You remember our old friend Marek Malik? The defenseman known for his awful-ness and his one amazing goal? (By the way, I was at that game. I was shocked. But, a tremendous shootout.)
Well Malik, playing in the Swiss Elite League, had some trouble with the puck in his own end. Watch the video below. Do you miss him?
The Rangers had a very heroic comeback win last night. I am in Atlanta, thus I could not watch the game. But I was getting text messages and saw that the Rangers, down 2-0 going into the second fired off four unanswered goals, three in the second period, en route to the 4-3 victory. It was a good victory, even if flawed during the first period. Torts relied heavily on his workhorses, and they delivered. Those workhorses did not include the recently called up Corey Locke or Anders Eriksson.
Starting with Eriksson, the defenseman played just 7:44, none of which were on special teams. With this decreased playing time, only two possible conclusions can be made. The first is that Eriksson was being taught a lesson by coach John Tortorella, and was benched for a period of time, or that Eriksson simply has not won over the coach, and his ever decreasing playing time is a result. Regardless, it makes sense to insert Matt Gilroy back into the lineup if Eriksson is only playing seven minutes a game.
Moving on to Locke, whom many fans wanted to see on the Rangers due to his “pretty” statistics in the AHL, the tiny forward skated in just 6:35 of the 60 minute game, with his time tapering off towards the end of the game. He also did not play a single second on the powerplay, which is supposed to be his specialty and source of all his points in the AHL. When Enver Lisin generally sees more ice time, it is safe to say that Locke’s debut wasn’t a success. I wouldn’t expect him to be with the Rangers much longer. Hopefully, Sean Avery and Ryan Callahan will be back in the lineup for the trip to Florida, and there will be no need for Locke in the lineup.
Another day, another must win game. It’d be nice if the Devils could help us out, and beat the Bruins for us.
OPPONENT: Islanders
RECORD: 31-34-10
LEADING SCORER: Kyle Okposo, 17-29-46
GOALIE: Dwayne Roloson, 2.90 GAA and a 9.10 save percentage
RANGERS LINES:
Dubinsky-Christensen-Gaborik
Prospal-Locke-Drury
Voros-Jokinen- Parenteau
Shelley-Anisimov-Prust
Hank in net. Callahan, Avery, Boyle hurt. Gilroy scratched.
STATE OF THE BLUESHIRTS: Not great. We need a win tonight, and we need the Devils to beat the Bruins. We’re not out of it, but we’re not exactly in it, either. Hank needs to be big again. Will the real Marian Gaborik please stand up? We’ll see how they respond with no Avery. I’m anxious to see how Corey Locke does. He’ll wear number 84. We’ll see what happens. Maybe we’ll get some lucky breaks. That would be nice.
CRAZY THOUGHT: Locke scores
ON THE iPOD: Come On Eileen, Dexy’s Midnight Runners
FINAL PREDICTION: Got to be optimistic. Rangers 3, Islanders 2
So, watch, discuss, have fun. LET’S GO RANGERS!!!! POTVIN SUCKS!!!!
The Rangers have agreed to terms with undrafted NCAA goalie Cameron Talbot of the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. This season, playing for a very weak Chargers club, Talbot has put together a fairly decent season, going 12-18-3, with a 2.61 GAA and a .925 SV%. Talbot will be a minor league goalie for the time being, possibly replacing the soon-to-be departed Steve Valliquette.
I generally like to read the ESPN hockey writer chats, it’s good to get the opinion of those “in the know”. Every now and then though, there’s a statement that is meant to be funny, but it just stings a little bit. During Scott Burnside’s chat yesterday, a Rangers fan asked if it would be possible to impeach Sather, to which Burnside replied:
Tony (NJ): How can we impeach Glen Sather?
Scott Burnside: Tony; Sadly the Rangers do not exist as a democracy or that would have happened long ago.
Now, you can see this was meant to be a little bit on the humorous side, but it clearly stings a little bit. I’m on the record saying that Sather has done a decent job of rebuilding the Rangers post-lockout. But, it is true, if the Rangers were a democracy, Sather would have been fired long before the lockout. His pre-lockout moves were atrocious, and any other GM would have been fired for half of what Sather did. Sather survived based on his name, and while his moves have been better since 2004, there is still that bitter taste in some fans’ mouths.
Well Rangers fans, you got your wish. Corey Locke has been recalled by the Rangers, as per the AHL transaction log. Locke will likely skate in place of the injured Sean Avery, who injured his leg in an attempt to beat out an icing call against Toronto on Saturday. Locke has pretty numbers in the AHL, but there is a reason why he has only seen one professional game in his entire career. Numbers aren’t everything.
We’ve talked so much about the inconsistencies of the Rangers this year. So may as well spend a little more time doing the same thing right? A very impressive win against a weak opponent (Isles) was followed up by an impressive win against a strong opponent (Devils) so it was a certainty the Rangers would let everyone down against the Leafs. Well, on this they did deliver.
One solid period is not enough to beat most AHL teams let alone even the bottom feeders in the NHL. 20 out of 60. And when the other 40 is as bad as it was on Saturday then you truly have no chance. I feel sorry for Henrik Lundqvist too. His occasional mistake is often magnified because unlike Jose Theodore, we dont have the ability to cover up mistakes here and there with 5 goal bursts. If we ever get sustained offensive support for The King he’ll win a Vezina.
So what now? The likelyhood is that the Rangers will put forth an incomplete effort against the Isles but should still have enough in the tank to beat a weak team on Tuesday. Well I’m beyond caring for post April play. What I want now is Tortorella (if he’s interested in keeping his job long term) to send a messgae that has long term ramifications. By all means play Anders Eriksson but please, please bench Redden. Stop letting salary dictate. He doesnt deserve to play ahead of the likes of Roman N’Dur and Jason Doig let alone Matt ‘could have a future’ Gilroy.
Torts; Just send a signal that you, John Tortorella ARE a man of your words, WILL hold EVERYONE accountable and AREN’T afraid of $ signs or former reputations. Its time to send messages that set a standard and remain for the long term. The rest of this year shouldnt just be about this year, it should be about establishing the future. Send a message.
Remember all the talk about respect and not walking on the Rangers logo in the dressing room? Nice gesture but talk is cheap. I wonder if players have forgotten that message too (just like the safe is death ‘mantra’ – where’s that gone by the way?!),
I wonder whether the players are wandering aimlessly all over the Rangers motif …. just like they do on the ice.
Torts?
Another day, another must win game. After a great comeback win against the Devils, the Rangers go north of the border to try and keep their playoff hopes alive.
OPPONENT: Maple Leafs
RECORD: 27-35-12
LEADING SCORER: Phil Kessel, 29-23-52
GOALIE: Jonas Gustavsson, 2.86 GAA and a .900 save percentage
RANGERS LINES:
Dubinsky-Christensen-Gaborik
Prospal-Drury-Parenteau
Avery-Jokinen-Voros
Prust-Anisimov-Shelley
No Callahan. Parenteau in for him. No Lisin. Voros in for him. No Gilroy. Eriksson in for him. Hank in net.
STATE OF THE BLUESHIRTS: Not terrible. Great win against the Devils. Will that turn it all around? I don’t know, but as long as they keep winning they have a chance. Granted, they need help. But, they have to keep winning. That’s the most important thing. I know I sound like a broken record. But it’s so true.
CRAZY THOUGHT: Parenteau scores
ON THE iPOD: The Letter, The Box Tops
FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 2, Leafs 1
So, watch, discuss, have fun. LET’S GO RANGERS!!!
As per Steve Zipay, Ryan Callahan is out tonight with his leg injury, being replaced in the lineup by the recently called up P.A. Parenteau. The other player called up, Anders Eriksson, will be in the lineup tonight, replacing Matt Gilroy. Gilroy only played 10:05 in the shootout win against New Jersey on Thursday night.
The other minor lineup change for tonight is that Aaron Voros will indeed return tonight, and Enver Lisin will be the additional healthy scratch.
The Rangers have called up P.A. Parenteau and Anders Eriksson from the AHL, for Saturday’s game against Toronto. The Parenteau call-up is presumably for Ryan Callahan, who re-injured his leg against the Devils.
As for Eriksson, there are a couple potential reasons for the call-up. The Rangers may want a seventh defenseman for the rest of the road trip (which would be odd, since they haven’t carried seven all year). Or, it may be to replace Matt Gilroy, who played only 10:05 in the shootout win against the Devils. Do the Rangers want a veteran presence for the last playoff push? We’ll see what happens.
