Gomez - Drury

Yea it seems about that time to review these signings from last summer. Gomez and Drury rank respectfully 1 and 4 on the team's point scoring list. Gomez of course has been the best player on the team and the catalist for the offense for the past couple of weeks. He was also able to jumpstart a slow out of the gate Shanahan who is third on the team in points currently, and it seems like he is doing the same for Jagr who has been able to put up a few assists here and there followed by 2 goals last night. Gomez didn't have the greatest start but has come on the last 2 months and has easily become the catalist for whatever line he is on. Where as Drury has been a solid player as well. Not as noticable sometimes out there on the ice, as some would hope but he is still making a difference on the ice. His plus/minus leaves something to be desired. Drury is one of only 3 Rangers that are in the double digits on the minus side (Orr and Girardi are the others). ESPN doesn't have faceoff statistics which I am assuming he probably leading the rangers if not in second place. Drury's value actually lies elsewhere though. Yes, he is having a decent point season chances are will be over 50 points and has a chance to get over 60; but he is a last second type of guy. He is the player who scores the goal in the last minute when you are facing elimination to force another game, another period or ends the game. All in all there is real no way to judge Drury's season until we get to the second season. So all in all, despite all the lack of scoring this team is doing these 2 are still producing and playing well.

As for Orr's hit last night, good clean hit. Orr had his hands down and caught Cullen with his head down. I liked Cullen when he was a Ranger last year but you do not skate across the middle with your head down in the NHL just ask Eric Lindros. Even if the league has protected against those hits in recent years you still shouldn't even consider doing something like that. Espeically against the Rangers 4th line whose calling card is backchecking and defense, besides the toughness side of things with Hollweg and Orr. Keep your head up and shit like this won't happen. The NHL should never start protecting players who can't learn to keep their heads up when skating across the middle. I mean hell they teach you how to stick handle in minor hockey when you are a kid, and it starts with your head up. Many players have spent countless hours staring at the boards while trying to keep control of the puck at their feet to stop that exact thing. Keep you head up and this shit wouldn't happen. Players like Crosby or Heatley may have made that pass but would not be skating there looking back over their shoulder not keeping their head up. Here is the video.



Hands down, heads down. Stupid penalty from the refs as well but they are trained to protect the players and give the team the Rangers are playing every advantage as possible. Citing last week as the Refs and Marion Gaborik took out the Rangers.

Rangers slap the shit out of the pens

Nothing really to say but awesome. Pound the pens and make syd the kid look bad, it was a great night for me. Awesome. No complaints just awesome. Honestly good effort up and down the lineup and that is some high quality hockey.

flyers bad, simon just as bad?

Through 2 periods not so good.

Where I live the Rangers are not being played tonight but it looks like the mix of rangers injuries and flu symptoms have sent the rangers to the ropes with a big help from the coyotes who are just taking advantage of the team as a whole. Of course I am listening to the game on NHL radio and I haven't been listening for the whole game but I have been keeping up with the situation. From what I can gather the effort is there from the rangers and it has been for the last couple of appearances on the ice but its the execution that the Rangers are struggling with. Callahan to Hartford is a surprise but who knows I guess he hasn't been playing up to expectations but who knows.

What to do from here? This has got me even confused. It's looking like right now the key to this team's success is Sean Avery. The team continues to struggle without Avery in the lineup and without something drastic happening its looking like this will continue.

Side note on this I do not advocate any kind of trade as of yet. I would rather seem them come out of this on their own. The team is strong and young. I can wait another year for a Stanley Cup do not sacrifice the future for something that most likely will not work long term anyway. There are a good number of young players that will be able to come up within the next couple of years and sending them somewhere else is not the answer.

The sad thing is that Renney is the one that is going to be in trouble soon. The following will most likely happen soon (next month or 2) A) Tom Renney getting fired, B) a big trade. We'll see which one comes first, but who knows what Sather is thinking. There are more and more trade rumors that are coming up around the internet, which are starting to involve the Rangers to an extent, but nothing good so far.

Kevin Out

A loss for words

Tonights game against the Hurricanes to the 12 minute mark of the third period has just been awful. Unable to capitalize on all of their chances the Rangers are losing 3 nothing to this point. I am assuming of course that they aren't going to pull this one out of their ass but who knows you gotta keep the faith. If this game continues in the way that it has gone so far that game will most likely end by the same score or the Hurricanes will tally another one late in the game.

The Rangers once again have been unable to put the puck in the net. With credits to the Hurricane defense none of their 28 shots on goal have been all that great of chances. A few here and there, but not many overall. They have just given away the puck all night and allowed chances all night long. The Canes just scored their 4th goal of the night. Jagr as well as the rest of the Rangers have appeared to have completely given up on this game not even wanting to finish off the effort. The best line of the night was the 4th line which generated pretty much all of the chances in the first period.

Here is my question why so little of the 3rd line? This line appears to be playing well for the ice time that they got but seemed to get less ice time then the 4th line. The fact is no one really showed up to play this game, and you can't win a game in the NHL by not showing up no matter how much a team is struggling. The Hurricanes limped into this game and was set to be jumped on by a Rangers team that just came off a big win in Ottawa but they let this one get away from them.

All I can say is they played with very little energy and couldn't generate much at all tonight. I don't like to tell people how to do their jobs, but I think its time to put Hossa in the rafters and bring Dawes or Moore back from the minors or hell even their leading scorer Parenteau. It's just because line 2 is hurt by having him there that line just isn't clicking. Well at least not this game.