With a game in hand on the Bolts...
That's what the Rangers fans at the Coliseum were celebrating when Isles goalie Rick DiPietro backhanded Michael Nylander's overtime redirection out of his cage and skated off as the exhausted Blueshirts happily poured onto the ice after a back-to-back road sweep.
Henrik Lundqvist made 74 regal saves in those 24-plus hours and saved the kingdom again.
Newsday has extensive coverage tomorrow, with three writers filing from Uniondale, so make sure you check newsday.com or in print...
Now on to Montreal, carrying 87 points, for the first of the final half-dozen games, with just an optional practice tomorrow morning.
The mission: Cut down to three or four penalties. The Canadiens power play, with Souray bombing from the point, can be deadly. You can be sure the coaching staff will stress this after today.
Assignment No. 2: Score some power play goals. The PK can't be near-perfect forever. Nor can Henrik.
Apparently young Mr. Halak will be in the net for Montreal.
The Rangers should pepper him with shots from everywhere, first man on the rush shoots, make him move, handle the puck and react to rebounds. Drive the net. Maybe Isbister should play in this one, at least for his work down low. His hands have failed him so far, but he's waaaay overdue for a goal isn't he?
Prediction: Montreal is playing desperate hockey and the crowd will be roaring at Bell Centre. Rangers will need three goals to win up there.
I'll be back here after the optional with an update before boarding my very favorite airline.
With a little luck, maybe I can be in the cobblestone streets of the old city for a late dinner...
Probably just jinxed it. Mon dieu!
Comments (17)
Just to point out. Steve, that a few weeks ago you painted out a "flight of fancy" best case scenario. Unbelievably, you UNDERestimated where they'd be at this point as instead of two "Bettman (henceforth known as "Zippy") points they won all 4 games somehow. I personally hate the way they've played these last two games - too much of Hank saving their bacon, the bad giveaways, the parade to the box - and I hope they decide to somehow inject a little more youth back into the lineup for some of the more tired legs (can Straka really do anything right now?). But hopefully they pick it back up again. I think, however, that 5-1-2 or 5-2-3 are both more than attainable considering they're 4-0 to start with! The question is, with everyone else winning, would 5-2-3 be enough (that would be 1-2-3 from here on out). Probably not, but I think 2 wins gets them a spot, 4 gets them 6th.
they don't have a game in hand on Tampa. They both have 6 games left
The upside for the Rangers is that every team they play until the final game of the season against Pittsburgh is against a team below them in the standings.
That said, there are still some major hurdles to clear. Scoring 2 goals in 2 games against a pair of teams (Boston & NYI) out of the playoffs isn't very good at all. They need to practice the power play. The 5-on-3 in the 3rd period was painful to watch as Nylander pivoted and passed up easy shots within 10 ft of the net. They have to stay out of the box. It could have killed them against the Islanders. And finally, they gotta get the 2nd line going. Shanahan needs to step it up this week.
How close is Tyutin? Is Saturday against Philly or Sunday against Toronto realistic?
agreed that these past games have been brutal to watch, i i had no voice after the 1st period this afternoon. with 6 games to go, i think 2 wins will secure us a spot. maybe even 1-2-3, however i dont see them giving away 5 games. a more plausible outcome would be something along the 2-2-2 or even 3-2-1.(lets hope for 4-1-1)
The way Carolina and Toronto (save for Friday night) have been playing, it's going to take more than 2 more wins to get in. I think Saturday in Philly is a crucial 2 pts. Sunday night at home against Toronto is another big 2 pts. And the last home game next Thursday is another big 2 pts. If they get those 3, they're "probably" in. That said, a point out of Tuesday's game at Montreal would go a long way not so much toward locking up a playoff spot, but establishing a foothold on 6th place. Tampa Bay and Atlanta are in a battle for that spot. It's gonna get wild because now everyone (Tampa, Toronto, Carolina, etc) starts playing each other down the stretch
I agree, I'm not comfortable with only two more wins down the stretch. Remember, with two more wins we are giving up points to teams behind us. I agree with Steve, tough game Tues against the Habs. As much as I would want 2, I'll take 1 point. Follow that up with a mandatory 2 points in Philly and I'll be somewhat more comfortable. But there are other wins out there we still need.
Steve: I want to come to work with you for a day!
I can't watch the Rangers on the power play without thinking Renny needs to take Roszival off the same unit as Jagr.
Roszival has a wicked shot and when he uses it, good things tend to happen, but he idolizes Jagr and his first, second and third instinct is always to get the puck to him rather than shooting. Renny should take that temptation away from him by putting him on the second PP unit.
The other thing is that the Ranger Euro line of Straka, Jagr and Nylander has to stop making horizontal passes at the opposing blue line. 9 times out of 10 those passes are resulting in turnovers or off-sides. They have to get the puck deep and wear defenses down.
I also don't get why Callahan's ice time has been cut so much. Granted he's young, very little experience, but he brings energy, goes to the net and is not afraid of mixing it up.
Guys you all are talking about the other teams. Who gives a Penguin crap about the other teams? The Rangers need to keep winning. Bottom line. Period. End of story. No relying on anyone for help. One game at a time. Smart hockey with less penalties will do the trick.
Give Shanny a little more time to get going also. The fact that he got to rest his legs and body for a few weeks might help in the long run. And yes I totally agree, Callahan should be getting more time.
Why Renney plays that Eurotrash PP unit for 75% of the powerplay time is beyond me? Way too much Sonja Henne skating and passing going on. Shoot the damn puck. Put Avery, Cullen, and Callahan on the ice and they will crash the net. At least after 1 minute of nothing, Renney should yank Nylander, Jags, and Straka off. I just don't get that part.
Guys like Callahan and Prucha haven't gotten much ice time the past two games because their linemates have been spending too much time on the ice killing penalties.
As for the first powerplay unit getting more ice time, it's because they're generating more chances. As frustrating as it is to watch, at least they get the puck in the zone and get set up. The second unit has struggled to get in the zone and is rarely able to get set up for a good shot. And when they do, they've been shooting into blocks and having to chase the puck back down the ice after it's cleared and start all over again.
I'm not defending the over-passing of the first unit by any means (and I'd love to see Rozsival moved from that unit for precisely the reason Chip explains) but simply throwing the second unit on the ice and saying "shoot" hasn't been the answer either.
how come you didn't report this? zipay wears his rags jersey underneath his shirt and tie when he covers the rags. you are more of a homer than sam rosen.
SIMON-HOLLWEG: MOVING ON
The Chris Simon-Ryan Hollweg incident is a delicate subject that some people just can't help but put their own spin on it. So after talking to Simon about it one more time after practice, consider this as direct an update as you can get.
· Simon was counseled to not discuss the incident until after the Nassau County DA's office completed its investigation. As soon as the DA completed its investigation, Simon reached out and said he wanted to meet with Hollweg face-to-face. Simon made it respectfully clear that he would do it on Hollweg's schedule and meet him wherever it was convenient for him.
· Hollweg declined an invitation to meet on Saturday night at the Rangers' Long Island hotel. He also said he did not want to meet on Sunday because his focus needed to be on the big game. Totally understandable on both counts. Simon reiterated that whenever and wherever Hollweg wanted to meet, he would be there. Simon could not have been more clear, as he was on Friday with Greg Logan of Newsday and Peter Botte of the Daily News, that he felt he owed Hollweg an apology face-to-face and not a hasty talk over the phone.
· Today, the following item was written by John Dellapina in the New York Daily News: "Asked before the game whether he had heard from Simon, Hollweg told the Daily News: ‘No, I haven't talked to him to this point and I'm not going to go out of my way now.' He then was asked if he was encouraged to hear that Simon wanted to apologize. ‘Not really,' Hollweg replied.
· Since Ryan Hollweg seems intent on moving on, Chris Simon is doing the same.
Anyone else think Avery should be re-signed for a few more years?
Mark: That's not the kind of rest that really helps him though. Shanny's admitted he's not in the kind of game shape he wants to be at this point. For about a month he didn't do anything -- couldn't even have a real workout during that time. It'll take some time for him to get his conditioning where he was in early Feb.
Yes Avery needs to be signed for more years we need his gritt badly. And hell start putting up sick numbers soon, trust me.
Absolutely agree on Avery. Trading for him looks to have been the turning point in the season, it changed the attitude on this team entirely. Avery is a terrific role player not only because he's an aggitator, but because he plays the game well. He's exactly the type of player this team was missing and he's exactly the type they need to keep.
In other news: Elias appears to be returning tomorrow night against the Isles. Maybe the Devils can finally win a game on our behalf.
vjma gestzdl txqdn nvhtdob zcmfhyn myvpwjf srlpdtok
slfoux mcgwbxe vwjug zigjuxb tlcnpex rtxpum hvrb http://www.wpsy.zbsvnrewf.com