Rangers Slip Past Wild, 2-1
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The New York Rangers got what they needed - a win. In a quick turn around from the dud against the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers captured a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild and jumped up into 6th place in the Eastern Conference (tied with Pittsburgh in points).
A goal by Nikolai Zherdev with less than 5 seconds to go in the 1st period gave the Rangers the start that they needed. Minnesota, quite frankly, is a tough and boring team to play against. Did I say boring? Oh, nevermind! With both teams fighting desperately for points in a push for the playoffs, Marian Gaborik (the guy who scored 5 goals in a game against the Blueshirts), scored on a nice deflection to even up the game at 1-1. That score didn't last too long though as Scott Gomez fired a one timer off of a Sean Avery pass that beat Niklas Backstrom - giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead. In a game like this, I figured it might be enough... it just had that feeling. Both teams sport an excellent penalty kill (Rangers # 1, Wild # 2) so PP's really wouldn't matter - and they certainly did not matter tonight. The Rangers went 0 for again, what a surprise! The total shots in the game favored the Rangers 30-19 as Henrik Lundqvist really only had a few scary moments late in the game. Other than that, it was rather "ho-hum" for the King in this contest.
What was nice to see were the two spirited bouts. First, Sean Avery squared off with Cal Clutterbuck and then the old war horse Owen Nolan squared off with Colton Orr (not a good choice). Until Zherdev's late 1st period goal, the 2 fights kept me awake - thank God! Also, I thought the recently called up Michael Sauer played a real solid game for his first game as a Ranger. Good job! It was a big win for the Rangers tonight. This game was definitely a nice bounce back effort from the Ottawa loss a few nights ago. It's all in their hands now.
Walt Poddubny Passes Away
A former teammate of mine while with the Maple Leafs, Walt Poddubny, passed away this past Saturday. My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends. I didn't get to play very long with Walt, but what I can say is that he was a good person, a great teammate, and a solid player (definitely proved this during his time with the Rangers). It's a very sad time for us who played with and knew Walt. We're gonna miss you.
7 comments:
Good win tonight. Watching the Wild sort of reminded me of watching a few Rangers games from a month back or so. Gotta keep winning and piling up the points with so little games remaining.
The fights were decent tonight too.
RIP Walt Poddubny.
I certainly am glad Minnesota doesn't play in the east. No knock but they do put you to sleep.
The Rangers need take care of their own business. No looking at whats behind. It's that simple.
It's tough to hear about the passing of my era of players. Especially ones I've played with.
You're right Wrath, RIP Walt.
Perfect account of the game. I was there last night and until the fights, it was looking to be a snorefest.
I watched Sauer a lot when he was on the ice. I liked how he handled the puck and did not panic when forechecked or chased. Let's see how the next couple of games go for him.
As for Walt Poddubny, I remember him a little when he played with the Rangers. I did not realize how talented a scorer he was when he was with the team.
I came across this article about him: http://tinyurl.com/ck4xhh
Graying Mantis, In the end the Rangers got what they needed 2 points.
Sauer looked to be calm and cool with the puck, stayed in position, I liked what I saw of him.
You're right, the next few games will tell it all about Sauer.
Walt Poddubny for me personally hurts. His story is not an unusual for Former NHLers. It's tragic and something should be done about it.
I can only hope the NHL and the Players Association is listening.
Thanks for the link.
I met Walt Poddubny while working for WCPD. I was on the Ranger security detail at the practice facility. I never seen Walt refuse an autograph or picture requests from fans who waited by the parking lot to meet their heroes. He and Kelly Kisio always obliged. Men like Walt will always be missed! RIP Walt !!!
Geno, Thanks for the kind words about Walt.
What happened yesterday? Wow, I thought that kind of poor performance left the locker room with Renney. A punch in the face! Didn't watch the game yet, but the third period doesn't look good. Staal and Girardi were on the ice for the 4 Thrashers goal? Avery with only 14:50 minutes? Zherdev didn't take a shot in the SO? Torts going nuts after the game? Drury scoring 3 points in the same game? What happened? Ok the Drury line is a bit sarcastic. ^^,
I don't like what I heard about this game, I don't like how we managed the last week, that was supposed to be the last "easiest" one of the regular season! We have the Penguins, Devils, Hurricanes and Bruins ahead of us. 3 on the road. I guess we'll have to worry until April 12...
Sad news for the Rangers, Alf "the embalmer" Pike 3 weeks ago, and now Poddubny. RIP.
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