And when I'm in attendance, the Blueshirts know better than to give a half-assed effort on the ice. They fear my wrath I tell you. If they think I'm loud when they hear me through my TV...
Well, wisely, they did not disappoint me.
Instead, the Rangers were- FINALLY- firing on all cylinders Monday night against the Pittsburgh Malksbys, and they were rewarded with a hard earned 4-0 victory.
New York routinely out-mustled, out-hustled, out goaltended and out-hockeyed their visitors all night. They played disciplined (defensively), physically, and effectively. And in doing so they shutout one of hockey's most potent offenses, and two of the league's top 3 scorers.
Perhaps most encouraging, is that this game was won with Special Teams. And were they ever special.
The Penalty Kill unit, which is currently #1 (yes.. Number One) in the NHL, and has been sensational all season long, came through yet again, killing 8-of-8 penalties- most impressive of which included a full 2:00 5-on-3, during which they allowed but one shot on net (and a rocket off the post- but we'll let that go). Betts, Shoes, Callahan, Drury and even Gomez all deserve high marks for their efforts shorthanded tonight. They even managed to tag on a shortie, albeit an empty netter.
And then there's the Power Play. Let's just say that coming into this game, the man advantage has been.. well.. no advantage. In fact, some would go so far as to say it's been a downright killer, recommending NYR elect to decline the penalties as they occur.
Tonight at the Garden, NY's unimpressive, weak PP (LOL) came through when they needed it. Though they went an unremarkable 2-for-7 on the night, those goals were certainly important to the outcome of this game.
The first goal, a Power Play marker on the Ranger's first attempt at the one minute mark of the game, helped set the tone of the match in favor of the home team. Not only did Dawes' 7th of the season give the team the lead, but an early PP marker gets the impatient crowd off the unit's back for at least the next two Power Plays they may have.
Then, the 2nd goal, a cannon from Paul Mara off of a clean faceoff win from Scott Gomez, provided some much needed insurance, and some hope that Perry Pearn may keep his job in 2009.
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT SPECIAL TEAM PLAY IS IN THIS LEAGUE.
Look at the teams that win in the NHL. Just look at the teams on top of the standings.
Detroit. San Jose. Philadelphia. Boston. Chicago. Washington.
What else do these teams have in common? They are all in the the top 8 teams in the league in terms of Power Play efficiency.
But I digress.
Defensively, the Rangers were responsible, patient, and disciplined. I was very impressed with the defensive zone coverage tonight. Very rarely were any of the boys in Blue caught running around puck chasing, or beaten by their man (with or without the puck). The poke checking was timed and effective, and the body checking was a pleasant surprise.
Evgeni Malkin, the league's leading scorer and ugliest player, was marked equally as well. Come to think of it, he was barely noticeable but for one break in on Lundqvist.
Cindy.. er.. Sidney was more noticeable, but only by the BOO's that rained down on him each and every time he touched the puck. Still, he was equally ineffective. Crosby had no room to gain any speed in this game. he was consistently marked and checked each time the puck approached his stick, put on his bottom a nice amount of times, much to the delight of the fired-up Garden Faithful.
Watch the defensive play against him in previous games that he has torched the Rangers. The kid is most effective when he has time and SPACE to make a play. NY checkers provided him NONE of that tonight at The Garden.
In fact, no Pens were really provided much space.
When they did find a crack in the Ranger's defense, Henrik Lundqvist was there to repel 27-of-27 shots for his first clean sheet of the season (after 10 last year).
The King was back to his usual sharp self tonight. He made two smart poke checks on Pens near his crease in this game that broke up good chances against. His most important save of the night came with the game at 1-0. After ANOTHER ill advised line change, Malkin and former Ranger/Devil Petr Sykora broke in 2 on 0 on Hank. Malkin elected to keep the puck and take a high shot on net, which The King shouldered over the net.
Other than that, Henrik didn't really need to be SPECTACULAR, and he made all the saves that we've come to expect him to make.
Wins like this, where the Rangers manage to put all the pieces together for an entire 60 minutes, are certainly very satisfying. But the key to this comes with consistency. The Rangers completed this effort against a struggling Pittsburgh team that has now fallen out of the top 8 in the conference. Up next is a very, very sharp Montreal Canadiens squad, who boasts (undeservingly), 4 all-star starters.
The Rangers need to play smart. They need to hustle, play disciplined, and they need to be efficient in all aspects of the game.
And they need to play as if I'm in attendance.
GAME NOTES
A few extra observations from the game tonight.
- Ah, I love when professional coaches read my blog and listen to my advice. After being given my good graces, Petr Prucha saw some consistent Power Play time! Though the Czech didn't figure into any PP scoring tonight, he hustled (as usual), was strong on the puck, and created numerous chances. He later gave a bea-u-ti-ful pass from behind the net to Drury for the third goal of the game. Keep it going Pruch.
- How about Colton Orr? This guy got the crowd cheering on its feet often in this game with his physical play and, later, his great bout with tough guy Eric Goddard (which he unanimously won). Orr was also extremely effective in the D-zone, and was tough on the forecheck all game long. Very impressive.
- Speaking of the Garden crowd, they were really fired up for this game, and boy did they ever give it to Crosby. This treatment of Crosby is a topic I will elaborate much more on in my next post.
- Nigel Dawes has been finding some of that consistency I talked about earlier. His goal tonight was a matter of simply putting the puck towards the net on the Power Play!-something the Rangers did effectively tonight. With a goal and an assist in the game, Dawes, along with Prucha, has provided the Rangers with that secondary scoring that they were hoping to get earlier in the season. The only problem is that their "secondary" scoring has been the majority of the scoring lately.
-Marc-Andre Fleury does not impress me.
-The Pens looked flat and uninspired in this game. Yeah. That coming from a RANGER fan.
-I loved Ryan Callahan going down to block a shot and preserve the shutout with 45 seconds remaining and a 4-0 lead. That's heart.
- Rozsival, Redden, Mara, Girardi, Staal, and even Kalinin- yes, all the defensemen- had VERY strong games.
- Scott Gomez, despite the goal and assist on the scoresheet, remains unimpressive. His assist was a faceoff win, and his goal was a shorthanded empty netter after goal hanging while Drury made a great clear of the D-zone. He was, again, sloppy with the puck in the neutral zone, and I haven't seen that speed of his in weeks.
-The Rangers new lines seemed to work pretty well, but time will tell how long Renney allows for them to gel. Only one even-strength goal today, but the lines are balanced and all have scoring potential and some defensive responsibility. Changes in bold.
Naslund-Gomez-Callahan
Dawes-Drury-Prucha
Voros (in for Korpikoski)-Dubinsky-Zherdev
Sjostrom-Betts-Orr
STARS OF THE GAME
All Penalty Killers deserve to be stars of this game.. but I have to give the stars to individuals.
3rd Star) Paul Mara (1g 1a)- Mara provided a big PP goal, an assist, and was a rock in the defensive end and on the PK. He has really emerged as the leader on defense.
2nd Star) Nigel Dawes (1g 1a)- Dawes remained hot with another goal (another PP goal) and an assist against the Pens. He has found some consistency lately and is creating offensive chances.
1st Star) Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves, 0 goals allowed)- Henrik's first shutout of the year, and a very strong effort between the pipes gets him the first star of the game.
-Rif
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