Rangers Up in the Air on New Year's Day

While everyone else nurses their New Year's hangover with a steady diet of college bowl games, the outdoor game in Buffalo, or some other activity so mind-numbing that you can't be bothered to complain about how over-hyped it is, the Rangers will be jetting their way to Calgary for the opening of their three games in four nights swing through western Canada. Sam Weinman reports from the MSG Training Center that the Rangers went through a spirited practice this morning before taking off to meet Mike Keenan's minions (see Rangers Report). The only news there was Petr Prucha's wrist feeling well enough for him to return to the line-up. Yesterday, Jaromir Jagr was named the NHL's second star of the week for his four goals and three assists in the Rangers' three wins.

In other New Year's Day reading, Larry Brooks of the Post looks at the Rangers' third and fourth lines, Stan Fischler at MSG.com looks back at the top ten moments of last year (it's last year already), and Slap Shot looks at how the New York area teams are faring against each other. Catching up on same game reports from the other night, NY Sports Day recaps the Rangers' win over Montreal and Howlings recaps the Wolf Pack's win over Manchester. Prospect Park rings in the new year in the world of Ranger prospects. WP.com has the Wolf Pack Weekly. Some funny stuff at Rangerland on Sean Avery, here and here. And the only thing worth reading about the outdoor game is how it should have been held in Central Park, a nice idea but one which would not really have been feasible.

Catching up with the World Juniors, the U.S. and Sweden topped their respective divisions with perfect 4-0 records in the preliminary round, earning byes into the semifinal. In their final round robin games, the U.S. beat Finland (Bobby Sanguinetti was scoreless and +1), Sweden topped the Czechs (Carl Hagelin was scoreless and -1 for Sweden, David Kveton continued to be sidelined for the Czechs), and Russia edge Switzerland (Alexei Cherepanov and Artem Anisimov were scoreless with two shots on goal apiece, Anisimov +1). Slap Shot reviews how local area prospects fared in the prelims.

With the start of the new year finding only five NHL teams under the traditional .500 mark of points per game, this might be an appropriate time to see where teams would stand if the league calculated points correctly. As long as there is an insistence on awarding a point to the loser of an overtime or shootout, the only mathematically logical and intuitively sensible way to calculate true performance is via three point games -- three points for the winner and none for the loser of a game decided in regulation, two points for the winner and one for the loser of games decided in overtime or by shootout.

Using that calculation, we get, as we expect, fifteen teams at or over .500 and fifteen teams under. Because the Rangers have won more games beyond regulation than other division and conference rivals, they would be fourth in the division at .493 behind the Devils, Flyers, and Isles, and eighth in the conference, though they would be third and seventh in points, respectively, ahead of the Isles, having played an extra game, and would also have Buffalo and Pittsburgh breathing down their necks with fewer points but with games in hand. Though the real world standings are slightly different, what would hold true either way is that every team in the Eastern Conference would be seriously bunched up behind Ottawa.

Comments

[Matty]

Happy New Years Rangers Fans! :)

I hope that as the team is traveling to Calgary that everyone is enjoying the NHL's Winter Classic ... what an amazing sight ... over 70,000 fans in a football stadium ... snow is falling, they have a hockey pond ice rink for kids, the tribute to the troops at the beginning with the singing of God Bless America ... Black Hawk Helicopters doing a fly-by ... the sights and sounds are just unbelieveable ... doesn't matter if you don't like either team ... if you are a hockey fan then you should be watching this game ...

:)

[Dubi]

Comments are back to normal, assuming all fellow Ranger fans can find a way to respect each other, especially with the team on a nice little run -- can someone please pass the Renney-ade?

[Sam]

nice playground move by Crosby before..

This game is really fun to watch with the snow falling.

[Sam]

wow. great to hear 70,000 fans cheering, moaning, showing all motions during the up and down hockey.

great save by Conklin

[joeymole]

happy new year 2008 to all!! a healthy and prosperous year for everyone!! now let's toast up our renney-ade: CHEERS!

watching pens-sabres on-line. great stuff. bob costas adding some great between period banter. man, he's a good announcer. (joe m. - you taking notes??!!) looking for a sabre comebacker. maybe a brawl, start the new year with some 2-step dancing!

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!

[Matty]

For all the snow falling and such the game is being played extremely well ... Crosby's move was just awesome ... I think that the Sabres were a bit surprised he did it ...

[Sam]

Sabres adjusted well after the first period, dominating puck possession in 2nd period.

Love how apparent icing is coming but the pucked slow down on the ice surface and negate it. More flow to the game.

Entertaining game so far.

[cwede]

I have my own idea for normalizing the standings, given the current point system of 2 and 3 point games.
Rank the teams by "points they earned" as % of "points given both teams" in their games.
This rewards regulation wins.
This way, the Rangers are at .500 exactly - They have 44 points in games that yielded 88 'standings' points: 44 pts, 39 games, 10 OT - 44/88.
These would be the current standings - with the Rangers one of 4 teams on the cusp in the East, tied for sports 6 thru 9; and with teams 4 thru 10 again very tightly bunched
*******************
Ottawa 0.658536585
New Jersey 0.542168675
Philadelphia 0.53164557
NY Islanders 0.506024096
Montreal 0.505617978
NY Rangers 0.5
Pittsburgh 0.5
Boston 0.5
-------------
Buffalo 0.5
Carolina 0.494252874
Florida 0.464285714
Atlanta 0.438202247
Toronto 0.431818182
Washington 0.411764706
Tampa Bay 0.397590361
*******************
Detroit 0.701149425
San Jose 0.576470588
Minnesota 0.56097561
Vancouver 0.551724138
Dallas 0.549450549
St. Louis 0.53164557
Colorado 0.529411765
Chicago 0.5125
--------------
Calgary 0.505617978
Columbus 0.488372093
Nashville 0.469135802
Phoenix 0.46835443
Anaheim 0.462365591
Edmonton 0.382978723
Los Angeles 0.348837209
*******************

[onetimer]

dubi, would that beverage be spiked?

I have a question, connected to the very uneven way games have been called these days. Is the crew in Buffalo today (Marc Joannette, Don VanMassenhoven, Brad Kovachik, and Tim Nowak) considered "elite," especially given how much of a showcase this game is? thanks, and happy new year to all.

[Jess]

I have more over at my spot about the world juniors (http://www.theprospectpark.blogspot.com/) as now USA goes into the medal round as the 2 seed after Sweden.

It is also time to vote for the Prospect of the Month as for a change Bobby Sanguinetti is not one of the choices.

Any of you who are attending the games in either Vancouver or Edmonton let me know as I going to be there covering the games.

[NCSteve]

Why is Bob Costas making it sound like Happy Days when discussing Mike Milbury beating a Ranger fan with his shoe in 1979? Why are they even talking about it on national TV?? They discussed the incident TWICE between periods. Milbury got a two-game suspension for the incident. Had to be one of the ugliest incidents ever.

Soooo. Guess which game is NBC's first national broadcast in 2008. Hmmm. You got it: Rangers-Bruins. I guess NBC wants you to tune in case Milbury (the fourth Hanson brother) decides to jump out of the broadcast booth and begin beating Ranger fans. It would be a different outcome in the Blue Seats!

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Happy New Year Folks!!!!

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Hey Jess,

Not making it to the Calgary game after all, so I guess you are off the hook for the beverage (You might have said you were skippping that game now that I think about it so never mind)!!!

[mr sooke]

Jess I'll be in Vancouver

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

The outdoor game was cool, the only part that really sucked was the singing of god bless america, instead of the national anthem, that was just wrong!

[Effigy of the Forgotten]

I just can not accept this idea of 3 points for a win. The whole point of going to 4 on 4 in OT was to get a definite winner ("cause there were too many ties"), but if you look there are more OT games compared to when you got zero points for a loss.

Why are we awarding a point for a loss anyway ? it makes no sense. And its screwing with goalie stats. How do you think Patrick Roys numbers would look if he played more games in an era of no ties ?

[Scott]

A few comments from todays entertaining outdoor classic:

1. Milbury with Costas, what is NBC/NHL thinking. Clement, K. Jones, Messier or even Melrose among others would have been a heck of a lot better than that clown. Please.

2. NHL agains gets its dream of showcasing Crsoby as he wins another one.

3. I thought the arena music, crowd chants and overall charisma was dead on.

4.

[craigz]

Okay Let me be the Grinch. Didn't get home till the start of the 3rd period but I thought the outdoor game was in slow motion. Now for the fireworks. Larry Brooks said it well today about the nasty spoiled little Ranger fans booing everything they don't like. He was dead on. Just like some of the bloggers here that rant and rave when they don't get what they want, when in their own mind they they feel vindicated when someone may agree with them. Sorry but if you boo any Ranger you have no right to call yourself a 'real' Ranger fan. You don't like malik, fine. You don,t like Renney, fine. You don,t like JJ, Shannahan, Hollweg, Mara, fine. Write a letter to Dolan or Sather but please stop crying. They're here, they are this team like it or not and you can support them or not. But let them do their job. Some of you, (and you know who you are) just keep complaining and complaining and quite frankly it's rather boring. That's enough for now. Happy New Year all. P.S. We don't need Jordan 2 2. Z

[Jess]

Mr Sooke

Leave the darts home OK LOL?

IITH/Wicky/Very confused poster

Flight to Calgary would cost 350 above what I was already spending. And that was not including hotel cost.

Scott

When I saw Milbury along with Costas I was wondering the same thing as there were 2 people who care more about their own ego than what they were doing.

Thankfully there was the mute button.

[Eddie J]

Loved the outdoor game. I thought the snow made things real interesting. craigz- I agree with your commentary on the disgruntled Ranger fans. Stop the booing and whining already. Booing a player will not help him play better.

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Jess

10 concussions, I'm allowed to be confused!!!!

Z

I really must disagree with you (tactfully I hope). The whole point of this site (I think anyhow, dubi could say for sure, he's the man!!!) is to express opinions and share knowledge and chit chat so to speak. I do not think a "real" ranger fan is made or broken by complaining about or not complaining about the team. It is about caring about how they play, the players, and the organizatiion win or lose. Part of being a fan is the ability and right (albeit tactfully so) to boo or complain about your favorite team. We all have money invested in the rangers (game tickets, jerseys, toques, hats, nhl center ice, etc.) in one way or another. I would take about 3 million bucks a year to get booed on the ice (in the case of malik on the rangers and other players on other teams), but maybe I'm wrong. Whether I think it is right or wrong to boo a player doesn't matter. If that is how the fans at msg choose to express their displeasure or the fans at this blog choose to express themselves (again as far as this site goes tactfully and not excessively negative, but at a game not sure how you could "tactfully" boo)fine, I do not think that makes them any less of ranger fans.

The discussions here are the foundations of true ranger fans, sure some players are going to be targets as long as the team is not perfect (and no team ever is, there will always be weaknesses) there will be debates about who should stay and who should go. Who should be captain, malik vs struds, dawes vs whoever, and so on. Just people's opinions of how the team could be better and why, not "real" ranger fans vs faux ranger fans. Why silence the opposition Stalin, you scared???(Sorry, just joking around with the last line there).. I think you are just as ardent a ranger supporter as I am whether you favor malik, struds, or neither, so try not to be the name caller you claim to be complaining about!!!!

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Eddie and Everyone

Guess my previous post applies to all who think expressing your opinion is bad and makes you a faux ranger fan!!!

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Z

Was not singling you out, you just brought up the topic or "hot button so to speak"

[Andrea]

Three questions:
1. Did the Zamboni clear a strip of ice before the shootout? They were pretty diligent about maintenance, so I'm sure that I just missed it. But I didn't notice a clean strip.

2. Did Sabres season subscribers gets first dibs on tix?

3. Would you have dreaded this game if it were the Rangers vs, say, Boston?

While I enjoyed the spectacle (and was hoping for a shootout which I actually thought Miller could win), it made me wish that it were exhibition only. It may have been super-easy for a non-hockey fan to follow, because the puck movement was in slow-mo. It sucked equally for both teams, obviously, but still. It worried me that if that puck were on Jagr's stick, I'd be a nervous nellie. Well, MORE than usual :-)

And yeah, Milbury? An antique curio, at best. Pickin's may have been slim with guys under contract to other broadcasters (chatty Glen Healy would've been fun to listen to,) but they couldn't call up some retirees to tell a video anecdote that didn't involve a shoe-beating? And only showcasing only a Crosby doppelganger in the opener was a bit thick, as well. Some Staal family clips would've been natural, but I guess Sid didn't play in Thunder Bay. Or Are or Izhevsk or Vlasim.

Nit-picky, I know. However, when the NHL survey comes around, I'll probably vote to see it again. But not with teams in our division. Go West, NHL.

Now back to the Twilight Zone! (Insert your own hockey joke here.)

[Andrea]

And why in the WORLD are there other NHL games being played today? Ottawa fans had to make a choice which game to watch. A built-in Canadian audience (with its own rich outdoor skating tradition) is jettisoned? Makes NO sense!

This Twilight Zone moment is brought to you by the NHL, where we come thisclose to getting it right....

de dee deeee dee de de de...

[mr sooke]

Jess as a former minor hockey pres , former hockey coach and former ball coach I have very thick skin .BTW Renney was a guest speaker at our agm when he was with the Canadian national team .

[Mitch Beck]

I'd advocate the removing of points altogether. A win is a win and a loss is a loss regardless of how you got there. In baseball an extra inning loss is still a loss as it is in foottball (American football that is). I don't really care one iota if you lost in the last second of OT or you got gipped in a shoot out, a loss is a loss.If you want to look at it that way here is REALLY how the standing look...

DEVILS 21-17
NYI 20-18
PITT 20-18
RANGERS 20-19
PHILLY 19-18

OTT 25-13
BUF 19-18
MTL 19-20
BOS 19-20
TOR 15-24

CAR 20-21
ATL 19-21
FLA 18-21
WAS 15-24
TAB 15-24

CONFERENCE
OTT
DEV
CAR
NYI
PIT
NYR
PHI
BUF

DET 29-11
STL 19-18
CHI 19-18
NAS 18-20
COL 18-21

MIN 22-17
VAN 22-18
COL 21-18
CGY 19-21
EDM 16-24

DAL 23-17
SNJ 22-17
PHO 18-19
ANA 19-22
LAK 14-26

CONFERENCE
DET
DAL
MIN
SNJ
VAN
COL
STL
CHI

I think this is more interesting. It means you need to shoot to win EVERY game not just get to OT to get a point in some cases, especially against teams out of your division or conference and is a more realistic look at where the team is not only by it's own standards but against the competition.

Tie Breakers would be the same as they are in football...head to head first, and so on...

[Effigy of the Forgotten]

i used to boo the hell out of Poti, and I consider myself a pretty big Rangers fan.

I dont boo Malik or any Ranger. I just dont get why everyone is so down on Malik. Every Dman makes mistakes and Malik was pretty solid the past two seasons. Is he a top D-man ? no. Staal has pretty much taken over for him anywayz.

[LI Joe]

I've been to a lot of the games and the % who boo malik is approx 20% - the vocal minority I call them. I think Brooks nailed this one. His play has regressed over the last 2 yrs a lot to the point where the fans who boo have made him into the player they hate. he can now do nothing right especially at home. The only problem with trading him is those fans will move onto their next victim. If Brooks was insinuating that anthing close to 100% of fans are booing Malik he's wrong there.

[Jess]

WickyIITH

I do not have a problem with people having a different opinion but I do have problems when after the team came back and won their 3rd straight game instead of talking about how they won it became a complaint session/"I am better than you" nonsense.

Where is the meaningful civil discussion in that?

Please explain to me how come when the Rangers lose the posts here border on the hatred? Where is the civil discussion when Jagr is called a headcase?

We see too much hate here and not discussions. Being a fan does not give one a license to be rude, crude and disrespectful towards either players or each other.

[rangerbill94]

Mitch

I agree!!! I was going to post where would everybody be if we used the old system. No OT. A tie after 60 minutes is one point each. Any idea where the standings would be in that case?

[craigz]

Honest debate is great, but some of the rants lately repeat the same old stuff...over and over and over ad nauseum..It really gets so boring and then when someone challenges their opinion they get angry and childish. I mentioned no names (didn't have to) but I think I got my point across to the people I was trying to. I love the Rangers. I invest in MY enjoyment not the teams. I live in Pennsylvania so I don't go to the Garden anymore. My expenditures are Center Ice and Blueshirt Bulletin. I get angry with the team at times as does most everyone and with certain players more than others but until they are no longer Rangers then they are players on MY team and I will support them. That includes the coach and the GM. Sorry for the rant but sometimes I just get the feeling that some people just complain for the sake of complaining. Happy 2008 Z

[Matty]

The fans have a right to boo, the problem is when they boo the player and he has done nothing to warrant any booing ... case in point, opening night ... Do they honestly think that the rest of the team likes to hear their teammate being booed when they know he doesn't deserve it? It's conterproductive imo ...

But whatever ...

Andrea,

I was wondering about that too since I don't recall seeing it before the shootout ... I also agree that this would've been a nice time for the NHL to run a special on the Staal Brothers and that outdoor rink they grew up on ... or do a little video intro to all of the up and coming young stars that they have throughout the League ... that's the only problem I have with the Crosby hype machine ... it isn't his fault and he certainly draws national media attention but the NHL should use the attention that he brings and then use him to also highlight other young stars ...

[Eddie J]

Wicky- You make some valid points. I agree that commenting on blogs is a good outlet, whether positive or negative, so long as it doesn't get too nasty. Believe me, I see a lot wrong with this team. And commenting negatively does not make you any less of a fan. But I really don't like the booing of our own players. I don't notice the fans of other teams booing their own players. They boo ours, but that makes sense.

[Matty]

Eddie J,

Fans of other teams do boo their own players BUT the big difference is that they do it when the player(s) are giving them a stinker of a game ... not before the puck has even been dropped or while the player is doing nothing wrong ... It's like our players are constantly saying how playing at MSG is such an advantage when the crowd is behind them and cheering loud and hard for them ... I have to imagine is the opposite when a section of the crowd, the loudest one it seems, is getting on a certain player's case even before he's done anything wrong .. It's got to be a bit deflating ... Thank Goodness these athletes are professionals and mostly ignore them and play well anyway ...

[Andrea]

Good point, Matty, using Crosby as an intro to the other youngsters. There was a swell throw-away stat about none of the players in today's game being alive during the expansion year. Let's meet those baby faces! But again, it was cool to watch. Can't wait to see a Denver/Dallas tilt. :-)

[that guy who loves the rangers]

How long does everyone think it will take to resign Henrik and for how long and how much do you think he will make?

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Jess,

I agree with you 100% I was just playing devil's advocate. Just because I brought up a point about the other side of the "argument", does not mean I agree with them. Some times people agree with me here, others times they do not, but I believe I generally make structured and lucid (not to mention respectful, see above posts) statements/"arguments" on the site, so I do not quite understand where (what I perceive as solely directed at me) some of these comments come from. I am not upset(I feel I need to state that), just want clarification that I am the one that is unreasonable and negative on this site all the time.

[craigz]

Did anyone catch the comparison of Bobby Orr and Sidney Crosby by the Studio analysts? Crosby may become a great player but to compare him to #4 is insulting. I wish the league would wait for the kids to achieve greatness before annoiting them as the saviors of hockey...Look what happened to Lindros...Z

[Eddie J]

Matty-
I like what you said about the crowd at MSG being an advantage when behind our players and vice versa. I also don't mind if the team gets booed collectively for a poor effort. I just don't like the singling out of any one player. ESPECIALLY, like you said, before they've had a chance to do anything wrong. I'm still amazed that Jagr wasn't getting booed while he was going through his scoring drought.

[GEORGE]

As an avid Ranger fan and also a former hockey player who got paid to play the game i understand that its the fans right to boo whoever they want and act like idiots just because they paid 50 bucks or whatever to see the game but what I have always had a hard time understanding that hockey players even though nowdays make a lot of money do not step on the ice with the intension of screwing up or making costly mistakes or not trying.I just wonder how these idiots would feel if at work they had the rest of the office booed them as soon as they entered there office door or they made a mistake at work///.Fans have the right to do whatever but would they have the BALLS to do it face to face? Doubt it.

[Jess]

Wicky

"Playing the Devil" Hah rumor has it that Satan looks at you and calls you a meanie ;-p

Z

It also shows how dumb those clowns are because Crosby is not going to change how the game is played something that Orr did.

The kid I feel sorry for is John Tavares who is breaking all of TGO's records in the OHL. THis is a kid who people will expect to score 100 goals and 200 points a season.

[Eddie J]

Amen, George!

[Dubi]

As a Ranger fan, I've booed in my day, I've done the Potvin chant, I've ranted and raved about bad teams and bad players. My problem now is not that present day fans do any of these things. It is that today's fans are totally reactive, they are not proactive in rooting for the team. They don't cheer the team on when they're down, they only cheer when they do well -- they boo when they're down. Maybe that will never change until there is a new GM or this GM wins a Cup, given his pre-lockout record -- maybe this is an enduring hangover of mistrust. I got past that with this regime, because they turned things around and started doing things the way I always thought they should have been done. Maybe others haven't. But as Larry pointed out, sometimes these things become self-fulfilling prophecies for the fans -- and maybe they should realize that it works both ways, that you can help a player or the team by cheering them forward, and not just boo or cheer looking backward.

[Wicky229 (18 choir boys never won a stanley cup!!!!)]

Well said Dubi!!!!

[i]

"It also shows how dumb those clowns are" ... that's name calling to me.

Maybe some here should look up the word 'elitism' , it use & misuse , along with arrogance and double standards.

Hockey is entertainment. Trying to tell 'real fans' how to think or feel can be education, and should lead to discussion. and realization.

[Ron Boesgaard]

Buffalo: Playoffs: First round at MSG last year.

Malik gets booed when the starting line-ups are introduced.

Sorry, not the way to use the home ice advantage before the game even starts.

Sure, there are players I don't like. I don't always agree with what the head coach does. I have booed the team as a whole, joined the fire Sather chants during the 7 year blight and even started a fire Sather chant (all four of us) at the Pepsi Center in Albany during a River Rats-Hartford game.

I believe the fans have a right to boo and voice whatever opinions they might have.

That said, I see no value added to booing any Ranger before the game starts, when the the team has a 1-0 lead in the first period, after a win and especially during opening night ceremonies.

The Ranger fans historically have had their own private whipping boy, more recent favorites being James Patrick, Tom Poti and now Marek Malik.

I have a real hard time sitting through a Ranger game and listening to someone throw a constant harangue out at a player all game.

To me, that gets boring and its my belief that it is counter productive.

I spent a hockey-less New Years day with my wife, visiting her mother and taking in Sweeney Todd at the 1:50 showing. Had a casual dinner out after hosting three of our own during the holiday week including our annual Christmas Eve buffet dinner for family and close friends. Fed my vacationing friends cats before returning home for a game of Scrabble with my wife.

Oh-Hum. Exciting , huh?

I did boo my wife when she tried to use "IQ" for a triple word score.

[rangerbill94]

I watched On the Fly this morning and they were talking about Raycroft. He is rated 76th out of the 76 goalies that have played at least a minute this season. The discussion got to how the fans have treated him in Toronto. Even Maurice commented on whether to start him in Toronto. Can you imagine playing Cleminson over Raycroft? The fans are on him worse than Malik. It reminds me of Detroit and how they killed Osgood. "Fans" are supposed to help their teams, that is one of the advantages of home ice. How many times have we heard that the other team has taken the fans out of the game? If we are booing Malik, what do you think the other team will do? Put the puck in his corner and forecheck the heck out of him, maybe cause a turnover or a bad pass or what ever. We are targeting the opposition into what to do to turn the fans against us! That makes some of "our fans" the fans of the other team. Doesn't make sense to me.