Well, I dont know what the status of Jaromir Jagr & Brendan Shanahan are after this game, but both appeared injured (Shanahan because of his back, Jagr because of his shoulder) after this contest, not to mention Petr Prucha getting hit in the face with a puck.? As of writing this I havent checked to see the status of any of those players, but one assumes if Jagr is out for any length of time, this team will suffer mightly without him.?
Getting on to the game, I thought the Rangers did well to come out with a point.? I know its sour because we had a 2 goal lead, but all in all, youre talking about the best team in hockey, and we got a point, you cant be unhappy with that.? Stupid penalties hurt us, some suspect goaltending as well.? While Weekes did make SEVERAL gamesaving stops, he also let in some very weak goals. I was particularly annoyed with the game tying goal.? I hope Henrik is in net for the next one because I think Henrik stops most of those goals.?
Marek Malik continues to be a walking talking disaster with skates.? He had more turnovers than I can count, and his decision making was just putrid.? If not for him, the D would have played a pretty great game.? I find myself surprised at how well Bozolinsh and Rachunek have been playing (The Bozolinsh nickname stays as long as this guy is in hockey).?
All 4 lines played well, but Shanahan, despite playing some good hockey, was clearly hurt, and it was visible in his mobility and power on his shot.? Petr Prucha also took a puck to his face which didnt help as he missed a pretty long stretch of time spanning a lot of the 2nd, and several minutes into the third (if im not mistaken, the game ended 5 hours ago, please do excuse me if my memory fails me on a few details).?
I really dont have much else to say on this one, I thought the Rangers played well, and got beat by a better team.? They picked up 5 out of a possible 6 points against 3 of the best teams in all of hockey.? Im not one bit ashamed of that.
3 Stars Of The Game
1)Jaromir Jagr.? He had a MONSTER game.? Controlling the puck, setting up players, agressive on the forecheck, and scoring a goal and having an assist (or was it 2?)
2)Kevin Weekes.? Despite the softies he made some really great saves, definately worthy of 2nd star status.
3)Petr Prucha.? Scored a goal, and came back after a pretty brutal face injury.?
Final Score: Sabres 4, Rangers 3 (OT)
-Inferno
