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^ I'm glad I don't have to be up at 2 in the morning to listen to the Pens game! It's on at 7 pm here. :)

Well, the Rangers lost this afternoon. Again.
"A highly-anticipated matchup between two of the top teams in the NHL's Eastern Conference lived up to its billing Saturday afternoon in Boston, as the Bruins held off a determined Rangers squad for a 1-0 victory"
Marc Savard scored the lone goal of the game.
So not as bad as their last *ahem* game, but any loss is not good. Also, Dmitri Kalinin was taken out of the game after suffering an injury late in the first.
I will say that the Rangers played a whole heck of a lot better than their last few games. Proud of them for that at least. And Lundqvist was named the game's third star. :D Gotta give it up for the Bruins' goalie Tuukka Rask too - a shutout in his first NHL game is impressive.

We'll just have to wait and see what they do in their next game on Tuesday.
 
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Look out Rangers.....

The next few match ups will quite interesting......on February 6th Rangers will go against DALLAS STARS. Looking forward to possible Lundqvist on Lundqvist match up. 39 Dallas Star is back from injury...so it would be interesting to see. I'm sure they both circled that day in their calendars. Last time they sent text message to each other: "No nightmares" "Sleep well" LOL:lol:


On February 9th its the New Jersey Devils. Another interesting match up - now that Jersey has former Ranger Brendan Shanahan in the mix. He's been doing quite well over on the other side, but all NYR fans will miss the former Ranger in the blue,white, and red jersey.


And only after one day of rest Rangers will face,once again - Ovechkin. And personnaly not to excited about that. We all know what happens then...........
 
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"No nightmares" = classic :lol:

Senators fire coach Craig Hartsburg

OTTAWA (AP)—Craig Hartsburg lasted less than one season with the unraveling Ottawa Senators, who suddenly have a revolving door behind the bench.

Unable to turn around a team that reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, Hartsburg was fired as coach Monday just 48 games into a season in which the Senators have the NHL’s third worst record.

The Senators made their first trip to the finals two years ago and now are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons.

The decision to replace Hartsburg with Cory Clouston was made by general manager Bryan Murray after Ottawa lost 7-4 at Washington on Sunday. Hartsburg signed a three-year contract in June.

Clouston, promoted from the AHL’s Binghamton Senators, is the team’s fourth coach since Ottawa lost in five games to Anaheim in the 2007 finals. Murray returned behind the bench for the final 18 regular-season games (7-9-2) after he fired first-year coach John Paddock in February.

“We kept hoping there would be some change in our performance, which didn’t seem to be taking place,” said Murray, who coached the club to the finals before taking over as GM. “We just weren’t making any progress. We’re struggling to keep up.”

The latest coaching change was made less than a week after team owner Eugene Melnyk held a news conference to say he still believed in his club. Talk of a potential switch surfaced in December while the world junior championships were in Ottawa. Murray’s job was also rumored then to be in jeopardy.

Melnyk responded by saying he had “made no decisions with respect to personnel changes,” which was hardly a vote of confidence.

The momentum of the finals appearance carried into last season when the Senators won 15 of their first 17 games. Since then, they have had a losing record and barely managed to hang on for a playoff spot last spring. The Senators were swept out of the first round in four games by Pittsburgh.

The slide continued this season, even with a fresh voice in Hartsburg behind the bench. Scoring is down for the club’s three offensive stars—Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza. There has been little offense as well from Mike Fisher, Antoine Vermette, Chris Neil and Chris Kelly. The once-feared Ottawa attack has become among the lowest-scoring in the league, and many point to the failure of defensemen to move the puck. In recent years, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Andrej Meszaros and Joe Corvo have been among the defensemen who have left Ottawa either by trade or through free agency.

The team’s management also has been in flux. Murray, hired as coach in 2004, succeeded John Muckler as general manager in June 2007 when Paddock was appointed coach. Paddock was gone by midseason when Murray went back behind the bench, and Hartsburg took over to start this season.

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Maybe the team will do better with another coach, because I don't think they could do much worse. Sad but true.
 
And again, the Rangers lose. But it was in a shootout, so it's better than nothing I guess. I was very shocked when Naslund scored at 19:49 (!!!) in the 3rd. :D That's cutting it close there boys!
Naslund was also the only Ranger who scored in the shootout, so big night for him.

I wish that the Rangers would've won though since tonight was Adam Graves Night. No. 9 was sent up to the rafters and is offically retired from Rangers use.
" Adam Graves never craved the spotlight, always putting team first as a player. But on Tuesday night, the spotlight clearly fell on Graves, and a humbled No. 9 used the big occasion to thank all those whom he felt so lucky to have met through hockey." Great man Adam Graves is.
However, didn't the Rangers play, and lose to, Atlanta last year when they sent up Leetch's number too? If so, I think that's a sign...

In other news:
Penguins coach Michel Therrien has named Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar as the offical Alternates for the team. Brooks Orpik is the substitue "A" while Gonchar is out of commission. The "A" has come full circle for the Penguins. Malkin and Orpik each were named alternate captains to start the season in October. Therrien rotated the "A" on a monthly basis from that point forward.The other Penguins to sport the "A" this season are: Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke, Ryan Whitney and Petr Sykora. So congrats to both of them :D
 
On that note....^^


I've watched Rangers interviews after the "bad" (I can call it worse

names,but for the kids sake I'll save that for other convo's) game. Most

of them talked about Graves Night and how great it was, and its a huge

honor, and how they wanted to win the game to make Graves proud.

- Yeah, Right.


I also love how they used Graves night as an excuse not talk about how
s*:censored:** they have been playing lately. Especially Renny, since he's
been doing such a F**:censored:** great job of coaching this team. I also love how they use slick words to cover up the crap they've been putting out.


I had a hunch that something is wrong with this team, first off - low standards. These guys are capable of a lot more if they were pushed harder. Plus, if you look at past games, they guys made amazing goals, and put a lot of effort, and won Stanley Cup(maybe more than once), where is that effort now??

They have identified themselves as low scoring team. Fine. But they are barely living up to those standards.Unfortunatly its a rare occasion when this team gets a good night and we actually win.

Third, Line ups. Renny have really screwed up last 2 years for these guys by constantly moving players around - up and down,down and up. No one wonder these guys get confused....

A good coach would really know the team - and make good lines, and put the right guys in the right spots(for right reasons). I would a couple of third liners to second line. i.e. Fredrik Sjostrom, he can be moved up -he's got great speed and he could do a lot more out there.

Obviosly there is a lot more to discuss, and there are a lot of issues which I am not willing to discuss, as I might lose all interest in this team all together.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

However, one team that did make me proud were the Vancouver Canucks.

On Tue Feb 3, 2009, Canucks took on Carolina. Mats, Burrows,Kesler, and Bieksa each made a goal.

They were finaly able to break their loosing streak.
 
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And now for my Rangers rant ;) :

More shots on goal -
The guys can play as hard and as long as they want, but they are never going to win a game if they don't start getting to the net and making shots. So many times I have seen them get to the opposing goalie and keep the puck. If you have a chance, even if it's not a good one, you still need to shoot! There's always the chance that you will actually score. Cause you know last time I checked, scoring is kind of how you win the game...

Better defense -
Keep the opposing players away from the puck! These guys are being paid to be aggressive, so start acting it. Don't rely on the goalie to be the last line of protection. It's the other skaters' job to make sure that the other team never has a chance to get close to the net.
Might I just add that Valiquette has a better save percentage and goals against average ( .929 and 2.17 ) than Lundqvist ( .913 and 2.53 ) currently does. Obviously him not playing as much fudges the results a bit, but right now he's looking like the better goalie. (Sorry Henrik. I still like you more though :) ) Although, Lundqvist does have an assist to his name. I'd really like to know how that happened...

Another note to the team -
Stop getting stupid little penalties. If you haven't noticed, your power play killing isn't always that effective. Stop giving the other team better odds at scoring. On that same note, work on your scoring on power plays cause it is horrible most of the time. (Bet you wish you still had Shanahan right then don't you?)

A note to Renney -
I know you love your "veteran" players, and I know most of them have higher salaries, but you do know that you have a team full of great young players right? Try giving your younger players such as Sjostrom, Zherdev, Dawes, etc. more ice time. Most of the time they play better than the others anyway.
And like CSINEWYORK said, stop trying to "shake up" the lines. It's not helping any, and just making everyone more confused.


That made me feel better :lol:
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On a somewhat happier note, according to TSN's Darren Dreger, Sean Avery is "expected to be cleared from the NHL and NHLPA's Behavioral Modification program later this week or sometime early next." Time to see if any of this has done him any good :p
It'll also be fun to see if anyone either in the NHL or it's affiliates will take him.
 
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I think we can argue about this for a long time.


The only thing I was able to clarify - is that no one really knows what goes on with this team. We can make comments on how things can improve, but until the coach and the rest of the crew realize all that, we can't do much. Just sit with our hands folded in our lap and watch.


~ I went on other boards to get the some info about lines, who's skating with who, and this is all I found: The 4th line is Betts, Sjostrom and Orr and their role is the checking/forechecking line.


As far as their little system : Its a mystery, for fans, even to the guys themselves.

Sadly after all this time thats all we can say about this team.
Overpaid, unmotivated, and the level of skill for some of these guys is questionable (but thats because we rarely see these guys on ice -2 min max.)


Having said that, I like this team, I think they are capable of a lot more (I said that a million times already) If *ahem* someone*cough* *Renny* would start making the right decisions.
 
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The game preview had this lineup listed for the game:

"During practice at the MSG Training Facility on Thursday, Renney toyed with some new line combinations, including putting Nigel Dawes back in the lineup in the place of rookie Artem Anisimov, who was returned to Hartford after making his NHL debut on Tuesday night.

Dawes was skating with Lauri Korpikoski and Ryan Callahan, while Aaron Voros took Callahan’s spot alongside Naslund and Scott Gomez. The other two lines remained intact as they were in Tuesday’s contest against the Thrashers.

“I think there is a lot to how a line combination clicks and how they feel they can create offense, having that chemistry, and I think that has been lacking,” said Naslund. “We have to find that, and not just one line, but we need two or three lines scoring.”"

Obviously, after tonight's "skate" (I don't feel that I can call it a game) the chemisty is still hiding in a very deep very dark corner of the Garden somewhere...:shifty:

None of Lundqvist, Kalinin, or Mara played, two were sick and one's still hurt. :( So no H. Lundqvist-on-J. Lundqvist action sadly
What can I say about tonight that doesn't involve cursing or yelling? Not much, as this game kind of made me feel physically sick listening to it. After it was 6-2 I even turned it off.

However, some positive aspects were:
Nikky Zherdev scored both of the Rangers goals. Apparently Renney took something from my rant. Chris Drury also assisted on both goals. There was a fight, and that was probably the most excitement the Rangers fans got.

“Our next (several) games we have some very big challenges, and we’re going to have to take them one at a time,” explained Valiquette. “Once these games are over, I think we’ll have a good sense of which direction we’re going.”
I can tell them what direction they're going in. :scream:
----
And just because I thought it was cute (I think we can use some happiness right now):

"Yesterday afternoon, Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward Luca Caputi was a guest on former WCW announcer Mark Madden's 105.9 FM "The X" radio show. The conversation turned to Penguins star Evgeni Malkin, and Caputi let slip an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about Pittsburgh's huge rally to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning the other night: That Malkin offered up $1,000 between periods if the Penguins came back to win."

"Yeah, he was upset in the second intermission there, and he came in and he just said, "You know, we gotta pick it up," and put a thousand dollars on the board and we won the game."

The money will go into a team fund. Obviously bribery must be good for something. :lol:
 
Huge Loss in Dallas..........

10 - 2


Two goals were made by Nikolai Zherdev. And the team is feeling the pain and embarassment from lat nights game.


“There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” said Rangers captain Chris Drury, who notched a pair of assists. “It was embarrassing, humiliating, and it was awful.”


"To make matters worse for the Rangers, two of their top defensemen were in the penalty box, and two other regulars -- Paul Mara(flu) and Dmitri Kalinin(sore back) -- were absent from the lineup."


Its too bad Rangers didnt have their two guys up there made matters worse. And the fact that Mara and Kalinin are unable to play is
plausible.


However, the fact that our star goalie is suddenly ill from the "flu" is a line used too often. Knowing how bad this things are for this team - I'm sure no hockey player wants his name attached to big loss like that. Since we have Valli - why not call in sick? (Cowardly, and yet clever, All I can say)


“I feel the worst for Vali,” said center Scott Gomez. “The guy is always there and is a great teammate, and we let him down. It’s an embarrassment.”

Sundenly I get the feeling that Stephen Valiquette should be the starter goalie and Henrik Lundqvist should play back up.
-----------------------------------------------

I have to agree with you, Megan. I felt sick too. But somehow I can't turn my back on this team no matter how bad it gets.

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Also, RANGERS NEWS: AVERY IS BACK ON BROADWAY!!!

Well, almost. Right now they are discussing the details. With his behaviour modification program they hope he will come back as the same great hockey player - minus the big mouth.

I also think its a quick fix for Renney.
 
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CSINEWYORK000 said:
“I feel the worst for Vali,” said center Scott Gomez. “The guy is always there and is a great teammate, and we let him down. It’s an embarrassment.”
Click to expand...

Exactly. I think that they rely too much on their goalie to stop the puck. It's the other players' jobs to keep the puck away, not simply to go out there and score goals.

Sometimes I think the Rangers are more focused on the "big picture" of winning everything overall then they are on just winning the game at hand.
If they'd just stop and focus they could probably get somewhere, and maybe win a game finally.

About Sean Avery:
Maybe right now he is exactly what we need. Someone who is going to get out on the ice and fight for the team and for the game. Last night I actually told my sister than I missed Sean. I never thought I would ever say that.
But if this anger management thing has really worked out for him, then he could be a tremendous player.

Brendan Shanahan, who knows Avery and the Rangers dressing room as well as anybody, told SportingNews.com during a Friday morning conversation that he thinks it would work out between the Rangers and New York.
“Why not?” Shanahan asked. “I’d say it’s probably the place where he’s happiest. Sean has sought help. He’s worked hard at facing some of the things that were upsetting him and distracting him from his game.”

I'm still holding out that the Rangers will kick it into gear of their own accord though.
 
If nothing else, the Rangers have been consistent at one thing: losing. Again, 3-0 to New Jersey.
I thought they had started out really good the first period. Players were getting to the net and trying to score. But as the game progressed, it almost seemed like they started to give up. Blair Betts played very well, as did Brandon Dubinsky and Nikolai Zherdev.

We did get some good fights out of the game though. In the first period, Erik Reitz challenged David Clarkson after a center ice stare down between Clarkson and Mara. Clarkson landed the last decisive blow after an even bout. Then in the second, Colton Orr flattened Mike Rupp with a clean one-punch knockout that left Rupp in a heap on the ice.

I've decided that I don't really care much if we lose the game, I just wish they'd actually score a point!

Anywho, Sean Avery has been cleared from waivers today. New York Rangers captain Chris Drury says the team would give Sean Avery a second chance "just like I would with a guy with a drinking or drug problem," keeping in mind the inherent risk that Sean Avery could relapse into ... uh, being Sean Avery.
I just wonder if Chris is speaking for everyone or just himself when he says that?
 
I'm not sure if you guys have seen it yet, but there was a cool interview with Eddie Cahill that referenced the Rangers. There are possible spoilers there, so I won't post a quote, but a few of the NYR references were very amusing, IMO.
 
^^ Didn't he write somewhere blogpost or something about Rangers? Or do I remember wrong... because I do remember he + Rangers somewhere :lol:

Oh I remember big Rangers fuss... it was back in days when they won the Stanley Cup and Esa Tikkanen, one of the most annoying players in NHL history, was in Rangers :p
 
happyharper13,Yes we have, us Ranger fans don't miss a thing........or maybe Its just me LOL:lol::p I must of watched it like 10 times already- and it never gets old.

~ Love how he talks about how gets the mindset of goalies, and understands what goes through their mind.:adore::adore::adore:

DaWacko, He has an account with NHL Connect, where celebrities talk about their fav hockey teams....etc...

P.S 1994 was the best day in Rangers history, the world watched as Rangers battled on the ice. We had some great players then - Messier, Graves, Brian Leetch,Alexei Kovalev,Stéphane Matteau....just to name a few.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rangers v.s Devils Game


Rangers may have lost another game, but they are definatly improving.

Nikki played well, a few good tricks from him.

Mara, Drury, Gomez, Dubinsky made attempts to get the game

going.


Lundqvist made great save, and one on Shanny (a wide open shot) he was able to stop that.


--------------------------------------------------------------

Official Statements from Avery, Sather

Regarding Avery's assignment to Hartford of American Hockey League

New York Rangers
Feb 10, 2009, 10:08 AM EST


On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars assigned forward Sean Avery to the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford. The following are statemtents from Avery and Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather:

STATEMENT FROM SEAN AVERY:

"I would like to thank Glen Sather and the Rangers organization for giving me the chance to resume my hockey career by affording me this opportunity with the Hartford Wolf Pack. I am looking forward to getting back on the ice, working my way back to the NHL and playing the game I love. While I appreciate the many interview requests, at this point in time, I would like to focus on hockey and will not be making any further statements while with the Wolf Pack."

STATEMENT FROM GLEN SATHER:

"Sean and the Dallas Stars approached me looking for an American Hockey League team for him to resume playing, and I am happy to provide him with the opportunity to continue his career. Sean was a good player for the Rangers during his time here and has worked extremely hard off the ice over the last two months. He remains under contract to and property of the Stars, therefore, any further comment would be inappropriate."
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I guess Avery won't be skating in a Rangers jersey just yet......
 
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CSINEWYORK000 said:
happyharper13,Yes we have, us Ranger fans don't miss a thing........or maybe Its just me LOL:lol::p I must of watched it like 10 times already- and it never gets old.

~ Love how he talks about how gets the mindset of goalies, and understands what goes through their mind.:adore::adore::adore:

DaWacko, He has an account with NHL Connect, where celebrities talk about their fav hockey teams....etc...

P.S 1994 was the best day in Rangers history, the world watched as Rangers battled on the ice. We had some great players then - Messier, Graves, Brian Leetch,Alexei Kovalev,Stéphane Matteau....just to name a few.
Click to expand...

Teehee, here's one of the best goals ever I've seen (1997 playoffs, Rangers vs. Panthers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0qykmVps60
Sound is in Finnish, but there is Tiki's wonderful goal.
 
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