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By Zach Schiff  October 5, 2009, at 11:59 pm  Here are 4 reasons I don’t like when Ranger games are on Versus:
1) Doc Emerick annoys me. Not just his homer-ism for the Devils – I understand that, and he leaves a lot of it behind when the game is on national TV – but the way he talks, his phrasing, his know-it-all attitude. I know a ton of you will disagree with me, but it’s one reason I don’t like watching Versus games.
2) It’s one big advertisement. I didn’t notice it as much tonight, but last year, it seemed like every 10 seconds I was being force-fed a Bud Light or rodeo commercial.
3) My DirecTV doesn’t carry Versus anymore, so I have to find watch the game elsewhere.
4) It’s one big power play. It always seems that every game on Versus has more penalties called than regular games that are only on local TV. I would imagine that the referees are conditioned to call more penalties than normal for these games so that “fringe fans” can see more power plays and goals, but it really screws over the real fans who are only watching Versus because MSG or MSG+ doesn’t show the game. They make those phantom calls all game long, much like when a team is playing the Penguins.
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- I saw someone speed down the ice to make a defense play. As I tried to see the number on the back of the jersey, my mind only had 3 names in mind: Callahan, Dubinsky, or Lisin. magine my surprise tonight when the number read “22″ and the name on the jersey was “Boyle.” It’s looking like Aaron Voros will be the odd man out when Sean Avery returns.
- Speaking of Brandon Dubinsky, he looks like a beast out there. Besides his scoring, his skating looks excellent and he’s stronger on the puck this season than last. However, don’t get too excited. Remember how awesome he was last year in the beginning? He had 12 points in 13 games in October ‘08 before dropping off the planet. That probably won’t happen as dramatically this year, but it’s still something to think about.
- I wanted Alexei Semenov to be a Ranger this year, and I felt bad that he wanted to be a Ranger, Glen Sather wanted him to, and John Tortorella wanted him to, but his wife nixed it. However, I don’t think that a 7th defenseman is entirely necessary right now. Matt Gilroy has been playing great and scored his first goal tonight; Marc Staal and Dan Girardi aren’t lighting it up, but they haven’t been messing up; and Mike Del Zotto has looked great. He scored the past 2 games, and he had two open nets in the Penguins game where he just couldn’t get his stick on the puck. Plus, he’s manning the point on the power play pretty well considering he’s a 19 year old who was thrown into the fire.
- What happens if and when the Rangers do find a 7th defenseman? One would hope that Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival would take a seat, but would Sather let Tortorella do that? One of Tom Renney’s big mistakes was not only never sitting either of them, but relying on them for the power play. Tortorella isn’t relying on them, per se, but he is using them on the 2nd unit, which is a huge mistake. I know he said he didn’t watch many Ranger games before he took over last year, but didn’t he hear about why Renney got fired?
By Bryan Berg October 5, 2009, at 6:45 pm
There are a lot of people out there who write about hockey. Unfortunately, many of these people are awful at their jobs. Channeling the spirit of Fire Joe Morgan (but with a lot less snarkiness), here’s our response to a recent article that was particularly loathsome.
Some teams in the National Hockey League have a reputation of struggling between the pipes, and the Ottawa Senators were one of those teams. But now with Pascal Leclaire in net, they can finally say they have a number one goaltender – maybe for the first time in the history of their franchise.
This would be a good time to mention that the title of this piece is “Emery-Flyers Marriage A Good Fit For Both Sides“. As in, neither the Ottawa Senators nor Pascal Leclaire were mentioned. The Senators, by the way, have had above-average goalies for this entire decade, be it Patrick Lalime, Ray Emery, Martin Gerber or Dominik Hasek. And if Hasek isn’t a number one goaltender, I don’t know who is.
The Philadelphia Flyers are another one of those teams that have been plagued in goal since Ron Hextall left the team in 1999.
I know I said in my season preview that the Flyers haven’t had a great goalie since Hextall. But they’re hardly “plagued”. They just happened to have a number of goalies that didn’t have very long shelf lives. Since Hextall left, Brian Boucher led them to the 2000 conference finals, then Roman Cechmanek finished second in the league in GAA for the next three years. Cechmanek was followed by Robert Esche, who finished fifth in GAA in 2003-04. Does that sound like a “plague” to you? Me either.
OK, maybe they haven’t had a ton of luck since the lockout, but they had stellar goaltending for the first half of this decade. It just happens that that stellar goaltending has come from a bunch of different people.
In the last 10 years, the Flyers have really struggled to find a goaltender that can do the job and now they have Ray Emery who seems to be a much different guy then last year based on opening night.
A different guy? What does this even MEAN? Has he converted to Islam? Does he tell different jokes in the locker room before games? It’s okay to say he was a whiny bitch in Ottawa, but now he isn’t.
He shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in the season opener
Good for him. But I was wondering how he did when the Hurricanes were on the power play.
and did a particularly good job when the Hurricanes were on the power play.
Wow! That’s amazing, especially since the Flyers had the league’s 6th best penalty kill last year, while Carolina was only 18th on the power play. It must have taken a Herculean effort for Emery to shut the Hurricanes down.
It’s obviously going to take longer than one game for the Ray Emery experiment in Philadelphia to work
BUT HE WAS PARTICULARLY GOOD ON THE POWER PLAY!!!
but at this point in time, considering what his cap money is
According to NHLNumbers.com, Ray Emery is the 29th highest paid goalie in the league at $1.5 million. Goalies making less money than Ray Emery:
- Chris Osgood ($1.45m)
- Martin Biron ($1.4m)
- Jonas Hiller ($1.3m)
- Scott Clemmensen ($1.2m)
- Steve Mason ($0.9m)
- Semyon Varlamov ($.85m)
- Jonathan Quick ($.57m)
- Pekka Rinne ($.725m)
Just about all of these goalies have either had better careers than Emery or have more potential than Emery. So let’s stop pretending he’s on some great contract. He’s got your typical take-a-flier contract (see Biron, Martin). If he sucks, no biggie. If he does well, he’ll cash in elsewhere. This is the NHL equivalent of Michael Vick’s contract with the Eagles, only no dogs were killed.
and considering that he came back with a lot to prove after having been in exile for all intents and purposes in Russia, it’s going to be a good move for the Flyers to have this guy.
Emery signed with the KHL on July 8, 2008. He could have competed for a starting job in the NHL if he really wanted to. Instead, he went to Russia, dominated an inferior league, and suddenly he’s a valuable commodity? If you say so.
The Emery-Flyers marriage is a really good fit for both sides. In other words; a team who desperately needs a goaltender to step up and do something for them and a goaltender who desperately needs a good team to surround him and allow him the opportunity to get back in the good grades with the NHL.
I’m not sure what it means to “get back in the good grades” with someone. But hopefully it means Emery does well. If he doesn’t, it could get ugly. Emery couldn’t handle things in Ottawa. Philly fans are a bit more… um… angry than Ottawa fans. Thankfully, we have seen that the Flyers and Ray Emery are a match made in heaven and that Ray Emery will go 82-0 with 82 shutouts as the Flyers sweep through the playoffs. After all, he was particularly good on the power play.
By Anthony De Franco October 5, 2009, at 6:43 pm It’s hard to imagine that we are already 1/4th of the way through this NFL year. Since we’ve reached that magical milestone, it’s time to look at where all the teams stand.
- Baltimore Ravens (3-1) – I know that they just lost to the Pats, but at this point in the season, It’s really not all about wins and losses. Right now, this team has an offense that is averaging 34 points a game. Isn’t it nuts that their weakness is a defense led by Ray Lewis?
- New York Giants (4-0) - The only reason that they are not number one is the defense. Ever heard of the Blink Instinct? It’s when you look at something, don’t know why it’s not right, but know it’s not right. When I look at the Giants defense, I get that feeling.
- New Orleans Saints (4-0) - Yes, I’m drinking the kool-aid. Their offense is led by the league’s best quarterback and hasn’t missed a beat all year. Their defense is much improved mainly due to the addition of coach on the field Darren Sharper.
- Phildelphia Eagles (2-1) - A healthy Donovan McNabb and a healthy Brian Westbrook isn’t something that last’s very often. With an improved back-up in Kevin Kolb and an emerging star in LeSean “Shady” McCoy, this team has offensive depth for the first time in a while.
- Cinncinati Bengals (3-1) - Think about this: If not for the tipped pass in their week one loss to the Broncos, this team would be 4-0. Carson Palmer thanks new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer for finally getting him a defense.
- Atlanta Falcons (2-1) – The road loss to the Patriots was a little bit disappointing, but Matt Ryan is a man, and their offense is sick. The only question: How long can the defense hold up? Jets fans know all about John Abraham’s durability issues.
- Indianpolis Colts (4-0) – I know that Peyton Manning is worshipped as a god in some places, but I can’t get over how bad the Colts defense is. When they look good, they look okay, when they look bad, it’s like a pop warner team.
- New York Jets (3-1) - They came back to Earth last week against the Saints, and Sanchez finally looked like a rookie, but their defense is legit. Darelle Revis may be a candidate for defensive player of the year.
- New England Patriots (3-1) – Guess the sky isn’t falling in Foxboro huh? Tom Brady is only going to get better from here on out. The defense is old and adding guys like Junior Seau isn’t going to help.
- Minnesota Vikings (2-1) – I absolutely refuse to admit that any team with Brett Favre at quarterback belongs in the top ten. He is so fortunate that Adrian Peterson is awesome and the Williams Wall is huge at the heart of the defense.
- Green Bay Packers (2-1) - Aaron Rodgers continues to move out of Brett Favre’s shadow. Their defense is a real question mark, though.
- Denver Broncos (4-0) - I’m pretty sure that this is the worst 4-0 team ever. I’ve spent hours watching their defense and trying to figure out just how their defense has been good, and I haven’t found a reason yet.
- San Francisco 49ers – They are a power running team who doesn’t run the ball well. Their defense is amazing though, as Patrick Willis reminds me of Ray Lewis in his prime. Yea, he’s that good. Oh yea, Crabtree will sign by the end of the month.
- Chicago Bears (3-1) - Okay, I’ll admit it. I was wrong about the Bears so far. However, before he got fat on the Lions porous defense, Matt Forte looked TERRIBLE this year. At least I got that right.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) – After two weeks, my AFC Super Bowl looked terrible. Now, a reborn offense is looking better than ever before. If Mike Sims-Walker can stay healthy, he might be in for a pro bowl trip.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) – Good to see that Rashard Mendenhall is still alive. He was looking like a real bust for awhile now. Also, they are giving up 22 points a game. Not very Steelers-esque.
- Houston Texans (2-2) – This is still one of the best offensive team in the league. They need the running game to get going, and the defense really needs to wake up.
- San Diego Chargers (2-2) – This team is so badly coached. It drives me nuts. If nothing else, they will be in the race because the rest of their division is terrible.
- Dallas Cowboys (2-2) – Remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote Tony Romo was terrible? I could have just run the column again this week. The Cowboys are a distant third in the NFC East.
- Miami Dolphins (1-3) – I’ll be honest: I was shocked when they were able to roll over the Bills. There running game is top notch, but the rest of the season is resting on the arm of Chad Henne.
- Arizona Cardinals (1-2) – They had a bye this week, but I’m terribly concerned about Kurt Warner getting hurt with how many times he’s been getting hit. Also, everyone should realize that Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie is amongst the league’s most overrated corners.
- Seattle Seahawks (1-3) – Remember when people thought that this team was a shoo-in to win the NFC West? They should start looking for quarterbacks in the draft. It looks like Matt Hasselbeck is done.
- Buffalo Bills (1-3) – They really got killed on Sunday. The Cover-2 defense doesn’t work without a middle linebacker, and this defense hasn’t been the same since Paul Pousluzny went down.
- Tennessee Titans (0-4) – At some point, they have to go back the Vince Young. They aren’t going to compete this year, and at the very least, they should get to evaluate their young QB.
- Carolina Panthers (0-3) – The worst part about this is that the 49ers have their first round draft pick. The Panthers run defense has been terrible since Ma’ake Kemeaoutu went down in the pre-season.
- Detriot Lions (1-3) - There is definite progress being made by Jim Schwartz. Matt Stafford has been turnover prone, but he’s got some playmaking ability. Not to mention that he’s throwing to The Megatron.
- Washington Redskins (2-2) (Editors note, Anthony messed up the Redskins record and it was correctly pointed out in the comments after publishing it has now been corrected) – Let’s start thinking of places that Jason Campbell could go next year: Denver, Carolina, and San Francisco come to mind.
- St. Louis Rams (0-4) - My personal mancrush Steve Spagnuolo is really having some issues. This team may have less talent than anyone in the league. Losing defensive tackle Adam Carriker really hurt this year’s squad.
- Kansas City Chiefs (0-4) – Matt Cassel has looked absolutely terrible. I wonder if Scott Pioli is counting all the things he could have done with that money,
- Oakland Raiders (0-4) - JaMarcus Russell. Bad. Darren McFadden. Bad. Your coach getting arrested? Really bad.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4) – Josh Johnson definitely is better than Byron Leftwich. This is going to be a rough season for the Bucs. They should at least enjoy this exciting young player.
- Cleveland Browns (0-4) – I’m pretty sure that Eric Mangini is the dumbest man on earth. Yea, I’m going that far. This team is remarkably bad. A bright spot: Jerome Harrison is pretty good.
By Zach Schiff October 5, 2009, at 2:05 am I would’ve done “Notes from the Garden” last night, but I got home late and passed out nearly immediately. I drank what turned out to be way too much, so some of the night is a blur. I don’t normally do that at games, but hey, it was the home opener.
However, I would now like to reproduce the team introductions…
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your 2009-2010 New York Rangers!”
That’s it? Really? No individual introductions of Marian Gaborik, Vinny Prospal, Brian Boyle, Enver Lisin, or Ales Kotalik? You know newcomers Mike Del Zotto, Chris Higgins, and Matt Gilroy would’ve gotten huge ovations. And didn’t Ryan Callahan deserve a moment in the spotlight after being named sole Alternate Captain?
One might assume they didn’t do it to save time, but I think that’s garbage. They do it every other year – even if the home opener isn’t the 1st game of the season – and the crowd loves it.
Maybe it’s because they know Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, and Donald Brashear would get booed? Maybe John Tortorella chose to not do individual introductions based on his own reasoning.
I would have much rathered gotten to cheer Gaborik skating onto Garden ice for the 1st time in the regular season than to see some painted men bang drums for 2 minutes to advertise themselves. And where was George Bluth?
They really dropped the ball on that one. The Home Opener is normally a great night, but last night it seemed like just another game in October.
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