I was getting ready to write an article about how, sometimes, you play a really great game and lose. The Rangers have certainly been on the reverse end of that scenario many, many times during Henrik Lundqvists reign as king of NY. But, turns out I need not do that. Instead, the Rangers showed patience (get it, it’s a virtue…get it? I’m here all night folks) and poise, and manage to squeak by Mike Smith who was unquestionably the best player for either team on the night. Smith made some truly remarkable stops, particularly his grand larceny save on Marian Gaboriks penalty shot attempt. Frankly, I’m not sure even Henrik Lundqvist could have made that save. Though, to be fair, Henrik probably doesn’t bite on Gabbys fakes either to put himself out of position. Regardless, Smith recovered for what will surely be a contender in the save of the year race that TSN does every year.

1 questionable move was Torts putting John Mitchell in the shootout. Not sure I get that one. The guy has very few points, and while he seems to be a very smart player, and a good puck handler, I definitely don’t think of him as the guy I want leading the shootout parade. I would have gone with Richards there, but then again, Richards didn’t exactly fare much better than Mitchell as both players lost control of the puck before shooting.

Anyone else groan when Brandon Dubinsky didn’t show up for the 2nd period start? I know I was concerned. Dubi was a force the past ~dozen or so games, but it looked like he was a little bit tentative after his hit. Hopefully he recovers next game. If the Rangers want to keep this going, they are going to need Dubi to be solid. On the flip side I think Artem Anisimov needs to be moved down to the 3rd line, and maybe put Hagelin up there on the top line to play with Stepan and Gabby. AA could use a few games to get his head back on straight. He’s not playing bad hockey by any means, but he’s not doing anything to truly impress you either. He had 1 scoring chance today off a great feed from Stepan, but Smith robbed him on the shot, beyond that he really didn’t do much except get plastered into the boards by Morris on 1 rush attempt. I know classical thinking has you sticking with what’s working, but sometimes you need to shake guys out of funks. I think this is as good a time as any to do that.

OK, that’s all from me for now. See you all on Thursday.

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“It looked early on like we were a team that was saying, `Uh, oh, we’re tired, we’ve won a lot of games here lately, this may be just our bad night,’ ”

John Tortorella has such an unbelievable feel for the game. His in game adjustments, his foresight, and his ability to get the most out of his players are just a few of the many, many reasons I love this coach. It’s no secret that I was very much against Tom Renney, the reasons being, the guy just had no sense for the game. The guy we have now, does. In spades. In a whole heaping bucket of spades.

You guys heard the commentators gushing over Tort’s in game adjustments during the winter classic, and tonight you probably saw an even better example of the same. With the Rangers on their heels he called an early time out. It didn’t seem like he just tore into the team, it was more of a wakeup call than a screaming fit of rage. The team reacted well enough to earn themselves a win. Their 9th in their last 10, their NHL leading 56th point, propelling them 3 points ahead of the next closest teams (albeit Boston does have 2 games in hand). Pretty tough to be upset with the team tonight despite their lackadaisical start.

Yesterday I mentioned how the Rangers have 3 legitimate superstars. Well, their biggest and brightest was in the net tonight, and he put on a show. I was stuck with the Pittsburgh feed and their announcers were just gushing over Henrik, and rightfully so. Henrik was outstanding, showcasing a glove hand not really seen prior to last season. The lone goal he gave up was one he’d like to have back, but he made up for it on several occasions flat our robbing the Pittsburgh forwards at every opportunity. On the flip side MAF had the gaffe of the month by basically giving the Rangers a goal for free. Thanks man, we owe ya!

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My server literally just came on, hence why this is so late coming up. The common phrase you hear among sports people, no matter what sport you are watching, goes something like this:

For us to win, our best players need to be our best players.

Who are the players you could classify as elite players on the Rangers? To me, there are 3. Henrik Lundqvist, who was out tonight, Marian Gaborik, and Brad Richards. Richards assisted on the 2nd goal, and Gaborik scored the winning goal. Also, if Henrik Lundqvist was in net tonight, you know this game never would have even gone to OT as it is.

I love Marty Biron, the guy is a class act, is great in the locker room, and plays a very good, simple, game. But Henrik Lundqvist he is not. He doesn’t rob guys of goals. He doesn’t make you shake you head 2 or 3 times a night where you just say, how on earth did he stop that. No, Biron usually makes the saves he should, he doesn’t give up many softies, but he doesn’t take away goals off the boards either. Tonight, he gave up 2, but I honestly feel Henrik would have stopped 1, if not both of those goals. Be that as it may, Biron did what he has done all season long. Give this team a chance to win a game.

I’m loving the fact that we now have 2 lines that you could say are legitimate top lines. Both lines, AA – Stepan – Gabby & Dubi – Richards – Cally are playing at an elite level. It seems like on any given shift at least 2 of those guys are dominating. From shift to shift you can’t really tell who it’s going to be, but the trios are playing really well together. Sadly it seems like Carl Hagelin is moved down a little which is unfortunate because the guys hes playing with, Boyle and Fedotenko, just don’t have much offensive skill at all to play with a guy like him. Hagelin is a smart player, but he’s nowhere near good enough to carry a line. He’s a supplemental player you want to put out there with better players. If the Rangers ever want to be the team to beat, they probably are going to need to put together a strong third line to supplement these 2 bona fide top lines. Getting Chris Kreider here would be half the battle, the question is, who plays between them? JT Miller? He’s probably a year or 2 away sadly. Will be interesting to see what the Rangers do to address this situation going forward. Wojtek Wolski would be fine, except you still have the situation where Brian Boyle becomes an offensive boat-anchor to those 2 guys. I’d love to see what he can do out there though, as I think Fedotenko isn’t nearly as crucial to this teams success as Torts seems to think he is.

That’s all for now, off to bed I go!

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Had to share this…what a frikkin awesome read:

http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2012/01/03/winter-classic-rangers-flyers-in-review/

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You know it was a horrendously reffed game when the winning coach makes a point of mentioning that it almost looked like it was rigged. I agree with him.

Really that is all I could take away from this game, how blatantly it looked like the refs were trying to get the Flyers back in the game. The non call on Gabby, the unbelievable delay of game call, the call on Cally while the stick is at his throat, and the disgusting penalty shot awarded when Ryan McDonagh scrambled to stop a puck. Unbelievable. I blame the NHL personally. How on Earth does a guy raised in Philadelphia get to be the ref at a game, in Philly, with this kind of fanfare. Stupid, stupid, stupid decision by whoever schedules the refs.

Give a ton of credit to coach John Tortorella, once again his incredible feel for the game helped earn the team a crucial 2 points allowing the Rangers to have the best record in all of hockey as of this moment. Wow. Torts split up the struggling second line that was not playing well, and helped get the team a win by playing the guys who were playing well at that moment. Smart coach. Stanley Cup winning coach. There’s a reason.

Torts made sure to mention how important the “glue guys” are to this team. Guys like Rupp, Prust, Fedotenko, etc. While he is right, those personalities are important, they sure as hell better contribute to the success of the team because no amount of glue is going to be able to keep a guy playing who doesn’t do squat offensively. I like Rupps game, and I think he has a lot to offer, but again, if he isn’t playing a whole helluva lot better than he has so far this season, I dont think the glue aspect of him means all that much. Luckily Bobrovski had an off game, and Rupp was able to put 2 in the net. But he needs to play better, don’t be fooled by the 2 goals. Next season, when you have Chris Kreider knocking on the door, those lower end spots are going to be harder, and harder to come by as better players are forced to play on the lower lines.

OK, that’s all for now people, I gotta be awake in….ugh…4 hours….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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