I'm not 'Wild' about the way things are going.

Wild 3 Rangers 2
guh.
No Gaborik (again!), no Avery, no Higgins. 1-4-1 in the last 6 games. This is not good.
The Rangers got a goal from callup Dane Byers (see above), who got to the rink about 20 minutes before the game. It's a positive sign that every time New York brings up a young guy from the minors, he contributes immediately with the big club.
It would have been nice to see Marian Gaborik play against his old team, but I guess that 'nothing serious' injury is turning out to be a something fairly serious. The Blueshirts miss his scoring touch!
Sunday afternoon game with the Bruins at The World's Most Famous Arena ...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

...

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October Schedule (Updated!)

Update: Hungry's on Memorial has a weekend brunch, and it looks like I'll be playing on the patio Saturday from 11-3. =)
Hey my friends! Guess what? Today begins Hockey Season for the NHL! Because I'm a loser and have no life, I'll be blogging the 'progress' of my New York Rangers. (expect much wailing & gnashing of teeth) So if you are new to this blog, don't be confused by the hockey photos and screaming. =)
And now, back to the music...
October:
1 Thurs. Hungry's Cafe & Bistro NEXTDOOR Lounge 5-10 (14714 Memorial Dr.)

Hungry’s map
2 Fri. Special Assignment
3 Sat. worms
6 Tue. Special Assignment
7 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30 (2701 West Dallas, between Waugh & Montrose)
Grappino map
8 Thurs. Hungry’s NextDoor 5-10
9 Fri. worms
10 Sat. more worms
13 Tue. Grappino 5:30-8:30 Wine Tasting event in the front courtyard
14 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30
15 Thurs. Hungry’s NextDoor 5-10
16 Fri.Molly's Pub 9-1:30 (Corner of Wilcrest & Westheimer) Molly’s map
17 Sat. Grappino 6-10:30
20 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:45 (12420 Memorial Dr., just west of Gessner) Vine map

21 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30
22 Thurs. Hungry’s NextDoor 5-10
23 Fri. worms
24 Sat. Hungry's Cafe Brunch 11-3
27 Tue. Vine Wine Room 6-8:45
28 Wed. Grappino 6-9:30
29 Thurs. Hungry’s NextDoor 5-10
30 Fri. Special Assignment
31 Sat. Happy Halloween! Hungry's Cafe Brunch 11-3

An early Halloween FRIGHT!

Islanders 3 Rangers 1
guh.
The boys lost. I don't feel like writng about it, so instead, check out this old photo of me and my little brother and 2 friends from The Lake Placid Club rink, taken in the early 1970's (?):

Blueshirts are in Minnesota tonight for a game against the Wild...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Winning: it's so much better than losing.

Rangers 5 Coyotes 2
YAY!
Marian Gaborik (see above) regained a share of the NHL scoring lead with his 2 goals, he is a major talent!
Artem Anisimov:

Vinny Prospal:

and Enver Lisin also scored for the Blueshirts. Boy, I've missed hearing this wonderful tune: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song

Downer: A slight 'nothing serious' injury to Gaborik kept him out of the 3rd period. Marian has missed huge chunks of time to injuries in the past, so let's keep our fingers crossed that this is just a twinge, not a catastrophe.
Out to Uniondale for a game with the Islanders on Wednesday night...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Who is Mike Cammalleri?

Canadiens 5 Rangers 4 (OT)
guh.
The Blueshirts get a measly point in the standings for getting to overtime, but this was a horrible outcome to a game in which they twice led by 2 goals; saw their former teammate (Scott Gomez) get 2 assists; had 2 players benched (Dubinsky and Higgins) by coach Tortorella; and gave up a hat trick to the 'immortal' Mike Cammalleri. (shown above celebrating his game-winner).

Here's a quote from the NY Post: "The game is going our way and then there's a turnover in the neutral zone by Dubi that just can't happen, especially when we stressed that after the last game," said Tortorella, whose team has lost three straight following its seven-game winning streak. "Higgy, we've been patient with him, but then he took that penalty and wasn't there on the back-check. If you're not helping in other ways, you're going to lose (playing) time.
[www.nypost.com/sports/rangers]
So, will the three game losing streak end? Coyotes Monday night at MSG...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Brodeur outduels our King

Devils 4 Rangers 2
guh.
After a lackluster 1st period that ended with New Jersey up 2-0, the Blueshirts came back with a pair of goals, entering the 3rd with a tie score. Sadly, King Henrik gave up a tip-in goal to Dainus Zubrus at 8 minutes in, and that proved to be the game-winner.
Martin Brodeur stopped 29 shots in the rivalry victory, getting some help on a couple of Ranger breakaway chances from his defencemen.
Sean Avery riled up the NY crowd with a punch-up with Mike Mottau of the Devils. (see above).
Be nice to see the boys put an end to this mini losing streak. Saturday night, an Original Six match-up against Les Habitants in Montréal...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Blueshirts brought back down to Earth.

Sharks 7 Rangers 3
guh.
When the Blueshirts opened up a 2-0 lead early, it was looking like a beautiful night for the boys at MSG. But then careless play ensued, and shots started to get past (surprise starting goalie) Steve Valiquette, and period 1 ended 2-2. San Jose did all the scoring in the 2nd, and led 5-2. That was it for poor Steve, and Henrik came in to endure the last 20 minutes.
Lowlights: giving up 6 unanswered goals, taking too many penalties (7, including 2 to Sean Avery, shown above).
The Rangers have a couple of days to think about playing smarter hockey, and will hopefully play a complete game against the Devils for the home fans on Thursday night...
Let's Go Ranguhs!!

Timing & Talent

Rangers 4 Maple Leafs 1
YAY!
The Blueshirts have been making hay against a few slumping teams, but they now have a SEVEN game winning streak. That's not just good timing, it's also talent! So let's have a group hug...

... and a singalong: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Dubinsky (see top photo) Marc Staal and Enver Lisin (his first as a Ranger) were the goal scorers.
This has been a miserable season thus far for winless Toronto:

Can a goalie get a little help?

San Jose will be a tougher test for the boys back at home (on Versus network) Monday night...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Outshot, but not Outscored!

Rangers 4 Kings 2
YAY!
The Blueshirts have now won 6 (!!!!!!) in a row, and it really is looking like the off-season additions of Vinny Prospal (2 goals last night) and Marian Gaborik (goal) are paying off in a very big way.
The winning goal was scored by ex-King Brian Boyle, so in honor of that accomplishment: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
It took a long video replay review to convince the ref that Vinny's 2nd goal should be allowed; check out the Ranger playings saying 'YAY', while the ref says 'NAY':

The boys were outshot 36-21, but that's okay, because Henrik is the King:

A couple of days off, then it's a rematch with the Leafs in Toronto on Saturday night...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Winning is so much FUN!

Rangers 7 Maple Leafs 2
YAY!
I tuned in to the radio broadcast at the beginning of the 3rd period, with the score 3-2 Rangers. At the time, I thought, 'uh-oh, a nail-biter to the bitter end'. But the boys rattled off 4 straight goals to turn the contest into a laugher, and the NYR now have a 5 game winning streak! YAY!
Sean Avery and Dan Girardi , who each had 2 goals, deserve a song: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
Ryan Callahan scored the game's 1st goal, and also found time to do a little break dance in front of the Toronto net;

In a battle of this season's thug vs. last season's, Donald Brashear traded pinches with Colton (no relation to Bobby) Orr:

The Blueshirts are back on Garden ice against the Kings on Wednesday...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

A Shutout for Stevie V.!

Rangers 3 Ducks 0
YAY!
With 3 games in 4 nights on the immediate schedule, Steve Valiquette made his 1st start in net of the season, giving King Henrik a day off. His fellow Blueshirts took their defensive game very seriously, allowing just one shot on goal in the 1st period, and helping Stevie V. record his 4th career shutout.

After 2 stanzas without a score, Ales (You can call me Al) Kotalik finally broke through J.S. Giguerre on the power play, 2 minutes into the 3rd period. Artem Anisimov made a huge contribution, scoring his 1st NHL goal, also on the power play, yay!: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
Dan Girardi added an empty-netter for final score.
Sean Avery made his season debut, assisting on the Anisimov goal, and getting over 10 minutes of ice time. Welcome back!:

The boys will try to make it 5 in a row tomorrow night against the Maple Leafs...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Gaborik: Get used to it!

Rangers 4 Capitals 3
YAY!
Two goals in the 3rd period by Marian Gaborik and the Rangers came from a goal down to win in Washington. Both shots were a quick-release from the top of the slot; this guy is just so dangerous with the puck in the offensive zone, a real sniper. Marian, I've got a feeling we'll be playing this song for you many times this season: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
The boys came from a goal down after period one to take the lead on goals by Ryan Callahan and Ales (don't call me Alice) Kotalik. By the way, Sean Avery was a scratch for the contest.
King Henrik (25-28) with the help of some overworked penalty-killing forwards kept the game within the Rangers' grasp. He did give up a very soft goal near the start of the 3rd; allowing a long shot by Backstrom to just kind of skip to his left inside the post. When Washington added another tally on the power play a few minutes later (Backstrom, again) it looked like another lost effort in the Capital. But 18 seconds later, Gaborik put a on-timer through Jose Theodore's 5-hole...

and scored again on the power play a few minutes later.
Defenceman Michal Rozsival was benched for about the last half of the game, giving a lot of crucial playing time to the younger members of the Ranger back line. I wonder if Rozy can get his confidence back. He's been the Garden whipping boy/scapegoat for over a year.
The Blueshirts welcome Anaheim to MSG on Sunday...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

Gilroy was here!

Rangers 3 Devils 2
YAY!
I was so excited to see the boys play on Versus, but it looked like the Rangers were going to ruin my night when they came out flat against New Jersey. The Devils scored 70 seconds into the contest. =(
But coach John Tortorella used his one time-out to scream some life into his players at the bench, and that seemed to work.
Rookie Michael Del Zotto tied the game a few minutes later, scoring for the second straight game. Ales Kotalik (see above photo) got his first as a Ranger, and rookie Matt Gilroy scored his first NHL goal, and it proved to be the eventual game-winner!
Way to go, Matt, this song's for you: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
King Henrik, butterfly style, blocker save:

I'll bet the Devils and Islanders get a little tired of so many Ranger supporters invading their territory:

Sean Avery (knee inury) may make his 2009 debut this Thursday night, which would be very helpful against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals...
LET'S GO RANGERS!

First WIN!!

Rangers 5 Senators 2
YAY!
Big night for the top line of Brandon Dubinsky (2 goals) new left-winger Vinnie Prospal (goal) and new right-winger Marion Gaborik (goal). But I'll dedicate this next tune to 19 year old rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who scored his first NHL goal: NY Rangers Goal Celebration Song
Like the Rangers, Ottawa made many off-season personnel moves; here is their new star and ex -Ranger Alex Kovalev, being guarded by Marc Staal:

King Henrik Lundqvist was brilliant (32 saves of 34 shots). Listening to the game on Rangers radio network, (which is about the only thing I'm able to get working so far on the NYR revamped web site) the Sens were all over New York during the 2nd period, yet the Blueshirts emerged with a 3-1 lead. Henrik! Henrik!
Kind of a bummer to read in the paper today that the home fans booed Michal Rozsival without provocation (he's very talented, but very inconsistent) and Donald Brashear. Brahsear is the thug who ended Blair Betts season last year during the playoffs. Now, Betts is in Montreal and Brashear is a Ranger. =(
The boys head across the river to resume their rivalry (on VERSUS network!) with New Jersey on Monday...
LET'S GO RANGERS!