I dont like Tom Renney. Ive made that clear, but if you cant honestly sit back and awe at the way this team was coached for this one game, then you arent an objective fan. Renney did just a masterful job, and I cant give him enough credit. Rangers looked like the superior team because of damn near flawless positioning.

Oh Yeah.

WE’RE IN!!!

Seriously, I cant find anything else to say, after they clinched I jumped out, screamed a positive expletive, did a fist pump, then collapsed in my chair in sheer bliss.

Any Ranger fan who suffered through the dark times pre-lockout knows how precious the playoffs are, and as a doubter myself, I have never been happier to have been proven wrong.

By the way, The Rodent brings up a good point, due to the fact that the Thrashers and Lightning face each other in the final game, the Rangers actually control their own destiny. They win, they are in 6th place.

No more projections, they are unnecessary at this juncture.

But I will leave you with this:

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You know, for the last few weeks, I have been more nervous about Jagr hitting the 30 mark for the 15th consecutive year than I have been about the playoffs. Call is selfishness or individualization, but Jagrs streak is a pretty important mark, particularly for a European player.

I continue to marvel at how well this team is playing the Habs. They neutralize just about everything that gets thrown at them, and are doing it with an almost precognitive ability to sense where the Habs are going to put the puck. I’ll say it again, Renney has done a masterful job in this one.

-Inferno

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The first thing that came to mind when watching that period. The Rangers were well coached for the Habs attack. Seriously, watch the superb way the cut off all passing lanes, and since the Habs prefer a rush rather than a dump and chase, it closed off a lot of their choices. Also the Rangers sent at least 1 man deep, and usually 2, which isnt very unusual for their style, but what is unusual is what the 3rd man was doing, cutting off the pre-arranged passing outlets. Its almost like a left wing lock type attack, but with some subtle differences. I’m not a fan of Tom Renney at all, but I’ll give him all the credit for that period, the Rangers were ready.

BTW, my fellow yankee fans, anyone else get a little choked up seeing Andy Pettitte back on the mound in Yankee Stadium? I know I sure did.

-Inferno

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