Rangers Paste Frustrated Capitals In Total Team Effort

 What a difference a night makes.  After failing to convert on just about anything last night the New York Rangers looked like they could do no wrong tonight whether it be the goal onslaught or the posts that the Capitals hit four different times in the game.  This is the kind of game the Rangers needed with this stretch of games and there is nothing negative to say about the way the team performed.  Over the past few weeks even when the Rangers have won their games it has left a lot to be desired in terms of the way they have played and then there have been the efforts in the losses but tonight was like a different team and a tremendous result came out of it.  We will see if the Rangers who have not been good at it can build on a performance like this and take it from game to game because these are the kinds of efforts that if done consistently can let them not only play with and beat any team in the league but be considered a contender.  The question as usual with this team though is if they can bring that consistency.

That said before I get to all the good stuff I sadly have to scold the classlessness of some and far too many Rangers fans that were in the building tonight who cheered when Alex Ovechkin was hit in the third period by Alex Semin’s shot on his knee.  It is one thing to boo him when he touches the puck and cheer when our guys shut him down, but you never boo an injury to ANYONE.  What makes it worse for me is that those same fans who were cheering Ovechkin being hurt would be setting this city ablaze if in another building an injury to Gaborik, Lundqvist, Staal, Callahan or any Rangers player had been hurt and the other fans cheered.  We are better than that kind of behavior and I expect not just next time but every time for our fan base to show that.  Now onto the game.

The first period in all honesty was not that great of a period for either side as each team would have chances but neither really put an imprint on the game, but the Rangers would get the only marker of the period late when a great shift by Frolov, Boyle and Prust would get cashed in.  Brandon Prust kept the puck alive and finally threw the puck at the net and it would deflect off Tom Poti’s skate at 17:57 of the period.

The second period was the best period of the season for the Rangers, though some of that luck I spoke of came into play as well as the Rangers would score four times and be saved by three posts that could have made it a different game.  Right off the start in the second Michael Del Zotto would make a very good play in center disrupting the Caps rush up the ice, eventually the puck would end up with Artem Anisimov in the neutral zone.  Anisimov would take the puck from there skating over the offensive blue line and ripping a wrister through Hannan’s legs and over the glove of Varlamov to make it 2-0 59 seconds into the frame.  The goal was Anisimov’s first in his last 11 games.

On the next shift more hard from Artem would draw a penalty to Scott Hannan and the Rangers would cash this opportunity in.  After a good shift Staal would work the puck to Rozsvial who gave it back to Staal who took the shot and Marian Gaborik would make a beautiful deflection through the five hole making it 3-0 3:07 into the period.  This would lead to Bruce Boudreau calling a time out and giving his team the business.

Unfortunately for the Capitals the response to their coach would be on delay as Alex Ovechkin would fail to dump the puck in deep and on a bad line change Brandon Dubinsky was left alone with the puck and he would score again through the five hole to make it 4-0 at 4:30 mark.

The Caps would start to get emotionally involved in the game when at 5:16 of the period Hendricks would challenge Michael Sauer to a fight and Sauer would oblige.  The fight was not much other than a few shots and a takedown though Hendricks would take a few liberties on the ice. 

The fighting side would continue when after a hip check from Alex Ovechkin to Dan Girardi, which was clean, Ovie would skate out to center ice and drop the gloves with Brandon Dubinsky as the frustration for the Caps captain had just boiled over at that point.  Dubinsky would win the fight and the video of the whole thing can be seen here.

Right after the fight Girardi would take a penalty and you felt even up 4-0 this was a crucial moment for the Rangers to kill this off.  Well not only did they kill it off but 35 seconds into the kill Marc Staal after making the defensive play in the corner would feed Brandon Prust who played the puck up to Brian Boyle.  Boyle would carry the puck into the zone and had a streaking Staal with him for the two-on-one and after delaying the pass Boyle would feed Staal for the shorthanded goal at 10:42 that made it 5-0.

The third period the Rangers would not let off the gas at least on the scoreboard as 4:11 into the period after a beautiful fake back to the point that froze the Capitals defense, Dubinsky would spin and play a forehand pass to the slot for Ryan Callahan who would double hit the shot into the net to make it 6-0 and complete Dubinsky’s Gordie Howe hat trick.

Things would get chippy after that as 12:29 into the period there were issues with Avery and Hendricks that we will come back to.  At 13:31 of the game Callahan would end the scoring as on a two on one with Dubinsky Cally kept the puck and ripped a shot high glove to beat Varlamov and make it 7-0.

In getting back to Avery and Hendricks they would battle as soon as they got out of the box much like Avery and Tootoo from the Nashville game.  The fight itself was unspectacular but as I brought up Hendricks taking liberties earlier when on the ice Avery did it too and that cannot be tolerated either.  The rest of the game there were scrums and some bad blood but the Capitals at least showed some fight in the third.  There was also the incident I referenced at the top with Ovechkin so no need to do it again.

What does need to happen again however is the Rangers matching this kind of effort on Wednesday against the Penguins

• The entire team played an excellent game but the standouts for me were Dubinsky, Anisimov, Callahan, Prust, Staal and Lundqvist.
• Henrik bounced back in a huge way making excellent glove saves at multiple times in a blowout where it would have been ok to give one up but he wanted the shutout.
• Huge night for the Rangers homegrown talent.
• Rangers now 8-0-0 in second game of back-to-back

Brandon Dubinsky Fights Alexander Ovechkin (Video)

Has the frustration in the nation's capital reached the boiling point for its hockey team as well?  In the second period of tonight's New York Rangers vs Washington Capitals game with the Rangers dominating play frustration boiled over for Alex Ovechkin who threw a hip check on Dan Girardi that while clean would draw the ire of the Rangers. Ovie would then skate out to the neutral zone and try fighting Brandon Dubinsky to get his team going but they would fail as well as Dubinsky after taking an early shot from Ovechkin would clearly get the better of him.  Ovechkin deserved to be called for the instigator as he clearly dropped the gloves and initiated the fight, but maybe the referees felt sorry for the Capitals star having to watch his team in this game.

The play for Dubinsky defines the difference in his game this season as he has consistently taken up for his teammates at every turn as have the Rangers for the most part this season to their credit.  Enjoy the fight.

Zuccarello, McDonagh, Grachev Lead Way As Whale Feast On Monarchs in 5-1 Win

The Connecticut Whale continued their excellent play last night when they took on the first place Manchester Monarchs by dominating on course to a 5-1 victory.  The Whale who had an entire week off would show no signs of rust in their game on this night. The victory brought the Whale all the way back to the .500 mark at 11-11-2-4 and extended their run to 3 straight victories and 5-0-0-1 since the change to from the Wolf Pack to the Whale.  The game was led by another strong outing from some of the young guys with Mats Zuccarello, Ryan McDonagh and Evgeny Grachev playing important roles as well as Kris Newbury continuing his recent hot play.

The Whale would have a couple of good opportunities for Zuccarello and Newbury stopped early on but would finally break the seal at 12:11 of the first period when Ryan McDonagh would score his first professional goal on a slapper from the point.  The goal was a big step for McDonagh who struggled mightily early on in his first professional season but has been playing much better the last month and on the goal there was no sense of hesitation to fire the one-timer.  After struggling all the way to -8 early in the year with his +1 in this game McDonagh has worked his way all the way back Even.

The Whale would extend the lead just 12 seconds later when Kris Newbury would streak in and beat Jeff Zatkoff five hole on a wrist shot.  The goal for Newbury was third on the year and with his assist later on Newbury now has 2 goals and 8 assists in his last five games.

The Whale were not done as Mats Zuccarello would get in on the act at 15:45 of the first with his 11^th goal of the year when after his initial shot was stopped  by the goaltender Newbury would flip the puck back into the slot and a hard drive by Zuccarello to the front of the net would leave him there to take the rebound on the backhand and deposit in high glove the net.  The Whale would not get the 3-0 lead at the end of one period though when Wade Redden turned the puck over and the Monarchs would cash it in on a deflection off Niemi and by Johnson with just 20 seconds left in the period.

For all the bashing that Wade Redden has taken from Rangers fans, most of it deserved, a play like he had early in the second is why he has been a positive to that AHL team and the fans should give him credit for that as well.  Early in the second Pavel Valentenko got hammered by Rich Clune who is a tough guy and Redden while not one immediately came to the aid of his teammate and regardless of the outcome it was a symbol of why the entire team has been better lately.  The team has been doing a phenomenal job of late in standing up for one another when the situation calls for it.

Zuccarello would strike again with his 12^th of the season at 11:57 of the period on a play where hustle and determination is the best way to describe the goal.  Zuke was tripped up just inside the offensive zone and would still find a way to play the puck towards the corner from the ice.  Kris Newbury would get to the puck, survey the ice and then find a wide open Zuke for a pass in the slot that the Hobbit would put home.

Another aspect of the Whale’s hot streak has been scoring in bunches and they would do it for the second time in this game as 1:12 after that goal they would strike again this time from Evgeny Grachev.  On this goal Grachev would carry the puck into the zone play a drop back pass to Dale Weise but instead of watch Grachev continued skating to the net and he would be rewarded.  The shot by Weise would leave a rebound in the crease and Grachev was right there to stick home his 4^th goal of the season.  The overall numbers on Grachev still look awful but on the brighter side it was his third goal in the last five games and all have been on plays that show he is finding how he should be scoring.  Also Grachev now has at least 2 shots in all four games this month and 9 of his last ten games so he is being more active which is always a positive.

The third had no scoring and lots of fighting.  The game by Zuccarello and his two goals have only aided to the calls for him to be up in New York which I wrote about here this morning.

Also, over at Blue Seat Blogs there is a story on the Rangers allowing Tim Kennedy to seek a trade, so check that out.

Rumor: Rangers Trying To Deal Frolov

In news that will come as a shock to no one who follows the New York Rangers the team is said to be attempting to trade summer signing Alex Frolov.  This was bound to happen soon anyway, but Frolov may have served to speed up the process with his heart to heart in the Russian news complaining about his ice time over the past week.  In a move that can only be justified as an attempt to showcase Frolov for other prospective clubs since his whining in the press Frolov has been moved up from the fourth to the third line and being inserted into power play minutes neither of which he has earned with his play.  The speculation of this comes from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun and the full comment is the following:

The Rangers are trying to move LW Alex Frolov to just about anybody. They don't want much in return for Frolov, who was signed as a UFA in the off-season to a one-year, $3-million deal. GM Glen Sather is having a hard time finding any takers and Frolov didn't help matters by complaining to a Russian journalist about his ice time last week. It's believed the Senators looked at Frolov, but they don't need any more soft forwards

To say that the Rangers are not looking for much in return for Frolov should be considered an understatement cause a bag of pucks would be of more use right now to the club.  As long as they do not take on any players with additional years on their contract I do not think anyone really cares who they get for him, though I would personally rather have a draft pick.  I presume a lot of teams will be hesitant and while the Russian article might have hurt Frolov with the Rangers it certainly did not help his trade value as any future team now has to be wary of this kind of behavior.  There are enough teams struggling to score that I presume eventually one of them will take the gamble on Frolov, but it could take longer than Rangers fans are prepared to wait.

Mats Zuccarello Time Needs To Come Now

I give in.  Just a few days ago I addressed the calls for Mats Zuccarello to be called up due to his recent hot play and I said that it was still too early for the move to be made but the combination of watching the Rangers play another inept game that lacked any offensive creativity and Zuke scoring another two goals for the red-hot Whale have made me rethink my position and say it is time to give the kid a shot.  Zuccarello now has 12 goals and 8 assists in 28 games on the year but an even more impressive 10 goals and 8 assists in his last 16 contests only to get more impressive 6 goals and 6 assists in 10 games and finally 3 goals and 1 assist in his last two.  The point of breaking it down to that extent is to show that he is getting better and better and when he is on his game he not only gets points but he gets them in bunches with seven multi-point games on the season.

When I talked about this on Wednesday I said that one of the main issues I had with calling Zuke up right now was where he would play in the lineup given that it was unlikely any of the top 3 lines would be a place he would be put and that the impending returns of Drury and Prospal only further complicated those issues.  Scratch all of that out now as well because if I have to witness another game of Alex Frolov on the power play I might have the uncontrollable desire to wrap a car around a tree, but luckily for me I do not drive.  In the comments Shurshik14 suggested letting Zuke play on the top line with Stepan and Gaborik and while I said that is a lot to put on a kid still adjusting to the North American game, at this point it is truly worth a shot.

The frustrating thing watching the Rangers is not just the lack of scoring which fans by now are relatively used to it is the utter lack of creativity in the lineup and if there is one thing that Mats is a lock to bring it is some flash and creativity.  You have a player who sees the ice exceptionally well, is a very good passer and for a change is someone who can finish the play.  Add that to your best playmaking center and your best offensive player all three of which can pass, skate, and score and it could be a very dynamic combination.  The only issue playing those three together is that either Stepan has to be the grinder in the corners more than he does now with a Fedotenko of the line will just have to use their skill instead of playing the dump and chase style, not that a little less of that would be a bad thing. 

Maybe it is funny, maybe it is not but to me it is because hearing Torts today say that Zuke was not ready only helps me believe that calling him up is the right move and maybe even that Torts believes that because he does have a history of saying one thing and doing another with the media.  So let a stop showcasing Afro and instead call-up the Hobbit not named Frodo.

Lundqvist The Fall Guy Again, But Plenty of Blame To Go Around In Rangers Loss

Each time the New York Rangers win all I hear about is the playoffs and what seed they are at and at different points I try to let myself believe in this team all the while in the back of my head knowing they have not beaten anyone and then there is a game like tonight.  Tonight is a step up from the competition of the last four games but nowhere near a true test when a team comes in having gone 1-5-1 in their last seven and 0-6 in weekend home games.  The one thing the Jackets possess that the Rangers have been unable to account for all season is speed and it would eventually burn them again tonight.  For two plus periods they played a decent if not good game but their inability to cash in on chances left them in a tie game when Henrik Lundqvist let it an awful goal without question and he was bad on the first one in my opinion as well.  I am not one of those who is going to jump full on Henrik just because that ended up being the game winner but he does let in way too many soft goals

For all of those who want to blame the loss on Henrik, what about the other 19 guys who played in this game and could only must 1 goal on a Steve Mason who is not exactly Vezina caliber this season?  How about the coaching decisions to continually throw Frolov out there on the power play shift after shift to kill chance after chance?  How about the utter lack of desperation this team possesses when they trail late in a game by one goal?  There are so many things that are wrong with this team that to blame it solely on Henrik is a cop out that happens way too often for fans.  This team lacks any sense of a killer instinct to put a wounded team down and instead all they seem to do is take years off the lives of the fans by letting the bad teams hang around and then the fans find a scapegoat for the whole team’s failure to get the result; tonight that is Hank.

Some disturbing stats to keep in mind: Rangers are now 4-13-1 when they are tied or trailing after 2; Rangers are now 6-8 when they outshoot their opponents and 11-3-1 in games they get outshot.

Details of the game:

In Front of Record 113,411 Hagelin and Merrill Lead Wolverines Over Michigan State (w/ Video)

The NHL does a great job hyping and promoting the Winter Classic and it is an excellent event, but today the Michigan Wolverines took on the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Chill outdoor hockey game at the Michigan football stadium in Ann-Arbor in front of a record crowd of 113,411, which NHL simply cannot match.  The other thing that a game like this provides that the NHL cannot match no matter which rivalry it tries to use for the Winter Classic is the differential between a professional and a college rivalry as when the colleges that are bitter rivals get together you play for the honor and bragging rights of your school and the University as a whole pays attention not just the fans of the sport.

The game itself was dominated by the Wolverines and prospects that will play in the NY metro area when they become professionals in Jon Merrill the New Jersey Devils 2010 2nd round pick getting two goals and New York Rangers 2007 6th rounder Carl Hagelin added two goals and an assist to seal the game. Hagelin was excellent all game long controlling the play at multiple points especially on the power play and even better for Rangers fans he showed his willingness to play in the tough areas getting both of his goals off rebounds around the net.

Del Zotto Back In Tonight: My take on his homework; Eminger Out

New York Rangers second year defenseman Michael Del Zotto will be back in the lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets after being a healthy scratch in the last game.  The reaction to his scratch was a mixed bag among Rangers fans as some were upset by the move while others including myself wondered why it took so long to let him see the game from another perspective.  The talent with Del Zotto is undeniable, but the hockey IQ he has displayed in this season leaves a lot to be desired as he is not making the smart simple plays that are there for him.  Hopefully seeing the game differently for a night will aid him in doing just that.

The main areas where the struggles for Del Zotto have been new this season are on the power play and on his ability to make the headman pass which were the two things that carried him in his rookie season.  His connection with players such as Marian Gaborik on tape to tape passes to spring breaks were the things that made so many so excited for his talent.  This season however he has been more likely to hit the camera than connect the same way on one of those passes and instead of leading to those chances he was helping create a season ago it is leading to chances for the opposition.  It is not that his talent was a fluke a year ago or that he lost it overnight, rather it is likely he is overthinking and pressing in his game.

I said in the pregame, last night, that I expected him to be back in there and the injury to Eminger who is going to miss tonight’s game only ensures that fact and now it will be up to Del Zotto to transfer what he noticed in the game he watched to the ice tonight.  There has been a lot of discussion the last two days over the homework assignment that Tortorella gave Del Zotto during the game against Ottawa and personally I am not a big fan of the way he did it.  I completely agree with testing the visual side of things and asking him to recall what he did or did not see but instead of writing an essay on when what you are trying to do is relax his mind and get back to his instinctual play the better move for me would have been for him to run a breakdown of the tape specifically showing what he saw and where he changes it.  I think that type of move allows for him to work with his instincts in a more transferable way back to the ice.

As much as anyone I have criticized Del Zotto for his defensive lapses, but if it is overthinking on the defensive end and the game itself that is causing him to lose his natural instincts then let him focus on getting back to his game first and we can work on technique along the way.  Del Zotto seems to be in the exact opposite spot that Marc Staal is where when Staal is pushed on offense he gets caught in-between and his defense suffers.  For Del Zotto the focus on being more in tune to what each move means defensive is causing him to hesitate on the head man passes, his shots and in the end is actually causing as many turnovers and chances against as if he was playing just his offensive game.  The difference in this scenario is he is not providing any offense to offset the mistakes.  So, while I will still scream out loud when his defensive blunder hurts the team he needs to be aggressive in the offensive side because if he is not working the PP and providing offense his purpose on the ice is minimal.  Play simple, play smart, play with your instincts.  Now that he has a game to sit and watch maybe he will get back to just playing hockey which would be nice for all of us to witness.

Why Are Rangers So Good On Road But So Mediocre at Home? Can It Be Fixed?

As a follower of the New York Rangers there are things you have come to expect and maybe even begrudgingly accept in terms of inconsistent play and overpaid players and never reaching the team’s full potential.  One thing that is hard to comprehend though for the fans of this franchise who have stuck with this club in good times and bad is this new found ineptitude in their own building.  That is not to say that the Rangers were always good on home ice because they haven’t been especially during the consecutive years of missing the playoffs, but from the lockout until last season the club was 97-49-18 on home ice in those four years (11, 17, 6, 8 in home rankings in those seasons).  In those same four seasons the Rangers were a combined 74-64-26 on the road (18, 12, T-12, T-8 in road rankings) which is extremely respectable mark. 

Last season it took a late season charge just to get over .500 at 18-17-6 (T-27^th w Tortonto) and this year they are a mere 6-8-1 at home (T-1^st in home losses w Buffalo).  What makes the home struggles even more puzzling is the road excellence, especially in comparison to what the rest of the league does on the road.  Last season while they were struggling just to reach .500 on home ice they were 20-16-5 on the road which was the 13^th best road record and this season they lead the league in road wins with 11 and an overall road mark of 11-4.  So the question becomes two-fold in how did the team go from so good at home to so mediocre and how are they so good on the road but unable to repeat that in their own building?

For the question of the disparity in the records at home versus prior years the teams are not as good, but at some point you have to look at the coaching as well considering those very good home records at least 3 ½ years of them were under the reign of Tom Renney.  On the question of why they have struggled so much the last two years at home there have been a lot of theories and many of them seem to put the fans squarely on the chopping block as a cause for the team struggles.  Personally I do not buy the whole the pressure of the fans causes the team to play worse excuses that some are trying to peddle.  I am not going to dismiss it completely as a “factor” as some players, especially those who have struggled in the past might grip the stick a little tighter, but it is not the reason.

Another theory is about slow starts to games and yes the Rangers do have a higher tendency to play a slow first period offensively at home, but the statistics do not show any defensive lag at home in the first.  In fact the first period is the only period in which the Rangers actually have outscored their opponents at home this year.  The Rangers have an 8-6 goal differential in the first at home while losing the second 20-18 and the third 14-13.  By contrast on the road the Rangers win both the first period 13-8 and third period 18-14 while only losing the second period 17-15.  Also the slow start theory does not really hold up when you look at games in which the team scored first which has happened at a 9:6 ratio at home and 10:5 on the road.

The power play struggling at home is certainly an issue so far this year but does not explain last year’s bad home record.  Last season the Rangers were an excellent 38/166 (22.9%) at home with the man advantage while they struggled to score on the road with a pitiful 17/135 (12.6%) mark.  This season the team is 8/60 (13.3%) at home while performing better at 10/50 (20%) on the road.

For me the Rangers just play a much tighter game on the road than they do at home in terms of keeping players to the outside, giving up less scoring chances, working the forecheck and cycle much better offensively and playing with a higher sense of urgency.  This to me is shown in both the increased early scoring on the road and the better finishes out of home ice as well.  The most telling statistic for me is the Rangers record when scoring first and the differential they have in holding leads at home as opposed to on the road.  Everyone has been impressed with the Rangers record when they have the lead after two periods which is an outstanding 13-0-0.  I went through the numbers earlier in discussing the slow start theory but when I did not do is break down how those games turned out. 

The team is a very good 14-4-1 when they score the first goal of the game, but at home it is only 5-3-1 as opposed to a 9-1 mark on the road.  When they fail to score first they are a pitiful 1-5 at home and better 2-3 on the road.  To me this speaks to the urgency and style differences the team plays with away from their own rink throughout the course of the game.  There is no reason that a team that is undefeated when leading after two periods should have failed to win 4 of the 9 games they scored first at home while successfully defending an opening goal lead 9 of 10 times on the road.   This is the kind of stat that for me takes away the excuse of the crowd making them tight because the reality is they actually play a "looser" game with the lead at home as opposed to on the road unless someone would like to argue that the crowd makes them tight and causes the screw-ups.  At some point as a professional you have to look in the mirror and take the responsibility especially in New York because as bad as the fans hate screw-ups they respect those who cop to it instead of out on it.  Besides if you succeed here there is no better fan base to have behind you.

For me it really does boil down to a mentality differential for the team in how they play at home versus on the road in which they go into the opponent’s building with the idea of doing whatever it takes to get two points and at home they sit back and wait for the other team to hand them the game.

Give me your theories.

Video: Linus Omark Goes Spin-o-Rama In Shootout vs Lightning

Linus Omark making his NHL debut was the third shooter for the Edmonton Oilers in tonight's shootout against the Tampa Bay Lightning and if anyone wondered who the kid was he showed the flash he can play with on this attempt. A Spin-o-rama a smacking of the ice all before he even took the shot which would end up being th game winner. It was a beautiful piece of skill, but he does have to be careful not to get carried away with it or teams will start coming for him. Beautiful work for the win as the Oilers are getting better and all of their young guys played important roles tonight.