Rangers Lost Tough Game to Lightning 4-3 in 11-Round Shootout Thursday at The Garden

The New York Rangers lost to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in a tough 11-round shootout Thursday night at The Garden. Head coach John Tortorella was facing his old team once again and saw some familiar faces on the ice. The story of the game was rookie Mats Zuccarello coming up from Connecticut who took Marian Gaborik’s spot in the lineup. After the game Mats said:

“I came in here pretty nervous and thinking a little too much, but as the game went on I got more and more the feel of it,” said Zuccarello, who skated on a line with Derek Stepan and Brandon Dubinsky. “My game was OK. I got a lot of help from Dubi and (Sean) Avery and guys talking to me telling me what to do. I felt good about that.”

Zuccarello is small in stature but made some amazing plays during the game. His talent was seen immediately as he controlled the puck well in the offensive zone. Mats was sent back to the Whale to play in Sundays game but will most likely return to the Rangers for Mondays game against the visiting Islanders. Mats even scored in the shootout. The Blueshirts came back twice and most importantly tied it 3-3 in the 3rd period to earn a point in the standings. Two of Tampa Bay’s goals were on scored on Ranger giveaways and they’re too talented a team to give them scoring chances like that. Artem Anisimov had another strong game leading the way with six shots on goal. For a while in the early part of the season AA was in Tortorella’s doghouse. The Rangers goal scorers were Ruslan Fedotenko at the 11:16 minute mark of the 1st period, Alex Frolov just 12 seconds later and Derek Stepan at 11:18 of the 3rd period. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was visibly upset after the game and had this to say in the dressing room afterwards:

“When you lose in the shootout, as a goalie you take it pretty personally,” said Lundqvist, who finished with 21 saves, including three in overtime. “Points are huge in the end, and I wanted to make that extra stop to get the win. It was very frustrating at the end.”

The three stars of the game, all Rangers were: Alex Frolov, Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov.

Merry Christmas and “…All I know is that Santa’s Sleigh is Making it’s Way to the USA…”

Merry Christmas to all and I do wish it was Christmas today. I loved this bit from Saturday Night Live. Ho ho ho to all. (You may have to sit through a commercial before viewing video).

SNL Christmas Song | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Devils Fire MacLean and Bring Back Lemaire for Third Time

Devils’ GM Lou Lamoriello fired first year head coach John MacLean and brought back his old friend Jacques Lemaire. The Devils hope the third time’s a charm for Jacques. Lamoriello said today that he needed to make a change and firing MacLean was the first needed step. I posted on my blog that MacLean was the best hiring as head coach since he was a great Devil player and was coaching in the Devil organization for six years before being named head coach of the AHL Lowell Devils last season. Lemaire flew down from Montreal today after Lou picked up the phone and asked him to come back to the Devils. Lamoriello gets a lot of respect and has many men loyal to him, including Lemaire. It was a shame seeing MacLean lose his position but I’d be lying saying I’m not loving the Devils 9-22-2 record thus far this season (2-8 in their last ten games). Earlier this evening I predicted a 3-1 NY Islander win tonight over the Devils at the Rock in NJ. So far it’s 3-1 Islanders early in the 2nd period.

Rex Ryan’s Wife Puts Best Foot Forward as Rex Goes Toe to Toe with Media

Yesterday the New York Daily News led with the cover story of a woman who’s a look-alike of Rex Ryan’s wife Michelle in foot fetish videos. The audio of one of the videos sounds a lot like Rex Ryan. During the Jets’ daily press conference yesterday Ryan deflected questions from the media, stressing that:

“This is a personal matter…”

All I can say is that it appears Rex likes to smell his wife’s feet! If that helps the Jets win then I’m all for it! The videos were also made three years ago while still with the Baltimore Ravens What really concerns me is Santonio Holmes turf toe, not Michelle’s toes. I hope Holmes is ready to go this Sunday afternoon against the Bears in Chicago.

Jets in Heap of Trouble Over TripGate

Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano received a call from the New York Jets’ strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi apologizing for tripping Nolan Carroll along the Jets’ sideline. It’s out Sparano’s hands and in the hands of the NFL. The Jets have already taken Alosi’s pay for the balance of the season but he has not lost his job. More will be revealed as the Jets look like a team on the outside looking in on the Playoffs. I once saw former Pittsburgh head coach Bill Cowher almost tackle an opposing cornerback who picked off a ball thrown by his quarterback. The difference was he had the look of murder on his face but didn’t touch the player.

Heading to The Garden as Rangers Host Hated Ovechkin and Capitals

The New York Rangers are hosting the Washington Capitals and the hated Alexander “The Great” Ovechkin. I used to love Ovie’s passion but my opinion has changed after last season. He plays on just the north side of dirty a lot and gets away with it for the most part. It should be great seeing Ranger defenseman Marc Staal go up against Ovechkin as they always put on a good show. On December 23, 2008 we were at The Garden to see the Rangers play the Capitals at The Garden and the Rangers were up 5-0 at the midway point of the game. During the second TV timeout I watched Ovechkin skate to the bench and start slamming his stick inside the bench, arms flailing as he was screaming at his teammates. The very next shift he scored a goal and the Capitals ending up winning that game.

REALLY Back On Track with My Blog

After even more days away from my Blog I’m really back on track with postings beginning today.