Things kind of settled down. The Rangers got the only goal of the second from Backman. Valiquette made a couple of timely stops including getting across to stop Daniel Briere. He's been sharp but the Flyers also missed the net with high shots a few times.
The Rangers take a 4-3 lead into the third with a pivotal power play to start with. They'll have the full two minutes to work with thanks to some hard work by the Drury line. Look for the Flyers to take some chances shorthanded. They have good SH players even without injured top star Mike Richards. Carter made one happen in yesterday's road win over the Islanders. It was later credited to Mike Knuble. Though I can't see how.
It should be an interesting third.
Here are the numbers for Lundqvist and Niittymaki:
Lundqvist- 8 shots, 5 saves
Niittymaki- 14 shots, 10 saves
Covering the Rangers, Devils, Islanders and Sabres five years running along with the rest of the puckers!
BONY
Battle Of New York
Showing posts with label Stephen Valiquette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Valiquette. Show all posts
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Valiquette in goal to start 2nd
Apparently, Tom Renney read my mind and decided to make a change in net to start the second replacing Lundqvist with Valiquette.
We'll see if the change sparks the Blueshirts.
We'll see if the change sparks the Blueshirts.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Rangers and Valiquette blank Flyers
I bet you didn't see that one coming now, huh? The Rangers played one of their most complete games last night in Philly shutting them out 4-0 to exact a little revenge for that dreadful 6-2 beating at MSG a couple of weeks prior.
Rather than go crazy recapping it, I actually did that already over at my official HB site. So I'm going to link it up and then give some input instead:
1.Nigel Dawes scored and looked pretty good playing with Chris Drury and Petr Prucha. The trio formed the club's best line combining for three goals and an assist in the win. I got to say Dawes is just getting more and more comfortable all the time. Looks like the kid from Manitoba is going to stick.
2.Marek Malik replaced Paul Mara on the blueline and looked okay but he injured himself when Mike Richards collided with him. That was such a bs call on the Flyer two-way pivot. It was a make up call for the mugging Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery received from a cheap Scott Hartnell who elbowed Shanny and put his stick in Avery's face. Big Bird didn't return logging just over 11 minutes. Figure Mara to be back in tonight in Newark along with the serviceable Jason Strudwick.
3.Brandon Dubinsky continues to improve all the time. The 21 year-old rookie Alaskan who garnered MVP honors at the Young Stars Game notched a helper for his seventh point in the last nine contests. He really is coming on and gaining Tom Renney's trust. Last night, he played between Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan logging nearly 17 minutes while helping setup Shanny's goal which dashed any Flyer hopes of a comeback. This kid is a smart two-way player who takes the body and seems to have some decent skill. We could have ourselves a home grown player or two to talk about a year from now.
4.Backup Stephen Valiquette made 20 saves to notch his first career NHL shutout. He really wasn't tested much but came through when his team needed him early on when the Flyers held a 5-1 SOG edge. Nice to see him get the shutout. I'm sure it was very sentimental for him because his uncle passed away. You know that puck meant a lot. God bless.
5.The Rangers won despite no points from Jaromir Jagr or sidekick Martin Straka. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they were ineffective. Conversely, they teamed up well with No.1 center Scott Gomez cycling the puck down low and creating chances. Straka in fact had the best ones. He was setup by Gomer for essentially an open net which would've been 5-0 but fanned on it. He also had bad luck when a shot rang off the bar and fell on the goalline.
6.The D was much better than in recent games giving a solid attacking Flyer team zilch. Even when they worked hard, it was tough to get shots through drawing mock cheers from a protypical Philly crowd. Gotta love it.
7.Most important question now is can they repat this strong performance against two more quality clubs in the Devils and Canadiens on the road this weekend? That answer will be provided by kickoff Sunday night.
8.Combined with the Islanders' 3-1 home defeat at the hands of the Kings, the Rangers moved back into eighth in the conference with 56 points.
Rather than go crazy recapping it, I actually did that already over at my official HB site. So I'm going to link it up and then give some input instead:
1.Nigel Dawes scored and looked pretty good playing with Chris Drury and Petr Prucha. The trio formed the club's best line combining for three goals and an assist in the win. I got to say Dawes is just getting more and more comfortable all the time. Looks like the kid from Manitoba is going to stick.
2.Marek Malik replaced Paul Mara on the blueline and looked okay but he injured himself when Mike Richards collided with him. That was such a bs call on the Flyer two-way pivot. It was a make up call for the mugging Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery received from a cheap Scott Hartnell who elbowed Shanny and put his stick in Avery's face. Big Bird didn't return logging just over 11 minutes. Figure Mara to be back in tonight in Newark along with the serviceable Jason Strudwick.
3.Brandon Dubinsky continues to improve all the time. The 21 year-old rookie Alaskan who garnered MVP honors at the Young Stars Game notched a helper for his seventh point in the last nine contests. He really is coming on and gaining Tom Renney's trust. Last night, he played between Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan logging nearly 17 minutes while helping setup Shanny's goal which dashed any Flyer hopes of a comeback. This kid is a smart two-way player who takes the body and seems to have some decent skill. We could have ourselves a home grown player or two to talk about a year from now.
4.Backup Stephen Valiquette made 20 saves to notch his first career NHL shutout. He really wasn't tested much but came through when his team needed him early on when the Flyers held a 5-1 SOG edge. Nice to see him get the shutout. I'm sure it was very sentimental for him because his uncle passed away. You know that puck meant a lot. God bless.
5.The Rangers won despite no points from Jaromir Jagr or sidekick Martin Straka. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they were ineffective. Conversely, they teamed up well with No.1 center Scott Gomez cycling the puck down low and creating chances. Straka in fact had the best ones. He was setup by Gomer for essentially an open net which would've been 5-0 but fanned on it. He also had bad luck when a shot rang off the bar and fell on the goalline.
6.The D was much better than in recent games giving a solid attacking Flyer team zilch. Even when they worked hard, it was tough to get shots through drawing mock cheers from a protypical Philly crowd. Gotta love it.
7.Most important question now is can they repat this strong performance against two more quality clubs in the Devils and Canadiens on the road this weekend? That answer will be provided by kickoff Sunday night.
8.Combined with the Islanders' 3-1 home defeat at the hands of the Kings, the Rangers moved back into eighth in the conference with 56 points.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Rangers and Islanders have big nights
A couple of statements were made by the two New York teams on this big Saturday night. Both posted impressive wins to keep pace with the Flyers and Penguins (both winners as well) and gain valuable ground on first place New Jersey.
For the Rangers, the road treated them extremely well at Air Canada Center where they got five power play goals (five in 10 chances folks) including a season high four points (PPG, three assists) from team captain Jaromir Jagr in a 6-1 dismantling of the Maple Leafs.
This was about as good a performance as they've had all season. From Sean Avery's mouth saying how he hated Toronto due to how "hockey obsessed they are" even though he's from there to backup Stephen Valiquette (27 saves) performing great yet again in his home town to the unreal night the power play had, it all clicked for the Blueshirts on this night.
There's really not much to say. That's how convincing this win was. For whatever reason, the road team owned the season series with the teams splitting four games with the Rangers prevailing twice up north while the Leafs got the better of it on Broadway. Toronto technically took the series by virtue of their one point in a shootout loss to Valiquette.
But any way you slice it, this was a nice measure of revenge for that embarrassing 6-2 home defeat over three weeks ago on Dec.6.
They got the first six on the Leafs outskating and outchancing them by plenty. And the best aspect was all the penalties called on Toronto were earned and they buried their chances.
This was really a breakout game for Tom Renney's club who returns to MSG later this early evening to host the Canadiens who come in having won two in a row and are tied for fourth in the conference with New York and two other teams.
When Betts scores from Orr and there's a Petr Prucha sighting- yes twice the Czech tallied to double his goal output to four- you know it's your night.
Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky netted three assists and Scott Gomez continued to play well adding a secondary helper to hike his point streak to a career best 11.
Brendan Shanahan scored his club-leading 13th on an absolute rocket on a five-on-three. Avery not only infuriated the Leafs drawing a power play but basically danced on their faces with an unreal no-look backhand pass to help Prucha snap a 17-game long drought.
"It's a miracle," the very happy Czech expressed to the Associated Press later. "I was waiting for it a long time, and I just want to keep scoring ... and get some confidence."
"My confidence was shaken just in front of the net and I couldn't score a goal," he added. "The one thing that was missing from my game was points. I'm just glad I did it tonight."
A great thing for the Rangers which hopefully Prucha can build on. Now if only they could get Ryan Callahan untracked.
Even Marek Malik is looking better these days since being reinserted. He's actually worked well with Paul Mara and is making quicker reads and decisions instead of complexing things in his end.
Two wins in a row is nice. But three straight before a new calendar year would constitute a winning streak and cause for optimism.
One other quick point. Nik Antropov has had a great season for the Leafs but how many times did we have to see the lanky Russian chop down Rangers with his stick coming high and slashing Prucha or Chris Drury without an arm going up?!?!?!?!?!
That's what's wrong with the officiating these days. They're so obsessed with calling every hook legal or imagined but are missing much more serious blatant infractions which can cause injuries.
Wake the hell up already NHL!
Now to the Islanders who had a great win of their own at an energized barn on the Hempstead Turnpike- posting a 5-2 victory on home ice to make it four straight over the first place Devils this season.
To be perfectly honest, this was quite an entertaining game which included a couple of great scraps. Every time we flipped it on, there was lot of stuff going on. A lot of edge out there with plenty of battles contested. You could see how badly each team wanted it.
I really enjoyed the Mike Rupp-Andy Sutton fight. That was awesome stuff. I only wish I had caught the one between David Clarkson and rejuvenated Islander captain Bill Guerin. Even Mike Comrie and Mike Mottau got into it in the first!
You didn't hear any moans or groans from the crowd. I wonder why. ;)
The Isles really played well the first 40 minutes and led on a shorthanded tally by defenseman Chris Campoli and a second period power play goal from Marc-Andre Bergeron.
They seemed in complete control for most of the second until Devils' leading scorer Zach Parise took a Brian Gionta touch pass and converted a mini-breakaway beating Wade Dubielewicz to the backhand for only his second goal in the last 10. It was very timely because it came with just 25 ticks left giving his team a much needed lift after being outshot 14-6 in the stanza.
When John Madden scored his 12th to knot it just 3:59 into the final period, the Devils clearly had the momentum and began taking it to the Isles generating some really good chances. But Dubielewicz was up to the task stopping 12 of 13 New Jersey shots on his way to 27 saves and the game's 3rd Star.
The goalie allowed his team to find their composure and finally a great individual effort by Trent Hunter resulted in Sutton's deciding marker with 8:17 remaining.
With his team changing, Hunter held onto the puck and gained the Devil zone. Then he maintained control until the change was complete and dropped a pass to Mike Sillinger, who in turn fed a cutting Sutton for a quick one-timer past Martin Brodeur for his first as an Islander.
"I think it's my first (game-winner) ever," Sutton acknowledged later on.
It really was just a smart play by Hunter and one which had Brent Sutter seething.
"When you play a team you haven't beaten yet in your division this year, you'd think there would be more of a sense of desperation to want to play one of your better games," the first-year Devil coach pointed out.
Of course, he was right. His team had plenty of incentive to come away with a 'W.' But the Fishsticks wouldn't allow it to happen Saturday as Sutton also assisted on Sean Bergenheim's insurance tally with 4:58 left which put it away.
Comrie added an empty netter to pull the Isles within five points of first despite being tied with the Flyers for last in the division. It just tells you how close things are in the Atlantic.
All in all, a good night for the two bitter New York rivals as we approach 2008.
For the Rangers, the road treated them extremely well at Air Canada Center where they got five power play goals (five in 10 chances folks) including a season high four points (PPG, three assists) from team captain Jaromir Jagr in a 6-1 dismantling of the Maple Leafs.
This was about as good a performance as they've had all season. From Sean Avery's mouth saying how he hated Toronto due to how "hockey obsessed they are" even though he's from there to backup Stephen Valiquette (27 saves) performing great yet again in his home town to the unreal night the power play had, it all clicked for the Blueshirts on this night.
There's really not much to say. That's how convincing this win was. For whatever reason, the road team owned the season series with the teams splitting four games with the Rangers prevailing twice up north while the Leafs got the better of it on Broadway. Toronto technically took the series by virtue of their one point in a shootout loss to Valiquette.
But any way you slice it, this was a nice measure of revenge for that embarrassing 6-2 home defeat over three weeks ago on Dec.6.
They got the first six on the Leafs outskating and outchancing them by plenty. And the best aspect was all the penalties called on Toronto were earned and they buried their chances.
This was really a breakout game for Tom Renney's club who returns to MSG later this early evening to host the Canadiens who come in having won two in a row and are tied for fourth in the conference with New York and two other teams.
When Betts scores from Orr and there's a Petr Prucha sighting- yes twice the Czech tallied to double his goal output to four- you know it's your night.
Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky netted three assists and Scott Gomez continued to play well adding a secondary helper to hike his point streak to a career best 11.
Brendan Shanahan scored his club-leading 13th on an absolute rocket on a five-on-three. Avery not only infuriated the Leafs drawing a power play but basically danced on their faces with an unreal no-look backhand pass to help Prucha snap a 17-game long drought.
"It's a miracle," the very happy Czech expressed to the Associated Press later. "I was waiting for it a long time, and I just want to keep scoring ... and get some confidence."
"My confidence was shaken just in front of the net and I couldn't score a goal," he added. "The one thing that was missing from my game was points. I'm just glad I did it tonight."
A great thing for the Rangers which hopefully Prucha can build on. Now if only they could get Ryan Callahan untracked.
Even Marek Malik is looking better these days since being reinserted. He's actually worked well with Paul Mara and is making quicker reads and decisions instead of complexing things in his end.
Two wins in a row is nice. But three straight before a new calendar year would constitute a winning streak and cause for optimism.
One other quick point. Nik Antropov has had a great season for the Leafs but how many times did we have to see the lanky Russian chop down Rangers with his stick coming high and slashing Prucha or Chris Drury without an arm going up?!?!?!?!?!
That's what's wrong with the officiating these days. They're so obsessed with calling every hook legal or imagined but are missing much more serious blatant infractions which can cause injuries.
Wake the hell up already NHL!
Now to the Islanders who had a great win of their own at an energized barn on the Hempstead Turnpike- posting a 5-2 victory on home ice to make it four straight over the first place Devils this season.
To be perfectly honest, this was quite an entertaining game which included a couple of great scraps. Every time we flipped it on, there was lot of stuff going on. A lot of edge out there with plenty of battles contested. You could see how badly each team wanted it.
I really enjoyed the Mike Rupp-Andy Sutton fight. That was awesome stuff. I only wish I had caught the one between David Clarkson and rejuvenated Islander captain Bill Guerin. Even Mike Comrie and Mike Mottau got into it in the first!
You didn't hear any moans or groans from the crowd. I wonder why. ;)
The Isles really played well the first 40 minutes and led on a shorthanded tally by defenseman Chris Campoli and a second period power play goal from Marc-Andre Bergeron.
They seemed in complete control for most of the second until Devils' leading scorer Zach Parise took a Brian Gionta touch pass and converted a mini-breakaway beating Wade Dubielewicz to the backhand for only his second goal in the last 10. It was very timely because it came with just 25 ticks left giving his team a much needed lift after being outshot 14-6 in the stanza.
When John Madden scored his 12th to knot it just 3:59 into the final period, the Devils clearly had the momentum and began taking it to the Isles generating some really good chances. But Dubielewicz was up to the task stopping 12 of 13 New Jersey shots on his way to 27 saves and the game's 3rd Star.
The goalie allowed his team to find their composure and finally a great individual effort by Trent Hunter resulted in Sutton's deciding marker with 8:17 remaining.
With his team changing, Hunter held onto the puck and gained the Devil zone. Then he maintained control until the change was complete and dropped a pass to Mike Sillinger, who in turn fed a cutting Sutton for a quick one-timer past Martin Brodeur for his first as an Islander.
"I think it's my first (game-winner) ever," Sutton acknowledged later on.
"Guys like Trent Hunter and Mike Sillinger deserve a lot of credit for the way they handled the puck. Hunter had it, and got it back to Silly. I
just tried to be there, and Silly found me and I just shot it as hard as I
could."
It really was just a smart play by Hunter and one which had Brent Sutter seething.
"When you play a team you haven't beaten yet in your division this year, you'd think there would be more of a sense of desperation to want to play one of your better games," the first-year Devil coach pointed out.
"For 30 minutes, we were a very average hockey team.
Then we woke up and played well the next 20 minutes. Then it looked like we
never learned how to play defensive zone coverage
before."
Of course, he was right. His team had plenty of incentive to come away with a 'W.' But the Fishsticks wouldn't allow it to happen Saturday as Sutton also assisted on Sean Bergenheim's insurance tally with 4:58 left which put it away.
Comrie added an empty netter to pull the Isles within five points of first despite being tied with the Flyers for last in the division. It just tells you how close things are in the Atlantic.
All in all, a good night for the two bitter New York rivals as we approach 2008.
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