-Updated 2:15 Friday-
Paul Mara sprained his shoulder in last night’s third period collision with the boards, and is almost certainly out for tomorrow’s game. Marek Malik looks to play with Michal Rozsival and Marc Staal should shift down with Jason Strudwick. As much as I like Staal with Rozsival as the top pairing, there is no way you can put Strudwick and Malik together. That’s like pairing Sandis Ozolinsh and Aaron Ward together. The results would be catastrophic, especially against the potent offense of Ottawa. The good news is that the injury is minor, and Mara isn’t expected to miss much time. He has been playing pretty well as of late, so it’s tough to see him go down.

The Rangers defeated the Islanders for the first time this season 4-2 at the Garden last night. It was a great game all around, with the Rangers finally getting some production from the people they are paying to score, excellent goaltending and all the extra that comes with a good rivalry. Some quick hits on the game:

Offensive production - Chris Drury, Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez scored goals tonight. We have been waiting for that all season. Brandon Dubinsky scored the fourth goal with only a few minutes left in the game. The first line looked amazing, and Jagr played a strong game.

Defense - Dan Girardi shook off a couple of bad games to look more like his old self again. There are still some holes that are opening up now that we’re there in the beginning of the season, but they continue to play well.

Goaltending - Great goaltending from both ends of the ice. I have no idea how Rick DiPietro scrambled back to stop Marc Staal’s shot from crossing the goal line. Henrik Lundqvist was solid again in the net, and he’ll have to keep that up heading into tomorrow’s game against Ottawa.

Officiating - Well, it was poor at best again last night. There were some good calls, some bad calls, some missed calls and some awful calls. I hate the little tap of the stick on the hands equalling a hooking penalty. It happened to Drury and to Bill Guerrin last night. Colton Orr getting mugged by Brendan Witt and Chris Simon after a late hit (he deserved the two minutes for the hit) somehow netted the Islanders a powerplay. Simon got away again. He got his later on against Orr, although I think he was a little off balance to start.

The Rangers are back against the Senators tomorrow afternoon in a Saturday matinee matchup. Paul Mara went hard into the boards at the end of the game last night and was bleeding on the bench, but if he’s healthy he should be in there. Marek Malik should remain on the bench for this game. Ryan Callahan looked great in his first game back as well. Back tomorrow with updates.

Good preview by Derek, so not much is needed from me, but I wanted to add in the starting lineup for the Rangers.

Straka - Dubinsky - Jagr
Shanahan - Gomez - Hossa
Prucha - Drury - Callahan
Orr- Betts - Hollweg

Staal - Rozsival
Tyutin - Girardi
Mara - Strudwick

Lundqvist

Marek Malik is cleared to play, but will be a healthy scratch unless there is an injury or defensive breakdown.

Brandon Dubinsky was seen limping with ice on his knee after practice, but said he would be fine.

In a good move by Tom Renney, Petr Prucha will see powerplay time with Jaromir Jagr and Brandon Dubinsky and Michal Rozsival and Martin Straka on the points. They need someone out there willing to just shoot the puck and follow it up hard to the net.

Enjoy the game. I’ll check in later.

The Isles skated against the Ottawa Senators tonight at Nassau Coliseum and to tell you the truth, I really didn’t have any hope for a win. I mean the Isles are 4-29 against the Sens all time and that has to be the worst record against ANY team EVER!When the Senators come to the Island, I usually don’t watch the game because its usually ugly….REAL ugly. When I heard the Isles took an early lead, it didn’t really excite me. There have been plenty of times where the Isles have scored first against the Sens, only to give up 923474434 goals in the next two periods.

At the end of the second the Isles had a 2-1 lead. Goals by Vasicek and Sillinger put them ahead. But Andrej Meszaros scored twice to tie it up and next thing I know we are going to OT. With Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley shooting on DP in overtime makes any Islander fan cringe. The first shot in OT by Ottawa went to a video replay and for some weird reason, it was no goal. After watching it a few times myself, it was definitely not a goal but this is the Islanders, and video reviews usually go against us. The Isles ended up taking the Sens to a shootout, the first of the season for the Isles.

Miro Satan …..Miss
Alfredsson…..GOAL
Vasicek……..Miss
Spezza……Miss
Guerin……GOAL
Heatley…..Miss
Comrie…..Miss
Robitaille…Miss
Hunter…..Miss
Vermette..Miss
Sillinger…..GOAL
McAmmond…Miss

The Isles beat the Sens for the first time in a loooooonnnggg time! Rick Dipietro kept the Isles in the game as the Isles beat the Sens for the first time at the Colesium since 2004. Next up, the New York Rangers!

Devils take on the Stars for the first time since the 2nd game of ‘06-’07, when the Stars beat the Devs, 3-1. This is their first venture to the Garden State since 2003.

The Stars come into tonight’s game with consecutive one goal wins over teams from New York on goals by Mike Modano. It’ll be interesting to see if Marty Turco gets the call over the hot Mike Smith, whom Cat at Untypical Girls loves so much, she got a jersey of him. Not since Patricia from 2MA has there been such backup goaltender love. Anyway, Smith has played well when given a chance and, let’s face it…we blow chodes when we take on backups!

DEVILS LAST 10 GAMES vs. BACKUP GOALTENDERS
11/23 at ATL (Johan Hedberg), 3-0 W
11/12 at PIT (Danny Sabourin), 3-2 W
11/5 vs. PIT (Danny Sabourin), 5-0 L
4/8 vs. NYI (Wade Dubieliewicz), 3-2 OTL
3/22 at TB (Marc Denis), 3-1 L
3/17 vs. CAR (John Grahame) 7-2 L
3/14 vs. PIT (Jocelyn Thibault) 3-0 L
2/24 at WSH (Brent Johnson) 3-2 W
2/14 vs. MTL (David Abeischer) 5-2 W
12/22 at WSH (Brent Johnson) 4-3 W

So we’ll see how it goes tonight.

Just when it was safe to assume that the Rangers would be taking on their Atlantic Division rivals with a fully healthy roster tomorrow night, injury news has broken from Rangers’ camp. Sean Avery will miss the next couple of weeks after undergoing wrist surgery today. The surgery was routine arthroscopic surgery to clean out and fix up some minor problems that were nagging him throughout the season. After taking a Brendan Shanahan shot to the wrist in the Tampa game, Avery found himself unable to shoot a puck at Monday’s practice, took a CAT scan yesterday and had or is having surgery today.

What this means is that the lovably poorly performing Marcel Hossa stays in the lineup tomorrow, and Ryan Callahan is definitely ready to go. Hossa will most likely take a third line spot with Chris Drury and Callahan, with Petr Prucha moving up to play with Scott Gomez and Shanahan on the second line. First and fourth lines remain the same, as does the defense pairings, even with Marek Malik being declared ready for game action.

The Rangers are a better team with Avery on the ice, regardless of what people think of him. Aside from his irritating, sometimes childish behavior, the man has offensive ability, kills penalties and brings a team together. It’s too bad we’ll be without him for a tough stretch of games.

In a league wide note, the Philadelphia Flyers were handed their fourth suspension of the year yesterday, after Scott Hartnell received a two game suspension for his hit on a defenseless Andrew Alberts the other night. I have preached it before, but something has to be done about all of these dangerous hits. Zdeno Chara needed to step in and fight someone after that, even though Hartnell was thrown out. A big hit has to be thrown by anyone to a top Philly player. It doesn’t have to be dirty, clean would be better actually. I’m not advocating any kind of goon tactics, but players need to step in.

Tomorrow’s game should be another fun one, although it seems like every other game is against the Islanders. I’ll check in if I hear anything new.

For whatever reason late last night, I decided to construct a work summarizing my feelings on the Ranger offensive futility. Appropriately titled, “Firing Blanks,” I think you’ll agree with the sentiment expressed. Just remember. It’s supposed to be humorous and put smiles on people’s faces. Though I’m not real certain it will do that for Blueshirt supporters.

This poem is dedicated to the gang which can’t shoot straight on Broadway.

“Firing Blanks”
By Derek Felix

There once was a team who used to routinely score
Only to one day turn the back of the net into a constant chore
Now they fire just blanks and look practically dead
Yet somehow their goalie keeps them in games to win instead

Now the hometown fans sit on their hands and knees
Begging and praying for some accurate shooters please
Is it too much to ask for at least a three goal night
Or is that request just plain out of sight

Questions continue to linger as the days carry on
Just a battle to find some consistent offense before the crack of dawn
Will it actually happen or might something else go wrong
Or can they finally beat the Islanders with only two before too long

This is the classic case of a team with just stone hands
Suddenly they’re all Marcel Hossa in an angry MSG land
People ponder if they’ll rediscover their touch
Or if this month long funk will turn into so much

But questions shall only be answered in the coming days
With fans hoping not to continue to fall asleep in an utter drunken daze
In the meantime the supporters will be there to scream and shout
And hope for the team to breakout just once for a miraculous rout

That’s the motto for a team which can’t shoot straight
It’s time for them to find the magic sticks and become great
Or face the wrath of the fans who will curse and yell
Half wondering if their star laden team has gone eternally to hell

Here we go, heading toward the end folks:

6. Dear Sean, You Suck at Life
by Steve (Newark)
November 4, 2007
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http://njmg.typepad.com/devilsblog/2007/11/all-about-avery.html

Tom Gulitti did a great job conveying the wisdom of Sean Avery tonight.

Some points made:

-Avery called Clarkson “a bonehead minor leaguer” after the game and called Brodeur, “Marty the diver”, a reference to the goaltender’s first period diving penalty. “I don’t even know who this guy is, why am I talking to him,” Avery said of Clarkson. “We’re not friends. It’s not an (expletive) secret. We’re getting ready for a game and we go to war.”

First of all, anyone who saw Clarkie’s goal Friday night…has Avery ever scored a goal that nice? And why are you talking to him? I don’t know ass-job…you started the conversation! Do you have soap opera level amnesia?

Moving on…

-When asked if Brodeur said anything back to him, Avery said, “I can’t understand a word he says with his accent.”

C’mon Sean, is that Jersey twang Marty speaks in English with baffling you? Watch some Sopranos DVDs and you’ll figure it out.

So, what was David Clarkson’s response?

-Clarkson played it diplomatic. “We both kind of play the same way, hit hard and get in other guy’s face,” he said. “That’s how he is. He’s going to try to get under my skin before the game and other guys, just like I do.”

Aw Yeah, David’s a soulja. He’s smart enough to figure out that he’s pretty much Sean, but with, you know, an offensive game?

Hey, guess who else Sean decided to take on…

-Before one first period faceoff, Avery lined up across from Zach Parise and yapped in his ear for what seemed like an eternity. “I asked him to fight a couple of times,” Avery admitted. When an incredulous reporter questioned that he would challenge Parise, who has never had an NHL fight, Avery replied, “Is that his name?”

Yeah Sean, you saw the back of his jersey enough tonight…

Seriously, Sean…you joking about not knowing who Parise is…is that a thing? That’s like when Brian and Stewie from Family Guy called Scrubs unfunny at the Emmys.

THE ZACH’s response?

-Parise also said he ignored Avery. “He wanted to fight me,” he said. “He told me to, ‘make a statement.’ I just ignored him. It’s all about him. It’s too bad because he can be a pretty good player.”

Good boy Zach.

Aaah, it’s good to hate the Rag$ again!.
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5. Avery needs to tone Down Act
by Derek Felix
November 14, 2007

Sean Avery is quite possibly the biggest agitator in the game right now. The 27 year-old Ranger forward will do almost anything to get underneath the skin of opponents. However, the undrafted Pickering Ontario native who’s with his third organization in six seasons might just have pushed the envelope too far.

The talkative pest has recently been involved in two incidents during pregame warmups. The first came in his Nov. 3 return against New Jersey from a separated shoulder when he exchanged words with Devil netminder Martin Brodeur while the two stretched out along the ice in preparation for a game the Rangers won 2-1 in a shootout. From our vantage point, it didn’t look like anything too serious developed even if Devils’ fourth liner David Clarkson took exception during the contest. That Avery decided to go even further and make this a recurring theme by nearly inciting a fight involving Toronto’s Darcy Tucker and Jason Blake who’s battling Leukemia during warmups on what was a special Hockey Night In Canada honoring Monday’s new HOF class featuring Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Jim Gregory was just assinine.

Talk about bad timing. Avery’s antics can sometimes waver on absurd and while I am a supporter of him, he can even get on my last nerve. He used poor judgment Saturday which probably won’t be the last time either. With NHL executive VP of Operations Colin Campbell having to get involved and fine Avery $2,500, Tucker a grand and both organizations (Rangers- $25,000 Leafs- $10,000) substantial amounts embarrassing each in the process, one has to ask when is enough enough? Clearly, Avery is on watch and must tone down his act. That he is an effective player who’s valuable to his team should make him better understand why he’s needed on the ice.

When he’s not mouthing off and ticking off opponents, the Ranger second liner who rides shotgun for the team’s best playmaking pivot Scott Gomez is an outstanding skater with exceptional speed who brings many elements to the table such as going to the net with reckless abandon and getting dirty to make a play. Quite honestly, Tom Renney’s club is a better team with Avery on it. Despite his penchant for silly penalties, he’ll also draw some as the result of his aggressive nature. That’s the good coming with the bad. What also comes with it is a player who can play effectively at even strength, give a boost on the power play and kill penalties due to his speed and instincts. If he had better hands, he’d be scary. He certainly gets enough chances.

Last season, when Ranger President and GM Glen Sather went out and acquired him, it turned around their season. It’s no coincidence that the Rangers became a much more difficult team to deal with after his acquisition. So when he’s out of the lineup, the impact is felt. Since returning five games ago, Avery has not only been a pest but he’s been playing well scoring twice and setting up three other goals for all five of his points while having a couple of scraps which he fared well in sparking the club. What gets lost in all the chaos is that the 5-9 195 pound nuisance can be a pretty darn good player when he wants to be. Sometimes though, it’s our opinion that he’d rather be a clown and beat to his own drum than always do what’s best for his team. Maybe that explains why linemate Brendan Shanahan recently said that he doesn’t need to talk so much and take it as far as he does sometimes crossing the line.

This is a very important year for the Rangers and they’re going to need the good Avery to show up more than the one who acts like an idiot and sometimes is more a detriment. It’s also a huge season for Avery who will be eligible for Group II free agency next July. Ultimately, he has to decide if he wants to continue acting like a bozo annoying opponents who could even possibly be future suitors for his services next summer. By continuing this current path, it hurts his future more than helps. If he keeps his head and just goes out and plays to capability, it will not only benefit the Rangers but Avery as well. The choice is his.
===============

Kovy (Derek) beat me to the recap of Sunday’s loss to Dallas, and hit the nail on the head several times throughout his post. I’ll add a couple of things and then get to new stuff.

The Rangers looked unbeatable for a couple of weeks, but it looks like they have a weakness that was exploited in both the Florida and Dallas games. They are vulnerable to the fast skating teams. All three Dallas goals were the result of some kind of speed burst or breakaway. Florida exploited it too. Jusse Jokinen, one of the league’s fastest skaters only had a half stride on our defense, yet looked like he was on a penalty shot on his breakaway goal on Sunday. The partial breakaway goal was also a killer, and it was the speed of the Stars that led to that. Maybe we were flatfooted, not expecting those kinds of bursts, but our defense needs to work on making sure we can keep up with the Sidney Crosbies and Jussi Jokinens of the league.

Henrik Lundqvist cannot carry the team every game. He only stopped 15 out of 18 shots on Sunday, which would be considered an off day for him. Granted, breakaways are hard to stop as a goaltender, but if the Rangers could just find that scoring touch, we wouldn’t have to worry about Lundqvist giving up three a game. Four goals a game from the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Brendan Shanahan, Petr Prucha, Ryan Callahan, etc should not be unattainable.

Now on to today’s news:

Callahan will return for Thursday’s game against the Islanders, barring some unforeseen setback. His return, coupled with Sean Avery and Straka being in the lineup despite some bumps and bruises, raises the questions the Rangers’ brass has been dreading for a while: Who gets a seat on the bench?

Jagr - Dubinsky - Straka
Shanahan - Gomez - Avery
Callahan - Drury - Prucha
Hollweg - Betts - Orr

That’s my suggestion. Marcel Hossa has been solid along the boards, but he has hands of stone, and has shown no finishing ability except for in the shootout. With the star power that we have, he should be a replacement winger. With this lineup, you have three solid scoring lines and a checking line. The fourth line hasn’t chipped in any offense, but they are not expected to. They go out there and shut down the opposing teams, and it’s great.

Greg Moore was returned to Hartford of the AHL, the same place Nigel Dawes is tearing up since his demotion. Dawes had a 2 goal, 2 assist night the other night, and is now up to 10 points in only six games played in Hartford. First sign of injury, he has to be back with the Rangers, maybe even playing with Jagr and Dubinsky if Marty isn’t quite clicking. Ivan Baranka was sent down the other day too. He was good in his one game with the club, but he is still a year or so away from being an NHL defenseman.

We’re off until Thursday’s matchup against the Islanders, who we have yet to beat. We need to come out flying, play a physical game and bury some past Rick DiPietro to win. More on that later in the week.

Congratulations on the year anniversary as well. As a new blogger, it’s great being a part of this website. Thanks for the mention in the top 10 as well. It’s my first crack at this and I love every minute of it. I hope to get you guys some more of those caliber posts throughout the season.

More of our good stuff:

8. My Take on the Rangers vs. Islanders Game Last Night
by Lenny
September 25, 2007
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By now anyone who follows hockey knows about the Rangers v. Islanders game last night. A fight filled affair that saw the “enforcers” as well as the common players, and goaltenders drop the gloves. On one hand, it was great to see the players, preseason or not, stick up for each other. On the other hand, it was disgraceful to watch. Here’s my take on everything:

Chris Simon. We’ll start with the worst I guess. Because of loopholes in the NHL rulebook, Simon was able to play preseason games, even though he still has an outstanding suspension to serve. One has to think, if Simon is not in the lineup last night, half of the fisticuffs that occurred would have been avoided. Give it up for Orr, who stuck up for Hollweg by scrapping with Simon early in the first and then again on Simon’s unnecessary, dirty hit from behind on Hollweg setting off the brawl. The league should be reviewing tape right now, and tacking on 10 more games to Simon’s suspension.

Ted Nolan. The Rangers had their lineup posted 3 days in advance. Each team plays about 6 preseason games. Simon could have played in any of the other five and not this one. He knew there would be fireworks if Simon was in the lineup. It surprises me that with the players that he did dress, that Brendon Witt wasn’t also in the lineup.

Rick DiPietro. Was there any reason for him to jump in? And why did he have to bait Montoya into the fight. It was apparent the Monty didn’t want to fight, he has a spot to win. I give him all the credit in the world for sticking up for his team.

Tom Renney. Anyone read his post game comments? Sure the elbow to the head of Callahan was dirty. And sure it was probably a contributing factor to the rest of the night’s activities. But to dismiss blame on Simon just makes no sense to me. He did it with the stick incident last year and then again last night. He should be saying how much Simon should be suspended, and how proud he is of his players for sticking up for each other. Here’s to hoping Orr, Hollweg, Strudwick and Avery are all in the lineup come the first regular season game between these two.

Just my opinion on the game. Give it up to players like Dubinski, Pock, Hossa, Strudwick and Orr. I enjoy the occasional scrap. Especially when it comes from sticking up for your teammates. Without them, there would be no way to police the sport, ridding the league of incidents like Marty McScorley, Todd Bertuzzi or Chris Simon. I don’t even hold anything against the rest of the Islanders, minus Simon and Sutton. Anyone else feel like sharing some thoughts?
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7. Blah Blah Blog
by Rob (Long Island)
September 26, 2007
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Thankfully, most readers of this blog site are hardcore fans who actually watched the game, otherwise one might think the Isles were the second coming of the ‘75 Flyers.

Reading these Rangers blogs is kind of like watching the Fox News channel. Fun for a couple of chuckles, but with biases that run that deep, all objectivity is out the window. When Hollweg is defended regularly, you know that the looking glass is a bit foggy. Hollweg will hurt someone the same way McAmmond got hurt, and then we’ll revisit this discussion. Funny that Hollweg averaged 1.7 pims per game last season vs Simon’s 1.1 pims per game. How can that happen? Hollweg is a future Lady Bing candidate. And Simon is Charles Manson.

Anyway, it has been funny being tag-teamed by the Rag Bloggers the way Simon was double-teamed by Strudwick and Hollweg. Maybe one day Hollweg will fight his own battle without needing help from a teammate. Hollweg = Gutless Puke.

Let the games begin.