Really, there is nothing more to say. Who would have thought the boys would pull out a victory in Anaheim, against a very solid Ducks team, just two days after looking icky against the Kings.
The usual suspects were involved in the scoring, of course, with Jagr getting the game winner along with an assist, Shanahan tallying three points, and Petr Prucha tying the game in the third period. Blair Betts had an outstanding individual effort on the Rangers' goal.
Goaltender Kevin Weekes did what he had to do, and played well enough to merit consideration for tonight's start against San Jose. Hey, a little competition couldn't hurt Henrik, and in the process maybe Weekes can steal some wins.
There were the usual suspects on the negative side of things too. Marek Malik continues to be awful, terrible, horrendous, whatever. Two turnovers led to two unassisted Anaheim goals. This situation has risen to ridiculous proportions, and he should just not play another game, period. You have Kaspar in Hartford and Pöck sitting on his ass in the press box. There is no reason why we have to watch Malik lumber around the defensive zone anymore. His partner, Michal Rozsival, wasn't much better, by the way.
A few of the locals have game recaps:
John Dellapina of the Daily News: The Rangers had the game under control midway through the second period. Their attention to defensive detail and ability to draw penalties, in fact, caused Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle to use his lone timeout 5:17 into the period because he felt it was necessary to settle his team after Brendan Shanahan's power-play goal gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
Larry Brooks of the Post: There was, however, an issue with Marek Malik, who has struggled badly this season. Twice within a span of 2:33 midway through the second, Malik put the puck directly onto Ducks' sticks no more than 35 feet away from the net. The Ducks made no mistake on his mistakes, converting each into unassisted goals. But somehow, Thomas Pock still doesn't get a chance.
Steve Zipay of Newsday: Credibility. That's what Rangers coach Tom Renney sought for the struggling Rangers last night against the Western Conference-leading Ducks. The Rangers got a substantial dose of it when Jaromir Jagr ripped a one-timer past J.S. Giguere with 1:51 left in overtime for a 4-3 victory.
Joe Mac from NY SportsDay: Although Jagr did look like the Hart Trophy Finalist of last season on the victory tally, he did say on the MSG Network afterwards his shoulder was still not up to par. But on that one play, it seemed liked everything was back to normal.
The Rodent breaks down the Rangers' win.
Sam Weinman of the Journal News was up in Hartford, and spoke to Darius Kasparaitis about his new assignment: In their conversation and to the media, Renney said his hope was that the defenseman would work his way back to the Rangers. But given where Kasparaitis was sitting yesterday, the defenseman sounded skeptical. "That's what he told me, but anything can happen," Kasparaitis said. "I was sent down to the minors after playing only a couple of games in the NHL. ... All I need is to play and have the coach's support. Sometimes you need somebody to support you and tell you we're here, we care about you, we want you to be good."
Oh boy, this can't be good.
Steve Zipay on Kaspar: In the game against Portland in Hartford, Kasparaitis had crunching hits that leveled Kent Huskins and Drew Miller and a hip-check on which Tim Brent sustained an injured left leg. Kasparaitis also was stopped by Michael Leighton on a shorthanded breakaway, but the Wolf Pack ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory.
The Hartford Courant has a couple of things on the Pack's win and Kaspar's first game.
Around the league:
- Congrats to the Pens' Evgeni Malkin, as he became the first rookie in 89 years to score goals in his first six games. Actually, he had 2 goals in the win over the Kings. Should we crown him Rookie-of-the-year now?
- The Nashville Predators continue to roll, as they ended the Oilers home winning streak.
- The rest of the scores from Wednesday can be found here.
- The Flyers will retain fired coach Ken Hitchcock as a pro scout.
Tonight, the Blueshirts face Joe Thorton and the San Jose Sharks in Cali. The puck drops at 10:30 pm EST. Will the real Rangers please stand up??
HDH
Posted by Jim at November 02, 2006 01:09 PMeMail this entry!
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