An utter and complete dismantling. That is what we witnessed today. There are just so many things to talk about right now. First and foremost though it has to be about the goaltending. Once again (broken record much?) Henrik Lundqvist was the best player on the ice. He made saves when the game still could have turned around on them, and stood tall for his team. Hes the reason we won…as much as any other at least.

Then you have the crowd. I know you guys were rockin, I could hear it from the TV. And you can bet your ass it had an impact on that first goal and on the remainder of the game. The crowd is truly a 7th man for the Rangers, and you guys did the job.

Then there is the coaching. One coach was phenomenal in preparing his team for the enemy, in showing them how to neutralize certain players (*cough* Hossa *cough* Kovalchuk), how to take hits to move the puck, how to stay disciplined, and who used his home ice changes to secure the winning goal 32 second into the game. The other coach has just been putrid. In my opinion he is the single biggest reason the Thrashers are on the verge of a sweep. His attitude of winning the physical battles at the expense of puck support is just killing the team. And his mind boggeling handling of the goaltending just is beyond me. I would have played Lehtonen in the 2nd and 3rd games. I would have shown him confidence and let him get back on track IN HIS OWN BUILDING, with his OWN FANS behind him. Instead he pulls him for Hedberg. Granted Hedberg was just great, but that now means you stay with Hedberg till you get back to Atlanta. You do not let a young kid come off of a benching in the environment that MSG was going to be. Its just insane and idiotic troll logic. And yet, he does just that, and the kid gets shelled. Now what do you do? Do you play Lehtonen tomorrow? I would have to think not, especially since the garden is going to let the kid have it even more. How about Hedberg? Its doubtful he will even be in the NHL more than a few years from now. Kari is the future, do you kick your future goaltender to the curb with such valuable learning experiences to be had? I’m glad I am not in Hartleys position.

There are so many more things you can talk about, but I’m just going to skip it, and leave you with this:

-Inferno

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I wanted to use “It’s the goaltending stupid!” as my title, but man, its way too long as it is.

Assuming you saw the second period, you should know that the 2-0 score in favor of the Rangers could have just as easily been 5-4 in favor of the Thrashers. Henrik was solid folks, and quite a few times he had to be. He made some truly amazing saves to preserve a lead that could have evaporated rather quickly. But once again, in the playoffs its about defense, and goaltending. A fact that appears lost on coach Hartley.

The funny thing is, as bad as Lehtonen has been in this game….and he has been brutal. The Rangers could EASILY be in double digits right now. They are making the Thrashers look like a terrible team, and its clearly boiling over in some frustration based penalties that the Thrashers are taking.

Lets hope we get out of the 3rd uninjured, and still full of energy for tomorrow night.

-Inferno

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Man, was that en epic backfire or what? Here were my thoughts over on the ECSF boards when I found out Lehtonen was going to be in net…

what an AWFUL move….

after sitting the kid in a key game, put him back in for the most insane atmosphere on the planet.

sheesh.

Granted, not the most thought provoking posts I have made, but nonetheless, the sentiment was generally agreed upon by Ranger fans, and even to a lesser extent Thrasher fans. Lo and behold, Kari gives up a goal in his first 30 seconds. Then lets another in, and another. Not the best coaching going on over at the Thrashers bench.

Still though, as much as you would like to crucify Lehtonen, you can’t really place all the onus on him. His team was AWFUL in front of him sans the final 3 minutes. They could’nt do anything right. Lets not forget that the Thrashers are the older, more experienced team, but they were playing like….well like the Rangers did in Game 1 against the Devils last year.

I am still nervous though. We’ve seen bigger leads than this evaporate in less time than this. I would like 2 more goals before I can put my butt further back in my chair.

-Inferno

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If this doesn’t get you ready for tonights game…..I dont know what will.

-Inferno

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