Posts tagged ‘Zherdev’

Just some quick thoughts and observations from inside the Garden last night:

-  It seems the Rangers have made a conscious effort to (finally) embrace their 83 year history.  Last night’s opening video started from 1926 and followed straight through to the present.  Throughout the night the videoboards read “You are Part of a Brotherhood” and the word “Tradition” was used a lot.  Long overdue, but good work.

-  Bad work though on the lack of a Fan Giveaway last night.  It’s opening night people!

-  The Garden fans seemed a little more tentative then last season for the opener.  “Let’s Go Rangers!” chants didn’t have the same traction at points throughout the game that you’d expect out of an opener.  If it’s any consolation though, the “Potvin Sucks” chants were 18,200 strong!

-  While Harry Howell, Andy Bathgate and Adam Graves got a nice ovation before the ceremonial puck drop, it didn’t come close to Leetch’s last season.  I guess that’s to be expected though.

-  Suprise of the Night: Chris Drury getting the biggest ovation.  I thought the King would run away with it, but Dru at least matched him when announced as the 25th captain in Rangers’ history.

-  Aaron Voros will become a fan favorite quickly.  The guy plays the game the right way and is pedal to the metal at all times.  Best of all, he badly wants to be a Ranger.  The Garden fans fed off his energy in a big way last night.

-  Nik Zherdev cares.  It’s early yet, but what I saw up-close and personal last night was a player who not only possesses incredible, raw offensive ability, but hustles and plays physically.  It’s a good sign that I noticed him as much when he had the puck as when he didn’t have the puck.  The kid also wants the puck at all times.  He was noticably calling for the puck all night long.

-  This is a team that New York and the Garden Faithful are going to fall in love with.  They were far from perfect last night, but they hustle, work and take a direct line to the net.  The loudest chant each year at MSG is “Shoot!”  I only heard that once last night and it didn’t sustain itself.  When in doubt this Rangers team throws the puck on net and charges to the front.  It’s going to be a fun year.

Now gear up for the Palin Puck Drop in Philly as the Rangers look to go 4-0 on the year.  Check back at gametime for the Live Blog.

Breathe easy Ranger fans, the Petr Nedved experiment is over.  The center was among the cuts today, ending his attempted third stint with the Rangers.  That’s not to take anything away from Nedved.  Actually, I thought he played quite well in the pre-season.  But signing Nedved would have signaled a throw back to the dark ages otherwise known as 1998-2004.  To block the surplus of young kids vying for a spot, would have been going against the philosophy of the post-lockout Blueshirts.

Others reassigned included Artem Anisimov, Thomas Pock, Greg Moore and Dale Weise.

In other news, it looks as though the Rangers coaching staff has seen what everybody else has: Brandon Dubinsky is an absolute stud and deserves top 6 minutes.  In today’s practice Dubi moved up to the second line centering Zherdev and Dawes, while Drury moved into the first line wing spot formerly occupied by Zherdev.  Whether or not that’s the correct way to shuffle those six forwards remains to be seen, but moving Dru to the wing and elevating Dubi is the right way to go.