138 thoughts on “Rangers 3, Hurricanes 4”

  2. what would some of the posters here do if the Rangers went on a long winning streak? Would they call in phony 3am bomb threats to the Rangers hotels on the road? You guys sound ridiculous. I know it’s not your first season of watching sports, but why do you act like it? Don’t you see that you justify your own complaining by saying “you’re only looking for” something that can’t possibly happen every single night over the course of a whole season? LGR

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  3. Family Guy, we just saw what happened during the long winning streak that ended only recently. They won, but they didn’t win right. I’d say the fan views expressed on this site range from the negative to the far negative. It’s a disease, one I suffer from as well–Mr. Glass comes to mind. I’m trying to think of a single player on the team that isn’t someone’s whipping boy.

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  4. You’re right Family Guy we should all be positive about our beloved Rangers even when they falter. But having a place to vent helps me get the frustration out. Besides if I complain to my wife she will just put her hand on my shoulder and say sorry honey it will be ok.

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  5. I guess we should give them participation awards for being relentless…but it’s wasted energy. The new blog is fun during the day, but on gamenight it’s like dying of thirst, reaching into the fridge and chugging what you learn is sour milk. Not every rush, shift or period is going to be perfect…or needs to be dissected back to the roots of the trades that brought the guys that we traded to bring in the guys that made the mistake on the rush. Guess what, there’s another team out there trying to stop us. I’m not saying the team doesn’t have holes but fer fukk’s sake, stop whining that every single bad bounce is an omen of things to come, no doubt confirming “the (imaginary) feeling” that you had last week about what would soon happen.

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  6. They are banged up but that shouldn’t be used as an excuse for a loss. Neither should losing the coach’s challenge. It should never have come down to that. At least the PP came to life. Pk is really undermanned and it showed in the third. Getting healthy and getting the special teams straightened out are the most important things now.

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  9. Good morning all! It’s a 26th birthday bonanza! Mama love to Manny and Fan!!!
    Also, kind of glad I couldn’t spend my money on seeing the boys last night. Yeesh. Couldn’t even watch end on TV (blackout) but sure sounds like a mess. LGR!

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  10. Some of the regulars can be pretty annoying with their hypercritical posts towards certain players. Sad thing is at least one seems to be very smart with high education and language skills.

    The worst though is the weather guy. When he posts you know its a bad game.

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  12. Up until now I’ve been assuming we’re going to play MTL or the PIT in the 1st round because I figured Columbus would fade.
    I’m starting to think the Rangers could draw Columbus. Not sure how I’d feel about that. Wouldn’t be easy, but certainly a better draw than the Penguins, (especially if Letang is healthy).

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  17. Somebody mentioned awhile back that they felt the Rangers should protect Grabner and not Zucc. At the time I thought it was a bad idea. I have now come around to that thinking. Leave Zucc up protected, and hope Vegas grabs him.

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  18. Zucc is a great mascot and pound for pound our toughest guy. But you can’t keep a guy around for just a great SO goal or one beautiful assist every 15 games. He’s not effective enough at anything else

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  19. @FamilyGuy: One of the reasons why I read and post here is that it is probably the least “negative” NYR blog out there. Sure, there is some negativity when the team (or some players) do not perform as we hope, but that is hardly unusual for fans of any sport. Fans want every play to work out well and can (and do) point out what went wrong, whether it be hockey, football, baseball, etc.

    Yes, we do have some goofy player nicknames, but if anything, the posters here are generally pertty fair in their critiques and rarely resort to a lot of the in the gutter name calling and general attacks on the abilities/professionalism of the players often seen on other blogs. And we do sometimes say somebody did a good job, individually or as a team. Auntie gets high praise most nights and though of late there is criticism of Shampoo Boy, he gets a lot of praise too. But no, you are right its not a board full of ex-cheerleaders either.

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  24. I admit I’m confused by Zucc’s various nominations for whipping boy here. He (and Step) lead in assists, which on a team with no all-stars is no small thing. He has grown increasingly effective in-zone, as noted around the league, though not here of course. He’s an overachiever by any measure, whose notable flaw, in my view, is that he overstays his shifts too often. So by all means expose him if you must, but make sure you have a replacement in mind.

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  25. going back to the “good teams always beat bad teams” argument, as if it is an argument, Washington just lost to Dallas. Pittsburgh recently lost to Dallas and Detroit. The new dynasty in Minnesota lost to the Devils.
    I seem to recall the ’94 Rangers having all sorts of trouble with the infant Panthers & Sharks, not to mention the Isles. Anybody who has watched sports for more than five minutes knows how difficult it can be to get cranked up for an opponent like Carolina, while Carolina is playing its Game 7.

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  32. Norm – I’m not wise enough to think of a specific name to replace Zucc…I know what he offers…but I’d like another north-south player with size who won’t be forced to stay outside the circles in the tournament

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  40. #3 might be Baseball. The great, but intellectually wanting Rickey Henderson played on the ’93 World Champ Toronto Blue Jays along side of John Olerud, who flirted with hitting .400 most of the year. Olerud had undergone brain surgery in college and was allowed to wear a batting helmet in the field. Few years later, they’re both playing for the Mets and Rickey notices Olerud is wearing a helmet in the field. “I played with a guy in Toronto who did that,” Rickey tells him. “That was me” says Olerud.

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  42. leaving Zucc unprotected a bit nuts guys … contributes in multiple areas and one of better players..don’t think AV would sign off on that either

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  44. During the height of Tie-mania, the NY Times Magazine sent a photo crew out to do a portrait of Domi at the Rangers’ practice facility at Playland. Lights, background, cameras, etc.

    Kocur comes off the ice and asks, “What’s going on here?”

    He is told it’s a photo shoot, that a magazine is doing a feature on Domi.

    “National Geographic?,” Kocur asks with a straight face.

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  46. Lake Placid remains at the pinnacle of the Olympic Christmas Tree. True amateurs shocking the world. We won’t see that again (unless the Jamaican bobsled team picks it up a tad in some future dreamworld.)

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  51. Nash – since Jan 1: 25 GP; 5-8-13; 1-1-2 on PP
    Only question is should we resign him for the current $7.8M or give him a raise
    .
    Marc Staal since Jan 1: 20 GP; 0-2-2 (-5)
    Should we extend him?
    .
    NYR record since Jan 1: 17-13; v EC PO Teams; 4-7
    .
    On the positive side
    Oscar is playing great
    Shea is an emerging Offensive D-man star
    JT is a stud muffin
    McD should have a statue in front of MSG
    .
    team will mend injuries but the issue is roster construction, mostly on the back end and the performance by the teams’ highest paid players; Henk, Nash, Step, Staal & Girardi
    .
    LGR!

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  53. Partly because it’s not really the team in the absence of Lundqvist, Nash, Grabner, Fast, Girardi and Klein
    ———————-
    But, Norm. I’ve read a lot of stuff that said Fast, Girardi and Klein are, if not worthless, the closest thing to being worthless. So, wouldn’t their absence be a positive?

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  59. @Cross Check Charlie lol.. trying logic now are we? (Though we all know that Fast is Norm’s nephew otherwise why would he praise him in the face of such negativity)

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  62. Lundqvist, Nash, Grabner, Fast, Girardi and Klein vs. Raanta, Puempel, Pirri, Glass, Kampfer and Smith? Logic? You’ve got an argument Klein vs. Smith (I like Klein better) but the rest of it seems pretty straightforward, no?

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  63. Norm,
    You really think Zucc has been good this year? I am a pretty big Stepan fan, but you have to be realistic about players, Stepan has not had a good season. He may have played his best game in two months last night. Zucc, for the amount he plays and the situations he plays in, has been pretty darn bad. You can give me the assist STAT if you like, but I prefer to see with my own eyes.

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  65. Have to agree with Bulldog on Zucc. I love the little guy, but he hasn’t been consistently effective this year. It’s a shame he and Ziba never seemed to mesh. When we made the trade I thought they would’ve had instant chemistry.

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  66. Zucc does plenty for the eyeballs, BDL, especially if you watch him backcheck, and throw himself at pucks, most recently face-first in the crease behind the saving McD block. A playmaker who’s as responsible as Zucc (or Step) in-zone doesn’t grow on trees. But I utterly reject the notion that stats tell you nothing. True, +/- is of not much interest unless it’s wildly out of skew with team performance (e.g. Vesey) and even then there could be a cluster of coincidences to explain it. Stepan prorates to about his best 82-game numbers, Zucc to about 5 points fewer. And they haven’t done it yet, but if each guy puts in 82 games this year, that’s a big contribution, especially these days as they quietly rack up more wins than they should through the injury phase they’re in. That neither player is a star is of a piece with the rest of the roster, which has no stars other than [the aging] Lundqvist.

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  68. Never said he didn’t try. And didn’t say STATS tell you nothing. Though in this case tell you plenty. 5 goals since November. Now that’s a STAT.

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  70. Just got home from work. I will work on it Family Guy maybe after all these years of disappointments I guess I lost focus on just enjoying the game of hockey. Thanks Norm I feel better already.

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  74. I’m not saying Zucc simply tries. I’m saying he succeeds. I’d like to see more goals from him and from Step, but playmaking counts. And, coos, it’s not true I spend all my money at fancy restaurants. I’ll spend anyone’s.

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  79. I just bought a Jaguars hat at a Sounders game. Or was it a Timberwolves hat at a Timbers game? Anyway, I’m pretty sure I got a hat. I hate it that they’ve legalized pot out here.

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  81. Yes, Norm. My sources are the Boneheads for the latest critique of players like Girardi, Klein and Fast. Where did you think I got my information from? Newspapers? Pfffffft.

    Uh…no offense Carp.

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  84. Good morning Boneheads welcome to Sat. With 14 games remaining it looks pretty good for Kreider to get to 30 goals. Something we all knew he is capable of. Imagine his numbers with a gifted center, I won’t mention any names, and a RW with some size, speed, and the ability to put the put in the net. Make it happen Gorton you can do it, find a way.

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  85. There still seems to be some disappointment in people when discussing Kreider. If he gets to 30 goals he has pretty much met expectations as far as I am concerned. He’s not perfect but no one in the league is. He has done well for a late first round pick and he demonstrates why you can’t continue to give them away chasing the elusive “missing piece” or bright shiny object.

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  96. It would be a sad state of affairs Scottsdale if Lundqvist ends up being the Dan Marino of hockey. Great career no cigar. Cigar goes to Sather!

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  99. General Alexander Haig was spotted by a reporter at a cocktail reception puffing on a very illegal Cuban Cohiba and he asked the General if that might not be considered fraternizing with the enemy. Haig replied: “I rather consider it burning the enemy’s crops to the ground.”

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  108. I like this Rangers team. I think they have good players, none of whom suck. They are having a good season, and are well positioned for a good playoff run if the starting roster gets healthy in time. Let’s Go, Rang… {is hit on the head by a flying bone]

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  111. I just realized how fugged I am in bonehead league with Hank going down. I gave up Patrick Kane for him in a trade a week ago and now he’s down with league playoffs starting next week! Bet Manny and Booby will be happy to see this.

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  113. Here’s hoping Hank gets better soon and that Antti continues his stellar season. But honestly I just don’t want
    to hear how the team is better off going forward with Antti. Hank has been terrific since the Dallas debacle (12-5-1; 2.26;.930) and getting him into playoff form seems really important to me so I hope it’s 2 weeks and not 3. I love Annti but I think we are better off in Round 1 with our Hall of Famer in the net.

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  115. Raanta is a better option. Raanta is a better option. Raanta is a better option. Raanta is a better option. Raanta is a better option.

    Enough talk of it? 🙂

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  125. If a coach pulls his goaltender late in a game to get an offensive advantage and then is scored upon, why does he inevitably put the goalie back in the game instead of continuing to go all out? Afraid of losing 6-3 instead of 5-3?

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  136. Long time reader, first time poster….
    Brooks must still be reading my posts and using them in his articles again…this time buying out staal instead of Girardi
    –
    When all forwards are healthy, it would not shock me in the least to see glass playing and buch sitting (not what I’d do) 90% of the playoff games or more.
    –
    The system the sens play seems to me to be one of the worst matchups for the rangers out there (pens or leaves seems the best possible matchup to me).
    –
    That mtl loss by the rangers was one of the most embarrassing losses I’ve seen a ranger team have in a long time, doesn’t surprise me at all that glass was called up after. Only time in a long long time I’d actually say they were run out of the building.
    –
    Speaking of glass, is someone checking on Norm hourly? No shoe laces, no hoodie strings, no belt for him right?!

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