Rangers hit by Lightning Bolt

How fast is Steven Stamkos? Well, perhaps in hockey terms, he's the NHL's equivalent to Usain Bolt. The league's best offensive player continued to dominate, scoring and setting up two others in a 5-3 Lightning win over the Rangers which wasn't that close.


Just how bad were the Blueshirts? In keeping with the Thanksgiving tradition which most families will be celebrating, they were turkeys, getting completely outplayed by a much quicker Tampa club that dismantled the PK which came in having killed 24 straight. If there's such a thing as automatic, it's the Bolts' power play which boasts top scorer Stamkos and one of the game's best quarterbacks, Martin St. Louis. Naturally, our flat team took penalties and watched like Tinmen as they showed them how it's done. Moving the puck like a magnet, they connected three times, including an identical pair off Stamkos rebounds by Ryan Malone, who proved to be a headache.

The Rangers never established anything, falling behind quickly when Malone was allowed to bang into an irate Henrik Lundqvist and stuff home a rebound. Aside from forgetting to show the first 40 minutes, the road club was treated like garbage by the blind mice in stripes. Fairly appropriate considering how many times our goalie was mugged. Since when is it okay to skate into the crease and bang into the netminder without even attempting to get out of the way? This occurred at least four times and not a darn thing was done. Hell. They even nabbed Henrik for unsportsmanlike conduct (diving). They already stunk, getting only seven shots on Mike Smith the first two stanzas including a measly one the first 13-plus of the second.

Aside from our top line (Frolov-Anisimov-Gaborik) taking the night off, the Lightning had the puck most of the game due to total faceoff domination. I forget the numbers but I think we won like 22 and they had more than double. Do the math. It just doesn't compute. Our faceoffs have been an issue all year but they've escaped due to a great work ethic. Something that wasn't there.

From the goal out, it was a nightmare. To be fair, Lundqvist was left to fend for himself. He did let up a bad rebound on Malone's second PPG and should've had Steve Downie's one-timer from 40 out which ended all doubt, putting Tampa up 4-zip. It would late be credited to Brett Clark, who was to Lundqvist's side. Maybe he snuck a stick in but eh. It wasn't a good goal. Perhaps John Tortorella's decision to rest our franchise backstop backfired. He had a five day layoff. Whatever the reason, Lundqvist again wasn't what he needs to be allowing three-or-more for like the ninth 10th time. Disturbing.
I didn't even see the fifth goal but I'm assuming there wasn't much he could do. He is a stand up guy and admitted there were at least two he felt he made the wrong plays on but otherwise felt good and liked the way he responded in the third, including denying Malone's bid for a hat trick. Too bad nobody kicked the stuffing out of him.

With the Islanders and Devils more interesting, we kinda went away from this one. I also picked up a futuristic honoring my friend Lyndzay who's no longer with us eight months now. His family came in from Atlanta for Turkey Day. Getting back to the game, before I left Steve Eminger out of all people scored snapping the shutout off a nice setup from Derek Stepan. One of the few Rangers who competed. You can figure out the others. Tort threw his top line under the bus. Particularly Gaborik, who must be better. Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky always show as do Eminger, Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, who deserves to be an All-Star. Too bad he won't get a sniff while Sean Avery racks up votes in the meaningless exhibition. If only Avery contributed on the score sheet. When the hell is the last time he drew a penalty? I know Tort doesn't use him properly but come on. He's underachieved. Besides, he's got a target on his back which apparently hit again because he had the audacity to stand up for a fallen teammate. So, the dopes tossed him (17 PIM). Probably was phoned in by the NHL Police.

At least they made it interesting late thanks to a Brian Boyle shorthander while I was out, texted by my Dad. That's TEN!!!!! TEN GOALS for Brian Boyle while a dog like Frolov is stuck on five. Congrats to the Boston kid. All the hard work has paid off. What a year. One other point which I mentioned in pre-game tweets. I wouldn't have matched the Arty line against Stamkos. Tortorella screwed up using them against the best line in hockey. Not shockingly, they got exposed. Why not try Boyle's energy do everything unit with Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Prust? God forbid we match our scoring lines against lesser lites giving ourselves a chance. The strategy made zero sense.

I know our D didn't play great but this was more a product of too many guys up front mailing it in. Sloppy turnovers and lazy penalties doesn't add up. Combine a lethal PP and it can get bad in a hurry. I know he hasn't gotten much of a shake from the coach but Matt Gilroy has played well. I'd really like to see him stay in the lineup when Michal Rozsival potentially returns in Friday's match at Florida. He probably won't because they refuse to sit Mike Del Zotto, who if he's not contributing is still a project in his end. I wish Joe Micheletti would just shut up already!

One miracle did take place in this travesty in the form of a five-on-three goal. Yes, this happened when Gabby setup Stepan, who ripped his fifth cutting it to 5-3 with like a minute and change left. D-Step now has eight points over seven games and got rewarded with 21+ minutes while Anisimov (9+) and Frolov (12+) rode the pine. That's what I admire about Tort. He will make examples of guys. Arty hasn't been good lately. They need better. And Fro has been a mystery all season. At least in Jersey, it's understood why his Russian comrade Ilya Kovalchuk can't score.

Trailing by two with under 60 seconds remaining, Tort pulled Lundqvist for a six-on-four. Gabby nearly cut it to one but his shot was blocked, allowing the Bolts to finally escape.


BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Derek Stepan, NYR (PPG plus assist)
2nd Star-Ryan Malone, TB (2 power play goals)
1st Star-Steven Stamkos, TB (league leading 20th of season, 2 helpers)

Big second rallies Rangers past Bolts

No Gaborik. No Del Zotto. No problem. In what amounted to a pivotal game before the Olympic Break, the Rangers made their Valentine's Day extra sweet by rallying back to defeat the Bolts 5-2 at The Garden this afternoon. A big second period proved to be the difference in their second consecutive win that moved them into 10th with 63 points, tying Tampa Bay who by virtue of one less game played, is ninth a point behind Montreal.

Following up a great character win in which they lost both Gaborik and Del Zotto with a rare victory on home ice was exactly the recipe. With their next game not till March 2 at Ottawa, the Rangers showed more fight in rebounding from a tough first by exploding for four goals in the second en route to their 28th win of the season. Erik Christensen scored twice and set up another to break out of a slump that saw him enter with only three points (all assists) over the past 14 contests.  The three points matched a career best that came against Boston on Mar.29, 2007, which coincidentally was his last multi-goal game. Nice to see the versatile waiver bargain get rewarded.

"I think it's been a steady climb since I got here," he said after also just missing his first career hat trick when a shot rang off the right post. "I was unsure of myself when I first got here, trying to keep my head down. I didn't know what to expect. Management had been working with me to become a more confident person, and a more confident player."

Christensen atoned for an undisciplined minor that negated a power play midway through the opening 20, stemming the tide. Both clubs came out playing tight defensive hockey with few shots. Following a Zenon Konopka-Aaron Voros scrap, the Rangers blew consecutive man-advantages with Christensen negating the second with a trip. Eventually, the Lightning capitalized on an abbreviated five-on-four when dangerous finisher Steven Stamkos sent a left point shot that changed direction off a sliding Ryan Callahan, fooling Henrik Lundqvist for the game's first goal. After a brief encounter between Matt Walker and Brandon Prust, Tampa kept it going with sustained pressure that led to Steve Downie deflecting home another Stamkos shot for a 2-0 margin 1:40 apart. Alex Tanguay added a secondary assist.

In a two-goal hole minus two top players, the Blueshirts came out flying during a huge middle stanza that saw them connect four times on 10 shots. It started early thanks to an unlikely player doing an unlikely thing. Sean Avery converted a penalty shot just 100 seconds in injecting life on the bench and the building. The oddity took place when off a Downie turnover inside his blueline, Artem Anisimov slipped a pass for Avery, who was hauled down from behind. Thinking penalty shot, he pointed to center ice and then was properly awarded the opportunity. What came next was more shocking with Avery coming in with the puck and going way wide to the left before snapping one past Smith from a tough angle for his seventh of the season. For a guy who hasn't scored much, it was a revelation. The goal was sweet, eerily reminding us of a No.11 that hangs from the rafters. Ser---iou---sly.

"Avery's shot was a great move and a big goal for us," Lundqvist expressed. "I challenged him a couple of times in practice and told him he would never do that move in a game. It was awesome."

Many instances this season, the Rangers have gotten scored on before a goal was announced, sucking the air out of MSG. It nearly reared its ugly head again. Out of all people, Nate Thompson who scored yesterday in a loss to his former team the Islanders, had a glorious chance to make it 3-1. Instead, a sliding Lundqvist stretched over to rob Thompson's point blank backhand, getting the glove out in the nick of time. Before they drew even, the rating Swedish gold medalist who'll hop on a plane with Team USA duo Callahan and Chris Drury stoned Martin St. Louis during a four-on-four. A Dan Girardi turnover led to a two-on-one with Victor Hedman backhanding one across for St. Louis, who was denied by Lundqvist. He kicked it out. With the crowd serenading the popular netminder with familiar "Hen---rik, Hen---rik," chants, the Blueshirts came the other way three-on-two with Christensen and Marc Staal setting up Vinny Prospal in the slot for the equalizer. It was his fifth goal in five games. With an assist later, he went into the break with eight points over that stretch.

Carrying momentum, the Rangers didn't let up. Using a relentless forecheck, they tilted the ice spending extended time in the Bolts' end. One sequence eventually led to Christensen's first of the day. Off some strong defensive work, they worked the puck to an open Michal Rozsival, whose point blast went just wide. But they recovered it and cycled back to Rozsival, who dished to Prospal. Feeling like a power play, he quickly moved it to an isolated Christensen who came out of the right corner and fired thru Smith's five-hole for the lead at 12:06. He wasn't done. On the next shift, an excellent read led to a breakaway. After stealing the puck from Martin St. Louis, he broke away and netted his fourth as a Ranger 1:46 later. Evolving into a three-on-one, the quick skating Christensen felt backcheck pressure and fired upstairs from the right circle for an unassisted tally, suddenly making it 4-2.

Despite being outshot 13-10, the Rangers had superior skill and goaltending. They also played sound two-way hockey, paying attention to every little detail transitioning for offense. As Dave Malonely noted, a page out of the Tom Renney book. Not a bad thing against an offensive-minded Tampa team that was victimized in its end.

A couple of days after standing up to the whiny Crosby Pens, the Rangers didn't back off at any point against a Lightning club that also has quite a few grinders. We already referenced the two fights with Konopka and Walker dropping the gloves against Voros and Prust. Their roster also features Colton Orr victim Todd Fedoruk, who exchanged pleasantries with Avery between benches. Thompson is no stranger to fighting and even slumping Ryan Malone (assist) can scrap. With our lineup more bulked up featuring newest Ranger Jody Shelley (8 shifts-2:51), who debuted donning his trademark No.45, the rough stuff shouldn't be an issue anymore. Not surprisingly, Shelley and Konopka had words following a shift but nothing materialized. A frustrated Downie tried to stir it up at the end of the second with he and Avery each getting matching roughs.

Perhaps that rubbed off on our D with Rozsival finishing every check and pushing guys away from the net while partner Staal had a strong game finishing plus-three. Even Wade Redden played with more edge. Emergency recall Corey Potter (21 shifts-15:37, 2 hits) was fine and Matt Gilroy sufficient.

Echoing Prospal's words about the well earned triumph Thursday, the Rangers finished the job with a workman like third. Out of Tampa's nine offerings, only a couple were dangerous with Lundqvist making a couple of tricky saves off redirects, including one from Downie. Other than two weird goals, he was superb turning aside the last 22 to shut the door. Exactly what they needed and must continue when the season resumes with 20 games left. The guys in blue, red and white also were disciplined, handing the Bolts only three power plays. In the win over Pitt, they permitted two.

Avery came close to scoring his second with Smith just getting a piece of a right circle shot against the grain. It didn't matter. When Drury sealed it with an empty netter for his 10th, it was the vet's 250th goal and 600th career point, getting congrats from an excited bench. Fitting for a guy who's played better with more important games coming for our country in Vancouver. Hopefully, he can help Team USA surprise many and continue the upswing down the stretch.

Notes: Enver Lisin was a healthy scratch again. ... Prospal-Christensen-Callahan were a combined plus-nine. ... Smith permitted four goals on 22 shots. ... Vincent Lecavalier was held off the scoresheet with just one shot and a minus-two rating. ...Only five Rangers didn't register hits (Callahan-5). Callahan also had four takeaways. ... Rangers blocked 15 shots to Tampa's eight with five players all getting in the path of two, including Anisimov, who made a key block during Bolts' power play in third.

... Having played 62 games, the Rangers are 28-27-7 with 63 points sitting in 10th a point behind the Habs. They visit Ottawa 3/2 and return home to host Pittsburgh 3/4 during a tough four in six day stretch that includes a visit to Washington and a second of back-to-back versus Buffalo at MSG.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Sean Avery, NYR (PS goal-7th of season, 4 SOG, 3 hits in 17 shifts-13:38)
2nd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (27 saves incl. final 22 for 25th win of season-3rd in 4)
1st Star-Erik Christensen, NYR (2 goals incl. GW, assist, 2 takeaways, hit, +3 in 20:42)

Light Gate Conclusion handled well in all aspects

Well, as Hasan already posted, the Lightning and Devils finally completed Friday's game earlier before 3,000 who returned to The Rock in which fans were allowed to move down for the third. Tampa Bay held off New Jersey 4-2, earning a valuable two points that put them into a 11th place tie with idle Atlanta- four points behind Ottawa and Montreal. Busing back from Philly while the host Devs flew in following last night's overtime win in Brodeur land, it wasn't too conventional. But the Bolts still took Light Gate despite getting outscored 2-1. As one Dev fan on Twitter noted, that's gotta be a first.

It was a tough situation to be sure but both teams handled the adversity well, fitting in the final 29:12 to get on with hectic schedules the rest of the way.

“It was a little weird,” super soph Steven Stamkos expressed after getting his second of the game over two days. “We prepared twice for this game. It was a half-game and a half-game. The travel wasn’t bad. We were in Philly, so it was only a bus ride away. It was something a lot of guys haven’t experienced in a while. It felt like we were back in junior, but it was worth it.”

For winning goalie Mike Smith who finished with 33 saves, he actually flashed back to a couple of years back in junior for Sudbury when their playoff game against Toronto-St. Michael's encountered a similar electrical issue.

“We were up 3-1 in the series before the lights went out and we ended up playing the game the next day and lost in overtime, and ended up losing the series,” the Tampa Bay goalie noted. “It was a little better outcome this time.”

Of a game that needed just 67 minutes to finish off, perhaps goalscorer Travis Zajac summed it up best:

“It’s a little weird when you start a faceoff in the neutral zone and then you feel like you’re getting going and the period is over. I think going into it we felt we had a chance to come back and make it interesting. We skated well, made some plays, but it just didn’t happen for us.”

It wasn't ideal either for the same two referees Steve Kozari and Tim Peel, who both returned for the conclusion while linesmen Derek Nansen and Jean Moran subbed for David Brisebois and Don Henderson. Kudos must go out to the officials and a hard working crew who readied the ice on short notice. At least everyone made the best of an odd situation.


“Everything about this situation was odd, from Friday sitting around here waiting to see what would happen, to playing a game when you’re worried about something the night before,” Devil and new Team USA Olympic captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. “Under the circumstances, we handled it well. We played well all weekend. Now we move forward.”