Bruins 3, Rangers 1
The New York Rangers (0-1-0) lost to the Boston Bruins (1-0-0) by the score of 3-1, tonight. For a box score, visit Yahoo! Sports.
...first off, man it was amazing to be watching hockey again. Felt like a huge void was being filled.
...unfortunately, the Rangers play had many of us wishing the lockout was still going on. Having said that, it's the first game and as Adam wrote on the blog earlier today we Rangers fans have to keep things in perspective, one loss in the first game of the season doesn't mean anything. Unless of course they miss the playoffs by one point because they lose a shootout on the final day of the season. But that never happens.
...what was concerning was the lack of effort. Energy and hustle was the hallmark of last year's team. I mean, if you can't come flying out of the gate after a four month lockout when will you? Assuming Torts had a few choice words for the team after this one.
...one game in and Lundqvist already has a stranglehold on the Vezina.
...no goals for Nash but you saw glimpses of what makes him such a special player.
...you know your power play is bad when Nash can't even fix it. That 5-on-3 was a must score on.
...my biggest surprise of the game was how the back-to-back Rupp/Bickel fights destroyed the Rangers momentum after the Richards goal. I was ready to fight my wife I was so pumped after that sequence, but unfortunately it backfired and sparked the Bruins.
...good thing the Rangers brought Halpern in for his faceoff prowess. 2-for-10 tonight.
...looks like Pyatt forgot to shake the sand out of his skates after he left Phoenix. He was skating in quicksand out there.
...all reports are that Gaborik's shoulder is 100%. Didn't look that way tonight.
...Bickel did a great job confirming Torts' lack of confidence in the playoffs last year.
...team was missing a Prust like spark tonight. Let's hope Asham brings that tomorrow night.
...unfortunately Kreider looked more like the "Whale Kreider" than the "2012 Playoff Kreider" Just 10 minutes of ice time doesn't help.
...Torts on his way to burn out Girardi and McDonagh again as they combine for 50 minutes.
...were those replacement refs tonight?
...hate seeing other players wearing #s 17 & 42. Too soon for me. Also didn't like Stralman wearing #6. That number's a jinx for this team.
...6-for-6 on the pk eased any concerns I had about replacing key components from last season.
...here's your list of ex-Rangers scoring tonight: Jagr, Anisimov, Kovalev, Mitchell, Wolski, Korpikoski and Tyutin.
...on a positive note at least we know the Rangers will be fresh for tomorrow's home opener vs. the Penguins after that lack of effort.
Player quotes after the jump.
Player Quotes (via Blueshirts United):
"We knew what we are going to get out of Boston, they are a hard team to play against, and we saw that tonight. ”
- Ryan Callahan
“ We had a slow start, there was a lot of energy in the building. The first period was a bit rusty, but after that I thought we came back and played hard, but we have to finish and score goals. ”
- Rick Nash
“ Obviously that (5-on-3 in third period) was a big part of the game. It's a tie game had we scored, but then we don't and the momentum is right back to them. ”
- Brad Richards
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Spot on as always. Just disagree with one thing - team wasn't missing a Prust like spark. They were missing a Callahan like spark :-/
Tough loss! They had no jump and the chemistry a problem. Hope things turn around quick
This was a quote from a Blue Jackets fan, "Anisimov was stellar! Great goal in the second period, driving the net with a defender all over him lifted a backhand under the crossbar, POW! Then Anisimov scored in the shootout! Thanks, NYR!!!"
I really miss Brandon Prust. I watched his scrap against Mike Brown and it got me more fired up than watching ol' man Rupper take a few on the chin.
"I was ready to fight my wife." LOL. Tough start, but the Rangers will bounce back. I'm hoping Hank won't get peppered every game with 35+ shots
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"I was ready to fight my wife.." I lold And for those who say put gabby with Richards and Nash, gaborik didn't play against chara once last night because they were separated. That's the idea.
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The Rangers are playing and we have game recaps on the blog - all is right with the world again.
I'm not concerned at all - I expect this team to take a few games to get their legs under them and figure out their new chemistry. they'll get it together - I've got faith in our boys! Have to, after last season.
Thank god hockey is back and thank you Kevin for keeping the blog up! It's great to finally get to talk hockey again!
only thing i want is Nash-Richards-Gaborik line together. Damn it, Torts. You have those skilled elite players, put them together! I'm sure they'll score a lot.
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Goddamn you people sound so whiny. Let me put this in perspective for you - the Rangers lost to one of the NHL's best teams in a home opener. On top of that, the Bruins had no personnel changes other than Dougie Hamilton. We've seen plenty of games last season where the Rangers played in their own zone a lot but ended up pulling through, it just didn't happen tonight.
For the 1st game after missing so much time, adding new pieces, and having a shortened training camp, it was pretty much what I expected. They were rusty and sloppy (except Hank what a beast). Kevin, you say at the beginning of your post to keep things in perspective, then go on to bitch about practically everyone on the team and proclaim Hank to be a Vezina lock. That is the opposite of putting things into perspective.
@coontzbloontz Bravo Coontz..your critique was dead on....I could not have said it any better.
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@coontzbloontz While I critiqued everyone's performance (which was deserved) at no time did I say this season was over or that the sky was falling. This blog is all hyperbole.
@KevinDeLury Haha after reading your blog for a year I should have known that... but seriously, some people get too caught up in the hype around this team... these things take time.
Ok seriously they had what? 2 weeks of camp? Richards missed how much of that. Let's wait and see how they play at the garden with our fans behind them. Pittsburgh is tough. My confidence lies with the boys and they don't like them much, so LGR!! Shake it off and bring it on. I am sure Torts had a few choice words in the locker room for them.
Couple points: Kreider was so lost out there, has that deer in head lights look where it seems he never knows where he should be. Offensively looked very simliar to last year with not a lot of flow and zone time. D had a hard time getting the puck out of the zone. I do believe things will improve, not to mention that Boston is a great team, so no shame there.
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Very sloppy and rusty. Almost no forecheck, no hustle to loose pucks. They might need some time to find their game with basically no training camp.
It blows my mind that hank can make saves and put fourth the effort he does, while the rest of the team sits back and waits for chances. Also, can you call torts and tell these guys, " STOP SETTING UP AND WAITING FOR PERFECT SHOTS!! Shoot the mother f*cking puck. Fire the special teams coach before this gets bad again
I know it's only the first game of the season but man, with Nash and Gabby on separate lines I would expect we score more than 1 goal. And when combined on one line during a 5 on 3 PP playing in a one goal game and they can't tie it, I gotta tell ya, I'm a little nervous about all these high expectations for this team.
@HJB91 Got to give it at least a week or so before we hit the panic button. Not good though.
@KevinDeLury @HJB91 I totally agree its too early to panic, I mean for gd sakes its only 1 game 47 left but I just can't help from feeling a little bit nervous after tonight's performance. Hope we kick Cindy's ass tomorrow night and make fleury look like bryzgalov!
@HJB91 ya it was total slop. But also they didn't have much time with Richards this week. I really hope they start to gel soon. It was a little concerning.
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@RicanRangerFan I was thinking something similar. Watching Rupp out there, he just looked really, really slow and out of place. I know he's a fighter type, but one has to wonder if that's enough for him to secure a place on this team. Obviously we need a larger sample size for this season, but I wouldn't be surprised if at some point Segal takes his spot or we bring someone else up.
@JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan If Asham takes on the role of enforcer Rupp becomes that much more expendable. Maybe JT Miller gets a callup.
@AnnoyingJoe @Iron @Iron @KevinDeLury @JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan I see Asham taking Avery's spot in Torts doghouse very quickly, hope I'm wrong
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@Iron Mike @Iron @KevinDeLury @JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan All I see Ashram doing is skating around doing stupid things that hurt the team.
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@AnnoyingJoe @Iron @KevinDeLury @JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan Agreed, his pricetag is ridiculous but man Rupper looks old and timid, and frankly Asham can kiss my ass. I don't think the two of them combined will do what Prust did for us time and time again last year.
@Iron Mike @KevinDeLury @JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan LOVE Prust. But too much money. And soon enough the Canadiens fans will realize he isn't the second coming of Yvan Cournoyer when they're in 10th
@KevinDeLury @JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan We never should of let Prusty go. He had Montreal buzzing last night.
@KevinDeLury @JoshKaye @RicanRangerFan Bickel seems to be much more effective when it comes to fighting now. He still is obviously a liability when it comes to him...well...actually playing. I would love for Miller to get a callup though. It will happen this season. I expect to see both Miller and Hrivik by seasons end. For who? I don't know at this moment, it's only been one game. But if we can't get any chemistry going within the next week or two, something's gotta change. Don't have all season to tinker around.
@cb1 Do you know whose numbers are these? If ur right Ill give u the right to reply to my comments. NHL totals
GP G A Pts
557 53 41 94
@RicanRangerFan i dont need your permission to post comments, thanks. I didn't notice Rupp other than his fight. Which was poorly timed, and he didn't win. When healthy, he has been an effective player throughout his career, so hopefully he has some gas left in the tank. We shall see.
@cb1 @RicanRangerFan it takes 2 seconds to score a goal. Imagine how many golas are scored within 4 minutes?
I wasn't disappointed by lack of effort or energy. The team just looked rusty, out-of-sync, etc. I didn't notice any new players on the B's, it looks like the exact same team as last year and they came out sharp. No excuses, but it wasn't awful for a road game against one of the league's best teams.
You don't have to worry about someone wearing #42 anymore Kevin, they already sent Segal back to the Whale.
@KevinDeLury I hate to admit it, but they could've used Asham tonight, Boston came out wanting to bang the body and caught the Rangers off guard. You didn't see the physical side of the Rangers until the second period. The two fights were clearly the turning point without question. There wasn't a worse time during the game to start dropping the gloves especially after they finally starting gaining momentum. Get em next time.
@thenyrblogneill @KevinDeLury Sorry to say Asham also is washed up. We need players who have Big Balls and can play hockey NHL hockey not Goon Hockey.
