Yanks Win!

The Yankees just beat the Phillies to go up 2-1 in the World Series. The Phillies got off to an early 3-0 lead off of Andy Pettitte, but ARod hit a two run jack to cut the lead, and later the Yanks would add six more runs as Swisher broke out with a double and a homer, Andy drove in a run, and Matsui pinch hit a homer to make it 8-4. The pen was pretty good. Joba pitched a 1-2-3 7th. Marte did the same in the 8th, but Phil Hughes gave up a one out homer in the 9th and Mo came in to preserve the 8-5 win. The Yanks O should be wide awake tomorrow against Blanton. CC will once again pitch on three days rest, but I have a feeling he won't have to do it again after tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Rangers Lose

If you think they were sort of dragging with Gaborik, without him they seem aimless at time. The Rangers lost 3-2 tonight to a pretty average looking Wild team. The shiny spots were Dane Byers, playing for Higgins, scoring his first NHL goal, and Marc Staal waking up long enough to draw the Rangers within 1 in the 3rd. Dubi continues to play poorly. You have to wonder if it's because he missed camp and has hit wall in his conditioning or is it because we all overrated him. Get well soon, Gaborik!

Knicks Lost in Double OT

The Knicks came all the way back from 21 down to send the game into OT, but for some reason Coach D'Antoni didn't feel like playing Gallo, who had 5 fouls in the first OT, and didn't put him back in till the Knicks were down 4 in the second OT. His O brought the Knicks back, but the refs missed a call on a late Gallo shot, and then the possessions just didn't work out. Tough loss. Go Knicks?

AJ Comes Up Aces

AJ Burnett threw 7 innings of 4 hit, 2 walk, 1 run, 9K ball to beat the Phillies 3-1 and tie the series. Honestly, he shouldn't have even been charged with the 1 run as ARod should have fielded it. ARod was still off tonight, but Teixeira homered to tie it up off of Pedro. Later, Matsui put the Yanks up for good with another homer off of Pedro. What might have been a big seventh inning by the Yanks was screwed up by an umpire error, that declared a double play on a line-out throw out, when neither had taken place. Mo worked two innings for the save. In general, the team still seems a little tight and in that way it reminds me of 1996 whent the Yanks lost the first two games to the reigning champs, before getting comfortable and sweeping the next four. Andy goes Saturday. Go Yanks!

Swish Sits

Pleasing many fans who don't believe in stats, Joe Girardi has replaced the slumping Nick Swisher with Jerry Hairston for game 2. And groan and behold, Molina is once again catching AJ Burnett. Still, the Yanks should show Pedro who his daddy is once again, and Po will once again finish. Go Yanks!

Rangers Lose

Making it a perfectly horrible night, the Rangers lost 3-1 to the Isldanders. P.A. Parenteau who was called up to replace Gaborik scored the only goal for the Rangers, it was his first NHL goal. Gaborik might sit out another game, but they're just being cautious. Go Rangers.

Knicks Lose Opener

The Knicks lost by double digits down in Miami tonight. It's possible that the only people who should care about their record this year are the Utah Jazz fans out there. Go Knicks?

Yanks Lose Game 1

The Yanks were only able to manage 1 run against Cliff Lee tonight as they were completely unresourceful against the quick working strike thrower. CC only gave up 2 runs over 7 innings, both off of ill placed fastballs to Chase Utley. Hughes relieved and walked the first two batters when he came in, Marte and Robertson tried to get out of it, but two more runs were added. The Phillies tacked on two more in the top of the ninth off of Bruney. AJ will have to give us a good start tomorrow as we see Pedro for the first time in many a postseason. Yanks actuall have a pretty good record when they lose the first game of the WS, so don't get too worried. They just need to have a better approach when they see Lee again. Go Yanks!

Mall Cop Back for Series

Yanks made a roster move today adding Eric Hinske back to the roster and dropping Guzman. This gives them a bigger power option as well as a better PH option for the pitchers in Philly. No pitching moves have been made. Go Yanks!

Rangers Win as Gaborik Limps Off

Marian Gaborik had two more goals and an assist before limping off in the third tonight. That's the biggest news on a night when the Rangers ended their three game losing streak with a regulation 5-2 win over the Coyotes at the Garden. No more is known about Gaborik injury, but here's hoping it was just a charlie horse. Artem Anisimov had yet another highlight reel goal to get the scoring started. Prospal scored on a beautiful setup from Gaborik, and Lisin scored on a great set up from Prospal. Del Zotto collected two more assists. Dubi also chipped in an assist on one of Gaborik's goals. Still the concern tonight is with Gaborik. Go Rangers.

Whither Cash?

Conspicuously absent during the pennant celebration and award presentations was the Yankee Gangster himself, Brian Cashman. Was he stepping aside and letting others accept all praise. Though he probably would, that's now what he was doing last night. Nope, instead of dumping champagne on the players he already has under contract, the Gangster was hosting free agent LHP Aroldis Chapman for game 6 at the stadium. Nice. Bet it gets done pretty soon. Go Cash!

Yankees Win Their 40th!

The Yanks are back where they belong! Andy Pettitte got the win and Mariano Rivera just completed a 6 out save to give the Yankees their 40th American League Pennant and their first since 2003! Johnny Damon had the big hit, if there was one in a game where runs were scarce and the Yanks kept GIDPing. They kept walking ARod, but he is finally going to the World Series. So are so many other Yankees. Congrats, Yanks! I love you! And I love that CC can pitch game 1. Go Yanks! Here comes 27!!!!!!!

Giants Lose

They've fallen to 5-2, and, truth is, you're not gonna win a lot of games where you keep turning the ball over. The Giants need to re-figure some things. I'm sorry. Go Giants.

1 PT and an OT Loss

The Rangers lost their third in a row as they blew a two goal lead and then lost in overtime. The Rangers fell behind early in the first, then got three consecutive goals from Anisimov, Kotalik and Gilroy and three great plays. Dubinsky turned it over in the second and suddenly it was 3-2. Then Gaborik got it back on a highlight real goal, where he backhanded the puck to himself at the blueline, then came in one on one and scored. Dubinsky was benched after that. Then we started collecting penalties. Higgins was also benched. Then the Rangers failed to score again as the Habs tied it up. Then in OT they gave up another goal. Hank was none too sharp, but the turnovers and 1 and two man penalties have to stop. Inexcusable loss. Go Rangers.

Just About Time

Given that there's no baseball, tonight I will probably start watching the annual Halloween movies. Happy Haunting, everybody!

Unbelievably, There Will Be a Game 6

AJ Burnett was bad tonight. He gave up 4 runs in the first inning then about a hit or walk or both every inning through the 6th. In the 7th the Yanks exploded for 6 runs to take a 6-4 lead. Then Joe Girardi did something really stupid. He left AJ in to start the bottom of the 7th. After AJ gave up a lead off hit, Girardi did something even stupider. He left AJ in. This was a 2 run lead, not a five run lead. So AJ walked the next batter. Then Joe took him out and put in Marte to turn Figgins around and get Abreu out. Both of them made productive outs and run scored. Then Phil Hughes came in to get one out and couldn't. Instead he gave up AJ's other run and one of his own, to put us down 7-6. We had our chances in the 9th, but Tex and Swisher both popped out, and ARod was intentionally walked. So we're going back to New York. Girardi owns this one, too, though AJ, Hughes, and Swish can certainly take some bows. Andy goes for the pennant on Saturday. Mismanagement postponed it till then. Go Yanks.

Chapman on the Way?

ARoldis Chapman, the 21 year old Cuban lefty with the electric stuff, will be in New York for the next few days meeting with officials from various teams. The reason he's meeting everyone in NYC is because that's where his agent is based. In any event, I expect him to be a Yankee. Not just because they're usually in on all the big defectors, but for probably three reasons.

First, he's an impact arm that won't cost picks or players to sign, like signing or trading for an MLB player would. It would be a money only deal and those appeal to the Yanks because - well - they have a lot of money. And having homefield adavantage hasn't hurt the bottom line.

Second, he is a power lefty, even in the new stadium lefty pitchers and hitters will come at a premium, espectially with the friendly right field wall. So the Yanks will be marginally more interested in Chapman than they would be in a comparable righty (though not much, electric arms are electric arms).

Third, the Yanks seemed to change their entire IFA strategy, on the run, the minute Chapman officially defected. Originally, the Yanks had planned to add a lot of IFA's between 7/2 and the end of the year, but since Gary Sanchez was signed, the Yanks have passed on all the other name IFA's that were out there and have only added a few low priced IFA's, nowhere near the number they had originally wanted. So, for the last few months it's been apparent that the Yanks have been marshalling their IFA money for something, probably Chapman.

So, in all, I expect Chapman to be a Yankee and for it to happen fairly soon, as his agent won't want him out there with the rest of the free agents. Go Yanks!


UPDATE: The Yanks will officially meet with Chapman next week. Maybe they'll have a game they can take him to.

CC and the Bats

First, CC Sabathia was superhuman on 3 days rest. He pitched 8 strong innings of 1 run ball. The run came on a homer that Morales somehow hit righty. He worked out of some trouble in the middle innings, before cruising through the 7th and 8th. That was a huge, Hall of Fame type performance from the Yankee Ace and he deserves all the praise he will get for it. Chad Gaudin pitched a 1-2-3 9th and the Yanks won 10-1..

The bats as you can see came back. ARod had another homer as well as a single and a double. He also scored two absolute hustle runs, and he did it all with the flu. Damon hit another homer. Melky drove in four. And the Yanks were able to do this all around a bunch of baserunning blunders by Jeter, Po, Gardner and Melky. What a night! The Yanks are one game away from their rightful place. AJ goes for the pennant on Thursday. Go Yanks!

Rangers Lose

Rangers got out to a quick lead, including another power play goal from Michael Del Zotto, but then gave up 4 straight goals and lost. Vally was in the net. Gaborik's point streak ended. They are now 7-2. And I'm sorry for whatever is going on in me that I'd experienced as the Giants, Yanks and Rangers losing their last games. Go Rangers.

Girardi Manages Yanks Out of a Possible Sweep

Wow. He's been overmanaging this whole series but it really hurt the Yanks today. First, he left Pettitte in to face Vlad, when Pettitte is just about the only guy on the staff who can't throw a fastball past Vlad. Vlad smoked it to tie the game. He use two different lefties for only one batter each, and the batters were back to back. And finally he took out Dave Roberts, who had gotten two quick outs, to replace him with the softer tossing Alfredo Aceves, who promptly gave up a couple of long drives and the game in the 11th. If Girardi blows this series, he better not be back. CC's gonna have to get this back on track tomorrow. Go Yanks.

Del Zotto Will Stay

The Rangers have informed Michael Del Zotto that he will not be returning to Juniors - ever. The 19 year old rookie has done nothing but impress, collecting a +3 and points through his first eight NHL games. And it doesn't sound like prospect fans are going to have to wait to much longer for the other celebrated teen, Evgeny Grachev. He should be up no later than New Year's. Go Rangers!

Holliday Wants New York

FA OF Matt Holliday has leaked the fact that the Yankees are his first choice and the Mets are his second, when free agency opens some time next month. I think it will have to be the Mets for him as I just don't see the Yanks adding another big dollar Boras deal to the payroll this offseason. They should offer arbitration to Damon, Matsui and possibly Nady and see what happens there before shopping around. Austin Jackson is close if not ready, and over the next few years more OF will start coming out of the system. I wouldn't be surprised if they make another Swisher type deal for a corner OF if things can't be worked out with Damon and Nady. So, if the Mets want to add a corner bat, it looks like one is interested.

CC Will Pitch Game 4

Joe Girardi just confirmed that CC Sabathia will indeed start game four of the ALCS on short rest. He's been successful before working in short rest, and it looks like we'll only be asking him to do it this once. If Andy takes care of business tomorrow, CC could have some extra rest before the next round. But that's a big if. The bats need to wake up. Go Yanks!

Giants Lose

The Giants fell to 5-1 today as they were thoroughly humiliated by the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. It was apparent on the first drive of the day that Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan had chosen the wrong game plan. What he had chosen to do was drop seven in coverage instead of cooking up any blitzes that could punish Brees. Instead, the Saints went up and down the field all day against the Giants scoring at will. There seemed to be no halftime adjustments, and the carnage continued well into the second half. The Saints also benefitted from any number of missed and made-up calls from Ed Hochuli's crew. Eli was nothing special today and had very little help, particularly from the backs charged with picking up blitzes. But it was only 1 loss, and there's a lot of season left for them to get better. Go Giants.

Yanks Win in 13!

What a wild one! Yanks just beat the Angels in 13 after playing sloppy baseball and turning down many opportunities to win it in regulation. Jerry Hairston scored the game winner when Izturis threw away a fielder's choice from Melky. The Yanks fell behind in the 11th, only to have Alex Rodriguez tie it with yet another clutch homer. The Yanks pitched well, but made three or four errors and were burned by a bad call that doubled up Jeter - who also homered earlier in the game. Cano had a rough night making two errors, but he also had an RBI triple. David Robertson got the win, after replacing Marte. Aceves gave up the go ahead run to the Angels in the 11th and he had replaced Mo. Mo replaced Phil Hughes with two outs in the 8th. Phil replaced Joba who had replaced Coke. Coke replaced AJ with one out in the 7th. AJ was good, except for the 5th inning, where he lost it for awhile and gave up two runs. A thoroughly exhausting win, but a great one. The series continues out here, Monday afternoon. Go Yanks!

Seven Straight

The Rangers just won their seventh straight, 4-1 over the Leafs up in Toronto. They were back on their heels a bit early and let Hank get run again without exacting a serious price. That's got to change or Hank will be hurt and the team will fall apart. Dubi scored the first goal on a three on one where he kept it and fired. Marc Staal scored his first goal of the year, and Del Zotto his third before Toronto scored. Enver Lisin's first goal as a Ranger gave them the final 4-1 margin. It's hard to get excited about our 7-1 Rangers while they're letting Hank get killed on a nightly basis. Fix it, Rangers.

Sabathia!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap was CC Sabathia ever dominant tonight. Eight innings of 4 hit, 1 walk, 1 run and 7K ball as he completely shutdown the Angels to stake the Yankees to a 1-0 lead in the ALCS. Mo got squeezed for a walk to start the ninth, but after that he was gold. Yanks won 4-1, but it should have been more. They swung at a couple of ball 4's. Hopefully, the win will get them settled in and the O will start firing on all cylinders again, soon. On the flipside, the Yanks played much better defense than the Angels did tonight, including outstanding plays by Cano, Tex and CC. AJ pitches tomorrow or the next day, depending on the weather. Go Yanks!

Six Straight!

Vinny Prospal scored two first period goals, including the 200th of his career, and the Rangers never fell behind as the played a sort of sloppy game against the Kings and still managed to win 4-2. Hank had 34 saves and Boyle and Gaborik chipped in the other two goals. Gaborik's was sensational as he glided down the left wing and beat the goal with a bad angle laser. Once again, the Rangers had a down second period and let Hank get hit. Someone has to step up and make an example of the next player who tries running Lundqvist. It's really got to stop. Del Zotto had two more assists and is really looking special. It was a tough night for Mark Staal, who drew a couple of penalties and was on ice for at least one of the King goals. Torts will have a lot to coach up after this one, but wins are good and the Rangers have won six in a row. Go Rangers!

Rangers Blast Leafs

Wow. On the second night of back to back games, the Rangers scored early and often to beat the Maple Leafs 7-2. Eight different Rangers had at least two points. Wade Redden had a goal and two assists, Avery and Girardi both had two goals. Dubi had two assists by the time the game was five minutes old. Callahan and Gaborik scored the other goals. This team is officially exciting. The game actually was in question for awhile as the Rangers, after a furious first period, were back on their heels a bit in the second. But all was well again in the third and the Rangers added four more goals.

One problem did surface and they need to take care of it quickly: the Leafs ran into Hank three different times before anyone (Avery) did anything about it. The Rangers have to make that a very costly proposition for anyone trying it even once, let alone three times. Hank is their bread and butter, and he has to be protected.

Rangers will host the Kings on Wednesday night. Let's see if they can make it six in a row. Go Rangers!

SWEEP!

After being a figure of media manufactured controversy earlier in the series, Jorge Posada had the game winning homer for the Yanks in the 7th tonight. Andy Pettitte had gone down 1-0 in the sixth, but in the top of the 7th homers by ARod and Po tied the game then made it 2-1. Joba, Hughes and Mo made it stand up, even though the Yanks tacked on two more in the top of the 9th. It was Andy's 15th post season win. The Yanks will be off till Friday when they will host the Angels. We'll look at that match up a little later. Needless to say, Yanks will win. Go Yanks!

More Dominance!

The Rangers just shutout the Ducks 3-0 on power play goals by Ales Kotalik, Artem Anisimov, his first! and a shorthanded empty netter from Dan Girardi. It was Stephen Valliquette's first appearance and first win of the year. Michael Del Zotto got his 5th point in five games when he assisted on Kotalik's goal. The Rangers are now 4 and 1 and gaining momentum. Nice. Go Rangers!

Blowout!

The Giants destroyed the Raiders 44-7 today in a game that would have been a shutout had the refs not made an error on a fumble that was returned for a TD by the Giants. Still, Eli played less than a half and went 8-10 with TD's to Manningham and Nicks. Bradshaw had 110 yards on 11 rushes and added two more TD's. He also caught a 53 yard or so screen pass. Steve Smith finally caught a deep ball over his shoulder, and also got some YAC on another opportunity as he continues rounding into a great player. Darcy Johnson had some catches as did Beckum. David Carr worked most of the game, running for a TD and setting up 3 FG's by Tynes who did not miss a kick. Workmanlike domination. Hopefully, we'll start getting some of the injured guys back as we enter a more difficult part of the schedule. Go Giants!

Eli Will Start

Eli took his full warm-ups and will start for the Giants today. Boss is out. Barden is inactive. Hopefully, the Giants will get out to a big lead so David Carr can get in there. Go Giants!

Tex! ARod! DRob! Jete!

Holy Smokes, were those guys huge for us tonight. You saw it. We fall down 1-0 on the triple Damon probably should have caught. No problem. Jeter hits a ground rule double, ARod drives him in. Tie game. Phil Hughes runs into some trouble and is charged with two runs (one coming while Mo was in. . Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. No problem. Tex singles, ARod homers. Tie game. Still tied in the top of the 11th. Marte gives up a pair of singles, and they get a hit off of DRob. Bases loaded, no outs. No problem. DRod gets the next three guys to either line out of hit into fielders' choices. Running out of relievers. No problem. Tex is up first in the 11th and ends it. Yanks win 4-3. WOW! Andy goes for the sweep on Sunday. What a game!

Gaborik!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap! The Rangers just beat the Caps in Washington on the power of their own grit and Gaborik. The Rangers fell behind early off a Rozsival turnover, and didn't really help themselved by taking penalties (9) all night. But, midway through the second off a long kill, Callahan stayed on ice and broke free to tie the game at one. Two minutes later, the Rangers took the lead when Lisin and Artie Anisimov set up Ales Kotalik for his second goal in two games. Early in the third, the Caps tied it up on a lucky bouncer from behind the blueline that snuck past Hank. Then the Rangers took another penalty and fell behind 3-2 on a power play goal. Eighteen seconds later, Gaborik tied it on a pass from Prospal. A couple of minutes later, Del Zotto hit him with a perfect two line pass and he buried the game winner. That was just a spectacular turnaround from the point where the Caps got lucky, then took their short lived leadn. It was a great night for most of the team, with the exception of Rozsival who was nailed to the bench from the second period on. Next game is Sunday, and Avery should be back for that. Go Rangers!

Monkeys Removed

There were a lot of heroes for the Yankees tonight as they beat the Twins 7-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the ALDS. Jeter was 2-2 with two walks and an early game tying homer. Nick Swisher had the go-ahead, gamewinning double, and Hideki Matsui basically put the game away with a two run shot. But, the big stories tonight were really Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia. ARod went 2-4 with 2 two out RBI singles, ending a long streak of failure and criticism that went back to 2004. And CC Sabathia pitched 6.2 innings of 2 run 1 earned 8 K ball, putting to rest the idea that a rested CC can't deal in the postseason, where only an overworked CC had been used before. Hughes came in and got a big K with two on and two out to end the 7th, then combined with Coke and Joba for a 1 hit (Mauer) 8th. Mariano pitched the 9th with a 5 run lead. Huge win and there was definitely a different feel to the team tonight than to any of the last few playoff teams. They stayed loose and kept grinding. One down, ten to go. Go Yanks!

Yanks To Play Twins

The Yankees finally know who they will be playing in the ALDS that starts tomorrow. It will be the Twins and that is probably providing comfort to those afeared of Verlander right now. The Yanks would and should have been favored over either. The Yanks went 7 and 0 against the Twins this year, and if they are the team we believe they, should win the series. Morneau, who seemed to play well against the Yanks will be out, so really the Yanks just need to avoid letting Mauer beat them and they should be in good shape. CC will start game 1, AJ game 2 and Andy game 3. Looks like Joba has made the ALDS roster as a reliever. Bruney has not. The Yanks will probably add Marte now that they will be facing the lefty laden Twins. Cervelli seems to have made the roster. Pena, like Bruney and Mitre will head to Tampa to "stay ready." Go get `em, Yanks!

Impact Youth

The Rangers just beat the Devils 3-2 on a goal and an assist from Michael Del Zotto and a game winning goal by Dan Gilroy. That was nuts. The Rangers fell behind in the first minute, only to have Coach Torts call a timeout and get them recalibrated. MDZ scored their first PP goal of the year by putting back a rebound. Later in the first with the Rangers down 2-1 and on another PP, MDZ slid the puck to Ales Kotalik for a laser shot that tied it. Matt Gilroy scored late in the second on a blast from inside the circle that was set up by Prospal and Gaborik. It was quite an impressive night for the kids. We're three games in and only Anisimov hasn't scored a goal among the rookies. But those will come. Next game Thursday. Go Rangers!

A-Mazing!

ARod went into the final series of the season with 28 homers and 93 RBI. He needed 2 homers and 7RBI's to keep his string of 30 hr/100 rbi's going. Playing part time in the first two games, he didn't get it done. In fact, it looked bleak until he hit a three run homer and a grand slam in the 6th inning of today's season finale, a 10-2 win for the Spanks. So not only did ARod get his 30 and 100, but he set an AL record for RBI's in an inning, and ended up hitting homers on both the first and last pitches he saw in the regular season. It was just spectacular.

AJ Burnett looked good allowing 2 runs through 6 and collection his 100th career win. Dave Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Coke, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera were all perfect out of the bullpen.

The Yanks finished at 103 and 59 and look to be in great shape heading into the post season. Go Yanks!

Giants Win Ugly

The Giants just beat the Chiefs 27-16 to go 4-0, but it was a pretty sloppy game. First thing's first, Eli and Mario Manningham seemed to be off today, though they did connect for a long 43 yard completion on the second drive, they also created an int. Eli did; however find Steve Smith 11 times for 133 yards and 2 TD. He also found Hakeem Nicks for a 54 yard TD on a go screen/pass to the sideline which Hakeem took to the house. Before the pass to Nicks, Eli injured his right heal, and couldn't do much move than flip the ball to Hakeem before leaving the game. He seemed to be okay, though as he was on his feet watching the game during the 4th quarter. Jake had some good runs and so did Bradshaw, who was involved in a cool 4th down play where he took a direct snap and gained 8. The redzone problems were back as we went 1-4 from up close.

Tynes was 2-3, which isn't very good. Bryan Kehl was the star of specials, recovering a fumbled kickoff to start the game, then recovering an onside kick to start the second half. Steve Smith later recovered a an attempted onside kick. Feagles was good, though he did kick a touchback late in the game when the defense was playing poorly and could have used a pin.


The defense played pretty well for three quarters allowing very little. They prevented the Chiefs from getting a TD after a sack/fumble of Eli gave them good field position early. But in the 4th quarter the D was pretty sloppy collecting penalties, allowing 4th down conversions and 2 touchdowns. The coaches will have plenty to coach.

Still, going three and 0 on a three game roadtrip in the NFL is a great thing, regardless of who you are playing. The Giants are in very good shape, but they're not peaking, nor should they be this early. The D needs to tighten back up. The redzone issues have to be fixed and Eli and Mario need to get it together. It was good to have Nicks back.

Rangers Win!

Brandon Dubinsky had two goals and two assissts tonight as the Rangers beat the Sens in a chippy game at the Garden. And only that kind of performance could have overshadowed Michael Del Zotto's first NHL goal. Vinny Prospal got the scoring started going top shelf on a 2 on 1. Dubi was next to score and also went top shelf. Next, Del Zotto scored on a long wrister. Then Gaborik put back a Dubi rebound for the 4th goal. Finally, Dubi scored again, shorthanded! on an empty netter where he beat Kovalev. Just a very exciting game from the Rangers and they did the little things, Callahan flew around monopolizing double teams and creating opportunities for his teammates. Even Lisin, who was chided for not doing the little things last night, chipped the puck to Dubi in the neutral zone that lead to the Gaborik goal. Artem Anisimov showed some life on a few chances, and Hank was his normal great self. Big win! Go Rangers!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rangers Lose

After having to sit through a long Stanley Cup ceremony in Pittsburgh, the Rangers gave the Pens a run for their money, ultimately losing 3-2. The Rangers fell behind 1-0 in the first only to have Drury tie it up. They kept the monentum through much of the second, until a couple of weird bounces turned into two more Penguin goals. Gaborik closed the gap to 1 in the third period, but the Rangers just couldn't score that 3rd goal. The first two lines looked good and will look much better as they develop chemistry. The third line didn't get much going and Anisimov took a third period penalty. The fourth line skated around and Brasher fought to a draw with Goddard. On D, only Gilroy looked really good. Rozsival looked awful and they others had their ups and downs. Gilroy's gonna end up scoring some points for us. The Rangers host the Sens tomorrow night, and let's see if they progress. Go Rangers.

Opening Night

The Rangers will begin their annual chase for the Stanley Cup by watching the Penguins celebrate their latest Stanley Cup tonight in Pittsburgh. It looks like Dubinsky will center Gaborik and Prospal. Drury will center Higgins and Callahan. Anisimov will center Lisin and Kotalik, and Boyle will center Voros and Brashear. With Avery out, the first three lines make a lot of sense. The defense is a little more problematic. Staal and Girardi will stay as first pair, and right now it's looking like Gilroy/Redden and Del Zotto/Rozsival. Semenov is apparently still unsigned and he might have played over Rozsival based on the preseason. Hank will start in goal.

So what will we be looking for to start the season? I think there are a few major issues. First, can the team gel and play together in the Tortorella system? Let's face, over the past few years, it's often appeared that the inmates were running the asylum. Torts is an old school coach, a la Tom Coughlin of the Giants, and we can all remember how long it took TC to transform the the Giants roster. Second, will the Rangers finally start scoring on the power play? This is huge. Had they even been average on the power play over the last few years they might have gone farther, and scoring on the power play really creates more comfortable margins for Hank. Third, with Betts in Philly, will we be able to kill power plays with the same efficiency we've had. I actually think we already know the answer to this and it's YES. In the preseason games, Torts, rolled three pairs of two on the kill and not only was it effective, but Gaborik scored a shorty. Fourth, can Gaborik stay healthy? Supposedly, after a long term misdiagnosis, Gaborik's hip problem was properly identified and treated. He basically had a version of what ARod had, and used the same doctor to fix it. Anyway, if the problem was really misdiagnosis and not chronic, we could see a 50 or even a 60 goal season out of Gaby, and we don't have to look to far back to see what a huge season from a great player can cover up. Finally, will Henrik Lundqvist be as great under a system that claims safe is death? Though Torts does want D's joining the rush all the time, he does insist on defensive responsibility from every man on the roster, so I think Hank will be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he had an assist or two.

There are other smaller issues like, how with the rookies play? Will we get anything out of Drury/Redden/Rozsival? But the big things are will the system take? Will the PP work? Will the kill work? Will Gaborik stay healthy? And will Hank take to the new system? If the answers to all of those are "yes" the Rangers will compete for the cup. If the answers to any of them are no, they'll be lucky to be one and done again.

Go Rangers!

Del Zotto Given #4

19 year old rookie D, Michael Del Zotto will wear #4 when he makes his regular season debut for the Rangers tomorrow night. Doesn't sound like what they'd do for a kid who was just on a nine day tryout. As you can imagine, low numbers are pretty significant. Del Zotto has always worn #4 to honor Bobby Orr - not a Ranger, but the best hockey player I ever saw. Of course, it is also the Ranger # of the Great Ron Greschner! That's pretty good stuff right there.

The Rangers are probably just two moves from having a really exciting D, and those two moves would be dumping Rozsival and Redden off the roster, rather than adding anyone in particular to the young mix they are putting together. I expect big things out of MDZ, Staal, Girardi and Gilroy this year. Go Rangers!