Nhl

Tonight the Rangers will honor long time Ranger great Adam Graves for his role in the 1994 Stanley Cup run as well as his outstanding community service that has endeared him the the City of New York over the past 20 years. Graves scored over thirty goals five times in his ten year career with the Rangers including his memorable 52 tallies in the '94 run to the cup. It wasn't the stat line however that made Graves a revered member of the Blueshirts, rather it was his grit and toughness that the Garden faithful came to expect from the Rangers during those magical runs into the postseason. Graves brought the heart and soul to the once feared ice between 7th and 8th avenue. He helped make the Garden what it is and will always be remembered as a champion on Broadway. 

Continue reading "Stacked to the Rafters -"

A little past the quarter pole and the landscape of the Atlantic Division has changed drastically. Suddenly, the division is wide open and the Penguins and Devils are well within the Rangers rear-view mirror. CAUTION: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR. If you blinked you missed it quicker than a Rangers Man Advantage.

Continue reading "Hate to Say I Told You So........"

I didn't get a chance to watch the majority of last nights game - I was in the car for Naslund's goal and I spent a majority of the next two periods doing menial tasks and writing emails. It looked decent enough for my liking considering the fact that the Rangers were coming off a stretch of 7 games in 11 days.

Continue reading "Stars Edge Rangers in Avery's Return to Garden"

Whats really, really good Rangers fans?

How about one of the hottest starts in recent memory. The Rangers are out of the gate quickly and, because they manage to keep registering points, have kept me from being too overly critical. However, now 8 games into the season there are already signs of lingering problems that Tom Renny and the coaching staff cannot seem to rectify. Let's start with the obvious - mental errors and an anemic power play. The absence of Jamir Jagr had many, including myself, believing that the team's defensemen would freely throw the puck to the net during man advantages. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. The Rangers continue to register low shot totals on the power play, not to mention the lack of clear scoring chances. On the flip side, their penalty kill is still a quality unit, but not when overused through terrible mental mistakes that result in awful power play opportunities for the opposition. The Rangers continue to take horrific penalties in the offensive zone, the kind of forechecking calls that demonstrate a lack of discipline as well as the markings of a team being outworked for the puck. Usually, these types of calls have come on the heels of neutral zone giveaways that continue to highlight the Rangers inability to sustain the type of puck possession that leads to quality rushes and scoring chances. And on and on goes the Tom Renny era of defensive minded hockey.....

Continue reading "Big Start, A Few Trepedations"

Hey Hockey Fans-

Well, I think alot of my concerns and questions about these new look Rangers were at least addressed over the weekend. Since I am an historically glum fan (compliments of my father's sports pessimism) let's start with the negatives.

Continue reading "Weekend Wrap-up"

It's been awhile - a summer filled with post graduate job searching (to little avail) has kept me from the blog page. I have been keeping a watchful, and sometimes critical, eye on the Ranger's off season acquisitions and departures. The last time I checked in I talked a little about my wishes to retain the rights to Jamir Jagr, well, that didn't happen. What also didn't happen was any attempt at restructuring Avery's deal, instead the Rangers foolishly let him slip out the door and into the Dallas Stars locker room. I don't know why - the Rangers are above .500 with Avery in the line up and below .500 without him - you do the math. For what it is worth, keep your eye on the Stars. The last few seasons have seen them make early exits but Avery brings the perfect amount of tenacity to put Modano and Co. over the top in the West. I'm not saying Finals I'm just saying watch them.

Continue reading "Hello 2008-09"

Now, I know this blog might sound a little lame for some of you reading, but let's keep in mind that I'm 5'8'' 150lbs, so there was no way I going to play college or professional hockey anyway. In addition, I never had the means to really join high class leagues and travel leagues as I never could afford things like that.

Continue reading "Living a Dream"

Hey Rangers Fans.

Big news in the New York Hockey world. Lets start with the ugly. The NHL reportedly has threatened to sue Madison Square Garden, removing ownership of the Blueshirts from the MSG corporation. This comes in response to the Rangers suit against the NHL for trying to usurp complete control over promotional elements for the hockey club ( http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3452292). In my opinion, this is the worst thing the NHL could be doing right now. It's no secret that the league has always depended on the success of markets like New York to spur on the ratings of games. For example, game three of the Stanley Cup drew a lower rating in New York than that evenings WNBA match-up involving the New York Liberty. Of course this moment was partially caused by concerns that Pittsburgh would not be able to mount a fight in the series and because of this most fans not living near Melon Arena or in Hockey Town, USA had checked out of the series. However, this is a fact that the NHL cannot ignore. In the post lock-out NHL, when televised games have been relegated to Versus and the occasional Sunday NBC game, the league needs the support of key markets - especially New York. If the NHL wants to pour resources into an endeavour I suggest moving to get hockey back on large networks like the ABC family which includes the ABC network and ESPN. Or, if nothing else, changing their terrible "Yo Momma" adds with Ryan Miller and Jean-Sebastian Aubin. The fact that AMP energy talked the league into this commercial exemplifies why the Rangers should keep control of their own promotions.

Continue reading "Uncertain Futures"

The 2007 - 2008 NHL season drew to a close last week with Hockey Town's own Detroit Red Wings hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup for the fourth time in twelve years. For Wings fans it marked the culmination of yet another magical run to prominence while the Pittsburgh Penguin faithful took solace in the notion that their young stars, now armed with playoff experience, will undoubtedly become the annual favorite in the Eastern Conference. The future's of both franchises seem certain: Detroit will lose aged experience and retool with young talent, they've done it before; and while veterans like Chris Draper and Nikolas Lidstrom break in the future of the Wings the Steele City, aided by an increased salary cap, will be able to keep their young firepower under lock and key. What is not certain is how the rest of the league will attempt to catch what most would say are the two best teams we've seen in quite awhile.

Continue reading "Looking Ahead"