Tonight the New York Rangers took
on Vancouver who came is as both the hottest and consensus best team in the
NHL. When the game was over it was the
Rangers who had a signature win on the backs of a brilliant all-around
performance. For those waiting for the
other shoe to drop on this season need to stop looking for that side of the
coin and believe because this team is for real.
They are not the most talented team in the league by any measure. They are not the most consistent team in the
league by any measure. What they are is
one of the hardest working teams in the league by all measures. When this team plays its game there is no
team they cannot compete with and performances like that more than making the
league and the fans believe that, reinforces that belief in the players.
The game itself saw the Rangers
behind a Wojtek
Wolski goal and Henrik Lundqvist shutout defeat Vancouver. The game was likely the best game of the
season for the team as they played a complete sixty minutes, were solid in all
three zones and in their typical form found a way to get the win. There were many stars in the game, but a few
stood out above the rest as are detailed in the game recap.
In an ugly moment during the
game Alex
Burrows speared Marc Staal in the gonads, yet it was Staal’s retaliation
that got him the only penalty on the play.
Not sure what it is with the referees and the Rangers that opponents
keep getting away with dirty plays against them, but this one more than the others
got to coach Tortorella.
In his postgame
Torts did not hold back going so far as to say if he were Staal, “I try to
break his ankles.” Not sure if anything
will come out it from the league but props to Tortorella for defending his
star. Tortorella obviously talked about
much more and the full thing is worth watching not just that part of the clip.
This morning I took a look at
the Rangers captain situation to see if the time had come for Drury
to step aside so the young core could take the titles to match their roles. Maybe it is not logical to think that Drury
would take such a step, but that would be why they call it leadership if he did
it.
This afternoon there were injury
updates on the injuries to Ryan Callahan, Erik Christensen, Vinny Prospal
and Derek Boogaard.
Also this afternoon there was a
story from Larry Brooks on how the Rangers
are potentially willing to listen but not shop Marian Gaborik. In the end I do not see the Rangers moving
Gaborik especially with the position they are in and the move to bring in
Wolski this week, but it was interesting to see it written about in that
context as well.
