Why the Rangers Didn't Suck on Adam Graves Night

First off, Graves is one of the best human beings to be put on this planet.  The man is humble, hardworking, and charitable...just an amazing person.  We should all be a little more like him.  Following his career over the years, I always admired how he would play through injury after injury, and produce.  I remember that he once got something like 30 stitches in his mouth after getting hit with a puck during the morning skate, and when he skated that night, it was like nothing was wrong.

That's Adam Graves.  The man who makes us think that nothing is wrong, and that we can make the world a better place.

BUT!  There was a hockey game tonight.  Rangers lost 2-1 in the shootout after Kovy whiffed on an empty net and Naslund tied the game up in the last 10 seconds.  Thrilling finish, bad result.

Thing is, if you float around the blogosphere, people are saying that the Rangers are the worst team, and that they should be ashamed being DOMINATED by the Thrashers and their terrible blah blah blah.

Look, the Rangers played a good game tonight.  It was not an entertaining game, but it was a good solid hockey game.  Let's run down some things.

1)  The Thrashers being a last ranked team:  A team is only as good as they are that night.  That's it.  Kovy wasn't great, but the man did have some hard shots on the PP that Hank stopped.  The real key was Lehtonen.  The big kid played up to his potential, and made some pretty difficult saves.  There were about 3 definite goals that he robbed from the boys in blue tonight.  Also, don't forget we swept these kids 2 years back.  There is history, and motivation.

2)  Motivation:  Ceremonies do NOTHING for the players on the ice.  Athletes are creatures of habit.  They do their warmup, they get into the game.  Now imagine that you do your warmup, then have an hour ceremony, then you warmup, then you get into the game.  You don't care what is being said, you just want to get to the task at hand.  To the people who say that they should be inspired, well, they should, but it's not likely.  Look and Hank during the ceremony.  He wanted this thing to get over with so he could just get in net, focus, and play.  Anyone who's ever worn the waffleboard knows that feeling.

3)  Offense:  Good chances.  4th line was really solid jumping on the Thrasher's D and forcing the pace they wanted.  3rd line was pretty good too, with Anisimov showing good hands on a quick turn around shot that almost caught Kari sleeping.  Dru's line was pretty good, buzzing around, but they, like Gomer's line, didn't have it tonight (save for the end).  The boys did have some good chances though.

4) D:  This was probably one of the most solid games the D has played.  Reitz (Rietz?  It's late and I don't care to look him up) looks like he can give that Strudwick snarl to the blueliners, but he takes himself out of position to make some of his hits.  If the center backchecks properly, though, he can step up and level some dudes.  He had about 4 or 5 good hits on guys coming into the zone tonight, and the big hit that lead to the fight.  Rosi played well, as did Redden, who showed some grit tonight.  I can't believe it, but Wade skated hard tonight, pinched properly, and look what happened!  He was crucial in keeping the puck in for the tying goal!

5) Renney:  First off, I say put Prucha and Anisimov in, take Dawes and Voros out.  Let Dawes recharge while you try out the kid, and give Prucha some games.  Voros' job can be done by Orr, who has shown good hockey sense and jump in the last few games.  Trouble is, Orr might not have the patience for the front of the net.  Anyway, ride Rietz until he fucks up, then bring D.K. back in.  They're about the same, but I like the new kid's physicality better.  Here's the thing.  Renney is playing a good system.  It works.  The D isn't strong enough to run-n-gun, so they need to play tight, controlled hockey.  It's not exciting, but it works.  Now, when they're in the zone, they need to cash in on their chances.  They need to get the cycle working, and wear out the other guys.  Too often they float in a free form rather than cycling, and it drives me mad.  Simple things work.  Back to the D.  Aside from the misplaying of the puck, the D showed that the system really works.  Let's consider.

2 games.  1 against a good opponent, the other against a bad one.  In both games they have given up a goal.  That's as good as it gets folks.  The gusy in the back are doing their jobs.  Now it's up to the dudes up front.  It's not exciting to watch, but as a fan, you have a choice.  Do you want to win or be entertained?  We have the pieces that we have.  Much like Colin Campbell after the cup, Renney is working with a mishmash.  His top players are playmakers (Gomer and Dru).  He has a ton of kids, but they're streaky and prone to breaking down/mental lapses.  To compound things, he has a weak D corps that's lead by an offensive D man.  We learned from Sandis Ozilinch and Backman that these guys don't work, yet management says, "Here you go!".  It's like the Met's getting Santana (who is awesome) when they really needed bullpen support.  

6)  Hell, it's late, and I'm tired.  I've just grown so sick of the bitching that people do about the team.  Know something about hockey if you're going to bitch.  We all know the PP sucks, but aside from that, there's not that much wrong with the team right now.  We have what we have, and we have to work with it.  Scoring will come.  Voros will come out, Pru/Dru/Dawes will get more time together.  Pace of play will increase, as will chances.  Hopefully Rieieieietz will get some time to show us what he has.  I hope he's another Paul Mara, a solid D man who just needed some new digs.  Anisimov could be something good.  At 6'4'' he could replace Voros in front, and if his hands are that good, maybe pick up some trash.

Bomb the blogosphere.