I saw the sign!

Rangers beat the Isles!!! (and maybe mocked them a little if this photo is any indication). I knew it was gonna happen when Ace of Base's "The Sign" popped up on my shuffle today. It's fourth in my list of good omen songs:

The 1st being "Hunger Strike", no explanation it just is.
The 2nd is "Hot in the City" by Billy Idol, no relation to Ryan Idol.
The 3rd is "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire, MSG picked this one as last year's montage music.
And "The Sign", because well it's already a sign and then Ace of Base is Swedish like Henrik so I usually take to mean he's gonna have a strong performance. Who needs tarot cards when you've got shuffle and 200+ songs! Maybe I should upgrade my system, but with more songs there's less likelihood that one of these musical miracles will happen on game day.


Anyway beating the Islanders feels great. Jagr was happy and that makes me happy. Henrik was obviously inspired by meeting me and J. Did I mention I met Henrik? He saw the sign, I'm sure of it! Also a shoutout to Avery's hurty wrist. I hope he's back soon, soon, soon and that he's feeling well, well, well like a giant piece of bananacake.

am I a fortune teller?

I certainly hope I didn't predict this Dallas loss in my last post. Or God forbid - a real slide. The mist is clearing and I see a rebound fantastic performance from Henrik against the Isles on Thursday. Nothing clear on Ottawa yet...

Not as fun as toronto, but.....

A loss can never be truly satisfying, but it is very comforting to see Valiquette play so well. The theory that the team is more circumspect in front of him was totally debunked last night though. At least I pray that was not a defensive minded effort. I hope the team regroups quickly though. We've got Dallas tomorrow, then the Isles and Ottawa. Not a good time for a slide, and these lucky points aren't gonna keep accumulating without a bit more intense effort at both ends of the ice.

You're ugly lecavalier!

So I used a little of J's patented reverse psychology armchair tactics against Tampa Bay last night and it seemed to work. Another win (We'll just gloss over that loss to the Isles). I always like the look of Henrik, but I especially liked the way he played this game. Now he's up to 2nd and 3rd in GA and SV% respectively! Beautiful. And the benches reaction to Colton Orr's goal was priceless. I had to tape Rangers in 60 just to get another look at it!

ps. My favorite call of the night was Sam's "He ROBBED Hollweg!" Like to hear a lot more of that!

So yeah, we were all over the map in Pittsburg last night. Down 2, playing like crap, up one, seemingly invincible. But maybe it was all a buildup to Strudwick's quick overtime goal. The utter delight on all of the guys faces was stunning and beautiful. I loved it all around. Now we just have to get goals for Hollweg, Betts and Orr. Also, let's have a 60 minute game against the Isles tomorrow night!

Shanny strikes again!

I wasn't that thrilled with our play most of the game last night against the Flyers, but I have to say I was liking the outcome - 4-3 in a shootout. I'm as enamored of Shanny's release as Sam and Joe. It's a thing of beauty. Also I like that lately we can score more than a goal or two a game, but what happened to our stingy defense? I'm not gonna quibble about winning games, but I would like to see the goals against shrink back down to 1 or 2 at most, preferably 0! Let's try to shut out the Penquins, who thankfully beat the Islanders last night so we don't have to go into the igloo on a pens 5 game losing streak.

Rockin' the Rock!

Man I love beating the Devils, especially 3 times in a row, especially with Brodeur in net every game. Now we could possible take the lead in Philly tonight. The Filthy Flyers are unbeaten at home, so I think they're ripe and ready for a setdown. Hopfully they don't pull out the ol' Kate Smith pre-game Ranger jinx.

ps

I shared the same air with Sean Avery, Ryan Hollweg, Dan Girardi, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal, Dave Maloney and Sam Rosen yesterday! No not just in the arena, better than that. Like I could see there pores! It was beautiful. Not much to report, but I will say that contrary to previous reports, Avery is sporting a hockey butt!

Did you see Valley?

What a game! I enjoyed the shit out of this game. Avery is the most amusing, awesome player I've ever encountered. His brawl with Darcy Tucker right out of the box was classic. Henrik was so smiley the whole time. He needs more bench time, just so we can actually see his beaming beautiful head from time to time! Loved it!

I Gonchar to know...

...the Rangers won! again! with us in the audience! I think MSG should fill in the the other half of our subscription just to keep the Blueshirts on track. After three shutouts this season at the garden any goals against are a little disappointing, but overall beating the Penguins 4-2 is pretty sweet. Avery with the game winning goal? Very Sweet. Keep it coming.

Where's the dreaded 6 goal lead?

Hopefully tonight. I find that Crosby kid a little smug, but a nice rout by the Rangers would go a long way towards my liking him. This outcome seems a little unlikely though, so I'm gonna treat myself to a Smirnoff at the game. Lubricate the anxiety away. I do know that Crosby better not take his stick to my goalie's face. Henrik or Valiquette are way too handsome for shit like that.

I love Henrik!

I go to each game believing we can win, but hoping that the opposing team doesn't blow us apart. Not to worry with Henrik in goal. His fourth shutout of the season and I've been to three of them. I hope it only gets better and better!

Avery may be an asshole, but ya gotta love him!

So yeah, we beat the Devils again. Surrendered a point, but a win is a win (thank you Prucha). What a delight to have Avery back. Nothing is as fun as the Avery/Mar-Tan antagonism saga. And thank you MSG for being as obsessed with him as we are. You know Versus will barely show him when the Ranger games are relegated to Versus on Monday and Tuesday. We'll get Hillary Duff instead. Oh the indignities we must suffer through to support our team!

lovin' the team!

I'd rather be makin' it, but you know. Game was great. Tense throughout, but that made for an even better win (and another shutout for my man Henrik). Then we get home and the new Inside the Rangers is like a dream come true (aka Ranger Porn). Starts off with a behind-the-scenes video of the team getting their portraits taken for the 2007-08 yearbook. Thank you Rangers for remembering how hot our team for this year (and BOO! for totally skipping the best part of the yearbook last year!). Then Dave Maloney asks Henrik dumb questions and Hank just smiles and giggles and looks like a king and a prince. There's more great stuff, just watch it! And let's keep the streak going!