This did not quite come out of nowhere. You get that impression from Brent Sutter but I refuse to believe it. The bottom line is the New Jersey Devils came up short pretty much since Game 1. Even when they won…you were left with the feeling that it could fall apart. Tonight it did. Two strategic mistakes in the final seconds led to two goals by Carolina. Just like that, the Devils went from winning to OT to regulation Game 7 loss in one of the most cruelest ways imaginable.

However, the reality is the Devils were not good enough. Guys like Niklas Havelid, Colin White, etc…etc. are not defensemen you want to hang your hat on. There is a reason why this team had to score a ton in the regular season. These guys are just NOT GOOD! I will say it once and I will say it again. Look back to Game 5 when they just BARELY held on to a 1-0 win against Carolina. The defense sat back and let Carolina do whatever it wanted to. That is not acceptable and nor will it ever be acceptable!

People are going to second guess Martin Brodeur again and say he cannot win the big game. That is also nonsense! What simply happened is this team got caught with the deer in headlights look. Instead of recovering like a good team would when they got scored on…they let something happen that was even more improbable and that was give up a series winner in regulation. One cannot fault Brodeur for what happened there. The defensive breakdowns were many like they were all series. What happened was they kind of got lost in the shuffle until the most crucial moment of the season.

Again this team is too built for the regular season and not enough for the postseason. One line and a grizzled vet showed up tonight (Brendan Shanahan had 2 assists). There are going to need to be some pretty drastic changes. The first starts at defense. Because that is the main core of where the problems lie in Jersey!

First off…whatever it takes to make Colin White go away….do it! Colin has been a nice player for NJ for a long while but hey this is a business and its time to get better. There are guys like Steve Montador and Jay Bouwmeester who will be UFA’s among others. Throw a line out there….buy out White if you have to but this team needs a major overhaul on D. I can live with Bryce Salvador to a point but if by some miracle Jay-Bo does come to New Jersey…then its time to ship out Paul Martin as well. Cut the salary and send him to Minnesota. After that, make sure Mr. Havelid has a nice long walk off a short pier and bring up Matt Corrente from Lowell. Surely this will not fix all the problem on the Devils’ blueline but hey it is a start.

Next up…Rolston, Elias, and Gionta are not too bad together but Patrik Elias has to learn to SCORE in the playoffs again. It seemed Elias missed several glorious chances in this series that he normally would not miss. Patrik had a bad series…it is okay to say it. You cannot miss wide open nets like Elias did in this series if you want to be considered an elite player again. Until he lights the lamp enough when it counts…Patrik will just be another regular season performer. Lou Lamoriello will likely mend whatever fences with Brian Gionta and will offer him a deal. Question is will Gionta take it? If not, Lou Lams could go out into the UFA market. At this point….it could not hurt.

The fourth line was not too bad….Rupp and Clarkson were not so good tonight for whatever reason but overall during the season David Clarkson started to make those slow steps to becoming a better NHL player. I think next year he breaks the 20 goal barrier and with some more time on the extra man…he could get close to 25 goals. The duo makes for a nice energy line and hopefully they can find someone in Lowell to make a trio because Bobby Holik likely will not be back. At 2.5 million he is too expensive to have. In the end, the Holik reunion tour did not work.

Now whatever it takes to break up Madden and Pandolfo…..do it! The team is getting older and older and honestly for as hard as these two work….2003 is now 6 years ago. They are beginning to show their age together on the ice. John Madden paired with a younger gritty forward could work. However either Madden or Pandolfo or both may go and I would rather it be Pandolfo. Madden is too valuable on short handed situations still.

If that is not enough…oh believe me there is much more. It is now apparent and needed to take a deeper look at this farm system. When you are ranked at the bottom of the prospect heap…worse than teams like Colorado….its time to take a second look. I will never figure out why John Carlson was not taken over Mr. Tedenby. Everyone has seen what Carlson did with London of the OHL this year. Time to see where scouting can be improved because that once vaunted Devils scouting has slipped several rungs in the past few years.

Do a system’s check. Its like taking a car out and giving it a full tune-up after say 50,000 miles. The Devils are now six years removed from a Stanley Cup and for most fans and franchises…that would be a great thing. However for this fan…it is not! It really is time to take a look at all parts of this organization. Is Brent Sutter really the right coach for this team? Could John MacLean be replaced for a more NHL savvy assistant? From goaltending coaches to personnel…..this checkup needs to be done and done quickly. The draft is coming up in late June and July 1st is the free agent frenzy.

Can the Devils learn something from this? Yes they can but only if they really take a deep look in the mirror and realize what they have become is not the team they envisioned at the start of the 2008-2009 season. Ultimately that divergence led to their eventual and sudden downfall.

What is going on these days, NHL-KHL, now KHL-NHL? This has to stop! First of all Zherdev was still under contract to play in the NHL so his departure was a no go, fine. Now rumors are surfacing that Jagr could come to the NHL and play for the Oilers? Don’t get me wrong, Jagr was one of the best players in the NHL for a long time, and might still have what it takes to play, not to mention that he has been playing hockey all season unlike a certain Swedish player who sgined in December and just got in to shape now, but how can the NHL allow this?

If a player decides to skip town when his contract is over and play in the KHL that’s fine, same goes for leaving the KHL and coming to the NHL, but why mid-season, this is completely ludicrous! The players have to wait untill the current season is over.

This all started with Teemu Selanne, and Scott Niedermayer taking their sweet time in coming back, then Zherdev wanting to leave, followed by Mats Sundin having to ponder his future in the NHL until late December when he signed with the Vancouver Canucks, now Jagr?

Yes I know, if the teams are willing to let this happen and be a part of it then the players will use and abuse it, but does that make it right? And let’s not forget Brendan Shanahan signing late this season as well.

The NHL has to put a stop to this other wise more and more players will do this, and the league will be a joke. The NHL has to put a policy in place that players have until the day before the season opens to sign their contracts and if the players have to ponder their career, well they have the whole summer to do so, or else they will have to wait until the current season is over.

This might become really annoying to fans who already think that players are making too much money, now they are allowed to sign contracts in the middle of the season? Ridiculous! but as long as owners are willing to let this happen and the league goes along with it, well then I imagine it will keep happening.

More on this NHL-KHL topic, pick one. NHL or KHL and live with your decision, no well i would like to play in the NHL again, too bad. Wait until the season is over then sign a free agent contract or else too bad. Same goes the other way. The Montreal Canadiens lost one of their defense-men to the KHL, Pavel Valentenko decided that if he wasn’t playing with the big club then off to Russia it is. I say suspend him for a whole year from coming back, after his contract is up with the Habs affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs.

Enough with this non-sense. You play in the NHL or the KHL, not come and go as you please. Let’s hope that the NHL will look into instating a policy which prohibits players from signing with an NHL club once the season has started, and also that they look into more specificaly players from another league whichever one it is and prevent NHL clubs from signing them during the current season.

The 6-0 185-lb. McIntyre, has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 26 games with Colgate (ECAC) this season. In three years at Colgate he has 37 goals and 42 assists in 105 career games. The native of Ontario, Canada was Dallas’ fourth choice in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Brookbank, who was originally claimed off waiver from the Columbus Blue Jackets last October, saw action in 15 games this season. In 59 career games with the Devils the 6-2 215-lb. defenseman collected 8 assists.

Brookbank became expendable with the emergence of defenseman Jay Leach as the Devils seventh defenseman and the signing of Brendan Shanahan. The trade of Brookbank and his $525,000 salary begins to clear up some salary cap space and makes room on the Devils roster to add another player as they look to add a veteran defenseman before the trade deadline.

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is rumored to be shopping Brian Gionta to shed some salary to add a veteran top four defenseman. Gionta, who is making $4 Million, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season end and could be the most valued trade commodity for the Devils.

The veteran forwards productivity has continued to decline since his 48 goal season in 2005-2006. This season, while playing on a line with Patrick Elias and Dainius Zubrus he has netted 11 goals and 30 assists but only has 2 goals in the last 14 games. 

The addition of Brendan Shanahan has given the Devils some scoring depth upfront and the freedom to move a forward via a trade. The Devils have also been shopping forwards Jay Pandolfo and John Madden, both who earn just under $3 million this season, though Pandolfo has been a healthy scratch the past five games and Madden’s lack of offensive ability make them much less valuable than Gionta.

With several top line defenseman available like Scott Neidermeyer, Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, Tomas Kaberle, just to name a few, the Devils will need to shed some salary. Currently just sitting under the cap, the Devils will be forced to package a forward, defenseman and draft picks if they are to land one of the high priced veteran defenseman.

It’s still weird adjusting to life with no Jagr, but then again, it’s been easy adjusting to the Zherdev era, at least as a fan, as he is clearly not rolling at full tilt yet.

However, despite what someone’s dog apparently told them at some point, Henrik Lundqvist seems fine, and didn’t really look like a player who was ever sore, much less injured.

I still believe it would be more productive to sign Shanahan than Sundin, although it seems neither of them get much mention in the NYR press these days, other than to report that nothing has changed. Realistically, I think the top forward lines are set with Gomez, Drury, Zherdev, and Naslund serving as the core of the offence. Brandon Dubinsky will hope to continue progressing his career, as will Dan Fritsche and Aaron Voros. I think Nigel Dawes will be a fun player to watch this season, as he is turning into a Mike Fisher style player who is all out all the time, and has just enough raw talent to net himself a few 25 goals seasons if he earns a spot in the top lines. A wild card is Ryan Callahan, who like Dawes is a player who thrives on his relentless effort. He’s great on the forecheck, and generates a lot of scoring chances from down low that might be converted on a more potent offensive line.

Defensively, Wade Redden has a lot to live up to in my books – and I live in Ottawa… If Ottawa didn’t think he was worth more than $3.5M per season, then what the hell was Sather thinking by offering $6.5M? Sure, the Rangers needed a puck-moving defenceman… I totally disagreed with that back during the offseason, and I still do. With Michal Rozsival and Marc Staal, you have the foundations of a very good set of powerplay lines, provided you split those guys up. Then you sign Brendan Shanahan, and play him with one of those units, and hope that someone like Dmitri Kalinin can step up to play on the point. Let’s face it, our scoring will mainly come from up front!

Finally, “King” Henrik “Henke” Lundqvist. The dude looked sharp in Europe, save for the goal in the second game, which trickled through the back of his pads after a very nicely designed faceoff play by the Lightning, that was capped off by Adam Hall. He doesn’t appear to have had more than a single cortizone shot over the offseason for his ailing knee, and that is a good sign. I’m hoping the Rangers play him a little less, maybe about 65 games maximum, and give Valiquette some starts against the weaker teams they face over the course of the season. He needs to be sharp for what appears to be a playoff berth that is the Rangers’ to lose…

My prediction? Rangers finish first in the division, third in the conference.

But the Red Wings’ roster looks remarkably similar this year as it did last. In fact, if the Wings have anything, it’s too much talent, and not enough room to make use of it all – a striking blend of fresh faces who have impressed beyond expectations, and veterans who have been around to see the team through four championships that’s so deep it’s actually squeezing NHL-ready players out of contention. And that’s not really a problem you mind having all too much.

In ‘07-’08 the Wings’ record was 54-21-7, totalling 115 points. They led the NHL in most shots taken per game (34.4) and in fewest shots allowed (23.5), led the league in face-off percentage (53.3) and they outshot opponents in 71 of 82 games. And there is very little reason to expect any of that to change.

Bringing Back the Talent

Forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have become the face of the organization upon the departure of Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan – both late draft picks hand-chosen by master scout Hakan Andersson. Combined, they totalled 189 points and were a +71. While the Eurotwins will start this season on different lines, countless times when the Wings have struggled it’s been the pairing of these two in combination with Tomas Holmstrom’s antics in front of the net that’s helped them back up – and we have no reason to expect anything different this season.

Secondary scoring shouldn’t be a problem either – between the breaking out of journeyman Dan Cleary and big Swede Johan Franzen last season, and the only increasing production of youngsters like Valtteri Filppula (recently resigned for three years) and Jiri Hudler, the Wings have got it taken care of in terms of production. And of course the old grinders, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and the likes, are still around as well.

The Wings’ blueline, logjammed as it is, goes 10 deep. Starting off with Nicklas Lidstrom, the perennial Norris Trophy winner and first European captain to win a Cup, the back end is stacked – former Devil Brian Rafalski, finally injury-free Niklas Kronwall and his new defensive partner, another journeyman who found a home in Detroit, Brad Stuart make up the top four for a blend of skilled puck-moving defensemen, and physical battering rams. Coach Babcock has said the fifth and sixth spots will be taken up by Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja, but veteran Chris Chelios will also be back, and Derek Meech, Kyle Quincey, and Jonathan Ericsson are waiting in the (no pun intended) wings.

When it comes to goaltending, a lot has been said about Chris Osgood – formerly it was argued that he was perhaps the “worst goalie to win a Cup”, but few can claim him the worst goalie to win two. Ozzie stepped up last season and had a career year, proving that he earned the starting job this coming season and relegating prospect Jimmy Howard to at least one more year of being “the future of Red Wings goaltending”. Of course, Osgood has to keep it up, as he’s not the elite goalie some teams boast – but with the sort of defense the Wings have, his calm, patient demeanor should take him far.

Key Losses

Heading into the summer there were a few questions about who would stay and who would go – but only a few. Elite goaltender Dominik Hasek finally decided to call it quits after a shakier year than he may have liked, wherein Osgood replaced him in the first round of the playoffs and never looked back. The decision to bring Dom back last year was undoubtedly a good one, but his departure shouldn’t make a large impact on the team this season and nor should the other loss to retirement, forward Dallas Drake, who had a strong playoffs – and it was great to see him finally lift the Cup and go out on a high note – but is hardly irreplaceable.

Key Acquisitions

Considering how many players were expected to stay on board, especially after the resignings of Lilja, Stuart and, later on in the summer, Filppula, the Wings weren’t really expected to make too much of a splash in the market this summer. On Free Agency Day they picked up goaltender Ty Conklin who, despite a sketchy history with teams like the Oilers and Blue Jackets, stood tall in net for Pittsburgh this past season and will provide both a strong backup for Osgood and a good challenge for Howard – and most of Detroit expected that to be all. When the announcement came the next day that Ken Holland had landed forward Marian Hossa for a year, fans were stunned. Hossa, an elite winger who had 66 points this past season and 100 the seasonbefore deserted Pittsburgh and scorned incredible offers to come to teams like Edmonton, choosing instead to sign for one year with the team he felt had the most talent and the best chance to win – quite the vote of confidence. Hossa will be paired with Datsyuk and Holmstrom, making the Wings’ line of Zetterberg, Franzen and Hudler arguably the best second line in hockey.

In the System

Wings forward prospects Ville Leino (sought out by Finnish scout Ari Vuori and signed shortly after Fabian Brunnstrom decided to choose Dallas over Detroit this past season) and Darren Helm (who had a fantastic playoff run with the Wings this past season) along with defensive prospect Jonathan Ericsson (once ‘Mr. Irrelevant’, the Wings final pick, 291st in the ‘02 draft) were just sent back to the AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins after being deemed by Mike Babcock “the best players I’ve ever been involved with sending to the minors ever”. The Wings are also currently looking to trade defensive prospect Kyle Quincey despite loving his size and the physical presence he brings – because there simply isn’t room (similarly, enforcer Aaron Downey was recently waived as well and will start the season in GR). Goalie prospect Daniel Larssen will join Jimmy Howard in Grand Rapids this season along with other names who have both seen NHL playing time or are expected to soon – Mattias Ritola, Jakub Kindl, Cory Emmerton. Right now the team’s sheer depth is incredible – and something Detroit will be banking on for years to come.

It will be hard for the Wings to repeat – but if any team has a good chance, it’s this one. The team starts off the season chasing Montreal’s record for repeat 100-point seasons, hoping for #9 this year. There is talent playing on Detroit’s third line that could crack the first line on other teams’ rosters, and most importantly that talent intends to stick around – the Wings have created a system that instills loyalty in its players, many of whom have taken hometown discounts to resign with the team. The players believe in the city, the management, and each other – they play hard, with this sort of talent, every single night, and they’ve creatd a reputation that’s got other teams scared of them.

When goalie Chris Osgood was asked during last spring’s playoffs whether there was anything his team did not have, he snappily replied, “A weakness.” Without being too cocky, his statement does hold some water. Is it true enough, though, to lead the Red Wings to Stanley Cup #12? We’ll see starting this Thursday night when the team raises the banner at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In the Western Conference you will see the Dallas Stars against the San Jose Sharks, and the Detroit Red-Wings against the Colorado Avalanche.

Stars, Sharks: Evegeni Nabokov against Marty Turco. Nabokov is the better goalie this year by far, but Turco has played really well, and didn’t play as many games during the regular season as Nabokov, one would have to think that Nabokov will get tired eventually. Nabokov has the edge as long as he doesn’t get tired. The Stars still don’t have Sergei Zubov, which could hurt them in this series. If the Stars hope to defeat the Sharks they will have to do the same thing as they did against the Anaheim Ducks, as the Sharks are also a physical team, however they might be a little bruised after their last series against the Calgary Flames. Technically the Sharks should win, but then again, everyone had the Ducks winning too, as the Stars had a bad end of the season, and look what happened.

Avalanche, Red-Wings: As much as it pains me to say it, with the recent play of the almost extinct Dominik Hasek, Jose Theodore is the better goalie so far, Chris Osgood is a good goalie, unfortunately Theodore has been standing on his head in the play-offs, the edge to starting goalie goes to the Avalanche. Ian Laperriere, he has got a target on his back after smashing Niklas Lidstrom into cloud nine at the end of the season. The scorers for both teams are about even, the defence however goes to the Red-Wings. This series should go to the Red-Wings, but they didn’t impress too many people in their last series, are they too old? The Avalanche have some speed, but will it be enough to win? Colorado could upset.

In the Eastern Conference you will see the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers, and the Montreal Canadiens against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Penguins, Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, enough said. Lundqvist is superior to Ty Conklin, and Marc Andre Fleury, by far. Pittsburgh’s offence is better than the Rangers, but, Jaromir Jagr has come out of his shell, that could hurt the Pens. The Pens are all offence, and didn’t have much trouble sweeping the Ottawa Senators in their last series, but the Rangers are not the Sens. The Rangers have Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, to shut down either the Sidney Crosby line, or the Evgeni Malkin line. But will the Pens be able to defend against the re-appearance of Jagr the great, Brendan Shanahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Martin Straka? Fleury, or Conklin will have their hands full in this series. The only factor that will not be one is Sean Avery, yes he can score some nice goals, which he just might, but his intimidation antics will not work in Pittsburgh with big George Laraque on the ice, Avery better hope that those two don’t meet, or else Avery can book his hospital room right now. Besides goal-tending which the Blue Shirts hold the advantage, the Pens have more explosive talent up front, question is, will they be able to explode on the Rangers, the Rangers aren’t the Sens. Keep the Pens in their own zone. I believe that the Rangers could win this one, if they are able to slow down the Pens, if not, the Pens take it.

Canadiens, Flyers: Where to start, well to keep it short, Carey Price is better than Martin Biron. The Flyers defence is slow, and Derian Hatcher has seen better days. These two teams were no.1, and no.2 in the regular season on the power-play, with the Habs being no.1. The Habs had a hard time against the Bruins on the p.p., but if they can manage to bring it back now that Saku Koivu is back then they will do well as the Flyers are an undisciplined team. Daniel Briere will be deaf when he leaves the Bell Centre, and may have to work on his confidence as well as the Montreal fans will let him have it big time. Montreal has the edge in coaching staff, and defence, as well as in between the pipes. With Mike Knuble, and Simon Gagne out, for sure the Habs have the edge in offence as well, question is, will Philly be able to contain it for seven games if necessary? Montreal should win this one, as the Flyers only impressed themselves by winning, but you never know, still the Habs should prevail if their power-play clicks, and they play their game, and don’t play the Flyers way, yes the Flyers have Steve Downie, but the Habs have Steve Begin, Tom Kostopoulos, Francis Bouillon, and Maxim Lapierre to a lesser extent. The Habs two best players in Alex Kovalev, and Carey Price, are better than the two best players of the Flyers in Mike Richards, and Daniel Briere. Should be a good one to watch.

– If anyone thinks Brendan Shanahan’s PP goal was an “awakening” of the powerplay, they have another thing coming. Sure, it was a nice pass by Gomez who did some great work behind the net, along with Shanny showing his experience by getting to a great spot and staying open; but it wasn’t because of good Power Play work. The powerplay needs to keep working on getting set up, and then moving to open ice.

- Henrik played a fantastic game last night, obviously. My question is, can he continue THAT level of play. He has always been good, but last night was playoff-caliber greatness. If he continues that level of play for the rest of spring, I feel good about our chances.

- Christian Backman. Now, most of my buddies were not happy with the Parise turnover, which is understandable. The pass choice was an awful choice, BUT, Parise made an absolutely perfect play to bat the hard pass out of mid air, perfectly to the ice without a bounce. AND, not to mention, he had to beat Lundqvist, whom he beat high glove, Hank’s weakness. So as much as it wasn’t a great choice by Backman, it was a great play by Parise. Backman would redeem himself with an absolute beaut of a shot labeled for the top left of the goal in the third to tie it at two.

- Once again, Nigel Dawes confirms my opinion on the fact that he is much more deserving of a roster spot than Petr Prucha. His hustle is phenomenal and he creates so much offense.

- The Rangers are one more win away over the Devils for a season sweet of 8-0. They will go for it in the last game of the season, April 6th, at the Rock, at 3 pm. Also its Masters Sunday . Next up are the Penguins Sunday @ Mellon, which will be a tough test as always.

Short post, but I watched the game with friends, so I didn’t notice as much as usual. Look for one Sunday night! Peace – Rob

According to Bucky Gleason of The Buffalo News, the Chicago Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon will try to move high-priced forward Martin Havlat and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin during the off-season.

Trading both players, who become unrestricted free agents next summer, would give the Blackhawks $12.75 million to spend in free agency.

If the Blackhawks don’t trade both players, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun believes that the club will certainly deal Havlat.

Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal reports that Los Angeles Kings pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Rob Blake would like to continue his NHL career for one or two more seasons. And preferably with the Kings.

However, for that to happen, Matheson suggests that the veteran blueliner will have to take a significant pay cut down to around $3 million per season.

Matheson also reiterates earlier reports that the Ottawa Senators can buy out goalie Ray Emery between June 15 and June 30 at one-third of the $6.75 million left on the last two years of his contract. That translates to a salary cap hit of $562,000 each of the next four years. Matheson suggests that that the Senators will indeed take advantage of this opportunity to dump Emery.

Look for the Edmonton Oilers to shop defenseman Joni Pitkanen in the off-season, according to Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch.

Portzline also reports that Oilers pending UFA forward Geoff Sanderson will retire at season’s end.

Garrioch believes that the New York Islanders will not trade goalie Rick DiPietro despite the friction he and head coach Ted Nolan.

Garrioch also reports that Colorado Avalanche pending UFA goaltender Jose Theodore could be pursued by the Kings and the Tampa Bay Lightning should he decided to go on the market.

More from Garrioch, he reports on a number of non-trades leading up to last month’s trade deadline.

First off, word is that the Philadelphia Flyers were willing to part with forward Jeff Carter and their first round draft pick for Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The deal fell through when Kaberle invoked the no-trade clause in his contract.

Secondly, the Atlanta Thrashers were unsuccessful in their attempts to move defenseman Alexei Zhitnik.

Lastly, Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough wasn’t willing to meet the asking price for Florida Panthers forward Olli Jokinen.

All it took was 16 seconds to make this Empire State matchup really, really interesting. Buffalo gained the zone first right off the faceoff and a battle ensued in the far corner. Both Rozival and Staal chase into the corner, trouble already. This leaves Dubinsky alone, who is just below and right of the slot. Pominville is fighting for the puck in the corner. The puck ends up on Hecht’s stick, who throws a blind backhander into the slot. Pominville streaks for the net while Staal is busy sightseeing in the corner with Rozival. Pominville for Buffalo, 1-0. A rare mishap by Staal, but I’ve noticed NYR defensman making coverage mistakes more often lately. I guess thats ok, because that means that physical mistakes aren’t our problem right now, just mental, which can be fixed with coaching.

What was best is how the Rangers managed to strike back ASAP. Jagr jumped off the faceoff and got a good shot. Line change and we have Shanny-Gomez-Dawes. Shanny works it deep to Dawes who looks trapped by two Sabres. He threads a needle to a cutting Tyutin who almost mis-handles it. To Tyutins credit though, he setteled it quickly and snapped it, not holding onto it long. Miller mis-plays it and it sneaks through his blocker. A soft goal, but credit Tyutin for a quick shot and not letting Miller set-up longer. And another showing of why Dawes is a playmaker and a great passer, and easily outplays Prucha.

Past the two goals the first was filled with good action, but nothing really notable besides a couple of “routine” Henrik Lundqvist saves. It was a game the NHL must have loved. Close game, fast paced, with great scoring oppurtunities along with a little rivalry. One thing the Rangers did was spend too much time in the box. This was evident as 4 minutes in the Rangers were down 2. Henrik stole the show again with a great right pad to absolutely stuff a Sabre on the back door.

This eventually led to a huge hit in the close corner by Avery, who sent Dmitiri Kalinin flying into the boards hard. He then acquired the puck behind the net and sent a pass to the slot, where a lone Jaromir Jagr stood and fired to make it 2-1 half way through the game.

5 minutes later on another Buffalo PP the puck was being worked around. Vanek set up in front as the puck got to the left point. He deflected a waist-high shot past Hank to tie it at 2. There wasn’t much the Rangers could do here besides to not take the penalty in the first place. Later on Dawes fought for the puck behind the Buffalo net and successfully took it. He then found Gomez streaking down the far side while cutting to the net, who couldn’t finish the point-blank opportunity. If Gomez had the same touch with his shots as he does with his passes, he would be an even more lethal player.

Gomez would eventually redeem himself in the shootout later after another Shanahan snipe high glove side. Someone will eventually figure him out haha. I feel like I’m summarizing so here are some things I would like to see as the Rangers go on a mini-spring break down in Florida this week before they visit the Panthers and Lightning on Friday and Saturday night.

- As stated yesterday, our king Henrik is back. He put up another great showing in Buffalo last night. The two goals were good plays and finishes, and nothing short of a miracle such as the one he pulled on Boston Sunday would have stopped those. I have a hunch Vally will see ice in the weekend dates with Florida and Tampa Bay, bet on Florida for me.

- Penalties. I would like to see them clean up the box. I don’t mind the fighting by Orr or some of the roughings, but the trippings, hookings, and interference’s need to stop before we run into a team such as Montreal, who can kill you with their PP. I have a feeling this will be looked at by the coaches. Maybe the Rangers were just a little slow after the Sunday game. Who knows.

- The Rangers Penalty Killers need to lay off the points. We don’t have a crease-clearing defenseman like Chara who can handle two guys at once. I see this when a winger pinches out and a D man has to cover on the wing for one of the wingers. This leaves the lone D in front along with usually two opposing attackers. The Rags seem to have a habit for blocking shots and clearing the net when they have the bodies in their, so keep doing it.

Thats all I have for now, expect one before the weekend. – Rob

I didn’t catch the whole game, as I missed most of the third while shoveling the car out (unsuccessfully). But here are some thoughts:

- As stated, the king is back. He made some fantastic saves on point-blank shots and deflections, sometimes double deflections. To top it all off he absolutely robbed Glen Metroplit from an easy chip-in and then 2-pad stacked his way to another save on David Krejci. Hopefully this was not a one-afternoon stand for Hank, as it would be a great time to get hot with 3 favorable games for winning on the schedule this week. Here’s to Hank’s performance yesterday and continuing success against the Buffa-slugs tonight.

- Jagr, Jaromir. Jags looks like he is 29 again. He is cutting into seams and he is taking the puck to the net with authority. He led the team with 6 shots yesterday, but none hitting the net. Once again, it would be a great time for Jags to get hot and carry the team through the week. Lets hope he can net some tonight.

- On the other end of the spectrum is Brendan Shanahan. He looked BRUTALLY slow yesterday. If it wasn’t for his wrist shot and the cup rings, in my opinion, there wouldn’t be much use for him. Let’s hope he can prove me wrong.

- What I have noticed over the past 10-13 games is that everyone is contributing. Some may not be as noticeable on some nights, but then the minute you wonder where, for example like I did, Gomez is; he tips a huge goal in against the Isles. This, my friends, is an attribute to the Rangers depth. And Depth in a hockey team is a key ingredient as we begin the chase for Stanley’s Goblet.

- Sabres fans are basically conceding this game all over the internet today. Although this brings me joy to see Sabres fans in disgust, I always worry about Buffalo. They have a knack for winning against streaking teams. But as long as we take care of what we control (aka our level of play), I won’t be that worried. What I’m really worried about is finding the link I had last time to the game on the computer, because I don’t get versus. I will be watching this game intensely so expect a nice post after this one. Until then, stay classy. – Rob

Islanders coach Ted Nolan, perhaps buying too much into Brendan Shanahan’s comment from Tuesday that G Wade Dubielewicz had gotten into the Rangers’ heads, chose to play the diminutive netminder over regular starter Rick DiPietro and paid the price.

Not that much of this loss could be attributed to Dubielewicz, mind you. The Rangers were aggressive all night and outplayed their local rivals by a considerable margin. Shanahan got things going early in the 1st period by scoring a breakaway goal on a delayed penalty. Then Sean Avery, the Man Everybody Loves to Hate, scored the first of his two goals to put the Blueshirts up 2-0. The Islanders’ Sean Bergenheim recorded the only marker for the home team in the 2nd period, but once again, the Islanders lack of scoring ability came back to haunt them.

To say that the Islander Power Play is merely inept is like saying the Pacific Ocean has a little bit of water in it. Time and again, they dumped the puck into the corners, only to be beaten by the Rangers defensemen, who would then clear the zone. Ted Nolan’s squad failed yet again to score on a 5-3 manpower advantage at a crucial juncture of the game, a trend that has marked this season’s demise. Gerard Gallant, the Islander’s Assistant Coach in charge of the powerplay, either has not done a good enough job planning his strategy or the team just consistently fails to execute it. Whatever the reason may be, this group will not improve in the standings without a change.

The Playoff Dream is fading fast now and many fans must be wondering why GM Garth Snow chose to keep his troops together at the Trade Deadline as opposed to selling off spare parts and starting over. While a complete Fire sale with the playoffs still in sight may have been unnecessary, it is conceivable he overestimated his team’s chances. If that was the case, he ought to be ashamed of himself.

In any case, the Islanders play Philadelphia on Saturday in a game that realistically should determine their post-season fate.

- Happy 26th bday to Henrik Lundqvist; 8 shots, 5 saves. Too much fun last night? I’m just kidding. I’m gonna go over his 3 goals and why the three he gave up wasn’t really his fault.

1. Goal 1: Umberger was carrying the puck up the left boards with Dawes and Girardi trailing. He passed Prospal and dropped the puck to him. Girardi decided that Dawes couldn’t handle Umberger, who is now puckless, and chases with Dawes. This sets up Prospal for a wide open pass to Briere, who gets absolutely STUFFED by Hank, but an unlucky rebound allows Prospal, who just hops around a statue standing next to the crease named Fedor Tyutin, to poke it in to make it 1-0 early. Verdict: Girardi mental mis-hap.
2. Goal 2: Backman gives Briere a mouthful of his nice Synergy, PP Philly. Crazy PP allows Timmonen to get a soft wrister off from the point, with Knuble crossing in front. The shot hits Knuble’s right skate and karams to the left to a wide open Coburn, who roofs it with no problems. Verdict: Defensive mis-hap. why? If you watch the highlight Tyutin chases into the corner leaving the front wideeeee open. 3 guys on one side of the zone during a PK is asking for a rebound goal.
3. Goal 3: 4 on 4 hockey. If you watch the highlight at the bottom of your screen you see Malik check-up on Carter to shorten his gap on him. Timmonen throws a cross-ice pass to Upshall and Girardi pinches. Girardi gets his stick lifted by Upshall who then leads Carter, who swung cross-ice and easily beats Malik with his speed, who closed the gap on him and can’t touch him now without a penalty. Carter puts in a short-side backhand without a fake. Verdict: Half Defense, Half Henrik. Girardi had a brutal first period, im gonna leave it at that. Malik had a good idea closing the gap, but obviously he isn’t a speedster and would have been better off laying back. Now this goal probobly led to Renney’s pulling of Hank, because it looked soft, but I’m not in goal either.

So I don’t really feel that Hank should have been pulled, but Vally played fine. He made a clutch save in the shoot-out on Timmonen and didn’t give up great rebounds the rest of the game. I’m not worried about Hank, he just struggles against Philly.

- Sjostrom and Backman get their first Blueshirt goals, congrats! Sjostrom looks good. If you noticed the 4th line was not called upon as much as previous games by Renney, but they did a good job when they were out there. Look for Sjostrom to stay in the lineup against the Isles. His goal was a showing of speed and determination, which is what I love. Backman’s goal lifted a huge monkey off his back in my opinion. He started to receive boo’s only after being in a NYR uniform for 70 minutes. After his goal he played fine, including a nice open-ice hit on one Flyer at the NYR blueline in the third. Overall, the pickups are starting to gel fine.

- Straka and Callahan had the other two NYR goals. Glad to see Straka get one, a PP goal. He made great use of his space getting an absolute beauty of a shot off using the post for help. He then set up Cally nicely out front, who headed straight for the net and stood his ground for an easy chip-in. Malik also had two assists, making him an absolute fan-favorite right? haha.

- Orr v. Boulerice. I see the fight in 3 parts. First part was all Boulerice. He landed some good ones that Orr just shrugged off. This allowed Orr to get some really good ones in and win part 2. He kept the momentum going trying to win the end of the fight, but Boulerice made some nice comeback haymakers and took Orr down. Slight edge to Boulerice but a nice fight for the fans on national TV.

- I hate the shootout. I always have. Ties are better than the SO. Shanahan needs to start working on a deke. If any team was smart they would have their goalies sit down and watch the endless attempts by Shanny to pump-fake and shoot high. Dawes had a nice fake and a nice finish with the backhand, but going 5-hole while the goalie is moving side to side is always risky because its just a bit easier for him to trap it. But hey, 2 points right?

My final thoughts on this game relates to the title, burn the game tape. Take the two points that we just absolutely STOLE and get ready for Tuesday at the Garden against the Islanders. Until then, stay classy. – Rob

- For the love of god, and myself, Nigel Dawes proved once again why he cannot be replaced by Prucha in the lineup. Two assists, including a goregous pass across zone to Shanahan for the goal to put the game on ice, gives him four points in three games. This offense, which is finally looking threatening and potent, needs him in the lineup. The only viable option to get prucha in the lineup is to take out Callahan, who has been playing solid Defensive hockey along with providing good forechecking and hitting. If Prucha gets another crack at the lineup, he better get his money’s worth, because he’s not touching the ice in playoffs if this team keeps rolling.

- Lundqvist stopped 26 shots, and really only got beat once, the first goal, which was a nice tip in. The second goal was an unlucky bounce by a good poke-check by Blair Betts that happened to bounce in. The King is looking extremely solid as of late. Which begs the question…. Does Vally play at all this month? The only opportunity I see him playing is March 14th or 15th, when the Rangers take a spring break down in Florida to visit the Panthers and Lightning, respectively. After that its all Hank.

- Many are wondering why Drury is playing on the 3rd line. The way I look at it, the Rangers have finally found their match ups for lines. I don’t expect many changes for the rest of the year. It really is a perfect setup because Renney can now roll 3 lines and be very very effective. The only liability is Shanny, if he gets run down. But Sjostrom showed that he can sub in for any line at any time and keep up with their pace. What a great move by Sather. ANY WHO, Drury got the Game-Winner, his 21st. He now as 9 goals in his last 13 games, along with a 7 game point scoring streak, tying his career high. Hopefully he can get one Sunday. Captain Clutch is getting hot at the right time.

- Shanahan notched the goal which stopped Carolina’s momentum. It was a HUGE goal to me because it seemed Carolina was having its way for a while. Shanny will be a huge part of this teams playoff quest and run. He might get run-down, but he’s got the experience, and he can finish. He had 3 good chances last night which Ward either made good saves on or the puck was deflected. Shanny also has a 6 game point scoring streak as well.

- What can you say about Sean “heart of the team” Avery? My boy has 6 goals in 7 games and is flying out there. His talking to the press embargo has slightly lifted, but lets hope he can shut Riley Cote and the Flyers up.

- After watching Brandon Dubinksy absolutely undress Cam Ward, I decided for my birthday this summer I’m getting Jersey #2: Brandon Dubinky – 17. His first goal was a beaut. If he had put up points like this all year, its no doubt he would have gotten Calder consideration. He has 31 total points, 7 in the last 5 games. Here is the game highlights with the goal: http://www.nhl.tv/team/console?hlg=20072008,2,966

- The two newbies played well. Freddy Sjostrom showed great speed breaking into the zone and cutting to the net, with Drury almost putting home the rebound. He also showed his physical play, and had some great puck control with the 4th line. He’s a good addition and it will be interesting to see what Renney does when Orr is back healthy. Backman played ok as well. Many are upset with his multiple penalties, but I think its ok. He knows he took too many, but a little physical presence on the blue line doesn’t hurt. Isn’t that what we all wanted the Rangers to pick up anyways?

- One thing that worried me as I was watching was the amount of time Carolina could control and retain the puck in our zone. Numerous times it looked like a Penalty Kill in our zone when it was 5v5. Another scary thing was our wingers constantly just tried to throw the puck out without looking, and got caught doing it. A team with better puck-moving defense than Carolina will kill the Rangers if they continue that charade.

So the Rangers go back to the Garden and wait for Sunday. They are playing solid hockey right now, and that’s all we can ask for. I guess I want to give a warning to Ranger fans: we will not win-out the rest of the season, we will lose at least once. So be prepared. Yea its great to see us 5-0-2 in our last 7, but when we lose don’t act like the sky is falling. We are putting ourselves in great shape here, and our record versus Atlantic teams makes March and April very, very appealing. Have a good day and look for another post between now and Sunday. – Rob

While the Red Wings have between $4 million and $6 million available in salary cap room to tweak with their roster, it’s believed that Holland is not looking to burden himself with a long-term deal or spend a lot of money because he “needs flexibility” re-sign defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and forward Henrik Zetterberg as they become free agents in the next two years.

Possible pick-ups include:

Peter Forsberg (health concerns; could retire); Alexei Yashin (wants a hefty payday); Brendan Shanahan (likely to return to Rangers); Teemu Selanne (could retire); Eric Lindros (injury concerns); Michael Peca (injury concerns); Anson Carter (Wings didn’t want him last year), Jeff O’Neill (could retire); Jason Allison (took last year off for personal reasons).

Although, Holland is satisfied with his defense, should Markov “lower his salary demands,” the GM is interested in brining back the rugged blueliner.

New York Rangers: The Rangers freed up $3.3 million in cap space by waiving veteran defenseman Darius Kasparaitis last week and many believe it was to make room for a second-line center who could feed sniper Brendan Shanahan.

The Rangers could offer center Petr Prucha, 24, who has struggled this season (10 goals, minus-12), but the Flyers likely would hold out for 20-year-old defenseman Marc Staal, a 6-foot-3, 196-pounder who was taken 12th overall in the 2005 draft.

The risk in dealing Forsberg to the Rangers is obvious: Could anyone in Philadelphia stomach seeing Forsberg raise a Cup over his head in a Rangers jersey?

Montreal Canadiens: Last week Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau deflected questions regarding Forsberg, but that didn’t stop Le Journal de Montreal from asking its readers whether they would rather see Forsberg, Joe Sakic or Brad Richards don the rouge, blanc et bleu.

Montreal general manager Bob Gainey has said he will not part with top prospects, but he might put together a package that includes goaltender David Aebischer, who was a No. 1 in Colorado, and skilled but underachieving left wing Sergei Samsonov, who has just seven goals in 48 games. Right wing Alexander Perezhogin, who gave Keith Primeau his final concussion, also is believed to be available.

Also intriguing is the fact that two key defensemen in Montreal, Sheldon Souray and Andrei Markov, are in the final year of their contracts. Gainey might be willing to trade one of their salaries in exchange for Forsberg’s.

Vancouver Canucks: Remember Ryan Kesler, the center the Flyers signed to a $1.9 million offer sheet in September, knowing the Canucks would be forced to match it? He’s likely done for the year with hip surgery and the Canucks are desperate for a front-line center. Forsberg would love to be reunited with good friend Markus Naslund.

The Canucks might be willing to trade Kesler even-up, but they also have a first-rounder and three second-rounders in the upcoming draft. The Flyers would make a pitch for Luc Bourdon, a 6-2, 199-pound defenseman taken 10th overall by Vancouver in 2005. Like Staal, many believe Bourdon is ready to be an impact defenseman in the NHL.

If the Flyers can’t pry away Bourdon, they might settle for two prospects from a list that includes Swedish forwards Alexander Edler and Daniel Rahmimi or former first-round picks Cory Schneider (2004) or Michael Grabner (2006).

Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are very much in the Cup hunt and could use a big-name ticket in hockey-crazed Detroit.

They are believed to be one of the teams that have contacted the Flyers, who would start the bidding with talented rookie center Valtteri Filppula, whom the Red Wings envision as the next Henrik Zetterberg or Jere Lehtinen.

Forsberg could nix any deal with the Red Wings simply because he refuses to play in Detroit after a decade playing for heated rival Colorado.

Nashville Predators: Forsberg could be what separates the Predators from being pretenders and contenders. Forsberg could slide into a second-line center spot between top-line center David Legwand and third-line pivot Jason Arnott.

But to make that happen, the Flyers would need someone like rookie right wing Alexander Radulov and the Predators are not likely to pay that price.

Atlanta Thrashers: The inexperienced Thrashers are in the same category as the Predators. A healthy Forsberg could put them over the top in the East.

The top defensive prospect in the Atlanta organization is rookie Braydon Coburn, a first-round pick in 2003 who is averaging just less than 12 minutes this season. However, Forsberg might feel awkward leaving Philadelphia for non-traditional hockey markets such as Nashville or Atlanta.

Anaheim Ducks: Many believe the Ducks can make it the Finals even without Forsberg. But can you imagine a lineup that features Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger AND Forsberg?

If Bob Clarke was still running the show he might be interested obtaining Anaheim’s top prospect, right wing Bobby Ryan of Cherry Hill, who was taken second overall in 2005 behind Sidney Crosby.

San Jose Sharks: Forsberg could rev things up on a potent San Jose offense that includes Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau. The Sharks are still harboring a pair of quality goaltenders in Vesa Toskala and Evgeni Nabokov and would likely part with one of them and a pick in exchange for Forsberg.