Posts tagged ‘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.