make it six, i could use the money... but five would be stress free..
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Watch out for Exelby and Bolton with there head shots, late hits, there a dirty team, but i hope Avery can bait them into stupid penalties, so i hope your predictions of Rangers in 5 or 6 games is correct.
London 2005
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
also - speaking from markets standpoint, the schedule sucks . Why are all 3 NY Metro area teams , starting their series all on the same night , all within an hour of each other ?
by thursday night at 8:10 PM, all 3 of these NY area teams will be underway , & thats just fucking stupid , IMO .
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
also - speaking from markets standpoint, the schedule sucks . Why are all 3 NY Metro area teams , starting their series all on the same night , all within an hour of each other ?
by thursday night at 8:10 PM, all 3 of these NY area teams will be underway , & thats just fucking stupid , IMO .
best of five, it's been that way since like 1986. you might be confusing this with the NBA which only recently made the first round best of seven
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
even moreso of a reason to spread them out, offset these fucking games, schedule creator.
:rolleyes:
edit : mindfart
nevermind.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
i'll be at all the home games, you know where to find me.. stop by and say hello..
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Hi everyone. Sorry to interrupt the general euphoria around these parts concerning the clinching of a playoff berth by our boys in Blue, and their attempt to lock down the 6th seed tonight. But I have to straighten something out with the complete cockwad that sits next to me at MSG, to avoid any uncomfortable moments during the first home playoff game. So unless you’re him, please feel free to ignore the following invective, and continue with your regularly scheduled celebration. Some of the details have been changed to protect the privacy of the douche-bag-i-ous.
Dear fellow Section 341 season ticket holder:
Listen, man, I hate to break this to you, but you really are a fucking douche. In the worst way.
You represent the worst of the stereotypical New York sports fan - loud, fat, smelly, aggressively obnoxious, decked out in team gear that is about three sizes too small, and, ironically, completely ignorant about the team you boastfully announce your allegiance to. You have a greasy pony tail and shitty teeth, and you wear the same Messier away jersey to every single game. Has it even been washed since Mess retired? Hmm?
Here are the nuggets of wisdom that you have subjected me, and everyone in our section to, over the course of the season: Come on. Hit these guys. Clear the puck. Shoot. And my personal favorite? Skate. SKATE. You actually scream, SKATE. You once told a Devil fan to go back to the Mausoleum.
You shout these insightful criticisms repeatedly and at the top of your lungs all game, presumably to a) show everyone what an intelligent fan you are, and b) to show how passionate you are in said fandom. As noted above, you are but merely a douche.
Now, normally, I would say that complaining about loud fans at a sporting event makes me sound like a complete pussy. The other night, however, you really outdid yourself, when a father with his daughter, not older than 3, decided to return to his seat during game play. I personally find this phenomenon to be pretty annoying myself. But you decided to voice your displeasure by screaming at him, for all to hear, that you would “kick his fucking ass” if he did that again. Did that make you feel good, tough guy? To curse out and threaten someone who looked like he just walked out of a Mormon Church service, in front of his infant child?
And dude, seriously, please STOP SLURPING WHEN YOU DRINK. Is it that hard to extract liquids from a plastic cup without sounding like you just got back from wandering the Sahara?
So needless to say, the polite conversation I sometimes engage in with you is over. I used to give you high fives after goals, because hey, it’s fun when the Rangers score. No more. I will also no longer celebrate victories with you. I saw you the other day, looking over at me longingly, wanting to bask in the glory of the newly-clinched playoff berth with your section mates. I was ignoring you. Intentionally.
And I will definitely not, under any circumstances, give you an elated hug of joy, should the Rangers make it all the way and win Lord Stanley’s Cup, as perfect strangers at sporting events whose teams win a championship are sometimes inclined to do. Not for a series clincher, nothing. Maybe you should talk to the guy in the row in front of us who shouts, “You suck, Malik!” during pregame warm-ups. He seems more your type. Namely, a douche.
Best regards,
XXXXXXX
:eek:
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
If the playoffs are all about defense, then it's appropriate for us to peek at which netminders were the hottest ones down the stretch. Here are the best performances since the All-Star break.
Let's begin with a look at which backstops shouldered the heaviest burdens.
GOALTENDER WORKLOAD
Since All-Star Break
Minutes On Ice
1,964 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
1,919 NJD Martin Brodeur
1,890 VAN Roberto Luongo
1,842 CGY Miikka Kiprusoff
1,821 TOR Andrew Raycroft
1,692 PIT Marc-Andre Fleury
1,687 FLA Ed Belfour
1,635 COL Peter Budaj
1,586 BOS Tim Thomas
1,550 ATL Kari Lehtonen
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur is the circuit's top pack mule just about every year. And he would have otherwise led this chart as well except for Tom Renney's reliance upon sophomore Henrik Lundqvist to propel New York from the Eastern Conference's nether-rungs to sixth seed o'er the final twelve weeks.
But simply standing in the crease is no gauge of a keeper's value to his club.
SHUTOUTS
Since All-Star Break
5 MIN Niklas Backstrom
4 SJS Evgeni Nabokov
4 NJD Martin Brodeur
4 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
3 NSH Tomas Vokoun
3 PIT Marc-Andre Fleury
2 DET Dominik Hasek
2 PHX Curtis Joseph
2 DAL Marty Turco
2 BOS Tim Thomas
2 COL Peter Budaj
2 VAN Roberto Luongo
This is also a category often dominated by Brodeur, who plays behind a rearguard and backchecking flankers renowned for denying their own slot to enemy attackers.
Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire brought New Jersey's stingy ways to Minnesota, so it's no surprise to see Niklas Backstrom atop the goose-egg gang.
That said, the quintessential measure of a goalkeep is his GAA. And when it counted, Gotham's King Henrik bested all rivals.
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
1.80 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
1.86 MIN Niklas Backstrom
2.07 DET Dominik Hasek
2.16 VAN Roberto Luongo
2.19 DAL Marty Turco
2.31 SJS Evgeni Nabokov
2.31 NSH Tomas Vokoun
2.37 ANA Jean-Sebastien Giguere
2.39 NYI Rick DiPietro
2.44 NJD Martin Brodeur
So dominant was the Swede since Christmas that he climbed from 31st into 9th position on the year's best performances (1200 minutes, minimum - not shown here).
An Islander and an ex-Islander join the ranks of the best save percentages since January 24. Rick DiPietro replaced Roberto Luongo in the Uniondale crease and delivered an identical save percentage this spring.
SAVE PERCENTAGE
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
.934 1-in-15.1 NYR Lundqvist
.931 1-in-14.6 MIN Backstrom
.925 1-in-13.4 VAN Luongo
.925 1-in-13.4 NYI DiPietro
.923 1-in-13.0 NSH Vokoun
.916 1-in-11.9 OTT Emery
.916 1-in-11.9 DET Hasek
.913 1-in-11.5 CBJ Norrena
.912 1-in-11.4 NJD Brodeur
.912 1-in-11.4 CGY Kiprusoff
Now the problem with comparing "save percentages" is that higher figures are disproportionately more difficult to achieve. So this chart contains an extra column to help you to visualize just how much better .934 is than, say Tomas Vokoun's .923.
The Ranger allowed just one goal every 15.1 shots on net, while the Predator yielded one every 13.0. This is no trifling statistic. It means that Nashville skaters must block an extra four shots per game just to help Vokoun match Lundqvist's filtering effectiveness.
We'll wrap up with a look at a metric roughly equivalent to baseball's "quality start". But this one is incrementally more aggressive. I call it "win potential" and it's the fraction of games in which the goalie gives his club a likelihood of winning by allowing two goals or fewer in a performance of at least fifty minutes.
WIN POTENTIAL
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
QS ST PCT
24 31 77% NYR Lundqvist
17 23 74% MIN Backstrom
15 23 65% NYI DiPietro
14 22 64% CBJ Norrena
12 19 63% DET Hasek
13 21 62% DAL Turco
11 18 61% TBL Holmqvist
14 23 61% SJS Nabokov
16 27 59% TOR Raycroft
13 22 59% ANA Giguere
18 31 58% VAN Luongo
17 31 55% NJD Brodeur
13 24 54% NSH Vokoun
16 30 53% CGY Kiprusoff
14 27 52% FLA Belfour
11 22 50% OTT Emery
QS times allowed two-or-fewer goals
ST starts (minimum fifty minutes)
This table is among the most important predictors of playoff success because the dearth of fouls called in the postseason leads to overall lower scoring. Therefore, if you expect your team to win when potting a modest three goals, your defense must limit the other guys to two!
Both Brodeur and Lundqvist completed 31 games since the break. But Marty allowed three goals (or more) seven extra times for three more losses than his cross-river rival.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Henrik Lundqvist was not selected to play in the NHL Young Stars game during the All-Star break. Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen was, despite similar stats for this season as Lundqvist and inferior career stats over similar lengths of time. Maybe that was because Lundqvist, a year and a half older than Lehtonen, was not considered "young" anymore at age 25. Maybe that was because Lundqvist got off to a shaky start to his season as he came back from late season injuries sustained last spring. But as the two teams go into their playoff series, beginning Thursday night in Atlanta, Lundqvist has the hot hand, having improved to ninth in the leage in goals against average (compared to Lehtonen at #25) and tenth in save percentage (Lehtonen #14) -- again, despite his rocky start that set him way back early in the numbers race.
Since that Young Stars game, Lundqvist has led the NHL in minutes played, GAA, and save percentage, as Hockey Rodent demonstrates at FoxSports.com and at his own web site. That would probably hold true, or close to it, if you extended the analysis back to the start of the year -- Lundqvist has gone 24-11-5 since December 30th, giving up only 77 goals in his 42 appearances (less than two goals per game) while Lehtonen has gone 15-18-3 during that same span, giving up 102 goals in his 36 games (nearly three per game). Lundqvist is 8-1-1 in his last ten decisions, having given up only 14 goals in those games. Lehtonen is 4-5-1 with a GAA around 2.75 in his last ten. All other things equal, the Rangers go into the playoffs with the league's best goalie in calendar year 2007. And he's healthy this time around (see the Daily News).
But Atlanta has some talented forwards that Lundqvist and the Rangers' suspect defense will have to hold at bay (see the Journal News). One of those forwards is Marian Hossa, the 100-point scorer who will face his brother Marcel (see the AJC). Marcel is expected to make his return from a knee injury in Game 1 on a line with Jaromir Jagr. Also noteworthy will be the Rangers facing Bobby Holik, who didn't make the playoffs in his two seasons as a Ranger before the lockout (see the Post). Series preview at ESPN.com. In the minors, Hartford rebounded from its post-clinching slide with Jarkko Immonen netting a hat trick, all three goals assisted by Nigel Dawes. An already tired Charlotte team begin their playoffs with three games in three nights.
So how about those three-point games? The Islanders are in the playoffs despite coming out on the short end of twelve of those games, yet they are in the playoffs because of those extra points -- Montreal, Toronto, and Carolina have the same number of wins, or more, but they lost more games in regulation. But the real difference is not overtime or shootout losses, it is overtime and shootout wins -- Tampa Bay went 15-5 in such games, the Isles 10-12, compared to Carolina (6-8), Montreal (8-6), and Toronto (8-11). If regulation wins were worth three points, Montreal and Toronto would be in, Tampa and the Isles would be out, and the defending champion Hurricanes would have ended up tied with the Isles in points. Last season, if all games carried equal weight (three points, with regulation wins worth more than extra time wins), the Rangers would have faced the Flyers in the opening round rather than the Devils.
But hey, that's the way it goes -- instead of enjoying the Ice Girls failing to make the playoffs altogether, you get to enjoy them facing Buffalo in the first round.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
If the playoffs are all about defense, then it's appropriate for us to peek at which netminders were the hottest ones down the stretch. Here are the best performances since the All-Star break.
Let's begin with a look at which backstops shouldered the heaviest burdens.
GOALTENDER WORKLOAD
Since All-Star Break
Minutes On Ice
1,964 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
1,919 NJD Martin Brodeur
1,890 VAN Roberto Luongo
1,842 CGY Miikka Kiprusoff
1,821 TOR Andrew Raycroft
1,692 PIT Marc-Andre Fleury
1,687 FLA Ed Belfour
1,635 COL Peter Budaj
1,586 BOS Tim Thomas
1,550 ATL Kari Lehtonen
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur is the circuit's top pack mule just about every year. And he would have otherwise led this chart as well except for Tom Renney's reliance upon sophomore Henrik Lundqvist to propel New York from the Eastern Conference's nether-rungs to sixth seed o'er the final twelve weeks.
But simply standing in the crease is no gauge of a keeper's value to his club.
SHUTOUTS
Since All-Star Break
5 MIN Niklas Backstrom
4 SJS Evgeni Nabokov
4 NJD Martin Brodeur
4 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
3 NSH Tomas Vokoun
3 PIT Marc-Andre Fleury
2 DET Dominik Hasek
2 PHX Curtis Joseph
2 DAL Marty Turco
2 BOS Tim Thomas
2 COL Peter Budaj
2 VAN Roberto Luongo
This is also a category often dominated by Brodeur, who plays behind a rearguard and backchecking flankers renowned for denying their own slot to enemy attackers.
Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire brought New Jersey's stingy ways to Minnesota, so it's no surprise to see Niklas Backstrom atop the goose-egg gang.
That said, the quintessential measure of a goalkeep is his GAA. And when it counted, Gotham's King Henrik bested all rivals.
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
1.80 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
1.86 MIN Niklas Backstrom
2.07 DET Dominik Hasek
2.16 VAN Roberto Luongo
2.19 DAL Marty Turco
2.31 SJS Evgeni Nabokov
2.31 NSH Tomas Vokoun
2.37 ANA Jean-Sebastien Giguere
2.39 NYI Rick DiPietro
2.44 NJD Martin Brodeur
So dominant was the Swede since Christmas that he climbed from 31st into 9th position on the year's best performances (1200 minutes, minimum - not shown here).
An Islander and an ex-Islander join the ranks of the best save percentages since January 24. Rick DiPietro replaced Roberto Luongo in the Uniondale crease and delivered an identical save percentage this spring.
SAVE PERCENTAGE
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
.934 1-in-15.1 NYR Lundqvist
.931 1-in-14.6 MIN Backstrom
.925 1-in-13.4 VAN Luongo
.925 1-in-13.4 NYI DiPietro
.923 1-in-13.0 NSH Vokoun
.916 1-in-11.9 OTT Emery
.916 1-in-11.9 DET Hasek
.913 1-in-11.5 CBJ Norrena
.912 1-in-11.4 NJD Brodeur
.912 1-in-11.4 CGY Kiprusoff
Now the problem with comparing "save percentages" is that higher figures are disproportionately more difficult to achieve. So this chart contains an extra column to help you to visualize just how much better .934 is than, say Tomas Vokoun's .923.
The Ranger allowed just one goal every 15.1 shots on net, while the Predator yielded one every 13.0. This is no trifling statistic. It means that Nashville skaters must block an extra four shots per game just to help Vokoun match Lundqvist's filtering effectiveness.
We'll wrap up with a look at a metric roughly equivalent to baseball's "quality start". But this one is incrementally more aggressive. I call it "win potential" and it's the fraction of games in which the goalie gives his club a likelihood of winning by allowing two goals or fewer in a performance of at least fifty minutes.
WIN POTENTIAL
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
QS ST PCT
24 31 77% NYR Lundqvist
17 23 74% MIN Backstrom
15 23 65% NYI DiPietro
14 22 64% CBJ Norrena
12 19 63% DET Hasek
13 21 62% DAL Turco
11 18 61% TBL Holmqvist
14 23 61% SJS Nabokov
16 27 59% TOR Raycroft
13 22 59% ANA Giguere
18 31 58% VAN Luongo
17 31 55% NJD Brodeur
13 24 54% NSH Vokoun
16 30 53% CGY Kiprusoff
14 27 52% FLA Belfour
11 22 50% OTT Emery
QS times allowed two-or-fewer goals
ST starts (minimum fifty minutes)
This table is among the most important predictors of playoff success because the dearth of fouls called in the postseason leads to overall lower scoring. Therefore, if you expect your team to win when potting a modest three goals, your defense must limit the other guys to two!
Both Brodeur and Lundqvist completed 31 games since the break. But Marty allowed three goals (or more) seven extra times for three more losses than his cross-river rival.
As much as I am banking on NYR for a first round playoff win. At the least. I still like Kipper for Cal and Giggie in Ana as the goalies this playoff. Well from the where are they in the columns post of yours.
Henrik has been stellar in the last months, which is why as a Thrashers fan, I don't want to be playing NYR. However, we have had good games with them so far this year and the Rangers aren't Tampa or Marty B., so I'm glad we're playing them. Should be a solid series. I'm not going to talk shit or anything before or after, but I'm looking forward to a good matchup.
and the Rangers aren't Tampa or Marty B., so I'm glad we're playing them.
put that on the dressing room wall
That's not knocking them, just more knocking the Thrashers lack of success against ethier of those entities. Tampa has always mopped the floor with Atlanta in the last 2 seasons, and nobody would want to face the active goalie with the most Cup rings.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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all i gotta say bout this is good for the person whoever wrote this. this is funny and also very true cause theres always one asshole like this at every arena
Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
Let's see: Hossa? Check. Back on the top line with Nylander and Jagr, in fact.
Rachunek? Check. Still wearing a yellow no contact jersey. But looking close to a return to the lineup nevertheless.
Even Jason Strudwick was out there, though he's ineligible for the playoffs.
So who was missing? Oh yeah, Henrik Lundqvist.
No need to panic, though. Lundqvist merely was taking an extra day off today to get rid of the final remnants of a cold that had bothered him all weekend. The franchise goaltender, who crumbled late last season and in the playoffs because of a hip flexor strain and migraine headaches, is expected to practice tomorrow and be ready to go in Game 1 at Atlanta Thursday night.
* * *
Judging by today's line combinations, Brad Isbister will be scratched from the Game 1 lineup. While Marcel Hossa replaced him on the Nylander-Jagr line and is expected to return from missing five weeks with a sprained knee, Isbister took his line-rush turns by periodically subbing for Sean Avery, Martin Straka and Brendan Shanahan. Those three figure to remain together for Game 1, as will the Ryan Callahan-Matt Cullen-Petr Prucha and Ryan Hollweg-Blair Betts-Jed Ortmeyer trios.
By the way, Rangers PR guru John Rosasco took the first initials of the three high-octane forwards and came up with this moniker for the speedy Cullen line: RPM. While I'd jump on that with both feet if Prucha played center and Cullen right wing, it's too clever and aptly-descriptive to reject. So I'm going with it.
Not as meticulous as my HMO and HBO lines, both of which work from left to right. But a strong contribution nevertheless.
* * *
Tom Renney was asked what he had personally learned from his initial experience as an NHL playoff coach last spring. And the ever candid and self-effacing Renney said: "I think coaches can be real guilty of overpreparing.
"Maybe the circumstances last year would have forced anybody to do that. But we were very thorough, very complete in everything we did. I'm not suggesting to a stand-still. But we had a lot of information. We felt we had to do that because of the nature of the way we had played down the stretch and that we had to touch bases on all of those things.
"We've placed the same value on all of those things this year. But we've created some momentum for ourselves to the point where, as a coaching staff, we feel we have our heads around certain points of our game that we don't need to spend as much time on.
"So I think, maybe what it is as much as anything is budgeting your time as a coach and a coaching staff on the appropriate things and just being efficient in that framework."
In other words, with much more of their game in order going into these playoffs, Renney believes he can hammer home a few points rather than overloading his players with a comprehensive review of everything.
* * *
Renney said D Karel Rachunek would not be ready for Game 1, but should be able to play in the series. Rachunek has been out since March 13 with a sprained knee.
"He's a little bit ahead of schedule," Renney said. "He's probably a little bit beyond the opening of this series. But I wouldn't be surprised to see him in it."
* * *
Frantisek Hossa attended practice, watching his younger son Marcel before he and his wife headed off to Atlanta to watch older son Marian practice today and then take in Games 1 and 2. Both sons played for Papa Hossa when he was the head coach of Slovakia at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
It was Frantisek Hossa's use of Marcel as a penalty-killer in Turin, in fact, that got Tom Renney intrigued about using him that way late last season.
* * *
Having carved himself a niche on the Rangers' blue line while also becoming convinced that he's a part of the team's future plans, D Thomas Pock recently agreed to a two-year contract that will pay him $650,000 next season and $685,000 in 2008-09.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
2 1/2 days kiddies,, till i have a nervous breakdown
LET'S GO RANGER'S!!!!!!
why u so nervous for, at least u dont have to play the slugs and there pp.this high we have been on is gonna end thursday night unless dubi plays really good again
Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
Comments
Thursday, April 12 7:00 p.m. NY Rangers at Atlanta TSN
Saturday, April, 14 3:00 p.m. NY Rangers at Atlanta NBC, TSN
Tuesday, April, 17 7:00 p.m. Atlanta at NY Rangers TSN
Wednesday, April, 18 7:00 p.m. Atlanta at NY Rangers TSN
* Friday, April, 20 TBD NY Rangers at Atlanta TSN
* Sunday, April 22 1:00 p.m. Atlanta at NY Rangers NBC, TSN
* Monday, April, 23 7:00 p.m. NY Rangers at Atlanta VERSUS, TSN
Edit: I'm leaving Prucha out. Good idea or not?
bad idea goals in last 2 games
playing his best hockey of the year imo
checking everyone and terrific forechecking
Jagr, Nylander, Straka, Shanahan, Avery, Rozsival, Cullen........Who should I leave out to put Prucha in? Stritly points, points, points..........
Thanking you for the input ahead of time.
needless to say i hope everyone scores
based on the fact that he is a defenseman i would say rozival
although he does get pp time ,so he has potential to score
plus atlanta's pk is like 27th so hopefully we can exploit that
were winning in 5
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
they re-did this ?
also - speaking from markets standpoint, the schedule sucks . Why are all 3 NY Metro area teams , starting their series all on the same night , all within an hour of each other ?
by thursday night at 8:10 PM, all 3 of these NY area teams will be underway , & thats just fucking stupid , IMO .
[size=+3] - _/ _/ _/ Lets Go Rangers \_ \_ \_ - [/size]
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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http://www.UNOS.org
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it hasn't been 3 out of 5 in awhile dude lol
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
even moreso of a reason to spread them out, offset these fucking games, schedule creator.
:rolleyes:
edit : mindfart
nevermind.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
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Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
RangerLand
:eek:
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
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Let's begin with a look at which backstops shouldered the heaviest burdens.
GOALTENDER WORKLOAD
Since All-Star Break
Minutes On Ice
1,964 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
1,919 NJD Martin Brodeur
1,890 VAN Roberto Luongo
1,842 CGY Miikka Kiprusoff
1,821 TOR Andrew Raycroft
1,692 PIT Marc-Andre Fleury
1,687 FLA Ed Belfour
1,635 COL Peter Budaj
1,586 BOS Tim Thomas
1,550 ATL Kari Lehtonen
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur is the circuit's top pack mule just about every year. And he would have otherwise led this chart as well except for Tom Renney's reliance upon sophomore Henrik Lundqvist to propel New York from the Eastern Conference's nether-rungs to sixth seed o'er the final twelve weeks.
But simply standing in the crease is no gauge of a keeper's value to his club.
SHUTOUTS
Since All-Star Break
5 MIN Niklas Backstrom
4 SJS Evgeni Nabokov
4 NJD Martin Brodeur
4 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
3 NSH Tomas Vokoun
3 PIT Marc-Andre Fleury
2 DET Dominik Hasek
2 PHX Curtis Joseph
2 DAL Marty Turco
2 BOS Tim Thomas
2 COL Peter Budaj
2 VAN Roberto Luongo
This is also a category often dominated by Brodeur, who plays behind a rearguard and backchecking flankers renowned for denying their own slot to enemy attackers.
Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire brought New Jersey's stingy ways to Minnesota, so it's no surprise to see Niklas Backstrom atop the goose-egg gang.
That said, the quintessential measure of a goalkeep is his GAA. And when it counted, Gotham's King Henrik bested all rivals.
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
1.80 NYR Henrik Lundqvist
1.86 MIN Niklas Backstrom
2.07 DET Dominik Hasek
2.16 VAN Roberto Luongo
2.19 DAL Marty Turco
2.31 SJS Evgeni Nabokov
2.31 NSH Tomas Vokoun
2.37 ANA Jean-Sebastien Giguere
2.39 NYI Rick DiPietro
2.44 NJD Martin Brodeur
So dominant was the Swede since Christmas that he climbed from 31st into 9th position on the year's best performances (1200 minutes, minimum - not shown here).
An Islander and an ex-Islander join the ranks of the best save percentages since January 24. Rick DiPietro replaced Roberto Luongo in the Uniondale crease and delivered an identical save percentage this spring.
SAVE PERCENTAGE
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
.934 1-in-15.1 NYR Lundqvist
.931 1-in-14.6 MIN Backstrom
.925 1-in-13.4 VAN Luongo
.925 1-in-13.4 NYI DiPietro
.923 1-in-13.0 NSH Vokoun
.916 1-in-11.9 OTT Emery
.916 1-in-11.9 DET Hasek
.913 1-in-11.5 CBJ Norrena
.912 1-in-11.4 NJD Brodeur
.912 1-in-11.4 CGY Kiprusoff
Now the problem with comparing "save percentages" is that higher figures are disproportionately more difficult to achieve. So this chart contains an extra column to help you to visualize just how much better .934 is than, say Tomas Vokoun's .923.
The Ranger allowed just one goal every 15.1 shots on net, while the Predator yielded one every 13.0. This is no trifling statistic. It means that Nashville skaters must block an extra four shots per game just to help Vokoun match Lundqvist's filtering effectiveness.
We'll wrap up with a look at a metric roughly equivalent to baseball's "quality start". But this one is incrementally more aggressive. I call it "win potential" and it's the fraction of games in which the goalie gives his club a likelihood of winning by allowing two goals or fewer in a performance of at least fifty minutes.
WIN POTENTIAL
Since All-Star Break
Minimum 800 Minutes
QS ST PCT
24 31 77% NYR Lundqvist
17 23 74% MIN Backstrom
15 23 65% NYI DiPietro
14 22 64% CBJ Norrena
12 19 63% DET Hasek
13 21 62% DAL Turco
11 18 61% TBL Holmqvist
14 23 61% SJS Nabokov
16 27 59% TOR Raycroft
13 22 59% ANA Giguere
18 31 58% VAN Luongo
17 31 55% NJD Brodeur
13 24 54% NSH Vokoun
16 30 53% CGY Kiprusoff
14 27 52% FLA Belfour
11 22 50% OTT Emery
QS times allowed two-or-fewer goals
ST starts (minimum fifty minutes)
This table is among the most important predictors of playoff success because the dearth of fouls called in the postseason leads to overall lower scoring. Therefore, if you expect your team to win when potting a modest three goals, your defense must limit the other guys to two!
Both Brodeur and Lundqvist completed 31 games since the break. But Marty allowed three goals (or more) seven extra times for three more losses than his cross-river rival.
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Blueshirt Bulletin
April 09, 2007
Net Asset
Henrik Lundqvist was not selected to play in the NHL Young Stars game during the All-Star break. Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen was, despite similar stats for this season as Lundqvist and inferior career stats over similar lengths of time. Maybe that was because Lundqvist, a year and a half older than Lehtonen, was not considered "young" anymore at age 25. Maybe that was because Lundqvist got off to a shaky start to his season as he came back from late season injuries sustained last spring. But as the two teams go into their playoff series, beginning Thursday night in Atlanta, Lundqvist has the hot hand, having improved to ninth in the leage in goals against average (compared to Lehtonen at #25) and tenth in save percentage (Lehtonen #14) -- again, despite his rocky start that set him way back early in the numbers race.
Since that Young Stars game, Lundqvist has led the NHL in minutes played, GAA, and save percentage, as Hockey Rodent demonstrates at FoxSports.com and at his own web site. That would probably hold true, or close to it, if you extended the analysis back to the start of the year -- Lundqvist has gone 24-11-5 since December 30th, giving up only 77 goals in his 42 appearances (less than two goals per game) while Lehtonen has gone 15-18-3 during that same span, giving up 102 goals in his 36 games (nearly three per game). Lundqvist is 8-1-1 in his last ten decisions, having given up only 14 goals in those games. Lehtonen is 4-5-1 with a GAA around 2.75 in his last ten. All other things equal, the Rangers go into the playoffs with the league's best goalie in calendar year 2007. And he's healthy this time around (see the Daily News).
But Atlanta has some talented forwards that Lundqvist and the Rangers' suspect defense will have to hold at bay (see the Journal News). One of those forwards is Marian Hossa, the 100-point scorer who will face his brother Marcel (see the AJC). Marcel is expected to make his return from a knee injury in Game 1 on a line with Jaromir Jagr. Also noteworthy will be the Rangers facing Bobby Holik, who didn't make the playoffs in his two seasons as a Ranger before the lockout (see the Post). Series preview at ESPN.com. In the minors, Hartford rebounded from its post-clinching slide with Jarkko Immonen netting a hat trick, all three goals assisted by Nigel Dawes. An already tired Charlotte team begin their playoffs with three games in three nights.
So how about those three-point games? The Islanders are in the playoffs despite coming out on the short end of twelve of those games, yet they are in the playoffs because of those extra points -- Montreal, Toronto, and Carolina have the same number of wins, or more, but they lost more games in regulation. But the real difference is not overtime or shootout losses, it is overtime and shootout wins -- Tampa Bay went 15-5 in such games, the Isles 10-12, compared to Carolina (6-8), Montreal (8-6), and Toronto (8-11). If regulation wins were worth three points, Montreal and Toronto would be in, Tampa and the Isles would be out, and the defending champion Hurricanes would have ended up tied with the Isles in points. Last season, if all games carried equal weight (three points, with regulation wins worth more than extra time wins), the Rangers would have faced the Flyers in the opening round rather than the Devils.
But hey, that's the way it goes -- instead of enjoying the Ice Girls failing to make the playoffs altogether, you get to enjoy them facing Buffalo in the first round.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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As much as I am banking on NYR for a first round playoff win. At the least. I still like Kipper for Cal and Giggie in Ana as the goalies this playoff. Well from the where are they in the columns post of yours.
Hey Wednesday. Get here already!!!
put that on the dressing room wall
That's not knocking them, just more knocking the Thrashers lack of success against ethier of those entities. Tampa has always mopped the floor with Atlanta in the last 2 seasons, and nobody would want to face the active goalie with the most Cup rings.
should be a good series-
im not really looking forward to seeing bobby holik, or ilya kovalchuk, but i think we can rattle lehtonen, before henrik gets rattled.
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That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
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Donate Organs and Save a Life
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
LET'S GO RANGER'S!!!!!!
Cold Keeps Lundqvist from Practice
Let's see: Hossa? Check. Back on the top line with Nylander and Jagr, in fact.
Rachunek? Check. Still wearing a yellow no contact jersey. But looking close to a return to the lineup nevertheless.
Even Jason Strudwick was out there, though he's ineligible for the playoffs.
So who was missing? Oh yeah, Henrik Lundqvist.
No need to panic, though. Lundqvist merely was taking an extra day off today to get rid of the final remnants of a cold that had bothered him all weekend. The franchise goaltender, who crumbled late last season and in the playoffs because of a hip flexor strain and migraine headaches, is expected to practice tomorrow and be ready to go in Game 1 at Atlanta Thursday night.
* * *
Judging by today's line combinations, Brad Isbister will be scratched from the Game 1 lineup. While Marcel Hossa replaced him on the Nylander-Jagr line and is expected to return from missing five weeks with a sprained knee, Isbister took his line-rush turns by periodically subbing for Sean Avery, Martin Straka and Brendan Shanahan. Those three figure to remain together for Game 1, as will the Ryan Callahan-Matt Cullen-Petr Prucha and Ryan Hollweg-Blair Betts-Jed Ortmeyer trios.
By the way, Rangers PR guru John Rosasco took the first initials of the three high-octane forwards and came up with this moniker for the speedy Cullen line: RPM. While I'd jump on that with both feet if Prucha played center and Cullen right wing, it's too clever and aptly-descriptive to reject. So I'm going with it.
Not as meticulous as my HMO and HBO lines, both of which work from left to right. But a strong contribution nevertheless.
* * *
Tom Renney was asked what he had personally learned from his initial experience as an NHL playoff coach last spring. And the ever candid and self-effacing Renney said: "I think coaches can be real guilty of overpreparing.
"Maybe the circumstances last year would have forced anybody to do that. But we were very thorough, very complete in everything we did. I'm not suggesting to a stand-still. But we had a lot of information. We felt we had to do that because of the nature of the way we had played down the stretch and that we had to touch bases on all of those things.
"We've placed the same value on all of those things this year. But we've created some momentum for ourselves to the point where, as a coaching staff, we feel we have our heads around certain points of our game that we don't need to spend as much time on.
"So I think, maybe what it is as much as anything is budgeting your time as a coach and a coaching staff on the appropriate things and just being efficient in that framework."
In other words, with much more of their game in order going into these playoffs, Renney believes he can hammer home a few points rather than overloading his players with a comprehensive review of everything.
* * *
Renney said D Karel Rachunek would not be ready for Game 1, but should be able to play in the series. Rachunek has been out since March 13 with a sprained knee.
"He's a little bit ahead of schedule," Renney said. "He's probably a little bit beyond the opening of this series. But I wouldn't be surprised to see him in it."
* * *
Frantisek Hossa attended practice, watching his younger son Marcel before he and his wife headed off to Atlanta to watch older son Marian practice today and then take in Games 1 and 2. Both sons played for Papa Hossa when he was the head coach of Slovakia at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
It was Frantisek Hossa's use of Marcel as a penalty-killer in Turin, in fact, that got Tom Renney intrigued about using him that way late last season.
* * *
Having carved himself a niche on the Rangers' blue line while also becoming convinced that he's a part of the team's future plans, D Thomas Pock recently agreed to a two-year contract that will pay him $650,000 next season and $685,000 in 2008-09.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Sammi: Wanna just break up?