Two Teams Fight to get to .500!

Entering yesterday’s match up between the NY Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers both teams stood a game under the .500 mark. The winner of this one could say let’s start fresh and make up some ground and maybe get back into the playoff mix.

 

After a huge shake up this month on Broadway with players being sent to the minors and others being benched a message is being sent from J. Tortorella that no one is safe and it don’t matter what number is on the back of your jersey. If you don’t play up to par you will be benched, demoted or sent to Hartford.

 

As Captain Chris Dury learned after being dropped down to the fourth line, he awoke in the heat of his demotion. Scoring a goal on the Island the other night in the Rangers 5-2 win, Chris was able to get the Rangers on the board first in Philly on a turn over in the Flyers zone that he turned around and fired for a 1-0 Rangers lead.

 

A little scrum behind the Flyers goal due to a late hit on Chris Pronger lead to the Flyers first power play of the game and Pronger would make them pay. Scoring on a sharp wrister from the point through traffic the game was quickly tied at one.

 

The Rangers heart and soul R. Callahan would work hard along the boards to create the Rangers next scoring chance that lead to a goal and a 2-1 Rangers lead. A. Anisimov would come from behind the net and throw a back hand shot towards the net that would deflect off a Flyers defenseman to give the Blue Shirts the lead.

 

Period three would belong to the Flyers or Henrik Lundqvist depending on how you want to look at it as the Rangers were out shot 16-5 in the final session. Throwing everything at the King in the third he said no to all 16 shots and the Rangers were able to sneak out of Philly with a win. Henrik was definitely the man today in Philadelphia as he was nodded with the number one star of the game stopping 36 of the 37 shots in his direction.

 

The Rangers have now put together a win streak of two games for the first time since before thanks giving. Rangers next opponent is the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday and if they could get two points there they’ll be in striking distance of the other playoff teams.

 

Check out every NY Rangers Video Recap at www.puckvideo.com

Same ole Rangers!

The Rangers were back home last night but the Garden faithful couldn’t help a team in a need of offense. Oh wait the Rangers did manage to score two goals last night but yet again it was by there only offense Marian Gaborik scoring both of the Rangers goals.

Don’t let the first paragraph of the article fool you the Rangers were very much in this game up to the last 10 minutes of play in a 2-2 battle. Strong on the puck winning battles but the defending champs know how to win big hockey games. But when Mike Rupp buried his second of the night with 8:46 left with a wrist shot that went over the glove of Lundquist it was good night Garden.

With under five minutes to play Sidney Crosby would deflect a Mark Eaton Slap Shot from the point and it would get by Lundquist for a two goal lead. Mike Rupp would finish off his hat-trick with an empty netter and the Penguins would win both games against the Rangers in the home and home series.

Sidney Crosby totals over the last two games equaled to 8 points with 5 goals and 3 assists. Sid the Kid did his thing to keep this elite team moving and stay atop the Atlantic division.

Last night’s game was a good one to watch with Gaborik and Crosby scoring with the two also involved in a shoving match in front of the Penguins goal.

Rangers had deflating moments in this game after Gaborik made it a 1-0 game and the Rangers fans cheering it only took eleven seconds for the game to be tied when Crosby put in a beautiful backhand top shelf goal to even the score.

As bad as the Rangers have been playing lately they are finally a .500 team. 13-13-1. They are currently on a three game losing streak and have been out scored 18-6 in those games. It’s been a really pain full last three games to watch as they didn’t get a point out of any of them.

The Rangers next game is not until this Saturday night against the tuff Sabers in Buffalo. Then onto Detroit and Chicago. As you can see the schedule isn’t getting easier on from here and if anyone don’t start scoring besides Gaborik this season will slip away fast.

Rangers have the next four full days off. I would hate to be one of those players at those practices as Tortorella will try to regroup this bunch.

Rangers season recap http://www.puckvideo.com/rangers-2009-10.htm

Hat’s Fly For Crosby!

Well my first thought of a headline after last nights game in Pittsburgh (11/27) was going to be Talbot, Malkin and Crosby Oh My! Talbot, Malkin and Crosby oh my! This was after the Penguins exploded for three straight goals in the first after trailing one zip. Connecting for the three were Talbot, Malkin and Crosby in the span of 3:52.

After feeling much like I felt when they played the Blue Jackets at the Garden a week ago when they were facing a two goal deficit the Rangers  came out to play in the second and showed hope as M. Gilroy took a wrist shot from the top circle that sailed home after Marc-Andre Fleury was bumped by his own player and it made for a one goal game. The Rangers were buzzing up to this point as they controlled much of the second period.

As it looked like we had a one goal game going into the third period Pittsburgh had one more rush with :10 left took one shot, it went wide got the puck again and caught a lazy team on their heels that didn’t expect the Penguins to get off another shot and one sailed right by Valiquette with under a second to go to make for a 4-2 Penguins lead. The goal had to be reviewed to see if it beat the clock and it clearly did with 0.6 left, ouch.

The Rangers would strike back only :37 into the third to make for a one goal game again when Michael Rozsival slapped one in that came off a beautiful pass from Avery after some tuff work along the boards.

Up to this point I would say it was a good hockey game with that tuff break the Rangers had at the end of the second period, but then the circus came to town. Miss-communication behind the Rangers goal and Valiquette sliding back in front of his goal only to see Crosby put in his second of the night for a two goal Penguin lead. Soon after Pascal Dupuis took a slap shot from the side of the circle that snuck it’s way by Valiquette as he made a week swipe at the shot with his glove that I bet he wish he had back.

It was hat night in Pittsburgh and with the Penguins on a Power Play and two already sunk for Sid the Kid he would snipe his third for the trick and you saw the Hat’s Fly. 17,000 blue and white hat’s made it to ice surface as the pounding was on in a 7-3 game at this point.

The Pens would add another as the gloves would start to drop in the game. Callahan, Avery and Brashear would be the ones the drop the gloves and the reason for the glove dropping was a blind side hit to the head M. Cooke took at Enver Lisin that shook him up well.

The leagues going to have to do something about these hit’s to the head but I bet the Rangers hope it’s after they play the Penguins on Monday night at the Garden. When Brashear tried to get at Cooke the refs made sure they didn’t make it happen. This may not be the case when the Rangers play them again.

All in all the Penguins defense did a good job on the Rangers Gaborik holding him to only a secondary assist while the Rangers couldn’t contain the Pens Crosby as he had a five point night with a trick and two assists and Malkin with a goal and an assist. None of the Rangers forwards scored a goal last night as only their Dee-men supplied the offense. Staal, Gilroy and Rozsival. Higgins keeps getting his scoring chances but can’t seem to finish, hopefully things will turn around for him soon or his stay in New York will be short. The Rangers are now 6-11-1 in their Last 18. They will try to shake off their two back to back road blunders being out scored 13-4and focus on the rematch with Pittsburgh this Monday night.

For Video Recaps of all Rangers games this season:

http://www.puckvideo.com/rangers-2009-10.htm

“Rangers Live by Gaborik again!”

“Rangers Live by Gaborik again!”

Live by the Sword die by the Sword and the Rangers continue to live by a man that goes by the name of Marian.

After the Rangers last game out burst of seven goals they were only limited to one against the Florida Panthers in regulation. Goal scoring supplied by the one and only number 10 Marian Gaborik.

Even though Gaborik was the one to get the lone goal in regulation the Rangers played a well rounded game that earned them a shoot-out victory.

Chris Dury was way back in the lineup last night after being out with a concussion sustained in the Calgary game back on Nov. 7th and played a strong game getting 22 minutes of ice time. Dury got the primary assist on Gaborik’s goal in the second period that lead to a 1-0 Rangers lead that carried them into the third.

Although the Rangers had Dury back in the line up they lost Wade Redden in the first period when he was pounded into the boards by Victor Oreskovich only 4:24 into play. Redden went straight to the locker room after the hit and did not return.

The Rangers out shot the Panthers 17 to 12 after two but the Panthers would turn it up in the third as they pushed for the equalizer putting up another 12 shots in the final session. The Panthers would get one though on a costly turn over in the Rangers zone that D. Moore would recover and get it by Ludquist to break the shut out and more important even the score. Even though Ludquist gave up the lone goal he was on his game last night stopping 25 of the 26 shots in regulation and overtime.

As period three would end in a dead lock of one we moved to the extra session.

Rangers would see a power play in the over time but couldn’t get nothing by the also hot T. Vokoun who stopped 27 of the 28 in his direction. With both goalies being a wall in this one the OT session still wasn’t enough to settle this score and a shoot-out was needed.

Enter rookie P.A. PARENTEAU. After the Panthers shooters missed their first two chances at getting a goal Gaborik missed as well for New York. It was the rookie’s turn, and as P.A. did it in the Shoot-Out in Ottawa , he succeed again waiting waiting and putting one over the glove of Vokoun to put the Rangers up 1-0 in shoot out attempts. Lundquist would stay perfect stopping the Panthers final attempt and get the Rangers the two points and their second straight win. Coach John Tortarella gave the kid another chance at the shoot-out making him go in round two and it worked and he left the beach with a big smile on his face after the win.

Game positives: Rangers played a great game with puck control and physical play. Christopher Higgins was a beast in this game creating offense opportunities hitting a post and getting robbed while also contributing to the penalty kill. Secondary Scoring… It will happen soon I believe in this game of inches as the Rangers came close many times in this one.

Three stars of the night PA. Parenteau for his Shoot out winner get’s the number one with Lundquist the number two and Vokoun the number three. Both goalies got the star nods as it was well deserved.

Next stop for the Rangers is in Tampa Bay Friday with Thanks Giving off then they move onto Pittsburgh.

For Video Articles and Blogs go to: WWW.PUCKVIDEO.COM

“Rangers Long Rest Don’t help!”

 

Three Days off for the Rangers and they came out like they played thee games right before this one in the same day. Florida went right to work as they played three in four nights winning a big game in OT the night before in the Detroit. It was Florida’s first win in Detroit since 1996.

Lundquist had to make two huge saves early only 1:30 into play to keep the game score less. The Rangers would settle in but the King would soon have to come up big yet again and get a little help from a post. Vinny Prospal would wait at the Panther blue line for an off sides clear walk in and rip a sharp wrister towards Vokoun which he got a piece of but it would trickle through for a 1-0 Rangers lead. That goal added up to be 22 points in 22 games for Prospal. Him and Gaborik are the only two Rangers who’ve been consistent. Rangers would take a 1-0 lead into the locker room but the Panthers were the ones who looked like the better team. They controlled most of the play with puck possession and out shot the Rangers 12-7.

Enter period two and the Panthers kept up the pressure and at one point out shot the Rangers 14-7 and soon after their efforts would pay off. Steven Reinprecht would put home a back hand beauty in front of the Rangers goal and even the score at one. Then things would just get worse as Jordan Leopold would flip a harm less keep in play from the point as another forward took a swipe at it but missed it made it’s way to the back of the net for a 2-1 Panthers lead and period two would come to a close with the Panthers up by a goal.

Period three just 2:35 in the Rangers would turn the puck over in the Florida zone that lead to a 2 on 1 the other way and a Nathan Horton shot made it’s way passed Lundquist for a 3-1 lead.

I got to say for me at this point the frustration was setting in and I’m wondering why we can’t ever catch a break as of late like the Panther fluke goal in the period before. Any way never say die and faith full the Rangers kept at it and new reliable Gaborik would make it a one goal game again. Sean Avery who played solid in back to back games came close to tie the game but no cigar and soon after the Rangers would find themselves on the losing side again and now are only a 6-5 team at home. Panthers get the two points for the winner and are now 5-0-1 in their last six and position themselves to be right in the mix of the playoff hunt.

Rangers have now lost 4 of their last 5 and are 4-9-1 in their last 13. This Rangers team needs to find a way how to get points out of these games or they will not be competing for a playoff spot. Excuses? Maybe some, did we run into a hot team? Yes. But did we lose back to back games on our own ice? Yes again. Tortorella put it best in his post game interview as he said “This Sucks!” but we got to keep on fighting through this and hopefully we’ll work our way out of it. Come to work every day and stay positive.

Hopefully things will turn around soon for the Rangers. Their next game is Monday night at the Garden against R. Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

For Video Blogs and Articles go to www.puckvideo.com

 

 

An East vs West Battle!

Heading into last nights game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the San Jose Sharks the two teams stood at #1 and #2 in goals for to Goals Against. The Flyers held the down the #1 spot with an impressive +20 with the Sharks right behind them at +19.

The two teams are both improved from a season ago with C. Pronger joining the club in Philly and the accusation of Dany Heatley to the Sharks both players have made an impact from the start in their new threads.

The Sharks always have a strong regular season team that can’t seem to get the job done in playoff hockey. Last season was no exception as they were the number one seed that got knocked out of the second season in six games to the eight seeded Mighty Ducks in the first round of the playoffs. The Ducks had Pronger on defense last season but now would see him in a Philly uniform. In this early season the Sharks are currently the number one seed again. Can this be the season they finally represent the West? I think yes.

With their new sniper (D. Heatley 17 Goals) and the leagues best set up man (J. Thornton 24 Assists)add in the mix the always reliable goal keep Evgeni Nabokov (2.20 G.A.A). This could be the year the finally make something happen in.

+20. The Leagues best heading into last night’s play Goals For to Goals Against. Why? He goes by the name of Chris Pronger. Not only does Chris keep the puck out of his teams defensive zone he attacks the opposing teams. With 4 goals and 14 assists Pronger is a +14. Chirs is the main reason Philly has only given up 45 goals in 18 games played this season before last nights battle.

Last nights bill between the leagues two elite teams stood up to it’s expectations till 11:19 of the final session in a one goal game when the set up man (J. Thornton) hit the sniper (D. Heatley) for the second time of the evening on a similar type play as their first hook up. All though it wasn’t much of a snip as Thornton hooked up two beautiful passes for the goals that lead to the win. This hook up between the two was when the Sharks were down a man and it made for a 4-2 game. Later on the Sharks would get a power play chance and Heatley would finish off his trick while the Sharks would add another goal take the two points in a 6-3 win.

Check out the video clips of this game at www.puckvideo.com and more Video Blogs.

“Who’s the Tuffest team in the Atlantic? Pt. 1″

With the Devils and Penguins leading the Division with 28 points, the Flyers, Rangers and Islanders are all tied with 23. With that being said the whole division is only separated by five points.

All though we are only a quarter of the way through the NHL season, if it would end today the whole division would make the playoffs along with the North East Division leader Buffalo Sabers and the South East Divisions Washington Capitals.

The Devils are on their game and proved to be a tuff road team with a record of 9-1 away from their building being lead by Z. Parise with 24 points and the legend M. Brodeur between the pipes holding down a 12-5 record and a 2.21 Goals Against Average. With Parise and Brodeur on their game and their great road record you can see why they are tied on top of the Atlantic with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins .

The Stanley Cup champs picked up where they left off by winning it all last season they started this season off at 9-1. They lost E. Malkin for a few games and hit a skid but got back on the winning track with him back in the lineup winning their last two and hold that top spot with Devils with a 14-7 record.

The Philadelphia Flyers stand at 11-5-1 and were the first team to hand the New Jersey Devils their first road loss of the season. The Flyers also have games in hand on every team in the division with two games in hand on the Devils they have four games in hand on the Penguins, Rangers and Islanders. Flyers are lead by one of the best if not the best defensemen in the league Chris Pronger. Jeff Carter leads the team in scoring with 19 points as Pronger and Mike Richards both have 17.

The Rangers who started off the season hot at 7-1 have cooled off as of late since. Even though the Rangers have been on the losing side of their games of late they’ve been in all of them. Lead by M. Gaborik with 27 points he is currently in second place in the league lead for points over all with 15 goals and 12 assists. If the Rangers can get the rest of their guys going and stay healthy they will be a threat as well.

The surprise of the division has got the fans excited in Long Island again. Starting the season off they couldn’t get a win but they managed to get points in a bunch of games losing in over time. The Islanders started their season off at 1-4-5 getting their first win of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes in a shoot out they finally got their first win on the season in regulation against the NY Rangers and have gone 7-2-2 since that win. The Islanders are getting the job done with their youth explosion of John Tavares number one pick over all in the 2009 draft and with M. Moulson and K. Okposo connecting. Goalie D. Roloson has been getting the nod of late between the pipes and has a 6-1 record in goal with a 2.77 G.A.A. Their captain D. Weight is out of the line up along with goalie R. DiPietro. This team will get some leadership back when those two suit up again and the Islanders kids should only get better.

In a nutshell this division could be up for grabs, but at the moment the Penguins, Flyers and the Devils look to be the tuffest. With the Rangers and Islanders right there this will be an interesting race to watch as it unfolds. It’s very tuff to pick one but you really can’t deny the debth of the defending champs team.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article as we hit the mid-way point of the season in early January 2010.

For more great Video Blogs go to www.puckvideo.com

2009-10 New York Rangers, A Blue Print of a season ago?

Last season the Rangers started off  10-2-1  then quickly began to play .500 hockey. Because of their great start all they needed to do was basically stay .500 the rest of the way  and they would pretty much be in the playoffs. As the playoffs looked to be at risk because of a horrible month of February the Rangers made a move in coaching releasing Tom Renny and hiring Stanley Cup winning coach tuff J. Tortorella. Tortorella succeeded in getting the Rangers to the second season and they were almost able to sneak out of the first round against a heavy favorite Washington Capital team. Rangers lost in seven games while playing their best game of the series in game seven in a losing effort.

 

The off season came and Glen Sather brought in some new faces with signings of M. Gaborik,  C. Higgins, V. Prospal, A. Kotalik, D. Brashear along with some upcoming rookie talent M. Del Zotto and M. Gilroy the Rangers looked improved.

 

As the Rangers pursued Ottawa’s sniper D. Heatly a deal couldn’t be reached the Rangers soon scooped up Marion Gaborik. While almost every NHL analyst disagreed with the move saying this was the worst off season signing they critiqued Gaborik of playing with no heart and spoke of his injury’s he sustained in the past. 20 games deep into the NHL season Gaborik has done nothing but impress having points in 16 of his 18 games played with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points and is currently number two over all for the league lead.

 

The Rangers started off this season 7-1 and since have gone 4-7-1 with a big overtime shoot out win in Ottawa today.

 

The Rangers got their sniper but the only problem here is the Rangers need to get more offensive production from Dury, Dubinsky, Callahan, Higgins and Avery. While Dury and Dubinsky are currently out of the line up with injuries they need to produce when they get back on the ice. If this team plans on making the playoffs and going deep into the playoffs one man can’t hold down the fort like the Jagr years.

 

However the potential is here for the makings of a good team as long as coach J. Tortorella can get these guys to play the way they are capable of playing and  this season won’t be a blue print of last.

http://www.puckvideo.com

“The Shoot Out Why Not?”

The Islanders and the Capitals were involved in a good one the other night and regulation and an extra session weren’t enough to settle this one as the score was still tied 4-4. This shoot out went a little longer than the normal of three rounds and went eleven before the Caps Chris Clark would get the game winner. Before the 2005-2006 season both teams would leave the game with a point each in the standings. But since the 05-06 season if both teams are still tied after a 5 minute sudden death overtime period the game would move to a shoot out where three players would line up and take turns taking penalty shot type mode hacks at the opposing goaltender. If the score is still tied after three rounds both teams would get an extra round till we get a winner. As many hockey enthusiasts were against this, I’m all for it. Skaters and goaltenders get to show case their skills while it leaves the fans on the edge of their seats a little longer. See the drama unfold in the video clip at www.puckvideo.com

The Waiting is Over!

New York Rangers took home the 1994 Stanley Cup after NY didn’t see a Cup since 1940. Although every Ranger played a big part in the 94 Cup run number two was awarded number one earning the award for the Con Smythe Trophy. The first American born player to do so. Many memories from the 94 cup run from Messier’s game 6 prediction, Matteau’s double overtime goal to send the Rangers into the finals and Richter’s play between pipes also stopping Bure on a penalty shot in a pivotal point in the series. But it was Leetch who was a horse bringing it in and out every night while scoring and setting up big goals. Brian finished his beautiful career with 1,028 points in 1,205 regular season games and 97 points in 95 playoff games. Leetch is seventh all time among defensemen in scoring and 65th overall. This year’s Hall of Fame inductee’s is a good one and Leetch is my favorite out of the class. Check Hockey’s Finest video at www.puckvideo.com