Rangers v. Penguins

9:25 Game Over - Final 1-0 Penguins

My estimate was wrong before and it is actually closer to 130 consecutive minutes of scoreless Ranger play. Henrik Lundqvist cannot be happy. All the Rangers have to do is put 2 in to win back to back games, and failed to do so. Callahan and Jagr added post shots in the third, but other than that, Fleury really wasn't tested. That penalty on Hossa was nonsense too. If a goalie is out of the crease, and the opposing player skates by and knocks into him, it shouldn't be the player's fault. Recchi helped it out too by making sure Hossa couldn't get any further away from Fleury. It's a shame that the Rangers' best player was Nigel Dawes. That whole line had a good game, as did the 4th line. There is no excuse for no goals from Jagr, Shanahan, Gomez, Drury and Prucha though. We need a fire lit under us. Fast.

8:35 End of the second - 1-0 Penguins

It has now been 105 minutes since the Rangers scored a goal. That's unacceptable. Chris Drury is invisible on the ice. Dawes has hit a post, as has Malkin, who has Pittsburgh's goal on the power play off some brilliant passing. Fleury hasn't been overly tested, but he has stopped everything thrown at him. Gomez is skating well, and Tyutin looks a little shaky on defense tonight. The "Hartford" line looks good as well. Hossa looks like he has a little rust on him, but he is a good asset to have on that top line with Jagr. Let's hope we don't have a goose egg the next time I check in.

End of the first - 0-0

Good solid period by both teams. Couple of power play chances for each side. The Rangers first unit was Shanahan, Gomez, Jagr, Drury and Roszival, and it looks alright, but not as impressive as it should. A little more traffic in front of Fleury and we should bang home a few this game. Ryan Hollweg continues to look more and more impressive to me offensively, even if it's coming in short bursts. I really think he'll chip in a few goals this year. Back after the second.

I'll update after each period but here's the lineup for the Rangers:

Hossa - Gomez - Jagr
Prucha - Drury - Shanahan
Dawes - Dubinsky - Callahan
Orr- Betts - Hollweg

Roszival - Malik
Tyutin - Girardi
Mara - Staal

Straka is out 4-6 weeks with a broken finger. The third line was Hartford's top line last season, so chemistry with that line should be no problem. They will be exciting to watch.