Report Card: CAL 5 @ NYR 0
Monday - January 05, 2004
| 01/05/04 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
F |
 |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Goalie
|
GA/SH
|
Grade
|
Comments
|
| Mike
Dunham #30, G |
2/14 | C- | Brought in to replace Markkanen at the start of the
second period, first shot on net, goal. On MSG, JD kept saying the slow
point shot deflected off a Ranger on it's way in, although he could
never point out who it was after multiple replays and neither could I.
I think Dunham just lost it in the screen. Second goal against Mike,
can't blame him for it as the puck took a VERY wierd bounce off the
glass and slid into the net as Dunham was on his way behind the net to
play it. Dunham only faced about 1 real good shot out of those 14 yet
two goals get in, proving he has some seriously wicked voodoo curse on
him right now. |
| Jussi Markkanen #40, G |
3/13 |
C- | Eh. So-so let in on the Flames
first. A major scorer like Iginla was left wide open 15 feet out so
Markkanen was already up against the odds, but Jussi was moving a bit
on the shot and couldn't even get a piece of it. Huge arm save on a
shot that was labeled top corner just before giving up the PP goal.
Speaking of that goal, the Flames' second, it was a deflection by
Iginla about 5-7 feet out, a great deflection, Markkanen didn't have a
chance. Flames third goal the puck pinballed around the crease and
ended up on a Flames' backhand, who shoveled it over an unaware Jussi.
Of course, 3 goals in one period is never a good performance, but it's
hard to blame Markkanen for TOO much of it. He definitely wasn't on top
of his game but didn't choke, either. The team in front of him was more
awful than anything else. |
|
Defenseman
|
Ice Time
|
Grade
|
Comments
|
| Brian Leetch #2, LD |
22:41 | D | Not only was he poor
defensively, the 5-on-3 PP in the 2nd period, Rangers looking to get
back into a 4-0 game, Leetch was a mess at the point. His passes for
one-timers kept missing and although the ice looked horrible tonight,
you'd think someone who's played on MSG ice longer than almost anyone
else in team history would have a better handle on it than anyone else
yet the puck bounced all around him. His ineptitude on the 5-on-3 was
almost as important as his ugly -3 on the night. he did have a huge 7
shots, but the -3 and aformentioned ugliness on the 5-on-3 were far
more crucial. |
| Tom Poti #3, RD |
20:47 | D | Flew the zone way too
early on Iginla's first goal when the puck was still not in the Rangers
possession, and guess where Iginla scored from? MAJOR mistake by Poti.
OT, sure, but not the 1st period of a 0-0 game! Poti played decently
otherwise, but I'm hardly in the frame of mind to hand out compliments.
4 shots. |
| Vladimir
Malakhov #23, LD |
17:01 | C | Nice chance late in the 1st, point blank in the slot,
shot it wide. The Vlad/Bobo pair was the only Ranger defensive pair not
on the ice for any goals against... whoops, scratch that. It's now 5-0
and Vlad and Boris were the pair on the ice. When in Rome... |
| Boris Mironov #29, RD |
17:28 | C | See, if Mironov had visionary powers like some kind of fortune teller or ancient mystic, he could've predicted the puck taking a strange bounce off the glass on the Flames' fifth goal and had himself in position to stop it. But you don't, do you Boris?! You don't have ANY otherworldly mystical powers! What up with that, Bobo? |
| Darius
Kasparaitis #6, LD |
18:48 | C | The only defenseman and only one of four Rangers not
on the minus side, but Kasparaitis was on the ice for the Flames second
goal, power play. He didn't hit anything tonight that I noticed. The
lethargy was truly spread team-wide. |
| Greg de Vries #4, RD |
20:14 | C | Even de Vries, who could
do no wrong for about a month now, looked off his game tonight. 2nd
period, score already 4-0, de Vries gets caught looking at the puck in
a battle in the slot while Josh Green skates right behind him, gets the
pass and a good scoring chance off. Ended his streak of like a hundred
games in a row at even or above with a -1 tonight. |
|
Forward
|
Ice Time
|
Grade
|
Comments
|
| Bobby
Holik #16, C |
17:23 | C- | Kind of a lame boarding penalty called on Holik late
in the 1st. NO SHOTS. Not appropriate for someone who got 17 and a half
minutes and usually gets 2-3 shots a night. |
| Martin Rucinsky #26, LW |
18:30 | C | Early 2-on-1 with Holik,
Rucinsky had his stick raised on the return pass and couldn't get a
shot off. One of the more offensively involved players with 5 shots. |
| Jed
Ortmeyer #41, RW |
12:34 | C | Was taken off this line after the score was 4-0. No
fault of Ortmeyer's, the team just needed offense. |
| Petr Nedved #93, C |
16:37 | C- | Hey! He wasn't one of
the minus players in a 5-0 loss! Mind boggling. But he still stunk. |
| Pascal
Rheaume #20, LW |
10:59 | B- | Got into a pretty good fight with the Flames' Steve
Montador shortly after a faceoff in the 1st. Some big shots, Montador
won the fight but Manon's Brother got in a few decent ones of his own
and left the Flame with a cut. Rheaume was one of the few Rangers
playing hard most of the night, and was "rewarded" by having THE LEAST
AMOUNT OF ICE TIME ON THE TEAM! |
| Anson Carter #22, RW |
17:33 | C | Credit Carter with one
of the best hits of the season. Late 1st period, him and Yelle were
going for a loose puck, both looked to bump each other off but Carter
exploded into him, pinballing Yelle off the boards and leaving him in a
heap. Set up for a point blank shot on a PP in the 2nd, RIGHT into
McLennan, or perhaps a Flames' skate in the crease. |
| Eric
Lindros #88, C |
14:32 | B- | Lindros was okay, actually. NO ONE was good tonight,
but Lindros one of the less guilty. Threw the body around, made some
good passes. |
| Chris Simon #17, LW |
13:11 | C | Did little. 2 shots, but
I can't say I remember either of them. Got fiesty a couple times near
the end of the game, five goals too late. |
| Matthew
Barnaby #36, RW |
12:33 | C- | Careless, sloppy high sticking penalty in the 1st,
giving the Flames a PP and eventually a PP goal. The Flame didn't even
have the puck, why did Barnaby continue to hook at him? Asking for
trouble. 2nd period, a Flame kept weaving around Barnaby, who seemed to
get tired and frustrated and just tripped the guy. Later in the 2nd
tried to atone for his sloppiness by drawing his own penalty. |
| Mark Messier #11, C |
16:02 | D |
Turnovers
and soft checking helped along no less than two Calgary goals. Most
"offensive" player of the week, indeed. |
| Dan
Lacouture #39, LW |
11:02 | C | Just when this column was looking blank, as has
happened about 3 or 4 other times this season Lacouture gets into a
late game fight. Not much of a scrap but at the end had his head
piledriven into the ice and didn't get up for a couple of minutes. Just
a bad night all over. |
| Alexei Kovalev #27, RW |
17:47 | C- | Give him credit for at
least he worked hard tonight, and was also bumped to the first line
with Holik after the score was 4-0, but his ineptitude and bad luck
almost seems otherworldly at this point, like someone up there just
doesn't like the guy. Oh, I'm not making excuses for him as most nights
Kovalev has deserved his fate, but even on nights when he's playing
tough and working hard he's hitting crossbars and missing goals by
inches. Someone strap him to a bed and call the priest from The
Exorcist. |
|
|
|||
| COACHING STAFF: | F | Serves them right! Markkanen gives up three in the
1st, not awful yet not totally without fault, but the major problem was
how the Rangers as a team were outplayed ferociously in the period. No
matter, they show no faith in Markkanen, replace him with Dunham in the
2nd and Mike gives up a stinker on his very first shot. Changed up
nearly every single line after the score was 4-0, but at that point who
cares? It was irrelevant. And why in the bloody hell does Lindros,
easily the best Ranger forward of the last 2-3 weeks, get the lowest
ice time of the four?!? |
|
| |
|||
| 1st PERIOD: | F | The Flames are tireless skaters. It looks like they
have 7 men out there, NOT including the goalie. They outworked the
Rangers on EVERY loose puck battle that occured. Every Ranger who had
control of the puck for more than a second, it seemed like two Flames
were on him in a split second. Add to the Flames playing well, the
Rangers themselves seem extra slow and stupid all on their own! It was
gross. Worst period of the season. |
|
| 2nd PERIOD: | B | Well, the Rangers
actually dominated the period. Which is, of course, no victory at all
when you're outscored 1-0 in the same period and the score is 4-0
overall, but at least they weren't an embarassment again. Shots 13-6
Rangers. Big whoop. |
|
| 3rd PERIOD: | ? | I barely watched. Ask someone else. |
|
| OVERALL: | F |
This
was a disaster. You could imagine it coming, though, after they got
away with a brutal performance in Pittsburgh saved by a few timely
goals and great play by Markkanen. The Flames looked very much like the
Senators at their best - fast, relentless and mistake free - while the
Rangers... the Rangers... the... do you really want to talk about them?
They were outplayed. HORRIBLY. And it wasn't a goaltending problem.
Although Markkanen and Dunham were hardly at their best, it's hardly
like the game could be pinned on either of them. How many ways can you
say the Rangers were outplayed? I'm sure we'll find out as every beat
writer and angry fan rips into this team and what's wrong with them and
what they need to do in a loud and ceaseless manner until the next game
on Thursday night. I can't wait to start reading! That
was sarcasm. |
|
| Scratches: | Joel Bouchard (healthy) Pavel Bure (knee - IR) Jan Hlavac (healthy) Jamie Lundmark (knee - IR) Dale Purinton (healthy) |
||
| created by: | Pete Rocha, © 2003. procha@optonline.net | ||
| Discuss the card here | |||
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