it is going to be one entertaining night of hockey. More between periods. Stay tuned…
UPDATE: First Intermission – wow, nice to be able to take a breather after that one. This is what I want to see out of the gate from the ASG.
The only real beef I have with that period was the blatant non-call on Gomez. I suppose they made up for it with the one Orr got away with, but the Rangers were never given an equalizing PP in the period. All in all it was a period of bad refereeing, intense hockey and all out entertainment.
And oh yeah – JJ looks like he is ripe to break out here. Keep an eye on him.
UPDATE: 2nd Intermission – ugly period. The Rangers let down a total of two times and to the Hurricanes credit they took advantage of both of them. Otherwise it was a pretty unremarkable period and when are down 2-1 going into the third.
UPDATE: Game over – Rangers lose 3-1 – ah screw it – that effort was poor at best – I am going to bed
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