First-Year All-Star DiPietro carrying Islanders

Maybe Mike Milbury was right. The former Islander GM now TSN analyst was frequently referred to as "Mad Mike" for his crazy penchant for blockbuster trades while he was on Long Island.

The biggest move had to be the selection of goaltender Rick DiPietro first overall back in 2000- making the former BU standout the first ever netminder to be taken that high.

At the time, Milbury had another No.1 franchise goalie which led to second guessing on why he went for DiPietro when Roberto Luongo was still there. That same day, he shipped Luongo to the Panthers along with Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. Not one of his finest hours.

The thinking was that DiPietro was a much better stickhandling goalie than Luongo, who turned into a great puckstopper and one of the game's elite goalies. Had Milbury not taken the cocky kid from Massachusetts who Fishstick fans refer to as "Di-Pi" after big saves, he could've selected either Dany Heatley or Marian Gaborik changing the entire look of the franchise.

You can always look back and say, 'What if.' It's much easier to do that than to notice how well DiPietro is playing today. Now 26, he's carrying his team to victories- frequently turning aside a lot of rubber in stoning opponents who leave the rink baffled at how they couldn't beat the first-year All-Star.

The latest victim was his favorite opponent in first place division rival New Jersey. After standing on his head to the tune of 37 saves including turning aside 15 of 16 in a busy final stanza, DiPietro was not surpringly selected the game's No.1 Star in their 3-1 road win at The Rock Wednesday. Against a quality opponent, he improved to 4-0 this season while his team made it a perfect five-for-five with backup Wade Dubielewicz doing his part in their prior win at Nassau Coliseum when DiPi was out.

On a team which doesn't score a ton (112 GF, 2.43 Avg in 46 GP) and whose D isn't lights out by any stretch, DiPietro usually is asked to be his team's best player. He sees better than 28 shots-per-night. Despite his team giving up 14 more goals than they've scored, their 23-18-5 record for 51 points under second-year coach Ted Nolan has them sitting seventh in a crowded East only four behind the Devils and Pens.

The biggest reason is DiPi. Both teammates and opponents are taking notice.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist, does it?" explained Devils left wing Patrik Elias to the Associated Press of his team's recent struggles against the Isles after being robbed point blank by a DiPietro glove in the second period. "They are playing well against us. They are playing well against Philly and us.

Those are big points to lose. We had our opportunities to get back in the game, but it's still disappointing to lose. Their goaltender played awesome tonight."

The biggest stops came on Devil captain Jamie Langenbrunner with under six minutes left and Dainius Zubrus with less than 90 seconds to go before teammate Bill Guerin sealed the victory with an empty netter- his second of the night.

"There were a couple of pucks whacked away and I was able to get my glove up on it," DiPietro admitted later of the Zubrus quality chance within 10 feet.

It was easy to see why the Islanders won. Something Nolan referred to pointing to the man "between the goalposts."

"Tonight, Ricky saved us a couple of points," Islander captain Guerin pointed out.

"I thought we played a solid game, but when they turned it up and got good scoring opportunities, Ricky was there. He saved at least four goals I can think over. He kept us in it. He's been doing it all year for us."

As he's been all season for this gritty resilient bunch who want to shock the hockey world by making the postseason for a second straight year when nobody gave them a realistic chance after leading scorer Jason Blake (signed w/Leafs) and Ryan Smyth (Avs) left for richer pastures.

The Islanders have taken eight of the first nine against the Devils (5-0-0) and Rangers (3-1-0)-turning the Battle of New York into a one team show because of No.39 who will get his opportunity to shine in Atlanta less than two weeks away. He's the first Islander goalie to become an All-Star in 30 years since Hall of Famer Billy Smith in 1978. Not bad company. We'll bet Fishstick fans are hoping for similar results.

Every night, he gives his team a chance to win. He's faced 30-or-more shots a jaw dropping 19 times posting a respectable 9-6-4 record with a 2.60 GAA and an outstanding .927 save percentage.

His big saves are what keeps the Fishsticks in these type of pressure games. If they're to continue winning, it will once again fall on the broad shoulders of their franchise netminder. It took a few years but it looks like Milbury's mad gamble is finally paying off.

You won't find many complaints on Long Island.

Rangers play like they should, earn much needed win

The Rangers played a 60 minute hockey game last night for the first time in a pretty long time. Facing off against a Buffalo Sabre team that is mired in their own slump, the Rangers came away with a much needed two points.

It was a solid effort up and down the lineup last night. Henrik Lundqvist had to be sharp and was for most of the night, Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan looked like their injuries are close be being fully healed and the defense looked sharp again, even Marek Malik.

The top line has really clicked since Martin Straka returned. While they were held off the scoresheet, they created some decent chances and really moved and controlled the puck well for most of the game. The second line looked good behind a determined looking Sean Avery also. All of the offense came from the third line, though. Brandon Dubinsky scored the first goal from Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes on a nice passing play, and the Prucha added a deflection goal off Paul Mara's shot and Dubinsky's faceoff win. Jason Pominville was the only Sabre to put one past Lundqvist.

With chemistry finally looking like it is kicking in, the Rangers' goal of 96 points should be easily attainable. They sit in last place in the Atlantic Division with 49 points, but are only a three game winning streak out of first. With 35 games to play, 24 wins isn't out of the question.

One thing of note to watch today is if the league does anything about a late third period cross check by Shanahan. He cross checked Clarke McArthur into the goal post in the closing minute, which resulted in an injury to McArthur and a public tirade by Lindy Ruff. The check was unnecessary and reckless, as Shanahan himself has said, but in his long, illustrious career Shanahan has never attempted to purposely injure another player. A fine if anything is all he should get, as the league is reviewing it today.

The Rangers are off now until a weekend home and home against the Bruins. I'll keep you updated on anything that happens between now and then.

There really is No Battle of NY anymore!

So if the Islanders could play the Rangers and the Devils and no one else, the NHL could just wrap up the cup and send it to Long Island. The Islander defeated the Devils last night for the fifth time this year. Yes I said the fith time. Bill Guerin solved Marty Brodeur twice and Mike Sillinger added another goal as the Islanders pull out yet another win 3-2 at The Rock.

The Islanders have defeated the Devils 5 times this season and the Rangers 3 times. That makes them 8-1 against them both. Now lets put this in perspective here, these are the Islanders. You know, that crappy team from Long Island with the worst arena in the entire NHL. The team that everyone always makes fun of, the team that everyone picks to come in last, and yes the team with Garth Snow as GM. But this scrappy bunch of players may not make the playoffs this season, while hockey will continue in Manhattan and Jersey, but to tell you the truth, Jersey should be ashamed of themselves. Or maybe you guys in Jersey should give Rick Dipietro a little more credit.

Like I said before, if the Islanders could play the Rangers and Devils all year around, just send the cup this way.

Rangers rallying the troops against Buffalo

All hands will be on deck when the Rangers take on the Sabres at 7pm on MSG2 tonight. Brendan Shanahan, Sean Avery and Jaromir Jagr are all ready to go and will look to snap out of a skid that has made them losers in six of the last seven games.

Marcel Hossa, Greg Moore and Jason Strudwick will all be healthy scratches tonight. The first, third and fourth lines will all remain the same as the last two games, as will the defensive pairings. The second line will be Chris Drury centering Avery and Shanahan as it was before the two went down to injury. Henrik Lundqvist will also remain between the pipes.

Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal were both named to the Young Stars game, so congratulations to both of them.

Buffalo has been less than stellar so far this year, and may not have fully recovered after losing both of their top players to the free agent market in the offseason. The biggest test will be getting pucks past Ryan Miller. With the Rangers lacking in offense all season, they need to follow the same formula they tried in Pittsburgh of just firing pucks in on net and then follow up hard. With Avery back in the lineup, there will be more traffic in front I'm sure, but more players need to want to get their hands dirty around the crease.

I won't be back until tomorrow, so enjoy the game.

Let's just look forward for now

No use going back to dwell on yet another 40 minute effort by the New York Rangers. It would be better to just look forward to tomorrow's game at home against the Buffalo Sabres. (I wrote yesterday that the Rangers were continuing a homestand against the Penguins, which was incorrect. My bad.)

Some things to keep an eye on for the next 24 hours:

-- Brendan Shanahan skated today at practice, and deemed himself ready for tomorrow's game. Whether Tom Renney shares that feeling or not remains to be seen, and he will be a game-time decision tomorrow.

-- Sean Avery also skated today. He shot some pucks and took some bumps. He also said he was ready to play tomorrow, but Renney has also said that he is a game-time decision tomorrow.

-- While the re-entry to the lineup would undoubtedly create a log-jam on normal days, there may be one person coming out tomorrow. That person may be Jaromir Jagr. Renney said that Captain Jagr was really banged up from a couple of hits and blocking a shot (really? Jagr blocked a shot?) and may also be a game-time decision tomorrow. He was seen limping around the locker room today, and did not skate at all during practice.

So with Shanahan and Avery going in, Greg Moore is certain to be coming out. The second person coming out is more of a question mark. Nigel Dawes has been good enough to stay, but whether Renney thinks so is another story. Marcel Hossa would be the other candidate to ride the pine to make room for the others.

Tomorrow's game also marks the first time that Chris Drury plays his former team. Should be interesting to see how he takes it. Back tomorrow before the game.

Malkin 3 Jagr 1 Conklin > Lundqvist

If this looks like some sort of complex mathematics formula, then yeah. Chances are it probably is.

Translation: Malkin scores three goals while Jagr scores only one. Ty Conklin makes clutch stops setting a new career high with 43 saves while Henrik Lundqvist allows cruddy rebounds like Malkin's winner which "Franchise goalies" aren't supposed to give up.

Not that we're pinning this all on King Henrik who's Dad is still sick which can't be helping his concentration. His team failed to show for the first 20 and paid the price because when you face a hot goalie who's as unconscious as Conklin is now, you're not coming back from three down. Especially against him, Sid the Kid, Malkin and that team which looked a heck of a lot more organized than the Booshirts did.

Who cares if Jagr scored his fourth power play goal to break up the shutout midway through the third? Did anyone actually believe they'd get anything else by Conklin AKA the new Dominator (well at least for now anyway).

Think about that. Jagr has FOUR POWER PLAY GOALS. FOOOOOOOOUR! FOREEEEEEEEE!!!!!

The last word of course intentional because the way he's not produced on the PP, they'll be warming up the golf clubs at least two months earlier than anyone at 2 Penn Plaza expected.

I've lost faith. This team just doesn't inspire much now.

37 games remaining. Will they wake up before it's too late?!?!?!?!?!

Let them prove me wrong. Does anybody think this team even if they make it will do anything substantial this Spring? Not as long as No.68 is wearing the 'C.'


I take back the Cup prediction. I must've been on something.


P.S. How is Malkin not on the All-Star team? This business of representing every team is a joke. We're talking about a meaningless exhibition. That means the fans in Atlanta should get to see all the game's brightest and best stars. Malkin is one of the best young players in the league and he won't be there because the league has to make every team feel good. Bull shit.

I'm done.

Freaking pathetic

The lack of effort in the first period by this team was pathetic. The Pens have improved quite a bit since the last time the Rangers played them. Hence, their 8-0-1 mark entering play needing a win to tie the Devils for a share of the division lead.


However, with the Blueshirts coming off a solid 4-1 home win over the Canadiens which was their first of 2008, you would've expected them to come out with a little more fire. There was just nothing! It was embarrassing. That's one word to describe this team. Does anyone see it drastically changing when Sean Avery returns? I got news for ya. He's not Superman and this isn't last year.

I have my doubts. There's zero consistency. Just look how easy the Pens' three goals were. First one, Evgeni Malkin comes off the wall and nobody covers for Marek Malik as the second-year Russian snaps one past Henrik Lundqvist.

The second goal, Sidney Crosby breezes past Martin Straka and two D and then the great Henrik allows an awful rebound which an unchecked Malkin is allowed to stuff home for his second of the night. I think it was Marc Staal and Daniel Girardi who watched.

So, the Pens score two quick ones. Take a timeout. Right? Not Tom Renney! He's lost it. Instead, let's wait for this undisciplined team to take two straight penalties leading to a bomb of a one-timer from Sergei Gonchar off a 5-on-3. Oh. And the best part was the Pens wasted no time. Just like our great PP which passes and passes and passes...You'll be seeing pucks overpassed in your nightmares if you root for the Rangers.

Still no timeout. Well, at least Colton Orr stood in there against the league's toughest enforcer Georges Laraque on the game's opening shift.

That was it. When Malik, who is the slowest skating defenseman on the team is the only blueliner skating with any purpose, you got issues.

This team is in serious trouble. Especially when Ted Nolan continues to squeeze whatever he can out of a hungrier Islander team which somehow got three points in Calgary and Vancouver and also beat Ottawa last night to stay a couple of points ahead of the Blueshirts for eighth with less games played.

When does the Ranger organization take notice? When do we hear anything from Glen Sather? I'm waiting.

Rangers look to build on last game against Penguins

The Rangers continue their homestand tonight at 7pm against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game can be seen on Vs. The Rangers will need to continue and build upon the great play that got them a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadians on Saturday night. Pittsburgh is 9-1-1 since their last game against New York, which New York won, and has gotten stellar play from surprise fill-in goaltender Ty Conklin.

The Rangers have played the Penguins well over the last couple of seasons, but tonight will still be a test. Sean Avery isn't expected to be in the lineup, and Brendan Shanahan is questionable. A second line of Chris Drury, Marcel Hossa and Brendan Shanahan could be effective against the top line of Pittsburgh, as they can be defensive and yet still hammer the puck at the net. Conklin has stopped at least 35 shots on goal in five of his last seven games, so getting the puck at the net and crashing hard will be key.

John Dellapina of the Daily News has a good article online and in the paper today on the whole Marek Malik situation and why it just blew over. It's a good read so head over to read it.

There is also a chance that the Rangers will be playing an outdoor game next season in Yankee Stadium. It's a good idea, I just don't want to see every team doing it. Same with playing overseas games. If it happens too much, it will start to lose the luster and excitement that a once a year event creates.

I'll be away from the computer until just before game time, so I probably won't be able to check in with line combos and whatnot. Expect the same lineup on Saturday, and if Shanny is back expect Greg Moore to sit and possibly be sent down. Enjoy the game.

Rangers finally snap skid

The Rangers broke out the offensive power that everyone knows they have last night as they ended their five game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadians. Martin Straka, Chris Drury, Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes recorded the goals, and Henrik Lundqvist was ten minutes shy of the shutout.

This is the kind of game that the Broadway Blueshirts are capable of playing any night of the week. They game a hard fought 60 minutes and everyone up and down the lineup looked comfortable, even everyone's favorite Marek Malik.

Not much else to report. Ryan Callahan scored a goal in his first game back in Hartford and Sean Avery is getting close to returning. Brendan Shanahan should be ready to go for tomorrow's game against the Penguins. Greg Moore will likely be the scratch tomorrow and Marcel Hossa could find himself on the bench when Avery returns.

I may not be around until late tomorrow. It's my birthday and I may do some celebrating. I will record the game and weigh in on Tuesday though. Plans could change if there is a massive snowstorm, which is possible. Enjoy the football games today. Giants vs Cowboys at 4:30 should be some excellent football to watch.

Back from a new device

It's hard to think about a time where computers weren't always on and somewhere within reach of me to pick up. After going an unbearable three days without a computer, I have finally found a unit to my liking and am now back in action.

Like myself, the Rangers are back in action against the Canadians as I type this. Brendan Shanahan is scratched and MSG's favorite target of boo's, Marek Malik, is back in the lineup. Marty Straka is also back in the lineup for the Rangers and is really skating. Here is the lineup as we approach the second intermission:

Straka - Gomez - Jagr
Hossa - Drury - Moore
Prucha - Dubinsky - Dawes
Orr - Betts - Hollweg

Malik - Roszival
Staal - Girardi
Tyutin - Mara

The lineup shakeup has worked so far, as the Rangers are enjoying a 4-0 lead. Straka had the first goal from Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr, Chris Drury scored from Marcel Hossa (as I cursed that line combination I might add), Petr Prucha got the third from Nigel Dawes, and Dawes just added a fourth goal at the end of the period on a delayed penalty, assisted by Prucha.

Coming off of an abysmal performance against Philadelphia, the Rangers need a game like this. The have this potential that they are not reaching, and this could be the jumpstart that they need. Henrik Lundqvist has been solid in net, hopefully building up his confidence.

Enjoy the third period. I'll be back later or tomorrow with an update.

A few updates

Lately, I've been pretty busy with work. However, I did get out to the Garden last night for that dreadful showing by the Deadshirts.

Flat out pathetic. How in the world could they play so miserably when fourth line stone hand member Ryan Hollweg recorded his first career NHL two-goal game?

The game turned on a Chris Drury throwing the stick penalty near the conclusion of the first. When the Flyers tied it, you just knew what to expect. The latest awful goal slumping netminder Henrik Lundqvist allowed to Scott Hartnell from a sharp angle took the wind out of their sails.

Maybe it's that type of inconsistent goaltending from Lundqvist which hurt his All-Star chances as he was passed over for Islander goalie Rick DiPietro and Florida's Tomas Vokoun.

Somehow, Tim Thomas didn't make it. That's what happens when you have to have every team represented. What a stupid process.

In any event, the Blueshirts (soon to be renamed Booshirts) managed to allow Hartnell to score three consecutive goals for a hat trick. I can at least say that I wasn't in the building for that as I did the only logical thing. I left when it was still 3-2 after watching this heartless bunch do absolutely zilch on another power play. I only needed to see about 45 seconds before heading to the exits for Gerry Cosby's.

That's how bad it's gotten with this team. So, when does the organization get their collective heads out of their asses and make changes? It's painfully obvious that Tom Renney's message and silly defensive system isn't getting through. He's holding the team back. However, the affable coach is only part of the issue. The bigger one involves Michal "I never shoot" Rozsival and butt buddy Jaromir Jagr. Would somebody please tell Rozy that it's okay to shoot more and pass to other teammates rather than his Czech buddy?!?!?!?!?!

I've had it up to here with both. Just get them out of here. Seriously, this team will never win anything with these guys. Ship every Czech out except Petr Prucha.

I'm so tired of the wussy Euro-style. This East-West stuff just doesn't work. How many times can we see these guys pass up glorious chances going wide and away from the net in circles??? Welcome to the Broadway version of Ice Capades! I thought the days of Valeri "The Ballerina" Kamensky were over. Apparently I was wrong.

I also don't want to hear all the injury excuses. The Devils had injuries and overcame them like all good teams do. Every team loses players. Save me the Sean Avery and Martin Straka x-factors. If that's what they need, then they're already done and should just make their offseason plans.

Another thing. To all those obnoxious drunken Ranger fans who cheer every time Marek Malik is scratched, how's that working out? Can't blame No.8 anymore for the lack of D and inconsistencies. Jason Strudwick is a hard worker with character but he's nothing more than an extra defenseman. This business of him playing every night over Malik is moronic.

Also, how in the hell is Nigel Dawes on the third line? He had better chemistry with Drury and Brendan Shanahan. What the heck did Greg Moore do to deserve the nod? I'd love to hear that explanation.

There's a lot wrong with this team. And I don't really know how it gets fixed. Does anyone think they're beating the Canadiens tonight? Or winning at red hot Pittsburgh where Ty Conklin has morphed into Dominik Hasek?

I'm going to AC later today. If I had a chance to bet, I'd bet against the Rangers right now. That's how down I am.

Can they turn it around? I no longer know cause I've seen this disgusting act before. It's like being in the real life version of Back To The Future and going into the time machine.

At least the Devils and Islanders play hard for their coaches and get results. I wish I knew the answer.


P.S. That Alexander Ovechkin NHL record 13-year $124 million deal is sick. Wow. Talk about commitment! I think the Caps had to do it for the good of the franchise. Otherwise, how would they survive? They don't even draw much to begin with. Their team has played much better since the coaching chance and AO is one of the top five players in the league. His 32 goals ranked second coming into the night. I'm sure Jarome Iginla passed him during the Islander game.

Ovechkin is just 14 shy of last year's total and already has 130 goals during his brief NHL career. The guy is awesome. Is it too many years for the 22-year old Russian superstar? Probably. But I also see the rationale as explained above.

Would anyone ever have believed some of the crazy long-term deals we're now seeing become more the norm during the lockout? Positive or negative? What do you think?

Rangers show up late, lose again

My apologies on a late post. Truth is, about 12 hours ago I was in the middle of a post and my computer crashed. I have yet to get it going again and it's looking like I may be computer-less for a few days. This is just a temporary solution. Any suggestions for a new laptop?

Anyways, back to the Rangers. If the team that played the final 25 minutes of the game showed up every night, we would be better than Ottawa. I'm tired of saying that though. The first 35 minutes of the game was an abysmal performance. There was little heart and even less effort. It was kind of like they were expecting much less from the underachieving Lightning. No excuses. Come out and play hard for 60 minutes or we should trade for people that will.

I'm glad that Nigel Dawes and Greg Moore are back with the big club. P.A. Parenteau has been returned to Hartford. Tom Renney's use of them yesterday was extremely questionable though. 9:44 of ice time for Greg Moore and 10:12 for Nigel Dawes. Sure, that would cut it if we had four healthy lines, but with the second line not doing anything, the fourth line unable to score and the top line working on chemistry, there is no reason why that third line couldn't be out there for 15 minutes or so. Chris Drury logged 23+ minutes of ice time, which cannot be expected from any forward day in and day out.

Steve Zipay asks if the Blueshirts are working on a deal now that there are numerous injuries, Sean Avery and Martin Straka being out indefinitely at this point. One name he mentioned was Jason Chimera, but what would we be giving up? Obviously, we cannot trade Marek Malik and a struggling Ryan Callahan or Marcel Hossa for Ilya Kovalchuk, so any trade would mean parting with Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, Greg Moore or Al Montoya.

Three games remain before the All-Star break. It will be a welcomed break, if only for the several days off to get healthy. Let's look at righting this ship before then.

I can't guarantee being able to get on to get a post out tomorrow, but I'll try. I should hopefully be set with a new computer in the next week or so, but am having trouble deciding on what I want. I'm open to suggestions. I'll be back from the new device sometime really soon.

Time for change

I wish I had more time to say what I want here but I have a Hard Hits Special NFL Playoff show coming up at the top of the hour including a preview of the first ever Giants-Cowboys postseason match-up in the Divisional Round.

Maybe it's for the best because the other New York team who wears those same Giant colors is anything but these days.

The latest embarrassing loss to the East's worst Tampa Bay- I don't care if they cut it from 4-1 to 4-3 and had nine zillion chances to tie late- it's just another reason to feel if you're a Blueshirt supporter.

Screw all the injury excuses!!!!! I don't care and will be damned if any Ranger fan uses that for why this team can't consistently play close to 60 minutes of hockey and remains an underachiving bunch which could actually miss the playoffs.

This team needs to seriously consider making a change with the coach. I have had it up to here with Tom Renney. His insistence of rolling four lines late in this game cost his team any realistic chance to tie it.

Why with your bench short as is would you send out the stonehands fourth line which has a grand total of two goals at even strength when there's only 4+ minutes to go?!?!?!?!?!?!

Can anyone out there answer that?

With that, I'm done. Renney must go! This team just won't get the results the organization's looking for until they get someone in who's not afraid to pull punches.

Maybe I'll have more after.

Renney is a nice guy but not the right fit for this team. It's time to fire him and save the season from a humiliation.

Who's with me?

Rangers vs Lightning

Update: Shanahan is in tonight. He wasn't supposed to be but he is. Parenteau is the scratch. The below lines are useless, and I have no idea what they will be. Drury with Shanahan and Prucha sounds like a safe bet, with Dawes with Gomez and Jagr and Moore with Dubinsky and Hossa. That's just a guess though.

Just under 30 minutes from now, the Rangers begin a homestand, starting with facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With all of the hooplah that I reported before, it looks like we have some solid line combinations for the game.

Drury-Gomez-Jagr
Hossa-Dubinsky-Prucha
Dawes-Moore-Parenteau
Hollweg-Betts-Orr

Tyutin - Girardi
Staal - Rozsival
Mara - Strudwick

Marek Malik will be a healthy scratch and even though Brendan Shanahan is skating pre-game warmups right now, he has been ruled out for tonight. He should be ready to go for Thursday night's tilt against Philadelphia. Martin Straka's concussion is a minor one, but he will miss some time. About a week is the timetable for Straka. Sean Avery is on the IR, meaning he will miss a minimum of a week as well. Enjoy the game.

All-Star starters announced, Brodeur gets nod in goal for East

Earlier today, the league announced the starters for the upcoming All-Star Game.

Here's who that elite list of stars will include:

2008 Eastern Conference All-Star Team Starting Lineup

Goal: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey

Defense: Andrei Markov, Montreal
Defense: Zdeno Chara, Boston

Forward: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
Forward: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay
Forward: Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa

2008 Western Conference All-Star Team Starting Lineup

Goal: Roberto Luongo, Vancouver

Defense: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit
Defense: Dion Phaneuf, Calgary

Forward: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit
Forward: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
Forward: Jarome Iginla, Calgary


From the look of things, two quick notes:

1.No Ilya Kovalchuk for the stacked East
2.The Western lineup with the exception of goaltender is made up of all Red Wings and Flames.


We'll have much more later on.

Rangers woes continue (Updated already)

Updated seconds after posting: This goes at the top because it is out of control. Marek Malik skated on the third line, yes the third line on offense with Parenteau and Hossa towards the end of practice. Shanahan is definately out. This just may be a game you want to record and play back a couple of times. Or maybe the complete opposite.

The Rangers haven't played a game since Saturday night, yet as the days pass, so do the bad fortunes. I need to use bullet form to fill you in on everything that is going on, so here we go.

- Brendan Shanahan did skate this morning, will try out the contusion on his knee in tonight's pregame warmups, but Tom Renney is leaning towards sitting him until Thursday to rest up.

- Martin Straka is out at least one week, possibly more. More will be known after he sees a doctor today to gauge his concussion.

- Sean Avery was slashed on December 30 against Montreal. Because of that slash, Avery has been placed on injured reserve. He played through the pain for the three game road trip, but it was too swollen to continue and a week off will supposedly solve that problem and then he will be good to go.

- Greg Moore was welcomed back to New York with a nice case of the flu. He did not skate this morning and may not play tonight.

- Pierre Parenteau has been recalled from Hartford. If Moore can skate tonight, the line of Parenteau, Moore and Nigel Dawes will be formed. This line has been together in Hartford, so we'll see what happens on the big stage. Chris Drury would move up to the wing with Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr.

So to recap; If Shanahan is out and Moore is in, the line combinations look like:

Drury - Gomez - Jagr
Prucha - Dubinsky - Hossa
Dawes - Moore - Parenteau
Orr - Betts - Hollweg

If Moore is out and Shanahan is in:

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

Shanahan and Moore in:

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

Shanahan and Moore out:

Dawes - Gomez - Jagr
Prucha - Drury - Hossa
Hollweg - Dubinsky - Parenteau
Orr - Betts - Strudwick

Marek Malik would be inserted back onto defense should Strudwick be forced to step in at forward.

No matter how you slice it, tonight's game is going to be a tough one. Kari Ramo is expected to be in net for Tampa Bay, and he has been much less than stellar since being called up to compete for a goaltending spot in Tampa.

I won't be around until just before game time, but I'll update around then if anything else breaks. These line combinations are in no way set in stone, and with six hours until puck drop, another call up may even happen. Tough time in Rangerland right now folks.

Evening Rangers update

Not much, but I didn't want to let this go too long without telling everyone. Martin Straka has been diagnosed with a concussion and has been ruled out for at least the next two games. Skating in his place on the top line today at practice was none other than Tom Renney's favorite kid, Nigel Dawes. Greg Moore skated on the second line with Sean Avery and Chris Drury, while Brendan Shanahan took the day off. If Shanahan was seriously injured, Moore probably wouldn't be on the second line, but the third with Brandon Dubinsky and Marcel Hossa. Instead, Petr Prucha remained there today, which could mean that Shanahan is merely day to day.

Still no word on Marek Malik. I'll check in with anything else.

Quote of Day

Usually, the quotes they send from the NHL Today come from hockey players or coaches. But this one actually was made by NBA star LeBron James on 2006-07 Hart Trophy winner Sidney Crosby's impact:


HE SAID IT

“I know he’s great at what he does. They call him ‘Sid the Kid,’ he’s been
great for the Pittsburgh Penguins and what he’s able to do, as young as he is,
is pretty good. I know they compare him to me and I’m excited to be compared to a guy who plays the game the way he does.”

How cool is that? When most would figure a basketball star wouldn't even notice hockey, it turns out not to be true in LeBron's case.

And while it's fairly accurate that most puck fans can't stand basketball, not all athletes who play one of the two winter sports feel the same way about the other.

Just look at Jaromir Jagr as example No.1. The Ranger hockey superstar has gone to Knick games (hopefully not this season though as they suck) and even used basketball terminology and applied it to the game he plays.

If you've also watched how No.68 uses his ass to protect the puck and back in opposing defenders, it looks eerily similar to a low post player making a move trying to score a basket. But in Jagr's case, a goal in the net.

Team defense is actually similar in that you have to move with your man in the defensive end or they'll get free to score an easy basket. In hockey, it's a little more difficult because you still have to beat the goalie even with a quality chance.

But you have a much better opportunity to score if you get away from the defender and are one-on-one with the netminder.

Who would've believed that two totally different sports could be so similar? The more structured you are defensively with your system, the better chance you have of being successful in hockey terms. And the more fundamentally sound you are in your end, the better off you'll be if you want to go far in the NBA playoffs.

This explains why the Spurs have won three NBA titles in the past five years and four dating back to 1999 proving just how valuable Tim Duncan really is. Sure, it helps to have played alongside David Robinson and now the fundamentally sound core of Finals MVP Tony Parker and the versatile Sixth Man Manu Ginobili.

That's why high flying teams such as the Suns never win when it really counts. In the NHL, you have the Thrashers and Lightning who play wide open run and gun styles similar to the one Steve Nash runs in Phoenix. However, unlike Nash who has stars around him that can at least guarantee them some postseason success, Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa don't have enough pieces around their respective teams to even guarantee making this year's playoffs.

Whether it's the lack of consistent goaltending or D as is the case with both Tampa Bay and Atlanta, they're probably on the fringe as far as making the cut in the ultracompetitive East.

Maybe you never viewed these two different sports in this context. But it just goes to show you that LeBron appreciates how special a player Crosby is and can learn from him.


Now that rocks!

Roster moves for the Blueshirts

After an 0-1-2 Western Canada tour, the Rangers made some roster changes this morning. Ryan Callahan was officially sent down to Hartford on a conditioning stint. Hopefully he can regain his scoring touch that he exhibited last season and before the untimely knee injury. Being called up to take his place are Nigel Dawes and Greg Moore. They are also up to provide a little insurance as Brendan Shanahan and Martin Straka are both question marks for tomorrow's game at home against Tampa Bay. Straka suffered a neck stinger when he went hard into the boards, and Shanahan has a leg bruise from his leg on leg collision with Dustin Penner. Both diagnoses are good news, as knee injuries and concussions would have been much more serious.

Also revealed today was that Henrik Lundqvist's father underwent brain surgery a couple of weeks ago. The netminder's father has been in Lundqvist's head over the course of his up and down play, which would explain his recent struggles. Best of luck to Henrik's father, and here's to hoping a speedy recovery for his and Henrik's sake.

There is no new news yet on the Marek Malik situation. If it is in fact true that he walked out on his teammates in Edmonton, then he does not deserve to be with them anymore. I was never a supporter of the boo birds that he receives at MSG, but if he is inserted back in the lineup, the chorus will be much louder than usual. A change of scenery would be best for everyone involved.

Should Shanahan and/or Straka not be able to play tomorrow, there would be some interesting line combinations. Anyone want to venture a guess? The only line that would remain the same would be the fourth line, so the options are a plenty. I'll check in later if I hear anything new, or tomorrow before the game.

Undisciplined Rangers lose in shootout

My apologies for not finishing with my updates late last night. After that baffling third period, I couldn't take rehashing it in my mind to write it up. Derek has summed it all up nicely, so I'll just add my opinions.

--Brendan Shanahan's penalty was as undisciplined as it gets. It was stupid and led to the first goal. He doesn't make a habit of it, and has never done so in his 18 season career. That should tell you how frustrated these Blueshirts are getting. His collision with Dustin Penner left him writhing on the ice and caused him to miss all of one shift through the remainder of the third and overtime. He also could not participate in the shootout because of his left leg. Let's hope it is nothing serious, because we need him on the ice for us.

-- Martin Straka was also a little shaken up last night after going hard into the boards. He looked dizzy skating back to the bench, but came back for a couple more shifts. Here's hoping he's alright as well.

-- While there were tons of penalties in that third period and overtime, I didn't think half of them were necessary. Ryan Hollweg undoubtedly deserved a penalty, but a game misconduct and five minute major may have been unnecessary. Maybe just the five minute would have been sufficient, but as someone who preaches that the hits from behind need to stop, I can see how the referees were inclined to throw him out. Straka's hold, Blair Betts' goaltender interference, Joni Pitkanen's roughing and Jared Stoll's interference penalties were all calls that didn't have to be made, especially late in the third period and in overtime. Betts' was the only one that you could really argue, especially coming off of Chris Drury and Sean Avery running into Mathieu Garon.

-- Speaking of Garon; how do the Blueshirts manage to make mediocre goaltenders look like hall of famers? Garon is a good netminder, but not as good as the saves he was making last night. Three posts also doomed the Rangers.

-- There were some things I did like about last night's game, however. While Drury, Avery and Betts all crashed into Garon, they were playing hard to and around the net. If we want to regain the winning ways, we need to be tough in and around the blue paint. Avery was being a pest in front of the net on the game-tying goal by Drury (which was amazing to see) and was on the ice for only that reason. Jason Strudwick stepped in and did a fine job in Marek Malik's absence. He made some silly plays, much like Malik, but at 2.5 million dollars less, I'll take the occasional boneheaded move from him. He never makes the boneheaded moves that end up in our net either. There's no reason why he cannot remain in the lineup.

That's all I have on the Rangers front for now. There may be some lineup changes in the coming weeks, although I hope they will be of the "oh that makes sense" variety, and not the "Rangers trade Dawes and Prucha for Martin Ruchinsky" variety.

Not sure how many people have noticed, but thanks to Derek for some new additions to the blog's page. The youtube clips along the left are great, links to new websites have been added and we now get full league roundups. He has really stepped up in since Steve left. Kudos go out to him.

Enjoy today's football games. Go Big Blue. Please Eli, do not suck.

Some extra Saturday stuff

With it being a very busy Saturday in the league, we figured we'd throw out some other extra stuff as well from other games:



-Toronto captain Mats Sundin's two goals in his team's 3-2 home loss to the Flyers gave him 20 for the season- making it the 17th consecutive season the 35 year-old Swedish pivot has scored at least 20 in his brilliant NHL career.



Sundin, who was taken first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989 has tallied 408 of his 543 with the Maple Leafs since coming over in a trade for Wendel Clark. No.543 last night moved him past Stan Mikita into sole possession for 25th on the NHL's all-time goalscoring list.



Swedish Finisher A Magnificent Mats (Most Consecutive Seasons of at least 20 goals-or-more)



Gordie Howe 22 seasons

*Brendan Shanahan 18 seasons

Marcel Dionne 17 seasons

Brett Hull 17 seasons

Mats Sundin 17 seasons

+Jaromir Jagr 16 seasons



*still active needing five goals to reach 19 straight

+active and needs nine more for 17 in a row





-Emergency third string goalie Ty Conklin continued his amazing story stopping all 35 Panthers shots in backstopping the suddenly surging Pens to a 3-0 shutout- their sixth consecutive win.



The 30 year-old journeymen who's with his third organization in two years has been utterly brilliant since being recalled from AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In six straight starts, he's allowed only eight goals. In fact, he's now seven-for-seven when he gets the nod in net for Pittsburgh, which trails first place New Jersey by just a point.



"Its nice, mostly because the team's been plying so well," Conklin told the Associated Press after yesterday's latest stellar performance. "Everything's a lot more fun when you win."



"When you have a goalie that can make the saves, he's giving you a chance to win, and this is what he's doing right now," Pens' coach Michel Therrien added.



It sure is a lot simpler when you've got a hot goalie. That it would come from such an unlikely source due to a high ankle sprain which has sidelined starter Marc-Andre Fleury makes it even more special for the Penguins.



Conk-ering All (Ty Conklin this season with Pens)



8 GP 7 GS Record: 7-0 2.00 GAA .939 Save Pct 2 SHO





-With another goal (No.32) plus two assists, Calgary captain Jarome Iginla remained red hot in leading his Flames to a 6-4 win over the NHL's worst team the LA Kings.



After a slow start under new coach Mike Keenan, the admirable 30 year-old power forward has turned it up carrying his team to wins in 11 of their last 14 to move up to 49 points- one fewer than division leader Vancouver.



In fact, when Iginla tallies, the Flames have a pretty good record this season improving to 16-4-3 after last night.



Iginla Lighting The Lamp With Regularity (A breakdown of Iginla's goalscoring this season)



October 12 GP 8 goals

November 14 GP 5 goals



Two month total 26 GP 13 goals



Since Dec. 1 17 GP 19 goals



Notes:



-Iginla has only failed to score a goal in five of the 17 games.

-The Calgary franchise has six multi-goal games during the stretch including a hat trick in a 9-6 win over Tampa Bay on Dec.13.

-Included was a five-game goalscoring streak from 12/11 - 12/18 in which he lit the lamp eight times.

-The goal last night made it three straight games with a goal (5 total). He's tallied eight times in the last six contests.



More Iginla (Goalscoring leaders for 2007-08 season)



Ilya Kovalchuk, Atl 33 goals

Jarome Iginla, Cgy 32 goals

Alexander Ovechkin, Wsh 32 goals





-With his OT winner in a 2-1 victory over the Islanders, Marek Svatos continued his bounce back season. After scoring only 15 times in 2006-07, the 25 year-old Avs' right wing already has one more goal than he did in 66 games last year.



Svatos has three goals in his last two games and six in his past seven.

Marek's Turnaround In 2007-08

2006-07 66 GP 15 goals

2007-08 38 GP 16 goals

Another bad loss by underachieving Blueshirts

Let's face it folks. This team just can't get it done against a Western Conference opponent. Heck. They couldn't even beat a bad Oilers team which once again failed to win in regulation even though the Rangers tried their best to hand them the game.

Only a last second tying goal by Mr. Clutch, Chris Drury off a brilliant stop of a hard Jaromir Jagr pass with Henrik Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker allowed the Blueshirts to come away with a brownie point at Rexall Place.

Before the game, leading goalscorer Brendan Shanahan talked about the lack of discipline his team had in their recent shutout loss in Vancouver. Then Shanny took a dumb slashing minor which led to the Oilers' first power play goal by Jarret Stoll.

The ill advised penalties continued in the third period when Ryan Hollweg foolishly boarded Shawn Horcoff from behind being assessed a match penalty and automatic game misconduct and probable suspension, especially given the energizer's reputation.

While it's true No.44 tried to let up, he still nailed Horcoff from behind and the Oiler center was in a prone position. So, you can certainly understand why he was ejected from the game.

It was totally unnecessary and came at an inopportune time for his team who very well could've won the contest in regulation if not for some splendid netminding from Mathieu Garon (29 saves).

That the major was followed by a Martin Straka hold only 15 seconds later summed up another mystifying night for this underachieving team.

Of course, the Oilers made them pay the price as Ales Hemsky setup Horcoff on the doorstep for his 17th with 8:31 left.

Sadly, the Rangers weren't done taking silly penalties. Jagr got into the act with a lazy trip with 3:48 remaining which easily could've meant no point. And on a night when other teams such as the Flyers, Bruins and Pens all won, the Rangers needed that point.

That's what it's come down to for this club. Against a team which sucked ass on home ice ranking dead last on the man-advantage. But here were the Rangers staring up at the scoreboard despite outshooting another opponent (31-25).

The saving grace was that Joni Pitkanen took a penalty with 62 seconds left giving the Rangers a power play. With Lundqvist pulled, they worked the puck around forever before Jagr found Drury, who got them a point by stopping the puck with his shin before depositing his 11th with seven seconds left.

After another needless undisciplined penalty- this time a Blair Betts goalie interference in overtime, Lundqvist made a couple of big stops and then Stoll went to the box for interference off a faceoff.

Anyone who's followed the Oilers slightly knows that they've been money in the shootout all season. So the Rangers really needed to go for the kill on their late PP. Instead, they passed the puck around during a dreadful 4-on-3 even with Straka failing to keep a puck in at the point for an offside. Un-freaking-believable!

This team flat out sucks right now! When are they finally going to show some urgency and wake the hell up already?!?!?!?!?!

Especially on a day where the first place Devils somehow didn't win or even get a point because Tim Thomas (19 third period stops, 42 overall) flat out stoned them, this was a chance to pickup two on their Hudson rivals.

But instead, they chanced it to the skills competition where Tom Renney couldn't even use his best shooter in Shanahan because he suffered a left knee injury when he collided with big power forward Dustin Penner late in the third.

Even the goalie let the team down in this one. Was anyone surprised given how pedestrian Lundqvist has looked the past month that he would let rookie Sam Gagner's wrister sneak through his pads?

That's how they lost. Of course Jagr was denied by Garon who somehow was turned into Patrick Roy by this Broadway gang which can't shoot straight.

I'm sick of Marcel "One Goal" Hossa. Ryan Callahan was a healthy scratch. He really needs to be sent down on a conditioning assignment to regain lost confidence.

When is our genius of a coach going to recall Nigel Dawes??? He of course factored into both Wolf Pack goals in a 3-2 home defeat to Lowell.

What else does the kid who put up as many points as Zach Parise in the 2003 WJC have to prove to get a fair shake? This team has zero secondary scoring right now.

Is it going to take a foolish trade where Dawes morphs into a Brian Gionta clone cause I can totally see that happening?!?!?!?!?!?!

Speaking of Gionta, he is the definition of a dirty player. All those sneaky hacks are starting to catch up as he's being nailed for it a lot more this season. And did anyone see that crazy finish at TD Bank Garden where No.14 and Boston captain Zdeno Chara were at each other's throats as the buzzer sounded? Slashes and all sorts of illegal stickwork were being done.

And why you ask? Because of the stupid instigator. Does anyone really think Gionta would be able to get away with all the stuff he does in front of opposing nets? And Chara's stick coming dangerously close to the Mighty Mite's neck was ridiculous. How dirty does it have to get?

If anyone wants a good read, try to pickup THN's Top 60 Game Changing Moments. No.52 is appropriately entitled, "Goon Hockey Is Done" and has plenty on the lack of accountability where players sticks continue to come higher. There's little respect today as compared to the game before the big change came into place starting in the 1992-93 season.

If you want to learn about the history of the game, pick up this special issue as it's very well written. I've gotten through the first 10 thus far.


Also, if you haven't picked up THN's Top 60 Post Expansion Era, please do.

Rangers vs Edmonton

End of period two: Excellent period by the blueshirts leads to a 1-0 deficit. What bad luck the Rangers are having recently. Shanahan took a bad retaliation penalty after a non call on a slash, he turned around and hacked the Edmonton player and the ref saw that one. On the ensuing power play, Drury blocked the shot from the point with his stick, but it fluttered over Lundqvist's shoulder. Later on in the period, Sean Avery added to the post hitting spree that the Rangers are going on, after Garon was down and out of the play. Avery's backhander hit the post or crossbar, keeping the Rangers off the board. Jagr was also stoned by Garon, who is playing a fantastic game. Other than that play, Jagr hasn't had a very strong game. The Dubinsky, Hossa, Prucha line is playing well and has generated some opportunities, and the fourth line is up to their usual tricks, working hard and creating scoring chances. The energy is there, the scoring is not. Story of the season for the Rangers.

End of period one: Good back and forth period by both teams. Jaromir Jagr and Chris Drury each hit a post, Mattieu Garon robbed Shanahan and Lundqvist made some tough saves. There were a few bad penalties called for each team, Brandon Dubinsky got called for a weak trip, and Joni Pitkinen for holding the stick. The tempo was fast paced and there were a few good hits. Let's hope the Rangers keep up this energy through the remaining 40 minutes.

The Rangers take on the Oilers in a few minutes, so let me get some info out to everyone. Henrik Lundqvist is back in net and Brendan Shanahan is back on the second line. In an even better move, Jason Strudwick replaces Marek Malik on the blueline. Malik took the news very well, by storming out of the Edmonton arena with no particular place to go.

Tom Renney was unsure of who was coming out of the lineup to make room for Shanahan as of this entry. All 13 forwards were skating in the pregame, and everyone is healthy. I say give Ryan Callahan a night off. He needs to regain confidence, so maybe a stint in Hartford would be beneficial.

I'll check in like I did the other night, hopefully between each period. A much needed win is at stake tonight. Enjoy the game.

No Dawes mindboggling

So on an underachieving team which has exactly the same secondary scoring epidemic which plagued them last year, how is it actually humanly possible that Nigel Dawes continues to get the shaft from the Ranger organization?

At the halfway mark fresh off the latest disappointing loss (shutout 3-0 at Vancouver despite outplaying them for large portions) against a Western Conference foe, these "new and improved" Rangers have scored exactly 100 goals (2.44 average) and given up 101 (2.38 GAA). Pretty mediocre for all the great expectations they had.

In fact, not one Blueshirt shows up in the NHL's top 30 in scoring as of today Jan.4, 2007.

Who's fault is it? Is it coach Tom Renney who's attention to every detail continues to dress Marcel "1 goal" Hossa while Nigel Dawes (5 goals in 21 GP) is sent back to Hartford where he continues to tear up the AHL and doesn't belong? How else to explain the former 2003 fifth round pick's continued torrid scoring pace with the Wolf Pack where he's scored 11 goals and 30 points in just 18 contests?

What does the 21 year-old from Manitoba have to do to earn a spot on Renney's roster? Somehow, in 20 fewer games, his five goals place him sixth among Ranger forwards ahead of Hossa, Petr Prucha (4 goals) and struggling right wing Ryan Callahan (no pts in last 23 since goal on Opening Night).

Would anybody care to take a guess at who the forwards are ahead of him?!?!?!?!?!

We're going to exclude the hardworking fourth line of Ryan Hollweg, Blair Betts and club enforcer Colton Orr because they show up every night and continue to have solid chemistry providing energy.

How is budding rookie pivot Brandon Dubinsky supposed to put up points when his linemates can't finish around the net? The 2004 second round pick certainly is progressing. Shouldn't he have another scoring wing who can hit the net with regularity by now?

Not in the Ranger organization apparently where absurd logic seems to prevail when they're supposed to be challenging for the East's best record and a championship. Instead, they've been up and down with something definitely lacking which explains why through 41 games, we don't even know if this team will survive in this ultracompetitive conference.

Should they make the playoffs? Absolutely. But unless Renney's club starts kicking it into another gear, there will continue to be lingering doubts about how far a team with Jaromir Jagr can go in the Spring.


There's over a month left before the NHL trade deadline. That should be enough time for the organization to gauge if they're good enough or need a necessary change to improve.

Now all they have to do is come away with an actual win against a Western opponent tomorrow in Edmonton. Will it happen?

Soft goals, bad penalties cost Rangers

In a game that started out with great physical play and featured some stingey defense, the Rangers were on the wrong side of a 3-0 shutout. Steve Valiquette let in a soft goal from the goal line, much like Henrik Lundqvist let in last night in Calgary, early on in the second period. Daniel Sedin added a two on one goal with brother Henrik that just squeezed through Valiquette's legs, and then Jason Jaffrey added a goal off of a terrible Marek Malik penalty at the end of the third period.

Tom Renney's return to Vancouver was not a pleasant one, even though the Rangers looked like the better team throughout much of the game. Blair Betts and Martin Straka both played fantastic games, but like the rest of the team, they didn't find the back of the net. The closest the Rangers came to a goal was a left post hit by Jaromir Jagr. Petr Prucha had some good opportunities, as did Marcel Hossa. Ryan Callahan was almost non-existant on the second line, and Sean Avery wasn't up to any of his usual antics.

Steve Valiquette is a capable backup, but tonight he showed some flaws. It's hard to win games when you don't score though, so even if the two softies that he let in were taken away, the Rangers still would have lost the game.

Dan Girardi took a few stitches on his left cheek after catching a Ryan Kesler stick to the face, but was right back on the ice in the third period.

It's hard to imagine Marek Malik ending the season in a Rangers jersey. The last two nights he has made some boneheaded plays, and he can't use the excuse of the Madison Square Garden crowd's booing is throwing him off. He had a nice rush up the ice, got a good shot off, but his lazy penalty sunk the Rangers at the end of the game. His constant turnovers and inability to keep up with the opposition's fowards without grabbing, tripping or hooking needs to either be addressed, or just ship him out. I have a hard time believing Thomas Pock couldn't be doing the same thing Malik is doing, at a fraction of the salary.

The Rangers are off tomorrow to travel to Edmonton. Saturday night's game will be at 10 pm again. The Oilers are no pushover either, and the Rangers need to come away with two points so that this whole western Canada trip isn't a total loss. Hopefully Brendan Shanahan will be healthy and back in the lineup. Henrik Lundqvist will be back in the cage and we should see some line flopping. Ryan Callahan might need a stint down in Hartford to regain some confidence and the scoring touch that everyone knows he has.

I'll check in with any news if it breaks tomorrow. If not, catch everyone on Saturday.

Rangers travel to Vancouver looking to rebound (Update - 10:45)

-- In-game update -- Man, I was wrong again. Prucha is in fact in, but not playing on the second line. Ryan Callahan has been moved up to play with Chris Drury and Sean Avery, and Prucha is playing with Marcel Hossa and Brandon Dubinsky. After a period of scoreless play, and Prucha playing well so far, Tom Renney may still make the switch. Callahan is due, as he hasn't scored since the first game of the season. We'll see how the rest of the game pans out, but period one was pretty physical, having Ryan Hollweg dropping the gloves a mere four seconds in. I may check in again after the second, if not, talk to you tomorrow.

- - Update - - 9:00 - - Brendan Shanahan is out for tonight's game, being replaced on the second line by Petr Prucha. Supposedly he experienced some back and neck stiffness throughout last night's game, and tonight he could barely look around without turning his whole body. Valiquette is still in, and by the looks of it, Malik is too.

Disappointing loss last night by the Rangers as the took on the Flames. One of those rare, bad goals that Henrik Lundqvist let in came back to bite the Rangers as Calgary beat them 4-3. Chris Drury had another stellar night in the faceoff circle, the offense looked like it was coming together and the defense was mediocre, but really should have been better. Just one of those games that you have to chalk up to the other goaltender being better and had Miika Kirposoff not been on his A game last night, the Rangers would have left with the two points.

Tonight's game gets no easier for the Rangers as they move on to Vancouver to take on the Canucks. Roberto Luongo will be knocking away Rangers' shots for the 'Nucks, while Stephen Valiquette gets the nod for the Rangers. Hopefully this forces the Rangers to step up on defense and not do so much running around. Vancouver isn't as quick as Calgary, but they have their fair share of offensive power up and down the lineup. Marek Malik looked off his game last night again, further fueling speculation that he is being shopped as the trade deadline looms closer.

I have to admit a mistake also, as last night I was certain Petr Prucha would be back in the lineup. He was not, Marcel Hossa was, and anyone who read last night collectively called me a liar. It echoed all the way up the Hudson. Tonight, I will say that he is likely to be in, but I make no guarentees. That's just to save myself should he not play. Hopefully I did not lose too many faithful fans with this blunder.

Tonight's game is a late one for us East Coasters. Turn on MSG at 10 to catch the game, and I will check in again tomorrow.

Flames snap Ranger three-game win streak

The Rangers had been feeling good about themselves after finishing 2007 with a hard fought 4-3 overtime win last Sunday on home ice.

But they couldn't keep it going in the first of a challenging three-game Western Canada road swing- falling to Mike Keenan's Flames 4-3 last night at The Saddledome.

They never led as Hart candidate Jarome Iginla scored twice including a third period tally off a turnover and inept defensive coverage by every Ranger on the ice to restore a two-goal lead.

In perhaps his best game of the season, rookie pivot Brandon Dubinsky was rewarded for some hard work when he completed a give-and-go with Sean Avery to cut the deficit to 3-2 with six and change left.

But a really odd play broke the Rangers' backs. Off a faceoff, Martin Straka broke free from two Flames and was nearly in on Miikka Kiprusoff but lost control before trying a back pass to Michal Rozsival which didn't work as the defenseman who struggled all night wasn't set.

Instead, a hustling Kristian Huselius went the other way off the costly turnover and fooled Henrik Lundqvist with a tricky shot from an extreme angle down near the left boards.

The 25 year-old netminder was apparently expecting a centering pass and caught napping as he wasn't all the way against the post which allowed the puck to go in.

Just brutal. Totally inexcusable for Lundqvist who's been less than stellar for about a month now. Maybe it's the thoughts of a long-term extension which could be happening any day now.

The latest bad goal really hurt because leading finisher Brendan Shanahan tallied with 14 seconds to go. But it would be too little too late as Jaromir Jagr couldn't get a shot off as time expired.

This was a frustrating defeat because Kiprusoff (29 saves- many timely) totally outplayed Lundqvist. Given some of the quality chances the Rangers generated for the final 22-23 minutes, they easily could've been in overtime with at least a valuable point with another up for grabs.

Kiprusoff was that good IMO. He really was sharp and played like the former Vezina winner he is which bodes well for the Flames, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 and really playing better hockey.

The other frustrating aspect of this loss was that once again, the Blueshirts came away without a win against a Western Conference opponent. I think that's now 0-5-1 against the West.

That's why they continue to trail the first place Devils (now up by three) who had a nice home win (3-2) over the Panthers where their franchise goalie Martin Brodeur shined in making 31 saves to allow Brian Gionta's five-on-three power play tally to hold up.

Eventually, the Rangers need to break through and it's not going to be any easier tonight at Vancouver against Roberto Luongo.


One other note from last night's action: Ilya Kovalchuk scored his league-leading 33rd and assisted on three other Atlanta goals including a Marian Hossa winner during a 5-4 OT win at Carolina.

Kovalchuk has been amazing this season. At the halfway mark, the exciting Russian sniper has 33 goals and 24 helpers for 57 points.

If he gets them into the postseason, he should win the Hart.


If you missed the highlights, be sure to go to yahoo and check out his awesome end-to-end PPG.


Also, John Buccigross appeared on our New York Hockey Report show last night. I'll link up the archive a little later. Fyi...actually, the link for the podcast appears at the top corner of the left part of our page. So you can just click on the NYHR link with our cool logo!

Many topics were covered including the very successful outdoor Winter Classic which drew the best network TV rating since Wayne Gretzky's final game. Plus plenty of league stuff as we talked about surprises and the seasons of Kovalchuk and the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom.


Be sure to tune in for our next show. It's usually every Wednesday between 9 and 10 over at blogtalk radio.


I need to get going now. See ya'll later.

Rangers look for fourth straight against Calgary

The Rangers will be making their first trip into Calgary tonight in nearly five years to take on the Flames at 9 pm on MSG2. The Flames are an explosive team who are led by Mike Keenan, winner of the 1994 Stanley Cup with the Rangers.

Henrik Lundqvist will be back in the net against Jarome Iginla and the rest of the Flames. Petr Prucha will also return to the lineup, saying his sore wrist is good enough to shoot again. One player that I'm pretty excited to see for myself is Dion Phaneuf. He's a big, tough, physical defenseman who loves to play the body. He can also chip in a few points each game, making him a great all around player. He is young and looking for a multi-year deal, and rightfully so.

Newfound chemistry with the first and second lines will undoubtedly become the key element in the Rangers winning tonight's game. They'll have to be sound defensively and Lundqvist will have to be on his toes. Should be a good one tonight.

Lundqvist was in the news this morning as well. Him and Glen Sather are supposedly pretty close to hammering out a new contract, which they have until July 1 to come up with before Lundqvist obtains the restricted free agent tag. If no deal is reached before then, any team can steal him away with an offer sheet. Like we saw with Dustin Penner and Tomas Vanek over this past summer, this proves to be incredibly costly. The Rangers not only don't want to compete with a team offering an obscene amount of money, they don't want to lose out on him either. Many people around the league are confident there are just some t's to cross and i's to dot before the deal gets done.

Enjoy the game, back tomorrow before the Vancouver game.

Crosby and Pens take Classic in shootout

It came down to the game's most electricifying player Sidney Crosby against one of the better young netminders this game has to offer in Ryan Miller. Mono y mono.

With the game on his stick, the best the league has to offer already at just 20 years of age in season three wouldn't allow his team to lose in this well played Hockey Heritage outdoor Winter Classic.

Even with the snow in his eyes, as he calmly carried the puck skating towards Miller, the youngest NHL captain in league history faked left and then pulled to a stop and slipped the puck through the Buffalo goalie's five-hole to send the Penguins to a thrilling 2-1 shootout victory over the home Sabres before a record crowd of 71,217 screaming spectators at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

"Growing up, I played a lot outside," the rating 2006-07 Hart winner explained to the Associated Press about the vintage pond hockey he took part in factoring in on his team's only goal in regulation before deciding it.

"When you see 70,000 people jammed into a stadium to watch
hockey, it's a good sign. The atmosphere and environment, I don't think you can
beat that."

Truer words couldn't be said about this extraordinary event- the second for the league since 2003 when the Canadiens defeated the Oilers in Edmonton. It was the first such NHL outdoor event in the United States.

"I like facing Sidney. I really want to stop him, obviously," the losing netminder said after keeping his team afloat with a strong third in stopping all 12 Pens' shots to earn his team a point. "I thought I made a good play to stay with him. I didn't think he made quite the play he wanted, but it worked out for him."

Truthfully, there were no losers on this special day in upstate New York.

"I'd love to do it again. I thought it was awesome," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff pointed out. "It was good for the game. It may not be the best hockey game because of the situation, because of the weather, because of the snow, but the atmosphere was incredible.

"The hell with the cynics."

Even league commish Gary Bettman came to the same conclusion despite not your ideal conditions. But it sure was fun to watch adding an extra element which fans could appreciate.

"Based on the response, on our ability to execute, and the inquiries we're getting from other clubs for similar activities, this obviously is something we're going to look at again," a pleased Bettman said afterwards.

For former Sabre backup Ty Conklin, it was fitting that he was the winning netminder since the journeyman also took part in the first one when his Oilers fell to the Habs 4-3 before 57,167 on Nov.22, 2003.

The 31 year-old from Anchorage Alaska was very strong in making 36 saves including turning aside 13 of 14 in a busy second to keep the Pens afloat.

In two straight starts against his former team, Conklin allowed only one goal to lead Pittsburgh to a home-and-home sweep. Not too shabby. Plus his glove save on Maxim Afinogenov's backhand deke in Round Three of the shootout was awesome giving the stage to Sid the Kid to work his magic.

You have to give kudos to all the hard work which was done in preparing the facility, especially keeping the ice playable through wintry conditions.

Here are our three stars:

3rd Star-Brian Campbell (goal, 3 SOG in 24:50 TOI)
2nd Star-Ty Conklin (36 saves)
1st Star-Sidney Crosby (assist and SO winner)

Rangers click, keep rolling

I'm a bit late, as it was a pretty busy weekend, but it was a good weekend to be a Ranger fan. Derek has great wrapups if you scroll down some, so I won't go into any of that. It's great to see Jaromir Jagr, Petr Prucha and Chris Drury starting to get going though. The fourth line chipping in with a little offense is good to see too. Brendan Shanahan continues to be everything you expect from a veteran leader and the defense is looking strong. Henrik Lundqvist continues to rebound nicely from his mediocre streakd where he showed signs of being less than a goaltending god and chemistry is looking much better with each line.

All good things to see. Another welcome read that I saw this morning is that everyone's favorite defenseman, Marek Malik, has said that he is uncomfortable playing at Madison Square Garden, leading Glen Sather into looking into a trade. Even if it is just a salary dump and we get a couple of prospects, I would be ok with it. Jason Strudwick could step back into the lineup and we could call up Ivan Baranka, David Liffiton or Tom Renney's favorite Thomas Pock. or we could bring back another veteran defender in the trade, preferably an unrestricted free agent. We'll see.

The Rangers take on the Calgary Flames tomorrow, Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. I'll be around for those games, and will break any news as it comes.

Happy 2008 to everyone.

New Year's Day Hockey Heritage Classic Liveblog Period 2: Pens-Sabres

2:19 PM: They're through 20 minutes at the revamped Ralph Wilson Stadium for the second NHL Hockey Heritage Outdoor Classic between the host Sabres and Penguins.

The Pens are out in front on a Colby Armstrong tally on the game's opening shift setup from who else but the game's best player Sidney Crosby just 21 seconds in.

It looks like the lake effect snow is all but done as kids get their chance to play pond hockey between stanzas. How cool is that? Probably something they won't ever forget.

The atmosphere is terrific with over 73,000 on hand to enjoy the festivities.

The biggest problem is that with snow comes delays. There were at least four different instances where they had to stop the game to repair chunks of ice. So maybe the first classic game in Edmonton five years ago against Montreal was better because it didn't drag.

Still, it's fun to watch as they prepare for period No.2.

SOG: Pit-11 Buf-9

Neither power play connected in four opportunities.

2:27 PM: The Sabres come out strong as Tim Connolly is denied by Ty Conklin. The center then comes back and sets up Brian Campbell's one-timer which beats their former backup to tie the score.

So two goals in this one both very early in each stanza.

2:31 PM: The action now is end to end which is very fun to watch. The Sabres were coming on at the end of the first and now are starting to dictate the play as Conklin stops another shot from 40 feet out.

2:33 PM: The Sabres nearly connect on an odd-man rush but the puck is centered past a trailer. Brooks Orpik nails a Sabre from behind into the boards. Man. That had to sting. It could've been a boarding call IMO.




Conklin fights off another Campbell try. The Buffalo offensive blueliner is flying out there now and creating lots of chances for his teammates.





They go to the first break and it's a bit of role reversal so far.




SOG: Pit-0 Buf-6




2:37 PM: Campbell again jumps into a rush and Connolly nearly sets him up. It seems like the ice is better now. Not as many turnovers. Maybe the players are adjusting. Also, the intermission gave them a chance to prepare it more.

Campbell hits Malone. This is a much better period to watch. Lots happening.

10:00 remaining


2:40 PM: The period is flying by unlike the first which saw many stoppages including a few delays. There haven't been any penalties either which certainly has helped for any diehard puck fan to enjoy the action.


It's been well played.


Still tied at one apiece as they hit a break with under 10:00 left.



2:43 PM: As they return with the zamboni out at the halfway point, Darren Pang is talking to Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien who wants his team to be physical. They certainly need to compete better because it's been all Buffalo this stanza.


SOG: Pit-0 Buf-11

9:10 remaining


Only the netminding of Conklin has kept it tied as they showed a nice feature of Ryan Miller who took part in one of these when he led his college Michigan State to a 3-3 tie against rival Michigan back in 2001 with over 75,000 on hand at Spartan Stadium.

2:48 PM: Play continues and after a near connection from Buffalo, the Pens apply their first pressure of the period with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin teamed up. But still they aren't able to get through a stingy Sabre D who hasn't permitted a shot in the first 12:46 of the second as they touch up for icing.


2:50 PM: Thomas Vanek comes out off a faceoff but has a shot blocked. Then Conklin watches a Vanek one-timer from the high slot go off the crossbar.


6:35 remaining

2:52 PM: Now Connolly works a give and go with Ales Kotalik as his shot whistles wide. Still no shots for the Pens.

Fans aren't pleased that there was no interference call on the Pens. It appears the refs have decided to let them play as opposed to the four minors called in period No.1. Vanek made a nice move pulling up but defenseman Toni Lydman's shot was wide.

The Pens finally get a great opportunity but Sergei Gonchar's shot in the slot misses.

3:35 to go

Chances are 13-10 Buffalo despite no SOG for the Pens this period which tells you how well they came out. But really, the Sabres should be ahead by now. Only a couple of posts and Conklin has kept this thing tied.

2:10 left in a period which is flying by

Another Pen shot sails high and wide. Can they get a shot before this period ends? They're finally starting to get some attack time.

80 seconds remaining

With under 40 ticks left, the Pens generate a cycle but the Sabres intercept the puck and clear the zone. It appears they're going to finish the period without a shot as another try narrowly misses.

Time winds down as the buzzer sounds with the game still knotted at one.

Believe it or not, they gave the Pens credit for two shots. One by rookie Tyler Kennedy and the other by I couldn't figure out. It looked like neither even touched Miller. They were very generous. Might have something to do with the New Year.

Second Period scoring: 1:25 Brian Campbell 4 (Tim Connolly, Daniel Paille)

SOG: Pit-2 Buf-14

No penalties

SOG thru 2: Pit-13 Buf-23

Power Plays: Pit-0-for-3 Buf-0-for-1

We'll be continuing coverage over at my HB blog. I'll have a wrap up later on this fun filled day.