B R O A D W A Y***B L U E S H I R T S

xavier mcdaniel

wow those are some bad power play numbers...

Bathgate66

Bathgate66 wrote:

.

The power play, 0-for-5 last night, is 0-for-15 in the last three games, 2-for-25 in the last five and 3-for-32 in the last seven. The five-on-three is an embarrassing 3-for-18 on the season.

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

wow those are some bad power play numbers...

true enough- bad numbers and all- but really ;
its hard for our # 1 PP line to get out there and perform , especially when they are all trying desperately to catch their breath after defending multiple shorthanded situations, some of which were 2 men short .


way way too many undisciplined penalties and lackadaisical defense ( ie : Sandis Ozolinsch - please go far far away- for good ! ) & bring back kaspar already ! :mad:

moster78

Anyone going to the game tomorrow night against the Thrashers?

xavier mcdaniel

Bathgate66 wrote:

true enough- bad numbers and all- but really ;
its hard for our # 1 PP line to get out there and perform , especially when they are all trying desperately to catch their breath after defending multiple shorthanded situations, some of which were 2 men short .


way way too many undisciplined penalties and lackadaisical defense ( ie : Sandis Ozolinsch - please go far far away- for good ! ) & bring back kaspar already ! :mad:

that's a good point, but the players on the top PP line are not the same on the PK line for the most part.

Bathgate66

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

that's a good point, but the players on the top PP line are not the same on the PK line for the most part.

if iuts a couple of 5-on-4s that could be said


not when there are 3 and 4 different 5-on-3 situations.

True that, when Betts is out there, maybe with Hollweg- those guys rock

( soon Ort will be back, too )

Bathgate66

moster78 wrote:

Anyone going to the game tomorrow night against the Thrashers?

im going to see mary poppins on broadway tuesday.

I'll be setting the DVR for this game, as theres not another till Friday or Saturday :eek:


cant believe we havent played the isles yet- and only 1 more game with buffalo ? the scheduling is fucked.

Bathgate66

http://ordinaryleastsquare.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/lundqvistsave.jpg

http://ordinaryleastsquare.typepad.com/blueshirtbulletin/


November 27, 2006

Rangers Cannot Leggo of Officiating


The Rangers skated with the high-flying Sabres last night and came back from a two-goal deficit, as Buffalo did here three weeks ago, to force overtime. Yes, they committed a pair of gaffes (by Matt Cullen and Sandis Ozolinsh) in handing the Sabres their two goals, both essentially power play goals (although only one was officially), and Henrik Lundqvist was herculean in net, especially during the Sabres' ten power plays. But with Martin Straka continuing his stellar play, his second goal of the game tying things up late in the third period, the Rangers went toe to toe with their 18-3-2 opponent and came out even after 60 minutes.

But it's hard enough to have to face a team that good -- to have to face them on a second straight night of horrendous officiating that mostly went in their favor proved to be impossible. The litany of officiating errors in this game was legion, and all but one or two were by Mike Leggo, the referee who didn't see Cullen's goal the night before in Pittsburgh and failed to allow sufficient time for video review to correct his oversight (he had a different partner last night).

Leggo's errors in this game actually began with a bad call against Buffalo -- the double minor to Chris Drury for bloodying Adam Hall's nose with his stick was on the followthrough of playing a puck, which is not supposed to be a penalty. Leggo, as you an see from the replay, could not see the original impact through several bodies and made a late call only when he saw Hall on the ice.

The three calls that gave Buffalo a five on three for two minutes were all made by Leggo, and they were all correct (although he allowed Jason Ward to be crosschecked from behind when he cleared the puck over the glass for a delay of game call), but from there on everything went against the Rangers -- actually, some calls had already gone against the Rangers when Maxim Afinogenov was allowed to pick off Straka in his end of the ice and then get a call on Petr Prucha on a dive at the other end of the ice.

The absolute worst was when Jaromir Jagr was tackled right in front of Leggo, with no possible excuse for not seeing the penalty (which was actually the second against Jagr on the play after earlier obstruction). But it was not all -- Matt Cullen was tripped in Leggo's end of the ice with no call, even though the other referee had a line of sight as well; Straka was tripped on a possible breakaway with no call by the other referee; and Brendan Shanahan was obstructed off the deciding face-off as he tried to get to the point to defend against the shot that Drury deflected home for the game winner.

Shanahan, the player who drove the adoption of the new standards of rules enforcement during the lockout credited with opening the game up and making it more exciting, was livid afterwards. "When the Buffalo player basically quits on the play, takes a step toward the penalty box," he said of the trip on Cullen, "that's an indication they missed one with two and a half minutes to go."

Asked what he can do about it, Shanahan seemed to say that there was nothing he could do, but his words were a demand for discipline. "The referees have their own form of discipline, assessment, process," he said. "We get assessed as players, they have an assessment situation as well." After his work this weekend with the Rangers, Leggo's future as a referee should be clear -- but the NHL will not have the guts to do anything about it.

Adding insult to injury, Shanahan said the referees gave him the cold shoulder when he asked for explanations. "I think that's something that the refs have been a lot better at in the last year or so, is giving an explanation," he said. "Sometimes a simple explanation is, 'I missed that.' But the guys tonight were a little too..." and here he hesitatated for a moment searching for the right words before saying, "above that -- to even so much as give an explanation. It was mostly just a face like you just ate a lemon and a wave of a hand. They were a little bit beyond explanation. The league has done much better in the last few years. The old mentality of don't talk to a player, don't explain a call to a player, and wave a player away has kind of disappeared since Stephen Walkom has come on board. Communication as a group tonight, for whatever reason, they didn't want to do that."

Coach Tom Renney was equally angry. He focused on the non-call on the deciding goal. "At the beginning of the year at training camp, we all get sent video on what certain calls are and how they're going to be called," he said. "There was a call in overtime that was absolutely without question the best footage you can have for faceoff interference, period." He too was miffed at the attitude of the referees, not sure "if it's because they don't have an answer or they do feel they're beyond an explanation. The one I did get tonight was, 'There was someone in front of me and I didn't see the trip.' But I've seen two arms go up from officials many times -- it's interesting that two guys can miss it. I think we probably deserved more responsible, professional work by others on the [score] sheet" -- i.e., the refs.

"It would be easy to jump on that and say yeah," Renney responded when asked if he felt there was a pattern of calls going against the Rangers. "I'd have to say so tonight, probably. Whether or not I can judge if we've had the short end of the stick, I probably shouldn't comment because I'd be guessing and I'm not in the right frame of mind to be answering something like that."

Ozolinsh heard his first boos of the season after his turnover in front of his own net off a lazy errant pass led to the Sabres' second goal, and the boos persisted after that. He has commented on his adjustment to the "no-go" mandate he has been given this season after a career as a "go" with the play defenseman, which makes us wonder: last season, Tom Poti was reined in the same way, and he came through with his best defensive effort as a Ranger, but without any of his trademark offensive contribution. Ozolinsh isn't even playing good defense under the same circumstance -- in the past six games, he has been on the ice for five of the ten goals the Rangers have allowed but only three of the fourteen they have scored, continuing an alarming pattern since his return to action.

Meanwhile, Marek Malik was booed last night even when his name was announced for each of his two assists. Malik actually had a great game -- on the Sabres' five on three, he blocked nearly half the shots (three of seven) that the Sabres attempted, and he was even credited for two hits, as he used his big body for a change, especially in front of the Ranger net during penalty kills.

Both Marcel Hossa and Adam Hall had apparent open net goals at their disposal during the game, but both were thwarted by great stick saves by the Sabres, Hossa by a last second deflection by Dmitri Kalinin, Hall by a great stop at the goal line by Ryan Miller.

Bathgate66

http://www.newyorkrangers.com/pressbox/pressreleases.asp?id=2458
RANGERS RECALL CALLAHAN FROM HARTFORD
Callahan is among the highest-scoring rookies in the AHL this season and ranks second among all first-year players in goals.

11/28/2006


New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Ryan Callahan has been recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Callahan, 21, has skated in 19 games with Hartford (AHL) this season, registering 15 goals and six assists for 21 points, along with a plus-three rating and 28 penalty minutes. In his first professional season, the 5-11, 185-pound forward leads the Wolf Pack in goals (15), power play goals (nine) and points (21), and is tied for first on the team in plus/minus (plus-three).

His nine power play goals is currently tied for second in the league, while his 15 goals is tied for fifth among all AHL players. In addition, Callahan has registered 14 points (nine goals and five assists) in the last eight games and has picked up at least one goal in each of the last four games, collecting six goals and two assists over the span.

moster78

I am definitely psyched for tonights game, since I'll be there, and its my birthday! The big 2-8 on the 28th, fitting. A co-worker of mine has a friend that used to work for MSG, and that friends boyfriend is in charge of some facet of in game entertainment, like the Garden Vision, so I'll be getting a birthday message thrown up there. She also needed to know exactly where I was sitting, down to the section, seat and row number. I'm really curious why and my co-worker is playing dumb. Anyway... thought I'd share...


LETS GO RANGERS!!!

NY PJ1

happpy birthday bud bring us a win










LET'S GO RANGER'S!

xavier mcdaniel

i'll be there also. i'll be at six of the next eight home games.

moster78

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

i'll be there also. i'll be at six of the next eight home games.

Cool deal. So when you see Happy 28th Birthday Matt on the Garden Vision, you know who its going out to! I'm still curious why they needed exactly where I'm sitting. I'm thinking either a seat upgrade, partaking in some on ice thing between periods, some kind of gift, like a puck, or just being shown on camera or something.

LETS GO RANGERS!!!

Bathgate66

moster78 wrote:

Cool deal. So when you see Happy 28th Birthday Matt on the Garden Vision, you know who its going out to! I'm still curious why they needed exactly where I'm sitting. I'm thinking either a seat upgrade, partaking in some on ice thing between periods, some kind of gift, like a puck, or just being shown on camera or something.

LETS GO RANGERS!!!

first off, happy birthday, matt- & many more. !

28 ?

you're still a young pup !


oh and they wanted your seat info so that the portable camera crew can make their way to your seat during the intermission ( i think it might be the first intermission but they mix it up ) and of course along with your name and stats on the gardenvision- they'll put your image up there also , receiving a little NYRanger gift bag- wiith all sorts of little goodies.

when my girfriend got me this for my b-day, the Garden also sent a photo of this on the scoreboard and it arrived like 6 weeks later .

moster78

Bathgate66 wrote:

first off, happy birthday, matt- & many more. !

28 ?

you're still a young pup !


oh and they wanted your seat info so that the portable camera crew can make their way to your seat during the intermission ( i think it might be the first intermission but they mix it up ) and of course along with your name and stats on the gardenvision- they'll put your image up there also , receiving a little NYRanger gift bag- wiith all sorts of little goodies.

when my girfriend got me this for my b-day, the Garden also sent a photo of this on the scoreboard and it arrived like 6 weeks later .

Cool deal. My brother got his name up there for his 30th, but not with anything else. My mom managed to snap a photo of it up on the Garden Vision. They did send his fiance a signed puck by Adam Graves a few days later as a thank you for buying 20 tickets at once.

And just a side note, I share a birthday with Matt Cameron, so you know thats good company!

xavier mcdaniel

happy birthday, i'll be on the look out when the scoreboard does that. i share the same birthday as wayne gretzky.

Gary Carter

happy 28th b-day monster 78



RANGERS SUCK

moster78

Thanks for the B-Day wishes. What an excited, yet heartbreaking game. I'm too exhausted to get into a detailed analysis (damn train rides back to LI), but here's the pic of my name on the Garden Vision, it was definitely the highlight of the night! I also got a little gift bag with a hat, a t-shirt that'll never fit me, some oversized player stat cards on Jagr, Straka and Hollweg, and a Rangers folder! Plus the little bag!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19959093@N00/309518387/

xavier mcdaniel

i remembered this thread when i saw it. exciting game, good to see them get three on the PP. But the defense was brutal..

Bathgate66

well, at least 1 point is better then none- ( even tho that would spoil your birthday )

and definitely agree with x ,

the defense is suspect.

Ozolinsh , is still horrible.

Bathgate66

i'm no tom renney.

but why hasnt darius kasparaitis been playing ?

does Ozolinsh do that much better then him ? ( insert sarcasm here )

and its obvious where Tyutin has learned to throw those hip checks we have been seeing the last few games....his fellow countryman .( ok he's lithuanian- but he speaks russian also )