Conference title? At this point, how about eighth place?
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- March
- 15
OK, you officially have reason to be throwing your shoes at the TV scratching your head.
Because other than a couple of Swedes—sorry Christian Backman, but we’re talking about Fred Sjostrom and Henrik Lundqvist—the Rangers pulled a complete no-show tonight in Tampa, and now are just four points ahead of ninth place Buffalo.
Maybe it’s just a two-game hiccup, or maybe it’s worse than that. But like it or not, this Florida misstep has added an extra layer of tension to these final 10 games.
And you thought this would be easy…
This entry was posted
on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 8:58 pm by Sam Weinman.
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Josh Thomson Josh, who is 26 and a native of Carmel, graduated from Boston University in 2002 and began working for The Journal News the following March. 
f u doodie pants. jagr could not even score on an open net with the goalie out last night .
he says he wants to play in kladno. good, don’t let the door hit you on the way out
the team knows it has to depend on Shanny if there is a shootout, or if there is a fight, or if there is something that needs to be said in the media, or etc etc etc . IOW, the real leader.
jagr is good for nothing but czech nepotism
Be biased if you want, butlike I said, you’re wrong.
Doodie,
I agree re: the defense (in fact I was one of the folks that said a day or so ago that I can’t wait for Malik/Mara to return… brrrrrr scary)... however, I’m now more concerned about the offense which has completely dried up (AGAIN) as of late.
Sure we beat Boston in the phony balogne shootout but two shutouts in the last 4 games is telling. Also, if memory serves, the two goals against buffalo last monday night were not highlight calibre.
This squad is in a bad way and are due to lose to some intradivision opponents.
By this time next week we’ll be thinking about how we’ll need to beat the Isles on April 3rd and 4th to make the post season.
I’m not fooled by their division record thus far.
Not to mention that the two shutouts were not against anyone named Brodeur or DiPietro.
The Pens just raped the Flyers 7 – 1. Sykora, and Malkin had 2 goals, 2 assists each, and Hossa had a goal in his first game back. Malone fought Cote which i didnt see but can only imagine how that went, lol i hope Malone got knocked out. But anyway, when they get Crosby back, its gonna suck. I dont wanna face these guys in the playoffs at all.
BTW
Lol, last nights game sucked, but you all sound like a bunch of moronic Isles fans.
Sorry to be overly negative, but I believe that we are in big trouble. Sure, the point streak was great as far as the standings were concerned, but I think that the numbers were not accurately reflecting the Rangers’ often lackluster performance during that stretch. There were a few OTLs where the Rangers should have won in regulation, but they sat on their heels once they had the lead. Most notably, there was the awful OTL to Montreal after a 5-0 lead, which was conveniently sandwiched in the middle of the “point streak.”
The most recent two games, in my opinion, more accurately reflect the way the Rangers have been playing as of late. Sure, they have had their moments, but all season, they’ve suffered from the same problems, even when playing at their best…to name a few: inability to score, foolish penalties, poor defense, and at times, inconsistent goaltending. I think that Renney really needs to shuffle things up and not rely solely on results when it is clear to an objective viewer that this team has some major issues to work out if they’re going to be a legitimate contender in the playoffs (if they get there)....
Please get Prucha back into the lineup and on the power play.
The PP is putrid! Please Coach Renney get them to screen and shoot and shoot. Stop overpassing around the box. Get the puck to the net and go get the rebound. It’s very simple.
What i wanna know is why do they play Backman on the PP over Staal ? Staal is the ONLY D man on this team that always wants to shoot the puck. More then anyone, even Danny, and Toots aren’t shooting as much as they used to. Im not saying Staal is gonna go crazy and fix the PP, but its a whole hell of a lot better then Backman. Sit out Straka, and put Pruchs in. Hopefully that will light a fire under his ass and he gets going.
The Caps gotta beat the B’s today, it’s 1 – 1 right now. Right now i am worried cause the Sabs are winning, the B’s are getting back on track, and every other team is either gaining on us, or pulling away. Nyr needs to get there shit together, cause you can not have a game like that this late in the year. Its putrid !!!
Other than Lundqvist they played like dog crap. When you look at how the Lightning’s top offensive players played( Boyle , Lecavlier and St. Louis) vs Shanny, Gomez, Jagr and Drury being complete no shows. The pp is beyond a farce at this point. Imo the team had started to slip in their last point games of the points streak. Pretty sad that their best scoring chances by far were Due to Smith’s comical stickhandling. Get Prucha back in the lineup and use him on the pp. Hell even get Hollweg back in he’ll add energy at least. The Dubinsky line and the Drury lines chemistry seems way off lately. Gomez has turned back into the pumpkin from October all of a sudden. I hope when Mara returns he’ll get more pp time because at least he’s willing to shoot. Next ten vs division foes the effort and instensity must pick up.
GRAVES
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL !!!!!!!!!
Hollweg ? he’s the answer. I rather get Eddie Olzck (how ever you spell that freaky last name of his) out of retirement. He would add more energy then Hollweg.
Since his acquisition, Chris Backman has been hit with 16 penalty minutes, while drawing ZERO penalty minutes vs. Rangers opponents. Christ, Sather got taken to the cleaners (again). He STILL thinks the farm has nothhing better to offer than Backman, Mara, Strudwick, and Malik. UGH! And some here, as well as Sather, think this team will make a playoff impact. Go watch “Wizard Of Oz”, again, or “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” reruns, children. Reality doesn’t seem to phase you.
I have NEVER seen a more disorganized “power play” than what the Rangers offered vs. Tampa Bay, Saturday night. The Tampa Bay penalty killing unit looked more potent.
Gomez a pumpkin? You’re kidding or you’re blind. Since the trade deadline he is winning 58% of his faceoffs (57-98), and has a 14-5 takeaway-giveaway ratio, which indicates he is really working his ass off. Jagr, takeaway-givaway ratio is 2-7, par for the entire season for him; Shanahan 2-4; Avery 2-4.
It’s been a long season for the old guys so many here were giddy about,last summer, and they just want to go home for the summer and drink coolers. “Let’s keep Nylander, let’s sign this old RFA; let’s keep Straka, Shanahan, and Jagr around till they are 50 and imprison the talented kids in the minors until they are 25 and become Tomas Pock journeyman clones,” you whined. You jerks have egg all over your face now. This next off-season, which is coming up soon, we don’t need to hear the Sather-mentality stick-in-the-mud mantra, again. Go root for that other choke-up team, the Mets.
Buck Re- read the post I said the last few games read before jumping thanks in advance. As far as Hollweg after this many games out he’ll come back extra motivated and throwing the body and agitating imo.
Btb Buck nobody and I mean nobody has suggested keeping guys like Shanny and Straka after this season. I’d rather watch that ‘’choke-up team the Mets’’ than jumping on the Stankees bandwagon(you know the team that blew a 3-0 lead in the a series 3 years ago)
You have an entire posse coming after the Rangers. The Sabres are doing it on will power, the Panthers are doing it by hitting everything in sight, the Caps are doing it following Ovechkin. The Bruins are working their asses off and only the Flyers are in a tailspin. When the Rangers were going good, they played hard-nose hockey. Since Backman came, everyone has come down to his level, doing figure 8s and pirouettes, including Avery, and waving meekly as the other teams swarm the net. They got this far by momentum, but now there is no more momentum. Hollweg is not a complete solution to this situation, but at least he won’t go down like they did against Tampa Bay without a fight.
It’s an unfortunate reality kiddies
Last night was an absolute disgrace. How can “professionals” take a complete game off? I’ve seen more physicality in Olympic figure skating competions. I’ve seen more determination in a miniature golf match. I’ve seen more spirit in a high school chess club tournament. What a bunch of lazy bums!!! If they don’t pull their collective heads out of their backsides real quick they’ll get buried the next two weeks. Oh yeah, that Backman trade was a great deal, right? Wonder what his penalty vs ice time ratio is at this point? What a stiff.
Buckmeister – are you Robby Bonfire. if so I thought you were going to stay away.