ECQF: Game 3 Preview

Corey Masisak from NHL.com is reporting that Bruce Boudreau has flip flopped his top 2 line centers for game 3, moving big Jason Arnott between Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble on the top line. This move intern drops Niklas Backstrom to the 2nd line, where he will be skating between Alex Semin and possibly Marco Strum. No matter who the 3rd player is on this line, this will likely be the move that puts the Washington Capitals over the top.

"The great 8" has burned the Rangers in this series in just about every way possible. Ovi has hurt them on the scoreboard, with his physical play, and just being the emotional leader the Capitals need him to be. In game 1, Ovechkin brought the puck down the left one 2 on 2, simply lowered his shoulder, and knocked Dan Girardi right off his feet. This play eventually lead to the game tying goal with less than 6 minutes remaining, a lead the Rangers are not used to giving up that late in a game. In Game 2, Ovi was back at it, taking runs at players such as Fedotenko, Prust, Girardi, Staal, and Boyle. The only one who was able to withstand an Ovechkin hit was Boyle, as the 6'7" center simply shrugged off the 6'2" Ovechkin.

With Ovechkin and the Capitals already dominating the physical game against the Rangers top defensive unit, the addition of Arnott with make it even more difficult to defend this gigantic unit with Knuble on the opposite wing.

The other aspect of this move is dropping Backstrom to the second line to play with Alex Semin. Now the Rangers will have a decision to make; do Staal and Girardi play against Ovechkin Knuble and Arnott where they have already been ineffective, or drop them to match up with the smaller more finesse styles of play Semin and Backstrom bring to the table. Keep in mind, the other defense pairs have their own issues. While McDonough and Sauer have played fairly well, they are both still rookies and don't have that real playoff experience. The third pair leaves you with McCabe and Gilroy, where McCabe is clearly not the skater he used to be and would likely not put up much of a fight for the speed and strength of Ovechkin.

The only real chance the Rangers will have to get back into this series in game 3 will be if they can somehow carry the offensive play much more than they have in the first 2 games. While Avery brought a lot of life in the lineup, Tortorella has not seemed to be able to find the right line combination to get his only offensive threats going. Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky must be better in game 3, and the Rangers must also find a way to win a few more faceoffs throughout the course of the game.

While Lundqvist has been superb, it is clear the Rangers will not sneak by the Capitals with his brilliance alone. If the Rangers have a slow start on home ice in game 3, this young inexperienced team may end up out of the run for the Stanley Cup far sooner than anticipated.

Post Game: ECQF Game 1

Last night the Rangers opened up their 2011 playoff campaign against the top seeded Washington Capitals. It's safe to say the Rangers came out looking like the eight seed, and can you blame them? The Verizon Center was rocking and the Rangers are a young team; a recipe for disaster. But that wasn't entirely the case. Lundqvist looked as sharp as he has the past 30 games and was the reason the Rangers were able to come out of the first period tied up, despite enormous pressure from the Caps.

The second period was different. the Rangers came out strong. They tightened up their defense and started getting the puck deep into Washington's end. Although they couldn't convert (Gaborik wide open in front comes to mind), you could tell that they were still in it and had a shot at taking game one.

The Rangers continued early in the third and finally buried one thanks to Brandon Prust's pursuit of the puck behind the enemy net. After winning the battle he kicked it over to Wolski who threw it in front to a wide open, pinching Gilroy who buried it.

With less than ten minutes reaming the Caps got it back. The initial shot was stopped by Lundqvist but the pressure the Caps applied in hopes of a rebound were too much. Ovechkin's stick knocked the semi-loose puck into the back of the net, and following video review, the official's call on the ice stood.

On to overtime, and here we saw a tired Rangers squad. A few early opportunities removed, the rangers applied basically no offense and it was obvious it was only a matter of time before the Caps penetrated Lundqvist to take game 1. It came off an outstanding play by Arnott on the boards to knock down Staal's clearing attempt which lead to a Semin one timer which Lundqvist had no shot at.

Now if you ask me, this was a good game for the Rangers. I saw a young team come out very shaky in the first and turn it around with a strong, defensibly responsible second period which showed that they could indeed make this an interesting series. It's obvious the team misses Callahan, but that's hockey. Drury and Prust were excellent. Prust was a beast along the boards while Drury also did his part in the corners, but more importantly, he went 6 for 8 in the faceoff circle. Dubinsky was invisible; it's obvious he misses Callahan. If i were Torts, Anisimov would be skating with Dubinsky in game 2, and Boyle would pivot for Prospal and Gaborik on the first line.

One thing I've noticed is the abuse Staal is getting for the overtime winner. I ask why? Staal was deep in his end, with no forwards available for a breakout pass, so what does one do when this occurs? Send it high off the glass. What did Staal do? Sent it high off the glass, but Arnott made a great play to keep it in just before Semin blasted a shot nobody would have saved. Staal made the right play, Arnott made the better play, that's hockey, I thought most would know that by now.

Round 1 Game 1

2 huge topics here: Fundamentals and Officiating.

Where was the whistle? How long does Lundqvist need to freeze the puck before we blow the play dead? How many fucking times are we going to let Ovechkin swipe at that puck? And how the fuck does Alex Semin get an assist on a goal that is jammed in? Awful officiating.

All that aside, the game wasn't over. We can't cash in on our opportunities but how the fuck do you lose on a fundamental error. Fucking pathetic. You weren't out of the game by any means and you handed the Caps game 1 on a platter.

It's a whole new game now

With the win today over the Devils and a truly unbelievable absolute gem of a game by Mike Smith, the Rangers drew the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs. Fucking unreal. What a season you could have easily counted this team out 2-3 times and they pull the perfect 1st round matchup.

As I'm sure most of you remember, the Rangers took 3/4 from the Capitals. The series began back in November with a 5-3 loss on Garden ice, a game in which they blew a 3-2 lead in the second. These teams met again a little of a month later where Callahan Dubinsky and Anisimov combined for 4 goals in a game that saw the Rangers put a 7 spot on the scoreboard while being perfect defensively, an incredible feet they managed to do 3 times this year (Toronto and Philadelphia being the others).

The Rangers took the remaining two games in Washington. The first was a Ranger come from behind shootout victory where believe it or not, but GABORIK had the game tying goal in the third. They proceeded to once again stomp out the Capitals, this time a 6-0 game that Eric Christensen had 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points.

With the way this team has played defensively all season long, it wouldn't be too hard to envision a team very similar to Montreal in the playoffs. Losing Callahan was a huge blow, but this team has shown time and time again they will not quit on you. With Lundqvist in net, the Rangers match up perfectly with the Capitals. I'm sure no one has forgotten that series loss to the Capitals a few years ago, so maybe with a little better coaching the Rangers can pull off the upset.

What an amazing first round pull. This is the playoffs, and anything can happen now. This site will be up the entire playoffs as long as the Rangers are in it, and I will personally see to it that for every game there will be plenty of discussion if any other Ranger fans pumped for the playoffs want to talk about the best possible first round matchup they could have drawn.

The future is here

For anyone who hasn't been listening to reports from around the league, there is not a single team in the Eastern Conference who wants to play the New York Rangers in the playoffs (prior to the most recent Callahan injury). If the playoffs started today, the Rangers would be facing the Washington Capitals, a team that New York has already taken 3/4 from, and a team that is currently without Alexander Semin. If Washington happens to top Philadelphia for the top seed in the East, the Rangers could draw the ailing Flyers in the first round. Living in Philadelphia, I can tel you the entire city is in disarray. Without Pronger, the Flyers are not as strong defensively, have a powerplay that makes the Rangers powerplay look like the best one in the league, and goaltending that is mediocre at best (and it shows with them recalling Leighton right before the playoffs). Had Callahan not suffered a broken leg by playing his game and laying out infront of a 100mph Zdeno Chara slapshot, the Rangers could not only pull out a first round upset, but really do some damage in an Eastern Conference that no one seems to want to run away with.


Last nights game vs the 3rd seeded Bruins was a defining moment for the New York Rangers franchise. 14 of the last 16 games against Boston have been 1 goal games (or 2 including an empty net) and it appeared for the first 30 minutes that this game would not be characteristic of these two teams. Vinny Prospal earned the first star of the game by jump starting the Rangers comeback and tallied twice in the 2nd period to pull the Rangers within 1. From that point on, every New York Ranger fan believed that this team would find a way to pull it out, especially earning a powerplay in the first 2 minutes of the third. When they didn't cash in, things began to look bleak as minutes seemed to just fall off the clock.

That's when the "future" leaders on this team took control and elevated their game. Callahan Anisimov and Dubinsky spent a good minute in the offensive zone before Callahan spun a beautiful backhand pass to Dubinsky infront of the net who buried it behind Thomas to tie the game. The once shell-shocked crowd erupted, and everyone in the Garden believed it would happen. Sure enough, Sauer cashed in less than 2 mintues later, and Stepan added an empty netter to seal the most remarkable win of the season.



Unfortunately, Callahan plays the way he does and it came back to bite the Rangers in the ass. Fearless and willing to do anything he must to propel his team to victory, Callahan blocked a Zdeno Chara slapshot and suffered a fractured ankle and is now out indefinitely. Although this is a major loss for the Blueshirts, maybe it is just what this team needs to develop into the resilient playoff contender we all hope they will. After such an inspiring performance by the heart and soul of this team, Callahan's departure leaves an opening for a handful of players to step up and become real impact players on this team.

Without Callahan I think we can all agree that the Rangers playoff run will not be as great as we all expected moments after the final horn sounded at the Garden last night. This team has 4 outstanding young rookies on it, and a solid core of young players who will all gain a lot from this experience. Come next season, barring any major injury, expect the Rangers to make a real run deep into the post season. Especially if Sather is able to land the rumored superstar brad Richards. Richards would finally give Gaborik the support he needs, and will keep the other teams top defensive pair off Anisimov Callahan and Dubinsky. With a little more freedom for that unit, don't be shocked when Callahan and Dubinsky break the 60 point mark, and Anisimov tops 50, all setting career highs.

At this point, (and I never thought I'd say this) pray the Rangers draw the Flyers in the first round. Briere is out of the lineup, Pronger's return is uncertain, and the Flyers goaltending is atrocious. Even without Callahan, the Rangers uptempo style of play and superb defensive play SHOULD be able to hold Philadelphia's dynamic offense at bay.

One more thing to note. Dan Girardi is the most underrated defensive defenseman in the NHL. He as well as Callahan jumped in front of a Zdeno Chara slapshot and was shaken up. Girardi and Callahan bring that intangibles to the Rangers' game, and this team CAN AND WILL make a real playoff run in the very near future.