If you are a regular to this site, then you probably don’t need to click this link, but it helps to read the whole thing to know where I am coming from.

Here is a quick reminder:

Somewhere, sometime, Tom Renney sat his team down and said, fellas, if we go into the 3rd period with a 2 or more goal lead, we are playing a 1-4 defensive system. No more 1-2-2, its a straight 1-4. I can’t for the life if me imagine why this is a good way to play hockey. The Rangers are a PUCK POSSESSION TEAM!!!! We are NOT a team that is going to overwhelm you with our defensive game, we are going to overwhelm you by being responsible, by having 5 in the picture, and by controlling the puck more than you are. It’s a formula that works, it’s a formula this Ranger fan believes in and buys into 100%. But why the hell do you just give away 1/2 the ice to the other team when you have the lead? Seriously, think about it, except for empty net goals, you arent going to score a goal in that period about 99% of the time. And that odd 1% is usually because the other team took an offensive zone penalty which you capatilize on. Why play a brand of hockey that can not advance your score, and can only serve to keep you even, or down a goal.

It makes NO sense, zero whatsoever. It’s the prevent defense that any football fan will acknowledge is the most retarded thing ever invented.

If my team plays my style of hockey for 60 minutes, and gives a good effort, you will not hear me, nor any sane fan complain. But when you play periods like that, you are BEGGING for trouble. I couldn’t believe when Jagr readily acknowledged their change in philosophy in the 3rd and saying that he thought that was a good thing. A good thing?! Really?!

Look, I don’t want to sound like Mr. Negativity, but this crap just irks me the wrong way. It’s like cheering for the Devils for Gods sakes, I just can’t be happy when I see my team play like this. I think I might actually be allergic to the prevent defensive system. Wow, an allergic reaction from visual stimulation, that has to be a first!

Play the style that got you there, that’s all I’m saying.

Now, maybe sometimes the 1-4 defensive system works, I mean, we did win that game against the Senators playing that style, but for the life of me, I just don’t see it as being a viable way to play a hockey game. Sure, let’s concede 50% of the ice to the other team, it’s no big deal, we’ll just stop them when they get to our end. Puh-lease. Eventually something is going to go wrong, and when you have the Rangers on their heels with an unbelievable display of how to run a power play, and how to control the puck in the offensive zone, the LAST thing you should do is stop playing an offensive game. It is just plain retarded, and it cost the Habs 1 point, and gave the Rangers a free 2 points.

Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely think we earned these 2 points, and I did go berserk when captain clutch Chris Drury netted the tying goal, and when Shanny ripped the wrister top corner, but man oh man, stupid hockey just bugs me, even if it is from the other side of the ice.

If the Habs don’t revert to the 1-4, I don’t see us taking this one, we looked tired, and they had us on the ropes. So thanks for the belated Christmas present Carbonneau, we appreciate it.

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We looked dead tired in that period. Probably a culmination of a long flight, an up tempo game yesterday, and an up tempo first period today. And oh yeah, that’s the second time this game the Habs have gotten away with a ridiculously blatant boarding penalty. Still, we got 1 makeup call right there at the end (that wasn’t a hold), but they still owe us one. Rangers pretty much have to score here, because the longer this game goes on, the more I expect the Habs to dominate.

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3 illegitimate goals in 1 period…Wow.

2 super softies that Huet should have had, and the Habs goal second after an unconscionable noncall when Girardi got boarded (dangerously). I actually got up out of my chair and started yelling after Girardi got boarded. I’m generally the sit quietly and observe kinda fan, but this time I was not happy, and the salt in the wound coming seconds later when the Habs scored didn’t make me happy. Though watching Jagr score a super softie himself sure helped make up for some of my bad feelings.

I think the story of this period was how bad Huet was. I mean, he was just awful in that period, in fact I think he might have been worse than Raycroft was last night, which, if you ask Maple Leafs fans, is really saying something.

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Sorry for the delay, I was hoping to see the New England Patriots get some comeuppance, but unfortunately the Giants don’t seem up to the task (I’m a 49er fan, but I hate everything Boston/New England related).

Petr Prucha with 2 goals, Jagr with 4 points, Valliquette 1 breakaway away from a shutout, Dubinsky 3 assists while playing with the flu, and even Blair Betts somehow getting a goal.

Yeah, this was a good night for the Rangers.

The funniest part though is reading some of the opinions of the Maple Leafs fans. They whine and cry and bitch and moan about everything Sean Avery does, yet they have been the beneficiary of one Darcy Tucker for a nice long while now.

Don’t get me wrong here though, I have been, and always will be a HUGE fan of Darcy Tucker. As I am of Matt Barnaby, Esa Tikkanen, and of course Sean “The Grate One” Avery. It just bugs me when fans of other teams say stuff like that when they themselves cheer a nearly identical player night in and night out.

I think to me the Rangers are like a dream machine car. Jaromir Jagr is the engine, Henrik Lundqvist is the chassis, but Sean Avery is the fuel. Take any of the 3 out, and you aren’t going very far, but if all 3 click together, watch the f*!$ out. And the rest of the league can’t be too happy with what we’ve seen the past 3 games. Because I know I have seen a Rangers team that is starting to click on all cylinders, and most importantly, the important players are all starting to (at least it appears) find their grooves. This of course starts with Jaromir Jagr, who now has 7 points in his past 2 games, with 3 goals and 4 assists. Not bad for a guy most of us wanted to see benched. It all comes down to will with Jagr. When he wants something bad enough, he is literally unstoppable. But if he kinda-sorta wants something, hes as mediocre as mediocre can get.

I give a lot of credit to Chris Drury in this game. He may not have hit the scoresheet, but he was doing all those little things which really makes a player like him near priceless to have (albeit NOT worth $7m/year). He won faceoffs, saved a goal by diving to block a shot on an empty net in the crease, and just did everything you look for from the guy. He really reminds me a lot of Charles Oakley, the former New York Knicks player. The guy never really scored a ton of points, never blocked a lot of shots, but at the end of the day, you can’t see the Knicks winning even half of their games without him in the lineup, and while Drurys assimilation into the Rangers fold has been far from pretty, you can clearly see why he was such a coveted player.

The key though is for the Rangers to keep it going, to play the Canadiens tomorrow, and not just play well, but play a phenomenal game like today. Make a statement, that the Rangers are back, and the rest of the NHL better get a change of underwear.

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