For the majority of the first 40 minutes, the Rangers looked like they had 2 hours, rather than 2 days, between games. As much as coach John Tortorella has been denying it when asked, the Rangers looked like a tired team. The Devils dominated play, winning battles and spending an inordinate amount of time in the Rangers’ defensive zone. At 1:51 of the second, after Henrik Lundqvist denied attempts by Ilya Kovalchuk, Dainius Zubrus and Adam Henrique, the coach used his timeout to try and get the team to regroup. The Devils got 26 shots on goal in the first 2 periods, each and every one of them turned aside by Lundqvist, who was key in keeping the Rangers in it and the game scoreless.

But yet, as they have so many times this season, the Rangers found a way to collect themselves. They came out in the third looking like a different team. At 2:11 of the third period, Devils’ defenseman Bryce Salvador took a hooking penalty, setting the stage for the Rangers’ power play to go to work for the second time on the afternoon. Brad Richards won the faceoff and moved the puck back to Dan Girardi, who was all alone at the circle. Girardi fired and beat Martin Brodeur on the stick side, giving him his third of the playoffs and the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

“During the regular season and we’ve gone through the playoffs, that’s what I like about our team,” Tortorella said after the game.  “I’m not sure how far we go. I’m not sure what goes on from here, but it’s a team that stays with it. And, again, I thought our game started coming back a little bit in the second period. Our third period was more what we were trying to get to. We still have things to improve on. But there’s no panic. We know who we are. We know how we have to play. We’re trying to do that more consistently. And that’s how we’ll go about it.”

Girardi’s goal would prove to be the game winner when all was said and done. All three of the All-Star defensemen’s goals in these playoffs have been game winners.

The Rangers, however, were not quite done paying back their goaltender for his heroics on the day. Chris Kreider continued to write an incredible playoff story for himself, scoring 1:57 after Girardi broke through, giving him his 5th goal of the playoffs. The tip-in of Ryan McDonagh’s shot put Kreider in the record books, making him the only NHL player to score 5 playoff goals before ever playing a regular season game.

 ”I don’t even know the kid,”  Tortorella responded when asked when he sensed the rookie would be so good for them. “For me to sit here and say I thought it was going to be that time, I have no idea. I don’t know the kid at all. I’ve probably spoken to him probably three or four times since he’s been here. But he has a knack. The puck follows him around. And he has a ways to go away from the puck, but he has a knack with that puck. We talked about it in between periods. We needed him to be better defensively, but we felt he had the best chance to score the goal. We end up scoring a couple of them, and him scoring one.”

Ryan Callahan, who has struggled to score in the playoffs, solidified the victory with an empty-net goal at the 17:47 mark of the 3rd period.

Lundqvist stopped the remaining 10 shots the Devils took in the game to secure his second win and second shutout of the series. He agreed with the coach’s assessment of  how the team as a whole found a way to win.

“They had some chances in the second, and I felt like it was a good timeout by Torts, they came out flying there in the second created big chances. But we didn’t panic, and that’s the biggest thing. I think we had moments during the year where we got into some tough minutes, if you can call it that, but we didn’t panic, we kept our composure, kept playing the same way, and as a goalie, you know sooner or later it’s going to turn. It’s going to turn in our favor.  We’re going to get a chance. We’re going to get a break. And that’s the feeling I had.  In the third we came out big, made some really big plays and scored some really good goals for us.”

Without Lundqvist’s stellar performance, the Rangers would have never had a chance at being in this game, let alone the opportunity to win it. As the playoffs go on, “The King” continues to throw his hat in the ring for Conn Smythe consideration, and silence the critics who have criticized him in the past for not coming up big in the playoffs when he’s needed the most. He’ll need to come up with 2 more superhuman efforts in this series for the Rangers to move along. The Rangers will once again get an opportunity to take a 3-1 lead in a playoff series on Monday night. They have yet to do so, a part of the playoff pattern that they hope won’t repeat itself for a third time.

*****************************************

Brandon Prust will have a hearing with the NHL Sunday morning regarding his elbow to the head of Devils’ defenseman Anton Volchenkov in the second period. There was no penalty called on the play, and Volchenkov was not injured and remained in the game.

******************************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

The scene is set before game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which the Rangers won, 3-0.

For the second series in a row, the New York Rangers took their playoff series to the limit, and for the second series in a row, got past their opponent to move on. For the first time since 1997, they are in the Eastern Conference finals, battling against an old nemesis, the New Jersey Devils.

So much of this run has had fans looking at parallels to 1994. Of course this is 2012 and the teams are nothing alike – with this one focused on a young homegrown core instead of being a win-now, guns-for-hire group that stripped the franchise of so much of its up-and-coming talent to go for it – but it is hard not to. After all, they faced the Washington Capitals in the second round that year (defeating them in 5 games) and then faced the New Jersey Devils in that epic 7-game series that sent the Rangers to the finals. In an ironic twist of fate, should this year’s game 6 take place it will be on May 25th, the anniversary of the game Mark Messier “guaranteed” the Rangers would win (and they did, thanks in part to a hat trick from the captain). Game 7 would take place on May 27th, the same date as the double overtime “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” game that ended that series.

The fans were certainly ready to go last night, getting the “Marrrrtyyyy” chants going even before the puck dropped. Once again, the FDNY Emerald Society drummed behind the penalty boxes to get the night started. For the first time all playoffs, the pregame videos were projected on the ice, rather than strictly on the scoreboard. Stephane Matteau was brought to encourage the 18,200 in attendance to put on the blue t-shirts that had been handed out as fans walked in. Once again, Ron Duguay made an appearance to try and get the crowd going.

There’s been talk heading into the series about how no team has gone on to win the Stanley Cup after going the 14-game distance in the first 2 rounds. There’s been talk about how the week of rest the Devils earned by dispatching the Philadelphia Flyers in 5 would benefit them, compared to the Rangers being less than 48 hours removed from eliminating the Washington Capitals in 7. With or without any encouragement, the Garden Faithful were certainly ready for this installment of “The Battle Of The Hudson.” But would the Rangers be? In the end, the answer was “yes,” as the Rangers shut out the Devils, 3-0 to take a 1-0 series lead.

Looking at the score alone is deceiving, as the game was far closer than one would think by looking at those numbers. Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves, but made them count, especially in the second period when the Devils surged and had the better of the play. The Devils flashed the aggressive penalty kill they’ve become known for this season. But Lundqvist came up big, stoning Zach Parise on 3 consecutive tries while killing off an Andy Greene slashing penalty, to keep his team in the game.

“As a goalie you always have to step up when the team needs you not when you feel good and you have your moments,” the Vezina trophy candidate said after last night’s game. “A lot of times it’s when the team’s struggling you have to step up. And it’s fun, too, to be there and try to make the difference sometimes when the team is going through a tough stretch.”

His strong play set the stage for a third period in which the Rangers finally broke through against Martin Brodeur. As good as his defensive partner Ryan McDonagh was, notably using his speed to catch Parise on a breakaway and to neutralize Ilya Kovalchuk as he came in 1-on-1 on his goaltender in the first, Dan Girardi had a rare rough night defensively. Girardi had a ghastly turnover in front of the net that Lundqvist was able to stop and then also had to shake off the painful after effects of blocking a shot and a cut near his eye when he was boarded by Steve Bernier midway in the 3rd period. But this can be a game where a hero can become a goat in an instant and vice-versa. Girardi found redemption when he struck 53 seconds into the 3rd period off a pass from rookie Chris Kreider, a goal that Lundqvist would make stand up as the game winner. Kreider would add an insurance goal on the power play, snapping it past Brodeur off a pass from Artem Anisimov at the twelve minute mark. Anisimov would seal the deal with 1:27 left and Brodeur pulled for the extra skater. Mike Rupp took a roughing penalty with 38 seconds remaining to put the Devils up 2 men, but Lundqvist denied them to earn his second shutout of the postseason.

The Rangers now find themselves in familiar territory – up 1 game to 0 in the playoffs and will look to go up 2-0 in a series for the first time in the 2012 playoffs Wednesday night.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Here is the leader-board through the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs:

1) Woodward –> 9-for-12

2) Philp –> 6-for-12

3) Levin –> 2-for-4

4) Muscat –> 6-for-12

5) Cohen –> 5-for-12

Eastern Conference

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Devils’ Record-Breaking Penalty Kill vs. Rangers’ Lifeless Power-Play

Philp– Devils win in 7. X-Factor –> Martin Brodeur

Muscat– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Rangers’ Third Line

Levin– Devils win in 7 . X-Factor –> Adam Henrique

Woodward– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> New York’s Power-Play

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen–  Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Mike Smith vs. Jonathan Quick: Who Cracks First?

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Muscat– Kings win in 5. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Levin– Kings win in 6. X-Factor –> Drew Doughty

Woodward– Kings win in 6. X-Factor –>Mike Richards/Jeff Carter Line

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen (Edit #2)– Rangers Over Kings

Philp (Edit #2)– Devils Over Coyotes

Muscat (Edit #2)– Rangers Over Kings

Levin–                    Devils Over Kings

Woodward (Edit #1)– Kings Over Rangers

Conn Smythe Award

Cohen– Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

Philp– Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils)

Muscat– Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

Levin– Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils)

Woodward– Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)

Rather than be down in the series 3-2 and have to fight for their playoff lives in game 6, they were up 3-2 with a chance on Wednesday to knock the Capitals out in front of their home crowd. Sadly, the Rangers didn’t really bother to show up. They got behind early after Anton Stralman took a tripping penalty 1:35 into the game on which Alex Ovechkin converted. Jason Chimera added the second goal in the second period and that was all the Caps would need. The Rangers’ power play that came up clutch for them in game 5, was nowhere to be found in this one. They went 0-for-5 on the night, the lowlight going shotless on Jeff Halpern’s double-minor for high sticking John Mitchell midway through the second period. A Marian Gaborik goal with 51 seconds left in the game with Lundqvist pulled prevented Braden Holtby from recording the shutout, but it was just window dressing on a night where no one (with maybe the exception of Lundqvist, who made some great saves to keep the Rangers close) really had a notable game for the Blueshirts.

Instead of opening up the Eastern Conference Finals at home Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils, they are hosting a game 7 against the Capitals. As they’ve done many times over the course of this season following a lackluster performance, they’ll have to find a way to bounce back. So how do they do that?

Score first. Heck, they just need to find a way to score, period. In the first 6 games of the series, the team that has scored first has won. With the exception of game 1, which the Rangers won 3-1, every game has been decided by either a 2-1 or 3-2 score, so goals have been hard to come by. Part of the credit has to be given to the Capitals taking a page out of the Rangers’ book when it comes to defensive hockey. A large part of it though falls on a  team with an anemic offense and an awful power play. With the way both have been going, a 1- or 2-goal deficit can seem insurmountable.

In practice Friday, John Tortorella reunited Chris Kreider with Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan. The line was effective early in the series, until Kreider  made a major gaffe in game 4 that led to an Ovechkin goal. It was a game the Capitals wound up winning. Kreider wound up playing 7:43 in that game, followed by 6:57 in game 5 and 6:06 in game 6. As we’ve learned with Tortorella, and as we’ve seen with Kreider, ice time depends on trust. But in a game 7, and starving for offense, he has to play and just hope that, if the kid does have a defensive lapse, the other 5 players on the ice for the Rangers can bail him out. With their backs to the wall, the reward outweighs the risk.

Then there’s the power play that still has yet to find any regular effectiveness after 95 games. Move the puck quickly, cut down on the cutesy passing and just take the shot. Cycle. Get in front of the net. Easy for me to say, but it’s now or never for them to find success.

Get At Holtby and Outplay Him. Can the 22-year-old rookie, who became a father on Thursday, push that out of his mind  and keep focus for a few hours? We saw what happened in game 1 when he wasn’t focused, mostly because the Rangers only took 14 shots on him. He’s been good for the Capitals when he’s needed to be. The Rangers have to throw everything at him, and not just shots in the hopes of creating rebounds. Crash the net. Create screens. Staal scored the overtime winner from the point in game 5, a shot Holtby admitted he can’t see.

Like it or not, this game 7 will fall squarely on the shoulders of Lundqvist. There’s been quite a bit made in the last few days about the Capitals “finding” his weakness. Anyone who has seen Lundqvist since 2005 knows that high glove is the way you’re going to beat “The King.” A 1.73 GAA and a .936 save percentage ideally should be good enough, but when the 18 skaters aren’t generating any offense, it’s not. Lundqvist is going to have to have the game of his career for the Rangers to have any chance of playing on Monday night.

Get Back To Playing “Rangers Hockey.” While they failed to score, the first period of game 5 was probably the last time they played the kind of hockey the Rangers have come to be known for this season. For 20 minutes there was high energy, physical, controlling hockey by this team. That is the kind of effort they’ll need tonight.

Take Advantage of Home Ice Advantage. The Rangers worked all season to earn the number one seed and have home ice advantage. During several of the home games in the first 2 rounds the crowd was so into it during the anthem you couldn’t even hear John Amirante sing. Even when the team has gotten down in games, the crowd would cheer to encourage them to get back into it. There’s no reason to expect that the fans’ passion will be any less tonight. It’s not only about the Garden Faithful, some of whom will pay a pretty penny on the secondary market to be in the building (average price for a ticket per seatgeek.com is $441.00). It’s also about getting more desirable matchups with the last changes, which will be critical when trying to keep the likes of Ovechkin off the scoreboard. History doesn’t mean much, but for those who look for anything for some optimism, the Rangers are 4-0 in game sevens at Madison Square Garden. Why can’t they make it 5-0?

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Photo taken seconds before the Rangers are told they don't get paid extra for overtime.

I’ve loved the game of hockey for over 40 years. Yeah, I’m old. But there have been a lot of times, particularly in the late nineties/early aughts that I felt the love was unrequited.

Then there was last night in the Verizon Center.

This was a game that really didn’t decide anything – it was Game 3 in a best-of-seven. Hell, there’s still every chance that the New York Rangers may go home after this series is over, despite winning last night’s epic triple-overtime game against the Washington Capitals.

And, in the record books websites all that will be in the final tally of the postseason series will be:

NYR 2 WSH 1 – 3OT

Is that fair? There is a romance to having some exalted status for games like last night, some way to let people know years and decades from now that there was something special that happened last night. Maybe an asterisk, or a larger font. Stars around it or something.

Instead, we’ll have to look elsewhere to be able to tell people about the sheer will of Ryan Callahan. Somewhere, someone will have pictures of Brian Boyle and Dan Girardi’s sweaters with blood stains. Mike Knuble looked like he had been bobbing for french fries after he was patched up. Heretofore unknown Braden Holtby and Vezina finalist Henrik Lundqvist looked like they were going to stop pucks for all eternity. A game in Nashville both began and ended while this one was going on.

NYR 2 WSH 1 – 3OT

Sure, there are things that will be there for statistical perusal. Ryan McDonagh played 53:21 of this game. Marc Staal played 49:30. But those are cold numbers. Shouldn’t there be some way for a box score to scream, “Holy crap, these guys were on the ice for almost an hour!”?

NYR 2 WSH 1 – 3OT

There were a combined 95 shots on goal in this one – 49 for Washington and 46 for New York. 92 of those pucks were stopped. For those of you keeping stats, that’s a combined .968 save percentage for Holtby and Lundqvist. That doesn’t even include the 41 shots that Rangers skaters blocked, or the 40 by Caps skaters. I guess the combined 105 hits can give some indication to the type of game that occurred, but in the end, it will still be:

NYR 2 WSH 1 – 3OT

As if the Hockey Gods knew what was in store, these teams get a little extra rest before they meet again, getting until Saturday afternoon before locking horns again in a series that is far from decided.

Fortunately, they gave us an incredible amount of hockey to hold us over until then.

Eastern Conference

(7) Washington Capitals vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Marc Staal

Philp– Capitals win in 7. X-Factor –> Capitals’ Penalty-Kill

Muscat– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Rangers’ Third Line

Levin– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Michael Del Zotto

Woodward– Rangers win in 6. X-Factor –> Dan Girardi

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers

Cohen– Flyers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Philp– Flyers win in 5. X-Factor –> Philadelphia’s Prolific Power-Play

Muscat– Flyers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Levin– Devils win in 7. X-Factor –> Patrik Elias

Woodward– Flyers win in 5. X-Factor –> Martin Brodeur’s Ability To Overcome Father Time

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (2) St. Louis Blues

Cohen–  Blues win in 7. X-Factor –> David Perron

Philp– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> The Blues’ Defense

Muscat– Blues win in 7. X-Factor –> T.J. Oshie

Levin– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> Jamie Langenbrunner

Woodward– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –>Mike Richards

(4) Nashville Predators vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Fisher

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Muscat– Predators win in 5. X-Factor –> Alexander Radulov

Levin– Predators win in 5. X-Factor –>Patric Hornqvist

Woodward– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Phoenix’s Secondary Scoring

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen (Edit)– Rangers Over Predators

Muscat (Edit)– Blues Over Rangers

Philp (Edit)– Capitals Over Coyotes

Woodward (Original)– Rangers Over Predators

Thursday night, the gentleman who was sitting in front of me at the game brought his “lucky hat” to wear – a helmet with a puck sticking halfway out of it, giving the illusion that it was embedded into the helmet. Needless to say, those of us sitting behind him ordered him to never take it off for the rest of the playoffs.

They’re not the only ones getting caught up in superstitions when it comes to the playoffs. After wearing different jerseys for games 2 and 5, for game 7 I went back to what I wore during the game 1 victory  – my 2010-11 Ryan Callahan heritage jersey. And when someone mentioned to me that they hoped the Devils would get knocked off, I said nothing. Didn’t want to wish any ill will on any other teams; didn’t need karma biting me and the Rangers in the behind. Why unnecessarily anger the hockey gods?

A lot of fans have all kinds of superstitions, thinking something they do are is what propels the team we love to victory. The game 7 win had nothing to do with a gutsy, gritty team once again rising to the challenge in the face of adversity. Not a thing to do with a Vezina- and Hart Trophy-nominated goaltender elevating his game when the team needed him to be just a little bit better. And it definitely had nothing to do with the offense coming from 2 unexpected sources in Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, who is inching ever closer to his pre-concussion self.

Hats, jerseys, foods. Those are what did it for the Rangers Thursday night, right? Well, of course not. But why risk it? Back in my Callahan heritage jersey I will be when the puck drops at 3pm to open up the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Washington Capitals.

The Capitals come into this series on the heels of some 7-game drama of their own, taking out the defending champion Boston Bruins in overtime.  But this time, there are a few twists, with the Rangers coming in the top seed and the Capitals the bottom seed, rather than the other way around. While many of the key Capitals from the last 2 times these teams met in the playoffs are still there, this is not Bruce Boudreau’s run-and-gun, defensively loosey-goosey team. Rather, Dale Hunter has managed to shape them into a more defensive-minded, shot-blocking squad.

Sound somewhat familiar?

Neither team was an offensive juggernaut in the first round (Capitals scored a total of 16 goals in the 1st round; the Rangers 14); their power play effectiveness were almost equal (Capitals at 15.8%, Rangers 15.6%). Even with the Capitals becoming more defense-oriented, they still possess many of the same weapons they did when they were offense-first. The Rangers will need to contain the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin, while trying to get their own goal-scorers going. Brian Boyle, the Rangers’ leading goal scorer in round 1 who was concussed in game 5, skated Friday for the first time since he suffered the injury. He’s not expected to play today, but getting him back would be a boost. Chris Kreider has taken the opportunity afforded him by the Carl Hagelin suspension and the Boyle injury, gaining confidence and, in turn, John Tortorella’s trust. As he gets more comfortable and continues developing chemistry with Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan, he very may well have a big say in the outcome of this series.

We all know what the Rangers have in goal in Lundqvist. The wild card may be what’s happening in the other net. The Capitals have had first-round success with NHL playoff newbies in goal over the last few years. Semyon Varlamov relieved Jose Theodore in 2009 and closed the door on the Rangers. Michal Neuvirth did likewise to them in 2011. Braden Holtby has managed the same feat against the Bruins this year. It will be interesting to see how capable he is at replicating that success against the Rangers. On paper, the Rangers should have the advantage in goal, but the same could have been said about Lundqvist vs. Craig Anderson in the 1st round.

Slowly but surely, the Rangers are slaying some of their playoff demons. Lundqvist coming up clutch in the postseason? Check. Making it past the first round for the first time since 2007? Check. Perhaps the next check will be for beating the Capitals and making it to the Easter Conference Finals for the first time since 1997.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

A lot of credit has to be given to the Senators. Craig Anderson has been good when he’s had to be, holding the Rangers to 9 goals in 4 games. They’ve also been able to adapt their play after game 1 to match the Rangers’ physical style, inserting Matt Carkner and Zenon Konopka into their lineup. The Senators have also managed to create more traffic in Henrik Lundqvist’s crease – Konopka making his presence felt in this area – something the Rangers have to contend with and find a way to clear out with the personnel they have. (I’ve contended several times this is what the Rangers have glaringly missed since the days of Jeff Beukeboom, and it’s probably what they are hoping prospect Dylan McIlrath will be down the line.) They do have 6’8″ 270 pound John Scott at their disposal to throw out there, but in a series where they’re trying to contend with the speed of their opponent, his overall game is more of a liability than his size would be an asset.

Konopka’s physical play is not the only aspect of his game that has had an impact. He also has a 68.6 faceoff win percentage in the 3 games he’s played. It’s not just him who has turned the Blueshirts into roadkill in the faceoff circle. Through Friday’s games, the Senators have the best faceoff percentage of the 16 playoff teams (54.5%) and the Rangers dead last (45.5%). A quick look at the faceoff stats show the disparity in the wins and losses:

The Senators have spent a lot of time with the puck, controlling play, carrying momentum and taking shots. Lots of shots. In the series, they’ve outshot the Rangers by 18 (134 to 116), but they’ve by far and away blown them out of the water on attempts (299 to 205). In Wednesday’s loss alone the disparity was a staggering 87 to 49. About a third of those (30) made it to  Lundqvist, with the remainder missing the net or being blocked.

After the early nastiness of this series and other series around the NHL, the referees called game 4 much tighter. The Rangers had trouble staying out of the penalty box and it did wind up burning them when Sergei Gonchar tied the game at 2 after Artem Anisimov took a hooking penalty. Ottawa did a pretty good job of marching to the box themselves in game 4, giving the Blueshirts 7 opportunities. They got out to a quick start with 2 power play goals (not a typo, they actually did score 2 on the power play), one by Anton Stralman and one by Ryan Callahan within the first 6:10 of the game. After that, nothing. For the series the power play is (dys)functioning at 16.7%, surprisingly that 1% better than they were in the regular season. Yes, the Bruins managed to win a Stanley Cup last season with a 16.2% power play in the regular season and a 11.4% effectiveness in the playoffs but they were able to generate goals in other situations to get them to the 16 needed wins.

The Rangers, on the other hand, have not cranked out a whole lot of offense. Part of it is the goaltending of Anderson and lack of puck possession noted above, but the places one would expect the scoring would come from have disappeared. Boyle, who began to heat up toward the end of the season, leads the team with 3 goals. Ryan Callahan has 2; Anton Stralman who had all of 2 in the regular season, has 2. Marian Gaborik had 1 in game 1 and aside from 2 assists in the series, hasn’t been heard from since. Perhaps Gaborik being so quiet can be correlated to the 3-game suspension of his speedy rookie linemate Carl Hagelin, which helps to create opportunities. Hagelin will serve his final game tonight and will be available to return for game 6 on Monday. Chris Kreider, who was thrown into Hagelin’s place after signing his entry level contract, has seen limited ice time. Derek Stepan has wavered between looking lost and invisible in this series. Brandon Dubinsky’s season-long offensive slump has spilled into the playoffs. Getting tossed in game 2 for being 3rd man in after coming to Boyle’s aid did not light the fire you might have expected in the games that have followed. This is not to place the blame for lack of offensive output solely on them or on missing Hagelin; there are plenty of people on that roster who need to try and step up. When Stralman, a defenseman who had 2 goals in 53 games in the regular season, is your 3rd leading scorer then something is terribly wrong.

The Rangers have handled adversity and distractions well all season. There’s no magic wand that can instantly fix the power play and faceoff woes that have troubled them through 86 games. Ottawa has managed to respond and adapt to the Rangers’ game. Now it’s their turn to do likewise if they want to be playing hockey beyond next week.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Carkner did his job effectively, when at 2:15 in the first period he jumped an unsuspecting Brian Boyle, who did not fight back, as retribution for Boyle’s game one rabbit-punching of Erik Karlsson in game one. It happened right in front of the referee, who puts his arm up, blows the whistle and just stands there rather than attempt to stop Carkner from using a prone Boyle as a human punching bag.

Seeing his teammate in trouble, Brandon Dubinsky (and everyone else for that matter) got involved and the referees, who seemingly let it get out of control, not only gave Dubinsky 2 minutes for roughing but tossed him out of the game for being the 3rd man in on the altercation. The 3rd  man in rule states that “a game misconduct penalty, at the discretion of the Referee, shall be imposed on any player who is the first to intervene (third man in) in an altercation already in progress except when a match penalty is being imposed in the original altercation. This penalty is in addition to any other penalties incurred in the same incident.”  Much to the chagrin of the Gatorade cooler at the Rangers’ tunnel, the referees used their discretion to assess that penalty and Dubinsky was lost for the game.

Carkner, on the other hand, received 2 for instigating, 5 for fighting and a game misconduct as well. Carkner did his job and was done for the night. There’s no way of knowing if the outcome of Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss would have been any different with Dubinsky available, but it certainly did not help the Rangers’ cause.

On Sunday, Carkner, a repeat offender who has a history of such behavior, received a one-game suspension for his deliberate antics. Meanwhile, Rangers’ rookie Carl Hagelin received a 3-game suspension for his careless elbow to the head of Daniel Alfredsson. Seemingly the difference? While Carkner’s repeated blows to the head did not cause injury to Boyle, Hagelin’s elbow to the head did, at least in that game as Alfredsson did not return to play in game two. Alfredsson, however, has not yet been ruled out of Monday’s game.

Sunday evening, the Rangers issued this brief statement on the Hagelin suspension:

The New York Rangers accept the NHL’s three-game suspension of Carl Hagelin and will not pursue an appeal.

However, we are thoroughly perplexed in the ruling’s inconsistency with other supplementary discipline decisions that have been made throughout this season and during the playoffs.

We will have no further comment on this decision.

Perplexed? Yeah, join the party.

The message these suspensions send? That an action that may or may not cause a player to miss time is a far greater offense than a premeditated attack on a player that didn’t cause an injury. What next? Why not up the ante? If the Senators sent out a sacrificial lamb – a player that losing for a game or two has no real impact – do the Rangers send theirs out on Monday in John Scott and send him after Chris Phillips for his elbow on Ryan Callahan? Then who does Zenon Konopka, who promised “blood and stitches” in the series, target next? I am certainly not advocating it, but when the referees fail to step in  and properly control the situation (not just in the Rangers-Senators series) and the NHL itself fails to mete out discipline with some semblance of logic and reason (feel free to lump in Shea Weber slamming Henrik Zetterberg’s head, WWE-style, that only led to a fine), it lends itself to some of the vigilante justice that we’ve seen in the first week of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

There were expectations (at least I had them), that when Brendan Shanahan became the discipline czar, he was going to be a drastic improvement over his predecessor, Colin Campbell. Unfortunately, even with the video explanations, NHL discipline has remained a confusing, arbitrary justice system that leaves everyone scratching their heads.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

It all started what seemed like a lifetime ago in Goteborg, Sweden, when he and the Rangers played an exhibition game against his former team, the Frolunda Indians. Not only was he honored before that game, but it gave him yet another chance to go head-to-head against his twin brother Joel, who captains the SEL club.

Add to that 24/7 and the Winter Classic, where he made that late-game save on Daniel Briere’s penalty shot; being selected to the All-Star Game and being given the “A” for Team Alfredsson, helping his fellow Swede draft his team; coming further to the forefront as a spokeman for the Garden Of Dreams Foundation, for which he launched a hat and t-shirt line to raise money for the charity. This week, he became the “cover boy” for a regional version of Sports Illustrated, highlighting their NHL playoff preview.

But it will feel like it was all for naught should he not backstop the Rangers deep into the playoffs. It’s the biggest knock against him – that he can’t get it done when it counts most. For all of his stellar numbers in the regular season (career – 252-155-54 (43 shutouts), .920 SV%, 2.27 GAA), they have dipped once the postseason arrived (15-20 (3 shutouts), .909 SV%, 2.60 GAA). In his five previous trips to the playoffs, he’s only won one series, a 4-0 sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007.

Though he just turned 30 earlier this month and is now in the prime of his career, he in cognizant that the clock is ticking for him to add the Stanley Cup to his resume. So, is this the season he finally sheds that reputation? Here are a few reasons why it very well might be.

Successful Execution Of The Goalie Rotation Plan.

Last season, a Derek Stepan shot that fractured Martin Biron’s collarbone in practice on trade deadline day 2010 meant John Tortorella had to scrap the “rest Lundqvist” plan that was in place. Lundqvist played a total of 68 games last year, the lowest of his career at that point. He made 26 straight starts to end that season, as they were once again in a dog fight just to make the playoffs.  He also made all 5 starts in the postseason as well, adding up to 31 straight.

Despite some shaky goaltending late this season, Biron actually went 12-6-2 for the Rangers. Last time a Rangers goalie not named Lundqvist reached double-digit wins? It was Kevin Weekes in 2005-06, Lundqvist’s rookie season (he went 14-14-3 in 32 games). Even playing a season-high 10 straight down the stretch, Lundqvist played in the fewest games since that rookie year (62) and set a career-high in wins (39). He also posted personal bests in save percentage (.930) and goals against average (1.97) even with his play coming back to earth over the last 2 months. His 8 shutouts also made him the only goaltender to appear in top 5 in all of the major goaltending statistics and makes him a strong candidate to not only earn his 4th Vezina nomination in 7 years, but maybe finally get the chance to take home that hardware. A lighter regular season workload should ideally mean there’s more left in the tank physically to make a playoff run.

The Team In Front Of Him Is Relatively Healthy.

Or as healthy as it can be after 82 games. That injury to Biron put more of a burden on Lundqvist, but injuries overall took their toll on the team last year. Lack of scoring and trouble on special teams were part of the reason the Rangers fell in five to the Washington Capitals but losing the heart and soul of the team, Ryan Callahan, to an ankle fracture in the closing days of the season all but sealed their fate. Coming into this series, they are not missing any of the major components that got them to this point. The only major injury that is sidelining a regular is the concussion of defenseman Michael Sauer, something he’s been dealing with since December.  A healthy Sauer would be an asset to an already solid defense, but players like Anton Stralman and Stu Bickel have been able to plug some of the holes left by the absence. Defenseman Steve Eminger is still trying to work his way back from an ankle injury. Aside from them, it’s all hands on deck ready to go tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

Not Only Is It Healthy, It’s An Improvement From Seasons Past. 

A goaltender can get hot and carry a team deep (see Halak, Jaroslav circa 2010), but it generally takes all 24 men who dress to lift that beautiful trophy in June. Back as a rookie in 2005-06, the only serious offensive weapon the Rangers had was Jaromir Jagr, and once he separated his shoulder trying to take a swipe at then-Devil Scott Gomez, that was pretty much the end of him being an threat. In the 4-game sweep, the Rangers mustered a total of 4 goals to the Devils’ 17. The defense consisted of the likes of Marek Malik, Darius Kasparaitis, the late-season acquisition Sandis Ozolinsh and Rangers fan favorite Tom Poti. Not exactly a group that will instill a whole lot of confidence that it can get things done.

Marian Gaborik  bounced back this year, putting in 41 goals and Callahan adding a career-high of 29. Unfortunately, players like Brandon Dubinsky and Brian Boyle saw their offensive numbers fall off from last year. Even with the addition of Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin, their goals scored per game average actually went down slightly (from 2.73 to 2.71). Should the Rangers get deep in this series and find they’re searching for additional offensive pop, newly signed Chris Kreider will be available to insert in the lineup.

Dubinsky and Boyle have been somewhat AWOL offensively, they’ve made contributions defensively. The team as a whole  blocks shots relentlessly, reducing the number of pucks that make it to the net. Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh have embraced their roles as defensive stalwarts. Michael Del Zotto has bounced back. Marc Staal is slowly coming back after missing half the season. Goals against per game dipped from last season, going from 2.38 last year to 2.22 this year. It’s a collaborative effort, with Lundqvist as the last line of defense.

The team didn’t get a drastic makeover from last year’s squad, but tweaked it by adding Brad Richards and Mike Rupp. It has allowed for a sense of familiarity with each other and growing more comfortable within Tortorella’s defense-first system. Call-ups from the AHL, where that same system is used, has allowed call-ups like John Mitchell and Carl Hagelin to make a smooth jump the the NHL. There’s that old cliche that familiarity breeds contempt, but in this case it has allowed the Rangers to form a cohesive group that plays hard for each other.

It’s been a pretty good year to be “The King”. It’d be an even better one for Lundqvist, his teammates and the Rangers faithful, if  he can exorcise his playoff demons once and for all and he team ends the 18-year Stanley Cup drought this June.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Eastern Conference

(8) Ottawa Senators vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Brandon Dubinsky

Muscat– Rangers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ryan Callahan

Philp– Rangers win in 5 . X-Factor –> Henrik Lundqvist/Rangers’ Physicality

Woodward– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Chris Phillips/Filip Kuba

(7) Washington Capitals vs. (2) Boston Bruins

Cohen– Bruins win in 6. X-Factor –> Nicklas Backstrom

Muscat– Bruins win in 4. X-Factor –> Brad Marchand

Philp– Capitals win in 7. X-Factor –> Alexander Ovechkin

Woodward– Bruins win in 6. X-Factor –> Boston’s Power-Play

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (3) Florida Panthers

Cohen– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> David Clarkson

Muscat– Devils win in 5. X-Factor –> David Clarkson

Philp– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> A Healthy Martin Brodeur

Woodward– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> Florida’s Secondary Scoring

(5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins

Cohen–  Penguins win in 7. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Muscat– Penguins win in 6. X-Factor –> Marc-Andre Fleury

Philp– Penguins win in 5. X-Factor –> Pittsburgh’s Depth/Matt Cooke

Woodward– Flyers win in 7. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (1) Vancouver Canucks

Cohen–  Canucks win in 6. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Muscat– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Philp– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Woodward– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

(7) San Jose Sharks vs. (2) St. Louis Blues

Cohen– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> Andy McDonald

Muscat– Blues win in 5. X-Factor –> Alex Pietrangelo

Philp– Sharks win in 6. X-Factor –> Joe Thornton Exorcising Playoff Demons

Woodward– Blues win in 5. X-Factor –> Antti Niemi

(6) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen– Blackhawks win in 6. X-Factor –> Keith Yandle

Muscat– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith/Phoenix Defense

Woodward– Coyotes win in 7. X-Factor –> Corey Crawford

(5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Nashville Predators

Cohen– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Alexander Radulov

Muscat– Red Wings win in 7. X-Factor –> Pavel Datsyuk

Philp– Red Wings win in 6. X-Factor –> Detroit’s Special Teams

Woodward– Predators win in 7. X-Factor –> Detroit’s Second Line

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen– Penguins Over Predators

Muscat– Red Wings Over Penguins

Philp– Red Wings Over Penguins

Woodward– Rangers Over Predators

With Saturday’s conclusion of the regular season and Sunday’s revelation of this year’s postseason match-ups and schedules, now is as good a time as any to make my first round predictions. Today’s blog will feature three of the Eastern Conference’s four series. Being that the Bruins are the team I cover, I’ll have a more detailed preview of their series with the Capitals before it kicks off on Thursday at the TD Garden.

8) Ottawa Senators vs. 1) New York Rangers

Forwards– In years past, the Rangers were thought of as an offensively incapable bunch that could only reach victory through solid defense and world class goaltending. However, that image has been wiped clean this season through the addition of top-line pivot Brad Richards and the finally healthy Marian Gaborik. The Blueshirts have emerged as one of the league’s top offensive squads, posting a 2.71 goals per game average on the season, good for 11th in the NHL. However, an underrated Ottawa forward corps — led by Jason Spezzza and Milan Michalek — have brought the Sens the NHL’s fourth most potent offense this season.

Advantage– Ottawa

Defense– Outside of Norris Trophy favorite Erik Karlsson, the Ottawa d-corps leave a lot to be desired. While Sergei Gonchar is capable of an occasional offensive spark, he’s never been known to handle himself well in his own zone. While Filip Kuba and Chris Phillips do provide the Sens with a solid defensive presence night in and night out, the Ottawa defense group simply can’t compare to the well-rounded Rangers’ blueline. With offensively explosive d-men like Michael Del Zotto and Ryan McDonagh to go along with  shut-down rearguards Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, the Blueshirts back-end is one of the best in the league.

Advantage– New York

Goaltending– Despite Craig Anderson’s success in Ottawa over the past two seasons, I think it’s fairly obvious that the Rangers hold the edge here. Henrik Lundqvist can often steal a series on his own.

Advantage– New York

Intangibles– After besting the East’s number one squad on three of four occasions this season, the Sens may hold a bit of a mental edge on the Rangers heading into their series.

Advantage– Ottawa

Prediction– The Sens will make this one a lot closer than many of the experts suggest, forcing the Blueshirts into a decisive seventh game at Madison Square Garden. However, the Rangers’ depth and collective toughness will simply be too much for the Senators.

RANGERS IN 7

6) New Jersey Devils vs. 3) Florida Panthers

Forwards– Up front, the Devils posses far more offensive dynamic forwards than the Cats, with the likes of Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk and long-time Devil Patrik Elias. The late-season addition of former Cup winner John Madden will undoubtedly help the Panthers in the experience department, but their lack of production from any offensive unit outside the top line will be the Cats’ eventual unraveling.

Advantage– New Jersey

Defense– Powered by two blueliners who are never shy about jumping into an offensive play in the form of Jason Garisson and Brian Campbell, the Cats’ defensive unit is solid all the way around. Both sides seem to be even in this category.

Advantage– Florida

Goaltending– With the age of veteran ‘tender Martin Brodeur, this one’s a bit more of a toss up than many people think. I’d have to give the Devils the slight edge, just based on the fact that they have a capable backup, should anything happen to the 39-year-old Brodeur.

Advantage– New Jersey

Intangibles– The most interesting stat that I’ve come across here is that the Panthers have more players on their current roster (five) with a Stanley Cup ring than do the Devils (three). I don’t think many of us would have guessed that.

Advantage-- Florida

Prediction– Many pundits have New Jersey pulling off the upset here — if you even want to call it that — and rightfully so. After backing into the post-season, I don’t believe the Cats will be able to take down the Devils in round one.

NEW JERSEY IN 6

5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. 4) Pittsburgh Penguins

Forwards– The Philly offense is deep, strong and fast, but the Crosby and Malkin factor — along with the emergence of James Neal –  give the Pens a decisive advantage in this category.

Advantage– Pittsburgh

Defense– If Kris Letang can return to the Norris-favorite form he enjoyed early in the season, the Pens will also hold the advantage on the back-end, but if he can’t, I’d have to give the Flyers the nod, simply because of their amazing defensive depth, in holding eight NHL-capable rearguards.

Advantage– Philadelphia

Goaltending– Without doubt this is the hardest category to predict of them all. Couple Marc-Andre Fluery’s recent struggles with the enigmatic nature of Ilya Bryzgalov and you’ve got a complete and total toss up when it comes to the netminders in this series. Assuming Bryzgalov can return to form, Philadelphia will hold the edge here.

Advantage– Philadelphia

Intangibles– With most of the roster still intact from the 2009 Stanley Cup winning season, the Pens hold a decisive intangible advantage over a rookie-filled Flyers’ lineup.

Advantage– Pittsburgh

Prediction– In what will undoubtedly become one of the greatest postseason series in recent memory, these two cross-state rivals will lay it all on the line. In the end, I believe that the Flyers will outlast the Pens, stealing game seven on the ice of the CONSOL Energy Center.

PHILADELPHIA IN 7

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

His fiery temper and his outspokenness is part of why he was brought in, and is what makes him a polarizing figure even among fans of the team he coaches. That temper got him in trouble in 2009 in his first playoff series as Rangers coach, when an altercation with Washington Capitals fans behind the bench led to a 1-game suspension.

His outspokenness cost him $30,000.00 for his postgame remarks after the Winter Classic, when he intimated that the rash of pro-Flyers calls (including the Daniel Briere penalty shot that Henrik Lundqvist stopped) in the closing minutes of the showcase game were a conspiracy between the NHL and NBC to send the game into overtime.

During Thursday night’s 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brooks Orpik laid a knee-on-knee hit on Derek Stepan in the third period. Orpik received a 5-minute major and a game misconduct.  Stepan was able to skate off the ice without assistance. He did not practice on Friday and was reported to just be sore. If that’s the severity of it then the Rangers dodged  a huge bullet a week away from the start of the playoffs.

Understandably Tortorella was livid about the dirty hit and let his feelings be known about it in his postgame interview that aired after the game on MSG Network:

“Absolutely, it’s a cheap, dirty hit,” Tortorella said when asked about it. “I wonder what would happen if we did it to their two whining stars over there, I wonder what would happen? So I’m anxious to see what happens with the league with this. Just no respect among players, none. It’s sickening.”

Tortorella wasn’t done sharing how he felt about the team that had run afoul of another Atlantic Division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, five days earlier, as well as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin:

“It’s one of the most arrogant organizations in the league. They whine about this stuff all the times and look what happens. It’s ridiculous, but they’ll whine about something else over there, won’t they? Starting with their two (f—ing) stars.”

You think it would have ended there, right? Both teams report to their respective practice facilities on Friday and then close out their regular seasons on Saturday without further incident, right? Wrong. Crosby felt the need to fire back today, and actually had the audacity to imply, in quotes that appeared in a story on nhl.com, that Ryan Callahan whines far more to the officials:

“I mean, if you want you can put a camera on us all game, put a camera on [Rangers captain Ryan Callahan] all game. You’ll see who’s over there more [with the officials]. He [Tortorella] should worry about his own players.”

Callahan? Really Sidney? If Crosby felt that Tortorella’s remarks were “garbage,” why even respond to them with more than a “I’m not even going to dignify the comments with a reaction”? Crosby could have taken the high road and come out looking like the better person in this. Rather he chose to spew his own “garbage.” and drag Callahan, the hard-nosed Rangers captain who doesn’t have a reputation for slew-footing and getting away with all sorts of elbows and post-whistle punches, through the mud.

Tortorella also found out Friday just what happened with the League decided to do with this. Orpik did not receive any supplemental discipline, not even a call from Brendan Shanahan admonishing him for the dirty play. Tortorella, on the other hand, found his wallet another $20,000.00 lighter for having the nerve to come out and say what so many people think when it comes to the Penguins, despite the fact that the NHL decided to make it an even bigger molehill by splashing it on NHL.com and even tweeting a link to the initial story with Tortorella’s comments. Even as of 10:15 pm Friday evening, this war of words was still very prominent on the home page.

Fining a coach for making remarks that call into question the integrity of the League, such as the comments Tortorella made after the Winter Classic or the ones Renney made in implying there was some favortism by the referees towards the Los Angeles Kings in the Edmonton Oilers’ 2-0 loss to them on Monday because, to paraphrase, “maybe the NHL needs Hollywood in the playoffs,” a remark that set Renney back $10,000.00, makes sense. But fining the Rangers’ coach for venting and speaking out against another team does nothing to quell the prevailing thought, true or not, that the NHL coddles the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Wonder if Peter Laviolette, Craig Berube and Mike Milbury will give Tortorella a hand when it comes to ponying up the cash.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Unfortunately for those in attendance, the party had to be put on hold as the Bruins finally defeated the Rangers this season, taking the game 2-1 and clinch the Northeast Division in the process.

Special teams made all the difference. After two consecutive games where the Rangers managed to score two power play goals, they went 0-for-3 (including a brief 5-on-3 after Daniel Paille was called for delay of game 43 seconds into the third period). A mistake by the normally dependable Dan Girardi while killing off Michael Del Zotto’s interference penalty at 10:30 in the second period led to the Patrice Bergeron goal that put the Bruins ahead for good.

Somewhat lost in the disappointment of Sunday night’s result was Marian Gaborik’s accomplishment. On a breakaway at 4:33 in the first period, Gaborik beat Tim Thomas and scored his 40th goal of the season. The tally put him in some exclusive company as he joined Jean Ratelle and Mike Gartner as the only players to score at least 40 goals twice as a Blueshirt.

The 2010-11 season was among the worst of his career, during which he suffered a separated shoulder in the home opener on October 15th that cost him twelve games off the bat. He went on to miss eight more games – one with a groin, one with the flu and six with a concussion. In the 62 games he dressed for, he looked utterly lost. He scored 22 goals, but they came in clusters – four in one game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and then three-goal efforts against the New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers. Not that three hat tricks in a season is unimpressive, but when close to half the goals he scored came in three games, it’s not the consistent offensive output you expect from your high-priced sniper. In what wound up a five-game series in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals, he managed one goal and one assist.

In the offseason, he was dealt two personal blows. On May 13th, his friend and teammate from both his days with the Minnesota Wild and the Rangers, Derek Boogaard, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment from what turned out to be an lethal combination of alcohol and prescription painkillers. Then mere days before the opening of training camp came the  Lokomotiv Yaroslavl tragedy that claimed the life of Gaborik’s countryman and good friend Pavol Demitra. Gaborik returned to his hometown of Trencin, Slovakia to remember Demitra. (Memorial stickers for Boogaard have adorned the helmets of all of the Rangers this season; Gaborik also wears one for Demitra beside it on his.)

Gaborik has been able to put the disappointing season and the offseason tragedies behind him, and has returned to the player the Rangers were expecting him to be when he signed as a free agent in 2009. At least for this season, Gaborik has been able to leave behind the reputation of being fragile. He has dressed for all 79 games the Rangers have played to this point, making him one of seven to do so. Staying healthy has been a key factor in getting into a rhythm. Gaborik has looked far more comfortable and confident in the Rangers’ defense-first system then he did last season. Earlier in the year he found chemistry with Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov and now has done likewise with rookie Carl Hagelin and Brad Richards. When the latter trio gets the puck and heads down ice, it just feels as though they are going to make something happen. Of his 40 goals, seven have been game-winners, putting him third on the team behind Richards (9) and Ryan Callahan (8)

The Rangers have had many great storylines that have helped them surpass any expectations – Henrik Lundqvist’s Vezina-worthy goaltending; Girardi and Ryan McDonagh stepping up big-time for the injury-depelted defense;  Callahan having a career year and showing why that “C” belongs on his chest. A healthy and consistently productive Gaborik is also a big reason why the Rangers are on the cusp of accomplishing something no one thought they would do in 2011-12.

*******************************

News and Notes

The Rangers will get another chance to clinch tonight when they visit the Flyers. There will be no lineup changes, meaning Henrik Lundqvist will make his 10th consecutive start. They just need to earn one point tonight, or have the Pittsburgh Penguins lose either in regulation or overtime in Boston to give them the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference titles  … The MTA unveiled three Rangers playoff-wrapped subway cars that will run on the shuttle line from Times Square to Grand Central Station … Limited individual playoff tickets for the first two rounds of the playoffs go on sale Wednesday at noon.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Callahan plays so much bigger than his 5’11″, 190-pound body should dictate, 6th in the NHL in hits with 237 and 6th among forwards in blocked shots with 76. When the captain is out there setting the example and putting his body on the line for the team, it’s impossible for others not to follow and buy in (Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi are in the top 10 in blocked shots with 169 and 165, respectively). The hard-nosed style is not without risks, as Rangers fans know well. Callahan went down at the end of last season with a broken ankle that was the result of a blocked Zdeno Chara shot and it was blatant how much he was missed on the ice. There was another scare this year when he blocked a shot against the Devils on February 27th that resulted in a bruised foot. Fortunately, he only missed 4 games with the injury.

He is thriving in his first year wearing the “C”, and it’s just not about the physical and defensive parts of his game. He is continuing to blossom offensively as well. Already through 67 games has set a career high in goals with 27, surpassing the 23 in 60 games he scored last year. That’s good enough for second on the team. Eleven of those goals have come on the power play, the most on the team.

After a rough first half of March, the Rangers have begun to right the ship and are getting back to playing the style of game that has gotten them to where they are now. They clinched a playoff spot Monday night against the New Jersey Devils, becoming the first team in the East to do so. Just making it in is not good enough with the way this team has overachieved this season. It’s about holding home ice as long as possible in the playoff run now. With the Pittsburgh Penguins suddenly surging and now fully healthy, what looked like a nice cushion for the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference titles has now become a dogfight for supremacy. Desperately needing breathing room, Callahan shifted his game into another gear Wednesday night, delivering a solid third period at both ends of the ice and eventually delivering the overtime game winner against the injury-depleted Detroit Red Wings with a little help from the post. Not a bad way to cap off his 27th birthday.

Fairly or unfairly, Rangers captains are always going to be compared to and measured against Mark Messier, and with good reason. Messier came here with a resume that in today’s NHL will probably never be matched. But this is the first time since “The Messiah’s” first go-around on Broadway that the image of the man wearing the “C” is reflected in the other 24 men that are wearing the uniform.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

A guest on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” online After Show last night, Avery declared that he was officially retired and that he threw his skates into the Hudson. Today Avery told Larry Brooks of The New York Post that it wasn’t a joke; that he would be retiring at the end of the season.

Avery came to the flailing Rangers in 2007 carrying with him a (deserved) reputation, notorious for his antics as an agitator. It didn’t take long for him to become one of the more popular Blueshirts, driving superstar Ilya Kovalchuk to distraction in a first-round playoff sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007. He followed that up in the 2008 playoffs, taking his superpest status to a whole new level when he screened New Jersey Devils’ goaltender Martin Brodeur, using his hands and stick while the Rangers were on a power play, prompting the NHL on-the-fly to amend the unsportsmanlike conduct rule to include Avery’s face guarding method. It also gave rise to Brodeur’s refusal to shake Avery’s hand at the end of the Rangers’ 4-1 quarterfinals series victory and Avery dubbing Brodeur “Fatso” in a postgame interview when asked about the non-handshaking incident.

The honeymoon appeared to be over when Avery became an unrestricted free agent that summer and the Dallas Stars signed him to a 4-year, $15.5 million contract. As popular as Avery was with the fans, the Rangers were certainly right to not offer him something comparable. Twenty-three games into his stint in the Lone Star State, Avery called over media in Calgary and uttered the two words that would eventually lead to a suspension (6 by the NHL but indefinite by the Stars), NHL-mandated anger management classes and a second stint on Broadway.

Avery though never quite was able to fully recapture the magic of his first tenure with the Rangers. Twelve days after Tom Renney was let go and John Tortorella was hired as his replacement, Avery was back in a Rangers’ uniform. He never found his comfort zone underneath the coach who had expressed disdain for him while he was a commentator on TSN – trying, and seemingly failing, to walk that edge of where being an effective irritant ended and an on-ice detriment began.

After a forgettable 2010-11, the writing was on the wall at the start of this season when he was sent down to the AHL. He was called up for 15 games when injuries necessitated someone be called up to fill a roster spot. It all unraveled after that second demotion on December 30^th. He suited up for the Whale for what would turn out to be the final time on January 27^th  and capped off by his omission on the clear day roster of the Connecticut Whale of the AHL. He was told by the organization to not even bother showing up for practice.

Avery’s interests away from the rink have been well-documented – interning at Vogue, being a partner in two restaurants in Manhattan, modeling for Gap and Hickey Friedman just to name a few – and he’ll undoubtedly have plenty on his plate to keep him occupied in his post-hockey life.  If he truly is done with hockey at 31, it brings to a close of one of the more colorful (and more hated, for that matter) characters of the NHL.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Projected Standings: (Team–Projected Point Total–Point Differential From Last Season–Seed Differential From Last Season)

1) New York Rangers 115 Points –>+22 Points –> +7 Spots

2) Boston Bruins         102 Points –> -1 Point –> +1 Spot

3) Florida Panthers    93 Points –> +21 Points –> +12 Spots

4) Pittsburgh Penguins 106 Points –> EVEN –> EVEN

5) Philadelphia Flyers  102 Points –> -4 Points –> -3 Spots

6) New Jersey Devils 98 Points –> +17 Points –> +5 Spots

7) Ottawa Senators 94 Points –> +20 Points –> +6 Spots

8) Winnipeg Jets 88 Points –> +8 Points –> +4 Points

9) Washington Capitals 87 Points –> -20 Points –> -8 Spots

10) Buffalo Sabres 86 Points –> -10 Points –> -3 Spots

11) Tampa Bay Lightning 84 Points –> -19 Points –> -6 Spots

12) Toronto Maple Leafs 82 Points –> -3 Points –> -2 Spots

13) New York Islanders 81 Points –> +8 Points –> +1 Spot

14) Carolina Hurricanes 80 Points –> -11 Points –> -5 Spots

15) Montreal Canadiens 73 Points –> -23 Points –> -9 Spots

STATS:

–> Largest Points Improvement …..     New York Rangers (+22)

–> Largest Seeding Improvement …..  Florida Panthers (+12)

–> Worst Points Drop-Off           …..     Montreal Canadiens (-23)

–> Worst Seeding Drop-Off       …..      Montreal Canadiens (-9)

If Sidney Crosby (Above) makes a return to the Pittsburgh lineup, these number may change drastically.

–> Now, things can always change rapidly and a team could fall completely out of the playoff race or one could jump right into it by putting together a nice winning streak, making this system far from a perfect prediction tool.

–> Last season, it took 93 points from the New York Rangers to secure the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. This year it looks like 90 will once again be the magic number with one or two teams perhaps finishing below that mark and still sneaking into the dance.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

That is, until playoff and 2012-13 season invoices were made available to subscribers today. If you haven’t gotten yours, or haven’t seen it yet, be prepared for sticker shock that is hitting sections of the Garden.

Want to see this live in the postseason and in 2012-13? Be prepared to pay more.

Since it’s first up on the horizon, let’s tackle playoff tickets. It’s normal for playoff ticket prices to be more than regular season prices, but when the full complement of 16 potential playoff games costs close to and in some cases surpasses the full cost of an 81-game season (one of my Twitter followers mentioned to me his playoff package for his seat in the 400s is over $700 more than his full season cost) it’s problematic. Last year, in section 327, tickets in the 6th row for round 1 ran $95 a ticket per game. This year in a comparable section they’ll set you back $102 on a seat that costs $59 to a subscriber during the regular season. (Online billing does not break it down per round up front, but to give you an idea how the prices can increase per round, last year’s tickets if the Rangers made it all the way to the finals were $220 a seat.) [Correction - online billing does in fact break it down by round. Those finals seats that cost $220 last year are $230 a seat this year.]

If you’re not a subscriber and want to go to a game next season, be prepared to pay up too. According to the pricing chart available to view on the Rangers site that shows the variation in prices from full season to buying individually on Ticketmaster, the cheapest seat in the house will be $40 a game if you walk up to the Garden box office (the same ticket costs $52 if you purchase it online). With phase 2 of the Madison Square Garden renovations continuing this summer, sections will also be renumbered. As you can see on the seating chart for next season, gone will be the 300s and most of the 400s, replaced by sections numbered as the 200s. Also in sections there is wide variation in pricing. The current 300s in the east and west ends of the Garden were renovated for this year. Tickets that are now $59 per game for a full season subscriber in the current section 320 regardless of whether or not you sit in row A or F will now be tiered pricing. Take the new section 219, which is in approximately the same place. Want to sit in row 4? That’s $73 a seat for the full season. Tack on another $6 if you prefer the second row. Want the first row? Dig a little deeper as those will cost $125. The lone consolation, if there is one for season subscribers, is that there are no preseason games to pay for because of the ongoing renovations. That’s a plus, because if history is any indication, those tickets would cost the same as regular season games.

The sad thing is, I wrote about this subject around this time last year too when 2011-12 prices were rolled out. That hypothetical family of four may find it a little more difficult to afford to get in the door next year, never mind be able to pay for some of the new food concessions that have been introduced this season. The Rangers and the NHL may lose a few more from the next generation of fans as the average person continues to get priced out.

Of course the simple thing is for someone to say “well, no one is forcing someone to renew or buy any tickets for that matter.”  That’s true  and a perfectly valid argument. I had another Twitter follower tell me that after 10 years, he’s out. It’s unfortunate that someone who’s been in for that long, and lord knows saw some God-awful hockey before this turnaround, is at a point where he can’t enjoy the team in the same way now that it’s good. For every current holder who is giving up their seats simply because they’re disgusted with the increases or simply can’t afford it, there’s someone right behind him or her who will be willing and able to pay the price and scoop them up. One can also argue that this is America, it’s a capitalist system, teams can charge whatever the market will bear. That’s true, and it’s certainly what’s going on here, but along with that a little more of what’s always made the Garden a great place to take in a hockey game goes away. You can renovate the building all you want, but when those who care and put their heart and soul into it for 41+ games get priced out and dwindle, what do you really have left? The insistence on “Cost Certainty” that wound up costing us a season and was supposed to help control ticket prices has, seven seasons removed, been certainly costly here in New York.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

It didn’t look good for Boston in the first as the Blueshirts tallied two quick goals in the first 6:15 of the game. First it was low-scoring defenseman Anton Stralman whose wrist shot found it’s way through a screen and past Boston goaltender Tim Thomas. A mere seventy seconds later the Rangers would add to their lead when Carl Hagelin redirected a centering pass into the Bruins’ net.

Seeing his team go down two goals in such a pivotal contest, Boston bench boss Claude Julien opted to take his timeout immediately after the second New York tally. The move would pay immediate divends for a B’s squad that would account for the next six shots on goal, including Benoit Pouliot’s 10^th mark of the season after some tough forechecking from Jordan Caron. Three fights and a busted glass panel later, these two Eastern Conference behemoths went to the rooms with New York ahead 2-1.

The B’s got out to a much hotter start in the second frame, controlling play from the opening puck drop. At the 1:40 mark, it was Caron who would blast a slapshot past Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to even the score at two.

Boston would continue to out-work the Rangers throughout the balance of the second period, outshooting New York by a 10-3 margin. Unfortunately for the Black and Gold, Lundqvist stood tall in the Rangers’ goal and did not allow the Bruins to take a lead into the second intermission.

After a strong burst of energy to begin the third and final frame, the Rangers would regain the lead at the 3:14 mark when Marian Gaborik stuffed it into a yawning goal after Thomas had made a stop on the other side of the net mouth. It would be the 32^nd tally of the campaign for the Slovakian born winger who continues to light up the score sheet for the first place Rangers.

The Bruins would come right back midway through the third when some slick puck movement from the top line would result in David Krejci’s 17^th goal of the season. Unfortunately, only 0:39 seconds later, the Blueshirts would answer when Derek Stepan snapped one over the glove of Thomas to give New York a 4-3 lead with less than eight minutes left to play. Whilst Thomas held his own for the better part of Sunday’s contest, Stepan’s go-ahead tally is simply one that the former Vezina winner cannot let get past him less than a minute after his team tied the score.

Boston would pull Thomas and apply a fair amount of pressure on Lundqvist as the time ticked off the clock, but they would just run out of time as the Rangers held on for their third win in as many tries against the B’s this season.

The injury-riddled Bruins fought hard this afternoon against one of the best teams in the entire NHL, but in the end, the Rangers simply proved themselves the better team.

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Jordan Caron (1 Goal/1 Assist)

2) Henrik Lundqvist (30 Saves)

3) Brad Richards (2 Assists)

What’s Next?

– The Bruins will be back in action on Tuesday evening when they visit the Leafs and their new bench boss, Randy Carlyle. The Rangers will also be back on the ice on Tuesday when they visit Ilya Kovalchuk and the division rival New Jersey Devils.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

- Dictionary.com

Two small letters carry so much expectation of what might come; of what could have been but never was. They’re two letters that could easily be applied to Wojtek Wolski.

The Colorado Avalanche saw something in the Poland-born, Canada-raised left winger to warrant using their first-round pick (21^st overall) to select him in 2004. The Rangers hoped that a change of scenery would help Wolski find his scoring touch, and in turn, help them produce more offense after Alex Frolov went down for the 2010-11 season with a knee injury.

Unfortunately for both player and team, it didn’t work that way. In the 37 regular season games he played as a Ranger last season after being acquired on January 10^th in exchange for defenseman Michal Rozsival he managed 6 goals and 13 assists. He was hampered by injury to start this season – first diagnosed as a groin, then a hernia and has not been able to get back in the lineup with any regularity. Wolski has played a total of 9 games, his last being January 15^th in Montreal and in those 9 games, was virtually invisible.

Today Wolski became a former Ranger, as the forward was shipped to the Florida Panthers in exchange for minor leaguer Michael Vernace and their 3rd round draft pick in 2013. The Panthers now become his 4th team since the 2009-10 season. The Rangers regain $3.8 million in essentially wasted cap space in advance of  Monday’s 3pm trade deadline.

If. If Wojtek Wolski lived up to the expectations people had for him based on his talent, perhaps he never becomes a spare part sitting on the sidelines, his Rangers days now over. Perhaps were he providing the offense Glen Sather had hoped he would when he acquired him last season, none of this Rick Nash talk would even be happening.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Did they win the trade? What is Dean Lombardi doing? Perhaps more importantly, what strip club is his old pal Mike Richards taking him to first?

TSN’s TradeCentre , who’s coverage is so extensive it will most likely break most Canadian labor laws (do they even have those?), wasted little time in moving past the Carter trade and what may lie ahead for the Kings. The most surprising news nugget? Captain Dustin Brown is in play.

Immediately, the Rangers were rumored to be one of the teams extremely interested in Brown’s services. After all, what do the Blueshirts need more than another blue-collar forward who “goes to the dirty areas to dig out pucks” and outwork the opposition?

By the way, if I hear that phrase about six or seven more times on the MSG pre- and postgame, I might just vomit.

According to TSN‘s Darren Dreger on Twitter, Brown’s price tag reportedly starts at “a quality young defenseman and a secondary scorer.”

Speculation ran wild this morning among the Garden faithful, most of them clamoring to blow off the pricy Rick Nash in favor of Brown. Why not trade Brandon Dubinsky and Tim Erixon? After all, Brown fits so well into the system and he’s locked in to a bargain of a salary cap hit–his $3.5 million is far less than Dubinsky’s $4.675 million– through 2014.

Great idea, right? I bet you thought that up all by yourself. Go ahead, pat yourself on the back. I’ll wait.

Are you done? Good. Now, allow me to explain why you’re out of your mind.

The answer as to why New York should steer clear of Brown lies not in the future, but in the past. You may remember in the summer of 2007, the Rangers signed a certain high-priced free agent with a reputation for being a blue-collar player with a knack for scoring the big goal. Everyone was thrilled with the idea of bringing in a gritty player with a nose for the net. The Rangers were destined for the Stanley Cup, right?

Um, how’d that work out again?

Yes, Dustin Brown is Chris Drury, part two. Right down to the uniform number. Their playing styles eerily similar. Their offensive output, at respective stages in their careers, are also akin to each other, except Brown’s stats are slightly less attractive.

Brown, now in his eighth NHL season, has scored 30 goals just once and isn’t likely to get there this year. Despite being the captain of a vastly underachieving Kings team, don’t you think there’s reason for Dean Lombardi to sell high while he still can?

Drury’s big “intangible” selling point was his ability to produce when his team needed him most, as demonstrated by the above link. Yeah, that sounded great at the time. What’s that old saying about getting fooled twice?

But forget that for a second. What about Brown’s ability to rise to the occasion in the big moment? Oh right, it’s non-existent.

In 12 NHL playoff games, he’s scored just two goals and five assists. In the 2010 Olympics, Brian Burke selected Brown to play for Team USA in the hopes that he would blend well with a number of two-way players, including Drury, and provide some offense. In six games, he failed to record a point.

The Ithaca, New York native would hardly be the answer to the Rangers scoring “woes.” By the way, being 11th in the league in goals per game is really not all that bad.

The Rangers have an embarrassment of riches on defense, which makes a talented prospect like Tim Erixon rather expendable. I get that. But many writers and Rangers fans are greatly underestimating the value of the Swedish blueliner.

Don’t forget, the Rangers have a number of these “gritty, blue-collar players” as it is in Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, Mike Rupp and Carl Hagelin. Do they really need to trade Dubinsky and Erixon, who could probably fetch a far greater return than just Brown, for the Kings captain?

If it takes you more than 7.7 seconds to realize this would be huge mistake, then there’s a problem.

Since falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1997, the Rangers have missed the playoffs eight times and have won one playoff round (sweeping the Atlanta Thrashers in the quarterfinals in 2007). In the post-lockout years, there’s always been an annual midseason slump to dig out of to try and earn a postseason berth. Five of those six seasons, they did.

So the cynical Rangers fan has sat and waited for that midseason breakdown to come. And waited, and waited. While waiting, the Rangers have managed to open up a 9-point lead on the defending Cup champion Boston Bruins. Somehow, they have opened up a 10-point lead on Atlantic Division rivals the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and have games in hand on both.

Resiliency is a trait the Rangers have forged as part of their team identity. Last season it came in the form of withstanding a rash of injuries to key players such as Marian Gaborik, Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan and just in general not mailing it in when they’d get down in a game. This year it’s been managing to stem the losing and get the ship righted before a winding up in a damaging losing streak. Remarkably the Rangers have avoided any sort of a significant losing streak of any kind, with the worst being two.

“I think this year’s team’s a lot different from years past,” defenseman Dan Girardi said following the Rangers’ 3-0 victory over the Bruins Tuesday night. “We don’t want to lose more than one or two games in a row and that’s really been propelling us up the standings and creating some separation.”

Henrik Lundqvist took his game to yet another level in what turned out to be his Broadway-Hat-worthy, League-leading 7th shutout of the season, turning aside all 42 shots thrown at him by the Bruins, making that win on score alone seem deceptive. They were able to capitalize on Bruins’ mistakes and ride their Vezina-worthy netminder, something not lost on coach John Tortorella.

“I wouldn’t have paid for the start of that game,” he said. “I thought both teams were just there. I thought we played better the second half of the first period, from then on. We end up with a two-nothing lead. We defended really well, but that’s all we did. And when we had breakdowns, Hank was there. So, I’m happy we won. I need to respect the fact of our schedule a little bit here. I’ll give our team that. We have a lot of things to work on. Henrik should have six hats on tonight.”

When interviewed during the postgame show on MSG Network, Dubinsky (who suffered a swollen lip, received 10 stitches in his mouth and chipped a few teeth after taking a puck to the face in the third period) was clearly not satisfied with the performance either saying, “We need to be better than we were tonight.”

The Rangers from the top down are not team content to rest on its laurels and know there’s room to improve. They’ve gone from a team on the hunt, one scratching and clawing simply to squeak in to the postseason to the hunted, one that everyone is gunning for, one that the hockey world is finally taking seriously as the class of the Eastern Conference and emerging as a Cup contender. There’s still 27 regular season games to go and if they want to remain there they’ll need to keep striving for better. Whether or not upgrades come via trade some time in the next twelve days, this current roster of players is capable of being even better.

Stick tap to my Hockey Independent colleague Benjamin Woodward for his contribution to this post.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Much to the dismay of  the 17,565 Black and Gold-clad fans that pack the confines of TD Garden each and every night, .500 hockey is exactly what the Bruins have been mired in since their 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks back on January 7 here in the Hub. Entering Tuesday’s marquee showdown with the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, the B’s had a chance to break their slump and get things going just prior to an extended six-game road trip.

“We need to have a solid, solid trip and it obviously starts tomorrow with the first game out of those six games.” – Zdeno Chara

Unfortunately for Boston, Tuesday was once again a night of struggles for the Black and Gold. In what would become the trend of the night, the B’s were unable to capitalize on a plethora of early scoring chances. Boston out-worked and out-played the Blueshirts for the better part of the first frame. That is until a delay of game penalty at the 9:21 mark sent the Rangers to the power-play. New York wasted little time in taking advantage with the extra man as some slick passing would end with Ryan Callahan potting his 23rd tally of the season.

“Gaby (Gaborik) makes a great pass to me. We know (Tim) Thomas is going to overplay the shot and challenge and he was going out there when I shot that and I don’t really have a chance at a goal so I slide it over back door to Cally (Ryan Callahan) and it’s nice that we connected on two of those in the last couple games here.” – Michael Del Zotto

The B’s hung with the Rangers for the duration of the period and looked to be in good shape as the first frame drew to a close. However, as the waning seconds ticked off the clock, the Rangers took advantage of a fluky bounce off the sideboards and extended their lead to 2-0 as Ryan McDonagh’s shot found it’s way through a screen and past Tim Thomas. Allowing a team to score with only 0:12 seconds left in a period that you’ve played pretty well in can be an absolute backbreaker for a team, especially when it comes against a team as well rounded as the Rangers.

In the second, the B’s out-shot the Rangers and controlled play for the better portion of the period as the ice was clearly titled in their favor during the middle frame. Despite all their chances, the Bruins simply could not solve New York’s all-world goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

The third period began with much of the same as what we saw during the middle period as the B’s threw shot after shot towards the Ranger net, but were turned aside each and every time. At the 2:53 mark of the period, New York forward Artem Anisimov was the beneficiary of yet another ill-advised turnover from Joe Corvo. After the much-maligned Bruins blueliner made an attempt to pinch in a 4-on-4 situation and lost the puck, the Rangers would quickly zip up the ice on a 2-on-1 break. Anisimov opted to look off his teammate Michael Del Zotto and take care of it himself, ripping it over Thomas’ blocker for his tenth goal of the season.

Going down 3-0 to a team as stingy as the Rangers all but assured another February loss for the Bruins.

“They (Rangers) come out, and they score that third goal, and it was a back-breaker. You could feel it on the bench, especially knowing that they’re a very stingy team. It certainly made things a lot tougher for us.” – Claude Julien

Despite a late breakaway for David Krejci and a power-play in the 59^th minute, Boston could not solve Lundqvist as the Rangers’ goaltender secured his league-leading seventh shutout of the season.

“It seemed to be like we’d get a lot of shots, rebounds were there – it just wasn’t coming to us. (Henrik Lundqvist) obviously played a great game. There was a couple times where we thought he had a couple of goals but he stopped them.” — Johnny Boychuk

With the 3-0 loss, Boston falls to 6-7-1 over their last 14 games, as they remain in search for their first set of back-to-back wins in over a month.

KEY STATS

Goals–                       NYR (3)                   BOS (0)

Shots–                       NYR (20)                    BOS (42)

Power-Play–           NYR (1-1)                   BOS (0-1)

Penalty-Kill–           NYR (1-1)                    BOS (0-1)

• Ben’s Three Stars– ….. 3.) Michael Del Zotto  ….. 2.) Ryan Callahan   ….. 1.) Henrik Lundqvist

What’s Next?

– Next up for the B’s is a Wednesday night showdown at the Bell Centre as they clash with the hated Habs for the final time this season. The B’s will once again be without concussed forward Nathan Horton who will not be making the trip north with his teammates. The Rangers will return home to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden, where they will play host to the reeling Blackhawks on Thursday evening.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

There’s been a tremendous amount of buzz of late about whether or not he will turn pro at the conclusion of this his junior season. In the summer of 2010 the Rangers were successful in convincing Wisconsin Badgers Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh to turn pro prior after their sophomore and junior years, respectively. Stepan made the jump right away out of training camp while McDonagh spent half the season in the AHL before getting the call and becoming a stalwart on defense. Kreider has held off doing likewise, shunning the opportunity to turn pro this past offseason and instead committing to his education and his belief that staying in the BC program would be best for his hockey development.

He’s accomplished a lot at the amateur level, winning a gold medal for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in 2010 (both Stepan and fellow Rangers prospect Ryan Bourque played on that team) and a bronze medal in 2011; he won an NCAA championship with the Eagles his freshman year in 2010. Kreider has also had some experience playing with and against NHL talent as a member of Team USA in both 2010 and 2011 IIHF World Championships. Should the BC Eagles make it to the NCAA championship game, Kreider would not be available to join the Rangers until after April 7th, which is the same day the Rangers’ regular season concludes.

Last Friday night, Rangers fans had an opportunity to take a look at him when the NBC Sports Network aired the Eagles’ game against the University of Vermont Catamounts. Taking the 2 consecutive first-period penalties out of the equation, it was hard not to like what the 6′ 3″, 225-pound forward brought to the table, notching a 2 goal (including one on the power play), 1 assist performance that earned him first star honors. He was initially credited with the Eagles’ first power play goal of the game after firing a blast from the point that was later deemed deflected by teammate Kevin Hayes in front. Watching one game does not provide a full assessment of a prospect by any means. However watching some of his work on the power play when the Rangers’ own efforts have been relatively anemic the whole season makes it difficult not to fantasize about seeing him doing likewise for the big club and doing it sooner rather than later.

*******************************

“Like” Hockey Independent Rangers on Facebook

Give me a follow on Twitter:  twitter.com/@CC_927

Tonight’s Line-Up (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Kelly–Peverley

Pouliot–Krejci–Caron

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–McQuaid

GOALTENDER

Thomas

Rask

Scratches– …… Bodnarchuk (Healthy) , Hennessy (Healthy) ,Horton (Concussion)

NEWS & NOTES

– Immediately following Tuesday’s contest, the Black and Gold will depart on an 11-day, six-game road trip that will feature stops in Minnesota, St. Louis and Buffalo, amongst others. This road swing, coinciding with the NHL trade deadline only thirteen days from now has lead many to believe that Peter Chiarelli will be looking to make any necessary improvements to his squad sooner rather than later. Thus providing the new players with an opportunity to gel with their new teammates during an extended period of time together. As we saw just one year ago, Chiarelli made moves to acquire Rich Peverley, Chris Kelly and Tomas Kaberle at the onset of a six-game roadie that would see Boston post an astounding 6-0-0 record and kickstart their run to a championship.

– In the wake of recently demoting youngsters Zach Hamill and Steven Kampfer, Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli has opted to call-up a new set of AHLers to bring along for his team’s upcoming road swing. The first of which is defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. While building an AHL resume of over 250 games played, the  5’11″ blueliner has only appeared in five NHL contests, all of which coming in the 2009-’10 season. The second promotion was given to Brockton, MA native and veteran AHLer Josh Hennessy. The 6’0″ forward is the leading scorer for the P-Bruins this season with 15 goals and 15 assists in 49 games played.

– Tonight will mark the second meeting of the season between these two Original Six franchises. The Blueshirts took home a victory in Boston back on January 21 when Marian Gaborik scored in overtime with only three seconds left on the clock. These two Eastern Conference powerhouses will meet twice more this season, with both games to be played at Madison Square Garden.

– Reports over the past twenty four hours have suggested that Columbus Blue Jackets’ star and Canadian Olympic forward Rick Nash has been put on the trade market, by GM Scott Howson. A perennial all-star, the Blue Jackets’ captain has proven himself as one of the NHL’s elite talents throughout his nine-year career in the league. Now, while I would not be shocked if a deal were to be made that removed the 6’4″ 220-pounder out of Ohio’s capital city, I sincerely doubt that his destination will be Boston. There is no question that Peter Chiarelli has the necessary assets to make such a deal, but his willingness to part with the plethora of young talent that it would take to get Nash into a Black and Gold sweater is still yet to be determined. For example, any sort of trade that would bring a player of Nash’s caliber to the Hub would have to look something like this:

To Boston: Rick Nash, Curtis Sanford

To Columbus: David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Steven Kampfer, 1st Round Draft Pick

Now my question to you is this, would you feel comfortable giving up your inconsistent but highly skilled top-line center, future franchise goaltender and a first round selection for a proven all-star with 45-50 goal potential?

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com