Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Rangers vs Devils

Hockey fans are in for a real treat in the Eastern Conference Final this year. The battle of the Hudson River, a heated rivavlry between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils is taking center stage, one step away from the Stanley Cup Finals. The Devils are back in the Conference Finals for the first time since 2003, and the Rangers for the first time since 1997. Ofcourse, everyone remembers the epic clash between the two teams in the 1994 Conference Final, when the Rangers won in 7 games. That series included two double overtime winners and one of the most historic calls in overtime history, when Stefan Matteau scored for the blueshirts. However, since that magical 1994 season, the Devils have won three Stanley Cups, and the Rangers have won none. Since the 2004-2005 lockout, the Rangers have been the more succesful organization and have finally made their mark on the league this season. So now the stage is set, Brodeur vs Lundqvist, New York vs New Jersey...so who has the upper hand?

First we will tackle the forwards. The Devils are led by Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, both can score at will and have played two-way hockey throughout the season. Ofcourse you cannot forget Travis Zajac and Patrick Elias, who continue to be succesful for the Devils, and have playoff experience. Yet, so far this playoffs, the Devils faced two teams with very weak goaltending and average defense, they will be tested vs the Rangers number one playoff defense. The Rangers are led by Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan, yet there are certaintly plenty of threats for the offense that has struggled with consistency all season and throughout the playoffs. The Rangers top line will be a matchup problem for the Devils, the speed of Carl Hagelin and Marian Gaborik has worked through the first two rounds, and past Stanley Cup MVP Brad Richards is the glue that holds it together. On the second line, rookie Chris Kreider will get his first taste of the rivalry, playing with Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan, this will provide the Rangers with two potent lines. The grinders round out the bottom two lines, and will play an important role in the physical play. I give the forward edge to the Rangers, who are a better balanced team through all four lines. Now the Defense. The Devils are a physical team, but rely heavily on Marek Zidlicky, Andy Greene and Bryce Salavador. They also have rookie Adam Larsson in the lineup with Anton Volchenkov. They are not the most talented defense, and lack depth and experience beyond the top pair, but they play solid hockey. Also the Devils defense relies heavily on a strong backcheck from the forwards helping out...they will need it for the Rangers forcheck.

The Rangers defense has been the best in the playoffs. The set an NHL record for goals allowed in the first two rounds of the playoffs. They block shots and hit hard, as well as being very disciplined. The Blueshirts are led by Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal, who are three all-star caliber defensemen who earn a lot of icetime. They are shutdown defensemen who will be on the ice everytime Ilya Kovalchuk is. Along with those three, Anton Stralman and Michael Del Zotto have made great strides this playoff, and add an offensive touch from the blue line, as well as sound defense. It is with no question the Rangers are the better defensive team. Finally Goaltending. Martin Brodeur is one of the greatest goalies of all time, he holds every regular season and playoff record conceivable, as well as three Stanley Cup victories. Though, there has been much talk that he is not the Marty of old and now that he has turned 40, his skills have diminished. However he has shown glimpses of the old Vezina winner during this postseason, and his experience will play a strong role. He has a 2.0 goals against average and a .920 save percentage, fourth best out of the remaining four goalies in the playoffs. Henrik Lundqvist on the other hand put together a magical season. Widely considered to be the greatest goalie in the world, Lundqvist was nominated for the MVP Trophy (Hart) and Best Goaltender trophy (Vezina) this season. He has put the team on his back at times, and especially during the playoffs. He has a 1.73 goals against average and a .943 save percentage during the playoffs. He finally got the monkey off his back and reached the Conference Finals, now it is time to see if he can continue to silence his critics and lead the Blueshirts to the Stanley Cup. Five years ago, experts would have given the edge to Brodeur, but in 2012, Lundqvist is the better goalie. So, The Rangers are stronger in all three categories. They should win right? Not so fast, because special teams play a strong role in the playoffs, where there is very little margin for error. The Devils set a league record with the best penalty kill in regular season NHL history this year. It proved weak in the first round, but shut down the high powered Philadelphia offense in the second round. The Rangers already have an abysmal power play, so it will be nearly impossible to score any power play goals for the blueshirts. Special Teams goes to the Devils. My prediction: Rangers in 6. They are the better team, better coached team, and have a great balance of experience and hardworking young talent. They have fought through adversity the entire season and continue to quite the critics, but this round will be the series where the Rangers show the country they are for real.

NYR vs NJD - how to create a free slideshow

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 2

Tonight's matchups in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are extremely important to both home teams. First, the Washington Capitals return home looking to build off their victory over the Rangers Monday night. The Caps have been outplayed by the Rangers during the first two games, but remain to be a dangerous team. The verizon center is always a loud arena, and the fans will be behind them. Over the last two seasons, the Rangers havent had much success there, but this is a different team now. If the Rangers win tonight, this series could definitely be closed out in 5, but if Washington wins, we will have a long series on our hands. Onto the second matchup tonight, the Phoenix Coyotes at the Nashville Predators. The coyotes took care of business at home, taking both games pretty handedly vs the predators. Nashville will be without Alex Radulov and Andre Kostitsyn, who they suspended for game 3 for violating team rules. This could be a big blow to the predators, who are already struggling to find a little offense. Their hopes lie in Vezina finalist Pekka Rinne in net, who had a terrible outing in Game 2. If Rinne can steal this one, the Predators have a real chance to tie it in game 4, but if the Coyotes dominate again, this series is all but over. I think the Rangers will eventually win their series, but tonight im going with the Capitals in DC. In Nashville, im sticking with the Coyotes, I think they are confident and have played consistent and well-balanced hockey throughout the playoffs.

Rangers Try to Ride Momentum into Game 2

Saturday afternoon marked a typical Rangers win, but in April, the wins count for much more. The blueshirts 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals gave them a 1-0 series lead in the the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and set the tone for Monday's game 2 tilt. Despite only getting 14 shots on net, the Rangers capitilized when it counted, largely in part to veteran leadership, as well as the newest star on Broadway. Through the first round of the playoffs, Capitals goalie Braden Holtby virtually shut down the defending champion Boston Bruins, and carried the Caps into round 2. Yet, the rookie/late season fill-in was anything but remarkable on saturday. It has been said that he possibly could not find a rhythm, since he only faced 14 shots, but Holtby seemed shaky during the Rangers hot start. The blueshirts came out of the gates with their best start of the playoffs, but Washington took a page out of the Rangers books, and blocked a ton of shots. It was an Artem Anisimov wraparound in the 2nd period that give the Rangers a lead. Only to be erased with four seconds left in the 2nd by a great saucer pass from Brooks Laich to Jason Chimera that notched the game at one. Though things could have gotten much worse for the Rangers if it was not for the great job on the penalty kill by veteran Ruslan Fedotokeno. Fedotenko, a two-time Stanley Cup Winner, made three game changing plays during a 5-3 penalty, that kept the Rangers in the lead, and the Garden Crowd to their feet. The tension in the garden finally erupted seven minutes into the third, when rookie Chris Kreider bursted through the neutral zone and fired a rocket slapshot past Holtby. Kreider, six games into his NHL career, and two weeks removed from an NCAA National Championship, scored his second goal of the playoffs, and took New York City by storm. Kreider could possibily go on to be the "x-factor" in this series, as coach John Tortorella said he is the fastest player on the ice. Ninety seconds after Kreider's goal, it was the young gun making a play again, only this time with a strong pass along the boards to Brad Richards, who patiently skated in and scored between Holtby's pads. "Broadway" Brad proved once again why he was worth all the money the Rangers spent on him during free agency, as the former Conn Symthe winner is a playoff tested winner. The Rangers will need to come out with the same intenity again on Monday night, especially if they want to take a 2-0 advantage into Washington, something they could not do againt Ottawa. They must improve on their offense though, as 14 shots will not cut it in the NHL playoffs.

Boyle and Dubinsky - slideshow with music

Here is a clip of the Chris Neil hit on Brian Boyle that gave him a concussion.

What It All Comes Down To: Game 7

Game 7 is the highlight of any playoff, it is the end, win or go home as they say. Thursday night marks a crucial game seven matchup between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers were already down 3-2 in the series, but won Game 6 on Monday night in Ottawa, after trailing a goal for half the game. The return of Carl Hagelin to the lineup, and the solid play by rookie Chris Kreider made a difference for the blueshirts, who are looking to advance to the second round for the first time in four seasons. The Rangers will have to do it without arguably their best skater of the series, Brian Boyle, who is still suffering from a concussion caused by a hit to the head from Chris Neil on Saturday night. Captain Ryan Callahan is also a little banged up, as he is not skating today after taking a puck to his hand Monday. He stayed in the game, but there was some swelling, and I’m sure it is nothing to worry about as Callahan would not miss a game 7. Of course game 6 with some controversy, with a questionable goal call reviewed and judged good at the end. Postgame comments from Rangers goalie Henrik Lundvqist expressed outrage with the officials and the league for allowing it to happen. Yet, Hank wasn’t the only one who disagreed with the call, as almost every hockey commentator and analysts also said that it was a terrible call that was blatantly wrong. Today, Lundqvist was nominated for his fourth Vezina Trophy, for the NHL’s best goaltender. Lundqvist will have to be on his game Thursday night with a series on the line, but many will agree that he is the last person to question competitiveness. On the other hand, the Senators seemed to be completely frustrated on Monday night, evident by Captain Daniel Alfredsson breaking his stick over the bench in anger. Though the officiating was atrocious, it was equal for both teams; the Rangers just capitalized at the right time and came out on top. Look for the Rangers fans to be loud on Thursday night, and create an intimidating atmosphere for the Senators. Momentum is on the Rangers side, as well as confidence; if they continue to play strong defense and Henrik Lundqvist continues to excel between the pipes, I think the Rangers should pull game 7 out. Although, scoring has been their problem during the series, but Monday night might have been the touch to bring them out of their funk, and create a little confidence. Either way, should be an entertaining game, always exciting in the garden.

Do or Die: Rangers must win Monday night

After a dissappointing effort on saturday night, the Rangers find themselves on the brink of elimination in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since the top seeded rangers gained a 2-1 series lead last monday, they have fallen apart and have been unable to score against Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. Anderson, who is an average goaltender at best, made 41 saves saturday night to defeat the Rangers. Though Anderson shutout the blueshirts, he was never tested throughout the game. The Rangers get their rookie winger Carl Hagelin back in the lineup monday night, after serving his questionable three game suspension. Coach John Tortorella has also said that rookie Chris Kreider will also recieve more minutes. The big question is who will replace Brian Boyle, who apparently suffered a concussion saturday night, and will probably miss the game 6 tilt. The Rangers lost more than 2 consecutive games only twice this season, one of which was the first three games of the season. They have arguably been the best team in the league when responding to adversity, and tomorrow provides no greater chance. It will certaintly be a do or die matchup, but I expect the Rangers to follow in the Boston Bruins footsteps, as the Bruins won sunday on the road to force a game 7. With Richards and Gaborik reunited with Carl Hagelin, the top line will spark and the Rangers will rally around their teammates to force Game 7 back at MSG on thursday.

Carl Hagelin Suspended 3 games

http://nyc.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d1/d0/dA/dJ/d5/10AJ5_3.MP3 Here is the 22 minute interview with Brendan Shannhan.

Here is an interview this morning on the WFAN Boomer and Carton show with Brendan Shannahan. Shannhan is the NHL executuve who provides the discipline hearings for possible suspensions and fines. Rangers rookie Hagelin was suspended 3 games for a hit to the head saturday night on Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredson. The hit was not malicious, nor is Hagelin a repeat offender. Many NHL and Rangers fans have legitimate gripes with the ruling, considering there is no consistency amongst the suspensions for different players. Alfredson could be in the lineup tonight for the Senators, which would make the suspension look even worse, as it seems the NHL levy's their suspensions based on how hurt the player is, which is wrong. That being said, tonight will be a hard hitting chippy game, and nobody would be surprised if the bad blood carries over from saturday. This is has been a tough fought playoffs within the first week, across the entire NHL.

10 games Left: Rangers Stretch Run

Tonight the Rangers will face off against the Detroit Red Wings (44-25-4 92 pts) in an Original Six Matchup at Madison Square Garden.  The Blueshirts are one point up on the Pittsburgh Penguins, with 10 games remaining on the season.  The battle between these two teams will determine who has the number 1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference, and possibly the NHL. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be in net tonight, possibily with Artem Anisimov returning to the Rangers lineup after missing a couple of games.  Nick Lidstrom will be out again for the Red Wings, who will also have Ty Conklin in goal. The game kicks off at 730pm on NBC sports network.