Hockeybird.com: Mini Card: NYR 0 @ CBJ 5

Mini Card: NYR 0 @ CBJ 5

Saturday - October 11, 2003

10/11/03	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	0	0		0
	2	2	1		5

Comments		No sense in going player by player tonight since no one played well, yet no one (or few, anyway) stunk more than the next guy. I just don't feel like it, either. Kasparaitis was particularly brutal again. Whatever kind of anti-hyper pills they had him on during the second half of last season, please start mashing them into his ice cream again. He gets a D. Jussi was okay. Not bad, certainly not great. A few nice flurries of saves, a few weak goals, too. C- Everyone else is somewhere in the D+ to C- range. NO ONE played hard. Lindros' line was even more offensively inept than yesterday, if that's possible. Two shots between them and they're now a collective -11 as a line in just two games. Nedved's line also had few chances, even if they did put up six shots. Purinton was okay in his return and probably lost a 1st period fight to Jody Shelly by a hair.

COACHING STAFF:	C-	Jussi in over Dunham, fair. Purinton in over Bouchard, fair. Ice times were pretty well spread out. How the hell do they play a bad 1st period and come out to play an even LESS inspired 2nd period, though?! Two games into the season and Sather might have to do something drastic to grab their attention already, like setting Jamie Lundmark on fire.

1st PERIOD:	D	Overall, the period was probably even. Problem is, Columbus' time controlling the game was a hell of a lot more effective than the Rangers' time. Blue Jackets came out hard and threw lots of shots on net, totalling 17 in the period. Two consecutive power plays just after the midpoint of the period could've gotten the Rangers right back in it. But, nahhhh! That would've foiled the Rangers plan to lose this game in an embarassing fashion.
2nd PERIOD:	F	At least the Rangers out on SOME pressure last period. It's like they gave up already. How pathetic. A two goal, then a three goal, then a four goal defecit and they manage SIX SHOTS in the period! SIX! This is just lame. I stayed in tonight to watch this?! What a chump.
3rd PERIOD:	C	So, after being thoroughly embarassed, the Rangers decide to get nasty this period. Whoopie. Of course, I'd rather see them knock some teeth out than not do it, especially against the chippy Blue Jackets, but the fact that it took a 5-0 defecit for them to start playing with an edge is pathetic. The refereeing in this game and especially this period was pretty bad, but it's not like it had much to do with the outcome.
OVERALL:	F	It's hard to believe. Yesterday they lost because of mistakes, today the lost from lack of effort. They're certainly running the gamut. Maybe on Thursday they can lose by taking too many penalties, just to cover another angle. And someone answer me this: When is a Ranger foreward going to throw a hit? Ever? If someone from the Rangers can get back to me with the approximate week, that would be great. I'll even set my VCR to tape it. Honestly, it's just stunning how bad they've been in two games. You could write off the opener to just that - opening night jitters or whatever you want to call it - but what's the excuse tonight? It can't be fatigue since even though this is a back-to-back night, before last night THEY HAVEN'T PLAYED SINCE APRIL! There are just too many players on this team who want to only rely on their skill rather than skill AND effort. Worse yet, they're operating from a handicap already. After a slow start last year the Rangers were chasing just .500 the rest of the season, and one more loss they're right back into a similar hole where a .500 record is seen as a goal! Nope, the Rangers couldn't have had a much more discouraging start to the season than this.
Scratches:		Joel Bouchard (healthy) Pavel Bure (knee - IR) Sheldon Keefe (healthy) Brian Leetch (ankle - IR) Mike Siklenka (healthy)
created by:		Pete Rocha, © 2003. procha@optonline.net
		Discuss the card here

Posted by pete at October 11, 2003 09:46 PM
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Comments

Rocha you've got your copyright notice backwards.
The proper form is Copyright (C) 2003 Pete Rocha.

Used to be an IP Lawyer. And frankly that's the only criticism I have of your cards.

Posted by: HtotheNootch on October 11, 2003 09:57 PM

Thanks for the tip, Nootch.

Posted by: Rocha on October 11, 2003 11:13 PM

I was at the Columbus game, and 6 minutes into the game, I had a headache. The cheersticks were partially at fault, but both the tremendous lack of effort put forth by the Rangers and the score were the icing on the proverbial cake. Even the pregame started off terribly, with a figure skater in a Blue Jacket (Civil War Uniform) doing his stupid routine while there was a movie on the screen about how Ohio was great and slavery would still be legal without the tremendous contributions put forth by Ohio. Good God, how terrible that was, figure skating before a hockey game? What in the blue hell were they the planners thinking?
Then the game started...
(Insert multitudinous swear words here)
...All I have to say is that I left with two middle fingers waving iceward and a splitting headache.

Posted by: Kairos on October 13, 2003 05:03 AM

I didn't watch either game, but heard the second on wfan, this is getting pathetic, they do the same things to lose every year, great columns on hockeybirds, these rangers do need something drastic to happen, and I have never seen a team with overloaded talent ever win a championship, except maybe the Red Wings, who were amaing a 2 years ago, these rangers are gonna keep doing this to us, no matter how loyal a fan you are or how many times you say, this year they will be better, they will never be better, God. someone trade our team for the minessota wild, at least they win more damn games.

Posted by: Abdur-Rehman on October 14, 2003 08:12 AM