*Why is it that Callahan takes punches after the whistle, and Prucha gets boarded and yet no Cap is taken out in retribution? Speaking of Pru, when he goes out with an injury, you know its bad. As bad as he has been, he still gives maximum effort so his loss will hurt. *Seeing Tom Poti still makes me angry, and seeing him skate through the Rangers in the first period (only to blow the shot) made me sick to my stomach. I'm still hoping to get his autograph someday - "Dear Scott, I hate you too, love, Tom Poti."
*Renney says the Rangers take too many penalties, especially early, so what happens? They take an early penalty then their usually tough penalty kill falls apart, leaving a loose puck for Ovie, the best player in the NHL. Not SMRT.*Watching Ovie play is an utter delight. He loves to play, he gets his nose dirty, and - oh yeah - he is really, really good. I wish we had a superstar on our team.
*I will meet some opposition on this one but I think Hollweg had a solid game. That call in the last minute was courtesty of some good acting by Mike Green so don't even throw that back up. Hollweg hit, was solid in the Rangers end, and even earned himself a few scoring chances.
*Interesting comparison: Vally vs Ollie the Goalie. Ollie is showing his age (that second goal was weak, great for the Rangers, but weak), while Vally is looking good playing the same type of stand-up/hybrid goaltending style to solid results. *Interesting thought: why not try Blair Betts on the point on the power play? He can move the puck well and is exceptional defensively. Just a thought ... it isn't like our power play can get much worse, it went 0-6 today.
*Donald Brashear is an animal. He gives tough guys a bad name in the NHL. What a goon.
*How soon until the Garden faithful boo Jagr the way the MCI crowd does every time he touches the puck? In all seriousness, Jagr was actually pretty good defensively in this game. He just has no confidence in his shot. Washington doesn't have a big, good defenseman to hound him all game, he should have capitalized (pun intended).
*Why is it that while the Jagr power play unit has been positively useless of late, that Renney puts them on the ice with the game even at two with five minutes left in the game? And just the same, with just over a minute left in a tie game, why is the fourth line on? Are we that desperate for points? Nevermind, we are ...
*Say what you want, but I don't think that losing this game was a backbreaker. When we miss the playoffs, all of the losses to the Western Conference teams will be the real reason why. Going 0-7-2 with one to go is inexcusable, especially when you consider that Los Angeles, Phoenix and Edmonton are included in that.
*Jarkko Ruutu fought Steve Downie in the Flyers/Pens game ... there is just no one you can root for in that battle of dirty players. The Rangers fought in the Montreal, Anaheim and Philly games and walked away with two wins (they probably could have gotten the Ducks if Hank wasn't so terrible). So why didn't they play with the same physical edge against Washington? Fear of getting penalties? Yeah, that worked ...
*PHW Three Stars
3-Sean Avery - one goal.
2-Boyd Gordon - one goal.
1-Ollie the Goalie - 31 saves.
Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Cally - Best Ranger on the ice, Cally looked like the catalyst he was when he first came up last year.
2-Mike Green - I'm giving him a star because I can't award an Oscar. When Hollweg came near him he went down like a ton of bricks and earned the power play that won the game. Why can't Jagr learn from him??
1-Ovie - I said it before, I'll say it again, best player in the league, by far.
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