N.Y. Rangers: Blueshirts Set To Finally Rid Themselves Of Redden

From the desk of:   RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS


NEW YORK RANGERS - Providing For The Common DEFENSE, And Promoting The Blueshirt Welfare.


"Hey, hey Paula..., I wanna marry you!"


That little diddy was sung by Boone and his girlfriend Katie in the movie Animal House, while they were getting high at their college professor's house.  And that's how I feel right now - high, and with a need to sing.


"Bye, bye Redden..., we're finally through with you!"


The New York Rangers will work out the terms to finally waive useless defenseman Wade Redden, and rid themselves of a financial albatross.  He no doubt had to be one of the highest paid players in AHL history!  In a nutshell, terms of the new collective bargaining agreement allow each team to jettison two costly club mistakes.  This was the big break the Rangers needed.  Damn the cap hit..., the season is a resounding success already.


Six years at thirty nine million dollars....   What the hell was Glen Sather thinking?  Those were the years Sather was possessed by the devil himself; Mike Milbury.  Redden, Scott Gomez; Chris Drury; - need I say more?  By the way, Montreal called, they want their defenseman back.  If I said it once, I said it a thousand times.  If you want to pat someone on the back for turning this organization around, credit Gordie Clark and John Tortorella.  But if you must, credit Sather for hiring Clark after Don Maloney left to work for Wayne Gretzky in Phoenix.  These two have kept Glen Sather on the straight, and narrow, and have made him look far smarter than he deserves credit for.  But hey, that's just me.


With or without Wade Redden, a compressed schedule poses a challenge for the Rangers blue line.  The third and fourth lines are more important than ever.  The onus will be on guys like Stu Bickel, Steve Eminger, Matt Gilroy (who recently agreed to a deal), and Anton Stralman to gain Coach's trust, and share the burden he places on Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.  Meanwhile, the Canadiens are no doubt kicking themselves in le posterior, after handing Scott Gomez a pink slip and watching Ryan McDonagh develop into a blue line star.  And now that Michael Del Zotto is signed, we know the Rangers are confidently three lines deep.  The trick will be in creating a good fourth line pair.  Here's a nice stat that should go a long way.  All eight Rangers defensemen are below the age of thirty.


On a more distressing note, I think Michael Sauer's career might be over.  He is still unable to shake the effects of a concussion suffered back in December 2011 when Toronto's Dion Phaneuf checked him into the boards.  Sauer missed the rest of 2011-2012, and all of last season.


I think the Rangers have the best collection of defensemen in the division.  Sure the Penguins still have Kris Letang.  But without Jordan Staal, I think they are substantially compromised.  Philly's defense corp is unsettled.  They are trying to infuse some youth among a collection of fossils like Kimmo Timonen and returning dinosaur, Chris Pronger.  The Islanders?  No, stop.  Really....  But the Devils are the Devils.  Their defense will be stout and physical.  They played in the finals for a reason.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Rangers vs. N.Y. Islanders; The Rivalry, Game One

From the desk of:  RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS

NEW YORK RANGERS  vs.  New York Islanders

The RIVALRY Resumes;  2011-2012

Marty Biron I believe is getting the start in net tonight in Long Island against the Islanders.  And that's just fine with me.  With the way goalies have been falling prey to injuries in this town lately, why risk Henrik with all the bad karma hovering over the metropolitan area. 



Marty Brodeur of the Devils will miss a few games with a bad shoulder.  But the bigger news is that Islanders' goalie Rick DiPietro is out with a concussion.  Had he suffered a broken arm or something other than a concussion, I might be more inclined to poke fun at him, and the Islanders for sign him to that ridiculous contract a few years back.  But ever since the study when medical researchers actually went back and studied brains of deceased former athletes and encountered astonishing new details on how much damage is actually being caused by these head injuries, I'm less likely to poke fun now.  Rick DiPietro also suffered a pair of concussions back in 2007 within less than two weeks of each other.  And before that, there was a first concussion to speak of in 2005.



In net for the Islanders tonight will be old Rangers' farm-hand; Al Montoya.
*UPDATE:  Evgeni Nobokov will start for NYI  -  Not Al Montoya.


The Rangers aren't without injury problems of their own.  In early October, the team talked about Marc Staal perhaps returning to action by tonight for their first game state-side after returning from their European Tour.  Today, Marc is not ready to play.  His own concussion problem stemming from the hit he absorbed courtesy of his brother back in February is still not resolved.  Marc Staal may very well miss a substantial portion of the season.  He still suffers from symptoms such as headaches.  This will be the Rangers only (relatively speaking...) "home" game, as they will embark on a five game Canadian swing that will be also be air-travel intensive.  I don't know....But I think it's unlikely the Rangers will make him fly with them.



In Marc Staal's absence, Dan Girardi clocked in a ton of minutes during the two opening games in Sweden.  He's about to be asked to clock-in even more now.  That's because Michael Sauer will not play tonight against the Islanders with a bad shoulder.  That leaves the Rangers with one top defensive pair; Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi.  Watch their minutes tonight. 



The Rangers will look towards the Kids for help again, just as they have been pressed into doing for two seasons now.  Tim Erixon, and fresh-meat Jeff Woywitka, will be tasked with helping out Steve Eminger and Mike Del Zotto.  Anything after that.....I have no answers for you.  We need help on the blue line.  It's as simple as that.



The Rangers might be over their European jet-lag, but rust after being off for a week may appear obvious to us at times tonight against the Islanders who are playing their fourth game.  At least that's what I'm expecting.  The Rangers were pressed into scheduling oddities this season because of the ongoing MSG renovations.  So in effect, the Blueshirts are restarting their season.  Then after tonight, it's off to Canada for five games.  In truth, I'd be happy to get out of this game with no injuries.



Islander fans.......; you guys got a nice package of youngsters over there.  You guys can definitely hang with teams.  However, you're not ready to punch through into the first division yet.  But c'mon...., does it ever stop with Rick DiPietro?

The situation in Long Island and their ability to retain it's Hockey club brings this rivalry into a different light now.  I still believe this is a three team Hockey metropolis.  And I believe one of them should always remain on Long Island.  So I sincerely hope the Islanders and Nassau County can still make something happen that ensures a competitive Islander franchise stays and thrives in Long Island.






Let's drop the puck and start getting some regularity into this season.  For the Blueshirts, it starts "again" tonight.



Let's Go Rangers!

Mike.BTB

N.Y. RANGERS ~ Who Needs Sean Avery Now!?

New York Rangers:  Coach Torts Needs Avery!  That's Who.

Someone will have to pick up the slack now that Ryan Callahan has been lost to injury.  But not only that, the person or people now responsible for being Coach Torts on the ice need to make sure Coach doesn't do anything loopy in light of his (our) loss.  Losing Ryan Callahan now, could very well make Coach lose his mind.  Everything Coach Torst wants this team to be, is embodied by Ryan Callahan.  Now Skipper has lost his Little Buddy and I'm worried.  Coach trusts no one like he does Callahan.  With no one else to trust besides Henrik and Marc Staal, Coach must not be allowed to get too experimental with his forward lines.  Tinkering is one thing; overhauls are another.  Does it make a difference the way Coach has juggled his lines this season?  Yes, it still matters, because it was looking as if Coach knew which nine forwards he'd be riding into the potential second season.  Now that all changes.

Who will Coach Torts slot into the line with Dubinsky and Anisimov?  Will he move Marian Gaborik up?  Will he give Derek Stepan another promotion?  Which ever way you care to ponder this, Sean Avery is officially a Ranger again whether Coach likes it or not.  After a season of shunning the forward and limiting his minutes, Coach Tortorella must now look to Sean Avery to fill in for Ryan Callahan, in some form or capacity, and keep the Rangers' playoffs aspirations buoyant.  But when you get right down to it, Avery is the logical choice to pick-up Callahan's minutes, because anything beyond Avery as a solution is too complicated and involves too many moves to the lines.

It's funny how life goes around in circles.

Sean Avery's penalty minutes compared to the rest of the team are sky high (although Brandon Prust is a close second).  We know this.  But if you are familiar with Avery's game, you know he does most things well.  He has been very effective when Coach Torts lets him on the ice and when Sean doesn't put himself in the penalty box.  But if there has been one major flaw in Sean Avery's game this year, it's he hasn't been able to finish a play.  We know he digs in the corners, is a good skater, and passes very well.  He's usually in position and anticipates just as well.  He creates plays from behind the net and is a tenacious fore-checker.  But all that has not translated into goals for Avery.  It's been nothing short of tough luck because, like I said, he does everything else well.  But the lack of scoring has been something that has plagued the team as a whole.  The team's scoring chances and Avery's chances have been there this season, but sometimes they and he, just seem to get stymied by a goalie who decides to play his career best game against the Rangers.

The bottom line here is Coach Torts and Sean Avery need to find some common ground to work on, so this team can continue moving forward.  And even I'll admit, this is all fine and well, but Sean Avery also needs to play disciplined Hockey.

I've heard early rumors Coach Torts is thinking about using Matt Gilroy on the wing.  Really?  C'mon Coach, you've been so good this year.  Don't start doing wacky things now.  We all know Ryan Callahan is to Coach Torts what Yogi Berra was like to Casey Stengel.  They both hated playing without their "Guy".  But Gilroy on the wing is a complete panic move.  There is absolutely no reason to even contemplate such an idea when the obvious "solution" to life without Callahan right now is Sean Avery.

You have a guy Coach.  All you have to do is look to your left and you'll see him at the end of the bench.  He's been there the whole time.  Just call his number and he'll come-a-skating, ready with stick in hand.

Remember back two years ago, when the rest of the Rangers were choking away a three games to one lead against the Capitals and a young goalie named Varlamov in the playoffs?  I'm sure you do.  Then you'll also remember Sean Avery put on a clinic as to how the game of Hockey is supposed to be played.  I'm not saying Sean is still that guy more nights than not.  I'm just trying to jar a memory of Sean Avery in a Ranger jersey during the playoffs.  And if you don't remember how well he played that series, consider yourself officially reminded.

There were no playoffs for this team last year.  If they're not careful, there will be no playoffs for them this year.  But the last time this team made the playoffs, Sean Avery was busy being the Rangers' best player.

So how about it Coach?  It's time to get Sean Avery on the ice and give him important minutes again.  It's not what I want.  It's what the team needs.  And John Tortorella needs to do so by impressing upon his beleaguered forward, he's being sent out with the full confidence and trust of his Coach.

If you've noticed, I haven't made one mention of Chris Drury throughout all this.  That's because I'm not interested.

"There's not need to fear" - Sean Avery is here. 

It's time for UNDER DOG's REVENGE!

March 6, 2011

EASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS:

#1 ~ Washington ~ 105

#2 ~ Philadelphia ~ 103

#3 ~ Boston ~ 99

#4 ~ Pittsburgh ~ 102

#5 ~ Tampa Bay ~ 99

#6 ~ Montreal ~ 93

#7 ~ Buffalo ~ 92

#8 ~ NEW YORK ~ 91

--------------------------------

#9 ~ Carolina ~ 87

Yesterday ~ March 5th

Buffalo 4;  Tampa Bay 2

While the Rangers were off yesterday, Buffalo downed the Lightning and gained a point over the Blueshirts.

Buffalo has two games remaining ~ FLYERS; @Blue Jackets,  End April 9th.

Today ~ March 6th

Detroit 0;  CAROLINA 3

Carolina earned their 89th point tonight with a 3-0 shut-out of the Detroit Red Wings which puts them a mere two points behind the Rangers for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Carolina has two games remaining after tonight ~ @Atlanta; LIGHTNING,  End April 9th.

Last Two Games of the Regular Season for NYR

vs. Atlanta; New Jersey - End April 9th.

THURSDAY

Atlanta Thrashers

11th Place ~ 33-34-12 ~ 78 Points

vs.

NEW YORK RANGERS

8th Place ~ 43-32-5 ~ 91 Points

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

33rd Street and 7th Avenue

Thrashers vs Rangers: Pre-Game:

Atlanta faded down the stretch.  They got as close as 10th place (I believe) then fell back into the pack.  They have lost two straight coming onto this game and are fresh off a Tuesday night loss to Nashville.  They are still a team which represent nothing but trouble to the Rangers.  These two teams are special team units passing each other in the night.  In the last seven games the Thrashers have given up one lone goal on their last nineteen times on a power play kill.  The Rangers power play, even with the addition of Brian McCabe still hovers around 17% which ranks 16th in the League.

The Rangers were riding high coming off back-to-back wins over Philadelphia and Boston.  Then they were rocked with news they lost their un-official Captain; Ryan Callahan as he busted an ankle blocking a shot.  But that's what the Coach demands.  He expects the Rangers to sacrifice their bodies and block shots.  Somehow he's managed to get them all to buy in.  But sometimes it costs us.  We've played before without Callahan, and now we'll have to do it again.

The Carolina Hurricanes shut-out the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 Wednesday night.  Their eighty-nine points moves them to within two points of the eighth place and idle Rangers with two games remaining.

That means the Rangers game against the New Jersey Devils on April 9th to close out the season, will have a direct bearing on the Rangers playoff chances.  The only form of control the Rangers maintain for themselves relies on the Blueshirts getting three points out of the next and final two games.

They are cutting this awfully close aren't they?  And now they must do it without their heart and soul.



UPDATED March 7th:
I wrote all this yesterday but then fell asleep and didn't publish.  So excuse the post if it sounds a day late.  Even though Coach Torts has made decisions about the lines tonight, nothing I said really changes much.  If Coach goes through with this, and plays Gilroy on the wing instead of utilizing Sean Avery, he should be committed to a nut house.

Mike.BTB