Rangers Canucked to death, Renney reunion Thursday

November 4, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Well, the Rangers again saw their collective shadow in Vancouver, dropping a sixth straight in GM Place to the Canucks by a count of 4-1. While the first two periods were about as riveting as watching paint dry, the third was one of the wackiest ever featuring a melee involving over 10 players. It seemed to stem from Kevin Bieksa’s cheapshot on Marian Gaborik, which rookie Dane Byers took exception to.

The initial play happened on the first shift of the period. MSG only showed the two good clean takeouts but later caught the one that rubbed Byers the wrong way. Nice to see someone stand up for our best player, who otherwise was blanketed by former Wild ‘mate Willie Mitchell and a tight Vancouver D that always had him doubled. The melee almost got out of hand but the refs prevented what I really was craving. An oldschool Slap Shot moment that we used to get in the 80’s and early 90’s. Oh darn.

Well, it still wasn’t over due to goofball Shane O’Brien, who jabbed Sean Avery with his stick between benches with Ray Ferraro scared to death. Could ya blame Chicken Parm as O’Brien’s stick came dangerously close to hitting him? Avery of course took his stick and laughed. But it was one dumb move by the Vancouver D which cost him a power play against and a misconduct. Miraculously, the appropriate call even if Avery was involved. The Rangers at least tied it when Christopher Higgins actually scored his first as the PP expired off a nice Brandon Dubinsky setup with Chris Drury earning the secondary.

With the ‘Nucks rattled, Darcy Hordichuk took an unsportsmanlike conduct handing the Blueshirts a second straight man-advantage. However, they couldn’t cash in which swung the momentum. Soon after, one too many passes by Ales Kotalik, who looked for October NHL Top Rookie Mike Del Zotto, resulted in a turnover which the Rangers never recovered from. Ryan Kesler, who was by far the best player- then outmuscled and outhustled a lazy Michal Rozsival (duh) before circling around to find wide open teammate Rick Rypien for a gimme upstairs.

That the decider came from a gritty fourth liner didn’t even matter because the coverage on the play was so sloppy. The Rangers as both Higgins and John Tortorella noted, never rotated with the coach making reference to Rozy’s lost battle that started it. He did at least take Tanner Glass in front. But Sean Avery got lost and Rypien snuck in unchecked.

There was little Henrik Lundqvist, who turned aside 26 of 29 could do. He again had little help as the Blueshirts’ offense has gone dry, scoring only five in their last four games during a 1-3 stretch. Even with Gaborik back in, they’ve gotten just one total in the last 120 minutes with of course it coming from The Big Ticket in the 1-0 blanking of a Boston team that was shutout again by Detroit last night. So, not a whole lot to hang your hat on.

How wild was the third? Aside from the chaos which Lundqvist, Tortorella, Higgins and Dan Girardi all couldn’t explain afterwards, there also was the glass being broken behind Henrik’s net creating another delay. So, after they replaced it with a new piece, somehow they forgot to retrieve a broken piece which remained dangerously behind the net when play continued? What if a player had slipped on it or God forbid was checked and well ya know? Yikes. Why not just leave the ladder out there, why don’t ya?!?!?!?!?!

The Rangers just couldn’t make it happen against backup Andrew Raycroft, who was splendid turning aside all 14 second period shots en route to 22 stops. While the former B’s Calder winner was good, his D did an outstanding job clearing the front of the net. They also did a masterful job offensively with a relentless attack led by Kesler (3 assists) and a gritty Henrik Sedin, who after limping off following a blocked shot, returned to ice it with an empty netter. We’ve always been a huge fan of his and even minus twin brother Daniel, the guy’s all heart along with immense skill. As for Kesler, he was all over the ice just dominating out there. He better be on Team USA. This kid is the real deal.

Former Ranger Mikael Samuelsson put the contest out of reach with his second of the night, rebounding home a wide Kesler shot that caromed to him for a PPG. Rozsival was in the box for a phantom hook on Sedin. Though it wasn’t his fault, he was on the ice for two goals against and just can’t take physical contact. Maybe it’s due to all the wear and tear. But the guy’s a shell of himself. When he first came here, he was a decent player. Something many Ranger fans like to conveniently forget. The new contract has been a disaster. It’s seriously time to consider paying him not to play. He just has zero confidence and anything that can go wrong does. The poor guy can’t get out of his own way.

I say we may as well just call someone up. I don’t care who. Bobby Sanguinetti is putting up points wasting away at Hartford. Maybe it’s time to see what he can do. If not, then who or when? Rozsival also didn’t cover for Wade Redden following his giveaway that led to the first goal. Not one of Tinman’s better moments but he had few options unless he could’ve iced it. And making matters worse, I’ll say it. Henrik gave up a crap rebound which Samuelsson deposited. The kind you can’t allow to a good team like the Canucks, who even minus one Sedin and Roberto Luongo, look very much like a Cup contender.

Hey. Even if their fans can’t seem to get over ‘94, they should be pretty excited about the team they got. It’s plenty good and should seriously challenge.

Renney Reunion Thursday: As for the Rangers, it’s back to the drawing board with a day off before the Tom Renney reunion in Edmonton tomorrow night. For those including us that were hard on him at the bitter end, let’s remember that he did a solid job putting this franchise back on the map. It was his idea to form the rookie prospect camp and get more serious about drafting and developing. Of course, he had Henrik and Jaromir Jagr, who helped get the team back to the playoffs, even making a run to the Conference Semis where Buffalo ousted them in a close six with those last few seconds of Game Five in which Drury tied it, still a sore spot.

What if he’d had the right personnel out instead of Michael Nylander? The one time Blair Betts should’ve been out and he got burned. Then Maxim Afinogenov wins it in OT and the Sabres put them away at MSG. The next year, they were never beating the Crosby/Malkin Pens as they had just too much skill. Renney had a nice run here. He’s now an assistant to Pat Quinn with a speedy Oiler club that’s slumped lately and should be ready to go.

Had we won last night, I’d have said start Steve Valiquette against his former team. But I doubt Tort will now do that. Especially with the team still in a funk with Calgary Saturday. We’ll see if they can get it in gear tomorrow night.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Andrew Raycroft, (22 saves incl.14/14 in 2nd, GA in last 2 starts)

2nd Star-Mikael Samuelsson, (2 goals incl. PPG, 2 SOG-100 pct., takeaway, +2 in 18:24)

1st Star-Ryan Kesler, (3 assists, 2 SOG, hit, takeaway, blocked shot, 14-9 draws, +1 in 20:27)