Game Preview: Rangers v. Devils

The Rangers are on the road to take on the New Jersey Devils tonight at MSG West the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.  The puck drops at 7 pm and can be seen nationally on Versus and TSN.

 

Hey y’all!  I know we’ve been terrible about updating for the last week or so, and we’re very very sorry, please don’t hate us.  Our poor little hearts can’t take it.  We promise to be better, jsut please don’t leave me for that  hot chick with the tongue ring us for another blog!

So the last time we saw our Rangers, they were shitting the bed and rolling around in it in Dallas, losing 10-2 to the Stars.  It was the first time the Rangers have given up 10 goals since April 9th, 1993 against Pittsburgh, and the Stars haven’t scored 10 goals in one game the entire time they have been in Dallas.  Terrific!

This is all Nastia Liukin's fault. Bitch.

 

To be entirely honest, I have quite possibly the lowest expectations for this team going into this game that I’ve had since before the lockout.  The die-hard fan in me wants to have faith and really believe they can pull it out and grind out a win, but good lord in heaven have they looked terrible the entire month of February.  So I’m not sure, let’s just hope it’s not a complete embarrassment.  We all know how I feel about the Devils.

I think we can say that we must never, ever vote Henrik into the All-Star Game.  Ever.  Clearly the dude needs a vacation at the mid-way point of the season, and this year he didn’t get it and it shows.  Hopefully the couple days off he got with the flu made up for it and he’ll be back in Kingly form tonight.  Hopefully.  Plus I think my t-shirt is cursed.  I ordered it and Hank played like hell in the ASG.  Now every time I sleep in it/wear it to the gym they lose.  And lose horribly.  Balls.  I like that shirt, too.

 Anyway, tonight’s really a toss up.  The Rangers are coming off of 4 straight losses, the Devils are coming off of two straight after being on a hot streak for a long time.  The Rangers could rebound with an awesome game and remind us why we all endure the misery of being a Ranger fan, because it will eventually pay off with glorious victory, or they will once again get embarrassed in spectacular fashion, and we can all storm MSG with torches and pitchforks.  Sound fun?  I think so.

 

In other(ish) news: Tonight is the first time the Rangers will be facing Brendan Shanahan, a former Ranger

Shanny. Shan-Shan. Shan-dog. Shan-diggity-dog.

 who Glen Sather let twist in the wind for the entire summer, preseason, and the better part of this season.  I loved Shanny, always did.  I was sad to see him go.  If the Rangers lose tonight, I hope it’s Shanny who scores the game-winner.  Yeah, I said it.

UPDATE: Courtesy of Steve Zipay, tonight’s lines:

Naslund-Gomez-Drury
Callahan-Dubinsky-Zherdev
Dawes-Korpikoski-Sjostrom
Voros-Betts-Orr

Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net after missing the last game against Dallas with the flu.

 

Numbers breakdown:

Devils record: 33-17-3   –   8-2-0  in their last 10  –  15-10-1 at home

Rangers record: 29-19-5   –  5-4-1  in their last 10  –  13-11-2 on the road

Average goals scored in a game:

Devils: 3.04

Rangers: 2.40

Average goals allowed in a game:

Devils: 2.49

Rangers: 2.70

Power Play

Devils: 18.6%

Rangers: 14.9%

Penalty Kill:

Devils: 82%

Rangers: 86.6%

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Shanahan scores in Devils debut

I really wanted the  Rangers to sign Shanahan in the off-season.   I continued to support a Shanahan signing in the early season.   I thought the Rangers were going to sign Shanahan after they waived Rissmiller (see here).  They didn’t.  I did not understand why the Rangers would not sign Shanahan when their power play continued to struggle, and when they OBVIOUSLY needed a power winger.  I still don’t.  After Sundin spurned the Rangers for the Canucks, I thought for sure Shanahan was the logical choice for the Rangers.

But alas, Shanny is a New Jersey Devil.  He debuted tonight, and guess what… he scored a power play goal.  Yes, I am bitter.  Yes, this will haunt the Rangers.

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5-hole.com Pick ‘em is back, baby! Lock up your daughters…

Where has 5-hole.com Pick ’em been for the last 3 weeks, you ask?   Well, I was in Beijing looking for a lovely young bride.   Eric was on a flight to Florida with his financial adviser.  And Rory was negotiating contracts in California.

Now we’re back, and just in time because there’s a full slate of games on tap for tonight.  It’s a great night to have the NHL Center Ice package.  On to the picks!

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5-hole.com Pick ’em – OMG! Controversy! – 12/23/08

There is controversy brewing over the Penguins’ game winning goal scored by Sidney Crosby in overtime last night.  The big question is whether Crosby made contact with the puck above or below the crossbar.  The goal was reviewed and it stood.  So what’s the problem?  The call on the ice was goal.  The replay did not conclusively disprove that.  It’s a goal right?  Maybe, maybe not.

Why it’s a goal:
1. The NHL says it’s a goal, therefore, it’s a goal.
2. Someone at Pensblog drew a cute picture!  They can’t be wrong, can they?

Why it’s not a goal:

1. Conspiracy theorists claim the NHL is just furthering the Sidney Crosby love fest.

2. The picture from Pensblog is misleading because the puck was not in line with the corner where the post and crossbar meet when it made contact with Crosby’s stick.  It was actually closer to the center of the crossbar.  Oh no!  The new line goes under Crosby’s arm and the puck!  NO GOAL!
3. Commenter Tom L. on the Puck Daddy post says, “Crosby is 5′ 11″, 6′ 3″ on skates. The crossbar is 4ft high and the puck hit a few inches below his armpits. Unless Sid’s swollen head is 28 inches tall, that’s well over 4ft.”
4. If the NHL had disciplined Crosby for his actions in the game against Atlanta, he would not have even been playing in this game.
5. This picture left by another commenter in that Puck Daddy post shows with more lines that the net is only 80 pixels tall in the image, while the distance from the puck to the ice is 91 pixels.  11 pixels isn’t all that much but it’s still something.

I say it was no goal.  But what do I know?  Onto the picks!

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5-hole.com Pick ’em – Zambonis and Crosbys gone wild! – 12/19/08

In yesterday’s game between the Thrashers and Penguins, a fight broke out after the Thrashers’ first goal.  At one point, Sidney Crosby gives Boris Valabik 3 solid punches from behind while teammate Kris Letang held Valabik down.  Crosby was clearly the third man in on this “fight” and he sucker punched Valabik not once, not twice, but three times yet he was only accessed a roughing minor.

The Honda zamboni was so excited to get inside Wrigley field that it jumped off of the truck that was transporting it.  Luckily, no one (including the zamboni) was injured.

Quick! Go look at our picks before Sidney Crosby punches you in the back of the head!

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5-hole.com Pick ’em – No Brandon, we don’t mean your nose – 12/15/08

No Brandon!  You’re on TV!!!

Oh well.

The Boys over at Top Gear on BBC have outdone themselves.  After playing a game of soccer with cars, they have now played a game of ice hockey… with cars.

Hockeyness starts at 2:43.

Picks after the jump…

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5-hole.com Pick ’em – Habs fans should just give up – 12/12/08

Yes, we made picks yesterday and no, we didn’t post them.  We’re sorry.  But just to show our dedication to this, I am revealing to everyone that Marc and I both picked the Habs as our gimmies last night. The Habs lost. To the Lightning.  That’s right, the Lightning.

Last night, I went 5-3 and dropped my first gimmie of the season by picking the Habs over the Bolts.  Marc also went 4-4 and also dropped his gimmie by picking the Habs.  Rory went 3-5 last night but did not pick the Habs as her gimmie.  She went with the Sharks who won.

Oh well.  Let’s get to some news:

Petr Prucha’s days in a Rangers uniform may be numbered.  Andrew Gross over at Ranger Rants has this:

Renney was asked whether Prucha’s latest three-game stint was enough of a sample for him.

“Yup,” Renney said. “If it wasn’t, he would still be in. He gave me everything he could. It depends also on what you need. Nigel is in primarily because of his ability to score and help create offense. Also, he’s a playmaker. He helps, I think, supplement what we might need offensive by his ability to make plays. It’s where we are and what we need to generate. It’s capitalizing on guys that have been out of the lineup that want badly to get back in and do the right thing as they do that.”

So there you have it.  Nigel Dawes: playmaker.  Did anyone actually notice Dawes in that game on Wednesday night?  I mean besides the time in the third when he blew his golden opportunity.

The Islanders got absolutely destroyed last night by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Enjoy:

Picks coming as soon as I clear all these hats out of the way…

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