Rangers Win One For the Devils

If the Devils' secret weapon to score against Henrik Lundqvist is to let the Rangers score on their own goaltender, then it worked like a charm for them tonight. In addition to getting their customary one goal, they got the bounces they had been craving when three pucks went in off Rangers -- early in the first period off the stick of Blair Betts (who committed the horrid turnover that led to the scoring play), late in the second off the leg of Brendan Shanahan, and in overtime when the game winner deflected in off the heel of the skate blade of Marc Staal.

So if you're the Rangers, how do you react? On the one hand, you can look at all the breaks the Devils got in this game -- the overwhelming benefit of some curious officiating, to put it kindly, in addition to the goals the Rangers scored for them -- and maybe think that luck has turned in their favor after favoring the Rangers in the first two games. On the other hand, you can dismiss the result as a fluke and not let the turn of the screw affect your approach to the next game, as the Devils tried to do with what they saw as their bad luck.

But if you're the Rangers, you do neither. Yes, of course you don't let the bad breaks carry over to the next game, you shrug it off. But Shanahan and coach Tom Renney both took it a step further as said that this was the kind of luck you make, mainly by throwing the puck at the net and letting things happen, however they happen. That's a better mindset than just shrugging it off and moving on, and it's a better mindset than believing that bad luck just bit you in the butt -- it gives you something to work on, something to improve on.

Overall, this game was similar to the prior two games in the way it ebbed and flowed for each team, each team controlling extended stretches of time. The Rangers' controlled the entire third period, which allowed them to come back and tie the game on Brandon Dubinsky's second goal of the game and come close to winning in regulation. The Devils controlled the second period, with the help of the referees, and the controlled overtime. But the game was different in other key respects -- this was a playoff game from start to finish, played at full intensity and with complete animosity, and it was played by both teams with more daring, which made it far more entertaining.

More tomorrow...

Comments

[LI Den]

I don't know. At one point early on, we in 410 thought that maybe Lou Lamoriello had gotten to the officals Friday, so we were prepared for the worst, in terms of officiating. I think 'curious' is definitely putting it too kindly. The officating was downright bizarre. Then when Parise was called in the first 11 seconds after Avery, we figured one ref was correcting the mistake of the other one on the Avery goaltender interference call, which definitely was caused by Marty.
In our view, at least 4 of the calls on the Rangers were questionable, at best, and there were at least 3 infractions by the Devils that were not called.
Lou obviously has friends in high places.

[Josh]

All I can think of right now is the disappointing reffing this game missing many penalty calls against the devils (even some for the rangers), but bothering me even more was the bad penalty calls such as the one against avery and at least 2 or 3 more. Also the penalty killers tonight gave up more goals in 2 minutes in the 2nd period against the devils than they have given up against them all season...

[Colorado Mark]

I had to laugh at the Versus telecast which had the "Sounds of the (REAL) Game" coming into the 13 living rooms of non-hockey fans as Rupp let everyone know what he thought of Mara (feline) as well as calling him something he might call him in Prison. It was hilarious because of the dead air and the announcers not knowing what to do next. You can just imagine the audio control guy panicking while trying to turn down the on-ice mikes!

[evandood]

I never complain about officiating, but there were some highly questionable calls tonight. The Rangers did look sluggish, but being down a man for the whole game contributed to it for sure.

[Mark W.]

Just got back, we were awful in OT. Too many sloppy mistakes in the 3rd killed our momentum. Then after the game the 4 Devils fans that were there started whooping and hollering in NY Penn Station, idiots. People were going crazy in the blues when Avery was screening Brodeur, then he scored and it was bedlam up there.

[Colorado Mark]

Versus also did a terrible job with replays. MSG's camera angles are so superior to pretty much every other team and the joke that is Versus. Anyway, after Tyutin closed his hand on the puck (which they didn't show a conclusive replay). But on the ensuing goal, it looked like Brylin actually closed his hand on the puck and then scored (or was it Elias?). They even showed him flexing his hand on the bench. Did anyone see this?

[Chris]

My biggest problems where the "evening out" penalties that were given for the scrum behind the net in the 2nd when hank was slashed. The rangers should have came out on top of that one and they didnt leading to the tyutin penalty.

The second was when Rosival got hit in the mouth behind the devils goal and was bleeding everywhere Parise style(who didnt bleed mind you), and nothing was called at all.

I just feel like the Devils have been able to take liberties all series and nothing gets called: Late hits, constant interference when the rangers are in their zone, the scrums behind the net always being even when the devils are constantly hitting people in the face, taking their helemts off etc..

Its the typical nhl bs i guess....

[DonK]

Not having a horse in this race, but as a longtime reader of the blog, I have a question: Does every Ranger loss involve poor officiating? The caterwauling is embarrassing (though in reading other team blogs, it's hardly unique). The next group of fans that thinks the officiating is good will be the first.

On to the game.

The Rangers lost tonight for the following reasons:
1) They were a teeny tiny bit less good than in Games 1-2.
2) The Devils (especially Brodeur) were a teeny tiny bit better than in Games 1-2.
3) The Devils got a couple of fortunate bounces that they didn't get in the first two games. The Rangers didn't -- e.g. This time, Colin White didn't pull his goalie away from the post for a split second just as Jaromir Jagr shot the puck; Mark Staal was in the wrong place at the wrong time this time.

That's all. The Rangers took a couple of sloppy penalties (the handpuck penalty on Tyutin was poor, and Avery's goalie interference wasn't bright). The Rangers dominated the third period, but this time, Brodeur didn't make a mistake (as he did it Game 1) or get a bad break (Colin White). And as Micheletti pointed out, the lack of TV timeouts in OT hurt the Rangers on the winning goal because there was no breather for a worn-out line that was a step slower than the fresh Devils unit (and again, the Devils got a break when the puck went in off Staal -- although, if you've been watching the playoffs, there have been quite a few goals going in off a team's own players; just ask Nashville).

The Rangers should win the series in six games (home team winning next three games). The Devils can't generate anything out of the back, and the Rangers have more firepower up front. But tonight's loss should remind everyone that there's still a lot of work involved, and that may be a good thing.

[EddieJ]

I agree with DonK about the officiating. We all know it stinks, let's not whine about it anymore. One thing I WAS impressed with was the Rangers' hitting. All season long, people have been complaining about the team playing "soft". Not that I didn't agree with them. Tonight, the Rangers finished their checks and took the body whenever they got the chance. As far as being scored on because the line was tired in OT, I was kind of wondering why Renney never called a timeout. I think that would have been the perfect time. Anyway, I'm not worried about the rest of the series. I'm confident they'll do whatever it takes, correct their mistakes and advance to the next round. Go Rangers!!!

[Dennis]

I thought the officiating was horrible as usual (but what else is new?) but it's no excuse for the stupid penalties the Rangers actually took like the Tyutin catching and throwing the puck and Shanny killing a power play with that penalty off the face off. For all the rangers talk of not getting overconfident and having respect for the opponent, I believe they didn't play that way and maybe the Devils wanted it just a little more last night. The Rangers better win this next game (i know they won 7 of 8 this year against them but if they have to win 2 of 3 on the road to close them out, Marty just might stand on his head and surprise everyone and send us home early) and put the devs in a hole soon.

[Dennis]

i almost forgot....If the Rangers don't re-sign Avery, Sather should be fired.

[Paul R_ _ _ _ _ D]

[i]i almost forgot....If the Rangers don't re-sign Avery, Sather should be fired.[/i]

and understatment of the year goes to drum roll please Dennis

Tuff loss but I think were gonna take the series in 5.

[Three Chord Monte]

Well, I picked the boys in five so game three is the downer. No surprise on the officiating "blow-back", it's historically typical of a spineless NHL officiating corps, all the way from the suits bumbling from leather chairs in Toronto to the stripes attempting not to step on pucks on the Garden ice.

My keys to this series remain team D, strength from Jags and no softies from Hank. For the first time the team D took a half-step back, Jagr's got the game face on, but the first goal from Old Scratch's Brylin should've been frozen by Hank. He's got to hold that puck. It was in his glove.

Look, Lundqvist is the goalie to have, but the Fallen Angels can't score much on their own, helping them, as Dubi points out, will bring the Rangers demise.

No to worry, a softy from Lundqvist and a couple of own-goals won't be enough for the Evil Ones. Rangers in five. The undoing of the Rangers team remains to be seen in a future round and it will be the blueliners, not the goalie, the coach, the vets, the kids, or even the captain, as I had feared all year, that will be the exploited weakness that knocks the New Yorkers from this tournament. The NY Achilles heel is the defense.

That said, they may still win the Cup with some strong play and a few breaks. I hope they do.

[rangerbill94]

DonK

Poor officiating doesn't just happen in Ranger losses. May wins happened because the Rangres just played through it. Could have happened last night.

CM

I posted during the game that Elias closed his hand on the puck just before he scored. He caught Staal's attemped backhand clearing pass, then put it down and scored. At least that's the way I saw it. Maybe Dubi has a better replay that he will discuss.

All

We scored 6 goals last night and lost 4-3!!! Bright side, the PP was working pretty well. Jagr, Dubinsky and Straka were awesome and everybody else played well.

NJ loves to take that shot from behind the goal line or deep in the corner toward the front of the net. You would not believe the number of time the Devils get a goal on that very play.

[Cutter]

At least Versus finally got some Canadian annoouncers who know what the heck they're talking about! It was actually fun to hear them call the game.

Yeah, it's a loss, but the Secret Alien World Conspiracy info flowing into Roswell still says we win in 7. It'll be a hard road. Get psyched to win the series at the Pebble. :)

[And This One Will Last A Lifetime]

And wouldn't you know it, you can still find tickets on ticketmaster.com to game 5 at the Pebble.

[Jed Orts]

Can you imagine if the Devils were not playing the Rangers? i wonder if they would even sell out. i bet they'd atleast say they did to save the embarrassment.
Last night's crowd had barely any Devils fans from what it looked like, the way it should be.

We still got this series. We just shot ourselves in the foot that last game, those two penalties late in the second. it also didn't help how sloppy and careless they were with the penalties.

that being said, enough about the officiating. it's been awful all year and it will continue to be. atleast they are consistent with that. The rangers didn't help their cause last night the way they played. And those bounces! my god, i was thinking about them when i woke up this morning. how does it go off shanny's skate, bounce a few times then roll over henrik. i mean, you can't make that stuff up

[JBytes]

Refereeing is not an exact science; complaining about it will do us no good. All teams get their share of bad calls; it's up to those teams to overcome them and find ways to win the games. Our guys have no one but themselves to blame if they let the game be decided on a lucky bounce. It's time that we started flexing our superior offensive firepower. If not, we might as well flip a coin to decide this series.

[Mark W.]

To blame last night on referees would be a gross oversimplification. We lost because we did not have the tenacity to overcome those bad bounces, nor did we play well at all in OT. You could make the point that we haven't played all that well in the first 3, but we still have a 2-1 lead. We need shifts in their zone for a change on Wed. Too many dumb turnovers last night, one led to their first goal, and others killed our 3rd period momentum.

[Effigy of the Forgotten]

Notice Renney didnt complain about the officiating. Its called Class, and its becoming clear that the Devils have lost theirs.

[gravey]

>At least Versus finally got some Canadian annoouncers who know what the heck they're talking about! It was actually fun to hear them call the game.

These Versus guys were better than usual, but it's still a drag to have to watch games on The Outdoor Channel. Is it company policy to never name the guy who just made the bad play...or do the annoucers just not know the names/numbers of all the players? On the first goal and the turnover by Betts, I had to rewind and look at it three times before I figured out which Ranger turned the puck over. Same thing on play after play. Rewind to firgure out who just made that play (beyond generic "Ranger"). Thank the lord for TIVO.

They never tell you who is on the ice -- except for the lovely space-consuming banner they post at the beginning of the game, where we are asked to read who the lines are while also watching the (part of the play) that is not covered by what we are supposed to be reading.

I hate Versus. I hate Bettman. I hate that -- g-d willing, and we get there-- I'll have to watch the Stanley Cup finals on this fourth rate network.

Guess I'm particularly crabby this AM due to poor OT, etc. Not our best game. But I agree. It should be Rangers in 5.

[David]

I was at the game last night and it seemed as though they came out flat, or perhaps a little nervous given the noise in the first period. They rebounded after the first Devils goal but again in the 2nd they had a short window of scrambling around which led to 2 PP goals. Still they looked very good in the 3rd, PP scored twice but again in Overtime they were flat and that's what cost the game. I still think they can play better but the Devils are too good to have even small lapses. I am getting sick of Marty's histrionics. Game 4 is crucial 3-1 versus 2-2 is like night and day. I think last night may be a wake up call and we could see there best on Weds. Go Rangers

[Phill]

Can anyone explain to me why the refs told Sutter that if Avery did his "distraction" again, he would be called for a penalty?

[Ant]

I cant believe that now since Hossa gone Malik scratched most of the time half of the idiots at MSG starting Booing Tyuts.Its pathetic.

[And This One Will Last A Lifetime]

I was at the game as well, and I saw a total of less than a dozen Devils jerseys. There was a prominent pair of Devils fans right near the clock that hangs over the Rangers enterance onto the ice, and a few others scattered in the crowd but I was up in the 400's and truthfully didn't see any.

The Devils might say they got their bounces and can build on it for the next game. We can say that we still need to tidy up in those areas to make sure those bounces don't happen. Truth of the matter is, the Devils should still feel pretty lousy when you consider that they weren't able to clamp down the lead 3 times last night. I think a lot of sports scribes were talking about how they needed to get that lucky goal or at least the 1st goal so they could play with confidence and tight D and let Brodeur do his work. Well they got that first goal and a lucky bounce and we more/less shrugged it off. Brodeur hasn't looked anything close to invicible this series and it's been a different set of players (although Avery is 3 for 3) to come through every game for us. I'm thinking the Devils still need to find an answer to how they're going to stop us, not the other way around.

[Chris]

Look at this idiot Kevin Smith the fat guy from jay and silent bob. He blogs about how the Rangers were "spanked" on home ice last night. He is a real hockey expert apparently. http://fans.nhl.com/members/Kevin_Smith11/blogs/11197

[bx mike]

Ant

I believe they are saying Tyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[Dubi]

Re: the officiating -- first of all, thirty wrongs don't make a right -- it's an ongoing embarrassment to the sport. In this game, if anyone would like to come over and review the game tape with me and convince me that the Devils didn't get the overwhelming benefit of the calls, I'll buy you lunch and give you a free subscription.

E.g. -- Does anyone thing Avery committed a penalty on the goalie interference call? How does Michal Rozsival not draw a high stick when Colin White drives him into the boards with his stick, cutting his lip, but he gets a high sticking call on a play that I've watched in slo-mo ten times already and can only see Parise's stick come up high, not Rozsi's?

To the Rangers' credit, they look at themselves and say they have to stop taking penalties, they don't throw temper tantrums like the Devils did. But there is a reason why the two teams behave that way -- the Rangers expect to get called for everything, the Devils expect to get away with everything. Through three games, that has been what I have witnessed.

[Colorado Mark]

Chris- Yeah, Kevin Smith is a Devils fan, but his blog was pretty funny, especially the part about the colorful verbiage displayed by Rupp which I commented on earlier. It was unexpected and shocking, but it was real. I kind of wish I could hear what Avery says sometimes. I'm sure there were some parents who were upset, but I agree with the parents who commented on Mr. Smith's blog. Thanks for the link, Chris!

[Ant]

Mike no.They say Tyuu when eh does something good.They was booing him when he would touch the puck

[janmar]

Am I the only one that found Avery's "Distraction" Frigging hilarious? The only thing that wasn't was that they didn't win. Sorry can't see how you could call a penalty on that one but I'm sure Lou will convince Bettman it should be. Avery MUST be re-signed!

[joeymole]

ranger coaches have much to work on over next two days. (this friggin' schedule is strange, weird game spacing.) i thought the game was not very well played by the rangers, they got sucked into the sutter shenanigans. dunno, but it seemed like more a circus than a hockey game.

guess i'm just another disappointed fan, who wonders why devils can sweep rangers a few years back and rangers couldn't return the favor this time around. that being said, also think some playoff hardship is good medicine for the coaches and players to see how they'll all rebound next game. hoping rangers can return to a more disciplined approach.

[Paul R_ _ _ _ _ D]

When Avery was doing his stuff all I kept thinking was a little kid getting in the face of another kid and going not touching you can't do anything, not touching you...

[cwede]

just a few weeks back, we were discussing one basic thing Henrik doesn't do - keep his stick on the ice, between the skates. The ricochet off Staal's skates wouldn't have slipped thru.. Rangers have to be ready, and come out hard every shift tomorrow, so this doesn't get more 'interesting'

[paulinflorida]

The two days rest probably won't hurt the Rangers. Eventhough it was a pretty short overtime, it looked like they were running out of gas. Also, the extra day off will get another practice scheduled to work on a few things defensively that weren't as sharp last night as they were in game two. Gotta put last night's loss behind them and come out sharp on home ice for game four.

[marty from rfc]

One of the positive notes from our inconsistent season is that the boys have frequently bounced back with a strong performance after a tough loss so look for them to be more focused on Wed. (although at this point in the series, I'd say that neither team is striking much fear in the hearts of scouts from perspective round 2 opponents).

One other thought: there seems to be a weird dynamic right now on the Callahan/Drury/Dawes line: seems to me that Callahan been a real force - creating turnovers, taking the body, taking the puck to the net, etc. - yet Drury and Dawes have been kind of invisible. Maybe its just me but would love to see #10 and #23 get it going a bit.

[Anthony M.]

Dubi the dubious (pun not intended) calls started at the beginning of the game when Backman get called for cross checking. Meanwhile, the referees overlooked the fact that Parise used a cross check to get open prior to Backman's penalty. But unlike a certain team and its President/GM, I am not going to use officiating as an excuse. The Rangers did not do enough to get the job done. They need to pick up their play and get more pucks towards Marty and watch the bounces go the Blueshirts way.

[Mike]

Am I the only one who gets worried when Backman is on the ice?

For all his skill, he is always in the box. He easily has 8 PIMS this series.

Do we dare insert Malik?

[Adam]

I have no complaints regarding the loss last night. We took too many dumb penalties, too many awful turnovers in their own zone. Marc Staal had the puck on his stick and screwed up, fired it right into Elias or whoever scored the tying goal glove and it was an easy shot. The two things we need to improve on. Clearing our own zone, where I think we've been soft and getting beat to pucks that need to be fired out, and we have to sustain more offense. We have responded to adversity, but the fact is with a win on Wednesday we will be in the drivers seat. And let's be honest, the Devils won because of 3 bad bounces and 8 PP, I doubt that'll be happening again. I felt the Rangers were in control at 2-1 and could've slammed the door, but instead decided to revert back to some terrible ways and start taking penalty after penalty. Stay out of the box and play smarter.LGR

[Jed Orts]

Wow, i just read Smith's article. the way he's speaking you would think they just won the series or something, so obnoxious. that guy should do what he does best, keep quiet

[Ant]

I was rolling when Avery was in Maaarties face

[i]

Dubi the ref situation will not be corrected, they seem to think they are doing a good job overall. How they can let the debbies make fools of them, scream at them, and then reward them shows how convaluted their thinking is. They fall for faked penalties almost as much as calling real ones.

[captjameson]

so kevin smith is the one...? who knew...?
i find it unconsionable that Lou can publicly embarass an NHL employee, sutter can stand on the boards, bang sticks and throw them, and the players scream at the refs and nothing is done about it. i think Lou is massaging the f'ing nerd's prostate.

[TonyM]

Good thing we don't play the dEvils until Wednesday. The 3 days off hopefully cools off their momentum which they clearly gained last night and it gives us a chance to refocus and re-adjust.
Drury and Gomez have ro re-adjust their game. The dEvils are killing them in the face-offs , a contributing factor in our loss last night. Along with those undisciplined penalties we let them back into the game once we went up 2-1.
Renney needs to figure out getting better line match ups to give Gomez more freedom too.

We can try and blame the refs ( they did hose us on some calls) , but the penalties that they scored on were very much deserved. All those penalties had a deleterious ripple effect. It limited the # of shifts of our 4th line , who are needed to pound the dEvils D and kept Jagt on the bench.

The dEvils, as feared, are making this a street fight series. That's what you do when you play a skilled team like ours. They pounded us all night long.
We must ratchet up our physical play. We need to get Gomez and Drury back on track and WE MUST limit the penalties. That's the only way a team that is challenged to score has a chance to win the game. You limit those PP's and you can beat them.

[rangerbill94]

While many have commented on the "Avery Screen", nobody has commented on the punch he took from Brokedoor. That should have been a roughing penalty. When asked, Gary Green said there is nothing in the rule book that addresses what Avery did, so he didn't understand why the refs said anything to either bench. Furthermore, he said that an unsportsmanlike penalty address "gestures" and as he said; we all know what that means. The other guy said Avery must not have any enemies on the Rangers because he had his back to the shooters and nobody took a shot! But I'll tell you this, if Avery punched Marty back, Avery would have gotten the penalty. And, if a fight broke out, then he would have gotten 5 for fighting, 2 for roughing and 2 for instigating and a game misconduct. But he kept his cool. I sure hope the Rangers, Sather in particular, called the league office to protest the one-sided officiating. Heck, Callahan gets tripped 3 times and no calls.

I figured 6 games to sent the Devils out for golf lessons. Game 4 is the BIG game. We go up 3-1 or NJ gets the series even. POISE & CONTROL and a better 2nd period will get us to the next round.

[Tony V]

My only comment is a compliment to the quality of the posts here especially in the wake of a disheartening loss. Everyone here has looked at the game in a level-headed manner and is looking forward to Wednesday's game. It makes for interesting and informative reading. Thanks.