Posts tagged ‘Lundqvist’

If you want a reason to stay positive and get pumped up following an oh-fer in Pittsburgh here it is.  According to the Rangers Report, here’s Henrik Lundqvist’s post game comments:

“It feels like the difference between these two teams is not that big. It could be one bounce that’s the difference,” he said. “We should go back to New York and put more pressure on them. I think they looked a little better than they are.  I know we can put more pressure on them. We’re going to do that in New York and we’re going to get the win.”

There you have it.  Not “we’re going to try to win” and not “we think we can win” he said “WE’RE GOING TO GET THE WIN.”

You know what? That’s all I need to hear. 

I’m not going to lie folks, I’ve been in a bad way for the last few hours.  The Rangers have really put themselves in quite a hole and it’s going to take some real gumption to climb out of it.  But you know what, I truly think they can do it.

Here’s a couple reasons why you can’t give up hope:

1. I hate to be cliche, but I’m going to.  The Pens just held serve, that’s it! Until you lose a home game in the playoffs, you’re not in trouble!  And guess what? The Garden will be rocking on Tuesday and the Rangers are a very dangerous home team.

2.  This is not a new situation for this team.  This series feels eerily similar to last year’s second round tilt with the Sabres.  For those with a short memory, the Rangers came back and won both games at home to pull right back into that series.

3. The Rangers CAN shut down this Penguins team.  They figured out how to do it today.  If they can score (and this is no Patrick Roy in nets for Pittsburgh) they can win.

4.  This is a young Penguins team that has yet to faced adversity in the playoffs.  They haven’t had to bounce back from a loss in the post season yet and so it’s still a question mark how they will react if the Rangers get the ‘W’ on Tuesday.

5.  BOUNCEBACKABILITY! If there’s one thing the Rangers have done well all year long, it’s rise to the occassion.  I have a hunch they’ll do it again!

So there you go.  This train’s rolling back to “The House that Messier Built” and The King is taking a page out of The Captain’s book.  Time to rally the troops and put some fear into Sid and the Gang!

Came up with that one myself, thought it was clever. Anyways, this Florida road trip was not a good one for the boys in blue. By not picking up a single point in these two games, the Rangers are just four points from being out of the playoffs. How quickly things can change. Is this time to panic? Absolutely not. Since those two bad losses to L.A. and Anaheim early in February, this team has been excellent. But, these two games in Florida and Tampa Bay are discouraging. However, as some bubble teams in the NCAA found out tonight, it’s all about how you finish. The Rangers final ten games are difficult to say the least. But, they are all against division rivals. So, even though this team is four points from being out of the playoffs, they are six points from having home ice IN the playoffs. Which way will the pendulum swing? Guess we’re going to have to watch and find out.

Before our next show, I’d like some comments and/or e-mails about the following topics so Steve and I have an idea of how other fans are feeling right now…

1) How do you feel the deadline acquisitions have played thus far?

2) Are there players being scratched or down in Hartford that you would like to see in the lineup?

3) With these two losses, should the team make line changes and/or switch some defensive pairings?

4) This teams 21st in the league on the PP. What do they need to do to fix it?

5) Is Henrik back? How long can we expect him to stay hot?

It’s not homework. Just food for thought. We will share your thoughts in the next show and also our own.

One other thing, Brendan S. sent us this link with some really interesting stats regarding the playoff picture. Check it out.

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/Eastern/Atlantic/Rangers.html

OK, so maybe this team wasn’t Born to Run away with the Eastern Conference, but they are hanging in there. Before I get into Ranger talk, I want to welcome back Bruce Springsteen references. As you may remember, Steve and I made the trek to Cleveland late last year to see The Boss live. Well, we’re doing it again, that’s right, concert number two for the guys at the NYRangerscast…tomorrow night in Rochester. While I won’t sit here and whine about why Brucey doesn’t play Thunder Road every concert, I will lend you my thoughts on last nights loss to the Islanders.

• How about Henrik? Well…how about him? Do you have any answers for his inconsistent play? No, of course you don’t, thats why you’re not employed by the Rangers. I am not friends with The King, nor do I speak Swedish, but I can see that there is something wrong. Tom Renney says that Lundqvist will start at the Island on Thursday. I think this is a good idea, Hank let in some bad goals on Tuesday but if this is “the franchise goalie” you have to let him play out of his slump. BUT, let’s not forget about Vally, he has been playing very well. So if The King’s slump continues you can’t let Vally sit on the bench for to long.

• Rozsival in the shootout. That was a scratch your head move huh? Maybe Renney was trying to shock the Isles into letting Rozsival score. Can’t say I agree with the call, but than again I am not the coach. I am merely a commentator who gets paid very, very, very little to have an opinion on these kinds of things.

• According to the Rangers Report, Dubi and Gomez didn’t practice today, both are a little sore. These two have been the most exciting Rangers to watch this past month. Both skate with an enthusiasm that is absolutely contagious. No real point here, just a little man love for the two.

The Rangers need the full two points on Thursday and I need to see signs of a turn around from The King. Here’s hoping for that and a little Thunder Road action in Rochester tomorrow.

Last night we had quite a debate going on following the epic collapse.  I pinned a lot of the blame on Henrik Lundqvist.  Some agreed, some vehimently didn’t.  I will tell you that having slept on it and having re-watched the game this morning, I still say you’ve gotta hold Lundqvist accountable for a lot of what happened last night.

If you go back and watch the tape, goals 1 and 4 could not have been stopped.  The first goal, Lundqvist was hung out to dry and the fourth goal was a deflection.  But 2, 3, and 5 were all stoppable shots.  They were shots that Lundqvist saw clearly and flat out missed.  He let one goal trickle in after he initially stopped it and one goal off of a falling over Kovalev that he just wasn’t ready for. 

I say again, if Lundqvist is going to be paid to be a top-tier goalie then he has to make all of the saves he should make and a few that he shouldn’t.  While he played that way in the first half, he completely blew it in the second half of the game.

If you want more on this, Dubi Silverstein of Blueshirt Bulletin has a great post on it today and Zipay questions Lundqvist’s performance as well in Blue Notes.

                                                                      (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,David Boily)

Make no mistake about it, this horrifying loss falls squarly on the shoulders of Henrik Lundqvist.  There is simply no excuse for allowing five goals in the last 30 minutes of this game.

I realize that Montreal controlled the play in the second half of the game, but at least 3 of those 5 goals should have been stopped (and 4 of those 5 goals COULD have been stopped).

When you get signed for 6 years for that amount of money, games like this can’t happen.

On another note, Richard S. used the dreaded words in the comment section of the previous blog.  He said “turned the corner.”

That phrase is officially banned from the NYRangerscast…

 Now listen, this was as bad a loss as the Rangers could have possibly had, but I still have a good feeling about this team.  I think that they’re really close and tonight, while they collapsed, they did it against an exceptional hockey club in the Canadiens.  It’s hard to look at it this way now, but it was one hell of a hockey game from a pure hockey standpoint.

If these two teams ever faced each other in the playoffs it would be a series for the ages. 

Don’t lose the faith.  They’ve gotten 8 of a possible last 10 points, are still in good position, and have played extremely well in 7 and 1/2 of their last 9 periods.

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…

It’s official! The Rangers have locked up their franchise goaltender for the foreseeable future.  The King has been given the royal treatment–6 years, $41.25 million.  You can view the official press release on the Rangers’ website.

Don’t be mistaken, this IS the right move.  I know, Lundy hasn’t been himself for a couple of months now, but we’ve seen what he can do for the better part of three years and he is a top goalie in this league.

And who knows?  Maybe this contract situation was weighing on the King more than anyone thought.  Maybe the pressure to play well while his future was being negotiated took a toll on Lundy.  Hopefully with this now out of the way and with his father recovering well, Henrik can get back down to business and lead this team where it wants to go.

My guess–and I know Inferno will kill me on this if it doesn’t happen–is that the Lundqvist we all know and love will make a return for the final two months of the season.   Not only are all the distractions behind him, but he’s had over a week off to settle down and get back on track.

Look for The King to be regal once again.

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In other news, it looks like Tom Renney may have finally taken Eric and my advice.  According to Blue Notes, Rangers Report, and The Blueshirts Blog, it looks as though Marcel Hossa has taken Ryan Hollweg’s spot on the fourth line.

 My reaction: HALLELUJAH!

Also in those reports:

• Shanny’s back and feeling good.
• Marc Staal (flu) and Petr Prucha (shoulder) are doubtful for the Buffalo game on Saturday
• The lines have been re-shuffled…again.  Dubi will center Jags and Avery, Shanahan and Dawes will flank Gomez, and the suddenly scorching Drury will play with Straka and Callahan.  I like these lines a lot for a couple reasons.  First of all, we’ve seen how Dubinsky’s puck possession style complements that of Jagr’s and with how well the youngster’s played of late, he deserves another shot to center the captain.  Secondly, Gomez and Shanahan were on fire before Shanny got hurt, and Dawes can keep up with Gomez while Shanahan get’s into position.

 Just two more days until the Rangers get back at it.  Big game against the surging Sabres who are now 8-0-2 in their last 10.

Phew, the Rangers certainly dodged that bullet.  Playing a team that was spiraling out of control having lost nine straight, a win tonight was ABSOLUTELY VITAL for the Rangers moving forward.

And they did win, maybe not as convincingly as you would have liked, but right now “style points” are out the window and the only points that matter are the ones in the standings.

Now don’t get me wrong, there were certainly some good signs tonight:

-  The third line continued to look good scoring both goals and creating countless chances.  It looks like this trio is finally starting to lock in.

-  The return of Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan was great to see (it was also great to see someone finally putting pucks on net).

-  The King was solid, not spectacular, but he did what he had to do.

-  The penalty kill was fantastic (although they again were called upon WAY too much).

So those were the positives.  But don’t feel too good if your a Rangers fan right now because boy was there a lot to be bothered by in tonights game:

-  Tom Renney again gave the fourth-line third-line minutes.  Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr both got 12:16 minutes and Blair Betts got just under 15.  No player on the third-line even got nine minutes of time, despite again being the best and hardest working line on the ice.  The third line contributed two-goals and a combined for a +6 on the night.  The HBO line contributed a bad penalty and no offense again.  How Renney can justify playing Ryan Hollweg for over 12 minutes and not even give Brandon Dubinsky 6:30 is beyond me and is flat our ridiculous.

-  Renney again didn’t have the courage to send a message to his team and bench his “captain” when he played another lackluster game and was a detriment on the ice.  Jagr took two more lazy penalties and was the culprit on the Sabres lone goal.  If you watch the replay you will see Jagr, upon losing the puck at the Buffalo blueline, glide back and allow an odd man rush for the Sabres.  He gave an absolutely embarrasing effort on that backcheck and made a half-hearted attempt at the last minute to catch up to Pominville.  But J.J. doesn’t miss a beat and is rewarded with nearly 20 minutes on the ice.  No accountability=no change.  It’s that simple.

-  The Rangers again gave the opposition man-advantages immediately following Rangers goals.  The Blueshirts went up 1-0 at the 6:15 mark of the first and went on the penalty-kill just over two minutes later.  They then went up 2-1 at the 9:42 mark of the second period, only two one up themselves from earlier in the game and go down 2 men just over a minute later.  That 5 on 3 disadvantage was their fifth in the last four games…absolutely unacceptable.

-  The Rangers power play was again more of a disadvantage then their penalty kill.  They couldn’t capitilize on any of the man-up opportunities given and gave up countless numbers of odd-man rushes against in the process.  I’d be willing to venture a guess that Buffalo got their best chances when they were down a man.

But in the end they were able to pull this one out, just don’t be fooled.  Against a half decent team we would be talking about another terrible loss.  But as I said in the title, a win is a win is a win is a win and at this point that’s all that matters.  Maybe the Rangers can gain traction from this and get going.  I guess we’ll see this weekend.

That was a nice win.  No that’s not a typo, I’m only giving it nice.  The reason: we’ve seen this before.  This win becomes big, great, huge, and whatever other word you want to throw out it when, and only when, the Rangers win another, then another, then another.

But that being said, tonight was an utter domination.  The Rangers paid attention to the little things and capitalized on the opportunities they were given.  More importantly this team didn’t panic when faced with almost the exact situation in which they fell apart on Thursday.

Up 2-0 after a dominating 1st (again), the Blueshirts went down 2 men early in the second.  But this time they were able to kill off the disadvantage and even got a big save from Henrik Lundqvist who took back his throne with a vengence!

And once the 5 on 3 was killed off, the Rangers again did something we’ve seen so little of recently…step on the throat of their opponent.

Led by the line of neophytes, the Blueshirts stormed to a commanding 4-0 lead and never looked back.

Kudos are in line to Tom Renney for his defensive shakeup.  The backline troops responded with a stingy performance reminiscent of the Rangers team we saw in November and say what you want about Marek Malik, but the big guy stepped up tonight.

If you can’t see the difference between Malik and Strudwick I really don’t know what you’re watching.  I’m not going to sit here and say that Malik is a top-pair defender nor am I going to make the claim that he can replicate tonight’s performance on a consistent enough basis to remain a Blueshirt.  But the fact is he is an NHL caliber defenseman and Jason Strudwick simply isn’t.

 So again, a much-needed nice win for the Rangers that can turn into a much-needed GREAT win depending on the team that shows up Monday against the Pens.

The remaining spots on the All-Star rosters were announced at noon this afternoon and the Rangers’ lone representative is Scott Gomez.  In my mind, it’s well deserved.  Gomez has been everything Rangers fans could hope for this season, something that really can’t be said about many players on the Blueshirt roster.

 The big snub to me is Michael Rozsival.  Rozsi is tops in the league in goal scoring by a defenseman and has been solid on the defensive end as well.  He’s a guy who clearly doesn’t get the recognition he deserves around this league and this is just another example of it.

 Lundqvist is the only other semi-suprise; “The King” (although that’s questionable now) getting beaten out by Rick DiPietro and Tomas Vokoun.  To me it’s the right call.  The first 25 games this season, Lundqvist was a lock for the Vezina and maybe the Hart, but his unbelievable fallout in recent weeks has completely nullified the fantastic start.  On another note, it might not be that bad that Lundy has to sit out.  He needs a break in the worst way.