The New York Rangers are currently entrenched in a tight race for the President's Cup. They are tied with 14 other teams for the best record in the NHL. (Hey, how many times will I get to write THAT??)
Seriously though, last night was a lot of fun for Rangers fans. After being bombarded by the media with negativity and extremely low expectations, the team came out and simply outworked the highly touted Philadelphia Flyers en route to a 5-3 win. Coach Tom Renney used every player on the bench and allowed just about every one of them to contribute.
Jagr was, well he was Jagr. Just a few days ago, he told us that he was "not going to be good" in the early part of games, but would take advantage of his superior conditioning in the latter part. Sure enough, he took a couple of bad penalties early, and then just turned it on in the third period, tallying two goals, including the game tying and winning ones.
Jamie Lundmark skated well and played a physical game. He scored the Rangers' second goal and hit a post on a great move. The newest Ranger, Marcel Hossa, played a strong game with linemates Steve Rucchin and Martin Straka. All of the Rangers lines cycled along the boards (when not shorthanded).
Kevin Weekes was very solid, and make some great saves that kept the Rangers in the game. None of the three Flyer goals were soft, and one was given up on a 5-on-3 power play. Weekes made 24 saves on the night.
Larry Brooks of the Post covers the game, and thought there was significantly less hitting than was customary. I respectfully disagree here, as I saw Ryan Hollweg knock one of the Flyers out with a concussion, Donald Brashear hitting everything that moved, and Ortmeyer (who did not have a good game) and Kasparaitis take runs at a few people. I am not saying it was the most physical game I have ever seen, but I think there was plenty of checking without it getting dirty.
John Dellapina of the Daily News writes that Jaromir Jagr was the reason why the Rangers shocked everyone and beat the Flyers. While I agree that Jagr was outstanding in the second half of the game, as much credit needs to be given to Kevin Weekes and the penalty kill, who kept the Rangers in the game after Jagr took some lazy penalties while 'saving it up' for the end.
More on Jagr from Newsday, The Star Ledger, and the NY Times.
The Journal News has a bit more on the game.
Coach Renney appointed three assistant captains, but will wait a little longer before giving a "C" to anyone. Jagr, Kasparaitis, and Steve Rucchin were the three assistants.
Dale Purinton, who is serving a ten game suspension for the eye-gouging incident, cleared waivers and was sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack.
After having a meltdown in yesterday's rant, the Rodent is back and is pleasantly surprised with last night's performance.
Joe Mac and the guys over at NY Sports Day give their take on the Rangers, and all of the other local sports teams.
Some news from around the NHL includes:
Sidney Crosby getting his first point in a loss to Martin Brodeur, uh, I mean in a loss to the Devils.
The Great One lost in his coaching debut.
The 2004 #1 draft pick, Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals in the Capitals 3-2 win over Columbus.
The Rangers will play in their home opener tonight at Madison Square Garden. Rangers fans are gearing up for it, and hopefully yesterday's performance carries over and creates some energy with the home faithful. Check out the Message Boards to see who is going to be there, and to join in the game threads if you aren't going.
I don't know how long this will last, but it was fun. We have been waiting for years for that kind of energy and hard work from the team. I hope it continues.
HDH
Posted by Jim at October 06, 2005 10:36 AMeMail this entry!
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