Beauty, eh?

YAY!! Take a look at this:

The Rangers scored in every period, while Lundqvist was shutting out Les Habitants. Beautiful team effort! 2 goals for Marcel Hossa, (he's playing more and more like his brother Marion) 1 goal for Jaromir Jagr, and an empty-netter for Matt Cullen closed out the scoring.
The Rangers made a couple of moves before the trading deadline, getting d. Paul Mara from the Bruins in exchange for d. Aaron Ward. they also sent f. Pascal Dupuis (geez, they just got him like a week ago?!) to the Thrashers for f. Alex Bourret.
Well, nice to see a win after 3 losses. The Rangers are still in 11th place, but they gained on Montreal, and stayed even with the others. Keep it up boys, and...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

And Now, the Un-Power Play...

Blue Jackets 3, Rangers 2. guh.
How many times have I asked the Boys to play a complete 60 minute effort? (the correct answer is many) The Blueshirts jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period, and then seemed to collectively wiped their hands and state, 'Our work here is done'.
Well it wasn't. With Columbus having lost 7 of their previous 9 games, the Rangers expected them to just quit, but instead the Blue Jackets scored 3 unanswered goals, including 2 while the Rangers were on the power play. *wtf*
Ranger goals scored by Betts and Jagr. Like I care. They gave up 2 shorthanded goals!
guh. New York is now 6 points out of a playoff spot, with 20 games left to play.
Montreal comes in on Tuesday, maybe the prospect of an 'Original Six' matchup will prove more inspiring...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Game of inches.

guh. The Rangers get 1 point for all of that exertion in the home & home with the Devils; with 20 games left they need better results if they hope to climb from 11th place to the final 8. New Jersey, meanwhile, has a lock on the division and is 2nd in the conference behind Buffalo.
Goals by Marcel Hossa and Petr Prucha pushed the Blueshirts to a 2-0 lead, but Jersey tied it up in the 3rd, and eventually the game went to the Shootout. Jamie Langenbrunner took a shot that Henrik Lundqvist had go off of his arm, float over his back and trickle into the net. *frak!* This left the Rangers needing Prucha to score to prolong the shootout. Sadly, Petr beat Martin Brodeur, but his shot clanged off of the crossbar, sending Ranger fans home bitterly frustrated...

(photo swiped from Here)
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Drat.

Devils 2, Rangers 1. guh.
The Rangers were gritty, gutty and very strong defensively, and it was almost enough to grab a point from the 1st place Devils. But a flukey goal late in the 3rd period broke a 1-1 tie, ruining a promising start to the home and home with New Jersey. (The teams meet again Thursday at MSG)
Lundqvist and Brodeur were both spectacular in goal; the Rangers did their best to try to annoy the Devil netminder:

Feisty is the thug.
Injuries: The Rangers were again without Shanahan and Malik, while the Devils were missing Elias and Gionta.
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

whinge haiku.

Oh my fingertips!
Once calloused, now with divots.
Pain: obscured by song.

whinge haiku

Marty + Marcel = M POWER.

YAY!! Buoyed by a pre game visit from assistant captain Brendan Shanahan, (injured in Saturday's game against Philadelphia) the Blueshirts came out flying against Chicago, getting goals by Marty Straka and Marcel Hossa in the 1st period.
The boys pulled together defensively, despite being without defenseman Marek Malik, (also injured on Saturday) and Henrik Lundqvist gave up just 1 goal, as New York held on against lowly Chicago. Hockey 101: Make the save and turn the puck back up the ice:

(click to enlarge the photo taken by Barton Silverman, stolen from here)
Ok, 3 points out of a playoff spot, but bigger challenges lie ahead this week, including a home & home against division leading New Jersey.
LET'S GO RANGERS!

What a Nightmare!

Guh. I hate the frakking Flyers, and this is just another reason why-- even when they suck, they manage to play above their talent, or hit anything that moves on the ice and create injuries for my boys. Yesterday, Philly outworked and outmuscled New York and left the Rangers bleeding, confused and short at least 1 man for today's game against Chicago. Mike Knuble of the Flyers collided with Rangers star Brendan Shanahan and the result was this:

Shanny was knocked into semi-unconsciousness; Knuble has a broken face (cheekbone, orbital bone) and will undergo surgery. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist missed about half the game after taking a drive to the shoulder, Marek Malik, just back from injury, is hurt again.
Rangers vs. Black Hawks in less than an hour...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

The Power Play!

Rangers 4, Hurricanes 1. YAY!!!
The point streak is 4 games and the winning streak is now 3. Really fraktastic to see the boys playing so well at such a crucial time! The power play was 3 for 3, on goals by Karel Rachunek, Michael Nylander and Brendan Shanahan. The Rangers recent acquisitions made a big contribution as well, with Pascal Dupuis scoring and Sean Avery getting 2 helpers.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 of 24 shots; he's just been a rock during this streak:

Now the boys return to The World's Most Famous Arena to play Philly and Chicago. These are games they SHOULD win. The Flyers and Black Hawks are each having miserable seasons, and Philly seems to have given up– having just yesterday traded their best player, Peter Forsberg, to Nashville. That sucks for them, but it'll mean nothing if the Blueshirts don't do what they need to do tonight and tomorrow. So....
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Looking Up, Looking Up.

Rangers 5, Capitals 2.
YAY!! 2 wins in a row, plus a point for the OT loss against NJ, could mean things are looking up for the Blueshirts. They're getting closer to 8th place in the conference, but still looking up at a playoff position. C'mon boys, you can do it!
2 goals each from Michal Rozsival and Martin Straka, and 3 assists from Jaromir Jagr– including career assist #1500. (Now that's a LOT of helpers!)
Marcel (not as famous as his brother Marian) Hossa continued his point production with a goal and an assist. In the nets, Henrik Lundqvist stopping a breakaway by Capital star Alexander Ovechkin was a highlight in a night when the ice was tilted towards the Washington end. Oly-the-goalie Kolzig kept the Capitals in the game until the Rangers broke it open.
What was missing for New York during the losing streak? Defenseman Marek Malik, 4th in the league in plus/minus category. (being on ice for goals for your team vs. goals against) Rangers' fortunes have improved since he came back to the lineup from injury:


Colton Orr and Donald Brashear, in the 'Dance of the Goons':

The Rangers are 4 points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for 8th place. They travel to Raleigh Thursday...
LET'S GO RANGERS!!

Scrubs & Thugs = Heroes?!

Rangers 5, Lightning 0. YAY!!!!!
It was a big night for the 4th line. (yes, that's right-- the 4th line!) Colton (not to be confused with Bobby) Orr scored his 1st NHL goal, and won a punchout with Tampa goon André Roy. In the 2nd period, Ryan Hollweg and Jaromir Jagr broke in alone on the Lightning goal, with the captain setting up Ryan for his 1st goal since 2005:

YAY!!! (Woah, a 'Ry-an Holl-weg! Ry-an Holl-weg!' chant at MSG!)

Newly acquired Sean Avery bagged his 1st goal as a Ranger; afterwards, he shared a moment with Brendan Shanahan:

Goals by Jagr and Marcel Hossa rounded out the scoring, and oh yeah, Henrik Lundqvist got his 2nd shutout of the season. (Henrik! Henrik!)
[The Rangers made another trade yesterday, exchanging wings with the Minnesota: Pascal Dupuis from the Wild for Adam Hall]
So, a lot of photos today, I know–– it's just really nice to be celebrating a big win after all of the losing. Let's hope the boys saved some of this awesome-ness for tonight's game against the Capitals...
LET'S GO RANGERS!!

An Itinerary Of Misery.

Loss (guh), Loss (guh), Loss (guh).
Ok, so I've been neglecting my blogging duties, but let's face it, losing streaks do not exactly inspire me. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, so here goes...
After losses to Toronto and Tampa Bay, Ranger GM Glen Sather decided to trade for some brute physicality, in the person of Sean Avery. Avery is a 2 time 'winner' of the NHL most penalty minutes. Uh, call me crazy, but with the Blueshirts already giving up WAY TOO MANY power play situations, do we really need a goon?! Ok, so he had 10 goals/18 assists with Los Angeles; perhaps he's not completely one-dimensional. NY needs scoring and defense, and less time in the sin bin.
The last 3 games (in Reverse Chronological Order)
Cross the Hudson river, lose to Jersey:

At this point, I prolly should just be grateful that the Rangers managed to salvage a point from this contest by forcing overtime, woo hoo. The boys tied the game twice, on goals by Rachunek in the 1st and Jagr in the 3rd, so resolve was not missing, only result. Lundqvist wasn't able to deny NJ in the shootout, a rare shootout loss for Henrik.
At least Jed managed to give Marty Brodeur a snow shower:


Return to MSG, lose to Detroit:

As mentioned earlier, the Rangers made a trade for the Kings Sean Avery, but he had not arrived in time to participate in this debacle. The Blueshirts came out flying against the Red Wings, and Brendan Shanahan scored a goal against his old mates. In fact, they held a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd period, whereupon they gave up 3 unanswered goals to lose 4-3. guh.
Henrik gave up a couple of weak goals, but then the Rangers had built their early lead on some weak ones, so that's a wash. The problem is either a lack of stamina or attention span; a full 60 minute effort WOULD BE NICE.

Go to Tampa, Lose to the 'Ning:

[I'm tired of typing.] The boys gave up 8 shorthanded chances, and the Lightning capitalized on 2 of them.

Ok to bring us up to date with the misery– New York has lost 4 in a row, and 6 out of 8. A playoff spot is mocking them from afar, and I am so very very sad.
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Toront-Oh-No...

Toront-Oh-No.jpg
Originally uploaded by placidian.

guh.
After ruining my Christmas, the Rangers are now going to ruin my birthday. *frak* Actually, the boys played well; they put a ton of shots on the Maple Leaf goalie, (Raycroft) but could only get 1 goal past him.
Brendan Shanahan redirected a shot from Jaromir Jagr to open the scoring, but the Blueshirts almost immediately gave up the equalizer, a drive by Alexei Ponikarovsky that caromed in off a Ranger defenseman. In the 3rd period Mats Sundin broke in alone on Henrik Lunqvist for the eventual game-winner.
The loss leaves New York further out of a playoff spot. Incredibly, the team is now under .500 at The World's Most Famous Arena. With every game a sellout, it's hard to believe that things are this dismal at home. c'mom, c'mon, c'mon...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

February World Tour of Houston!

Hello,
What is going on with this (insert expletives) weather?! The chilliness i don't mind, but day after day after day of rainy-ness is annoying. And my car recently sprung a leak, so... not a big fan of rain at this time.
And in case you have nothing going on this Friday (Feb. 2nd), I'll be 'celebrating' (i.e. working) my birthday at Molly's Pub, YAY! (My ex-wife emailed me to say she'll be baking me a cake in spirit.)

February:
1 Thur. Marriot Woodlands 7:30-11:30
2 Fri. Molly's Pub 9-1:30 (Corner of Wilcrest & Westheimer)
3 Sat. Grisby Grill 6-10:00 (Grisby, just south of I-10/HWY 6)
6 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:30 (12420 Memorial Dr., just west of Gessner)
7 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30 (West Dallas, just east of Waugh)
8 Thurs. Special Assignment (Pine Forest Country Club)
9 Fri. Kilburn's Tavern and Grill 9-1 (11808 Barker Cypress, just south of 290)
10 Sat. Vine Wine Room 5-9
11 Sun. Special Assignment
13 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:30
14 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30 (Um, Happy Valentine's Day!)
15 Thur. Marriot Woodlands 7:30-11:30
16 Fri. Grisby Grill 6-10:00
17 Sat. Special Assignment
18 Sun. Tobin's 4-9 (11902 Jones Rd. Scary Crawfish and Guitarboy)
20 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:30
21 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30
22 Thurs. Special Assignment (Pine Forest Country Club)
23 Fri. Kilburn's Tavern and Grill 9-1
24 Sat. Grisby Grill 6-10:00
25 Sun. Tobin's 4-9
27 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:30
28 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30