Holy moly what a freaking game!

First off, I want to just make a list of poor calls by the refs that I can just list off the top of my head.

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1. Cullen’s non reviewed goal.
2. The call on Shanahan that directly led to the Penguins only goal.
3. Not calling a penalty on Fleury for playing the puck in the restricted area with about 2 minutes to go (they never talked about it during the game, but watch the replays of the play where prucha bumps into Fleury, he clearly played it WELL into the restricted area.)
4. Awarding a penalty shot to Staal on a play where the penalty that occured happened when Staal clearly did not have control of the puck, AND Staal got a shot off unhindered by the defenseman, meaning he shouldnt have been awarded the penalty shot anyway. (so thats really 2 blown calls on the same play)
5. Missed a clear double minor when Hollweg was clipped near the eye in the first few minutes of the 3rd.
6. Finally, a litany of soft/phantom calls against the Rangers giving the Penguins several 5 on 3’s that simply shouldnt have been called.

Thats just off the top of my head!? If I’m Tom Renney, I make sure to back my team up by pointing these things out to the press.? Oh, and while I’m on the subject, the official reason for not calling for a review on the Cullen goal was “we screwed up”.? Makes ya feel a whole lot better right?

The real star of this game was Henrik Lundqvist.? He was simply spectacular, giving up only his 2nd goal in 3 games, and on a 5 on 3 to boot, AND he got most of the shot, it just kept going by his shoulder.? He played his angles spectacularly, and the one boneheaded play he made, he was given a gift as Malkin hit the post on a wide open (and I mean WWIIIDDEEE open) net.? Still though, I probably play Weekes tomorrow, give Henrik a breather, and keep Weekes in the game.? If we’re going to do anything this year, we will need Weekes to spell Henrik now and again, why not against a team that probably will destroy us? I know, probably not the best attitude to have, but Im a realist, Buffalos speed really exposes our D, and if we dont backcheck, expect a ton of goals by the Sabres.

Jagr had a strange, but productive game, as he scored the equalizer and got an assist on the winner.? The captain was also fired up at Ruutu, his arch nemesis, and threw an elbow.? Good for you cap!

The second line was quiet for most of the night, Shanahan had a very invisible game, of course im not including the goal Cullen scored that wasnt allowed…

The checking line was a bit more invisible as well, but I think it had more to do with the amount of penalties the Rangers were assessed (notice I didnt say “took”).? They dont play on the PP, and they get a lot of ice time killing penalties.? Still, not a bad game at all.

I could talk about the penalty shot, but I think by the time you read this blog, you will have seen the replays, so im going to let it go. Instead lets talk about the game winning goal.? It really was a thing of beauty, first Straka skates back to steal the puck from Malkin who would have had a breakaway, then he makes a fantastic deke to get by one defender, then he brings the puck into the zone, dishes it off to Jagr, Jagr draws 3 Penguins to him, then dishes it off to Rozsival to takes a fake wrist shot, and really does a wrist pass right to Straka for a tap in goal.? It was AWESOME.? If you havent seen it, go look on NHL.com in the morning for a video review of it.? Give major credit for Rozsival, it was a fantastic pass.

Rangers 3 Stars Of The Game:

1)Henrik Lundqvist.? The King is beyond back, hes new and improved!
2)Martin Straka.? Single Handedly gave the Rangers an extra point in the standings.
3)Jaromir Jagr.? Tied it up, and set up the game winning goal, all in a days work for the best player in the game.

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Thats right, the refs have missed 417,386 calls so far this game alone.? Ive kept count, so trust me on it.? Of course that number is totally predicated on you believing that Brendan Shanahan actually did throw a slash to make the Rangers 2-men down, and which led to the only official goal of this game.

-Inferno

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We were robbed.? I mean, what else do you want me to say?? That was clearly a goal, a goal that I happen to notice while watching it live, and still can not for the life of me figure out why it wasnt reviewed.? When I was watching it live I started clapping, and cheering, then was like….ummm, what the hell, why isnt Cullen cheering, where is the light, why arent sticks raised…what the hell is going on.? What went on is that home ice once again paid off.? I dont know what the hell that was all about, I know it wasnt because of the whistle blowing because it blew a full 2-3 seconds AFTER the puck came OUT of the net, and when it went in, it almost hit the back of the net, so it was WAY in.?

I assume a formal complaint will be issued, and yeah, im pretty pissed right now.?

Also the Rangers penalty killing did a nice job there, but you really gotta point and laugh at the execution of the Penguins PP, they simply dont know what the hell they are doing.? They really look like a bunch of kids on their PP.? Their pk was another story though, as they played very well on it, cutting all the angles off, and clearing rebounds away.

All in all a good period, one in which the Rangers should be up 1, not having to fight like hell to keep it tied at 0.

-Inferno

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I dont let things go easily.? You really should know that when reading this site.? The more I keep things inside the more then annoy me. So I gotta get this off my chest before I explode…?

Lets talk about the Erik Cole diving situation before I suffer a fatal brain aneurysm shall we?

I? was sort of thinking to myself the other day, you know, the Canes really do dive a whole lot, especially that scumbag Cole, I wonder if they actually won the cup because of it, or at least got themselves in a better position to win because of it.

Remember every powerplay extra you get, even though you may not score, you are generally keeping the other teams best players off the ice.? A power play is ALWAYS a win-win situation (unless you give up SHG)

So first? I looked at this season.? Guess which team has got the most PP opportunities….Ill give you three guesses….
The Carolina Hurricanes (shocked arent you?)

They have received a league leading 151 PP chances (this may not include their most recent game)
that is nearly 9% more than the next closest team, a sustantial amount when you look at the seperation for every other team in the league.? To put it another way.? The seperation between the Hurricanes and the Kings (2nd most pp opportunities) is 12 chances, if you subtract 12 from the Kings total, you have 7 teams that would fall in that same seperation. Obviously the better teams will draw the most powerplays, it is quite obvious, but when you look at the Sabres, by far and away the best team in the league, they draw a more appropriate 127 penalties, a much more believable total from a very disciplined, and fair team. The Rangers, in contrast have only drawn 121 penalties, good enough for 14th in the NHL. The Rangers dont dive, period.? I have not missed a game in YEARS, but I can say one thing, this club just doesnt play like that.

Since Im all over the place so far, let me re-focus.? The Canes have so many damn power plays because of their diving, which is important since their PP isnt that great.? They score at a 15.9% clip.? If you apply that same percentage to the amount of penalties a non-diving, top tiered team has taken (lets use the Sabres total for arguments sake), then the Canes would have scored 4 less PP goals, which may not seem a whole lot, but what if those 4 goals are the difference between a win and a tie?? That means the Canes would have 4 less points in the standings, or from being in the playoffs, to possibly being out of it.? How about on a larger scale.? 4 less goals in 25GP, extrapolated to 82 games that is 13 goals, or a theoretical 13 points lost in the standings (obviously that is not accurate since many of the goals could have come in games decided by more than? 1 goal, therefore it is a maximum I am looking at here).? I dont need to explain what a 13 point swing means to a team in the NHL.

Lets take this analysis one step further.? The Hurricanes had 534 power play chances last year, good enough for 3rd in the league.? The Canes finished with the 2nd best record in the east, so lets, for arguments sake, apply the same basic theories above, but instead of comparing the Canes and the Sabres, lets compare them to the team that took the Atlantic conference.? The New Jersey Devils.

The Devils finished with the #3 seed in the Conference, the Canes with the #2.? The Canes had 531 PP chances, the Devils 439.? The Canes finished the year at a 17.9% clip and 95 PPG, if you give them the same amount of chances the Devils had, you get 78 Power play goals instead of 95.? That is a 17 goal differential ladies and gents.? Again, at the most, the Canes would have lost 17 points off their record, meaning they go from 112 points, to 95 points.? Technically this gives them the #3 seed because of the terrible division they were in.? This of course changes a lot, and furthermore assumes a lot, but in the end, it changes the balance of power tremendously.? They go from the runaway division winners, to theoretically winning, or losing, by the skin of their teeth. They go from having the 2nd best record in the East to as low as the 7th best record in the east.

So what does all this postulation, and vague math prove.? Absolutely NOTHING, except that diving is a bigger problem than most people think, and that it most definately factored into the Canes winning the Stanley Cup last year.

-Inferno

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