12/11/08 Game thoughts

A lot of people are down on the Rangers for not blowing the Thrashers out of the water.  They forget that this team does have Ilya the psychotic, who can almost score at will when he's on.  They forget Exelby on the back line and his punishing hits.  They forget that "Moose" is one of the most underrated goalies in the league.  Hell, look what they did to the Islanders a few nights ago.  They can turn it on.  Just, you know, not when it counts.  They do play the Rangers tough everytime though.  Maybe it's bad blood from the sweep a few years ago?  Maybe not...

*  COLTON ORR SCORES!

*  The Rangers looked pretty good in this one.  They gave up fewer odd man rushes than usual.  The fact that I just typed that is a problem.

*  Wade Redden should just cut the crap and play as a forward.  Either that or put him and Betts on the points during the powerplay.  That way it'd look like the Rangers are trying to generate more offense by having a forward on the point, but really just shore up the D.

*  That last one was a joke.  Maybe.

*  Glad Gomer popped Kovi.  Ilya likes to act like a fighter every now and then, but his silky soft hands just give him away.  I'm hoping this leads to some good, aggressive matchups down the line between these two.  Also, it may be the coverage, but I didn't see the Gomer slash that sent him to the box with Ilya right after they served their "not fighting minors".

*  Freddy "Quadzilla" Sjostrom is probably better off on the third line, but honestly I like him better with Betts and Orr.  I'd honestly rather see Voros/Betts/Orr and more the Korpedo up.  Voros and Orr seemed to have some chemistry tonight on that goal.  Maybe it could lead to something?

*  Great saves by Valley.  Seriously, those were Patrick Roy style glove saves!  Also gotta love Moose pulling out the stacked pad save!  Not enough goalies do that stuff anymore.

Lastly, I just want to say something.  If you think Scott Gomez is a waste, you need to find another sport to follow.  The space that this guy creates is invaluable.  He's not going to score like Jagr.  He's not meant to.  When he's on the ice during a breakout, the puck is going into the offensive zone, 100%.  Think of how many times the Rangers get chased back into their end, trying to make an overly long pass or realizing that Wade Redden is on the team.  They get trapped, the other team starts to cycle and WHAM.  Goal.  Having a speedster who can bullrush the puck, make a good pass, and score the occasional goal is huge.  If you don't believe me, watch how other teams respect the Gomer's speed.  When he starts a rush, the other team's D drops back half a zone.  They don't try and stand him up, the just drop back and try to push him to the outside.  It's all they can do.

Remember kids, only 83 more games until Colton's next goal...