May 01, 2007
Tie It Up
Henrik Lundqvist has allowed only four goals in the last 8 periods played since Game One. The Ranger defense, despite faltering occasionally, has been tight and effective in shutting down Buffalo's scorers. The one element remaining to be found in the Blueshirts' game is their own scoring touch. The Rangers need to solve Ryan Miller tonight.
Miller has been exceptional for the Sabres. Lundqvist has also been superb, aside from the three-goals-in-four-minutes Game One fiasco ... but that's the difference; Miller has had no such collapse. However, the lion's share of the Ranger blame rests on the defensemen, not The King.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 10:22 AM | Comments (6)
April 29, 2007
Despite All Odds, Rangers Get it Done
The tone was set with the kilotons of non-calls by the refs, favoring the Sabres to an absurd degree. The tension built to maddening proportions with each missed scoring opportunity and each bad call against the Rangers.
Buffalo got seven power plays in regulation to the Rangers two. To further tip things in the Sabres' favor, a goal — just as valid as the Pominville one that counted in game one — was called back. The reason? The most indistinct "distinct kicking motion" I've ever seen.
Seriously, if the League and the refs don't have it out for the Rangers, I can't explain why so little seems to go their way.
Tonight, though, they refused to be beaten by either the Sabres or the refs. Henrik Lundqvist was superb. The Blueshirts played great team hockey, nearly devoid of mistakes. They took a few bad penalties (and yes, I'm not a total homer; some of the Ranger penalties were deserved), but they stepped up and shut things down on the penalty-kill.
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Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 06:17 PM | Comments (26)
The Garden Hopeful
The series shifts today to the Garden, where the Rangers need to make a dent in the Sabres' 2-0 lead, or else run the risk of being in a position from which only two clubs have ever emerged. Overcoming a 3-0 series deficit is not unheard of, but it's rare; only the Cup-winning Leafs in '42, and the '75 Islanders (who were eliminated in the next round) have managed the feat.
There's always an opportunity to make history, but the Rangers don't want to face the task of climbing a 3-0 mountain. If they win tonight, it's a series. Based on their play in Game Two, they can win if they avoid the lazy, costly mistakes that seem always to plague them. Even in Game One they showed some muster. It all hinges on their performance today at 2 p.m.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 11:29 AM | Comments (1)
April 27, 2007
Rangers Blow It
Marek Malik. Thanks for that blind backhand pass up the slot. The NHL should give him the secondary assist on Chris Drury's game-tying goal.
The Rangers lost this game for themselves. They had every opportunity to win. They didn't trail until Thomas Vanek converted a nifty backhand pass at the top of the crease, but that lone go-ahead goal proved to be the game winner.
It's hard for me, as a fan, to not be disappointed ... even a little angry ... at what transpired. It's like the Rangers from earlier this year, the ones that blew two-goal leads like it was going out of style, have resurfaced. Granted, they never led by two in this game, but they let the Sabres back into it with sloppy play in the defensive zone, and Buffalo is too talented not to a burn a club that loses sight of its game.
The Rangers can win this series. It is possible. They've shown that they have what it takes to hang with the Sabres. But hockey games are 60 minutes, and bad plays are costly. They've dug themselves a hole, though it isn't quite six feet deep, yet.
However, if the Blueshirts are sent packing after this series, they'll be able to look at the culprits every time they pass a mirror.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 09:43 PM | Comments (10)
April 26, 2007
The Bright Side
Well, Ranger fans, there's a bright side beyond the dark pall of the game one loss. Since winning the first game of Round Two in 1994, the Rangers have not fared well in a series opener — dropping the first game in 10 of the last 11 series they've played (prior to the current series against Buffalo) — but they won seven of those series, winning eight game twos.
Game Two of this series is on Friday, and it provides a chance for the Blueshirts to keep their great comeback record intact and even up the series. If history is any indication, the Rangers' chances look pretty good.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 12:37 PM | Comments (5)
April 25, 2007
Rangers Fall Hard in Buffalo
Their momentum would turn to inertia when Jason Pominville crashed the net and the puck deflected in off his hand. The ref waved off the goal after a second's hesitation, but he went to the phone and the play went under review. The reviewers looked at the tape for more than four minutes — all the while the Versus commentators were sharing their opinions that Pominville looked to have intentionally directed the puck into the net with his hand — but the verdict would not fall in the Rangers' favor.
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Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 09:48 PM | Comments (17)
So far, Not So Good...
The Sabres lit up Henrik Lundqvist for three goals in four minutes during the second period. After playing nearly two periods of solid hockey, the Rangers fell apart. They yielded the first goal on a powerplay chance when Thomas Vanek deflected Dmitri Kalinin's shot from the point.
Having yielded too many power play opportunities up to that point in the game, it seemed inevitable that Buffalo would score ... but that first goal sparked the Sabres offense. Ales Kotalik came up with a goal-scorer's top-shelf laser to beat Lundqvist only two minutes after Vanek's first. That's right, Vanek would strike again mere minutes after Kotalik to put the Sabres up 3-0 at the end of the period.
At this point, it's looking like a good idea that Bloomberg didn't take the Buffalo Mayor's bet.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 09:04 PM | Comments (0)
True Test Begins Tonight
The Rangers made short work of the Thrashers in the first round. As the only team to sweep their series, the Blueshirts arguably have not faced the same kind of challenges as the seven other advancing teams. Even Buffalo, the de facto front-runners for the Cup, lost a game to the 8th seeded Islanders and can draw on that experience.
While the Islanders were not up to the challenge of derailing the Sabres, the Rangers are. The Broadway Blues proved themselves superior to that club from Uniondale, and they are not the same Rangers team Buffalo faced during the regular season. The Sabres may not be shocked by the quality of play when the teams meet tonight in Buffalo, but the Blueshirts gelled late and, as a result, the Sabres will be meeting these Rangers for the first time.
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Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 08:32 AM | Comments (8)
April 24, 2007
The Schedule
| Date | Venue | Time | Station |
| Wednesday | at Buffalo | 7 p.m. | Vs. |
| Friday | at Buffalo | 7 p.m. | MSG |
| Sunday | at MSG | 2 p.m. | NBC |
| May 1 | at MSG | 7 p.m. | Vs. |
| May 4* | at Buffalo | 7 p.m. | MSG |
| May 6* | at MSG | 2 p.m. | NBC |
| May 8* | at Buffalo | 7 p.m. | MSG |
| * - if necessary | |||
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 08:13 AM | Comments (7)
April 23, 2007
Going to Buffalo
The Rangers couldn't take a game from the Sabres this year, but that's a poor indication of what's to come in this series. These Blueshirts are on fire, they're playing some of the best hockey in the NHL and had a dominating record to end the season. Fresh off a thrashing of the Thrashers, the Rangers are primed to make Buffalo a highly touted footnote en route to a Blueshirt Conference Finals appearance.
Now, let me dial down my bravado a bit.
There's no doubt that Buffalo is a great hockey team. They dominated all year and came out of their series with the Islanders after five games. However, the Islanders showed that the Sabres can be beaten, and had the Isles a bit more skill or luck, or a combination of both — or even just a few bounces that had gone their way — that series could have gone seven games. There were points where I thought the Islanders could even have won that series.
That definitely bodes well for the Rangers.
Continue reading "Going to Buffalo"
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 11:07 AM | Comments (12)
April 18, 2007
First to Advance with Thrashers Sweep
The Thrashers found themselves holding the lead, not once, but twice ... the first two times in the entire series that they had done so. It didn't matter. The Rangers came back to tie it at one, 79 seconds after Atlanta had opened the scoring. When the Thrashers went up 2-1 at 12:26, Brendan Shanahan knotted it up again six minutes later when he powered a wrister through Johan Hedberg.
Bob Hartley played musical goalies with Hedberg and Lehtonen, but was out-coached by Tom Renney and had his team out-performed by a juggernaut Blueshirts squad that would not be denied. Hedberg definitely put in the better performances for Atlanta, but it only took one goalie for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist was not as tested as he's been at points this season, nor as much as he will be in later rounds, but he made every necessary save and was solid between the pipes.
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Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 10:11 PM | Comments (16)
Finishing the Job
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Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 02:04 PM | Comments (1)
April 17, 2007
Domination
The Rangers made the Thrashers look foolish through 60 minutes at the Garden. In a 7-0 game, the Blueshirts looked like the only team that came to New York from Atlanta. Someone may want to put an APB out on the Thrashers. Aside from being on the ice to take cheap shots, penalties and make obvious their frustrations, Atlanta's hockey club mailed in the worst performance of any team so far in the post-season.
Henrik Lundqvist pitched his first playoff shutout, stopping 21 shots. The Ranger offense was explosive in front of him. Michael Nylander opened the scoring 32 seconds in and they just kept it coming.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 09:37 PM | Comments (12)
April 16, 2007
Playoff Hockey at the Garden
It's coming. The Rangers take their 2-0 series lead to the Garden ice tomorrow night, looking to put themselves one win closer to the second round. We're excited and, understandably, so are the Rangers.
Of coming home to MSG, Sean Avery was quoted: "I get goose bumps just thinking about how loud it's going to be. We don't want to let our fans down. We have to win two more games."
His statement is true in the most literal way, but winning the next two games is more important than those victories just extending their playoff lives ... two more wins and the Rangers will have taken another huge stride towards discarding their perpetually disappointing performances over the last decade.
Last year, the only push in the Rangers playoffs came from the Devils pushing the broom. This year, the Devils are down in their series to the Lightning and the Rangers are firmly in control of their own destiny. Hockey is back in New York ... and, damn, it feels good.
Posted by Steve Soldwedel on 11:21 PM | Comments (4)
