No excuses. Everyone had a bad game. About the only person I give any credit to is Zherdev, who played a pretty strong game considering his nose got busted up by Ott(er).
Valley was left out to dry, and after the game seemed like a sure loss, he just gave up. Just like the rest of the team. Interesting things happened though.
1) Gomer was benched in the third. This is a sign that Renney's had enough. He's gone through his mentor persona, and now he's going to give the players something to think about. The hard skate was a good start, and with the excess of D men, we can expect to see Rosi or Redden get some time off soon, but more than likely it'll be Staal.
2) Voros was in the lineup. Some people advocate putting Orr in his place. I agree with this for the most part. The main thing is that if you are going to put a big guy in front of the net, he needs to have some hands. Orr doesn't seem to have the hands that Voros has, which is saying something. The point is that you don't need a big man in front on the PP. Put Drury there, and Prucha on the wing to pick up the garbage that Dru'll generate.
3) Props for Orr sticking up. Hell, the game was already out of hand, so why not send a message. Ott is the Dallas Avery, which is why it puzzled me that they signed The Sloppy One in the first place.
Speaking of Sloppy Seconds he may be coming back to MSG. I'm not sure how I feel about this. He's good for the intensity that he adds to any game he's in, but he may undermine the chemistry of the team. Thing is, the Rangers need one of two things (ideally both): more goals or a shutdown D man. Avery doesn't give either of these things.
What he can do is throw off the games of top players like Crosby (who, btw, was cited in an ESPN player poll as being the biggest complainer in the NHL). This could play into the defensive mindset that Renney wants. He also brings speed. I would honestly love to see a line with him, Cally, and Dubinsky. They would piss the hell out of any opponents, and maybe create some good scoring chances. They'd be the meth addict line, just going crazy for a fix.
Back on track.
4) The flu. As if things weren't bad, the flu is going to keep taking players out of the linuep for the next few days. Thankfully, the boys have a few days off, so maybe the bug'll run its course. On the bright side, the flu gives a good excuse for certain high priced free agents not to play. But would the kids in Hartford be a step up? Maybe?
5) Perry Pearn goes soon. I think that'll be a good wakeup call. Moving Renney would be a bad idea. His system works pretty well (when the D doesn't suck ass. I had the Dallas broadcast, and they were just astounded at how lost the D looked when confronted by a good forecheck) but it needs offense. The PP needs to generate more goals. If the kids hustle, they'll draw penalties. PP will lead to goals, and the shutdown D will hold. Thing is, the kids aren't hustling, the PP is getting a goal here or there but nothing much, and we have Redden on D. Rosi has been on the upswing, but man, Redden must've had about 400 turnovers tonight.
6) Turnovers. Too many tonight. At least 5 of the Stars' goals were direct results of Ranger turnovers. The D was left by itself, without a center to backcheck (usually being caught up ice) and eaten up.
Anyway, I still think that we'll get into the playoffs. I'm banking on a series with the Bruins. It'd be great hockey, and a good excuse to slip into 8th place. We're not a top tier team, I realize that, but we could be a good team.
LSATs are in the morning. That should be fun. I am realizing that Law School may not be the way to go...
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