Turning Point in Rangers' Season

It's been quite a while since I was able to post here, because my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world recently, and, as you can imagine, it has kept us quite busy.

During this time, the Rangers seem to have found their game, winning 7 of their last 8 games to move within one point of the first-place Flyers going into tonight's showdown in the City of Brotherly Love.

So, what turned the Rangers season around? Some might say their recent string of wins is due to Captain Jaromir Jagr re-emerging as a dominant force. Or, Scott Gomez beginning to settle in and find his game. Some might even say the emergence of the Rangers' "kids" have energized the team.

While all of that may be true, I prefer to think my daughter has made all the difference. The team's current 7-1 run just happened to coincide with her birth, and she has become the good luck charm for the season. I have posted a picture below of her enjoying (sleeping through) her first Ranger game.

Will the Rangers go “All the Way”? - Size Does Matter

In addition to staying True Blue to my tagline of “Shooting From Angles Not Covered By Any Other Blogs”, I am going to be just a little forward and fire my rubber load (so to speak) in the direction of a subject that I have yet to see mentioned on any Ranger blogs, websites, message boards, newspapers or magazines. And if this subject has been covered in any of the aforementioned forms of “social intercourse”, its coverage has been scanty.

While the main focus continues to be (and justifiably so) on the Rangers sizzling summer, double-dip splash into the UFA pool – A.K.A. Scott Gomez and Chris Drury – other ubiquitous Ranger topics include: 1) draft day’s Russian Heist (Alexei Cherapanov), 2) the relatively peaceful signings of Henrik Lundquist, Brendan Shanahan, Petr Prucha and Marcel Hossa, 3) the signing of Sean Avery after an ornery arbitration hearing (and its long-term consequences), 4) the trading of Matt Cullen and who his replacement will be, 5) the potential impact of Marc Staal and other highly touted prospects, 6) what will become of the current glut of defensemen and how the defense corps will ultimately pan out, 7) general opinions on the Rangers chances of winning the Stanley Cup, etc.

What never seems to be brought up is a very simple question: Are the Rangers physically equipped to be capable of winning the Stanley Cup? One of the reasons this potent poser should be a timely one is the urge that some of the league has had to enlarge since the events of last spring. Once the Anaheim Ducks consummated their season with hockey’s ultimate gratification, the Stanley Cup, some NHL teams have chosen to “go with the flow” and mimic the mighty Ducks. This was evident in the 2007 entry draft, where some teams refused to succumb to the temptation of raw talent, and instead decided to reload their pistols with brawnier ammunition. After all, in this copy-cat league the physically dominant Ducks have become the envy of all their gamey rivals in the hunt for next year’s big prize.

One might argue that the league’s rules favor fast, skilled teams - not necessarily big ones, and Anaheim’s championship was more an aberration as opposed to the beginning of a new trend. This argument would be supported by the fact that no Stanley Cup winner has repeated in 10 years, and that historically a size advantage in the playoffs doesn’t necessarily become the deciding factor. The Philadelphia Flyers, in their Bobby Clarke days, are the probably the best examples. On the other hand, had the Flyers actually added an elite goalie to the mix for many of these years, their physicality might have been the force that carried them over the top to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The biggest difference between today’s hefty hockey teams and those of yesteryear is that some of the current NHL teams, namely Anaheim and San Jose, have a frightening combination of size, strength, speed and youth. Anyone, who was watching the Detroit-San Jose series, would have bet the family fish tank after game 3 that the Sharks were going to swim away with this one. But despite being seemingly over-aged, out-muscled, out-skated and out-matched for much of the first 3 games, Detroit proved in a stunning 3 game turnaround that a “strength of character” advantage can sometimes offset an entire host of physical deficiencies. Should the Sharks be able to overcome their character issues this year, their daunting endowment of assets might make them the favorites to sink their teeth into the Cup.

Anaheim is dealing with a number off-season issues often encountered by defending Stanley Cup champions, such as players contemplating retirement and an increase in their players’ perceived value (and salary demands). This often leads to the loss of some players, who are lured away by other teams willing to overpay for their services. So depending on how things shake out for Anaheim, they could be headed for a fall this spring. On the other hand, should Anaheim eventually be able to get their Ducks in a row without ruffling too many of their franchise feathers, they will be every bit as formidable as they were last year.

What about the Rangers? As much as I enjoyed their brilliant resurrection late last season, which climaxed with an improbable surge to the playoffs and a first round thumping of a throttled Thrasher team, I knew that they realistically had no chance of “going all the way”. Although the Rangers inevitable encounter with the Buffalo proved to be a much closer contest than I could have ever anticipated, ultimately they were destined to succumb to the Sabres wealth of weapons.

But even if the Rangers could have pulled off the humongous upset against Buffalo and had the stamina to outlast the Senators (in what would have been a tough and evenly matched series), their bubble would certainly have burst against a physically superior Western Conference foe.

In the playoffs, much of a team’s success depends upon which opponents they are pitted against and how well they match-up against them. The Rangers had plenty of skill and speed, but not nearly as much as Buffalo. The Rangers certainly had enough size and grit to physically stand up to any Eastern Conference team that made the tournament, but not nearly enough to withstand the perpetual pounding that they would have received at the hands of the Ducks or Sharks. Had the Rangers encountered either of these teams in the Finals, they would have been eaten alive – as Duck soup for Anaheim or as Shark bait for San Jose.

In fact, the Rangers were fortunate that Philadelphia and Toronto didn’t make the playoffs last year. In the regular season, even though the Rangers could compete with these teams, it was obvious that both the Flyers and Leafs were more broadly built than the Blueshirts. Had the Rangers faced either squad in the post season, they would have had trouble holding their own in hit-for-hit hockey. Of course, the more drawn-out a series becomes and the further into the playoffs the match-up occurs, the more difficult it is for a smaller team to cope with the carnage inflicted by their colossal counterparts. This means that the Rangers would have a better chance of surviving this kind of clash had it occurred in the first or second round, as opposed to the final two rounds.

Relatively also enters into this equation. Certainly a team can more easily overcome a disadvantage, if the disadvantage is a minor or moderate one. A real mismatch can arise when one team has substantial supremacy in size, speed, or skill.

As teams continue to assemble the off-season pieces to their respective puzzles, it’s hard to say for certain how much of a relative advantage/disadvantage each club will have next year in the desirable attributes of size, speed, and skill. We won’t know the answers until each team’s internal competitions have been decided in league-wide training camps and all their final transactions have been made.

Aside from particular line combinations and defensemen pairings, the Rangers really have only a few spots that remain in question. Assuming that Ryan Callahan and Daniel Girardi have completed their post graduation requirements from the Hartford Academy and will remain in New York, along with two year veteran, Hossa, that leaves only one center position, a couple of fourth line positions, and one or two defense positions remaining in limbo (assuming no further trades).

Therefore, we have a pretty good picture of how the Rangers breakdown in some of the key physical categories. They would appear to have good (but not excellent) team speed and plenty of skill that would probably allow them to stay competitive (in this sense) with just about any team in the playoffs – especially since the Sabres machine lost two of their main cogs in Briere and Drury. Although the Rangers parted with a very speedy center in Matt Cullen and a very skilled center in Michael Nylander, they picked up two very fast centers in Gomez and Drury – with Gomez possessing excellent playmaking skills and Drury bringing a host of intangible qualities (one of which bit the Blueshirts in the butt in game 5 of the Sabres series).

As far as size and strength goes, they’re simply not among the Rangers strong suits - notwithstanding a couple of players whose physical force could potentially wear down their playoff opponents, such as Jaromir Jagr and Hossa. This is not to say that the Blueshirts don’t have some gritty players, as well as some other players (aside from Jagr and Hossa) of impressive stature - at least 6’1” and over 210 lbs. It’s just that Shanahan, Marik Malik and Paul Mara don’t play a physical style that wears down the opposition, while Colton Orr and Jason Strudwick are fringe players who are often not dressed.

Brad Isbister, whose offensive capabilities could never be confused with Joe Thornton’s, did provide the Rangers with some well-needed bulk late last season and in the playoffs. His ability to work the boards, cycle the puck and compliment Jagr made him an effective player, and in that sense, he will be missed. I should also mention that if the question mark at center is answered by Brandon Dubinsky, then on top of the other talents he brings to the table, his ponderous proportions and feistiness would definitely be a welcomed addition to the team.

Overall, I would say that the Rangers could physically endure a playoff series against most teams, but would very likely get blown away by the power of some of the jumbo jets they could engage in battle.

The reason that I’ve barely touched upon the “joys of youth” is because a Stanley Cup championship team is generally composed of a nice blend of young bucks and wily vets. Next season, the Rangers will probably have the right mixture of those ingredients.

Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether the Rangers have a chance to “win it all” is chance itself. Who knows if the elements that GM, Glen Sather, compounds will result in good chemistry? Who knows how healthy the team will be, especially heading into the playoffs? Who knows if a topsy-turvy season will be topsy or turvy in late April? And finally, who knows in the pursuit of the ultimate conquest, what sequence of opponents will need to be conquered?

So with size being one of many uncertain variables, will Lady Luck scorn the Rangers for their physical shortcomings? Or will the Rangers have the goods to get the gold (silver in this case)? These answers will go a long way in determining how deeply they can penetrate into the big dance come next spring. The final score will either show the Rangers living large as Stanley Cup champions, or being pre-maturely humbled as inadequate also-rans.

Postscript: Should the Rangers surmount all the obstacles and defy all the odds this season to hoist hockey’s Holy Grail, then next summer they would be wise to beware of invaders from the Great White North (Edmonton). For if “Kevin the Poacher” aims his next Lowe blow at the Rangers family jewels, they must prepare themselves by defending their Cup.

Courtesy of The Hockey Humorist - http://hockeyhumorist.blogspot.com/

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From Russia with Love: Ruskees Root for Rangers

In a painfully, horribly translated Russian article*, only one thing is clear - the favourite NHL (NKHL) team of Russian “compatriots” is the New York Rangers.

Click below for link to article. Warning! English majors and linguistic purists should keep some aspirin near their mouse before clicking.

Link to Russian article:

Second Warning! Do not attempt to use your spell checking and grammar correction tools on above article, as previous attempts to do so have generally resulted in software crashes and hardware failure. I hope that this second warning wasn’t too late.

Now back to proper English. The Russians’ top ten NHL teams in order of preference are:

"Rangers"
"Detroit"
"Montreal"
"Colorado"
"Ottawa"
"Chicago"
"Philadelphia"
"Atlanta"
"Pittsburgh"
"Toronto"

In trying to understand exactly why Russians feel a bond (shaken, not stirred) with the Rangers, three reasons come to mind.

1) Brighton Beach, home of the largest Russian community outside of the motherland, is located in New York City.

2) Alexei Kovalev, Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov, who were the first Russian players to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, did so while members of the 1993-1994 New York Rangers.

3) The Rangers were the team who selected (with the 17th pick) the highly touted Russian, Alexei Cherepanov, in this year’s entry draft – finally stopping his freefall from one of the top five prospects in the draft (as ranked by many scouting organizations).

In fact, none of these answers are correct, and as is often the case, we have to dig a little deeper to find the real reason.

The answer lies in one of the best kept secrets in the hockey world – Yuri Snirakov. Mr. Snirakov, a mathematical genius and devout connoisseur/consumer of Russia’s favourite inebriating brew (vodka), has been employed by the New York Rangers for the past two years as their head salary cap strategist. As it turns out, Snirakov moonlights as one of the United States’ largest importers of Russian vodka, and it is speculated that many of the recently built hockey arenas in Russia were partially funded by proceeds from Snirakov’s vodka sales. Always the loyal employee and diplomat, Snirakov keeps a bountiful amount of the “White Stuff” continuously free-flowing throughout the Rangers upper management - all the way to the Salary Cap Compliance Division at the nearby NHL headquarters in New York.

Click below to see directions from Madison Square Garden to the NHL headquarters in New York – a.k.a. “the Vodka Pipeline”.

Link to map and directions:

Let’s face it - how else could the Rangers 1) sign the two most expensive UFAs in this year’s pool, 2) re-sign all of their own key free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, to substantial salary increases, 3) retain all of their key players** under contract (including “yaromira Of yagra” who will make over $8.3 million this season), and still manage to keep anyone from their own organization or NHL headquarters from questioning whether they’ve exceeded the upper salary cap limit?

*First discovered original Russian article on Blueshirt Bulletin.
**I'm not counting former third liner, Matt Cullen, as a key player.

DISCLAIMERS:
Yuri Snirakov is a fictional character – a figment of my slightly warped mind. To the best of my knowledge, there is no one by that name employed by the New York Rangers. Any resemblance or similarity of Yuri Snirakov to any person (fictional or real) who is either living or deceased; or any resemblance or similarity of Yuri Snirakov to any business, organization, or other entity (fictional or real) is strictly coincidental.

I have no knowledge or evidence that the New York Rangers management has ever used any illicit means to garner favors from the National Hockey League. I have no knowledge or evidence that any form of alcoholic beverage has ever been exchanged between (or even consumed by) any one associated with the New York Rangers and the National Hockey League. For all I know, everyone associated with both organizations might be teetotalers.

I have no knowledge or evidence of a division actually named “Salary Cap Compliance Division” at any National Hockey League headquarters anywhere in the world. Therefore, in order to determine for yourselves how the Rangers keep managing to mysteriously stay under the upper cap limit, I suggest that you hire your own private investigators, contractual attorneys, and mathematicians. On the other hand, perhaps some mysteries are best left unsolved.

For all of our Russian “compatriot” readers who are offended by this blog, because it contains content that can be construed as “Russian Stereotyping”, I do apologize. If it helps, my ancestry is partially Russian, and I don’t consume vodka or any other form of alcoholic beverage – although I am good at math.

Finally, for all of our Russian “compatriot” readers who are either a) not offended by any “Russian Stereotyping” contained in this blog, or b) don’t care about the “Russian Stereotyping” and are just looking to get “sloshed”, I understand that Mr. Snirakov is quite generous in dispensing the “Monopolka” to his fellow countrymen. However, since I’ve already admitted that Yuri Snirakov doesn’t actually exist, your chance of scoring a couple pints from him is relatively low – if not impossible. Try your local pub or liquor store.

Sabres Escape from New York

It is over and Buffalo fans can breathe a bit easier, well, at least for a few days. The Sabres finally overcame a spirited effort by the Rangers after they brought their effort in line with their talent level.

I must admit I came away from the series with a much greater respect for Tom Renney and the Rangers in general. Unfortunately I also found my lack of belief in Jaromir Jagr reinforced in games 5 and 6. Jagr played ok but he had the ability to dominate this series. The Sabres simply couldn't handle him down low. Instead of bulling to the net and forcing the Sabres to play hack-a-shaq on him he was simply content to stay to the outside. On the Sabres end Danny Briere upped his effort nicely in games 5 and 6, but... a 7 million dollar player, as Danny is likely to be, needs to be better.

Color me thorughly impressed with Michael Rosival, Lundqvist and Martin Straka. I thought each of them brought it all every single game. They were the heart and soul of a strong Ranger's effort. I also liked the contributions of the young Rangers like Girardi, Callahan and Betts. Each played strong and bode well for the Ranger's future.

Kudos to Ryan Miller, Chris Drury and Henrik Tallinder who played marvelous the entire series. I honestly believe that Tallinder outwilled Jagr and did what you have to do with Jagr. If you make it hard for Jagr to be great he won't be and Tallinder made him work for everything and Jagr eventually faded.

Up next is the Ottawa Senators. This should be an emotionally supercharged series and has the potential to be an all-time classic. The NHL should get a showcase of the open, emotional hockey they want to sell.

My pick: Sabres in 7 nasty games.

Sabres take care of Rangers at MSG...

Tom Renney receiving a round of applause as he acknowledges the Rangers' fans support throughout this series and the entire season as well.

Here's a final look at the series, from a Fanatic's point of view, and by no means a Rangers or Sabres fan's (ahem, PW and Ghost, feel free to comment.)

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres played well in general, although, in their first two games on the road, at MSG (their only two losses) they played horribly, actually, uninspired, as if they didn't want to win, and I commend the Rangers and Tom Renney for the great show they gave us this series, it was a roller-coaster ride all the way and every game was decided by a single goal; the most recent (obviously, if you haven't heard yet) being a 5-4 Sabres win on this glorious Montreal (and hopefully, wherever you are) afternoon (or night...or morning).
After two paltry losses to New York in Games 3 and 4, I was beginning to think that they were running out of gas, and that (as the NHL has witnessed a lot in the past century)their fantastic season was all for none.

In Game 5, in Buffalo with the series tied at two, Chris Drury put through a maze of players, behind Henrik Lundqvist off a rebound that even fooled two defencemen trying to stop the puck derrière the Swedish-born goaltender as well.
Drury has shown he is an amazing leader, and Daniel Briere's under-par play this series is only fueling Darcy Regier in one direction concerning both players' contract status, (both are UFA's on July 1st, and it's unlikely that he will retain both.)more precisely, in Chris Drury's direction.
Drury also prompted Ghost to write a spontaneous, emotion-filled post late Friday night when his blood pressure was soaring and his hands were shaking after the Sabres won 2-1 in overtime, with help from Chris Drury's goal at the 19:52 mark of the third period.

Imagine this: a Rangers fan sitting excitedly on his couch staring at his television screen, feeling the unavoidable power of victory approaching.
But then, all is lost when Drury scores, and his coffin is sealed with Afinogenov's blast from the point.
Now? Well, now he's probably in Heaven, wishing he were in Hell.

No but really, Rangers fans have nothing to hold against their team, Glen Sather put together a terrific team, even more terrifically coached by Tom Renney.
Led by Jaromir Jagr (...at home) on the scoresheet (with a little help from Michael Nylander) and with Henrik Lundqvist stopping the puck in their own end, you can say bad luck was the reason the Rangers lost this series.
They played so well, and deserved to beat them Sabres, but, sometimes, logic prevails over reason.

The Buffalo Sabres are the better team, the best team in the NHL and have been tops ever since the new NHL was born, it was just logic that Buffalo won, and frankly, I thought it would have been a lot easier for them to put the Rangers away, but no.
New York fought till the bitter end, and it was bitter.

The return of Paul Gaustad to the Sabres' lineup was more valuable than thought, he was an all-around smashing success in his return to the lineup after missing 35 games with an injury.

I'll let the Ghost and PW fill you out on the players, these were just my general impressions.

Oh, and PW would like for me to present to you this little pic of his, showing Henrik Lundqvist's backdoor, his weakness, where the Sabres didn't shoot in Games 3 and 4.



--BBR

Rangers pursue their Quest

Tomorrow, the Rangers will face the Buffalo Sabres in the 5th playoff game of their series. After tying the series up at 2 games-a-piece after a controversial play, the Rangers are looking to grasp some kind momentum going into the HSBC Center.

Some Rangers have shown up in this series whereas some others do not even seem to be present on the ice surface. Among the first group, are captain Jaromir Jagr, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and pest-in-chief Sean Avery. Each helping the Rangers in their own way, Jagr with the goals, Lundqvist with the saves and Avery with "pi**ing off the oppostion", have, all combined, given the Rangers a chance at a task, a dream that was out of proportion a mere week ago.

Even though having lost their last game in Buffalo, the Rangers kept the Sabres' explosive offense to a slim 3 goals, but failed to tie the game in the final minutes, thus losing the game 3-2.
But something happened after that loss, something stronger than that very Sabres' offense, that sparked the Rangers' and their defense. The result to that "something" was the fact that the Rangers would only allow 2 goals to the Sabres in their next 2 games.

Hopefully, that streak will continue and the Rangers will be able to net (at least!) one on Ryan Miller tomorrow in Buffalo.

Go Rangers Go