What Ranger Jerseys Can You Comfortably Wear?...

I started compiling this list after I was at the Ranger-Islander game at the Coliseum last Wednesday and saw Nikolai Zherdev and Lauri Korpikoski standing next to each other. Of course, it wasn't actually them, but two people who paid a combined $360 for the jerseys of two players who no longer play on the Rangers.

Yet, some players no longer play in New York, but you can still wear their jersey and be proud of it. And even further, there are some players who play here whose jersey should not be worn, and if it is, you should be ridiculed.

Think you're safe? Check the list...

Good (Wear Proudly)
Jaromir Jagr #68 (had a great resurgence in NY; since he didn’t win a Cup, you have about 2 more years with this jersey before you should move on)
Brendan Shanahan #14 (I would never fault someone for having a Shanny jersey)
Henrik Lundqvist #30
Blair Betts #15/19; Jed Ortmeyer #41 (you can wear there jerseys for years and they would be appropriate)
Nigel Dawes #10 ; Petr Prucha #25 (it’s not your fault they were traded)
Sean Avery #16
Dan Girardi #5; Brandon Dubinsky #17; Marc Staal #18; Ryan Callahan #24; Artem Anisimov #42
Mike Del Zotto #4; Matt Gilroy #97 (buy with no hesitation; there two will be around a while)
Marian Gaborik #10
Steve Rucchin #20 (because I have one, and every once in a while, I still wear it)
Petr Nedved #93
Brian Leetch #2; Adam Graves #9; Mark Messier #11; Mike Richter #35
Jeff Beukeboom #23 (or mostly any member from the 1994 Cup team)
Ales Kotalik #12; Vinny Prospal #20; Martin Straka #82; Michael Nylander #92 (not the superstar of the team, but they compliment a Jagr or Gaborik well)
Eddie Giacomin #1; Rod Gilbert #7; Andy Bathgate #9; Ron Duguay #10 (or any other number he wore); Phil Esposito #77 (if you were old enough to watch these players play)

Iffy (Wear Cautiously)
Darius Kasparaitis #6; Pavel Bure #9; Theo Fleury #14 (I don’t mind the players, but it’s time for a new one, don’t you think?)
#28 Colton Orr (had a solid season last year, but there weren’t other choices?)
#99 Wayne Gretzky (can’t fault a Gretzky jersey, but it has been a decade since he left and he was in the twilight of his great career here. If he won a Cup, that would be different, of course.)
Alex Kovalev #27 (hey, he still might come back, and after all, he did win the Cup here as a rookie)
Chris Drury #23 (you obviously bought it during the summer of 2007 when you thought he’d be a superstar in New York, but he plays hard enough most of the time to warrant wearing him on your back... sometimes)

Bad (Give Them Away to the Garden of Dreams Foundation)
(Before you ask, yes, I have seen all of these jerseys recently.)
Dale Purinton #5 (seriously, I once saw one)
Andy Bathgate #9 (if you were born after 1955, you should not wear a Bathgate jersey. If you have seen him play in person, go for it.)
Lauri Korpikoski #29; Fedor Tyutin #51 (while it’s not your fault they were traded, it’s your fault for buying one in the first place)
Wade Redden #6 (must’ve been a present)
Ivan Baranka #21 (one NHL game and you have a jersey?)
Steve Valiquette #40 (you got it to be different, admit it)
Michal Rozsival #33
Eric Lindros #88 (Only one other jersey makes me madder, and I even have a Lindros jersey... safely in my closet. While Lindros, the player, wasn't awful, this jersey symbolizes a horrible stretch of time in Rangers history and wearing it only brings up good memories. No one goes, "Oh, the Lindros Era! What a jolly time!")
Luc Robitaille #20 (he wasn’t here long enough/didn’t play good enough to warrant having his jersey still 10 years later)
Chris Higgins #21 (until he proves otherwise)
Nik Zherdev #13
Markus Naslund #91
Ryan Hollweg #44 (Yes, I have one - I got it after his great 2005-06 season - and no, I’ll probably never wear it again, even though about 15 players have signed it)
Tom Poti #3/16
Dan Blackburn #31 (by this logic, you should’ve gotten a Lundqvist when he first came up)

And the worst Rangers jersey to wear...
Scott Gomez #19 (You bought it when he was signed. He never did anything in New York except play well against them. Everyone sighed when he was finally traded. Yet, you continue to wear this on your back when real players like Prospal and Gaborik actually show up to play. If you have a Scott Gomez jersey, please don't wear it. No one wants to see it, no one wants to remember him.)

Good Stuff Tonight...

I try not to be one of "those fans" - you know, the type who sulks and glooms and says the team is horrible after a loss, but they're the first one to chant "We Want the Cup" after a convincing win.

However, tonight was a good game. The difference between Edmonton and Vancouver, between 1,160 kilometers or 721 miles (thank you, Google Maps), was the offense. It was firing tonight. They took advantage of power plays. (The 0% on the power play was misleading in Vancouver, by the way. Chris Higgins scored a second after one expired.) They swarmed the net. They passed well. But more importantly, they took shots. Take a shot, you never know what will happen.

They had 23 shots in Vancouver - 14 in the second period and then 9 combined in periods 1 and 3. Tonight, they had 39. Phil Esposito always says - and I'm sure Alex Ovechkin will concur - you can't score if you don't shoot. Dan Girardi had a great pass/shot today that Sean Avery deflected. It didn't go in, but it was close. Get the puck to the net. If they don't get the puck to the net, Marian Gaborik doesn't one-hand that last goal home.

The effort was definitely there tonight...

Aaron Voros - Horrible 1st period, but he did play better in the 2nd and 3rd... saving his job for another day. Granted, he probably only had another 3 minutes all game, but they were better than his first minute, where he took 2 penalties. When he swung his stick at an Oilers' knees (can't remember which Oiler) and took a two-minute minor, did you see how *shocked* he was? How could he be surprised! It looked like he was cutting down a tree!

(By the way, I've never used the two asterisks on a word before in my life.)

Brian Boyle - Good ol' T-Bone. How many open nets can a man miss in one period? The answer, it seems, is two... twice. But he had a few good shots, a couple of good hits, and played like a 4th line player should: Good enough for the coach not to be nervous to put you out on the ice.

Chris Higgins - I won't profess him a great pickup yet, although we're all happy he is here instead of Scott Gomez. However, isn't it amazing how much better he is playing since he scored one goal? He has another goal already and played inspired, tough hockey tonight. If only he would do a move on a breakaway. Every time he gets one, he just shoots, and so far, it hasn't worked.

Ryan Callahan - "Gritty." Good word to describe his play tonight, as far as most nights.

Brandon Dubinsky - Was he even out there tonight? I noticed his play as much as I noticed Healthy Scratch Donald Brashear.

Wade Redden & Michal Rozsival - Weak games as well. Redden reminds me of myself, when I was 9. Any time I got the puck, I would get scared and pass it to the nearest teammate. That's what he does. Don't believe the hype in his "great pass to spring Higgins on a breakaway." It was lucky, he was just clearing it. And Rozsival? For a defender, he sure doesn't defend. I wouldn't want him on my team during an autumnal game of capture the flag, let alone near my crease in an NHL game.

Steve Valiquette - The team played good in front of him - especially Girardi and Marc Staal. It was huge for him to win this game, especially after the Sharks game where he got shellacked. Now, like Boyle, John Tortorella should feel safe putting him into a game.

Now, let's not be overly optimistic. Edmonton is a mediocre team. They were .500 going into tonight, and they were on a slide. Sheldon Souray is hurt, significantly impacting their power play. Mike Comrie was sick. A lot of other players got hit with the flu bug also the past 10 days.

So, what did the Rangers really do? They beat up on a weak team. And sometimes, that's just what you need to get back on track. Now, let's see if they can keep up the pace against the 9-4-1 Flames, who suddenly are an offensive team.

(By the way, I love these 9:30 games. I leave work at 8:20, clean up, eat, and I'm ready for pre-game and the opening faceoff.)

Tom Renney...

The last two times that the Edmonton Oilers faced the Rangers, the Rangers lost in a shootout. Last time, they fired 42 shots on net and scored on only 2 - on a backup goaltender. Ah, the Tom Renney era...

Well, tomorrow, the Rangers meet Tom Renney again, and while not many current players were there for a lot of his reign (Henrik Lundqvist and Michal Rozsival were the only ones there from his first full season in 2005-06), it should be an emotional night for him. Imagine if the game were at Madison Square Garden?

While I rip on Renney a lot here, I do think he was a very good coach, and I'm sure he will be sometime soon. There are a few coaches who will "always be a Ranger," no matter where they wind up coaching or working. Mike Keenan, though he only had 1 season, is one of them. Renney is another.

No coach could have done what he did after the lockout. He took a team destined to fail -at least according to the experts - and brought them into the playoffs, one point away from winning the division. He got 123 points out of Jaromir Jagr - a man who would have refused to return to the NHL if he wasn't playing for Renney in New York, he once said. He turned a team of veterans - Rucchin, Jagr, Straka, Rucinsky, Kasparaitis, Nylander - and young no-names - Jay Ward, Ortmeyer, Dom Moore, Hollweg, Orr, Prucha, Betts - into a contender.

I still say that if not for the Olympics, the Rangers could have gone far that year. Jagr and Lundqvist came back injured - Jagr with hip and groin problems, Hank with headaches from grinding his teeth. And then there was Sandis Ozolinsh, who seemed like a good trade at first until he came apart in the Devils' series and cost the team 2 games.

Still, Renney was a huge part of the rebuilding process. While they rebuilt, he brought them into the playoffs. He just wasn't a good fit for the team last year and going forward. His style had stopped working, and he continued to play people based on their paychecks rather than skill (see: Wade Redden on the power play while Petr Prucha sat in street clothes).

For all the good he did, he will be remembered for 2 things: being fired when the team couldn't score and for Game 5 in Buffalo, where Fedor Tyutin and rookie Dan Girardi were on the ice with 30 seconds left with a 1-0 lead. When they iced the puck, Tyutin and Girardi had to stay on, they couldn't clear the puck, and Chris Drury scored.

Besides that being the one game that still upsets my stomach (and the only time I ever lost sleep over a sports event), you know that if they won that game and went up 3-2 in the series, they would not have lost Game 6 at MSG. I'm not saying they would have won the Stanley Cup - hell, they might not even have beaten Ottawa in the Conference Finals - but they would have beaten Buffalo. And maybe Chris Drury never would've been signed the following summer, and maybe everything would've been different.

But this is how it's played out, and I wish Tom Renney the best in Edmonton - no matter how often I make fun of his healthy scratches or his power play.

Western Canada Road Trip...

Ah, the dreaded Western Canadian Road Trip. Remember last time, in January of 2008 when they got 1 points in 3 games?

They ran into a red-hot Calgary team featuring Kristian Huselius, who had 4 points in the 4-3 game, including a goal from behind the goal-line that somehow sneaked past Henrik Lundqvist.

Steve Valiquette had no offense in a 3-0 loss to Vancouver.

And if not for Chris Drury scoring with 7 seconds left to force overtime, they would've left with 0 points instead of 1 (Edmonton was monstrous in the shootout in '07-'08, partially because then-rookie Sam Gagner was unstoppable in the tiebreaker).

Last night against Vancouver felt like that trip all over again. The Rangers applied little pressure, even in the 2nd period when the shot-counter went in their favor. Sure, they fired 14 shots in that frame, but how many were legitimate scoring chances? Two? Maybe just one?

They ought to have pounced on Vancouver, especially in the 3rd. They had, what, 4 power plays in a row, including a double-minor to end the 2nd period? And they couldn't do anything with it. Vancouver was shorthanded for 8 minutes, had good players in the penalty box, had Henrik Sedin and Willie Mitchell playing at 40% because of injuries, and still, no good opportunities. Other than Chris Higgins, who worked hard for Goal #1, there were a handful of Rangers who actually showed up. Matt Gilroy was one of them; he looked fantastic. Mike Del Zotto wasn't a standout but played good. Ryan Callahan played hard, again, and couldn't score, again. And Brandon Dubinsky... is on the trading block?

You would have thought that the big brawl would have fired them up, but it really just jazzed up the Canucks as it seemed the Rangers were content bringing the game to overtime and settling for a point - or a shootout.

* * *

I love that Dane Byers is in the lineup. As opposed to Evgeny Grachev or Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Byers is never going to light it up in the NHL, so he doesn't need to "dominate the minors before becoming an NHLer," and the old "it's better to play 20 minutes a night in the AHL than 7 minutes in the NHL" adage doesn't apply to him.

I would rather have Byers in the lineup over Donald Brashear any night. Maybe Brashear of 2003 or 2006, but not the 2009 version, where he is slow, shows the same hockey sense as Colton Orr, and doesn't fight - and when he does, he loses. Byers showed fire last night. Sure, he didn't win the fight, but he was out there battling, starting stuff, and showing that he belongs in the NHL. Even John Tortorella gave him a "good game" en route to the locker room - although Tortorella's good game pat fell in an awkward spot.

Been Busy...

I apologize for not writing more about our beloved Rangers, but between working very long days, going to a wedding yesterday, being hungover today, and running back and forth between the bank and the GMC dealership, I haven't had any free time to watch hockey, much less write about it.

Okay, that's being dramatic. I did miss all of the game against Minnesota, but I caught the first 2 periods of the Bruins game before I had to leave for work Sunday afternoon.

I'll be back sometime later tonight, probably around 1 in the morning, after I watch the Canucks/Rangers game on TiVo.

In the meantime, a very happy birthday to Islanders' Writer Bryan, who turns Colton Orr's number today.

Don't Believe The Hype

If I close my eyes, I can picture what so-called "experts" are writing and what they're saying.

"I'll tell you what - I like this New York Islanders team."

"This is a team that will never say die."

"These Islanders do not know the meaning of the word 'quit'."

"Last year's Islanders team folded in the clutch. But not this year's team."

"Opposing teams can no longer take the New York Islanders for granted."

Gag. I'm not trying to be the turd in the punch bowl here, but just about all of these quotes could have been attributed to the Islanders we saw twelve months ago. You know, the team that was hovering around .500 (or, as Howie Rose would say, "The NHL's definition of .500") and the eighth seed for the first two months of the season. Ultimately, as the season progressed, blown leads became blown games, the entire team got hurt, and that was that. This year has gone much the same way, but the Isles managed to not blow a couple of games. So now, I'm supposed to be excited? Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

Here's the thing. Everyone else might be surprised about the Isles' success of late and the sudden emergence of Jeff Tambellini. I'm not.

Tambellini

Let's discuss Tambellini first, because he's the easy one. When Mike Piazza left the Mets to sign with the Oakland A's as a designated hitter, he said the hardest adjustment was keeping his mental focus when he wasn't hitting. As a DH, all he could do was hit, and if he was hitting poorly, it was hard for him to feel confident. After all, he couldn't pat himself on the back for catching a good game anymore. Most pure scorers in the NHL are not unlike designated hitters in baseball - they need to do their one thing extremely well in order to feel confident.

Tambellini, obviously, took a long time to come around as a scorer in the NHL. Quite frankly, aside from the past week, there's no proof that he will ever become a consistent scorer in the NHL. But Tambellini has been smart enough to focus on playing a physical game over the past 40 or so NHL games he's played. This has not only helped the team and his development, but it's helped his own psyche as well. Now, if he's not scoring, he can contribute in other ways and know he's making a difference. And sometimes, all it takes is for a scorer to not think about scoring for him to suddenly be presented with great scoring opportunities.

Yankee fans out there know that a relaxed player is that much more likely to succeed. It seems that all it took was one home run for Alex Rodriguez to transform from vilified slugger into Captain Clutch. We won't go that far with Jeff Tambellini yet. But this is truly Tambellini's chance. With the support of the fans and tangible proof that his hard work is paying off, he's got a great chance to earn another contract with the Islanders.

Level of Competition

Here's the thing about the Islanders. They play extremely well against good teams. Think about all the third-period leads they've blown over the past two years. Can you recall them blowing a lead against an inferior team? That's because it never happened.

On Friday night, you might have heard Howie and Billy talking about the Capitals playing to the level of their competition. This is usually a criticism levied against good teams. However, you don't have to be a good team to be guilty of this. The Islanders do it all the time. They'll give a team like Washington or Pittsburgh a run for their money, then go out and stink up the joint against Florida the next night.

According to the incomparable PlayoffStatus.com, the Islanders have the highest strength of schedule thus far in the Eastern Conference. That is, their opponents have earned a higher percentage of potential points than the opponents of any other team in the East. In most cases, you'd look at a team's strength of schedule and assume that if they've done well against good teams, they'll also do well against poor teams. Sadly, that's never been the case with the Islanders.

In four nights, the Islanders scored wins over, in terms of points, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best teams in the East. This is an amazing accomplishment, and Islanders fans are right to be excited. However, I've seen this before, and I know that the real test for the Islanders is how they perform against teams like Tampa Bay and Toronto. I know they can hang with the best teams in the league, even if "hanging" means being underestimated and then getting destroyed when the sleeping giant awakens. But I don't know that the Islanders can win the games a good team is supposed to win.

As crazy as it sounds, November might be a tougher test for the Islanders than October was. The Islanders played 13 games in October; aside from Carolina, all of their opponents were eighth or better in their respective conferences. In November, the Islanders will play some good teams such as New Jersey and an underrated Atlanta team, but they will also play Minnesota (15th in West), St. Louis (13th in West), Florida (13th in East), Toronto (15th in East) and the aforementioned Hurricanes. If the Isles can play these teams with the same intensity as they showed against the likes of the Rangers and Capitals, I'll feel a lot better about this team. As it stands now, though, I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm enjoying this recent run of success, but I'm taking it at face value. As Islanders fans, judging from past experiences, that's really all we can do.

On Face(off) Value

When you're a fan of a losing team, you generally don't watch them expecting to win. Instead, you watch hoping you'll see something amazing. For example, even though the Mets were out of playoff contention in July, I still watched them most nights, just in case they finally pitched a no-hitter (yeah, I know) or did something particularly special. In hockey, there are no milestones that would compare to a no-hitter, so I hope for very memorable games, the kind that transcend a losing season. Last year, beating Detroit and Chicago on the road were such games, and Opening Night would have been such a game had the Islanders pulled it out.

Wednesday night's game against the Rangers would certainly qualify as what I'd call a memorable game. If the Islanders to produce a 2009-10 highlight video, highlights of Wednesday night would be heavily featured. The Islanders played their game, were intense throughout, and won their first regulation game by sheer will. The Islanders also won because of a growing trend in their play - their success in the faceoff circle.

Over the summer, I read Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Moneyball, for those who don't know, explains how the small-market Oakland A's of Major League Baseball were able to stay competitive with teams like the Yankees by building their team around undervalued assets like walks and on-base percentage. As I read Moneyball, I tried to figure out what statistics in hockey could be the basis for a winning team in today's NHL. One of these days, I'll post my thoughts. For now, though, perhaps the most important stat I'd build around would be faceoff percentage.

Think about it. There are approximately 60 faceoffs in a game. The average team, of course, wins 50 percent of those faceoffs, meaning that they begin play with the puck 30 times a game. A team that wins 60 percent of their faceoffs, on the other hand, begins with the puck 36 times. That's twelve times more than their opponent. So, not only do you have the edge twelve more times than your opponent, that's twelve times that your opponent can't score until you give up the puck.

As of right now, the Islanders sit at third in the NHL with a success rate of 54.1% in the faceoff circle, with the Isles dominating faceoffs in their past few games. And while this success hasn't resulted in wins just yet, there's plenty of reason for optimism - aside from the Islanders (.409), Minnesota (.250) and Nashville (.458), every team over 50% in faceoffs has earned more than half of the points it could have possibly earned so far this season. What's particularly telling about the Islanders' success is that it's been widespread. Every eligible Islander is over 50% in faceoffs this year, including John Tavares at 50.3%, Josh Bailey at 53.9%, and both Doug Weight and Nate Thompson at 58.8%.

What does all of this mean? Simply put, if the Islanders are better than their opponents at controlling the puck off the draw, they're that much more likely to control play and potentially generate good scoring chances. In addition, their opponents will have to make more plays on defense than usual in order to get the puck. And if the Islanders can get past their third period hiccups - as they did on Wednesday night - their faceoff skills can help them become a truly dangerous team.

Weak Night at the Coliseum...

The Rangers played tonight like they played all of last season - tentative, over-thinking hockey. While they had over 30 shots, most of them were bad-angle shots like Chris Drury, Markus Naslund, and Scott Gomez did over 89 games last season.

While I'm all for getting the puck to the net to see what happens (you never know how it will get deflected or where the rebound will land), these soft shots from the boards at awful angles are going to be scooped up by the goalie or easily cleared by a defender.

Nearly everyone tonight passed up shots, most notably Michal Rozsival and yes, Michael Del Zotto. Get the puck to the net! See what happens!

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi played well tonight, regardless of their accountability on the 2nd goal. They were physical and cleared the crease for Henrik Lunqvist a bunch of times. Staal hits nearly everybody who gets near Lundqvist, and Girardi has started to protect him after the whistle, getting between him and an opposition forward who is still skating towards Hank.

Lundqvist had a good game tonight, and for the Rangers to be competitive, he had to have had a good one. Without Marian Gaborik out there, the Rangers often looked lost. With Gaborik, it would've been a whole different story. That 0-for-3 on the power play probably would have changed, and there were a lot of times where you could tell Vinny Prospal needed him out there but had Enver Lisin or P.A. Parenteau on his wing instead. Not that they are bad players - not at all. But there is a world of difference between them and Gaborik, and that was evident in the 3-1 final tonight. (This is not meant as disrespect to Lisin or Parenteau; in fact, Parenteau had a very good game, especially for an NHL debut, and I would love to see him on the ice instead of Voros or Brashear in every single game not against the Flyers, Ducks, or Maple Leafs this season.)

Just look at who replaced Gaborik on the power play to see why they didn't score on it. Rozsival played the point for an entire 2-minute power play in the 2nd period, and he was just as ineffectual as last year during those 2 minutes.

* * *

You can fault Madison Square Garden all you want for being expensive, but a 22 ounce beer there is $9, and that comes in a mug you can keep and with a pretzel. A 16 ounce plastic Bud Light at the Coliseum? $8.50. That's crazy! I know you have to fund Rick DiPietro's salary somehow or another, but that's ridiculous. I'll stick with my overpriced, oversyruped Diet Coke.

Even my pretzel twist was poor tonight. It tasted like hot, salty dough. And the gridlock in those narrow Coliseum hallways must be what Hempstead Turnpike and the Meadowbrook Parkway are going to be if the Lighthouse ever gets built.

Islanders-Rangers, Game 1

Most teams look forward to April and beyond for their most meaningful games. The Islanders, on the other hand, play Game 1 of their annual six-game "playoff" against the Rangers tonight. It's not a stretch to say that these rivalry games can save a season, particularly for a subpar team. For example, the Rangers didn't make the playoffs in 2003-04, but did beat the Islanders six times in six games. The 2009-10 Islanders obviously aren't going to be anywhere near the playoffs this year, so a good showing against the Rangers would do a lot to please their fans, who are losing patience after nine losses in ten games.

Both the Rangers and Islanders are playing similarly to their counterparts from last season. The Rangers have jumped out to the third-highest point total in the NHL so far in this young season. The Islanders, on the other hand, are blowing third-period leads left and right, but at least they're competing on most nights and have taken some of the league's best teams (Boston, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Washington) to overtime. We all know how last year turned out - the Isles stopped blowing leads and simply began getting blown out every night, while the Rangers slowed dramatically off their hot start, fired Tom Renney, then blew a 3-1 series lead over Washington. In short, this writer isn't sure what to make of either team just yet.

One unfortunate thing about tonight's game is that we aren't likely to see the physical play and fighting that has made this rivalry so much fun over the years - and the absence of which has made this rivalry much less fun in recent years. The Islanders simply don't have the toughness to match up with the likes of Donald Brashear. Perhaps we'll see some fights involving middleweights, but it's not likely. Add in the trend of Rangers fans taking over the Coliseum when the Rangers play there, and things suddenly don't look too promising for the Islanders.

That said, these are games both teams routinely get up for. Nobody takes anything for granted when the Rangers meet the Islanders. Even when there's nothing to play for, there's everything to play for. Here's hoping tonight's action reflects that sentiment.

One last note about tonight's game - for the first time in the NHL, John Tavares and Michael Del Zotto face off. These former teammates with the Oshawa Generals and London Knights are the early front-runners for the Calder Trophy, and it should be interesting to see how they play against one another.

---

NOTE: A big thank-you goes out to Zach for holding down the fort while my wife and I welcomed the newest addition to our family. And thanks to the NHL Network's non-stop repeats of NHL On The Fly for keeping me company during 3 AM feedings.

The Good...

It's been a slow week here at The Rivalry, due to Bryan having a new baby to take care of (poor excuse) and me having work and a marathon 24 session the other night (better excuse).

I wanted to write something Saturday night after the Rangers overtime loss to Montreal about how, even though they lost, there was still some good to take from the game. Mainly, I wanted to write about the good surrounding the goals they scored.

For example...

Rangers fan favorite Michal Rozsival had a nice shot on Jaroslav Halak moments before Artem Anisimov scored to make it 1-1. It was good to see Rozy shooting - I guess he finally realized there's no Jaromir Jagr to pass to and he decided he better shoot. And Anisimov? That goal was beautiful - patient and surgeon-like in accuracy.

While Ales Kotalik had a great shot on his goal that made it 2-1 and Sean Avery had a nice pass from behind the net (which he does quite often), the real credit lies with Dan Girardi. If not for him quickly catching the puck from midair and passing it behind the net from the point, the puck would've been cleared and play would've gone down to Henrik Lundqvist's side of the ice.

On the 3-1 goal, all 3 players who got points had excellent plays. Marian Gaborik fought off a defender and passed to Vinny Prospal, who saw danger coming and softly hit the puck off the boards to Matt Gilroy, who had an absolute bomb from the point. He also was patient and followed it up with a booming shot. Very good to see that.

Gaborik made it 4-2 on nice passes from Mike Del Zotto and Enver Lisin. In two quick, long passes, they sprung him for a breakaway, and of course, he scored.

Sure, there were some defensive breakdowns. I guess Gaborik's back-checking could be a little stronger. And yes, they blew two 2-goal leads before losing the game. And yes, they gave up a hat trick. And they even made Scott Gomez look good in the game. But they did have a few good plays that shone through - most notably Gaborik's offensive skills and Girardi's great play on the Kotalik goal.

* * *

I want to talk about two things now, both related to last night's win against Phoenix.

1) Chris Drury - He hasn't been playing incredibly well, and he definitely hasn't been lighting it up on the stats sheet, but I think that's okay this year. Last season, the pressure was on him to score, and he came up with 56 points in 81 games, just under his career average of 59.53 points per game. (You could even say he had a lot of pressure to score in 2007-08 when Brendan Shanahan was hurt, Jagr was hurt and slower, and Rozsival and Marty Straka wouldn't fire a puck to the net to save their lives.)

However, everyone expected more from his. Add up his giganticly inflated contract, his first year as Captain, and the departure of the other veterans (including Avery), and people expected numbers that he put up under Lindy Ruff in Buffalo (his 2 seasons in Buffalo post-lockout: 67 and 69 points... still not huge numbers).

This year, with Gaborik, Kotalik, Prospal, and Avery here, he can stop trying to score and just be a good defensive forward, which he has been. He is killing penalties and blocking a ton of shots and being a behind-the-scenes player. That's what his role always was, and that's what it should be.

Of course, Blair Betts did all that for 11 times less money.

2) Enver Lisin - The season is still young, but I would call trading Lauri Korpikoski for Lisin a good trade. Korpikoski scored 14 points in 68 games last year and looked lost for most of the season. Not very good for the guy drafted 10 spots ahead of Mike Green in 2004.

Lisin is fast as hell, and what's even more surprising is that he's keeping up with Prospal and Gaborik on the 1st line. That gives John Tortorella so many more options, including putting a struggling player - say, Chris Higgings - on the 4th line.

He's been an exciting surprise, and I'm curious to see where he goes from here. Now let's just hope Tortorella keeps him on the 1st line for a while, and doesn't "Tom Renney" him back to 7 minutes a game.

The Difference in Games...

Not too much to say about tonight's game that you won't read elsewhere since I recorded the game since I was out and watched it quickly.

However, notice the difference in the two games between the Rangers and Devils this year, most notably in penalties and power plays.

Arguably, the two teams played basically the same in both games. Sure, maybe the Rangers weren't as good tonight, but they both played the same style - fast-paced, slightly gritty, kind of dirty.

Yet, on Monday, October 5, 18 penalties were called in 3 periods. That does include some co-incidental minors that didn't result in a power play (an Ales Kotalik hooking call with a Nicklas Bergfors diving penalty; Aaron Voros and David Clarkson both for roughing in the 3rd), but there were no fights. All 18 penalties were two-minute minors. Each team had 6 power play opportunities.

On Thursday, October 22, 6 penalties were called. Two were from the same fight, and there were only 4 two-minute minors called, and one of them was with 24 seconds left.

What was the difference, you ask? Was it John Tortorella showing the Rangers videos of their penalties so they don't repeat the same mistake? Possibly, but how to account for the Devils only taking 3 minors as opposed to 9? I think there was another factor in play.

Dare I say it? The difference is the network that the games were played on. The first game (10/5) was on Versus, where they want to bring in new viewers. What do "fringe fans" want? By fringe fans, I mean, say, people who normally don't watch hockey but turn it on from time to time; or people who have no rooting interest in one of the teams playing but are watching anyway; or people at a bar watching it because it's on. Fringe fans want to see goals. More penalties = more power plays = more goals and exciting chances.

If Calgary is playing Columbus, I have no reason to watch a 1-0 game since I'm a Ranger fan and have no rooting interest in it. But if it's 6-5, 4-3, or even 6-5, I'll watch because it looks like an exciting game. Same for people who don't ever really watch hockey - they won't watch a 2-0 Devils shutout but they'll watch a 3-2 Rangers win with back-and-forth action and breath-taking saves by both goalies.

Now, tonight's game (or technically, last night's game) was on MSG or MSG+. Odds are, if you're tuning in to a Rangers/Devils game on MSG instead of the Yankee playoff game where they have a chance to win the pennant, you're a big fan and will watch the game no matter what. If it's 5-on-5 play the whole game, I'm still watching.

I constantly say how much I dislike the games on Versus, not only for their annoying broadcasts (although last year was much worse than this year) but for the facts that the referees constantly blow the whistle for phantom calls and bogus penalties.

If you don't believe me, keep an eye out during the next Rangers game on Versus. That game is November 17 at MSG against Washington. Think the NHL doesn't want Poster Boy Alex Ovechkin, Nik Backstrom, Mike Green, and Alex Semin to score 8 power play goals that night? That game might break the record for two-minute minors.

A Few Notes on an Off Day...

First off, I would like to thank longtime loyal NY Hockey Rivalry reader Lou for the seat upgrade at Monday's game against the Sharks. Thanks to Lou, who had two extra tickets, me and my friend moved up to Section 94 - the purple seats in the lower bowl, 10 rows from the ice. Lou deftly knocked off a 22 ounce Heineken, a footlong hot dog with kraut, and a pretzel with mustard. Yours truly had his own 22 ounce Amstel Light, a pretzel, and popcorn. Pretzel was tasty (though not Nassau Coliseum-esque). Popcorn was not very good. Actually, of the 4 words on the box of popcorn, only one was true: Fresh Popcorn, Delicious! Crisp!

Second, I want to mention that Cory Murphy was placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils. A few times in the past, I'd mentioned that I wanted to see Murphy in a Rangers sweater. While it's not a pressing manner, I still think he'd be worth a shot as a 7th defenseman. He is 31, played college in New York (Colgate) and pro in Finland before coming to America in his late 20s. He can lead the power play pretty well but was never given the chance in Florida or Tampa Bay, and the Devils apparently gave up on him after being a -1 in 3 games.

Third, I am making my glorious return to Montreal in early 2010. In February of 2008, right before this website started, I went to a Rangers game at the Bell Centre. It was actually Super Bowl Sunday, the day the Giants beat the Patriots, and it was the only NHL game on the docket. The Rangers were down 3-0 but wound up winning 5-3 in an incredible game.

So this year, I return. January 23. Anyone else going to be there?

Tom Renney Would Be Proud...

It appears I'm alone over on this website as Islanders Writer Bryan celebrates the birth of Baby #2. He doesn't answer any of his texts, no matter how funny I am, or how hilarious the picture I send him is. And no, rumors the baby being named Avery Henrika are greatly blown out of proportion.

Without further ado...

4 Reasons I Think Tom Renney Was Coaching Tonight's Game vs. San Jose Instead of John Tortorella...

1) The first clue I had that Mr. Renney was behind the bench and not Mr. Tortorella was that Steve Valiquette wasn't pulled after the 4th goal was given up. Mr. Tortorella would have put in Henrik Lundqvist at that point, regardless of whose fault the goal was. He would have switched goalies to wake his team up. This inkling that Mr. Renney was coaching tonight was only made stronger when the game became 5-2 and Valiquette stayed in net.

2) The 2nd clue was the Intermission Switch. Classic Tom Renney right there. Mr. Renney doesn't switch goalies mid-period. He waits until the 2nd intermission, then sends the new goalie out. He doesn't like to hurt anyone's feelings.

2) Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden were defensive partners for much of the game, especially at 4-2 and 5-2. Mr. Tortorella would never do that, he has too much sense. However, Mr. Renney still seems to be relying on players' salaries, not players' skills, to win the game.

3) The 4th line was on the ice in the 3rd period. While Mr. Tortorella "shortens the bench" when he wants to win the game. In previous seasons, Mr. Renney often would use Colton Orr, Blair Betts, and whoever else was on the 4th line to "shut down the opposition" while they added no offensive value whatsoever. Notice tonight's 4 shifts in the 3rd period for Donnie Brashear when they needed a goal.

4) Petr Prucha didn't play tonight for the Rangers. That's a staple of Mr. Renney's reign.

No, of course, I jest. There are 3 reasons I know Tom Renney didn't coach the Rangers tonight...

1) He works in Edmonton, and Edmonton won a 2-1 game. If that doesn't scream Tom Renney, I don't know what does.

2) Redden and Rozsival played a grand total of 0 seconds on the power play. If this was a Renney Game, they each would've had time at the point, passing up on shots, missing the net, and letting the puck bounce over their sticks and out of the zone.

3) Jed Ortmeyer scored tonight. He never scored in a Tom Renney game!

* * *

Redden and Rozsival were especially atrocious tonight. Any good that Redden did in those games against Toronto was washed away tonight. He wasn't physical (okay, he did land one check when he fell onto a Shark); he couldn't pass the puck correctly; he let people fly by him. To those who say I'm too harsh on him, were you watching this game?

When either of them are on the ice, I want the Garden fans to chant "AHL! AHL!"

* * *

That said, I did see two firsts at MSG tonight. One was my first Michael Del Zotto #4 jersey - the first of many, no doubt. (I saw my first Matt Gilroy #97 jersey Wednesday against the Kings).

The other first? The first time I ever saw a Wade Redden #6 jersey on a Ranger fan. Don't believe me? Look!

Wade Redden's cousin, or nephew, or some other family member, at Madison Square Garden. 10/19/09

Beating the Weaker Teams...

What was refreshing (I hate that word) about tonight's 4-1 Rangers' victory over Toronto was the fact that the Maple Leafs are a weaker team.

I know what you're thinking, and you're right - a good team should always beat a weaker team.

The Rangers have had a horrible problem with losing to teams below them in the standings. It didn't matter what the numbers on the back of the jersey were - whether they were 2, 9, and 11 or 68, 82, and 92, or 35 or 30. They would always play pretty tightly against better teams. They had good records against New Jersey and the Penguins, and they would keep up with Detroit (although they are 0-3 vs. the Wings since the lockout), yet they would give up 2 goals leads against Atlanta and they'd lose to Chicago when the Hawks had 5,000 fans in the crowd.

And tonight's game was setting up for a fall. A 6-game winning streak; a team they just beat 7-2; a road game after a few days off; the opponents were looking for their first win of the season; and a nationally televised game in Canada where the refs might've called a lot of bogus penalties against the Rangers. In previous seasons, this would be a game they would be up 2-0, then disappointingly lose 4-2.

(To be fair, the referees called a good game although I would've liked to have seen Jason Blake get a penalty for running into Henrik Lundqvist on his breakaway.)

Is this team different? Very. Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal don't quit; Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan aren't intermittently good like last year (ok, Callahan played hard every shift last year but Dubinsky disappeared for weeks at a time); Chris Drury isn't relied upon for offense so he can be a "behind-the-scenes" type player (killing penalties, blocking shots, etc.).

Yet there are 3 huge differences in this year's team...
1) The defense moves the puck and shoots. Most "SHOOOOOT" shouts from the Garden crowd should be silenced this year. Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival aren't passing up shots or missing the net as much since Mike Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy are passing and shooting on the power play. Hell, Dan Girardi had a two-goal game.

2) John Giannone said tonight that the Rangers lead the league in power play chances. Of course, they've played 8 games now (no team has played more than 8; a few have played as little as 5 or 6), but they're also fast and hard-charging, which makes opponents more likely to hook, slash, grab and pull in order to get back into the play.

Think about it: Marek Malik used to take tons of penalties because he was slow. He would get beat, turn around, and have to grab a jersey or use his stick for leverage, gaining nothing but 2 minutes in the penalty box.

Now, you have Enver Lisin, Artem Anisimov, Sean Avery, and Gaborik skating. A defender is going to have to yank them when they get passed, and then it's a power play.

3) Well, #3 is the whole point of the post. The Rangers are beating up on lesser teams. And to be honest, of the 8 games, only 3 are from teams who won't make the playoffs (Leafs twice, Senators once). The Penguins and Capitals and Ducks are going to be in the playoffs, and the Devils and Kings have good chances of it.

But what happened when they played those non-playoff teams? They pounced. And that's what good teams do.

Sabres 6, Islanders 3

Another game, another loss for the Islanders. That's five straight losses to open the season, in case you lost count. Personally, I don't care about the wins and losses; this season is about improvement and developing young players, and these things don't always show up on the stat sheet. Far more significant than the end result is how the team played on the way to that result. Tonight... um... they didn't play that well. Here's what I saw tonight...

- As the puck dropped tonight, I thought about how strange it was that the Islanders completely changed their goaltending. It's not common for teams to get rid of both of their goalies, but the Isles did just that. Most of us were glad to see this. However, Dwayne Roloson's five-hole is giving me nightmares of the Ron Hextall era. Please let Martin Biron start tomorrow night.

- Speaking of roster moves, Rob Schremp should find himself in the Tambellini position tomorrow night, as he had a rather Tamby-esque game tonight. Here's hoping Schremp finds the pretzel twists as delicious as Zach and I do. I also hope Tambellini can make the most of his opportunity, assuming it does come his way tomorrow.

- Mark Streit is usually pretty reliable on the defensive end, but he got caught napping twice in the offensive zone tonight. One of those times led to the penalty shot that put the Sabres up 2-0. What happens if the Sabres don't score that goal? Who knows? But these mistakes don't make losses easier to stomach.

- Tim Jackman and Joel Rechlicz played 10:46 tonight. That's 10:46 COMBINED. Even with their totals added together, that's less than any individual Islanders player, just edging Josh Bailey. This brings up two points. First, why waste roster spots with guys who barely play; furthermore, why play guys who can't, you know, play? Second, it's not very smart to totally stunt Josh Bailey's development as a player by teaming him with stiffs like Jackman. Josh Bailey is a playmaker. Tim Jackman has seven goals in 142 NHL games.

- If I were Scott Gordon, I'd take every young player the organization is trying to build around and give those players serious minutes on the penalty kill. Letting up power play goals doesn't matter in a lost season (yes, the season is five games old, but we all know the Isles aren't going anywhere), but it can pay dividends down the line. John Tavares played 56 shorthanded seconds tonight; let's see that number go up. And for the record, Gordon does a great job of spreading out his minutes, but it'd be great to see him essentially force players to learn the defensive side of the game as they develop.

- Speaking of Tavares, every single time he touches the puck in the offensive zone, he's liable to create something. He managed to score a goal tonight, but of more interest to me were the two open nets he missed and the countless times he stickhandled out of trouble. Every time he touches the puck, I'm amazed. His hockey sense is uncanny and can literally make something out of nothing; given the lack of quality NHL players on this roster, often times, he'll have to do just that. What a tremendous player, and what a treat it is to watch him play.

- My last note for tonight - why, oh why, must the Islanders constantly be relegated to the dregs of MSG Plus 2? They played on Channel 414 tonight and they will be there again tomorrow, despite being at home and despite the Rangers being on the road. I understand the Islanders' ratings do not compare well to those of the Rangers and the Devils, but if the Islanders are at home, they really should be shown in high definition. It's a bit depressing to look for the Islanders game on TV and see that they can't even crack the double digits on the dial. This only helps perpetuate the image that the Islanders are a second-class organization, which surely doesn't help the Islanders as they attempt to rebuild all the facets of their team.

Busy night tomorrow. My predictions: The Rangers win 4-2 over the Maple Leafs, while the Isles lose 5-3 to the Sharks.