Join the BSB Tourny Pick’em

It’s that time of the year again, and with the brackets official, it is time to make those picks. If you’re looking for a “for fun” league, then this one is for you. Unlike the BSB Fantasy Hockey League, there will be no prize for winning, but it will be for bragging rights. There is no team number limit, so the more the merrier.

Sign up at Yahoo by clicking here and selecting Join a Group. Then enter the information below:

Group ID: 28834
Password: blueseatblogs

Good luck.

One Swift Kick, Avery Delivers

In case you were living under a rock for the past few days, which is possible considering a ton of people lost power over the weekend, then you missed some Sean Avery drama. First, he was scratched in Atlanta. The reason being that he was not engaged enough, and that he hasn’t been Sean Avery in many games this year. Then, he was reinserted back into the lineup against Philly, a game where both teams had their heavyweights dressed because of that whole Dan Carcillo incident.

What happened during that game was Avery at his best. He scored two goals, he was hitting everyone in sight, he was drawing penalties. He was doing what he is paid to do, be a pest. He coaxed Scott Hartnell into dropping his gloves, drawing a roughing minor on that particular caveman. More importantly, he was a contributing factor in a must win game.

The Rangers now sit just one point out of a playoff spot, but 8th place Boston has two games in hand. The Rangers’ have two of their three games are the most crucial games of the year. They face Montreal, the #7 team in the East, then St. Louis, then they face off against those Bruins. The first and the last games will be the determining factor of the Rangers playoff chances. If they win both, then I think that they will sneak into the playoffs. If not, then, well, I don’t think they can get in. That game against Boston on Sunday is the most important game of the season.

Two Crucial Points

The Rangers won last night, and in doing so, collected two critical points that keep them in the playoff hunt. They are now just three points back of an ailing Boston club, but the Bruins still have two games in hand. They also effectively kept Atlanta in their rear view mirror, although the Thrashers also have a game in hand.

Although they did not play a solid 60 minutes, last night’s win was as big of a confidence booster as it was two points. However, many in Rangers nation are not sold on last night’s victory. I am one of those many. They need to keep winning, starting with tomorrow afternoon against Philly.

Tomorrow is also the return of Dan Carcillo. If you don’t remember, or were banished to Antarctica for a few months, Carcillo is hated by many for “licking his chops” during his fight with Marian Gaborik. With Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley likely to be in the lineup tomorrow, you can expect some sort of retribution. It will be an interesting game to watch.

Avery Scratched

Sean Avery will be a healthy scratch tonight. Don’t know who is replacing him in the lineup Enver Lisin is taking Avery’s place. He is not “engaged” enough. Have no idea what that means.

So much for seeing him on the fourth line.

Avery to Fourth Line

Via the beat writers’ twitters (literally all of them), Sean Avery was moved to the fourth line during practice yesterday, skating with Jody Shelley, Brian Boyle, Enver Lisin, and Aaron Voros. Brandon Prust was moved up to a line with Erik Christensen and Chris Drury. This makes line change #13,427 on the year, thus our slogan “More consistent than John Tortorella’s lines”. These will presumably be the lines for tonight’s game against Atlanta.

When Avery was playing under Tom Renney, he was getting solid minutes, and was able to play his game. His game involves getting into a rhythm offensively while disrupting the opposing stars. Under Tortorella, his time has slowly diminished, thus eliminating the “Avery Factor”. Under the new regime, Avery is just another $2 million fourth liner.

Really don’t know what to make of that one.

Playoffs Slipping Away, Draft Position Gets Better

If you have been here long, you know that I am one of the more optimistic Rangers fans. I always try to find the silver lining, and look at the positives. I just can’t do it anymore for this season, not after last night’s embarrassing display of nonchalance and indifference. This team just does not have what it takes to make the playoffs. Sure, they sit in 9th place in the conference, just three points back of the Bruins, but the Bruins have two games in hand on the Rangers. The loss of Marc Savard will hurt them, but their defense and goaltending should help weather that loss. At this point, I’m torn between rooting for the Rangers to win, or hoping they get a lottery pick.

The Rangers have fifteen remaining games, of which seven are against playoff teams, five are against non-playoff teams, and three are against teams in the hunt. As per SportsClubStats (s/t to Jordan for that one), in order to be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, they will need to finish 10-2-3. To at least have a 70% shot at making the playoffs, they will need to finish 10-4-1. The moral of the story here is that the Rangers need to win 10 games to even be in the playoff hunt come April. It’s doable, but unlikely, especially considering what we’ve seen from the Rangers the past few games.

When looking at the draft position, each of the #10 (Atlanta), #11 (Tampa Bay), #12 (Florida), and #13 (Carolina) seeds have games in hand on the Rangers. Of those teams, Atlanta, TB, and Florida can leap frog ahead of the Rangers if they win these games in hand. They also play these three teams once a piece before the season ends. Those three games will have a huge bearing on where the Rangers sit come draft season, or whether the Rangers make the playoffs. Looking at the Western Conference, the only team below the Rangers is Columbus (Edmonton doesn’t count). They sit four points back of the Rangers, with no games in hand. It’s possible that they leap frog the Rangers too, especially if our beloved Blueshirts fail to show up for the remaining fifteen games.

In the end, I can’t root against the Rangers, it’s not in my blood. So I will be cheering for them, and hoping they make the playoffs. But the possibility of someone like Tyler Seguin, or Cam Fowler, or Vladimir Tarasenko is very tempting (Side note: Columbus plays Atlanta tonight, and for those hoping for a lottery pick, pray for an OT game). Any one of those players would greatly improve the Rangers and fill a gigantic hole on the team. Plus, there’s a very good chance they are NHL ready and could make a solid impact next season. But still, I cannot root against the Rangers, even if I think their playoff hopes have been crushed.

GMs Propose Hit to Head Rule Change

At the GM meetings this week, the GMs across the league are recommending a league-wide ban on shoulder hits to the head. This topic was going to be a hot one before the Matt Cooke incident. What that incident did was provide Evidence A in the case against such hits. Evidence B is David Booth. Evidence C is…well, you get the point.

The proposed rule change is as follows (from TSN):

“A lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

A violation of the above will result in a minor or major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline.”

I support this as long as it targets the blatant offenders. There is a very fine line here though, much like the boarding calls we have seen. What happens if a player changes his body position last second, and a clean hit to the shoulder becomes a hit to the head? Sure, the player delivering the hit may not get suspended, but the powerplay that comes from it could alter the outcome of the game.

It is a very fine line to draw, but it is the same judgment call being used in the other big sports. Baseball umpires have to determine if a pitcher blatantly threw at an opposing batter. Football referees have to determine if a hit was late or dirty. Basketball referees have to determine if a foul was flagrant. These shoulder to the head hits have ended, or at least greatly affected, careers in the NHL (see: Lindros, Eric). It is good to see that the NHL wants to protect its players from dirty hits, but let’s hope the league recognizes what is dirty, and what is just a clean hit with unfortunate timing/results.

BSB March Madness Tournament Pick ‘Em

It’s that time of the year again, and Selection Sunday is right around the corner. For a little fun, I created a Yahoo Pick ‘Em group. Unlike the BSB Fantasy Hockey League, there will be no prize for winning, but it will be for bragging rights. There is no team number limit, so the more the merrier.

Sign up at Yahoo by clicking here and selecting Join a Group. Then enter the information below:

Group ID: 28834
Password: blueseatblogs

Good luck.

Not So Home Sweet Home

Believe it or not, the Rangers have a decent road record. They are actually in the top 50% in the Eastern Conference when it comes to their record away from MSG. However, when they play at the World’s Most Famous Arena, they are an abysmal 14-15-6. They are one of only two teams in the East with a losing record at home, Toronto being the other team. When you compare it to the entire league, only St. Louis and Edmonton are added to that list of teams with a losing record at home.

Let’s break this down a little bit, the Rangers stats at home:

• GP: 35
• GF: 103
• GA: 99

That’s a measly +4 goal differential, not all that impressive, and one of the worst differentials at home in the league. Only Atlanta (+2), Nashville (Even), Montreal (+2), St. Louis (-14), Columbus (-1), Toronto (-14), Calgary (-4), Florida (+4), Islanders (-3), Edmonton (-20), and Boston (-1) have home goal differentials that are equal to or worse than the Rangers. Of course, some of those teams (Columbus, Toronto, NYI, Edmonton) are completely out of the playoff picture this year. The rest of them are in the same position as the Rangers, or slightly better.

Oddly enough, the Rangers are one of the better teams at scoring at home; their 103 goals at home is 8th in the league. It is preventing goals at home that appears to be their downfall. The 99 goals allowed at home is 29th in the league, with only Edmonton allowing more goals at home. To break this down more, the Rangers have allowed 5 shorthanded goals against at home. Only the San Jose Sharks have allowed more.

The powerplay’s effectiveness is thanks to the addition of Marian Gaborik. The shorthanded goals against blame can be placed on John Tortorella, for now. The thinking here is that as the head coach, he is in charge of drawing up an effective strategy that maximizes goals while limiting shorthanded chances against. At some point, blame needs to go on the players, specifically the point men, for allowing odd man rushes by pinching at wrong times, not keeping the zone, and by playing overall poor defense.

What astounds me is that on the road, the Rangers have the exact opposite problem. They can’t score, but are one of the stingiest defensive teams away from MSG. The numbers differ by such a wide margin that it is cause for alarm:

• GP: 31
• GF: 65
• GA: 77

Their 65 GF on the road is 29th in the league (again with Edmonton being worse), while the 77 GA is good for a 5th place tie with Chicago. The -12 goal differential looks ugly, but it’s actually right in the middle of the pack. So, believe it or not, the Rangers are on par with the rest of the league when it comes to road games, which is a main reason why they are one of seven teams in the East with a winning record away from home. It’s a good thing the Rangers only have six home games left, and ten on the road. That schedule may actually play to the Rangers strengths, and get them into the playoffs.

Yankee Stadium Out for Winter Classic

It looks like a Rangers home game at Yankee Stadium for the Winter Classic is no more. Via the Yankees PR Department Twitter, the Yankees have set a college bowl game, dubbed the Pinstripe Bowl, for December 30. No news yet on how long the contract lasts, but this effectively removes Yankee Stadium from the running for the Winter Classic, as it is impossible to put an ice rink in the stadium in such a short period of time.