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And this is why my parting shot the other day was surrounded around the word patience. Just when the Rangers show incredible life and score 14 goals in two games, they fall back down to reality and get shut out again. Such is life as a Rangers fan, I know. But, tonight’s a new night and New York gets another crack at Montreal, a team the Blueshirts scored six goals on less than a week ago.

I sound like a broken record, but tonight’s game is huge. The Rangers need to keep racking up the points wherever they can find ‘em. As it stands right now the Rangers are in the seven seed after getting passed by Philadelphia, who is playing well of late and looks to be a more and more dangerous team. Meanwhile, Montreal is only two points behind New York. So, with the conference so tight from seeds 6-13, another slip up tonight could put the Rangers back on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. By the way, Montreal is also coming off a 3-1 win last night over New Jersey.

Now for the fun part. Torts gets testy. If you didn’t see it already, you have to check out the video. Torts was asked by Larry Brooks of the New York Post if a third man should’ve stepped in when Gaborik and Carcillo threw down to protect Gaborik. Apparently Torts was not in the most chipper of moods with Brooks at that point and went on to tell Brooks he was probably beaten up in the bus stop most of the time. While I know Torts was very upset after the loss at the time and wanted to stand up for his players, you have to just laugh at that scene. Brooks is a very well-respected journalist, but he caught Torts at the wrong time. I thought the question was fair and that someone should’ve stepped in the back Gaborik, but what’s done is done. Maybe we’ll see a bit more of an edge in tonight’s game. The game isn’t on TV here tonight, so I’m not sure if live blog will go down but check back before the game. Eric and I will have a new podcast up tomorrow as well so get your emails in at hosts@nyrangerscast.com.

Never fear, Live Blog is here!

Live Blog: Lightning @ Rangers

The Rangers stay at home for tonight’s game against Tampa Bay. For the second time this year, Tortorella’s club gets a chance to knock off the team he used to lead. I don’t think many of us forget New York getting flat out embarrassed 5-1 down in Tampa earlier this season on what was supposed to be a special night for Torts. This time it won’t be in the Sunshine State, but the Blueshirts get a chance to string together back-to-back wins at home before heading on a brief road trip.

I will be interested to see how the Rangers come out early. It looked like same old, same old from New York when it trailed 2-0 after one period Sunday against Montreal. Out of nowhere, the Blueshirts scored six unanswered goals to secure the win. So now what? Do they go back to their usual ways and struggle to win a low scoring game? Or, do the Rangers come out early, play well, continue to score and put together a convincing win over an inferior team? I honestly don’t know what to expect.

What Eric and I did talk about in the latest podcast is the fact that strong games, like the Montreal game, have seemed to be coming more in bunches as of late. Earlier in the season, aside from the early 7-game winning streak, a convincing win came few and far between.

A couple things I look for in tonight’s game: as mentioned above, I want to see a fast start. Get out of the gates and score the first goal. Don’t give fans a reason to start saying “here we go again”. Also, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky, please play every game like Sunday’s win over Montreal. If those two skate that well and contribute in the scoring department along with Gaborik’s production, look out. Sean Avery: keep being a spark for the Rangers and a pest for the opponents. Gotta love what he’s been doing since the Dallas game. Lastly, Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik: do you still exist? Okay, that last one is more of a joke and if the Rangers get anything from those two (assuming they aren’t healthy scratches) then they’re playing with house money.

With all of this said, the most important thing the Rangers need to do is just go out tonight and win the game. Points are more important than anything else at this point in the season.

Don’t forget to check out our latest podcast. Also, as Eric mentioned, we are going to try to get the Live Blog back up and running tonight so check back before the game and keep your fingers crossed. Let’s Go Rangers!

We know you’ve been clamoring for it, so we have delivered. The latest episode from the NYRangerscast is now available for download. We discuss the teams play at home, their play against top tier opponents and what they need to do before the Olympic Break. A

Also, as a side note, we are going to attempt to bring back the Live Blog for tomorrow nights game against Tampa Bay. We have had some issues with it lately due to a new software program we have been using. But, we will attempt a Live Blog tomorrow night, so be sure to roll through for that.

…you’ve got to beat the best.  But, if you’re not the best…and you come close to be beating the best…than you’re still pretty good.  What a game last night, huh?  Sorry for the lack of content over the past couple of days, I’ve been in transit back to Syracuse.  But, I did make it up in time to watch the thriller last night against New Jersey.

96 shots.  0 goals.  That’s what happens when two goalies bring out the best in each other, and when two teams bring out the best in each other for that matter.

The thought that kept going through my head while I watched the game last night was, the Rangers have peaked.  To me, last nights effort (win or lose) was the best game the Rangers have played all season.  They had the most effort, most intensity, and most fortitude than in other game.

Now, you can argue whether or not it’s a good thing to peak in the middle of the season.  But, here are two reasons why I’m okay with it.

1) Many people, myself included were beginning to believe that this team had peaked at around game 8 of the season.  So, it’s nice to see them bounce back strong as of late, posting a 8-1-4 over their last 13 games.  Also, the Rangers are doing this while they are still in contention.  God forbid they would have waited another month to figure this thing out, they would have been so far out of the race that picking up 20 points in 13 games wouldn’t have meant anything.  Peaking has done this team some good, moving them to 5th in the Eastern Conference.

2) (Yea, I know, that first one was like 2 reasons within a reason…sue me)  Secondly, peaking doesn’t have to be a one game thing.  Yes I believe last nights performance was the Rangers peak for the season.  But, nothing says that they can’t level off and continue to play at this high of a level on a consistent basis.  Or even reach a new peak at some point. Obviously it would be difficult to play at that level for the remaining 30+ games of the season, but if they can hold steady they will be in good position come the Olympic break.

Do you think last nights game against the Devils was the best Rangers performance of the season? Leave your comments below.

…Not as catchy as Ocho Cinco, but that’s the number that the Rangers starting goaltender will wear tonight against Atlanta.  That’s right, number 30 will be getting the night off, meaning Chad Johnson will make his first NHL start.  The 23 year old Alberta native has a 12-7-2 in Hartford this season with a 2.07 GAA, saving 93% of shots against him.  No word on how many times Henrik Lundqvist had to be pinched when he was told he had the night off.

The Rangers are 7-1-2 in their last ten games, and only one point behind 6th place Ottawa.

Before Johnson was named starting goaltender, I was going to give this blog post the title of “Do You Remember?”  That’s because the Rangers hadn’t won back-to-back home games since Oct. 26-Nov. 1 against Phoenix and Boston.  They did it last night, beating Dallas 5-2 a night after defeating the Bruins.  They have been winning with scoring from some unlikely places lately.

Sean Avery had four points last night, netting his first goal since Nov. 23rd

Chris Higgins scored his first home goal of the season against Boston (only took 23 games)

Ales Kotalik has goals in each of the past two games…he hadn’t scored since Nov. 5th

What does this tell us?  Well, it tells us that the Rangers can win games when someone other than Marian Gaborik scores.  Now, we can’t get ahead of ourselves and expect these guys to put up goals consistently all of a sudden.  But, you’ve got to start somewhere.  Let’s see if they can continue the production tonight against the Thrashers.

I’ve decided to call this last month or so before the Olympic break the “Olympic Stretch” for a number of reasons. First, it seemed like a good time during that last podcast to draw attention to the number of games left (at that time 21) before the break. Second, the Rangers had just made it through a stretch of games against lesser opponents and this stretch is anything but that. Most importantly, I believe this stretch will tell us everything we need to know in terms of how far this team can go in the playoffs — in other words, contender or pretender.

We got our first small glimpse of that stretch Monday night against Boston. How ’bout a round of applause to the Rangers for winning a home game? On a more serious note, I read Gregg M’s comment that said “tonight was a turning point”. I had to think about it for a little, but I’m starting to think I agree with Gregg. Having said that, I would be naive to believe that with a ton of confidence. Time and time again we have seen this team have a meltdown game after a nice win or a couple of nice wins. That goes back to Eric’s Ranger cycle of life.

For some reason that Boston win felt different. The Rangers played well for 59 out of the 60 minutes. As you all know, that one minute of poor play cost them a two goal lead and almost a point or two. But we saw some resilience for the first time in what feels like forever. They blew a two goal lead in the third period in the blink of an eye. I know I sure said “here we go again” and I’m guessing a lot of you out there in Rangerland said the same thing. To my surprise, the team fought back and got a late goal to get two points while not surrendering an OT point to the opponent. So I see that game as one we might look back to at the end of this stretch, the end of the regular season or maybe even the end of the entire season and call it a turning point. Yeah, hind sight is 20-20, but that is the kind of game that builds character and helps shape an attitude and identity. Am I hyping this up too much? Perhaps. At the very least, it’s a damn good way to start this stretch.

Don’t forget to check out our latest podcast. One last Happy New Year to you Rangerland.

Happy New Year everybody!  Hope everyone rang in the new decade in style.

The Rangers finished off 2009 with a bang, picking up 11 points in their last seven games.  Obviously that stretch included a post-Christmas massacre at the hands of the Flyers, but they came back to close out the year with a win against Carolina.  The Blueshirts begin 2010 in eighth place with 42 points.

Now, while I’ve been excited with the recent winning, I’m still tentative.  I’m sure you are too.  Going 5-1-1 against the Islanders, Flyers and Hurricanes, doesn’t scream Stanley Cup.  On a recent episode I said that a prolonged winning streak was necessary to keep this team alive for the second half of the season.  Well, we are in the midst of said streak and the Rangers are still barely treading water.  A whopping 5 points separates the #8 Rangers and the #14 Maple Leafs.  Imagine where the Rangers would be had they not beaten up on these lesser teams.

I’m not faulting the Rangers by any means.  They did what they were supposed to do, beat the teams on their schedule.  However, I’m not ready to declare this team “back in it” — not by a long shot.  I don’t think asking this team to beat a couple clubs that are ahead of them in the standing is asking too much.  Staying afloat and beating the teams that are trying to drag you under is one thing.  Grabbing the paddle from the guys in the boat is something completely different.

So, as nice as it’s been to watch this team win for a change (and trust me it has been great), my New Years wish for the Rangers is to start 2010 much like they started this season, 7-1-0.  Games against the Bruins, Devils and Stars will be tough for sure.  But if the Rangers want to prove to me they belong in the top 8, they need to start the year off with a bang and not look back.  Rangers fans love to cheer for a winner.  But fans also understand that to be able to cheer in the postseason, this team is going to have to beat some of the top dogs in 2010.

And besides, this team’s made up of Olympians…how could they fail?