NY Rangers: Thank You!

Here's a post I put on Facebook this morning before I went to work...

Waking up a little sad this morning. Though the final score of the series was 4-1 Kings, it was a lot closer than that. It's a little harder to swallow to know that two clearly wrong calls in the series directly lead to Kings goals, momentum shifts and two of their four wins. That being said, congrats to the Kings.  They're a very good team worthy of the Cup.

As for the Rangers, all I can say is wow and thank you. I don't know of anyone who expected this awesome playoff run, and even in this series they represented and made us all proud. There's no sport as thrilling as hockey and no team in sports with greater fans than theirs. 

Let'sGoRangers!

Song of the Day - Stayin' Alive - N-Trance

Everybody in the house

C'mon, lemme hear you say

Ho oh!....(Ho oh!)


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Today's Song of the Day is all about the NY Rangers, who successfully fended off the LA Kings last night to stay alive in the Stanley Cup Finals.  The game sure wasn't pretty, with seemingly the whole 3rd period being played on the Rangers' end of the ice, but this time Lundqvist and the rest of the team were able to prevent a Kings' goal to tie the very tight game and they won by the thinnest of margins, 2-1.  So now the series moves back to LA with the Rangers down 3-1 and the Kings still needing only one win to take home the Cup, which I'm sure they'd love to do at home tomorrow night.   Of course the situation is still dire for the Blueshirts, but you know what, they're still alive!

Are the NY Rangers Done? Eh!

They're done!

That was a comment my sister Chrissy made on my Facebook page after the Rangers lost to the Kings in double overtime, 5-4, to go down two games to none in the Stanley Cup Finals (I added the exclamation point!). My immediate response was to write what I was thinking right there on FB, but then I remembered I have a blog...

Okay, so it doesn't look good for the Rangers right now, but yeah, I still kinda believe.  Tonight's game was a "must-win" game for them because they lost a tough Game 1 in OT after having a 2-0 lead, and to go back to New York down by 2 would be (and is!) terrible.  And they played a good game, too, aside from the normal temporary lapses any team has in any game.  The puck, and the action, just did not go their way.  

There was one tough break in the game with the Blueshirts leading 4-2 in the third period, and this one may have been a game changer.   Dwight King, of the Kings, deflected a shot by teammate Matt Greene's slap shot to make the score 4-3. The play became controversial because it appeared that King interfered with Ranger goalie Hendrik Lundqvist, inadvertently or not knocking him down and rendering him unable to make the save.  That's illegal and the goal should have been negated.  It wasn't, and it was at that point I started to have a bad feeling...

fairfieldcitizenonline

The Rangers squandered 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 leads in Game 2. (LA Times)

That they did...and they squandered a 2-0 lead in the first game. Not good! But still, in both games the Rangers were in a position to win.  To me, that's still encouraging.  Either game could have tilted either way. That's what makes hockey one of the greatest sports ever invented.

Of course Rangers fans are already up in arms about that goal.  Yes, I believe it was a bad non-call, too, and that if a penalty was called and the goal negated, we might have had a whole different outcome. I thought that maybe the hockey gods were somehow going to save the Rangers still, like they did against the "diving" Habs in the last round, but they didn't. That's because the Kings are a really good team.

So the Rangers are in a really bad spot, but that doesn't mean they're done.  C'mon, ya gotta believe!  I'm sure a lot of people said that when they were behind Pittsburgh in the Second Round, three games to one.  I know I thought that.  And they won.  The Rangers have proven to all of us fans that they'e a damned good team and whether or not they win it all, they've still made us proud!  So to all my fellow Rangers' fans out there...  

Don't give up!  You gotta believe!

I know I'm not giving up.  Minute by minute, period by period, they can win this, and I am going to watch every single minute of the rest of this series, whether it goes only to Game Four or even Six or Seven.  I'm gonna shut it off the second the Kings win it, if they do (I just couldn't watch that!), and yeah, it would sting for a couple of days afterwards, but it's a game.  

These Rangers?  They're gonna be around for a little while anyway, I believe, and we're gonna have some more great runs to the Cup.  They may just not be ready this time around....or maybe they are!  We'll see.  

Let's Go Rangers!

myhtsports

  

Stanley Cup Finals: NY Rangers Vs. Los Angeles Kings

zimbio

So after a hard fought, and third straight, Game 7 victory last night over the Chicago Blackhawks, it is the LA Kings who will be the Rangers' foes in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Alec Martinez scored the game-winner at 5:47 in overtime to send the Kings, who won the Cup just two years ago, back to the big shows.

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So it's New York vs. LA...a dream come true for the NHL.  The Kings, who are the favorites, are being picked to win by virtually everybody with any interest in the series.  Well, we shall see what happens.  The Series gets underway on Wednesday at 8 P.M. from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  Here's the entire Stanley Cup Finals schedule:

Game 1-- Rangers at Kings, Wednesday, 8 p.m. NBC

Game 2 -- Rangers at Kings, Saturday, 7 p.m., NBC

Game 3 -- Kings at Rangers, June 9, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Net

Game 4 -- Kings at Rangers, June 11, 8 p.m. NBC Sports Net

*Game 5 -- Rangers at Kings, June 13, 8 p.m., NBC

*Game 6 -- Kings at Rangers, June 16, 8 p.m., NBC

*Game 7 -- Rangers at Kings, June 18, 8 p.m., NBC

Check out ESPN for a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals

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Because it's the Cup!

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Holiday - Madonna...Because It's the Cup!

Because it's the Cup!

Today is a wonderful day for many people here in the New York metropolitan area, and for me, as last night the New York Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years by shutting out, and completely shutting down, the much-maligned Montreal Canadiens, 1-0.

nycbslocal

Whereas in 1994, the team was a powerhouse throughout the entire season and went into the playoffs as a favorite, this year's team seemingly came out of nowhere, playing the first couple of the months of the season at below 500 and slowly gaining strength as they went along. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was even ready to cancel my subscription to NBC Sports because I thought they'd been finished, down to the hated Pittsburgh Penguins 3 games to 1, but they remarkably went on to win five straight games, eliminating the Pens and winning the first 2 games in this series against the Habs.

nycbslocal

So now, New York celebrates, but just for a few days.  Their opponent in the Finals has not been determined yet.  The Western Conference has yet to be decided, with the LA Kings leading the Chicago Blackhawks 3 games to 2, with their game 6 to be played this evening.  People in the hockey world have been saying that the two teams out west are the two best teams out there, and that either Eastern Conference team would have a mountain to climb to beat them.  (Both LA and Chicago are the two most recent Stanley Cup winners.)  Well, in 94 the Rangers beat a 500 team for the championship in a very tough -game series, so we all know that in the playoffs, anything can happen.

snyrangersblog

This Rangers team is not a team full of marquee names like the one in 94, but they are a very good team. Behind their stellar netminder Henrik Lundqvist, who so deserves to win the Cup, bigger name players like Marty St. Louis, Brad Richards and Steve Nash are surrounded by a very focused, speedy and talented bunch of hockey players.  This group embodies the word "team," and players like Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Marc Staal, Ryan McDonough, Carl Hagelin, Dominic Moore (who scored the game's only goal last night) and others all do their part to make this team as good as it is.

So, here's to four more wins to an even bigger celebration for my favorite of all teams, the NY Rangers.  It's definitely a time to celebrate!

    

Memorial Sunday at Fire Island: Just What the Doctor Ordered

Yesterday was Memorial Day Sunday, and the weather for the unofficial beginning of summer was perfect. Though our pal Rich wasn't coming with us, Blanche and I went through with our annual tradition and hit Cherry Grove just the two of us.  Of course, there'd be people there that we'd...I'd know....the guys from bowling, Manny and Oz, my miss-the-ferry-twice pals Michael and Christian, and many more.  It was just the remedy I needed for the crappy weekend I'd been having.

As usual, I saw a lot of old friends and bonded with my regular buds.  Blanche and I really enjoyed each other's company for the first time in a long time, just the two of us.  I got to dance, and just spend time with friends.  It was nice!

Today was just as beautiful as yesterday, and I was holed up at home for most of it, because of school work I had to catch up on.  That was okay, though, because yesterday I was reminded that I have a pretty good life, and I've got plenty of friends who when they see me they smile.  Who could want more from life that?

So I go into a new week happy...hopefully work won't stress me out and bring me down again.  At least there's only a few weeks left!  Oh, and the Rangers won against Montreal last night in OT to go up 3-1 in the series.  Just one win away from the Cup Finals.....

 

 

Song of the Day - NY Rangers Give a "Good Feeling" - Flo Rida

5toolcollector

veooz

I'm posting this song in honor of the New York Rangers, who've been giving myself and thousands of other Blueshirt fans a really good feeling lately.  It was 20 years ago that the Rangers last won the Stanley Cup, one of the most iconic trophies in sports, and they just went up 2 games to none in the semi-finals against the legendary Montreal Canadiens in their building.  It was the Blueshirts 5th win in a row and these guys are actually starting to look like they may just do it.  The series goes back to MSG on Thursday night and here's to hoping that there are more good feelings to come!

Rangers-Devils, Game 4 - UGLY, Just Ugly!

I swear this is not becoming a sports-related blog, but since the Rangers are a part of John's World and in the thick of it for the Stanley Cup, I feel I need to report on them here and there.  Until now, my posts on the playoffs have been sporadic, and they will probably continue to be so, but since my last Rangers' post was about last night's game and how I wished them to take command of their series with the Devils, I feel the need to follow up on the ugly game it turned out to be.

NY Ranger's fans are some of the longest-suffering teams in all sports.  We went 54 years between two Stanley Cup titles, and now it's been 18 since their last one already.  Going into the playoffs, they were surely one of the favorites to win it all, having finished the regular season in a tie with the St. Louis Blues with the second most points overall behind the Vancouver Canucks, and at the moment they are the only remaining team of the three still in it.  But nothing comes easy for the Rangers or their fans.

The first round the Blueshirts faced the 8th seed Ottawa Senators, who played in a style much like the Rangers, and it turned out to be a really good, close one.  The Sens played their asses off and took the series to the limit, before the Rangers moved on with a Game 7 win at MSG.  The second round against the 7th seed Washington Capitals was much the same, with neither team getting up to a two game lead and the Rangers winning it in 7.  Like I said, nothing comes easy!

Now it's the Rangers and the 6th seed, much hated Devils, and this series looks like it may go the full seven as well, especially after last night's game.  So far, the Devils have had the best of play throughout, though the Rangers have managed two shutouts in Games 1 and 3 behind the brilliant goal-tending of Henrik Lundqvist.  I've been a believer all season long and I think that the ability to be outplayed and still find a way to win is the mark of a championship team.  Of course, nothing comes easy!

That being said, last night's game was UGLY!  After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, hope was still alive that the Blueshirts would come back, but an early third period power play goal by the Devs' captain Zach Parise really iced their chances, and that's when it got ugly!

The Blueshirts were clearly frustrated with how the Devils were outplaying them and responded with stupid penalties that gave the Devils plenty of power play time the rest of the game, further diminishing their opportunity to come back.  Fisticuffs erupted for the first time in the series involving McDonagh and Henrique, Rupp and Brodeur, and even the coaches Tortorella and DeBoer came close to getting it on.  Yes it was ugly, and it was the Rangers, who've really been cool all season, that completely lost it.

The only redeeming quality of the whole game was the fact that the Rangers broke Martin Brodeur's shutout with a late goal by Fedotenko.  I, and many of my fellow Rangers' fans really hate the Devils and I think it satisfied all of us that at least we could do that much last night.

So yeah, nothing comes easy for Rangers' fans.  The top seed in the Eastern Conference has been met with the stiffest of competition from the 8th, 7th and now 6th seeds, which shouldn't be.  The only thing I can say is that if it were easy, it wouldn't be as exciting.  I'm still believing!

Let's Go Rangers!

Image Sources:

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Rangers go for 3-1 lead in semi's against Devils

Tonight is Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Ranger fans like me are hoping beyond hope that the Blueshirts can finally take a commanding lead in a playoff series this year.  So far the Rangers have yet to hold a two-game advantage in this year's tourney.

Rangers' forward Brandon Prust won't be in the lineup tonight, serving a one-game suspension for a high hit in Saturday's game against the Devils' Anton Volchenkov.  The suspension has heated up the tension between these two longtime rivals, and a war of words between the coaches erupted earlier today.

The Rangers bounced back on Saturday after a home-ice loss last Wednesday that evened the series at one game apiece, scoring three goals in the third period in an almost mirror image of Game 1 last Monday.  Henrik Lundqvist was spectacular in goal for the Blueshirts, proving once again that he is a force to be reckoned with in the NHL.

So let's hope the Rangers can take command in this one tonight and arrive within one game of their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since their championship year of 1994.  I Believe!

Let's Go Rangers!

For more coverage of the Rangers' quest for the Cup, check out the NY Post's web page here.

Image Source: greenobles

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