Live Blog – Rangers @ Hurricanes
That’s right, the live blog is back! Big night (as is every night from here on out). Same lineup as the last two games. Malik sits out (no suprise there).
7:08 p.m.: Avery catalyzed last year’s playoff run; looks like he’s trying to do that again. Wish I could of seen the fight, but MSG’s having technical difficulties.
7:12 p.m.: Great start. Power play goal (see what happens when you shoot!) and Shanny breaks 8-game pointless streak…
7:18 p.m.: NOW THAT’S A CAPTAIN!! That’s what you want to see. One of your top guys gets a cheap hit put on him and the man with the ‘C’ on the jersey sticks up for him. This amount of intensity and passion is great to see and they need to do this night in and night out!
7:23 p.m.: Ridiculous that Avery’s out of the game. This instigator rule is a joke. Now the Rangers need to kill this 5 on 3.
7:36 p.m.: Jagr is playing ike a man possessed tonight. This is why it’s so frustrating when he’s not going like this. Keep it up.
7:39 p.m.: Good. Avery’s not out of the game…he just got 17 minutes. Bad job from MSG for not getting that to us quicker.
7:43 p.m.: These refs are brutal. That dive on Jagr was ridiculous and the Gomez non-call was a joke. But the fire is lit under Jagr’s butt so I still love it.
7:55 p.m.: Yes the Rangers are only up 1-0, but don’t underestimate just how good a period that was for the Rangers and their captain. They played with a passion and intensity that we haven’t seen yet this season and Jagr was playing like we all know he can. If they keep that up, they’ll win much more than they lose.
8:22 p.m.: That’s why you can’t miss the net on an odd man rush if you’re a defenseman.
8:24 p.m.: This is a rule that really has to be implemented. The Rangers just dominated Carolina for about a minute and wore down the 5 Hurricanes on the ice. They in-turn iced the puck, but because of a TV timeout get a chance to regroup. There needs to be some sort of rule prohibiting TV timeouts following an icing.
8:27 p.m.: Unbelievable. This is why you can’t get too excited about one period, one game, etc.
8:44 p.m.: It’s very simple folks…if you don’t capitalize, you don’t win. The Rangers get plenty of chances, but they don’t put the biscuit in the basket. Carolina on the other hand (and pretty much every other team the Rangers seem to play) finish their opportunities. The Blueshirts gave the Hurricanes two golden chances and that’s why they scored two goals that period. The Rangers had 3 or 4, yet there’s a big goose egg on the board for that period.
9:08 p.m.: Girardi caught pinching and Strudwick’s the only one back. The result, an odd-man break for Carolina and they CAPITALIZE!! This is not good folks.
9:36 p.m.: The story of Drury’s season right there. Captain Clutch has become Captain Klutz. He couldn’t score right now if he was standing all alone on the ice with nobody in goal and the puck on his stick in the crease.
Here’s what I make of this game. The Rangers are just flat out are a bad team. It’s really that simple. I really cannot remember a team that has such little ability to capitalize on any opportunity they are given.
The first period was great, but once again they couldn’t string together a full sixty-minute effort. And let’s be honest, if they had they still probably would have won this game in a shootout or eeked out a one goal victory.
Which begs the question: if when you’re playing your best you still have to sweat until the last second, are you really a good team?
The answer: NO!
The Rangers are not a good team and unless something changes and changes quick (though there’s no indication that it will) this team, with all the hype and expectations, will be watching the playoffs from their respective living rooms.
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Tags: Hurricanes, Live Blog, Steven Gelbs
10 Responses
Chris January 29th at 9:30 pm
This team does nothing but break my heart. . .I’m so totally focused on Sunday, and what the Met’s just did that they should have just extended the all-star break. . .
michael balter January 29th at 9:45 pm
I disagree big time…Cam ward played out of his mind…yeah drury hasnt stepped up like we thought but, he will, he needs to be back with shanny, these lines are not good avery shouldnt be playing with jagr…can anyone say MICHAEL NYLANDER
Steven January 29th at 9:51 pm
“Cam Ward played out of his mind.” Sound familiar? “_____ played out of his mind” is what seems to be said after every game. It’s not a coincidence that EVERY opposing goalie seems to play well. It’s not them, it’s the Rangers offense!
And why will Drury step up? How long do you wait. We’re 52 games into the season and he’s been a complete joke and waste of money.
Oh and Mike…Mr. Nylander is out for the season (although he’d probably be better with one arm than half of this team with two right now).
Inferno January 29th at 10:31 pm
Steve.
Theres a post on the HFBoards i made about 30 minutes ago you should check out.
It’s called “Enough about Chris Drury”
UB BULL January 29th at 11:02 pm
It would be nice if Michael Balter read the injury reports before suggesting players for the Rangers. Nylander done for the season with surgery!
Steven January 29th at 11:10 pm
Read the post inferno and I just don’t agree. What I see out there is a guy that has lost all the confidence he had coming into the season. He may not be getting AS MANY of those “one-timer” and “second chance” opportunities that he got last year, but the ones that he is getting, he’s not burying…THAT’S what worries me!
Michael January 30th at 5:10 pm
Steve, you know that in the e-mails I’ve sent I haven’t exactly been singing the Rangers praises, but even I think you’re being a bit too harsh with your criticism after last night’s game.
The effort was clearly there, the Rangers were just unlucky and got caught out a couple times when defensemen would join the rush, and it didn’t help that the Blueshirts couldn’t bury their chances.
Trust me, if they play with that same intensity for the rest of the season (especially what we saw in the first period), this team will make the playoffs. The chances they’re missing right now will start going in at some point because that’s just the law of averages. Do I think the Rangers are a legitimate contender? No, but I also don’t think they’re as bad you make them out to be. They’re mediocre, but in this era of parity, mediocre can still be successful come playoff time.
Steven January 30th at 5:44 pm
Michael, I appreciate what you’re saying and I would agree if the points about burying chances and being unlucky didn’t have to be made after seemingly every game. At some point you have to start thinking that maybe its not just ‘luck’ that’s the problem.
When it comes to the law of averages making it seem like the chances will start going in I have to disagree. It’s now 52 games into the season and the chances haven’t gone in all year. The chemistry just really isn’t right.
And on the point of intensity. If the Rangers played with the same intensity they played the first period for 60 minutes EVERY night, then they absolutely would make the playoffs. However, even last night that intensity dipped for a while and that’s really been a problem all year. The Rangers can’t seem to string together solid 60 minute efforts on a consistent basis and that’s suicide in this league.
You do make a valid point about mediocre still having the ability to go on a run during the playoffs…but mediocre has to get there first.
Michael January 30th at 6:24 pm
There’s no question that the chemistry isn’t right; the Rangers are essentiall divided into two teams: Americans/Canadians and Eastern Europeans. If you take a look at the great teams in this league, they’re either mostly comprised one of those categories or the other, but rarely a mixture of both (Detroit-mostly European, Anaheim-mostly North American, Pittsburgh-mostly North American, Ottawa-mostly North American, etc., etc.)
You made a great point about consistency, and it’s one that I’ve made as well in the past. Consistency is what separates mediocre teams like the Rangers from good teams like the Devils and Penguins. The Rangers have the talent to be on par with those types of teams, but they’re missing the consistent play.
I know you’re disappointed with Drury and to an extent, I am as well. Let’s be honest though. The Rangers signed him for one reason, and one reason only: what he does in the playoffs. I really don’t think they mind if he doesn’t produce as much as many people want him to in the regular season as long as he lives up to the playoff reputation he has.
In the end, I think talent will prevail and the Rangers will make the playoffs. From there, it’s a crapshoot because of the equality of many teams in the East, and the Rangers will need to make a strong run. If the Rangers get in, you’ll see a totally different team than the one we’re seeing right now. Frankly, I think this team is bored with the regular season just because of the playoff success many of their players have had. The key will be just to make the playoffs, and then like the Spurs in the NBA, what we’ll see then is a team who turns it on for the big games instead of the team who’s playing out the string in the regular season.
michael balter January 30th at 8:36 pm
UBBULLS..maybe you didnt understand what i meant…i never said we should go out and get him…i mean if he was on this team right now we wouldnt have these problems.. so UBBULLS dont call me out