I can’t remember another game this year where the team showed more heart than tonight. Its exciting to watch as a fan, a team battle back from the brink of being blown out to win a game they really had no business winning. We earned 2 points on pure heart.
I think all of us, even Renney haters like myself need to give credit where it is due. He settled the club down, and even after going down 3-0 he had them playing hard and believing they could come back. I give the guy a lot of crap, but one thing he never does is panic, and it certainly payed off today. Another thing you have to give him credit for is playing Drury with Dawes, and moving Dubinsky rightfully up to the second line (although today they were kind of like 2 3rd lines). Since that move our secondary scoring has gone through the roof, while our primary line is getting all the attention from the defense.
THAT WAS THE PLAN! Remember how before the year all of us were excited. This is the reason, because the Rangers have 3 legitimate scoring lines, and if you want to match your best defensive line on Jagr, Gomez and Straka, then Drury, Shanny, et al will torch you. The plan hasn’t been executed like its supposed to have been till now, but could it be we are seeing that plan start to work? Again, I refuse to get my hopes up, but they certainly have piqued my interest, and I think it is now a foregone conclusion that this team will be buyers, not sellers come the trade deadline.
Let’s also spend a few minutes talking about Brandon Dubinsky. I mean, what more can you say about the kid? Even if you take his offense away, his play has been nothing short of outstanding. Watch him on any given shift, and I’ll bet you he goes straight to the net at least once in the offensive zone AND is the first man in deep to help the defense in the defensive zone. The kid is everywhere, on every shift. Talk about proving me wrong (I thought he was a 3rd liner, nothing more), the kid is downright humiliating me (and I couldn’t be happier!).
Nigel Dawes definitely deserves some space as well, he is a big reason Chris Drury is performing offensively of late. As I mentioned before, I don’t think Drury has changed anything in his game, it’s just that now he and his linemates are actually on the same page. Dawes has impressed me in his play all over the ice. While his offensive game is undeniable, his play away from the puck has improved leaps and bounds since his last demotion. I think it’s a safe bet that he has realized what it takes to play in the NHL, and he isn’t going anywhere. You gotta be impressed with a kid who takes being sent down as a personal challenge to elevate his game, and does just that. Kudos Nigel, you deserve it.
Rangers took 8 out of a possible 10 points, and actually lost the one game I thought they would win. Color me impressed.
