Game Notes, Other Happenings

Quotables:

"How about Curtis Glenbrook doesn't return until Drury does?"  -Al Trautwig

"Vinny Prospal finds Dan Girardi for the Lone Ranger goal." -John Giannone

Notables: 

Absence of Brashear. Say what you will about him, but he's going to take care of business and send a message when nobody else will. It was embarrassing watching the whole situation fizzle out with no response whatsoever from the Rangers.

The Glencross hit on Drury. Bush-league is the least explicit word I could muster up. Dubinsky out three weeks with a broken wrist. Fortunately, the Rangers have a very light schedule this month.

Kotalik's high sticking double minor. Very frustrating as another penalty goes unnoticed, and if not for the blood, it wouldn't have been called. A guy gets dinged by a stick and earns a four minute powerplay for his team while another goes down with a concussion with nothing to show for it. No word yet from the NHL regarding any fines or suspension. I guarantee that it won't exceed three games or $15,000; however, neither punishment fits the crime when a player's career is put in jeopardy.

[EDIT - Glencross received a three game suspension Monday morning]

Nigel Dawes (three assists) makes a nice pass to Iginla who buries one in the slot on the double minor powerplay. NHL Network ranked Rich Peverley (ATL) as possibly the best waiver claim of all time. Dawes, with 10 points (half on the powerplay) in 15 games, is turning out to be a good fit in Calgary after, much to my chagrin, we waived him like idiots. 

Kotalik showing a lot of patience and presence on the point of the PP, yet it's slightly disconcerting only having one man on the point considering our propensity for allowing shorthanded goals. Mike Richards called, he is running out of teams to score shorthanded goals against. Oh yeah, Mike Richards? The jerkstore called.

Higgins is skating well, strong moves to the net with much more confidence. Lisin...not so much. "Falling with style" I believe is how a certain Toy Story character once put it. More like, "flailing for $9634.15 a game." I hate Lisin so much.

On a happier note, Toy Story 3 comes out Summer, 2010.

Staal makes a solid rush followed by a terrible pass to no one in particular in the high slot (we finally discover the Scott Gomez apprentice), leading to an odd-man rush and a goal at the other end of the ice. 

Michael Nylander hits waivers this week after the Capitals cut ties with the Swede. Going halfsies on his salary, like we're doing with Dallas and Sean Avery, will the $8.5 million dollar man be picked up? I'd compare it to dropping an old, beloved cell phone into a flushing toilet. You had some good times together but you definitely aren't diving in there to get it. It's basic Reaganomics, opportunity costs, etc. If economics were been solely based on the aforementioned concepts, I'd be trading crude resources with the bulls and the bears instead of writing on this stupid thing at three in the morning. Just kidding, it's actually very enjoyable.

Steve Zipay at Newsday speculates a comeback from Peter Forsberg this season. I'd link to the story, but wouldn't you rather just take my word for it? You can get a good look at a butcher's ___ by sticking your head up there, but wouldn't you rather take his word for it? Lots of quotes today, hope you're all keeping up with these pre-Y2K movie references. Actually, I can't provide a link because Newsday recently switched over their policies so that only subscribers of the paper or Optimum Online can access certain areas of the site (Steve Zipay's Blue Notes being one of them, unfortunately). Even if I learned how to charge you all for this exclusively unique blogging experience, I totally wouldn't. How's THAT for reader appreciation.

Thank Sean Avery for the following glimpse into millionaire life.

I call seatsies next to Hank!! -Marc Staal 

How the West was Won?

Henrik Sedin's e-mail address - gingerdive33@disgracingthegame.net

For a roster with six skaters and one starting goalie on the injured list, Vancouver tonight didn't seem like a team with a whole lot missing.

For the Rangers, getting shots to the net and turnovers combined to play a very similar song on their recent slide. And as any leather enthusiast knows, there's quite a difference between a regular and controlled slide. It hasn't been the latter on Broadway as they've dropped six of the last eight.

Andrew Raycroft, a former Calder Trophy winner in 2003-2004, has played with four different teams throughout the past five seasons in the NHL. Excluding tonight's game, Raycroft in Vancouver has gone 2-1 with a 1.66 goals against average and a .932 save percentage and a shutout. On a gimpy team, he's beaten the Rangers, Flames and Avalanche. He slipped up a bit in Anaheim (6.00 GAA meltdown - no biggie), but very few goalies, starters and backups alike, can maintain such an elevated level of performance over time as we've seen in Raycroft's case. Just goes to show how fortunate some teams (los Rangers being one) have been when it comes to elite goaltending, year after year.

Anyway, a few aspects of tonight's game are worth noting.

I lost all respect for Henrik Sedin (and Daniel Sedin...guilty by association) when he bit the dust on an epic dive no more than nine feet from the referee. Diving penalties, however rare they may be, involve the ref never losing sight of an impending call. After a few looks at various angles, the ref behind the net looked away just as Sedin grabbed Rozsival's stick and flopped to the floor like a dusty old fish, then made the call upon looking back and seeing Sedin on the ice. There's never any malicious intent here, but I honestly wish only the worst upon Henrik Sedin's career.

When that play transpired, I was, now that it's become somewhat habitual, blaming Rozsival for taking another penalty during a crucial point in the game. I was forced to retract the blame once I saw that Sedin was the one at fault, and I hope Tortarella does the same for Rozsival once he sees the tape. Still, his horrendous pass to Del Zotto in the offensive zone, proceeded by his perpetual lethargy at the other end of the ice, led to Ryan Kesler (three assists) horseshoe-ing the entire blueline and making a gorgeous pass to Rypien in the slot, which anyone could have buried (anyone not named Higgins. Or Lisin). Kesler, for the record, is a great player and left no doubts as to why he's a fan favorite in Vancouver. One more ace from the 2003 draft who was lost in the shadow of a certain Huge Specimen.

Kotalik had a solid game, but even if you find and train a centaur to wear skates and shoot hockey pucks at unfathomable speeds, he's not going to score goals if there's no traffic in front of the net.

Halloween Hawks

This is why I drafted Jonathan Toews.

Just kidding, I draft guys like Toews (and Luongo, Malkin and Markov) so I can watch them do funny things in the press box while my fantasy hockey season swirls down the toilet.

Vancouver Hockey 2010

Epic Zetterberg-Kiprusoff Showdown

Sarauj! Let's pretend that means good morning!

We're only a few months away from what could be the last time we see our beloved blueshirts compete in the Winter Olympics. Bummer dude.

Four score and seven years ago, Sweden brought home its second gold medal after beating Finland, 3-2, at the Winter Olympics in Italy. Two months later, Sweden won the IIHF World Championships, marking the first time any country had won both events. 

Sweden is currently ranked third, with Canada set for silver and Russia for gold. The U.S. National Team sits at fifth, while Armenia has left itself plenty of room for improvement rounding out the group at 48th.

Although Russia won the 2008 IIHF World Championships, the tournament wasn't fully indicative of national prowess considering several elite NHL players were skating for a different trophy in the states. Even still, some may find it tough to make an argument against Russia's ranking when you see the projected roster.

As for Rangers in Vancouver, here are some possible candidates:

Lundqvist, Sweden
Gaborik, Slovakia 
Callahan, USA
Drury, USA
Staal, Canada
Prospal, Czech Repulic
Rozsival, Czech Republic

As for the Canucks in Vancouver, they'll be spreading warm Olympic tidings on their 14 game road trip during the Olympics. Eeeee.

Vancouver 2010 emblem, Ilaanaq, the Inuit Canucks' word for "friend" "six weeks without a home game"

Logo Unveiled

In lieu of The Ranger Rover's One Year Anniversary and 50 Post Celebration Extravaganza, I've decided to give the site a long overdue image overhaul. I'm thinking I'll have an internationally recognizable symbol in 3 years tops. Lunchboxes, iPod covers, henna tattoos - it's gunna be everywhere. I mean, it's still in the early phases, but I have to be honest - everyone here at The Ranger Rover has been working tirelessly on the logo and is really excited about the initial design.

Pretty awesome, right? I know, it's gunna be a gold mine.

But WAIT.

As part of The Ranger Rover's One Year Anniversary and 50 Post Celebration Extravaganza, you can get your greedy little hands on Ranger Rover Merchandise for a limited time. Christmas came early this year, hockey fans!

Name that Ranger

Here's an interesting little where's and who's Waldo for everyone to pass the time. This photo was taken after in April, 2006. 

Click on the picture above and it will open in a new window and expand to full size. I recognized about a dozen [spoiler alert!] players from that season. Jagr led the team with 123 points, second in the league to Joe Thornton (125). Believe it or not, Michal Rozsival led the team at +34. Marek Malik, not far behind at +28, was an alternate captain. This is one of those times in my life where I just don't know what to say. I guess because it was the year after the lockout...those must've been confusing times for everyone. Interesting story though, Malik refused to shake hands with Tom Renney after a game and BAM empty locker, off the team. If Renney made some more executive decisions like that behind the bench maybe he'd still have the job.

"With great size comes great nickname opportunity." -Plato

While in New York, Malik's teammates referred to him as "Harry" from the 1987 hit film Harry and the Hendersons. Harry, although before my time, is vaguely memorable as the poor man's Alf, who burst onto the scene and made his way into the hearts of Americans a year earlier. In a response to the Tom Renney handshake incident, Sean Avery responded:

"I have no problem at all with Harry or with what happened. I personally like guys who are emotional. If a player believes he's being treated unfairly, I think it's good for him to get ticked off. It's not an issue here."

Not an issue? Of course it's an issue. This could be one of the best nicknames of all-time. Not an issue, psh. C'mon.



I apologize for the language barrier, but you'd be surprised how many words you can decipher in German. This was the best video I could find, cut me a little slack here.

Sanchez Eats Hot Dog on Bench

I guarantee Sanchez will do a Nathan's commercial by week 10.