How in the world did they pass on Cam Fowler? I can't believe he fell like a rock. It was all setting up to be a homerun. Imagine a blueline with Staal, Del Zotto, Fowler, McDonagh and Girardi (assuming re-signed). Heck. They could've traded the pick down and taken Tarashenko or Kuznetsov.
Instead, like a pile of bricks that is the Ranger franchise, they select Dylan McIlrath?!?!?!?!?! I could care less how tough he is. I don't care about his 19 fights. When you get a chance to take a Niedermayer-type who now oddly enough gets his Ducks jersey from him at the podium as No.12 overall, you take him! There was the familiar Pierre McGuire going ga ga over poor Fowler for sliding and praising the Ducks while ripping our loser team and other GMs who obviously forgot to take their med or had way too much scotch. I am flabbergasted.
Another example of NYRFail. Hence my tweet.
The magnitude of this royal suckage is too much. Arrrrrgh.
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 rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
RIP 2009-10 New York Rangers
I really don't know what to say. So, this is going to be very random. If you were one of those fans that got sucked in, I really feel for ya. All year, the Rangers proved they weren't good enough to be taken seriously. Too bad someone forgot to inform the PR MSG staff which continues to pepper each frustrated loyal customer with the same redundant calls about playoff tickets. Maybe if they didn't cost an astronomical number (68 for cheapies), they might get at least better returns for a fanbase that has been royally screwed more than I can categorically describe.
Just remember this. The lockout was a fraud just as Bettman is along with Campbell and that lame Bill Daly. Losers like James Dolan do not deserve the bailout they got. Perhaps it's unfair to label all owners bad guys because some still have a heart and don't overcharge or tack on cheesy surcharges to cash in even more on a mediocre product. Hence our nickname for MSG of Mediocre Square Garden because that's what it's become under the misleadership of Jazzy Jim. How does he put the Knicks on MSG over a must win for the Rangers at Buffalo tonight? Can anybody please explain that? Screw the damn ratings for NYK-Celts because nobody really gives a damn until July 1 for Le Fraud anyway!
Aside from that, well let's just say the Rangers lived up to that MSG-+/FSNY listing by remembering who they were. A flawed roster that's not good enough to seriously compete. Maybe if they'd followed up Brandon Prust's latest goal instead of falling apart at the seams in allowing the Sabres to score five of the last six in a crushing 5-2 defeat that all but seals their fate on the golf course. At least it won't be shared with Tiger Woods. Honestly and brutally, John Tortorella deserves to share a hole with Tiger after tonight's fiasco. I still cannot believe he had the audacity to pull our bread and butter Henrik Lundqvist in a must win scenario. How ridiculous can he be? I had a few choice words for him on Twitter after a couple of glasses of red wine. Let's just leave it at that.
The man just has to go. And by that, I mean get lost! GTFO! Don't even show behind the bench for tomorrow's meaningless tilt versus Toronto. Save me the talk that "they're still alive" and can win out sweeping the hated Flyers. Uh. Hell-o McFly!!!!! Anybody home?1?1?!?!?!! This coach is a cancer. I wanted him here along with many others but let's be real. He royally sucks! I admit that I was wrong. Tonight sealed it. Okay. So, you want to say Henrik had no shot on that Derek Roy laser from a mad angle with Michal Rozsival in the box for another new NHL special? Fine. That was a wicked shot. End of story. But the second? Even if Rozy dropped down to try to block Drew Stafford's right circle shot that went past our goalie, he has to stop that. End of discussion.
It's not like our guys quit. They bounced back when P.A. Parenteau rebounded one home on another bogus call this time on a cheesy delay of game that wasn't. Anyone could see that the clear grazed the glass first. NHL officials need their eyes checked. This is what dumbing down the game has resulted in. Cruddy calls which aren't penalties. Not what you want to see in late May and June. Getting back to the action, at 2-2, the Rangers were already in the wrong kind of game against a lowscoring Sabre team that can expose you if your D sucks. They pinch theirs and when you boast Tyler Myers, that can spell trouble. We can only dream of boasting a defenseman as good as this big freshman already is. Apologies to Marc Staal, who's finishing Year 3 up strong but he's not in the same stratosphere as Myers, who looks to be a better righty version of Zdeno Chara. How did he fall to 12 again in '08? Mark it down. If Buffalo goes far this Spring, Myers will be a huge factor. He's probably the best overall blueliner in the conference not named Chara or Chris Pronger. And I'd rather have the 20 year-old from Katy, Texas.
One of the things we saw too much of was our D backing in. Part of it was the product of sloppy turnovers at the blueline and in the neutral zone. A no no against a polished Buffalo club who utilizes their team speed and transition to pounce in similar fashion to the Devils. Even minus leading point getter Tim Connolly and dangerous finisher Thomas Vanek, the Western New York hosts came at the Blueshirts in waves. Keep in mind they also were minus royal pain in the ass Patrick Kaleta, who's killed us this year. While it's true there was no Sean Avery on our side, Ryan Callahan returned making call-up Dale Weise a scratch. Unfortunately, Cally wasn't much of a factor aside from a borderline hit on Myers that drew the ire of Derek Roy.
Not many Rangers were where they needed to be. In fact, aside from the fourth line of Prust, Artem Anisimov and Jody Shelley, there were only a handful who measured up. That can't happen when you essentially need to run the table. Especially when your top two have off nights. We'll excuse Lundqvist, who after permitting Jochen Hecht's halitzer thru a Myers screen was sent packing for the rest of the night with his team trailing by a goal. Let me repeat. ONE GOAL! This is the thinking of a coach who never takes responsibility. He pulled this same stunt a while back opting for Alex Auld in a loss to the Devils. Granted. He permitted four while under the same duress, leading to our normally unflappable goalie tossing a towel given to him. Judging from the look on his face tonight, the steam was hotter than lava. Who could fault a guy that's actually put together one of his best seasons despite being handed the worst roster possible by the teflon smoking gun who hides better than Osama?
It's hard to put into words what I was feeling after Lundqvist's night ended with still 34:43 left and his team down one stinking goal. Even if you want to argue that they responded better by sustaining pressure after Hecht's marker with Ryan Miller flat out robbing Marian Gaborik with an amazing reflect stick save off a perfect set up, under no circumstances can you ever take out your best player in such a pivotal game. It's without a doubt the dumbest, most assinine move we've seen. Without Henrik, this is the worst team in hockey.
Unfortunately, their true colors showed in Game 79 against a quality club that is a threat in its first postseason in three years. The last one we're all too familiar with with Chris Drury rescuing the Sabres in a superb Eastern Conference Semifinal that was the Rangers' best shot in the Jagr/Renney Era. As this frustrating season slips away and that final sequence is replayed in our heads becoming part of Ranger lore like a rear view mirror of '94, it becomes more evident that what we said at that time rings true. You just don't get many cracks at it. Especially under the gross mismanagement of Jazzy Jim with Savior having more lives than a black cat.
This is what being a Ranger fan is. Where household names like Toni Lydman fire the final nail in the coffin as our franchise netminder sits helplessly on the bench with his mind wandering aimlessly at how clueless Tortorella really is. When the 2009-10 grave is put to rest, it should read:
RIP 2009-10 New York Rangers
"A team which teased fans whose fate was sealed by a mindless coach who chose a journeyman goalie over his best player."
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sound The Alarms
Apparently, the New York Rangers forgot to set the alarm clock. I warned that the Islanders would be hell bent on exacting revenge for last week's no-show. They've not even bothered to show. It's 2-0 thus far with undisciplined play- I mean you Wade "Stinking" Redden! Unsteady netminding. Yep. Henrik Lundqvist somehow gave up a clunker to Blake Comeau after replays showed that he probably should've had Mark Streit's power play goal. No push back. Lost battles. It's just embarrassing. Ranger Nation is disgraced by this.
Again, why should we have expected anything less from these jokers? FRAUDS!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Did someone say important?
FIFTEEN. That's the total number of shots the Rangers have gotten on Tuukka Rask through two periods in the "biggest game of the season versus Boston. In a game they trail 1-zip after turning immortal Andrew Ference into Gretzky, that included a four-minute power play that had Zdeno Chara off for an errant stick on countryman Marian Gaborik. How many shots do you think they got? Zero.
Embarrassing. Humiliating. Disgraceful. Lackluster. Passionless. Pointless. That's how to describe the joke Ranger hockey has become. Olli Jokinen. You were acquired to boost our offense. Not to demonstrate why you're on your fourth team in less than two years. That penalty was exactly what Pierre McGuire termed, "Selfish." At least Chris Higgins tried.
In a game where Henrik Lundqvist has given you every chance stoning Daniel Paille on a penalty shot, they've come up with nothing. Why is it going to change in the third? This is what they are.
Embarrassing. Humiliating. Disgraceful. Lackluster. Passionless. Pointless. That's how to describe the joke Ranger hockey has become. Olli Jokinen. You were acquired to boost our offense. Not to demonstrate why you're on your fourth team in less than two years. That penalty was exactly what Pierre McGuire termed, "Selfish." At least Chris Higgins tried.
In a game where Henrik Lundqvist has given you every chance stoning Daniel Paille on a penalty shot, they've come up with nothing. Why is it going to change in the third? This is what they are.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Pic of Day: It's A Rozsival PPG
Yesterday's big 3-1 home win over the Flyers was one of the best games this version of the Rangers has played. Their shortcomings have been well documented. For once at least, the guys wearing the Blueshirt logo wore the jersey with pride, outplaying a bitter rival by a country mile. While much of the focus centered around the kinda game Sean Avery had following a seat in the press box, John Tortorella's club stood up to the Broad Street Bullies highlighted by Brandon Dubinsky KO-ing Philly captain Mike Richards. That in itself was something to behold as Richards certainly is honorable. Thanks to the tutelage from former enforcer Colton Orr, Dubi has come a long way.
Even if we didn't go having sold the game a while back, it was nice to see our guys winning every battle while limiting the Flyers to just 18 shots. Yes, they actually made Henrik Lundqvist's day easier with him only required to come up with a couple of large stops including a stone job on Jersey kid James Van Riemsdyk after a minor miracle took place.
Michal Rozsival scored a power play goal. No. Jaromir Jagr didn't return from Russia. Not long ago, it wasn't uncommon to see Rozy contribute offensively using his big one-timer. For as miserable as he was the first three months, the elder statesman has steadied since. He's been more involved in all facets with the familiar nice outlets springing teammates and even more engaged defensively. Granted. He's still prone to mistakes like Atlanta's second goal the other night. However, if you're not judging with bias, the Czech's played with more purpose. On one shift Sunday, he shoved Flyer clown Scott Hartnell down repeatedly. Something that's been happening more frequently. It was nice to see him get rewarded offensively, ripping an Erik Christensen feed off the bar and in. So, without even more discussion since I never got around to a recap, here's the rare sight that saw Rozy congratulated by teammates:
While you let that sink in, a couple of strong quotes from the soft spoken '05-06 mainstay:
Say what you will about his contract which is our GM's fault but the guy logs important minutes on our blueline without fanfare while being a good teammate. Maybe I'm more forgiving than most but I seem to recall the Rangers taking a waiver on the former Pen post-lockout and he evolved into one of our more valuable players. When push comes to shove, he and former whipping boy Marek Malik weren't that bad. I'd much rather have Big Bird than main culprit Wade Redden. None of this justifies Rozsival's salary ($5 M) which the club is still on the books another two years. The main issue aside from cost is that he's asked to be a top 2-3. If our D was stronger, Rozy as a 4-5 would be much better, speaking to the real problem. Marc Staal is by far the team's best with Dan Girardi and Rozsival taking turns as the second. For a change, all three had strong games with DG chipping in a helper and a few blocked shots. Until rookie Mike Del Zotto matures, it's a work in progress. Whether Girardi's a part of it all depends on what the club chooses to do with upcoming RFA.
One can't illustrate how much Tortorella leans on the top four due to Redden and Matt Gilroy's struggles. Never has a bottom pair more negatively impacted a team's defense. Both are soft. We can no longer give Hobey a free pass. He's a few years older than Del Zotto. If he doesn't show improvement next year, then the $1.659 M they're paying him is a colossal failure that's kept Corey Potter and Bobby Sanguinetti buried in Hartford. Both are cheaper and deserve a chance. Especially Potter, who's done nothing wrong whenever recalled the past year-plus. Furthermore, what was the point of signing Ilkka Heikkinen if he's not going to play? Simply amazing.
I didn't plan to turn this into a rant about our entire D but it just manifested itself. Kudos to Rozy for sticking with it!
Even if we didn't go having sold the game a while back, it was nice to see our guys winning every battle while limiting the Flyers to just 18 shots. Yes, they actually made Henrik Lundqvist's day easier with him only required to come up with a couple of large stops including a stone job on Jersey kid James Van Riemsdyk after a minor miracle took place.
Michal Rozsival scored a power play goal. No. Jaromir Jagr didn't return from Russia. Not long ago, it wasn't uncommon to see Rozy contribute offensively using his big one-timer. For as miserable as he was the first three months, the elder statesman has steadied since. He's been more involved in all facets with the familiar nice outlets springing teammates and even more engaged defensively. Granted. He's still prone to mistakes like Atlanta's second goal the other night. However, if you're not judging with bias, the Czech's played with more purpose. On one shift Sunday, he shoved Flyer clown Scott Hartnell down repeatedly. Something that's been happening more frequently. It was nice to see him get rewarded offensively, ripping an Erik Christensen feed off the bar and in. So, without even more discussion since I never got around to a recap, here's the rare sight that saw Rozy congratulated by teammates:
While you let that sink in, a couple of strong quotes from the soft spoken '05-06 mainstay:
"It’s a great feeling to contribute offensively. It’s not something I’ve done so much this year, but I felt that I was open and I got a great pass from Christensen and I just shot it. The main thing is that there was a great screen in front of the net.”
Say what you will about his contract which is our GM's fault but the guy logs important minutes on our blueline without fanfare while being a good teammate. Maybe I'm more forgiving than most but I seem to recall the Rangers taking a waiver on the former Pen post-lockout and he evolved into one of our more valuable players. When push comes to shove, he and former whipping boy Marek Malik weren't that bad. I'd much rather have Big Bird than main culprit Wade Redden. None of this justifies Rozsival's salary ($5 M) which the club is still on the books another two years. The main issue aside from cost is that he's asked to be a top 2-3. If our D was stronger, Rozy as a 4-5 would be much better, speaking to the real problem. Marc Staal is by far the team's best with Dan Girardi and Rozsival taking turns as the second. For a change, all three had strong games with DG chipping in a helper and a few blocked shots. Until rookie Mike Del Zotto matures, it's a work in progress. Whether Girardi's a part of it all depends on what the club chooses to do with upcoming RFA.
One can't illustrate how much Tortorella leans on the top four due to Redden and Matt Gilroy's struggles. Never has a bottom pair more negatively impacted a team's defense. Both are soft. We can no longer give Hobey a free pass. He's a few years older than Del Zotto. If he doesn't show improvement next year, then the $1.659 M they're paying him is a colossal failure that's kept Corey Potter and Bobby Sanguinetti buried in Hartford. Both are cheaper and deserve a chance. Especially Potter, who's done nothing wrong whenever recalled the past year-plus. Furthermore, what was the point of signing Ilkka Heikkinen if he's not going to play? Simply amazing.
I didn't plan to turn this into a rant about our entire D but it just manifested itself. Kudos to Rozy for sticking with it!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
For the love of sanity
That second period by our guys was one of the most passionless, careless, dismal displays. If there were a crash course in Hockey 101 on How Not To Play Hockey, the Rangers' lack there of performance would be primary example No.1.
To not even bother competing against one of your biggest rivals is a writhing indictment of the mismatched soft as Carvel/Hostess roster the GM (General Moron) put together. I'm disgraced, humiliated and thoroughly embarrassed to root for this team.
End of rant.
To not even bother competing against one of your biggest rivals is a writhing indictment of the mismatched soft as Carvel/Hostess roster the GM (General Moron) put together. I'm disgraced, humiliated and thoroughly embarrassed to root for this team.
End of rant.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Oh The Pain
Joe Benigno says it a lot when it comes to his teams (Mets, Jets, Knicks and Rangers) and it certainly applies to the Rangers. Not even halfway through the first trailing 1-zip at Ottawa and already I miss the Olympics badly. Well, they sure have influenced a lot of sarcastic doom and gloom over on Twitter. One period of Ranger hockey. What the Booshirts do to their own fans:
Please Sather trade Joey to WFAN where they know nothing RT @BattleOfNewYork: stfu Michelemouth yeah cause they actually care about WINNING
take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowd
@nicolewesttt yes everything we're not RT @nicolewesttt the Sens are good passers. really good. SCARY good
Hey, Rangers, hit someone!
'but he makes good trades' .. 'but look what he did with Edmonton' .. 'but ALMOST playoffs is better than nothing' = #NYR decade of failure
If the gold medal game created any new hockey fans, this Ranger/Senator game is changing their minds back.
Wait...Redden and Gilroy on the PP...guess Torts didn't get the "How to Score on us Shorthanded" memo...
this is perfect RT @eddiekane150 I really am not looking forward to tomorrow and whatever Sather does. Whatever it is it will be stupid.
@BattleOfNewYork for its one, two, three strikes, you're out at the old ball game, baseball season cant get here soon enough
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