Rangers make it Lucky 7

October 17, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Make it a Lucky 7. Even when they don’t play well, the Rangers win games. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. Especially in an Olympic season where all the points they’re accumulating early, should help.

In about as ho hum a game as there’s been during the seven-game win streak, the Rangers did what they had to to best the dreadful Maple Leafs 4-1 before a miserable ACC. Even marching out former 1992-93 members Bill Berg, Mark Osborne and fave Felix Potvin wasn’t enough. Marian Gaborik increased to the first eight games with a point by registering two helpers and Vinny Prospal netted an assist, extending to a seven-game point streak (4-7-11). Brandon Dubinsky reemerged with a goal and helper. Rookie Michael Del Zotto continued to be a revelation, scoring a power play goal in front of his parents. And Henrik Lundqvist was dominant for a second straight, making 34 saves.

To be honest, the sad aspect was the Leafs didn’t even play badly. They were aggressive, attacking Lundqvist again without a Ranger defending him. Something that must change soon or our franchise goalie won’t survive the season. Forget about Gaborik. I’m worried about King Henrik. If nobody is going to stand up for him, then he needs to. Take a cue from Craig Anderson who doesn’t tolerate that shenanigans. Neither does Martin Brodeur who he’ll see this Thursday at MSG. The one plus is that Lundqvist hasn’t let it bother him, continuing to stop pucks and play like a Vezina candidate. His concentration has been terrific. That along with an improved glove where he’s made more saves in an upright position are nice to see.

So, what can be said for Toronto, who fell to 0-6-1 making it their worst start since 1990-91? Well, when Joe Micheletti rags on your power play and penalty kill, you got serious issues. Hell, even Marcel Lite Enver Lisin scored to put the contest away and that was with the fourth line. Yikes. You really have to wonder how long it will last under impatient Brian Burke for Ron Wilson, who tried loosening up his tight club with some fun filled tennis dodge ball the other day during practice.

Can this team really be this bad? The sad answer is yes. Without Phil Kessel, who’s begun skating, this is a free falling club with little confidence. Even rugged blueline additions Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek haven’t helped, reminding us of some of the old Ranger teams that had guys like Stephane Quintal, Vlad Malakhov and Igor Ulanov en route to nowhere. Get the point?

The Leafs outshot the Rangers 35-28 but still failed to score first for the seventh consecutive game. They had their chances early but couldn’t cash in with Lundqvist slamming the door by stopping all 14 first period shots. Jason Blake again crashed into Henrik after his team drew a minor on Del Zotto. And nobody did anything. John Tortorella was hot at the bench for the missed call. He really needs to send a message to his players that this crap has to stop. I could care less what our record is. It’s dangerous to let our goalie take as many cheapshots as he is. Ironically, the league is expected to review this very issue soon.

Despite playing a good first, the Leafs had nothing to show for it when Dubinsky scored unassisted at 16:00. During a four-on-four, Toronto turned over the puck due to a ferocious Prospal backcheck- something the Lightning either don’t include in their vocabulary or he was just really bad last season. We’ll guess it’s probably both considering how most Tampa games are. Thanks to Prospal’s attention to detail, Dubinsky came flying up the right side leading a three-on-one. Looking pass, he made no mistake firing shortside off the post and in for his third, snapping a five-game goal drought.

Lately, second periods have been a problem but the Blueshirts were better this time. After a few timely stops from Lundqvist, they increased to 2-0 when Marc Staal scored his first on a wraparound. Really. Dubinsky started the play and Gaborik kept it alive wheeling around to a pinching Staal, who snuck one past former Islander Joey MacDonald at 4:36. On the play, MacDonald might’ve been preoccupied with Gaborik, who wisely went to the front and was open for a pass across, giving Staal enough leeway to finish.

A common theme with the Maple Leafs so far is that no matter what momentum they have, goals against seem to play with their minds. This happened in the 7-2 rout at MSG. It again reared its ugly head when rookie Viktor Stallberg took an undisciplined high sticking minor on Ryan Callahan. A no-no against these Rangers, who made the Swedish rookie pay courtesy of a Del Zotto follow-up of a Gaborik stuff try. It took all of 45 seconds, giving the Blueshirts goals 71 seconds apart for a 3-0 lead.

If ever there’s an uncomfortable margin, it’s three because teams sometimes relax. Something that happened when the Leafs struck right back when Ian White rebounded home a Niklas Hagman shot to slice to 3-1 only 21 ticks later. They cashed in on some faulty defense from Lisin and had several cracks at it before White got his first.

Toronto continued to come on, generating some chances off their forecheck. The trouble was Lundqvist didn’t cooperate, bailing teammates out with 11 more saves in a period the Leafs had two straight power plays. The Ranger PK was strong too with guys like Callahan and Chris Drury doing some grunt work that even included a Leaf five-on-three back in the first. Overall, the road club went a perfect six-for-six while the vastly improved PP went one-for-four. That kind of special teams has been a big reason for the team’s success.

With the Leafs unable to draw closer, they tried to goad Donald Brashear into a fight. But the big man wouldn’t bite because it didn’t make much sense, even if Colton Orr wanted it. Instead, he stuck to hockey, not allowing a flustered home team to gain any momentum. Admittedly, I still wanted to see Brash crush someone for their garbage with Lundqvist. Maybe next time.

All season, the Rangers have been strong in the final stanza. That continued when Lisin added some insurance by rebounding a Wade Redden shot off Jeff Finger for his first 2:26 into the third. Redden and a steady Michal Rozsival added assists. Both deserved IMHO. The goal seemed to take the wind out of Toronto’s sails. Sure. They got 10 more on Lundqvist but none exactly struck fear. It got so dull that we switched to the more entertaining Devils’ 2-0 win over Carolina with Brodeur pulling within one of Terry Sawchuk. We also checked what’s currently a 2-2 ALCS Game Two between the Halos and Yanks.

As time wound down, the boos increased. You wonder what Burke’s thinking. Boston must be awfully excited about that potential lottery pick.

Notes: MacDonald turned aside 24 of 28 taking the loss. … With a helper, Redden has four points (1-3-4) with a plus-four in his last three games. … Gaborik is 6-6-12, +8 in 8 GP and now has a 15-game point streak (13-12-25) since last season. … Rozsival’s assist was his first since Oct.3 versus Ottawa. … Rangers won the physical battle outhitting the Leafs 30-17 with Del Zotto pacing everybody with five while teammates Callahan and Staal each had four as did the Leafs’ Finger. … Key Stat: Giveaways NYR-7, Tor-15. Blocked shots were 15 apiece with Finger leading with five while Drury and a quiet Matt Gilroy each countered with three. … In the faceoff circle, the Blueshirts controlled by taking 37-of-61 (61 percent) with Drury (11-7) and Dubinsky (10-6) doing the job. Matt Stajan went 10-9. … Christopher Higgins’ goal drought is at eight with him demoted to the third line. … Rangers (7-1-0, 14 Pts), who remain tied with Pens atop the East, host the Sharks on Monday at 7 on Versus.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Marc Staal, (GWG-1st of season, SOG, 4 hits, 2 blocked shots in 20:57)

2nd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, (34 saves incl.14 in 1st)

1st Star-Michael Del Zotto, (PPG, SOG, 5 hits, takeaway, +1 in 23 shifts-18:30)