America's Long Nightmare Is Over! UPDATED!

YAY!!! After 7 losses, the Rangers took out their frustration on the Washington Capitals, giving them an end of the year beating. Seriously, this game deteriorated into the classic 'I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out' situation. Darius Kasparitis rose from the dead (figuratively) and lined up Caps star Alexander Ovechkin and flattened him in the offensive zone, leading to a turnover and the first of 2 goals by Petr Prucha. (could Petr Puck be finally emerging from his sophomore slump??) Once the Blueshirts built the lead to 3-0, Washington's notorious thug Donald Brashear decided to go after a few of the Rangers skill players, including Jaromir Jagr. Assistant captain Brendan Shanahan, known more for scoring than fighting, stuck up for his teammates and did battle with Brashear. *crowd goes wild*
So, it was a good turnaround game for the NYR. Nylander broke out of his slump with a goal, Straka had 2 helpers, Henrik stopped 22 of 23 shots. And the Statue of Liberty jerseys looked quite nice, I WANT ONE! *not kidding*
So to sum up: YAY!!
Happy New Year to Ranger fans everywhere!!

UPDATE: Brashear was suspended 1 game for his sucker punch of Adam Ward, and Ranger thug Colton Orr (err, not to be confused with Bobby Orr) was suspended for 5 games for a late game cross-check to the back of Alex Ovechkin's head. nice going, you stoooopid goons. I'm sure Orr thought he was sticking up for his teammates... (Jagr had received an unprovoked elbow to his head, courtesy of the aforementioned knuckle-dragger Brashear)
GOON
LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos/Videos here!

E for Effort. L for Loss.

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Originally uploaded by placidian.

guh.
7 losses in a row, the worst streak since 1995. The boys played very well, but an Ottowa goal in the 1st minute of the game was the difference.
frak, this losing sucks. try again tomorrow night, my beloved Blueshirts!! Let's Go Ranguhs!!

It's Official; the Rangers Ruined Christmas.

guh. A 2-0 lead over the Panthers... Rangers lose 3-2.
A 3-0 lead over the Lightning... Rangers lose 4-3.
A loss to the Islanders 2-0.
s**t. Oh well, a 5 game winning streak, a 6 game losing streak.

I need to stop following this team before I lose my mind. guh.

I go away, and the team keeps losing...

Happy Holidays!!
The good news is, that I'm on vacation in Lake Placid, and YAY-- I'm on vacation!!! The bad news is, the Rangers now have a serious losing streak. *grinds teeth* A loss on Tuesday to the Fishsticks, (aka New York Islanders) and a loss last night to the Florida Panthers. The boys are trying to ruin Christmas.
Obviously, being away from Guitarboy central (home) means that I have no shiny hockey pictures to accompany these words. If they'd win, I might make the extra effort. But anyway, nyrangers.com (or is it newyorkrangers.com?) has all the stories and photos and videos. proceed directly to there...

and have yourself a Merry little Christmas!!
-scott

Another Butt-Kicking.

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Originally uploaded by placidian.

Devils 6, Rangers 1
guh. Was it just 3 days ago we were celebratng a 5-game winning streak, and the Blueshirts were ruling the hockey universe as gods?
A couple of piss-poor performances later, and the boys are clinging to a 2 point divisional lead. The 1st period was well played until the last minute, when some Rangers decided the view would be better from the penalty box. (We've heard this song before...) Anyway, 3 power play goals later, and the rout was on.
A couple of key players (Nylander, Cullen) sat out with injuries, the goaltending has gone from stellar to cellar, and perhaps fatigue has set in. C'mon, boys, get it together!
Rangers vs. Islanders on Tuesday.
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Air Canada Massacre.

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Originally uploaded by placidian.

Leafs 9, Rangers 2
guh. The winning streak stops at 5 after a big letdown in Toronto. Coach Renney may have anticipated it, but it was ugly. Henrik Lundqvist gave up 8 of the goals, and was mercifully removed before the 3rd period. The question is, will he be back between the pipes tonight when the Blueshirts face the Devils at MSG?
Shrug it off, boys! Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Five! ¡Cinco! 5! V! Cinq!

Rangers 5, Stars 2
Hmm... what's the word I'm searching for? I do believe it's YAY!!!!!
Despite being outshot 42-25, and taking 11 trips to the 'sin bin', the Rangers managed to come away with a big win over Dallas. The ice was tilted towards the Ranger end for the 1st period, and only Henrik Lundqvist kept the boys in the game, stopping shot after shot, including breakaways, power plays and his teammates defensive indifference. Yet after spotting the Stars to a 1-0 lead, the Rangers scored the next 3 goals and never trailed again. Karel Rachunek scored his 1st 2 goals of the season, Matt Cullen also had 2 and Fedor Tyutin added an empty netter. Ex-Ranger Sergei Zubov scored 2 against his old team. Sergei, we never should have traded you all those years ago. *curses former GM Neil Smith*
Well, well, well, a 5 game winning streak and a 4 pt divisional lead. All smiles as the boys head to Toronto for a game on Saturday. Here's some mood music to get you psyched: Hockey Night In Canada Theme
Thanks to Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters for this sweet shot of Karel's 1st goal:

LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos/Videos here!

Four! IV! 4! ¡Quatro!

Rangers 3, Flyers 1. YAY!!
It's a shame that a great sports town like Philly can't fill up the Wachovia Center (now there's a catchy name-NOT) for a game with a traditional rival; Oh well, who cares- the NYR won, extending their winning streak to 4. Goals from Matt Cullen, Jarkko Immonen, and Michael Nylander, another tight performance from Kevin Weekes in goal, and the Boys are back in sole possesion of 1st place in the Atlantic Division. *does a little dance*

Now it's on to Dallas for a game on Thursday.
LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos/Videos here!

Winning Is Fun!

Rangers 2, Panthers 1. YAY!!
The winning streak is now 3! *grins like an idiot* Backup netminder Kevin Weekes got the start in place of Henrik Lundqvist, who'd worked so hard last night in Ottawa. Weekes was brilliant, stopping 34 shots and was able to enjoy hearing the home crowd chanting HIS name for a change. *Weeeeeekes!*
The Blueshirts got scoring production from d. Michal Roszival & c. Michael Nylander; Martin Straka assisted on both goals.
The Rangers moved back into a 1st place tie with the NJ Devils. They'll face that evil squad at MSG next Sunday, but between now and then, a 3 game road trip...
Although Shanny didn't score on this rush, the next best thing to scoring is spraying ice chips into the face of the opposing goalie:

hee hee! (click on the pic to enlarge)
LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos/Videos here!

Ottawa Is Ours!

Rangers 3, Senators 1. YAY!!
The boys built a 2-0 lead on goals by Martin Straka and Jaromir Jagr, and they held off the powerful Senators the rest of the way to win in Ottawa for the 1st time since 2002. Their modest 2 game winning streak will be on the line on Sunday, when the Florida Panthers pay a visit to MSG. Let's make it 3 in a row, Blueshirts! Brendan (Shanahan added an empty-netter to seal the deal in the final minute.)
Henrik Lundqvist was once again stellar, stopping 34 shots, including this one off his head. *doink*

First place! Shanahan: NHL goals leader! Jagr: NHL assists leader!
LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos/Videos here!

Fruits of their Labor.

Rangers 3, Penguins 2 (OT/SO 1-0)
YAY! After spotting Pittspuke to a 2 goal lead (the 1st on a penalty shot awarded to Nils Eckman, and the other when Sid Crosby skated through the entire Ranger team like they were too sleepy to care) the boys refamiliarized themselves with defensive concepts, and goalie Henrik Lundqvist allowed nothing past him the rest of the way, including overtime and the shootout. *Henrik! Henrik!* Henrik is 4-0 in shootouts this season, allowing zero (nada, zilch, 0) goals on 22 shots. Holy Moly, What A Goalie!

The boys started their comeback in the 3rd period, with a shorthanded goal by Blair Betts and a power play blast by Brendan Shanahan. Jaromir Jagr's assist on the PP goal gives him an NHL leading 28, and that's a lot of helpers.
Shootout: Shanny scored the only goal with a wrister to the top shelf. (Lot of hockey terminlogy in the ol' blog today)
Standings: Back into a tie for 1st place in the Atlantic Div. =)
Procreation: Michael Nylander departed early from the game to be with his wife who had gone into labor. (Congratulations, Michael & Camilla!)
LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos/Videos here!

Hat Trick's not enough.

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Originally uploaded by placidian.

guh.
After allowing 4 goals on 8 (!!) shots in the 1st period, Henrik Lundqvist told coach Renney, 'holy moly, I'm a sucky goalie, you better put in Kevin Weekes.' (I'm paraphrasing, y'all) Down 4-0, the Blueshirts outscored the Fishsticks 4-3 the next 2 periods, getting a hat trick from former Red Wing Brendan Shanahan in the process. However, Viktor Kozlov (another former Red Wing) scored 4 for the bad guys, which is why the NYR are looking up in the standings at the NYI. *bows head in shame* Let's Go Ranguhs!!

We Get The Point. Again.

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Originally uploaded by placidian.

guh.
Sabres 4, Rangers 3. *sigh* Another point for escaping regulation time with a tie, but another loss for the boys, this time in the Shootout.
Buffalo changed their jerseys this season, which is usually a desperation move for money reasons, but whatever the reason, the move has paid off. They are in command of the Eastern Conference (20-3-2) and part of getting there is the sweep of their 4 games with the Blueshirts. Details? Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller stopped 36 shots, Daniel Briere scored the only goal of the shootout. The Rangers came back from a 2-0 deficit, and doubled up the Sabres on shots on goal. And they have nicer jerseys. Let's Go Ranguhs!!

December Gigs. Updated! Again! (& Again!)

Hi,
I can't believe how cold it has been this week. My apartment mgr. actually sent out notices for what to do if the pipes freeze/burst. (You poke a hole in the drywall, and catch the water in a bucket. Awesome!)

Anyway, stay warm & keep cool. *huh?*
By the way, this calender is as carved in dust as any other– the Dec. 7 Marriot gig may be scrapped because I subbed for another musician there this past Thursday; he might get my scheduled gig to make up for his lost one. So...
p.s. Nothing for Dec. 31?! I haven't had a New Years Eve off in decades, but as of now, only nibbles. I may be staying home and eating worms that night...
December:
1 Fri. Special Assignment
2 Sat. Grisby Grill 6-10:00 (Grisby, just south of I-10/HWY 6)
4 Mon. Happy Birthday, Ben!!
5 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:30 (12420 Memorial Dr., just west of Gessner)
6 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30 (West Dallas, just east of Waugh)
7 Thur. CANCELLED!! Was: Marriot
8 Fri. Special Assignment
9 Sat. Frank-n-Steins HWY 6 near Bissonett 9:30-1:30
12 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:30
13 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30
14 Thurs. Grappino 6-9:30
15 Fri. Kilburn's Tavern and Grill 9-1 (11808 Barker Cypress, just south of 290)
16 Sat. Special Assignment
23 Sat. ZigZags (w/The Three Wise Men) 9:30-1:30 Main St. Lake Placid, NY
25 Merry Christmas! I uploaded a lovely Christmas tune by a trio of Swedish girls called Ephemera; if you'd like to hear it, click here:

Ephemera-Gift

30 Sat. Grappino 6-10
31 Sun. Marriot in The Woodlands 9-1 (Happy Birthday, Tracy!!)

Et tu, Bobby?

ATL 5, NYR 4 (OT) guh.
Another overtime loss for the Blueshirts at MSG. The point the boys get for the regulation tie does not make up for the fact that not only did they blow a 2 goal lead, but they gave up 2 goals (including the overtime winner) to former teammate Bobby Holik. Oh Bobby, you were a bastard when you played for the Devils, invisible when you played with the Rangers, and now you're a bastard with the Thrashers. So predictable. You were born to torment us. *shakes fist*
Bright spots: 2 power play goals from Adam Hall. (a 4th liner on the PP? huh?) After the Rangers gave up 3 straight goals to turn a 3-1 lead into a 4-3 deficit, Michael Nylander scored a late 3rd period goal to force the overtime.
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

My First YouTube experiment!

I've wanted to try this embedded YouTube video thing for awhile, and today I found a video to a song I love. The song is Here's Where The Story Ends, by The Sundays. YAY! mmkay, so click on the arrow to watch the video. If you're on dial-up like me, click the arrow, and then go watch tv for little while. Then, come back and watch the video. Harriet Wheeler has the most adorable voice, and I remember seeing this video back in the day when MTV actually showed music videos.



YAY!

Good News, Bad News.

Live by the OT sword, die by the OT sword. Guh. The boys returned home to MSG and a battle with Eastern Conference leading Buffalo. Aside from the fact that the Rangers took 10 penalties, they played well, clawing back from a 2 goal deficit to tie the Sabres and send the game to an extra session. (2 more goals for Martin Straka!!) But Chris Drury spoiled the party, getting the winner past Henrik Lundqvist 90 seconds into overtime.
Still, an OT loss means 1 point in the standings, and so the Rangers move back into sole possession of 1st in the Atlantic Division. *yay* Big picture – the top 8 teams in the Conference make the playoffs; as of now, the boys are only a few points above the cutoff. *yikes*

Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Martin Straka Saves The Day!

New York 2, Pittspuke 1. OT YAY!!!
Jaromir Jagr scored a late 3rd period goal to force overtime; Henrik Lundqvist denied a penalty shot by the Pen's Jordan Staal:

(We interrupt this blogging for some cheering. *Henrik! Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!*) With just a few seconds left in OT, it was looking like the game would be decided by a shootout. But then Martin Straka saved the day for the Rangers- first stripping the puck from Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin who was about to walk in alone on goal, and then starting a rush the other way up the ice. He blew past one defender, head-manned the puck to Jagr in the Penguin zone; Jagr dished off to Michal Rozsival at the point. Meanwhile, Straka kept skating toward the net, accepting a perfect saucer pass on the tape of his stick- all Martin had to do was redirect the biscuit into the basket with 2.2 seconds left in overtime!! Diligent back checking combined with precision passing, that's what i'm talkin' about!!
LET'S GO RANGERS!! NYR Photos & Videos

Game On! (television)

YAY!!! Thanks to a cancelled gig, last night I was FINALLY able to see some televised hockey; lemme tell ya, blogging the NYR progress is much easier to do while watching the game, versus reading the wrap-up and MAYBE seeing what FEW highlights espn MIGHT deign to provide. *shakes fist* The boys dominated a hot Carolina team, were very disciplined with their checking assignments, and kept the careless penalties to a minimum. (Coach Renney only needed half a swig of his ulcer medicine, instead of the usual half a bottle.)
Marcel Hossa opened the scoring with his 1st goal of the year, a remarkable display of hand-eye coordination, tipping in a high shot that was going well wide of the net. As you can see, Marcel so happy:

Jaromir Jagr netted #s 601 and 602, the latter a redirection off of an absolutely perfect feed from Aaron Ward at the point.

Brendan Shanahan also scored, extending his league-leading total to 17. Henrik Lundqvist got his 1st shutout of the season and he was brilliant in the process: *Henrik! Henrik!*

Observations from the Versus broadcast:
1. Bill Clement is being wasted as a studio host, he should be doing color commentary on the games.
2. MSG ice surface, infamously lousy for decades, hasn't improved- pucks skip, bounce, rise up on edge constantly.
3. Beer tastes better when the game is on.
4. Scully (my cat) is easily startled by screaming. (4 goals + 3 great saves = 7 screams)
LET'S GO RANGERS!! I get my NYR photos here!

#600!!

Rangers 4, Lightning 1 YAY!!!
The Blueshirts dominated Tampa Bay, with Jaromir Jagr leading the way, scoring goal #600 less than 2 minutes into the game at MSG. With assists on goals by Shanahan and Straka, he regained the overall scoring lead in the NHL.
The Rangers were as solid on Sunday as they were wretched on Saturday, holding the 'Ning to few shots on goal, and on what few opportunities they allowed, goalie Henrik Lundqvist was more than equal to the task. *Henrik! Henrik! Henrik!*

With Jagr putting his 600th biscuit into an NHL basket, he joined an elite group of 16, whose members include teammate Brendan Shanahan and former Rangers Phil Esposito and Mike Gartner. Nice company!
LET'S GO RANGERS!!
I get my NYR photos here!

The Sin Bin.

Pittspuke 3, NYR 1 Guh.
The boys' brains took Saturday night off in Pittsburgh, contemplating much of the contest from the penalty box, aka 'the sin bin'. stoopidstoopidstoopid. 12 penalties, including multiple 5 on 3 situations. They were shorthanded 3 times in the 1st period, 3 times in the 2nd, and 5 times in the 3rd, which kind of makes coming from behind VERY DIFFICULT. Despite all the silly infractions, they actually had their chances to win this game, but Marc-Andre Fleury was quite solid in net for the Pens. Jaro Jagr had a few shots but was again denied career goal 600. He'll have another chance at home on Sunday night against Tampa Bay.
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

It's their Cup Until Further Notice.

Hurricanes 2, Rangers 1. guh.
The champs get a late goal from Rod Brind'Amour to beat the visiting Rangers. Jaromir Jagr did get career goal #599 in the losing effort. Kevin Weekes got the start in goal for the NYR and played well, but so did Carolina's Cam Ward. Whaddygonnado? Let's Go Ranguhs!!