Drury
24 November 2008
e from? Where is our go-to goal scorer? Is it second year man Brandon Dubinsky, is it Captain Chris Drury or super skill phenom Nikolai Zherdev. It is time for Gomez to start earning his $50m and distributing the puck to whatever mess Renny places him with when he returns to the ice tonight against the lowly Phoenix Coyotes.
Posted by Jared Trumpetto | No comments yet
6 October 2008
If things go right, the idea of Gomez, Naslund, Drury and Dubinsky would be far above an average attack. Now add in Callahan, Dawes and Zherdev and you're looking at a team that can finally match highly powered offenses goal for goal. For the Tampa Bay Lightening the task of containment seemed daunting. The Rangers maintained stints of consistent pressure that we didn't see last season - especially, gasp! on the power play.Perhaps the biggest bright spot from the entire weekend was Wade Redden's PP goal on Sunday. For a full minute and a half the Rangers held the puck in the offensive zone and did not allow the penalty killers of Tampa to change. The result was a beautiful one timer from Naslund to Redden (welcome to the Rangers guys). But, it's the little things that count and, more important than the goal, was the play of Michal Rozsival. The absence of Jagr on the PP is going to boost this guy's play to another level, we thought it might, now rest assured. On several occasions Roz ripped shots from the point that would have deferred to Jagr last season. This added pressure on Kolzig and led to the goal. No longer will Madison Square Garden have to chant SHOOT at the top of their lungs! No longer will Power Plays yield an anemic two shots! Couple this with another season of Penalty Killing like last year and......well, I'll give you a hint what two team's Goal/Kill splits were in the top three last season, one has the cup and the other almost did - All and all this Monday recap is energizing. Better offense, quality defense and mistakes that will hopefully correct themselves as the Rangers gain more continuity. Scott Burnside has a great article on ESPN.com ( http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/preview2008/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3627414) about the Rangers where he states that "creating a new identity is just as much about deconstructing the old," and he is absolutely right. Goodbye Jagr, Straka, Shannahan and Avery, best of luck, but now we have Redden, Naslund, a new Chris
Posted by Jared Trumpetto | No comments yet
20 June 2008
he inside word is that the temperamental 28 year old actually respects the likes of Jagr, Gomez and Drury - meaning that the Rangers offer the perfect environment for Avery to be a controlled menace. When Chris
Posted by Jared Trumpetto | No comments yet
11 June 2008
nger fans the task seems daunting -
With large contracts securing the likes of Lunqvist, Drury and Gomez the rest of the roster is ripe for tweaking. Coach Tom Renny and company are left with a decision: Reload with players able to play Tom Renny hockey or adapt to the roster's existing talent. The problem lies in the team's inability to produce consistent quality chances, both on the power play and while playing full strength. In both instances the problem seems to be the "defense first" mentality of the coaching staff. Currently, the Rangers rely almost entirely on Scott Gomez for neutral zone movement. They lack a big puck moving defenseman capable of carrying the puck with speed in the neutral zone. What Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar are to the Penguins and Nikolas Lidstrom is to the Red Wings, Marc Staal and Michael Roszival are not for the Blueshirts. While both players are talented zone defenseman - the hold the puck, relying on skaters like Gomez and Shannahan to create scoring chances. This ineffectiveness to clear the puck and advance through the neutral zone is what ultimately led to the Rangers playoff exit. The lack of creativity was highlighted on the Power Play. The Ranger's roster is devoid of anyone willing to drive the puck to the net, leading to few shots and low quality chances as well as the Madison Square Garden faithful chants of "SHOOT THE PUCK." These two glaring problems resulted in a playoff exit. The injuries to Avery and
With large contracts securing the likes of Lunqvist, Drury and Gomez the rest of the roster is ripe for tweaking. Coach Tom Renny and company are left with a decision: Reload with players able to play Tom Renny hockey or adapt to the roster's existing talent. The problem lies in the team's inability to produce consistent quality chances, both on the power play and while playing full strength. In both instances the problem seems to be the "defense first" mentality of the coaching staff. Currently, the Rangers rely almost entirely on Scott Gomez for neutral zone movement. They lack a big puck moving defenseman capable of carrying the puck with speed in the neutral zone. What Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar are to the Penguins and Nikolas Lidstrom is to the Red Wings, Marc Staal and Michael Roszival are not for the Blueshirts. While both players are talented zone defenseman - the hold the puck, relying on skaters like Gomez and Shannahan to create scoring chances. This ineffectiveness to clear the puck and advance through the neutral zone is what ultimately led to the Rangers playoff exit. The lack of creativity was highlighted on the Power Play. The Ranger's roster is devoid of anyone willing to drive the puck to the net, leading to few shots and low quality chances as well as the Madison Square Garden faithful chants of "SHOOT THE PUCK." These two glaring problems resulted in a playoff exit. The injuries to Avery and
Posted by Jared Trumpetto | No comments yet
