Weekend of Games in DC and vs. Buffalo

Well folks, another 2 games have been played this weekend, which is continuing to wind down the season and it’s becoming more and more apparent that the Rangers will most likely not be making the playoffs this year.  Their offense showed nothing on Saturday as they lost to the Caps 2-0 and again was on one of their many goalless streaks this year.  This one went back to the 2nd period of the Pens game and was a total of 149:30.  Tonight they finally managed to get one late in the 3rd to break it.  Dubinsky broke the drought and looks like the Rangers will get at least a point out of this and indeed that’s what they got, as they lose again 2-1 in OT.  Lundqvist was solid again tonight and Auld was decent last night as well despite allowing 2 goals.

Again, I’m feeling that this is still gonna be a lost year and I’m not expecting much from them even if they manage to sneak into postseason play in the 6th, 7th or 8th spot since the top teams are miles ahead of them. I’m not being a pessimist, but a realist that this team has too many weaknesses and is just simply mediocre at best.  They next play at NJ on Wed which will be another tightly played contest.

Anyway, not much else to say except will have next posting on Wed. night.

Until next time,

Howie

Tags: Auld, Dubinsky, Lundqvist, NHL, Rangers

Back to the Regular Season Grind – 20 Games to Go

Evening all, well the Olympics are over and its back to the NHL grind and for the Rangers, it’s either now or never to make the playoffs.  They faced Ottawa tonight in their first post-break game and won 4-1.  Despite starting sluggish, they had an awesome 2nd period to break the game open.  Callahan, Avery, Dubinsky played solid tonight as they chipped in goals and Lundqvist was strong in net as well.  It looked for a while like it was gonna be the same old same old until that 4 goal 2nd period outburst. 

I know that this will give them a 3 game winning streak dating back to pre break and I’m still of the belief that the team would be better served not making the playoffs and try to build the team into a championship contender.  But if we know Sather, he will do something dumb just because this team has a shot at a playoff spot and get rid of more youth with tomorrow’s trade deadline upcoming.

Anyway, their next game is against the Sidney Crybaby’s at MSG on Thursday and it would be nice just to beat them again and after that, they face the Caps on Sat in DC, then host Buffalo on Sunday Night.

Until next time,

Howie

Tags: Avery, Callahan, Dubinsky, Lundqvist, NHL, Rangers

Summary of Season Till Now and Olympic Thoughts

Well folks, the Rangers are now in the midst of the Olympic break where they have a couple of weeks to attempt to regroup after a somewhat subpar first 62 games.  There were ups and downs during these games and what it has done is left the team with a 28-27-7 record, good enough for 9th place in the Eastern Conference.  The positives have been Gaborik, Lundqvist, and several other players who have played decently this year while the negatives are the fact that this team cannot score often enough to sustain any type of winning streak since October.  I have a feeling that even if they play decently the last 20 games, they probably will not make the playoffs since there are too many teams ahead of them playing better going into the break.  I prefer to see some rebuilding and trying to get rid of bad contracts instead of a quick fix for a pointless one round playoff exit.  I guess it will remain to be seen as to what transpires the last 20 games.

On another note, I’m majorly disappointed with the Olympic Hockey coverage, or lack of it by NBC.  The NHL breaks its season to play in this tournament and gets no play on its broadcast partner except for the Gold Medal game and relegates them to CNBC and MSNBC and the games don’t get shown in total due to the obsession with curling.  If I were Bettman, I’d be screaming at Dick Ebersol who has screwed up these games tv coverage massively about the lack of exposure for hockey.  After all, taking a break from the season is a huge reason for the needed exposure, I mean how much figure skating can someone watch.  It’s also about Ovechkin, Malkin, Crosby, Lundqvist, and other high caliber NHL players that are there to try to grow the game globally and NBC feels that it’s not important, so the league in my opinion bag going in 2014 if this is the way they are going to be treated by the network.

I will try to post another blog entry in the next week or so to update how the tournament is going, so until next time.

Your NYR Blogger,

Howie

Tags: NHL, Olympics, Rangers

Pre Olympic Break Summary

I’m going to sum up the last 2 games of the pre Olympic break as well as a synopsis of how this team has done through the first 62 games highlighting ups and downs as well as previewing the final 20 after the break.

Until sunday evening,
Howie

Tags: NHL, Rangers

Another Loss Due to Lack of Offense

Well they played another game last night in front of a sparse crowd at  MSG thanks to the NHL and their decision making to have games played while there was a blizzard going on.  It was one to forget as the Rangers continue to struggle to score goals and without Gaborik in the lineup, it was even more apparent regarding their woes.  Jokinen could have stepped up but failed to do so and I know why he has been with 3 teams in the last year or so.  In the end, they ended up going down by a count of 2-1, which they seem to lose by a lot this year and nobody stepped up to fill the void left by Gabby’s absence, which is par for the course with this team.

This truly has become a frustrating year for all of us Ranger fans and the Olympic Break couldn’t come at a better time so that I don’t have to sit through their awful perfomances on most nights.  I at least get to watch some decent hockey with the Olympics starting on Monday, but through Sunday, I have to watch 2 more games, tomorrow in Pittsburgh, where they haven’t beaten the Pens in forever and then finish the pre-break sked vs. Tampa in a Valentine’s Day afternoon matchup.  I’m not sure what to expect anymore at this point since all they have done is disappoint for the most part. 

Well, until tomorrow evening,

Howie

Tags: Gaborik, Jokinen, NHL, Rangers

A Bounce Back Win against The Devils

The Rangers followed up a tough 80’s style hockey loss the other night to the Caps with a strong win tonight over the Devils at MSG.  The biggest kudos goes to Lundqvist who stood on his head, especially in the 3^rd when he was being bombarded with shots.  It was nice to also see Callahan and Drury get goals as well as Gaborik, who continues his hot streak of late with another goal.  Jokinen is fitting in nicely on the 2^nd line and makes me say Higgins who and Kotalik who?  Still glad those 2 are gone and really like the way Prust plays, hardnosed.

The season is continuing along and I have finally realized that this team will most likely not make the playoffs and it they did, it would be a one and done situation.  Wins like this always give me hope, but then they play a dud the next time out and make you think that there is no hope for them. 

Well, one bone of contention with the NHL, I’m a little sick of constantly seeing the Pens on NBC, tomorrow will mark what, the 50^th time they’ve been on.  News flash Bettman, there are 29 other teams in the league, you jackass.  I wish you would be replaced already since I think your time has passed as NHL Commissioner.  The league needs new blood at the top and I don’t think you are doing a good job any longer. 

Anyway, the Rangers have 3 games left before the break, Wed at MSG vs. Nashville, Fri. in Pittsburgh to face Sidney Crybaby and the Pens and then host Tampa on Valentine’s Day.  I hope that they can get at least 4 pts out of this and keep it close for a playoff spot going into the break. 

Until Wed. Night,

Howie

Tags: Callahan, Drury, Gaborik, Jokinen, Lundqvist, NHL, Prust, Rangers

Tale of 2 Road Games

It was a tale of 2 games over the weekend as they played in Phoenix and Colorado back to back.  They had a rough start in PHX in which they were unable to overcome after backup goalie Chad Johnson gave up 2 shaky goals early and lost 3-2, followed by a game last night where they came out, played solid defensively and won 3-1 on the strength of a Gaborik hat trick and Johnson’s 1^st NHL win in net. Congrats Chad and Gabby for his first hat trick since he potted 5 against guess who, yup the Rangers.

The most puzzling thing to me with these 2 games was that they seemed to play horrid in the 1^st one and looked awesome in the 2^nd one.  If they could play a more consistent game like they did last night, this team might actually reach the playoffs even though they are in a dog fight with a bunch of teams due to their ineptitude at times.  They have played under .500 hockey since a 7-1 start and for me despite the win last night, the Olympic break can’t come soon enough as I think some players need a rest. 

It looks like Kotalik and Higgins are on their way out as soon as tomorrow and for me, it’s not a surprise since both players have been just awful since they came here and maybe a change of scenery could do them some good.  Hopefully what comes back in return from a trade will be better than what is being given up. 

Well anyway, the team finishes up their road trip tomorrow night in LA, then returns home on Thursday to face the Caps and then Saturday to face the Devils.

Until next time

Howie

Tags: Gaborik, Johnson, NHL, Rangers

The Awful Run Continues and NHL GameCenter Live Review

Well folks, I don’t have that much to say other than the fact that this team is truly not playing as one anymore and I’m at a loss for words as to try to describe their performances night in and night out.  This latest one was over in the first period and even though they did get a goal early in the 2nd to cut it to a goal, they never showed enough life to really make the fans at MSG tonight believe that they were going to win the game.  I believe they have quit on Torts and honestly they haven’t played well in quite a while and there doesn’t seem to be any hope for the near future.  It’s time to blow up this team and sell at the deadline to try to get more youth and rebuild this team to make it a cup contender in the next couple of years.

Anyway, thats all I have for now on this game and they next head out on a 3 game Western trip to PHX, COL, and LA where I’m not giving them too much hope to win any of these games.

On another note, I have been using NHL Gamecenter for a while now when I have my DVR recording 2 things at once making Center Ice  a no watch for the evening.  I happen to like the functionality of the software as it allows me to watch up to 4 games at once on the screen and also a lot of them come in high definition on the pc, also an amazing feature.  I do like the new DVR ability, which allows for the same functionality as my Directv DVR.  The one thing that I wish they would eliminate with it is the blackout rules when it comes to local team games and others on CBC, Versus or other networks.  In this day and age, blackout rules should be eliminated for this type of service since another league, the NFL allows its Sunday Ticket Superfan purchasers the ability to watch every game on the pc, no blackouts for local teams for the FOX and CBS games.  It’s truly time that the NHL adopt this type of policy to try to continue to grow the sport.  On the whole, it’s a very good product and if you continue to tweak this product, it can be made even better.

Thats all for now,

Your NYR blogger,

Howie

Tags: NHL, NHL GameCenterLive, Rangers

The Slide Continues

Tonight, the Rangers attempted to try to break through against the Sidney Crosbies (Pens), but once again came up short.  At least they scored twice and broke another long goalless drought after back to back shutout losses but gave Henrik zip help again and lost 4-2, which was their 3rd straight.  The only players that seemed to show up tonight were Anisimov, Avery and Henrik.  This is becoming a common theme for the team as they continue this up and down trend with only certain players showing up to play.  I’m truly at a loss for words at this point as watching this team on a night in night out basis is truly becoming quite frustrating.

The one thing I’m sure of is that missing the playoffs is becoming a potential reality for them now and at this point it might not be a bad thing since if they did get in, they would be one and done.  Since they have now lost 5 of 8, scored only 17 goals in those games, and played some really bad hockey at inopportune times, this team just needs to be torn apart and rebuilt.  They have played 27 home games and have won only 12 of them, which to me sums up how this season has gone since last year, they were a dominant team at the Garden.

I know they have a game on Wednesday night vs. the Canes, I’m not sure what to expect at this point since they show no heart most nights and Torts seems to have lost them.

Anyway, that’s all for now.

Your frustrated NYR blogger,

Howie

Tags: Anisimov, Avery, Lundqvist, NHL, Rangers, Tortorella

After 2 Solid Games at Home, a Dud Down in Philly

The Rangers were in Philly to play a hockey game this evening, but it ended up being another boring ass defensive type of game which proceeded to make me want to rip my hair out at times.  A clear lack of effort was the key tonight as they just didn’t get enough shots on goal and they proceeded to lose by a score of 2-0 which marks the 3^rd time in 6 games that they were shutout. What’s more frustrating is this effort came after 2 games where they broke out offensively scoring 14 goals and they just at times simply could not sustain any pressure on the Flyers.  What bothered me most is that Dan Carcillo went after Gaborik and the Rangers didn’t really come to his aid, kind of sad. It also was fight night with 4 total fights in the game.  Lundqvist was solid again, but can’t do it all by himself.

The Flyers get credit for playing a solid defensive game, but speaking as a fan that is getting tired of the defense first approach; this is killing the sport and driving fans away as is seen in many arenas league wide.  One last thing, here was a chance to get at least a point and they blew that chance and these points are precious since the middle of the pack teams are closely stacked.

Hopefully they will get this out of their system and get it together on Saturday when they face the Habs, who they beat on Sunday at MSG.  After that, they then face the Pens at MSG on Monday and then the Canes at MSG on Wednesday.

That’s it for now.

Your NYR Blogger

Howie

Tags: Gaborik, Lundqvist, NHL, Rangers