2 Man Advantage

Rangers win in Miracle fashion

JoeMcDonald — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:14:04 +0000

NEW YORK – As far as predictable goes, these playoffs have been anything but. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Rangers and the Capitals topped that – this game was unpredictable moment to moment according to the sports betting sites.

The Rangers set the tone for the game immediately, establishing their strong presence and scoring halfway through the first period. Nevertheless, 49 minutes later, despite 33 shots on goal and 24 more shots that were blocked by the Washington Capitals, the New York Rangers were trailing by one goal. With 21.3 seconds left on the clock, Carl Hagelin drew a four-minute penalty for high-sticking, of which three and a half seemed wasteful. On the bench, Henrik Lundqvist was thinking about the next game. By the bench, Carl Hagelin wiped the blood off his face, and hurried back to where the action was. In the stands, the fans were on their feet, and while their hope was dwindling, they were determined to show their belief and support.

“It’s awesome,” captain Ryan Callahan said after the game. “They supported us all night. Twenty seconds left, they’re standing up chanting ‘Let’s go, Rangers!’ That fuels you. That makes you feel good. To be able to get that one for them and hear the Garden explode – I haven’t heard it that loud since I’ve been here.”

With 6.6 seconds left on the clock, the Rangers’ efforts throughout the game finally paid off, and the thirty sixth shot on goal was it. “I think it’s fitting that Richie (Brad Richards) gets the one to tie it up there,” said Ryan Callahan. Brad Richards is no stranger to final seconds goals – on December 17th, he scored the game-winning goal against Coyotes’ Mike Smith in the final second of the game. So he really did have 6.5 seconds to spare here. “We’ve been talking about it all year,” said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. “Not only on the ice but off the ice, to have a guy like that – he knows what it takes. You could tell when games are getting tighter, more important, he plays better. I think he likes the intensity in games like that. It just shows what type of player he really is.” Carl Hagelin was in agreement with Henrik Lundqvist’s assessment of Brad Richards: “I think he’s probably been that ‘go to’ guy his entire life. He knows what it takes to win, he IS a winner.”

“Would you take another high-stick to the face if it means two goals?” I ask Carl Hagelin, lip swollen, after the game, and I immediately know the answer, even before he has a chance to respond. His quick skate to the bench and back after being struck said it all. “I didn’t want to get off the ice there, it was a key part of the game. Just try to wipe some of the blood off, and then get going again.”

What seemed like a miraculous comeback was actually the result of the effort that had been there the whole game. “If you look at the blocked shots, we didn’t block many shots because we’ve had the puck,” said coach John Tortorella, pleased with both the outcome and his team’s performance. Henrik Lundqvist had similar thoughts: “The way we played tonight, we worked so hard. It was tough for us to get in front and create real good scoring chances, but we were shooting a lot and had a lot of energy. I definitely think we deserved this win. We worked so hard.”

They also never gave up. “We stuck with it,” said Ryan Callahan. They looked at a power play, an extra attacker, and 21.3 seconds on the clock as an opportunity, ignoring lack of success on the seven previous power plays. “That’s just the result of working hard and creating chances this whole game. Sooner or later, it’s going to go in, and that’s why we play for sixty minutes. If it means scoring with 5 seconds to go, or 55 minutes to go – it doesn’t matter,” said Carl Hagelin.

Game six of this back-and-forth nail-biting series is on Wednesday evening at the Verizon Center in Washington DC. On the line is the time of the next Rangers game at Madison Square Garden.

Devils Can’t even Beat Awful Isles

WordPress — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:14:49 +0000

The New York Islanders (5-12-5) gave themselves something to be thankful for and snapped a 14 game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils (7-13-2) in hockey action on Friday afternoon.

“You know what I’m just happy for the guys. I thought we played extremely well in Atlanta and against Columbus, and we didn’t get rewarded the point. It’s a good feeling for the boys,” said head coach Jack Capuano when asked how his first NHL victory felt.

In a feisty, hard hitting game between the two Metropolitan rivals as the hits as it didn’t take long for fireworks to ignite between these two teams. Then it was Jesse Joensuu (1) who tallied the first goal of the game at the 1:32 mark. The winger connected on his first goal of the season with some nice passing from Frans Nielsen (10) and Michael Grabner (3) to give the Islanders the early advantage.

“I actually lost the puck in the neutral zone there. I got it back and gave it to Martinek.” Joensuu said of his first goal of the season. “He gave it to Grabner, and I just thought about skating to the net, and then Grabner gave it to Frans. I saw I was open at that point in time and called for the puck. It was a great play. I think it went right through the legs of one of the d-men.”

Eventually tensions boiled over between the two teams and the first fight broke out at the 11:49 mark of the first period. The fight happened right after Colin White laid out a huge hit on P.A. Parenteau that was eventually ruled as a boarding call by the officials. Bruno Gervais took exception to White’s hit and eventually decided to drop gloves with the veteran blue-liner, something that can be found with online betting at Bet US.

White didn’t take very long to be victorious in the scrap taking just two punches before being victorious.

The scrape along with the boarding gave the Islanders their second power play opportunity in the game, but the Islanders could not cash in on the three minute opportunity. Joensuu took another good shot at the 17:48 mark of the first period, but the snap shot was saved by Devils keeper Johan Hedberg.

Islanders keeper Rick DiPietro was strong early in the first period making several impressive stops, including a glove save on a wicked 17 foot slap shot by Jason Arnott at the 18:29 mark, holding his team to a 1-0 lead. The Islanders also out shot New Jersey by a tally of 13-5, while also out hitting the Devils, 14-3 in a strong first period of play.

New York continued to keep up their offensive momentum along with playing a very good defensive side of the ice. New York was able to kill off the Devils first power play of the game at the 2:19 mark, as the Islanders were able to keep the Devils out of their offensive zone.

Rob Schremp (2) then netted the second Islanders goal at the 5:15 mark in the second period. Connecting on a 13 foot wrist shot that was assisted by Blake Comeau (7) and James Wisniewski (12) to give the Islanders the 2-0 lead.

Both team had some stellar opportunities as at the 10:04 mark David Clarkson let off a 25 foot snap shot that was saved by Rick DiPietro. The Islanders had a golden opportunity at the 11:54 mark as John Tavares was inches away from netting the third goal, but the puck was saved by Devils keeper Johan Hedberg.

The scrapes and hard hits would continue on into the second period as the Islanders skated into the locker room with the 2-0 lead much to the delight of the 10,897 in attendance. The Islanders also held the shots advantage by a tally of 19-16.

New Jersey was able to gain the offensive momentum in the third period of play, but could not cash in on any goals as DiPietro was stellar in his shutout bid and New York skated away with the 2-0 victory. The keeper, who was awarded with the first star of the game ended the night with 29 saves. On the other end of the ice Devils keeper Johan Hedberg made 18 saves.

“Ricky’s played extremely well since I’ve been here,” said Islanders coach Jack Capuano. “He’s done real well in practice and it’s carried over in the last few games that he’s played.”

DiPietro would have this to say on the victory, “I think it’s a culmination of a lot of hard work over the last couple of weeks. The hard work was there, but there were a lot of mistakes. Today we ended those mistakes, created some chances and had a huge win.”

One of the biggest keys to the victory for the Islanders was killing off a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Devils in the third period of play.

“It was huge for us. We talked about it going into the third: stay out of the penalty box and limit turnovers,” Blake Comeau said of the penalty kill. “It was just a tough break. Wiz (James Wisniewski) was going for the puck and got his stick up, but you get a 5-on-3 kill like that and kill off the whole four-minute power play. It goes to show that we’re battling hard and it’s good to finally see the results.”

DiPietro also had this to say of the 5-on-3 penalty kill,” It was huge. It is kills like that, that can turn a whole season around. I could feel the energy in the building and the energy on the bench. I think that’s a big thing for us. Our team feeds off energy.”

The next test for the Islanders is to see if they can take that energy and convert it to a couple of victories in a row. New York will now enjoy a few days off before hosting their next Metropolitan Rival in the New York Rangers for a home-and-home series. The Islanders will host the Rangers on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. then will go to Madison Square Garden for a 7:00 p.m. face-off.

“We can’t be satisfied with just one win. We can’t act like we’ve won 14 in a row. We have to realize on what got us success tonight,” said Blake Comeau on what needs to be done next. “Moving forward we have to play three hard periods.”

Coach Capuano also had this to say of the steps the Islanders need to take now, “There’s a lot of ground to make up. For me, it is just one practice at a time, one game at a time. That’s all I’m looking at right now.”

Charity note: Prior to both Wednesday night’s game against Columbus and Friday afternoon game against the Devils the Islanders hosted a food drive with Island Harvest to help put a big hit on hunger this Thanksgiving. Fans were encouraged to bring three or more non-perishable food items and received one ticket voucher for a future Islanders game.

Puck Headlines: Worst hockey dad ever; Brodeur on trade possibility (Yahoo! Sports)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:06:14 +0000

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in...

Devils Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:57:56 +0000

There's a big game taking place Thursday night at the Rock in Newark.

The Devils against the Islanders.

No. 29 in the NHL standings against No. 30.

This is big.

The Devils lost again Tuesday night, in Washington, and remained two points ahead of the Isles for that 29th spot. The Islanders, however, have three games in hand and could move into a tie for 29th with a home upset of the Lightning on Wednesday night.

Regardless, No. 29 will be on the line when these two New York-area rivals get together in the opener of the Devils' four-game homestand.

The Devils' latest losing streak has reached three games, during which they have scored three goals and allowed 15.

NHL Capsules (The Canadian Press)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:11:58 +0000

WASHINGTON - Andrew Gordon had a goal and assist for his first two NHL points, and the Washington Capitals earned their second straight victory by beating the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s National Hockey League Capsules (PA SportsTicker)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:08:20 +0000

Andrew Gordon had a goal and assist for his first two NHL points, and the Washington Capitals earned their second straight victory by beating the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Gordon posts 1st 2 NHL points in Caps’ win over NJ (AP)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:28:28 +0000

The Washington Capitals are slowly starting to look like last season's team that posted the NHL's best record. Andrew Gordon had a goal and assist for his first two NHL points, and the Capitals earned their second straight victory by beating the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday night. Washington is enjoying a winning streak after snapping an eight-game losing streak with a victory at Ottawa...

Gordon posts 1st 2 NHL points in Caps’ win (The Canadian Press)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:27:34 +0000

WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals are slowly starting to look like last season's team that posted the NHL's best record.

Video: Capitals rookie Andrew Gordon’s 1st NHL goal, 1st NHL kiss (Yahoo! Sports)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:33:23 +0000

At 16:41 of the first period of Tuesday night's 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals...

Puck Headlines: NHL All-Star vote update; Sidney vs. waffles (Yahoo! Sports)

Yahoo! Canada Sports - NHL - New Jersey Devils News — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:10:02 +0000

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in...