yo Ranger fans I caught the 3rd period of this game today, and I just wanted to comment on a few things that impressed me with New York today. Its a pretty hard place to play at the Bell Centre the habs are a tough team to take 2pts from in there, their fans are always loud in there, I thought the rangers did a good job takin away that home ice advantage. Souray's cannon is almost impossible to stop that puck, he got a good bounce on that, it came right back n Souray just tee'd it up , that shot will beat about 29 outta 30 NHL goalies everytime. After that souray goal tied it at 3 their fans back into it, NYR came right back n i just wanted to kinda describe that Cullen GWG n that play that Shanahan made on that.
the Ranger player iced that, some fans n media think that icing calls should be waved off cause off injuries that result from those chases wit players breaking ankles or awkward hits into the boards, the no-touch icing rule, on that play Shanhan made that goal was directly a result of Shannys hussle and vision on out there. It might be a small underated play n go un-noticed by the casual hockey fan , but that was a huge play for Shanny to create that all by himself in a tied game in a 3-3 tie in a hostile building to play to have that composure man, on the road against a team your chasing in the standings... to be cruising down there, then beat the hab player to the puck, then on his backhand droping a soft beauty behind the back no look pass right on Cullens tape who knew he' would be there. Thats a deadly hard pass to make, Shanny new exactly where the Hab player was, and he allready knew cullen would be trailing on the play, Shannys awareness n timing was perfect man, he threaded the needle, that puck coulda easily bounced off that MTL players skate n gone into the corner, nice shot by matt cullen shortside shelf (who I got in my fantasy pool btw. so im happy cullen got 2 goals only cullens 9th goal on the year tho, he had 24 last year, his career high I think ) that play was all #14 though.
After Shannys fight with Brashear last week, he showed that veteran leadership that the Rangers didnt have last year. donald brashear is a chump, he has no honour anymore, during the lockout he was pumbling players in a senior hockey league in Quebec, he was gooning players that were middle n light weights, absolute joke of a player, some day Brash is gonna go after a player like derek Boogaard in Minnesota n just get it fed to him, brash has no class, players say theres no class n the league, how we get that back, when Brashear and Georges Laraque went toe-to-toe Laraque didnt fight brash often, they didnt sqaure off to much, but when they did Big Georges got the best of him. I got a new respect level about Shanahan now after that fight, to go have one of your best players on the team go after this chicken **** player who took a cheap shot on your most skilled forward, and to have your leading goal scorer on your team to step up like that n drop the gloves to defend your teammate, after that fight Shanny said in a interview postgame, that he directly challenged brashear, and not for colton orr to back him up if anyone tried to beef anyone out there, Brashear didnt instigate it, Shanny went looking for brasher. Last season in detroit Shanny was maybe thier best fighter on that club, and he didnt drop the mittens that often, he steps up when he needs to though, n thats the type of leader #14 is.... colton Orr did crosscheck Alexander Ovechkin in the head, that game, that was uncalled for n deserved that suspension man, but it sends that message that you need, you dont go after other teams star players, without having to respond man, its the unwritten rule, some players say that rule isnt there anymore, and if the NHL takes out the instigator rule it can let players decide matters for themself man, Shanny showed alota balls last week, goin after brash, n getting a few nice uppercuts in, Shanny even said in the interview postgame, he isnt as much of a scrapper as he was in his in his earlier days, n that shows how valuable he is, he didnt have to go after brash, but he stood up for his teammate, n that showed alota heart.
Last season if you stopped Jagrs line you would beat NYR, in the playoffs against jersey, NJ targeted Jagr n eventually Jagr had to leave the series with his wonkey shoulder. This is why I think that New York has a legit chance to go 1 or 2 rounds deep this year. Shanny didnt look anything like how he is playing now for your guys team in the playoffs against the Oilers last season.
He was invisible almost at times in games he was settling for point shots n wasent getting his deadly 1-timer away, I mean Shanny always had his great slap shot, he looked almost disinterested in some games. Shanahan wasent backchecking, not blocking shots, not hitting, or making plays, maybe the biggest thing though he wasent skating like he was last year in the playoffs like he is this year... the puck was dying with him, this season he's doing almost Everything except play goalteneder, for the Rangers this year, his impact has been huge, as u Rangers fans know by now how valuable he is to your guys' team.
Jagr wears the C in that dressing room but Shannys the Captain of that team in the players eyes. In the summer I thought Shanny would goto New York and have a good year, I wasent thinking he would go there and dominate, he just didnt seem like that dominant player again. He wasen't washed up or anything, he still had gas in the tank he wasent gonna retire after the lockout by any chance, Shanahan is one of the 7 or 8 players that are on the NHL rules competition comitee I knew he could still play I just never thought he would having sucha great season, Shanahan is having a Hart trophy candidate season man, he has been that good for you guys IMO.
Shanahan is on a PPG pace this year, thought he would still score 30+ but now hes back in the top 10 in goals in the league, and top 25 in Points with 43. If opposing teams send their best Defensive pairs on Jagrs line, it leaves Shanahans line to roam a little. On Cullens GWG today, sheldon souray was standing there, watching it all happen, he didnt read the play n didnt pick up Cullen trailing. Im my opinion thats why with shannys addition to NYR you guys have a good chance to make some noise in the postseason.If 'King Henrik' Lundqvist shuts the door, he's played like one of the top 12 goalies in the leauge last year for the most part, he was a rookie last year, this year he knows hes gotta be the best PK'er when it matters and backbone of his team.
Lookin forward to tuesday folks. You know you all had Islander fans give you **** about the 7 game losing streak. How great would it be to hand them a 7 game streak of there own. Ill be there on tuesday and like thursday I hope to meet some of you guys before hand during warmups. Im out for now all. Lets Go Rangers.
Lookin forward to tuesday folks. You know you all had Islander fans give you **** about the 7 game losing streak. How great would it be to hand them a 7 game streak of there own. Ill be there on tuesday and like thursday I hope to meet some of you guys before hand during warmups. Im out for now all. Lets Go Rangers.
It's true. Troll activity on the GDT increased significantly during that 7-gamer we had, and most of it came from Fishsticks fans. It'd be sooo nice to push them to seven games, while padding our lead over them .
Well I don't know what's up with you and TBBB disagreeing on everything, but the PP did look noticeably more crisp and efficient without Jagr (for reasons astutely noted by the above posters). I don't think anyone is saying the PP is better off without Jagr, but more that the guys need to play as hard with Jagr as they do without him.
He thinks he's a tough guy....since I like Orr....there is no way for him to like me. You know if I like a player he dislikes then he can't like me or some thing like that....
you mean a guy like Shanahan? I think the issue is more or less taking more shots from the point. The strategy typically is not taking shots from the point. Tonight showed good puck movement on at least one PP that resulted in a shot from the point and a goal. Perhaps this team needs to take more shots from the point.
Well Shanny is usually in the slot winding up for a slapper....tonight was one of the few times I saw him in front of the net
I am not too happy about tonights win. We gave the puck up a few, I don't know what the problem is with Jagr and Shanahan as of late. It's a shame to not see them score. Martin Straka is just plain on fire. Hopefully, Matt Cullen plays better after this game.
Good win tonight guys! Next stop, Islanders.
Let's give the Islanders their 7th loss in a row! Let's go Rangers!
Not happy? Gave the puck up a few? Jagr got hurt and has been playing bad...Shanny just can't buy one
MJ pointed to a 'platoon' and one would hope that would include Malik, but, most indications this season have shown that Renney will continue to play him to get him in the groove. This defense is expensive! If Kaspar and Malik are rotated, you're talking about more than $5MM where you may be able to have AHL guys in their place. Eesh.
At this point I see those salaries as sunk costs. If there is no viable trade options available you've really got to put them out of your mind.
It now becomes a game of who adds the most value, on ice, to each game.
I know you get this Fletch, but I just figured I'd make the general statement. It needs to be made, because there is far to much concern going into how much we've got tied up in certain guys. Immediately, there is nothing we can really do about Kaspar or Malik. We can only control who gets what icetime and deal with the other assets we have to maximize the quality we receive on the ice.
What the Rangers need on the first PP is a guy like Graves or a LeClair who just blocks the Goalie and is great at Tips
Good point. Look at Rozivals goal, its all Shanahans in reality.
I don't know if we necessary must get a Holmström type, I wouldn't mind it, but we could also become better at just setting up screens. We often line up at the far post or something instead, leaving the keeper with a clear view.
Nylander at times sets up screens, Shanny does it at times, but we defenitly needs more of it.
I just need to comment on a weekly basis how expensive this defense really is. Can Kaspar be waived and thus have next season's salary come off the books? If so, I wonder if tha's the long-range plan. It doesn't make any sense to do it now, if the cap space isn't needed, but long-term, it's gotta make a lotta sense.
Who needs a guy that leads the team in power play points AND is top 10 in the league in power play points...
Who needs Jagr when the new Putty, Jason Ward, is around? Missing a top-line center? No problem, Ward will fill in. Missing a Jagr? No problem, Ward will fill in.
it would be interesting to see how many goals Nylander and Straka would have sans Jagr. While Jagr's points are high this season, it's interesting to note that he's not 75% the guy he was last season. The biggest difference is that Nylander and Straka are converting a great % of their chances. If they had this kind of conversion rate last season when Jagr was on, both would've easily have had 40 goals and maybe there would've been different results last season. Playing without him a game or two, or a period or two is one thing - anything extended is something that this team would struggle with.
I know you get this Fletch, but I just figured I'd make the general statement. It needs to be made, because there is far to much concern going into how much we've got tied up in certain guys. Immediately, there is nothing we can really do about Kaspar or Malik. We can only control who gets what icetime and deal with the other assets we have to maximize the quality we receive on the ice.
Sunken or not, it is really virtually laughable at just how expensive this defense is. Or, I should say, how expensive for the quality that it presents. Something really needs to be done. There is simply no way that you can enter a year with both Malik & Kasper on the books and in the starting lineup next year. But then again, I said similar things this year, and the defense really has not changed.
I know that Renney has paid lip service to Pock's play and having a rotation, but that is all I think it is. You know that he is not going to play for Rozsival, Ward or Tyutin. I doubt that Renney will ever bench a healthy Malik for Pock. That leaves Kasper & Rachunek. And I am doubting that. I am just hoping against hope that somehow there will be room for both Baranka and Staal, if the latter shows that he can handle it, in camp next year. But I am doubting that too.
I just had to stop in and comment (I would have earlier but my wife was busy loading her new Ipod.) on what a great game I thought Hossa had. He was really good. He didn't score, but man, he held the puck well, seemed to be playing with alot of confidence. Every time he got the puck he did something good with it. Just when you think there's no reason to keep the guy, he goes and does something like this... AND TOTALLY REDEEMS HIMSELF!!!! (Sorry, couldn't resist the dumb and dumber line.)
I agree Hossa must be taking lessons from Jagr on how to protect the puck with your body. I have definitly been impressed with his play the last few games, he is definitly starting to show his value to this team as a solid 3rd line player.As for the game yesterday overall I thought they played well, they came out a little flat in the first maybe 5mins, but quickly picked it up and began playing quality hockey. I'm a little worried about Jagr and his groin issue only because his shoulder was a "minor" injury last season also and we saw what happened with that. If he is out a few games just to make sure he isnt severly hurt then i'll be all for that. Overall good close game, I thought Montreal wouldnt play nearly as well as they did. Now back to the Garden to take on the Isles, hopefully they can keep this streak alive. LETS GO RANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree Hossa must be taking lessons from Jagr on how to protect the puck with your body. I have definitly been impressed with his play the last few games, he is definitly starting to show his value to this team as a solid 3rd line player.
Unfortunately, unless he shows ANY kind of ability to score points, he is about as much a 3rd liner as Ward, Hall or Ortmeyer. Which is to say not at all. Plus, he still cannot string together a group of games that he does not disappear for a stretch of time.
I disagree, a third liner's job is about making the other team not score, not score themselves. If they score, it's just a bonus.
Hossa is a good defensive forward.
Hossa's defensive prowers are one of the more overblown topics around here. What seperated 3rd liners from 4th liners is the ability to be able to contribute with the some scoring. The Rangers currently ice 6 4th liners at the bottom-2 lines level. Hossa has zero offensive ability. For all of his natural talent, he is about as much an offensive force as Ortmeyer. On most teams, a 3rd line skates against the other team's top lines. Not here. Hossa is not a Langenbrunner or even close to it. While a 3rd line player's primary focus is defensive play, they ARE expected to contribute offensively here and there. Therein lies the difference between 4th & 3rd liners. That is what will keep Ortmeyer from being a 3rd line player. The "bonus" part comes in when discussing a 4th "energy" line.
only cullens 9th goal on the year tho, he had 24 last year, his career high I think ) that play was all #14 though. 
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