New look Rangers drop opener to champs

October 3, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

In a game I didn’t see due to a memorable night at Giants Stadium courtesy of The Boss, the Rangers fell short to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the defending champion Penguins, who held on for a 3-2 win at Mellon Arena after raising their Cup banner.

I got home too late to catch any highlights but heard all I needed to from my brother. The kids looked alright with him indicating that Matt Gilroy was pretty good going plus-2 in 19:58 TOI while Mike Del Zotto played decent in their NHL debuts. It’s true that the two kids are very poised which is something every Ranger fan should be excited about. There are sure to be growing pains which is why I anticipate a slow start. Especially on a made over roster that includes Marian Gaborik, who indeed made things interesting with his first as a Ranger in the third. An encouraging sign that the Big Ticket scored in his first game. Hopefully, there will be plenty more for the 27 year-old former Wild star who Glen Sather rolled the dice on.

Also positive was captain Chris Drury, who scored the first goal of the team’s season from new pickup Christopher Higgins, who apparently did more than Scott Gomez showed in his Canadien debut. It’s imperative for the Ranger leader to get out quickly, avoiding the malaise that hurt him in Year Two. His first tied the game following a Malkin redirect of a Sergei Gonchar power play blast with Drury watching from the box after hauling down Alex Goligoski. So, it was a rough start for the new Ranger PK minus Blair Betts and Freddy Sjostrom.

Speaking of which, won’t it be odd to see Betts donning a Flyer jersey this season? The thought makes me nauseous. What a shock that the former Ranger PK ace helped his new team by killing off eight Carolina man-advantages in a 2-0 Philadelphia win. Wonder how our Devil blogger will feel seeing Bettsy try to thwart his team in their season opener at The Rock later tonight?

Back to the Rangers. Where they lost this game was past the mid-point when one of those epic lapses from Michal Rozsival killed any chance of silencing a spoiled Pen crowd. Following a huge Marc-Andre Fleury glove save on Vinny Prospal which would’ve put the road club in front, the Pens came back led by none other than Crosby who steered home a Kris Letang feed to convert a 3-on-1 where Rozsival probably got caught. He’s a master at it. Correction: Actually, it was Dan Girardi who got victimized. He didn’t have a good preseason and was called out by his coach. Judging on the highlights, he looked shaky. Already with one scary player, the Ranger cannot afford Girardi to regress.

Apparently, the new Ranger target who will hear it later tonight in the MSG home opener versus the Sens, had a tough night following a dreadful preseason. He was on the ice for two goals against failing to take Malkin on his PPG and didn’t pickup Tyler Kennedy on the winner. In fact, he received the least time on defense getting 15:22 versus his former team. A pretty low number for someone who can log 23-24 if needed. How long does John Tortorella wait before begging our senile GM- who somehow handed this guy five million after throwing away $6.5 M and half a dozen years to Wade Redden- to call in reinforcements from Hartford? Sadly, that’s what it’s come to for a defenseman who was once a reliable top four that helped the club reach the second round twice, even notching a thrilling three overtime winner in a must win versus the Sabres.

There’s little doubt that the fiery coach won’t tolerate these kind of lackluster efforts from Rozy. If he continues to falter, expect either Mike Sauer or Corey Potter to get the first crack. It’s our opinion that either can do his job. Particularly the more polished Potter who’s gotten a raw deal due to a numbers game, thanks to our GM’s gross negligence. Yet somehow, he keeps his job. Nice to know there’s zero accountability at the top.

No wonder other outlets don’t take this organization seriously. Though truth be told, this year is a wash. They’re not expected to seriously compete and are basically retooling by giving the kids experience. Don’t forget that outside of the two albatrosses, this is one of the youngest bluelines in the game featuring four players 25-or-under including Marc Staal and Girardi.

Back to the game. With momentum, the Pens scored a second consecutive goal 68 seconds later when the gritty Kennedy deflected home a Goligoski point shot past Henrik Lundqvist, increasing the lead to 3-1. It was Goligoski’s second assist. Shots in the fateful second were an even dozen but the opportunistic defending champs cashed in on their chances. They also got great goaltending from Fleury, who made several big stops on Gaborik, who apparently tried everything finishing with a game high eight shots including the one he buried from Dubinsky and Staal 5:56 into the third. Based on what we just caught, he could’ve easily had a hat trick.

“He (Fleury) made some real big ones,” Drury said following the Pitt netminder’s 25 saves with seven of eight coming in the third. “Some on Gaborik, he was bouncing around all over the place, making big saves.”

But ultimately, it wasn’t enough as the superior club prevailed to put a bow ribbon on a special night they won’t soon forget.

Notes: Lundqvist, who finished with 28 saves sounded pleased to get the season going noting the club did some good things. King Henrik and the rest of his new ‘mates are back at it tonight with faceoff set for after 7 following what’s sure to be a circus-like intro. Especially with Rozsival and new enforcer Donald Brashear part of it. Speaking of Brash, he had his first scrap as a Ranger with former Islander Eric Godard 11:55 into the contest with his team trailing. He landed some heavy lefts early but Godard took it and cameback with some nice rights including a pair of uppercuts that gave him the decision. Though Brashear lost, the timing was good and inspired his team with Drury coming back to tie. Here’s how it looked:

In his first game in Ranger colors, the big man got 6:04 while Aaron Voros, who hit a post got roughly the same. Brian Boyle centered the line seeing just 4:48 in comparison to his replacement Betts, who got over 13-plus. Slats parted with a third round pick for that? … Pens won the special teams connecting on 1-of-2 power plays while killing all four Ranger advantages. … With his goal, Crosby continued to light it up against Lundqvist- tacking on against his favorite goalie. Sid The Kid now has 11 goals and 20 assists versus the Ranger netminder. They both entered the league following the lockout and play in the same division. And Crosby’s had some big games. So, it’s no great shock. One Ranger fans would love to just forget.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Marian Gaborik, (1st goal as Ranger, 8 SOG in 19:05)

2nd Star-Alex Goligoski, (2 assists, SOG in 14:12)

1st Star-Marc-Andre Fleury, (25 saves incl. 7 of 8 on Gaborik plus Prospal theft)