Some Crow Please?

Did we speak too soon? The Rangers sure shut me up in that second, scoring four unanswered. Ryan Callahan, we H-E-A-R-T you. Every fan loves how your represented us along with Dru for Team USA. How impressive was Cally in Vancouver? He even won some enemy fans.

How does he respond to a high Matt Carkner hit in flat first period? By getting the four-goal barrage started by inside outing Carkner and beating Brian Elliott (4 GA on 7 shots) with a forehand deke top shelf. The man is the heart and soul of this team, proving it once again by doing whatever it takes to put turn this game around- scoring twice, blocking shots and just making key defensive plays. His teammates responded after a Tort timeout following icing by lighting up Elliott for three in 2:02 breaking it open. At the time, that lone Cally shot which was hard to see go in because it stuck in net was the only one halfway through.


Brandon Dubinsky scored his 14th, using a sliding Anton Volchenkov as a screen whistling one upstairs. Then, a hustling Callahan who started the play with solid play in end, got to a Sean Avery rebound backhanding his second of the night home. He's now up to 17 on the season. Five away from last year's career high 22. Not bad for a guy who got out slowly. Avery then struck off a great Enver Lisin backhand set up finishing off a 2-on-1 on the doorstep, chasing Elliott. Much rumored Dan Girardi started the play with a great read in his end.

Near the period's conclusion, birthday boy Henrik Lundqvist made a big save on Ryan Shannon before who else but Cally cleared the zone. One period to go.

The crow is warming up.

Fourteen goals in two games

Say it with me slow-----lll-------yyy. The Rangers scored:

FOU-----------RT----------EEN 

over two games!!!!!

Please keep repeating until it sinks in. In two consecutive games, our gang that couldn't shoot straight has finished, finished and finished. Granted. It came at the expense of a pair of suspect defensive clubs in this topsy turvy conference that changes daily. First, they lit the lamp for six unanswered in a 6-2 victory over Les Canadiens. Another game we sold. Given our luck evidenced by the fact that nobody could recall the last time we saw a Ranger win, what transpired tonight was miraculous. They scored 88888888!!!!!!!!

Okay. So the Bolts were running on fumes, still hungover from their win over the Candy Canes the night before. But c'mon! C'mpuckin on! This was bananas. The eight goals were the highest they'd scored since January 2001 during the Dark Ages. That Justin even knew Jeff Toms recorded a hat trick playing with Lindros and Fleury speaks to his insanity. The most I could remember were seven in a St. Patty's Day Massacre of the Bruins during Cally's rookie year. A great memory as our team swept the Kovalchuk/Hossa Thrashers with Marcel outperforming big bro. Hey. We had Buffalo on the ropes before Renney erred. Ah. Didn't they also roast Hotlanta for 7 in Game Three? Good times.

Getting back to this eight goal eruption, meaning the Rangers have scored a month's worth in two consecutive wins, this was about as perfect a dismantling as humanly possible. It was Devil-esque. Hell. Hasan is probably a little envious considering how tough Tampa played them. That's about the only edge we have along with team doctors. Sorry. Couldn't resist. :-P In all seriousness, it's nice to see Tort Reform pay off. Even if it was far from a sellout. Are you listening Jazzy Jim? It was just great to get back on the winning track. Honestly had doubts that we'd ever witness another home win. Haha. Here were the highlights:

-Aaron Voros (yes) stood in there against PIM leader Zenon Konopka and did well 10 seconds in really setting the tone. He had a memorable night later drawing an instigator on Konopka and then scoring on it. A just reward for a great team guy who's not played a whole lot. When he has, he's contributed much more than Huggy Bear. Voros also battled Ryan Malone even having his name chanted. Seri---ous---ly! You deserved it. If anyone wants to follow him, please do so on Twitter. He got plenty of love including from us.


-Sixteen different Rangers recorded a point. Even the rejuvenated Tinman, who notched a helper two days removed from his second fight in Ranger Blue.

-For a second straight game since being reunited, Dubi, Prosp and Great Gabby dominated combining for eight points (2-6-8), plus-nine along with Dubi hammering Jeff Halpern. Gaborik matched a career high with four assists, eclipsing 60 points. He's now up to 61 (29-32-61) or three better than the leading Ranger scorer(s) [Gomez/Zherdev] all last year. So explosive. Before Sunday, Gaborik had just three points this month but in the last two, he has seven (1-6-7). Hope that trend continues Thursday at Philly. In the duh moment of the night, MSG radio announcer Kenny Albert actually asked Prospal what the reason for their line's success was. Hell-o! They played together with similar results earlier this season. Holy cow!

-Prospal had a sweet finish versus his ex-team off a nifty Gabby set up, going backhand deke. He nearly pulled it off again later when he had Antero Niittymaki dead to rights but hit the right post. Just how lethal was our transition? Had they not hit posts and Niitty not prevented a couple of others before getting the hook, they easily could've reached a cool dozen. Also speaking to how inept the Lightning were.

-After an otherwise invisible Vinny Lecavalier banked one in off Henrik to cut it to 2-1, a quick response by the captain Dru, who rebounded home a Cally shot to score for a second straight game only 73 seconds later. Sticking the Team USA PK tandem together with Christy was smart. So was shifting Avery to the fourth line turning it into a crash line with Boyle and Voros, who both were strong. Seems Tort has finally come to his senses, balancing out things with Artie working with a revitalized Enver Lisin and Higgs. Since being reinserted, all Lisin's done is work, work and work, finally getting rewarded with his sixth from Higgins and Matt Gilroy, who jumped up contributing two helpers. Even Higgins finished for just the second time at MSG, putting the cherry on top late.

-Marc Staal had another stellar performance, contributing defensively and offensively, finishing his career best fifth while adding his career best 13th assist for you guessed it. Eighteen points. Also a career high in Year Three with still 32 games left. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention how well he works with Rozy, who looks much more comfortable. He's played better for a while, blocking shots while moving the puck effectively and getting involved offensively. All cause there's less pressure on him.

-Up two in the second, Dan Girardi's right point shot eluded Niitty to match his jersey No.5, ending a long 31-game drought. That it came unscreened from way out should tell you how under siege the poor Tampa netminder was, permitting five on 20 shots before 2008 fifth rounder Dustin Tokarski replaced him faring no better (3 GA on 11 shots). It's awfully hard to win when you don't compete.

-Our club's not known to be tough but the past two games (both convincing wins), they've fought five times. Even when the gloves haven't been dropped, our guys are finally standing up for each other as evidenced by Lisin getting in Maxim Lapierre's face Sunday. A refreshing change for the better!

-Not to sound like a broken record but between all this good stuff, Henrik again was solid, needing just 21 saves after coming off light work (19) the other day. He still made some timely stops before we put it out of reach. That's now nine in a row of two goals-or-less dating back to a New Year's Eve 2-1 triumph at Raleigh. In eight starts this month, The King's 5-1-2 with a miniscule 1.48 GAA, 947 save percentage plus the memorable 0-0 shutout duel with MB30 in a shootout defeat. Not too shabby. How dominant has he been? Lundqvist's now up to 22 wins with a 2.26 GAA and on pace for a career best save percentage (.925). If he continues this upswing, it's going to be hard not to include him in the Vezina talk. Once impossible. Still, with Miller Time, Bryzgalov, Marty, Kipper and fantastic frosh Jimmy Howard, it's going to be awfully tough.

-He had only one assist following a career high four points (2-2-4) but Cally was everywhere. He and Dubi couldn't be stopped, generating shorthanded chance after shorthanded chance. This American duo is quickly becoming one to watch.

-Hey Ally. Keep trying to figure out why you're out of the lineup. Stay in the press box!

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brandon Dubinsky, NYR (G, A, fight = Gordie Howe Hat Trick, +3 in 25 shifts-18:36)
2nd Star-Enver Lisin, NYR (6th goal of season, 3 hits, 2 takeaways, +1 in 18 shifts-12:58)
1st Star-Aaron Voros, NYR (1st goal of season, 2 fights, major penalty drawn in 13 shifts-8:08)

Rangers Prosp Into Christmas

Last week's humiliation feels like a long time ago. Perhaps the Rangers took it to heart. Since, they're a perfect four-for-four including tonight's big 4-1 home win over the Panthers, tying them for eighth in the East with 39 points. It allowed them to Prosp into Christmas feeling a lot better about themselves than seven days prior. Vinny Prospal snapped a 14-game goal drought, tallying twice and Chris Drury scored for the third time in four while also assisting on Marian Gaborik's highlight reel shorthanded goal as the Blueshirts got the last four- improving to 18-16-3 with smiles all around.

"These games before the break, you don’t want them to think it’s Christmas too early,” said an almost smiling John Tortorella. “I thought we played well. Everyone contributed. It was more of a complete game than we’ve had in a while.”

Amazing what a few wins can do for a team's psyche. It was also vital to do it again on home ice. Amazingly, they'd gone a month having entered with the league's second worst home record (7-9-1). Predictably, the bitter 2-1 defeat to the Islanders was fresh in their memory banks and something many players admittedly emphasized. The No.1 Star of the game Henrik Lundqvist certainly didn't flinch when answering John Giannone's question after another stellar night, finishing with 33 saves. That's six consecutive games he's permitted two-or-less. Most notably, the emotional leader of the team has been unbelievable during the win streak, stopping 136 of 141 (.965 save percentage). Quite a statement from the affable Swede we critiqued earlier. The difference. Now, he's making momentum turning saves like a trio when the game was hanging in the balance with each club deadlocked at one.

“He’s the most important player on our team,” praised The Big Ticket. “If he comes up with the big saves, it gives us confidence and gives us a boost. He gives us the chance to win every night.”

The Panthers came out quickly getting nine of the first 13 shots, including Victor Oreskovic putting in the game's first goal just 4:09 in. Dominic Moore went wide on Mike Del Zotto and backhanded a low shot off Lundqvist which caromed out. But Michal Rozsival fanned on clearing, allowing Oreskovic to rebound it home. But the Rangers bounced back thanks to some superb work from Enver Lisin, whose hustle negated an icing. Eventually, he and Sean Avery helped setup an open Drury for a one-time blast past Tomas Vokoun to tie 2:13 later. A great response. By the end of the period, shots wound up Florida 10, Rangers 9.

With the game knotted, Lundqvist did his best work in the second turning aside all 15 Panther shots, including two sizzlers on Rotislav Olesz and a great kicksave on a dangerous Greg Campbell chance. While he was taking care of business in front of his own net, Prospal finally scored for the first time in 15 games. On a power play, he worked a give-and-go with Del Zotto getting the puck to Gaborik who was stopped point blank by Vokoun. However, the rebound was still there and a sneaky Ryan Callahan kicked the puck to Prospal for the putback, leading to him raising his arms and thanking the heavens in relief. Certainly a good sign because they need him to get going again. He'd been too quiet during the malaise. It would get even better for Vaclav later.

“It was great to see Vinny score a couple of goals,” the Great Gabby added of his linemate.
 

“It’s just special every time you score two goals,” a pleased Prospal explained while looking forward to a snowy Christmas rather than Florida sunshine. “I’m not a guy who scores 40 every year. It feels great to finally come out of it, and not just score one, but two in a game like this.”

Once again, the middle stanza was similar to the first with both clubs attacking and getting chances as they combined for 29 total shots (Fla-15, NYR-14). While the shot totals were high, encouraging for the Rangers was that they didn't make many glaring mistakes and gave Lundqvist a chance to see every one, including a sliding stop to rob a Panther on the doorstep. The D held up with John Tortorella opting to re-team Marc Staal with Dan Girardi, helping silence Florida's top line of Michael Frolik, Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton. The strategy paid off with the trio going a combined minus-six despite 14 of their club's 34 shots.

The Rangers came close to scoring near the second's conclusion before I headed out to a classic ice cream parlor for some mint chip and cookie dough. As I drove back, it was nice to discover that Prospal had increased the lead to two only 23 seconds into the third off some nice work behind the net by Brandon Dubinsky, who played another assertive game. That must continue post-Christmas when they host the Islanders at The Garden Saturday and beyond. Staal also got another reward with a secondary helper. He really has played much better and is starting to look like the shutdown guy who was so confidence in his second year.

As I got in with it still 3-1 thanks to some splendid PK work that held a lethal Florida man-advantage in check (0-4), I had some ice cream and then watched a great sequence started by Callahan and Drury. Their effort was exceptional. Forcing turnovers, a persistent Drury finally stripped the puck and looked ready to get a breakaway drawing a delayed penalty. With Callahan changing quickly, Gaborik flew off the bench and retrieved the puck, going wide before somehow finding a hole via a backhand for his league-leading 26th. A back breaking shorty that put it out of reach. How he scored from such an angle still baffles. If there's a video, we'll put it up. Here it is:

Great PK Effort Leads To A Great Gabby SHG


To their credit, Florida didn't quit but none of the nine they took bothered Lundqvist, who heard the more familiar, "Hen---rik, Hen---rik, Hen---rik" chants from the Garden Faithful. His 158th career victory allowed him to pass Dave Kerr for fifth winningest all-time on the franchise list.

“The last four games we have been more physical, more aggressive. The puck is starting to bounce our way a little bit,” Lundqvist noted after giving fans a brief scare when Florida D Keith Ballard accidentally kneed him in the head. “I think I am playing really well, but the guys playing in front are playing really, really well. They are making really good decisions.”

With the Isles coming in along with the Flyers before a New Year's Eve tilt in Raleigh, the coach knows how big it is to reestablish a home ice advantage.

"We are not going to get where we want to be if we don’t establish our game at home,” Tort accurately expressed. “And I thought we did it the right way tonight in our home building. We have quite a few home games coming up here, so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”

Hopefully, that trend will continue.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Vinny Prospal, NYR (snapped 14-gm drought w/2 goals incl.PP GW, 4 SOG, 3-3 draws, +1 in 16:53)
2nd Star-Chris Drury, NYR (tying goal, assist, 3 SOG, 2 takeaways, 2 blocked shots, 11-12 draws, +2 in 19:15)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (33 saves incl.15/15 in 2nd, 136/141 stopped during win streak)