On hiatus for final exams

I'll be back writing in the coming week, after my final exams are finished.

A lot to discuss, coming later this week.....

An uphill climb...

With the Rangers now down 2-0 in the series against the Penguins, they now face a very daunting obstacle in order to have a chance to win the series. I will touch on that later. What I feel needs to be addressed is NBC's blatant favoritism towards the Penguins. Not once did I hear Emrick, McGuire, or any of the announcing crew say anything positive about the Rangers.

Here are some of my thoughts on the game overall:

-NBC's favoritism towards the Penguins is UNBELIEVABLE...I'm listening to the radio feed the next time a game is on NBC

-without that quick whistle, overtime hockey will be in progress right now

-MAF never had control of the puck on that particular play....it should have been 1-1 Rangers; anyone who knows hockey knows that should have been a goal, and the referee was simply not in the right position to see that the puck was still loose

-the Penguins PP is unstopable, the Rangers need to find an answer for that and fast
-this series is over unless the Rangers win both at the Garden. I still stick by my prediction of Rangers in 6, you still have to like the Rangers chances if they win Game 3, and with 3 of the next 4 potential games in the series at the Garden.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!! Keep the faith!!

Rangers vs. Penguins Series Preview

As the start of the series swiftly approaches, I will break down each aspect of the series that will determine the outcome. First off, the matchups between the two teams:

Jagr vs. Self: Pittsburgh fans will most definitely be booing him after leaving Pittsburgh a few years ago. Historically, he has not played well in Pittsburgh. If Jagr can get over the personal demons that he left in Pittsburgh, and continues his very stellar play, things could get difficult for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh offense vs. Henrik Lundqvist: If Henrik shows up to play this series and plays his A game, the Rangers will certainly be the favorites to overcome the Penguins. However, if Lundqvist is just average this series, the Rangers are heading for a quick exit. Henrik Lundqvist needs to exhibit his Vezina finalist game if the Rangers are to contend.

Rangers offensive depth vs. Pittsburgh defense: Pittsburgh has a very solid defensive core, whom are very tight, yet are very beatable. Facing three New York offensive lines that are very capable of scoring will test the strength of the Pittsburgh defense, as well as Marc Andre Fleury, the young goaltender of the Penguins. Pittsburgh has the firepower to score 3 goals in an average game. The Rangers' top guns need to come out firing as well.

Now for advantages:

Offense-You have to love the balanced scoring that the Rangers have, but the hard work of Crosby and the pure skill of Malkin merely headline the very high-octane Pittsburgh offense. High scoring games are definitely in store this series

Edge: Pittsburgh

Defense-The Rangers play a very solid team defense, often with the forwards helping out on the backcheck. The Penguins defensive corps is very experienced save Letang, but they are getting slower.

Let's call this one even-Push

Goaltending: Lundqvist is a Vezina nominee in his first three years that he has been in the league. Any questions?

Edge: New York



Final Prediction: Sean Avery was definitely a huge part of the Rangers success against the Devils in the Conference quarterfinals. He threw Brodeur off his game enough that he gave up 3 or more goals in 4 of the 5 games in the series. It is hard to say who Avery's target will be this time around, but with Colton Orr slated to be in the lineup tonight, Avery will be able to focus his attention towards the star players on Pittsburgh. Who will it be? Crosby? Malkin? Hossa?Fleury? Gonchar? Only time will tell. However, bank on him chatting amicably with one of these players.

On the big picture, both teams are coming off an extended rest, so I expect the rust factor to be a prevalent theme in the first 2 games of the series. The Pittsburgh offense will come out firing early, but if the Rangers defense and Lundqvist do their job, I can see the Rangers stealing a couple of games at the Mellon Arena. This will be a very hard, fought out series that will be determined by defense and goaltending. Mistakes in the defensive end will determine the outcomes of most games. I would not be a Ranger fan if I didn't say that the referees will play an integral part in the series as well. The Rangers better be careful when the poster boy of the league Sidney Crosby has the puck. The Rangers will most likely be on the penalty kill if any them do as much as sneeze on Crosby. Conspiracy theories aside, staying out of the box and penalty killing will be very important for the Rangers.

As for how I think it will play out, the first couple of games will be very hardly fought, but the Rangers will lose either Game 1 or 2. Marian Hossa will put on his disappearing act again in the playoffs against the Rangers, but secondary scorers like Staal and Sykora will step up in a big way for the Penguins. Lundqvist will continue his amazing play, and the Rangers will be for the most part average offensively.....until they lose a game on a questionable penalty, most likely in Game 3 or 4 at the Garden. The Rangers, however, will rally around this game and not put their heads in the sand. They will put it together, courtesy of some timely scoring from the Rangers vets in the closing games. The first Stanley Cup for Sidney Crosby will have to wait at least one more year.

Rangers in 6

Pittsburgh it is

Game 1: Friday, April 25th at The Mellon Arena. It begins...

UPDATE: 4:12 pm April 23rd

The rest of the schedule is as follows...

*if necessary

Sunday, April 27, 2008 2 p.m. NY Rangers at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at NY Rangers VERSUS, CBC
Thursday, May 1, 2008 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at NY Rangers VERSUS, CBC
*Sunday, May 4, 2008 2 p.m. NY Rangers at Pittsburgh NBC, CBC
*Monday, May 5, 2008 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at NY Rangers VERSUS, CBC
*Wednesday, May 7, 2008 TBD NY Rangers at Pittsburgh

And now we wait.....

I apologize for my mini-sabbatical from writing this blog, but I was so excited about the Rangers playoff win on Friday night that I just drank myself into a coma until now in celebration. Well, not really anyway. Although there is much reason to celebrate the exorcism of the demon of the dreadful '06 playoff first round sweep, the road to the Stanley Cup is far from over.

With Boston forcing a Game 7 at Montreal, they are one team to keep an eye on if they steal another game in Montreal as they did for Game 5. Not only would they have a lot of confidence after beating the best team in the East, they have played the Rangers to two 0-0 draws that ended up as 1-0 victories, one for each team, in the shootout this season. Two teams with similar styles of play would certainly make for a very interesting Eastern Conference Finals down the road, but the Rangers are by far not guaranteed to get there looking at possible opponents for the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Here are the possible opponents for Round 2:

Montreal- The scenario: Rangers go to Montreal if the Habs beat Boston in Game 7,and the Caps top the Flyers completing an improbable comeback. Despite the February 19th nightmare in Montreal that every Ranger fan would like to forget, I really like the Rangers chances against a Montreal team that the Rangers got 7 out of an 8 possible points against this season. While Montreal has it's fair threats on offense, a Montreal back-end is not to be so worried about if Mike Komisarek is not playing his best hockey. An otherwise average defensive corps held by a rookie 20-year old goalie in the first playoff games of his career is the perfect recipe for an upset. I have an itch that Bob Gainey will regret trading Huet to the Caps. Bank on a Montreal exit from the playoffs next round or sooner, regardless of who they play.

Pittsburgh- The scenario: The most likely of all scenarios, the Rangers start off in Pittsburgh if Montreal wins Game 7, and the Flyers finish off the Caps. While Pittsburgh boasts the best offensive corps in the East, they have a potentially lights out defensive crew along with another young goaltender that has the ability to steal games. The forecheck will definitely be key if the Rangers meet the Penguins. As long as the Rangers bring the heavy offensive pressure, play a consistent defense, and Lundqvist continues his Vezina caliber play, I can see the Rangers advancing without too much difficulty. Staying out of the penalty box wouldn't hurt either. Pierre McGuire, NBC, Versus, and all of the other Sidney Crosby lovers, eat your heart out.

Philadelphia- The scenario: If Montreal chokes at home in Game 7 and the Flyers beat the Caps, the Rangers will start on home ice against the Flyers. You may say. "Wouldn't it be great to have home ice advantage in a playoff series?" The answer is not necessarily, especially when you are playing the Flyers. I will go on the record and say that out of the 3 likely playoff opponents, the Flyers are the team that scares me the most. With a pretty steady defense, a good goaltender, and young guns on the offense, they have the style of play that can wear down and beat a team in a best of 7 series. We saw very good games between the two teams during the regular season, including a couple of contests that went to a shootout, suggesting a very close series that would go down to the wire if the two teams were to meet in the postseason.

Right now, I believe that the Rangers are capable of beating any team in the Eastern Conference in a 7 game series, but as we saw in the Devils series, all it takes for a series to completely change is one lucky goal that came off of a deflection or odd bounce. As fans, all we can do is wait for the next opponent, and hope that the hockey gods are on our team's side.

The "Sean Avery" Rule

As most of you know, the technique that Sean Avery used to distract Devils goalie Martin Brodeur last night during a 5 on 3 power play has stirred quite a lot of controversy. Many say that Avery's antics were "Bush League", and that it has no place in the sport, but conversely, others say that it was an ingenious way to cause a distraction for an opposing goalie within the rules of the game. However, as mandated by the NHL, rule 75, describing unsportsmanlike conduct, has been amended. Here is the actual text of the updated rule.....

“An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play.”

Now you may ask my personal opinion on the rule change, and here it is: Absolute bull****......to put it nicely. While such an instance may be distracting to an opposing goaltender, isn't the purpose of the goaltender screen the same? To prevent the goaltender from getting a clear view of the shot? Yes, I will admit Avery's antics last night were Bush league, but until today, it was within the rules and perfectly legal. It is players like Avery who bring excitement and attention to the game, something the NHL needs to put itself on the map here in America. To add to that, old style hockey that we see today is what sets the NHL apart from other North American major league sports. In what other sport is assaulting another person only punishable by 5 minute timeout from the game? In what other sport can you hit a guy on the other team with the puck as hard as you can against glass boards? This is why people love hockey and the NHL over other sports.

While the NFL is gaining the reputation as the "No Fun League" for considering the regulation of how long an athlete can grow out his hair, hockey players are putting their bodies on the line and doing whatever it takes for just a chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Even as a fan of a rival team, you have to appreciate what each and every player does on a day in and day out basis to prepare for that chance. However, when people don't appreciate hockey players that are unorthodox, namely Sean Avery in this case, for doing something innovative and new, and complain that the player is a disgrace to the game, then ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem.

For your viewing pleasure, attached is a video of Sean Avery doing what has caused this controversy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec_2oKWe2Gw

Keys to Game 4

I won't dare to comment on Game 3, so I will sum it up in one sentence: The hockey gods did not allow the Rangers to win this game. Instead, this is a series again, where the Devils have cut the series lead the Rangers have to 1 game. The last thing the Rangers want to happen is to go back to Newark with the series tied 2-2. Here are some important points that will most likely determine the outcome of Wednesday night's Game 4 at the Garden:

• STAY OUT OF THE PENALTY BOX- This absolutely killed the Rangers in Game 3. Two power play goals, legit or not, made the game tightly contested. If the Rangers play smart and don't take bad penalties, I guarantee a 3-1 lead in the series for the Rangers 72 hours from now.

• Defensive coverage- On the game clinching goal, Madden was not checked, and the puck shot from his stick proceded to go off of a Ranger skate and into the net. Playing more tight down low will surely limit the scoring opportunities that the Devils get.

• Keep up the intensity- The Devils are going to come out on fire for Game 4, so the intensity of their team must be matched. However, as I mentioned before, the Rangers need to be very careful to not take stupid penalties that could jeopardize any momentum that they may have.

• Play the game- As a team, the Rangers are playing brilliant hockey right now, but there are the small things that they must do to beat a very well rounded opponent. Their offense seems to be clicking, and as long as the Garden Faithful and the Rangers skaters get into the head of Brodeur, they should have no problem closing out this series.

So there you have it, Game 4, Wednesday, April 16th, 7 pm at the Garden. Believe in Blue! Until then...