kill me now

So after Friday's debacle I went into last night's game with a plan: I would watch until something painful happened. Started promising. Our Staal scores, Vali withstands many tough shots. Then it unravelled. I gave up after the 1st period ended with the Pens up 3-1. Decided to catch up on last week's SNL hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Much better decision. Pretty good episode, highlighted by Dave Matthew's doing double duty in this Jack Johnston skit, turning in a brilliant Ozzy Osbourne impersonation and skewering himself just as masterfully. I never thought I be impressed with Dave Matthews. Kinda how I feel about Crosby, but I somehow think he'll never display a sense of humor.

So in a mellower frame of mind I check out the 3rd period. Alright, Roszy scores off some nifty work by my man Sean Avery. We're only down 3-4. I'm thinking there can't be a repeat of the first, then Vali quickly lets in goals 5-6. I'm out, no need to witness a massacre. Or a hat trick. It was bad enough that the MSG cameras followed Crosby's every move whether he was involved in the scoring plays or not, I don't need to see his regretable face for 10 minutes while they clean up those hats. Total disappointment. I might feel a little better if we beat them tomorrow night, but what is the likelihood that we hand them a mirror defeat? Not high! We probably could eek out a 3-2 win. I should just be happy with any points, but this rollercoaster of suckiness is wearing me down.

The best thing about last night's game is that I never have to watch it again. Truly painful. Now I could debate whether blowing a lead hurts more than outright losing, but yesterday's game against Tampa was just dreadful. Henrik getting chased not only from that game but tonight's too against Pittsburgh makes me sigh with dejection. I just hate it. Vali should have been between the pipes for this one anyway. Torts should learn his lesson because Renney and he have the same problem of not starting the backup on prime backup occasions. First of back-to-backs against a weaker team? Valiquette. The only good thing about last night's game is Cally's goal. I hate being shutout, but #24 saved the day with his late game backhander. Thanks guy. I think a lot of the team already had the Pens on their minds, so I expect all the effort, passion and precision to be in double doses tonight.

something to be thankful for

Back to back wins!!! Finally, it's been well over a month. Our Rangers eeked this one out, but they did it with a full 60 minute effort and almost all of the 3rd with only 4 defensemen. The box score doesn't look much different than any of the losses this past stretch - lone goal by Gaborik (a league leading 19th!!!), under 30 shots, even with overtime. Difference is this team wanted these two points. Even Roszival was noticeably blocking shots and hitting dudes. Now anyone who knows me knows I would prefer Freddie was still our shootout sniper, but I gotta say Parenteau has been pretty great. And Henrik too. Always love that guy. Love him more in a post-game interview, but MSG double booked with the Knicks, so the regular after dinner mints will have to wait for the pre-show Friday. Looks like the photogs took some time off too because there were only a few pics to choose from and they all had this old timey pink glow. Let's keep it going in Tampa tomorrow!

Lastly thanks to everyone who's stopped by this blog. We've definitely picked up some repeat viewers over the last year, and I really appreciate y'all taking the time to read my efforts. Please feel free to participate by adding comments, fun or foul, or emailing me at: nyhockeygirls@gmail.com. Happy Thanksgiving, be well and merry!

perfect timing

That was one hell of an enjoyable game, moreso for me because I happily missed the rollercoaster of period one while traveling home. Maybe I'm wrong, was the satisfaction of 7 goals heightened by the panic and disbelief of Columbus scoring two right away? Thankfully that dreaded two goal lead occasionally visits our opponents. I could really go for 7 goals a night though. We got Gaborik (suck it Heatly!) and my man Sean Avery with two, Del Zotto and Gilroy with beauties and Anisimov with a timely deflection. Love it.


I told y'all that the Rangers are much more fun with Avery contributing offensively. Especially for us fans in favor of shirtless post-game interviews. Add a be-suited Stan Fischler into the mix, and it's a little piece of heaven. Now that we have our dominant performance we have to try to back it up with another win. No better time than this week. I've spent far too many Thanksgiving days bookended by horrific losses while the team suns themselves in Florida. Not this year. I want 4 points come Friday night even if the whole team returns home the same color as Vinnie Prospal.

I'm a citizen

Ok, Hockey Girls has been out of commission for a few games now. I was hoping that I could breeze over Thursday's loss in the wake of back to back wins, but those blasted Capitals outplayed us yesterday. The worse part of this two losses/one win trend is even Henrik has been culpable. He's been stellar in the wins, but then he goes and lets in a deciding softie the following game. I frankly hate it. He obviously does too - notice not only the bitterly disappointed body language, but the broken stick in his hand. Last time Henrik had a fit it took something like 5 more games to snap out of it. The Rangers haven't got that type of time. Those "poor" Islanders have already come back to tie us in the standings. We're technically still in playoff position, but most of the Eastern conference have games in hand on us. We've got to turn this around and quickly. I would like to start stockpiling some points and a sweep of Thanksgiving week would be a great start.

Despite the terrifying record since the 7 game streak, there have been a few highlights. At least we're not Carolina! Plus I love that Gaborik is topping the stats lists. At least he and Prospal give the Rangers a fighting chance every game and me something to watch. Unfortunately that super consistent season I keep praying Henrik will deliver still has not materialized. Instead I have to hear about how Ryan Miller is the new Jesus. Enough with these other goalies. It's bad enough that the Devils have gone on such a tear, but then I hear that Brodeur is planning to become a naturalized American citizen next month. Oooh just what I wanted for Christmas, to be compatriots with that French-Canadian asshole. Do you think they'll make him lose the accent as a requirement? If we Americans have to face this indignity than Brodeur should at least be off the Canadian Olympic team. He shouldn't be able to have both. Why couldn't Sean Avery defect to my country? I already love him in red, white and blue. Avery's cross-cultural appeal reached new levels this month with the release Harlequin' Power Play, a new title in their most sexually charged line, Blaze. Not only is the hero a hockey player, but check out this cover. Is that not an Avery look-alike? I guarantee hot cop/puck enthusiast Jonah Betts (that's right! I think Nancy Warren is a closet Rangers fan) has a puck scar on the other side of his face. I wish scoring was a little more on Avery's mind. He's more fun when we're winning. I'll just have to enjoy Jonah's proficiency on and off the ice until Saturday.

wha' happened?

All I know is I miss the game and then the whole team is injured! And they still are. I hate those Flames. Had a feeling things would be ugly in Calgary, so I decided to spend the time with two of my favorite Scotsmen, Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop of the Glaswegian band Travis.


I love these boys and have done for over 12 years now, and it makes me think, "Why are there no Scottish hockey players?" That is a development I could really get into. Also a healthy team would be nice. Henrik should be ready to go tonight against Atlanta. That's a start.

Somehow I missed the fact that a local racehorse was named after Sean Avery! Sean Avery the thoroughbred is only a .500 horse right now, but he won his race this past Sunday at Aqueduct. Good on you Sean Avery, but can you center a line?

well done boys

I didn't get to see all of this game, which is a shame because it had a little bit of everything. All my faves scored, Cally, Kotalik, Gaborik. Del Zotto stayed atop the rookie scoring list. Gilroy was excellent. Vally bounced back. From what I saw it looked the effort was there, and it resulted in a win. Not being able to diagram plays myself I sometimes assess effort by shots on goal. We had 39, so all was well. Love it. Now I'd like nothing more than to go into Calgary and duplicate this win. Maybe with an Avery hat trick. It would be sweet justice if Aves racked up some points against the other DP and on the CBC simulcast no less. Cherry on the sundae. If this contest is relegated to the wilds of Canada, then the Hockey Gods should at least make up for it with a win.

PS I forgot the best part of playing Calgary - Freddie! We get to see Sjos tonight and probably that little sparkplug Nigel Dawes. As long as their names aren't on the scoreboard it will be sweet to see their smiley faces.

I'm too tired for this shit

I hate playing the west, especially these Yukon games where I've never even heard of half the team. Even so I settled in for the Vancouver game. The 10:07pm start allowed me to not only catch the game completely, but the pre-game as well, a mid-week luxury. And I was enjoying it, there was a lot of entertainment: tight game, lots of hits, a melee, Avery feeling a little poke from Shane O'Brien. I love that Tortorella had to give #16 the "shut up" tap when he was mouthing off to the refs. It seemed like we stole momentum with the Canucks all injured or sitting in the penalty box. Higgins finally scores then looks to the heavens with arms spread like he's trying out for the road company of Evita. Very happy for him. Then I don't know what happened. I saw Vancouver's go-ahead goal which came out of nowhere. By the time they had to change the glass behind Henrik I was ready for a cat nap like a grandma tucked in with her afghan. I swear I surfaced with 3 mins left and the score was still a workable 2-1, but maybe that was a dream because when I truly woke up we had lost miserably 4-1. I hate it. On to Edmonton. I remember from last year that they have a lot of syllables in their names. Oh and Tom Renney behind the bench, if you can see him past Pat Quinn's gerth. Luckily they scheduled it a half hour earlier because they know this old lady can't make it past 12:30 anymore. Should be fun.

winning the hard way

When we're playing Boston, chances are good that one team is gonna emerge with a 1-0 win. We've been on the losing side of that a few times and it feels miserable, so I'm so happy the Rangers pulled through Sunday afternoon. Henrik pocketed his 150 win and his 21st shutout. Of course I was immediately calculating how many season he would have to play to break Brodeur's records. Even if Henrik gets nowhere near those numbers I'm so proud of him. I'm really hoping he breaks 40 wins this season even with an Olympic-shortened number of starts.

Also I'm loving this Gaborik guy. I agree we should be able to win without him, but who wants to? I know I have the glow when I talk about his goals, but it feels so new. We just haven't had that type of scorer (save for Jagr 05-06) in years. As much as I admire Ovie, I like having my own sniper much better. And I love Gabby's little baby face. Hopefully he's jumpstarted our offense back up because I would like to return from Canada with at least 4 points. First up the Luongo-less Canucks - let's make it 2 in a row.