Posts tagged ‘Callahan’

A complete domination of Buffalo, followed up by the first Rangers win against a Western team, against San Jose.  Can’t ask for much more than that folks, 4 out of 4 possible points.  A jump to 6th in the conference.  Overall, great weekend to be a Rangers fan.  I don’t want to go into to much detail about the games because I’m sure we’ll go in depth in the next episode.  But here are some points that I take away from this weekend.

• Chris Drury is really coming into his own.  He has turned into Midas as of late, thats going to be huge for this team for the stretch run.
• Contrary to Stan Fischler, I believe the King is still just that, THE KING.
• It’s nice to win at home.
• Great job by the Rangers to give extensions to Girardi and Tyutin.  A solid defensive pairing that deserves what they have been given.
• Ryan Callahan is BACK and skating like a mad man.
• Jaromir Jagr not scoring has not hurt this team yet, but it sure hasn’t helped.  I feel live he is on the verge of having a big stretch of games, but I got to see it.

More on the show…

According to Steve Zipay’s blog, Blue Notes, Ryan Callahan is in Montreal for the game today against the Canadiens.  It’s unclear where (or if) he’ll be playing today.

Well if the western Canada swing wasn’t bad enough, the Rangers have some new injuries to report. After only getting 1 point out of a possible 6 on the road trip, Martin Straka is out with a concussion. The man that has been credited with reviving the first line is out at least two games. Hopefully, Jagr and Gomez (who skated in practice with Nigel Dawes) will be able to keep up some offensive production in Marty’s absence.

• In other injury news, Brendan Shanahan is day-to-day with a knee injury. Don’t expect him to miss any game time even though he’s been out of practice.
• As Steve called for on the show last week, Ryan Callahan has been sent down to Hartford. This brings up the always traveling Nigel Dawes and Greg Moore.

After the free-agent acquisitions of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury this summer, the expectations in the big apple were high. However, instead of the Rangers dominating the first half of the season, it’s been quite a roller-coaster ride with the Blueshirts showing signs of brilliance and ineptitude during various stretches.

The Rangers began the year going 2-5-1, before going on a stretch of 12 games in late October/early November that saw them lose only twice. But that was only the pre-cursor to a dreadful 4-8-2 stretch in late November/early December that moved the Rangers to the brink of being outside the playoff picture. And all this was of course, just before the recent three-game winning streak by the Blueshirts to finish out 2007.

So the question is: Who are the real Rangers?

The answer: They are this most recent team that’s on a winning streak to close out the year. And here are the reasons why:

First of all, the Rangers finally have a bona fide 1st Line. After all of the shifting and mutations that this top line has seen, the current Jagr/Gomez/Straka line is here to stay. Since being united in the game against Pittsburgh on December 18, the trio has combined for 32 points in 7 games. This line will be one of the most potent in all of NHL in the second half of the season.

The Rangers second line is also finally coming together. For Chris Drury, the transition to New York has taken longer than many had hoped. However, over the past couple weeks, number 23 seems to be finding his grove. He’s been a monster on face-offs and in the last few games has started showing why he’s known in hockey circles as “captain clutch.” As for Shanny, the guy’s been a rock all season long and provides the necessary leadership needed on a championship team. And of course, there’s Sean Avery who, in my opinion, is this team’s MVP. If you look at the season, the Rangers have gone through their two slumps when he’s been out of the lineup. When he’s been in, the Blueshirts have looked like gangbusters. Barring injuries, this second line will be the perfect second half of a great 1-2 punch for the Rangers going forward.

The third line is where some questions lie. Ryan Callahan and Petr Prucha have both struggled to build off of a great opening night performance. Brandon Dubinsky has been very solid, but overall the trio isn’t adding much secondary scoring. However, I really like the way the line works and think that it’s all just a matter of time until the goals start to come. Ryan Callahan has scored at every level he’s been at and adds feistiness to a lineup that is sometimes lacking in that department. Prucha looks like he may have had a breakout game in Toronto on Saturday. He did suffer a wrist injury at the end of the game that kept him out a night later, but doesn’t appear to be serious. As for Dubinsky, there is no part of me that is worried about this kid. I really think he’s exceeded expectations this season and this year will prove invaluable to him as he learns to play the game at the NHL level. My prediction is that by the end of January this line will be pumping in a couple goals a week.

As for the fourth line, they’ve really been the one constant on a team that has seemed constantly in flux. They have been phenomenal against the opposition’s top line and on a rare night can even light the lamp. The one small complaint is that I’d like to see a little more of the rough stuff from Hollweg and Orr, but outside of that I really can’t ask for more than what they’ve given. When it comes to Betts, I think you’re talking about the best fourth line center in the league. He is as shut-down a forward as there is in the league and is as good a face-off man as they come. He’s also probably the best penalty killer the Rangers have, never hesitating to block a shot to make the play. I have no doubt that this line will continue their defensive dominance moving forward.

And speaking of defense, the top four on this year’s backline have been phenomenal. Marc Staal has settled into the NHL nicely and in him and Michael Rozsival the Rangers have a nice top pair. The second pairing of Girardi and Tyutin has exceeded expectations with Girardi forcing everyone to question how he could have possibly been passed over in the draft two years in a row! All four have also provided an offensive punch from the backline that was absent a year ago. This year’s Rangers defense has scored 24 goals already; only 6 less than last year’s total. The most prolific scorer of the bunch this year has been Roszival who is in the second in defensemen goal-scoring in the NHL with nine goals. Yet my criticism of the foursome lies with Roszival, who could have double his goal total if he would just shoot more. Roszi still defers too much to Jagr, passing up open shots to get the biscuit to number 68. He’s definitely doing it less than last year, but I’d love to see Roszival shoot more in ‘08.

Where the questions on the defense lie are in Paul Mara, Marek Malik, and Jason Strudwick. While Mara’s been fine defensively, you’d like to see him be more noticeable on the offensive end. He’s got a rocket of a shot that he very rarely uses. If he’s not going to provide the offense, then he’s a very ‘vanilla’ player. As for Malik, I’m one who believes the big guy gets too much criticism from the Garden crowd. 95% of the time he makes the right play, but the problem is that in the 5% of the time that he doesn’t, the puck usually ends up in the back of the Rangers net. When it comes to Strudwick it’s pretty simple. He’s a fine seventh defenseman, but the Rangers have used him WAY too much this season. He’s not a NHL regular (last year he played in Europe for most of the year because nobody wanted him) and his leadership skills aren’t important if he’s a liability on the ice.

Looking ahead, I’d say that if the Rangers make a move, look for one of those three to be involved, but specifically Mara and/or Malik. Both still have value and in the case of Malik, I don’t think he’d be opposed to a change of scenery. Marcel Hossa may also be on the block as it seems that there simply isn’t a place for him on this team right now.

On the goaltending end the Rangers are set. Not much needs to be said about the King and Valiquette has proven to be a worthy backup (and a cheap one at that).

So you may say, “This is a pretty optimistic look at a team that had been struggling badly just a few games ago.” Well it may be, but at this point it seems that everything has finally clicked into place. So much of the year has been spent trying to find the right spots for everyone and it seems like Renney and Co. have finally found them. The key for the second half is simple…STAY HEALTHY! This especially applies to Sean Avery who, as was said earlier, is the key piece on this team. When he’s gone everything else falls apart.

Barring any injuries, look for the Rangers to make a second half surge to take the Atlantic Division. I predict a second place finish overall in the East, losing out to Ottawa for the number one seed, but giving the Sens a scare in the process. When it comes to playoff time all bets are off. This team has all the pieces of a championship puzzle; the goaltending, the offense, the defense, the leadership and, of course, “captain clutch.”

In the end we’ll have to wait and see, but they have as good a chance as any.

Thomas Pock was placed on waivers this afternoon. This doesn’t come as a whole lot of surprise, although it could indicate some more moves are coming on the defensive end. Steven mentioned that the game against Atlanta was Pock’s big shot to prove he should be playing over the likes of Marek Malik. Pock was -2 in that 5-3 loss at the hands of the Thrashers and his play was unimpressive at best. Personally I don’t mind the move. If in the days and weeks to come management makes a move to improve the defense that’s fine by me; it’s all about finding ways to make the product on the ice better. Thomas Pock was not helping this team and putting him on waivers shouldn’t ruffle too many feathers.

The second piece of news that comes out of Rangerville today is the injury of Ryan Callahan. Callahan has a knee sprain that won’t require surgery but will keep him out indefinitely. Hopefully, indefinitely means only a few games but it could mean many more. Add Callahan to the list of injured Blue Shirts that already include Martin Straka and Sean Avery and the Rangers find themselves in quite a hole. The Rangers Report today said that Callahan’s spot could be filled by a number of Wolf Pack players including Alex Bourret, Lauri Korpikoski, and Greg Moore. No matter who it is, the Rangers are going to be dealing with more young, inexperienced talent. Callahan has looked very good and it’s another unfortunate injury that is going to hurt this team. Hopefully both Avery and Callahan will be back sooner than expected. But until they are back, Rangers fans need to collectively knock on wood for the rest of this team’s health.

We’re now nine periods into the ‘07-’08 Rangers season and we’ve yet to see this vaunted Blueshirt offense we’ve heard so much about. Outside of a four goal outburst in the third period on opening night, the Rangers have scored a total of two goals in eight periods. And these tallies were not put up by guys named Jagr, Shanahan, or Gomez, but rather by defensemen named Roszival and Tyutin. So the question is…what’s the problem?

First of all, it can’t be expected for a team with this many off-season changes to have instant chemistry, but I think there’s a bigger issue in play here. To me, the wrong players are centering every line.

Second, if you’re Tom Renney I think you’ve got to try Scott Gomez with Jaromir Jagr, and Chris Drury with Brendan Shanahan. I know these were the original combos early in pre-season, but they weren’t given a long enough look.

Both Drury and Gomez are obviously world class centers, but both have very different styles. Gomez is the king of the end to end rush. He uses his speed to gain the offensive zone and then makes plays once he’s there. Drury on the other hand, plays more of an “American” style of hockey. He dumps the puck into the opposition’s zone and then goes and gets it. He makes a living off of, as he puts it, being in the right place at the right time, and cashing in rebounds. In short, Gomez plays Jagr’s game and Drury plays Shanny’s.

Jagr and Gomez tend to look more for the “pretty” goals, whereas Drury and Shanahan will take ‘em any way they can get ‘em. No one style is correct, but to have the optimum success, linemates need to be on the same page. The way the two lines are set up now, that’s just not the case.

When it comes to lines three and four, Brandon Dubinsky and Blair Betts should be switched as well. After a shaky first game that saw Renney move Dubinsky down to the fourth line, the center’s played a strong last two games. But let’s be honest, even Gretzky would have trouble generating offense with Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr on his wings. Dubinsky deserves another shot at developing offensive chemistry with Prucha and Callahan.

On the other hand, Betts has proven over the last two seasons that he’s an ideal fourth line center. Sure, he’ll pop in his ten goals a year, but at the end of the day he’s a fundamentally sound defensive forward. He stabilizes the banger fourth line and usually allows them to get off the ice without giving up a goal.

Now, it’s too early to panic about the lack of offense, but a couple more games like this and a change will need to be made. I could very well be eating my words after a seven goal outburst tomorrow night against Washington, but I just don’t see it happening. To me, these changes make too much sense to not be given a shot.