Rangers Sloppy and Slow in 3-1 Loss to Penguins

The officiating picked up right where it left off the last time the New York Rangers squared off against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was just weeks ago at the Consol Energy Center in Steel Town where the Penguins were handed six powerplays to the Rangers’ zero, all while the referees missed several offenses against the Blueshirts that almost caused the Rangers to lose the game. Luckily, they responded and defeated the Penguins 3-2 in overtime.

Tonight, though, the Rangers would not be so lucky. Even though the officiating did not directly result in the Rangers losing this game, 3-1, it is worthy to note of a horrendous call made against Ryan Callahan in the first period, to be explained below. The Rangers looked very tired tonight, on the heels of a 17 games in 30 days stretch. But that is no excuse, and the Rangers could not generate even the slightest hint of offense.

• First period: Maxime Talbot would open the scoring a little more than five minutes in on a very odd play. The puck had deflected up into the air and was temporarily gloved by Ruslan Fedotenko. The puck would then fall out of his glove and roll right to Talbot, who quickly shot it past Lundqvist. Aside from that goal, the period was offensively stagnant and shots were only 8-6 in favor of the Rangers. However, this period would also see one of the most ridiculous and hysterically bad calls of the season, if not since the Crosby era began in Pittsburgh. This was a call so bad that it made the last time these two teams played against each other look like child’s play. With five minutes remaining, Crosby became entangled with Ryan Callahan, who he then slew-footed to the ice. Rather than call Crosby for a dangerously bad penalty, the officials decide to call Callahan for interference. Brandon Dubinsky, in his intermission interview would tell John Giannone, “That’s the type of player he is.” and “Yeah, I mean that’s just a dirty play.…he tries to get away with all that kind of nonsense and complains a lot.” Truer words have never been spoken to laughably bad interviewer John Gianonne.

• Second period: If the Rangers play looked bad in the first, it would get even worse in the second. Still, neither team would look too hot on offense, though around the midway point, the teams traded chances with the Penguins getting several odd-man rushes. With eight minutes remaining, Kris Letang would put the Penguins up by a deuce, and just over a minute later, Chris Conner would score their third goal of the game. Conner now has three goals on five shots in his career against Henrik Lundqvist. Three seconds after the third goal, Sean Avery would drop the gloves with Tyler Kennedy, handily defeating him and knocking him to the ice. Late in the period, the Rangers would finally break through, when Michal Rozsival hit Marian Gaborik (5) with a pass mid-stride, who then skated in and flicked his deadly wrister past Marc-Andre Fleury.

• Third period: Tonight’s game would end with the same score that was on the board heading into the period. The Rangers would have plenty of chances, including two powerplays, but they failed on both and did not even garner a good scoring chance. They would record a game-high 12 shots in the third period, but way too many missed the net, including some with the man advantage. This would lead to their downfall tonight, as Fleury was having problems with rebound control all game long, and the Rangers could only muster up 26 shots on goal. It seems that has been the theme of late—don’t shoot if it looks like the opposing goalie is having an off-night.

The Rangers showed tonight that they desperately need to practice two things: the powerplay and taking faceoffs. Watching the Rangers a man up is like watching the Keystone Cops on ice. They do not generate any chances, they pass until they’re blue in the face, and when they get an opportunity, they shoot it wide. As for faceoffs, they rank 29th in the league; nothing else needs to be said in that regard.

The Messiah was also  finally called for a penalty in the third period. Of course, the referees had to send Brandon Prust to the box at the same time for elbowing, making the penalties coincidental.

Consistency still seems to be this season’s quest, as they have yet to find any. There really is not anything else to say—the Rangers play games like night and say. Some are good, others are like tonight.

San Francisco Giants Should Make Pitch for Derek Jeter

The San Francisco Giants are fresh off a world series victory and about to lose their starting shortstop Juan Uribe, to the Los Angeles Dodgers as sources are now reporting that he is close to signing a three-year deal with them. The Giants will be in desperate need for someone to fill his void, with no one in the system capable of putting up the numbers that he did—Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez have shown nothing but ineptitude.

Mike Fontenot is a player who could perhaps fill the void, but he is more suited for a platoon and fill-in role, as he is more experienced, and is a better contact hitter than some of the free-swinging Giants. It is because of this that the Giants should look to the free agent market to land themselves a shortstop, and the one player out there who is drawing attention almost daily in the papers, is Derek Jeter, who is frozen in contract negotiations with the New York Yankees.

Jeter, 36, is rumored to be seeking a six-year deal worth ~$150 million, a contract which would bring him to age 42 and pay him $25 million a season. The Yankees maintain that they will not budge from their first and only offer so far of three-years, $45 million, a deal that will pay the aging star a more realistic number. Is Jeter worth what he is seeking? Absolutely not, if you are looking at what he can provide from here on out. But if you want to look to the past and thank the player that has led this team to five World Series Championships, made the All-Star team eleven times, and all while keeping his reputation spotlessly clean with the media, then he is worth that much. One could make the argument that had George Steinbrunner still been alive, none of this would be happening, but he isn’t, and now the career-Yankee, and first ballot hall-of-famer, who will achieve his 3000th hit this season, barring injury, is standing at an impasse with the most powerful team in baseball.

It is because of this that the Giants should make him an offer. Perhaps if he does not get what he is looking for from the Yankees, he would take a smaller deal elsewhere. I would suggest something along the lines of three-years, $60 million. An amount offering to pay him more than the Yankees, but still keeping the years at a realistic number. Jeter’s play dropped off dramatically this season—his average fell more than 60 points, his hits went from 212 to 179, homeruns from 18 to 10, and strikeouts rose from 90 to 106. His numbers were not bad, by any means, but it has obviously caused some concern with Yankee brass.

If the Giants were to sign Jeter, they would have some veteran stability in the infield, something that they sorely needed on the left side of second base last season. As good and clutch as Uribe was—hitting 24 homeruns and driving in 85—he was a defensive liability (as is Sandoval). Jeter’s defense may not be Gold Glove-caliber anymore, despite winning the award this season, but his range is definitely greater than that of Uribe, and he will provide something much more valuable than anyone on this current roster, and that is patience at the plate.

People often wonder why Yankee games last three hours, and that is because they know how to hit. They take bad pitches and force the pitcher to throw strikes, something the Giants have not done since the Barry Bonds-led years in the mid-2000′s. Uribe and Sandoval led the way in free-swinging. It has it benefits, such as Uribe swinging so hard he would almost fall over, guaranteeing that if he made contact, the ball would leave the yard, but much too often he found himself striking out or hitting into a double play. This is something that plagued the Giants heavily, and was the main reason why it took this team until the final game of the regular season to clinch a playoff spot.

I do not think it is realistic that the Giants will get Jeter; for the most part, this is just thinking out-loud. I believe that Derek Jeter will be a career-Yankee, something that fans have been wanting for essentially his entire career. But if these negotiations keep on dragging, and it does not look like a deal is in place, then the Giants should field him an offer. After all, if he signs in San Francisco he would not be labeled a traitor. The Giants and Yankees are not rivals, nor do they regularly even play each other. If he is going to leave New York, than the Golden State is one place he could go.

New York Rangers Blank Florida Panthers 3-0

Had the New York Rangers closed their eyes, perhaps they might have thought that they were in the friendly confines of their home arena, Madison Square Garden—early on in the game there was a “Let’s Go Rangers” chant, near the end of the game there were a few scattered “Hen-Rik” chants, and finally, a loud applause when the final buzzer sounded in Sunrise, with the Rangers skating to a 3-0 victory over the Florida Panthers. More important than the win, though, would be Henrik Lundqvist responding with a shutout after losing three games in a row, and giving up 11 goals during that time. Despite the three goals scored, the Rangers’ offense put up even less shots than they did in Tampa Bay Wednesday night, which was their worst game of the season. However, luck was on their side tonight, as shots seemed to find the back of the net.

• First period: Derek Stepan (6) opened the scoring for the Rangers at the midway point of the period, on an assist from Sean Avery, who had just exited from the penalty box. Stepan’s scoring streak is now at six games, and he has three goals and four assists in that span. The goal would come after an early fight between Brandon Prust and Darcy Hordichuk, who was able to knock Prust’s helmet off and edge him in the fight. The Rangers would leave the period ahead by one.

• Second period: There would be no scoring by either team in the middle frame, though the Panthers heavily outplayed the Rangers. The Blueshirt’s offensive effort was reminiscent of their last game, in the fact that they could not muster up any offense, and the Panthers were taking it to them. Lundqvist would keep them in the game, with 24 saves through two periods.

• Third period: Five minutes in, with the Rangers on the powerplay, Erik Christensen would set up Ryan Callahan (6) in the slot for a deflection goal, expanding the Rangers lead to two. Steve Eminger would record a secondary assist on the play. The Panthers also continued to press on offense, but Lundqvist was solid, and no goals would be allowed. The Rangers would then get another special-teams goal, when Brandon Prust (1) scored shorthanded with just over five minutes remaining in the game. He came in two-on-one with Stepan, and elected to shoot—a well deserved goal for one of this season’s unsung heroes. Later in the period, it would appear that the Panthers scored a goal, when the puck trickled over the line and sent former-Ranger, Chris Higgins, into a celebration. However, it was revealed on replay that Stephen Weiss batted the puck down with his hand, before it reached Higgins’ stick, and it was quickly waved off. With just over three minutes remaining, the Panthers would pull the goalie in an attempt to create offense, but it would be to no avail, and the Rangers themselves could not get control of the puck to score an empty netter.

This was a very big win for the Rangers, bouncing back from a horrible loss in the game prior. Hopefully this shutout will straighten out Lundqvist’s head and propel him to get back into the form we all know and love. The defense was less sloppy tonight, but still, allowed 40 shots to get through, a number that needs to be cut down.

Also, for the second straight game, the Rangers would fail to get more than 20 shots on goal. They still have scored six goals, on a total of 39 shots in two games, which is a very good number. If they shot the puck more, who knows how good this team can be. Marian Gaborik is also in a bit of a funk, as aside from his third-period breakaway, he was unnoticeable. The same can be said for Alex Frolov, who has gone into another one of his disappearing acts.

Again it is worthy to mention the efforts of Brian “Killer” Boyle, and Prust, who continue to work hard, show toughness, and now, chip in goals. The Rangers will need this offense from their supporting cast, especially for when the big guns go silent. The Rangers will now travel to Nashville for an 8pm start against the Predators tomorrow night. Since he is coming off a shutout, I would fully expect Lundqvist to be in net.

Happy Thanksgiving from FNYTSF!

I would like to wish all of my readers a very happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully everyone will have a great day, see their loved ones, and enjoy great food. But I also want to make note of the fact that American Indians treat this day as a Day of Mourning for their people, since the arrival of the pilgrims, who we now celebrate, signified the beginning of the end of their culture, as within three hundred years, virtually the entire native population was killed off, forced to live on reservations, or assimilated into “normal” American culture.

Let us give thanks to what we hold dear to us, but also, to never forget the history of such a day. For additional reading, please check out this excerpt from Where White Men Fear to Tread, by Russell Means.

Norman Rockwell’s famous illustration for the Saturday Evening Post, that captured the hearts of millions.

“The Call Out” Calling for More Attention on the Rock Circuit

Well, you guys asked for more music and you’re getting it. Received a few emails from readers after reviewing The Vinyls two weeks ago saying that you wanted me to cover some more local rock bands. It turns out, I have another one up to par, and once again, I know the guitarist from the same class as the other one. Small world.

The Call Out is yet another New Jersey rock band that has yet to reach a high stature on the rock music circuit, but just like The Vinyls, they sound more professional than they let on, deserving more attention. These two bands are actually very identical to one another, as one thing I stressed in the prior review is that new bands tend to overuse the drums to the point where they become annoying. The Call Out has found the right combination of vocals, guitar, and drums and they seem to remind me of another band, though that names slips my mind.

Led by John Ferris on the vocals, Sean Marmora and Anthony Manginelli on the guitar, and Danny Wrensen on the subtle-but-sweet drums, I would say they would be making some noise in the music world, but that saying wouldn’t do them justice. The old saying holds true, that “birds of a feather flock together”, because Dan from The Vinyls, and Anthony here, are both outstanding guitarists who are surrounded by a great cast of musicians. Do not be fooled—these are not poorly constructed, let’s-do-it-for-fun garage bands. They have a very professional sound that can rival most, if not all, new-age rock groups (and they still seem to be having fun).

I have to be honest, I have only heard three songs by The Call Out, much like I had only listened to four or five of The Vinyls, but once again, first impressions won me over. I must give a prediction (hopefully with better luck than my hockey ones) that given the right exposure, these two bands have bright futures ahead of them and will go far. Make sure to head on over to their Facebook page and check out their three featured songs, “A Place to Call Our Own”, “Hookline, and Sink-Her”, and “If I’m All Talk (Why Are You All Ears?)”.

Their bio says, “We formed in the Spring of 2008, and over the last year we’ve spent all of our time, money, faith, blood, sweat, and tears on this band. And THIS year, we have the opportunity to do even more. Please help us on our journey.” Hard work will always shed results, and that is evident with this band.

It will definitely be interesting to see their upcoming songs, and if you are so inclined, they will be playing at the Highline Ballroom in New York on December 19. Please go to their Facebook page for details. Also, make sure to follow them on Twitter.

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email me at nyr1199@comcast.net and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @GregCaggiano.

Rangers Fail to Play Sixty Minutes in Frustrating Loss to Lightning

Do not let the score fool you, ladies and gentlemen—tonight was one of the worst games the New York Rangers have played this season. For the first two periods, before a half-hearted comeback attempt in the third, words could not describe how awful they looked. The fact is, people who did not watch tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning will pick up the paper tomorrow and see a 5-3 score, and think it was a close game. The Rangers were never in it tonight, and embarrassed themselves through the first forty minutes.

• First period: The Lightning are a team that thrives on the powerplay, so the Rangers were asking for trouble with an early march to the penalty box. Ryan Malone would score less than seven minutes in with the man advantage, after parking himself in front of Lundqvist, setting a screen, and jamming the loose puck home. There would be some controversy on the play as he knocked Lundqvist over before scoring without being called for goalie interference, but that would just be the tip of the iceberg for what he had to endure tonight. Malone would then score an identical goal, also on the powerplay, to put his team up by two goals after one. The Rangers’ offense would only manage to put up five shots on goal, hardly testing Smith or even having any form of offensive pressure

• Second period: The Rangers’ sloppy play would continue as the Lightning came in on a three-on-one, with the league’s leading goal score, Steven Stamkos, trailing behind. Rather than sticking to him and taking him out of the play, Marc Staal chose to calmly glide nearby, and Stamkos scored uncontested. With Lundqvist still being repeatedly bumped with no call, the most laughably horrible penalty call of the season would be made here. Malone would knock Lundqvist over and into the net, finally prompting a goalie interference call, but Lundqvist too was called for diving. There was no place Lundqvist could have gone after being hit, but falling down into the net. Brett Clark would score a powerplay goal on that penalty, expanding the lead to four goals, which would become five before the period ended. After the fifth goal, Martin Biron started to get ready on the bench, but Tortorella changed his mind, not wanting to send him to the wolves. But what was worse than all that was the fact that the Rangers only had two shots in the entire period, being out-shot 25-7 after two.

• Third period: The Rangers would finally decide to play some hockey as they came out a bit stronger than the previous two periods. Steve Eminger (1) would get the Rangers on the board less than four minutes in with a wrist shot through traffic from the blue-line. It would be his first goal as a Ranger. Derek Stepan would be credited with an assist on the play. The Rangers were now finally testing Mike Smith, a goaltender who is not having a great season himself. Brian Boyle (10) would then score shorthanded, from Staal and Brandon Prust, and then late in the period, on a five-on-three powerplay, Derek Stepan (5) would drive home a slapshot from the point, on the feed from Marian Gaborik. The Rangers got many chances in the final few minutes, but could not get more than three. Even so, they did not deserve to win tonight.

The New York Rangers continue to beat the bad and average teams to get everyone excited, before putting up clunkers like this one against the better teams in the league. Had the Rangers put up more than seven shots through two periods, maybe they would have won this game. After all, the Lightning are a team less than a week removed from a 8-7 win over the Flyers. We know they can score, but they have a tough time playing defense.

John Tortorella should also consider making Biron this team’s number one goaltender for the immediate future. This game was in no way Lundqvist’s fault, but the team seems to play better around Biron. Why? The answer is unknown to me, but they have to do whatever works. The reason why Biron did not come into the game tonight was speculated by Rosen and Micheletti as not wanting to bring him into a game where he would get shellacked, a.k.a, not wanting to damage his psyche. Perhaps he will get the start on Friday night against the Panthers.

If there is a bright side to a night like this, Boyle and Stepan continue their scoring streaks and are becoming forces to be relied upon. Staal continues to have an uneasy season on defense, as he is slow to get into the play on offense, and looking like a deer-in-headlights on defense. Steve Eminger has also been very reliable lately, and hopefully he will be able to sustain this recent surge for the entire season. The Rangers really need to figure out why they cannot string together several well-played games—not even worry about wins at this point, but just quality of play.

Rangers Burn Flames in Hard-Fought Win at the Garden

With the way the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames played tonight, you would they were hated cross-town rivals. For sixty minutes, both teams skated back and forth, throwing checks, getting physical, and causing tensions to rise in the third period, keeping fans on edge. The Rangers would pull out a 2-1 victory at MSG tonight, behind a solid effort by Martin Biron, who made his second straight start, giving Henrik Lundqvist additional time off to tweak his game. Unlike Saturday, where Biron did not have to be great, he actually found himself quite busy tonight, stopping 31 of 32 shots.

The Rangers controlled play for most of the first period, but could not get many quality shots on goal. They would have a powerplay just 14 seconds into the game, but once again, failed to capitalize. The game would then develop a nasty edge as Michael Sauer would check Stefan Meyer from behind, before being jumped by Rene Bourque. Both players would head to the penalty box, and minutes after the penalties expired, Sauer would fight Tom Kostopoulos. Sure enough, the fisticuffs would not end there, and later in the period, Sauer would fight again, this time with Meyer himself. Sauer would win both fights, though not decisively. The first period would end scoreless.

In the second period, the Rangers would finally break through with a goal as Brian Boyle came in on a two-on-one with Ruslan Fedotenko against the Flames’ Brendan Mikkelson. While attempting to get the puck to Fedotenko, Boyle’s (9) pass would deflect off the defenseman and past Miikka Kiprusoff for the game’s first goal. Three minutes later, Brandon Dubinsky failed to get a shot on goal while near the net, and the puck was knocked away to center ice. The Flames would come in three-on-one and after two passes, Jarome Iginla would one-time it over the glove of Martin Biron to tie the game. Things would then get nasty again, as later in the period, Ryan Callahan would lay a clean check on Jay Bouwmeester. Curtis Glencross, who knocked out Chris Drury last season with a blindsided hit, came over and high-sticked Callahan in the back of the head, receiving a penalty. The Rangers would finally come through on the man advantage, when Dan Girardi (2) would take a slapshot off a Derek Stepan faceoff win. Stepan continues to put up points and improve his game, while Girardi finally has a goal to show for all his hard work.

There would be no goal scoring in the third period, but the physical play would continue. As Matt Stajan entered the Rangers zone with the puck, he passed it to his left, and kept looking at it. With Stajan putting himself in a susceptible position, Marc Staal would use that opportunity to level him with a clean shoulder-to-shoulder hit, that sent Stajan’s helmet flying and knocked him to the ice. He would be a little wobbly before skating to the bench by himself; he would not return. Tension would then rise to such a level that you could cut it with a knife, however, there would be no more fighting, despite Meyer trying to goad Derek Boogaard into a fight, but he was smart and did not risk taking a penalty. The game would end with the Rangers up 2-1, and victorious for the second straight game.

Martin Biron has now won four games in a row, but will bow out to Lundqvist who has already been announced as Wednesday’s starter. The Rangers have been waiting years to have a reliable backup, and now that they have one and he is playing well, Tortorella decided to go with the hot-hand. A win or a loss tonight, this was the right move, and hopefully it will prompt Lundqvist to improve his play, and cut down on the one soft goal per game he has allowed. Also, in case you have not already noticed, Biron is a fantastic interview—I see him having a job as a color analyst somewhere when his career is over.

As for the defense, they were once again solid. Dan Girardi continued his excellent play, Sauer showed some toughness and strength with the two fights he was in tonight, and Eminger continues to be the team’s most improved player since the beginning of the season, blocking shots and taking the body.

Multiple times this season the Rangers have had a good team effort and win, yet they have not developed any consistency. They will be visiting the Stamkos-led Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night, and they will need an all-around team effort like tonight if they are to stop them.

Spielberg to Cast Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Upcoming Film

I had been keeping tabs on this film project for the past few years, a project that has since disappeared from the “announced” and “in pre-production” stages on IMDB, even with director Steven Spielberg’s recent announcement that Daniel Day-Lewis would portray Abraham Lincoln in a biopic about our sixteenth president, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Team of Rivals. At one time it was rumored that Liam Neeson was to play Lincoln, and even though Neeson is one of my favorite actors, Day-Lewis will no doubt play a better role, as very few actors get so into their character as he does.

The next five years have the potential to be very exciting for the film industry as we will most likely see a boost in Civil War and related movies due to the event’s 150th anniversary, which will be commemorated from 2011-2015. There is already rumor of a six-hour director’s cut for Gods and Generals to be released, and that is sure to be the first of many with such a theme.

As a Civil War buff, I do not agree with Lincoln’s politics at all. Personally, I believe some of his decisions were borderline tyrannical, such as suspending Habeas Corpus and sending the army to the houses of certain Maryland delegates to ensure the state would not vote to secede with the Union. He also could have taken different routes to see that a war did not break out, a war costing America over 600,000 lives. Nevertheless, I believe Lincoln and his presidency are fascinating, and I have always admired him as a husband and father; a man who lost two children at such a young age, and someone who had to deal with Mary Todd, who was on the brink of insanity during her stay in the White House.

Knowing Spielberg and his direction, I have no doubt that this film will be an epic, I just hope that it concentrates more on Lincoln’s time during the Civil War, and less on his life prior, as it is not as exciting or important.

Henriksen as Lincoln.

Many actors have portrayed Lincoln in the past, including my favorite depiction which was Lance Henriksen in The Day Lincoln was Shot. This film was made for TNT (which has produced a slew of Civil War movies) and starred Rob Morrow as well, who played John Wilkes Booth. The film was fantastic, showing the final 24 hours of Lincoln’s life, leading up to his assassination and the capture of Booth. The movie is worthy of a DVD release, but we have yet to see one, and the VHS copy I had of it when I taped it off of TV in 1998 has long since been lost.

The most famous portrayal of Lincoln may belong to Sam Waterston, who played the titular role in Gore Vidal’s Lincoln. This movie was alright, but I have to agree with my history professor’s summation, when he said that Vidal paints Lincoln out to be Jesus Christ. I also felt the film ended much too abruptly after the assassination, especially after being built up so much throughout. Gregory Peck also played Lincoln in a small appearance in the 1982 miniseries, The Blue and the Gray. Though I have not seen it in years, his character still stands out to me, as Peck was one of the greatest actors in the history of film.

We will now anxiously await more details of this upcoming film, such as the storyline and supporting actors, and I can only hope more films with similar themes will spring up, prompting more awareness of the most important event in our nation’s history.

New Jersey Devils: Are John Maclean’s Days Numbered?

It’s a shame that the blame for this disastrous season of New Jersey Devils hockey will rest on the shoulders of a man who once was a fan favorite as a player for this team, one who scored nearly 350 goals while wearing the red, white, and black [and green]. John Maclean is in his first year as a head coach in the NHL, and he is finding out that games are not like the AHL, where it’s okay if the team loses, as long as the players learned something along the way. In the NHL, the big show, games are about winning—something the Devils have done only five times out of 20, and only once on home ice.

The blame can really be thrown in any direction: an aging Brodeur, a shoddy defense, an injury plagued start to the season, or perhaps even a cancerous acquisition in Ilya Kovalchuk, but nevertheless, it is John Maclean who will take the blame, for even though you can use any one of these aforementioned excuses, this team should not be this bad. They have not even been bad, that has been an understatement. Devils teams of the past who were based on 95% defense and 5% offense still found a way to average more than two goals a game, something that the Devils have not even come close to. They have scored a minuscule 36 goals in 20 games—it’s a miracle they have even won five games with that number. In return, they have also given up 65 goals, an amount that does not lead the league, but might as well since it is so disproportionate to their amount of goals scored.

Their goaltending, which has always been their one, true consistency, is in shambles. Martin Brodeur has been injured twice now, including this recent spell that will have him out the next two weeks. His stats this season are 4-10-1 with a goals against average of 2.74. I could jump on the wagon and say Brodeur was never that good to begin with, his numbers a product of a trap defense that had him facing only 20 shots a night, but for now, I will leave that alone as more attention does not need to be brought upon it from someone who is not a Devil’s fan—they can now see it for themselves. What does Brodeur have left to play for, exactly? He has three Stanley Cups, four Vezina’s, and almost every single goaltending record in the book. The drive towards those records reflected a player only playing for personal statistics found on the back of a hockey card, and not playing for his team, something that is so evident when looking at the amount of games he would play during the course of the season, an amount leaving him so tired that his team would be bounced out of the first round of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion. But that’s okay, he’s still the winningest goaltender in history. Keep telling yourself that, Marty.

Johan Hedburg, the Devil’s backup whose signing was praised as the next best thing since sliced bread, has been atrocious this season. His record is only 1-2-1, but his GAA is a bloated 4.53, and the Devils look like they will now be relying on call-up Mike McKenna to hold down the fort until Marty the Magnificent can make his gallant return. With no amazing prospects in the farm system, aside from Jeff Frazee who is said to be solid, the Devils are empty in the goaltending department, and should consider drafting one this season with their first round pick. But they will have to choose wisely, because one of the picks will be taken away by the NHL as punishment for the Kovalchuk fiasco.

As for Ilya Kovalchuk, I already said previously that the Devils had 27 games last season to see what he would bring, in terms of putting extra fans in the seats and developing chemistry. What they got was a point per game player, but nothing outstanding. He continued to be his same old self, being lazy on defense and pretending to not know what backchecking is. The truth is, to write about Ilya Kovalchuk would be cause for a separate article as his season has been a microcosm of the Devils: all promise, and all fail. Remember during the preseason when the Kovalchuk-Zajac-Parise line was tearing it up and scoring two goals a game? Remember when The Hockey News picked the Devils to finish in fifth? Parise’s injury cannot be why this season has gone by the wayside. Kovalchuk is a six-time 40 goal scorer—you don’t score 342 goals before reaching age 28 by being terrible. No, the blame will rest on the shoulders of coach John Maclean, who has not been able to motivate this team.

It is worthy of mention that last night, as the Devils were having yet another loss handed to them, Maclean could be standing on the bench with his arms crossed and shaking his head, the obvious frustration strewn all over his face. But unfortunately, shaking your head does not translate into anger with your players. I am not one to advocate a coach having a conniption, but if there is a team in the league that needs such a wake up call, it would be the Devils. Had it not been for the New York Islanders losing twelve in a row, and the Edmonton Oilers stuck in the middle of a rebuild-and-learn season, the Devils would be occupying last place all by themselves. But still, this team is not so bad that they should be playing like this.

Jacques Lemaire coached this team to their best regular season in franchise history last year, winning 48 games. What thanks does he get? He was booed out-of-town because fans were sick of defensive hockey. “Give us run and gun!” they said, begging Old Lou for an offensive minded coach, and this preseason, fans got their wish when the Maclean-lead Devils were tearing through opponents on the score sheet. But when the regular season started, that all went away. The team did have the offensive tools in Parise, Kovalchuk, Zajac, Elias, Rolston, and Arnott, but the defense was just not there to protect the team’s 38-year-old goaltender. The goals against mounted while the goals for went down, to compensate for the lost defense. Maclean is now left there with no options to go to. He cannot spark his superstar, because Kovalchuk is now in one of his frustrated moods, and he cannot wait for Parise to return, because it will be too late.

If the Devils want any hope at salvaging this season, they will need to fire John Maclean. When they get healthy, they are just one large winning streak away from coming close to contention, and then one more from surmounting the deficit they have created. It may sound crazy, but the Devils are not done yet—every season we sit back and say that this is the year they miss the playoffs, and every year they make it. This season we said nothing, and look at what has happened. The Devils are one team that can still salvage this season, but they will need a new coach. There are not many options out there, but I can think of one that absolutely makes sense, and that is Bob Hartley. The ex-Avalanche and Thrashers head coach has Stanley Cup experience, has coached Kovalchuk in the past, and most importantly, plays a defense-first style. Devils fans may shudder at that phrase “defense-first”, but look at where it got you: three Stanley Cups and the top of the league’s respectability (before angering the league with the Kovalchuk situation).

Rangers Defeat Wild 5-2 in Gaborik’s Return to Minnesota

Martin Biron stopped 25 of 27 shots in tonight's victory over the Wild.

Marian Gaborik spent eight seasons with the Minnesota Wild, and in the meantime, set records for virtually every offensive category in the franchise’s history. Aside from Jacques Lemaire, Gaborik was the face of that franchise during his tenure there. Tonight was the first time he would get a chance to face his former team, after being injured last season when the New York Rangers faced them. The promotion for tonight’s game was a Marian Gaborik bobblehead, and although that was to pay tribute to him, the fans were a little less kind, booing his name when it was announced for the starting lineups, and then some additional scattered boos when he touched the puck.

For the Rangers, though, tonight they got a very important and much needed bounce-back victory after playing what was arguably their worst game of the season last night in Colorado. The Rangers would get a solid team effort and pull out a decent 5-2 road win in Minnesota.

The Rangers and Wild got off to a slow start, with an uneventful first period that heard some aforementioned jeers directed at Gaborik. But the player known for his finesse and skill showed a bit of an edge early on, with a big hit just seconds in on Greg Zanon, and another one later on. The Rangers would go 0-1 on the powerplay in the first, continuing their struggles, and leave the period scoreless.

In the second period, the Rangers would blow the game open. Artem Anisimov (7) would score a little less than nine minutes in on assists from Matt Gilroy and Mike Sauer. The Rangers would then get their third powerplay of the game, and snap an 0 for 17 streak when Michael Del Zotto (2) shot the puck into a wide open net past goaltender Niklas Backstrom. Derek Stepan fed him with an excellent cross ice pass to continue his recent hot streak, and Dan Girardi would add a secondary assist on the play. Then with one minute remaining, Dan Girardi would take a shot from the point that missed the net (or was it intentional?) and landed on the tape of Alex Frolov’s (5) stick, who finally succeeded in scoring a wraparound goal, a move he tries at least five times a game to no avail. Marian Gaborik would end up with the secondary assist, his first point against his former team.

Early on in the third, Brandon Dubinsky (12) would pretty much ice the game with an unassisted breakaway goal. Eight minutes later, with the Rangers on another powerplay, the puck would come out of the zone to Kyle Brodziak, who skated over the red line with Del Zotto attempting to hip check him, but missed, allowing Brodziak to come in 2 on 1 with Matt Cullen, who buried the puck behind Martin Biron to get the Wild on the board. The Rangers would quickly counter with a Ruslan Fedotenko (4) goal, off assists from Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust. For Boyle, this would be his first assist of the season, to add to his eight goals. The game would end with the Rangers victorious, in a desperately needed win to stop a losing streak before it could expand.

Martin Biron played decent until the second goal he allowed to the Wild, scored by Martin Havlat. It was from a bad angle and between his glove and the post, and it was one he should have had. Nevertheless, he was solid and did not have to be that good as the Rangers rallied around him and played some good defense. Del Zotto would unfortunately continue his sloppy play, taking a penalty in the third and making a bad decision that directly led to Minnesota’s first goal of the game.

For Marian Gaborik, this was also an important win as he finally got a chance to face his former team. He only had one assist, but played very physical and had four shots on goal. The Rangers will now get ready for a game against the struggling Calgary Flames Monday night. Expect Lundqvist to be in net, after getting the night off tonight.

For John Tortorella, tonight’s game was his 300th NHL win.