Gutted

I think Henrik's looking to the Hockey Gods (or more likely the jumbotron) and wondering why this series ad to shake out this way. I of course was wondering as I often do, "Why do the Refs swallow the whistle when the puck is in Henrik's crease?" I never heard any of the Blueshirts reference a lack of call on the OT goal, but from my POV I saw Henke lay directly on the puck before it was scooped out to Henrique's stick for the putaway I had time to yell "Blow the whistle" twice at the TV before the series was over. Not that the one goal was the reason we lost the conference finals. I'll grant that the Devils played better than us, but it kills me to see see the final play transpire unnecessarily. It broke my heart. I was home with my mom watching the game. Se mercifully fell asleep in the 3rd period so I could focus and ultimately sob as my team took their places for the handshake line I was dreading. Monday morning she hands me the rally towel I had brought with me to hopefully cheer the Rangers to wins in games 6 & 7 and says, "Don't forget your crying towel." I guess mom wasn't fully asleep, or I woke her with my loud weeping.

 Really I owe this bad feeling all to Henrique on the Devils. If he didn't score the game 7 OT winner against Florida we could have been facing either them or the Flyers. I have a lot of hope for next season though and I firmly believe it isn't wishful thinking. This team will be mostly intact with new star Chris Kreider added to the daily mix along with a few other surprises this post-season I'm sure. Hopefully Henrik will have another injury free consistent effort and we can try to make it even further. Until then I'm rooting for Federer to sweep all the tennis tournaments this summer.

Only good thing about the Devils advancing is it makes no difference that I'll miss game 2 of the finals for Andrew Garfield's final performance as Biff. You only have 4 more opportunities to catch this tremendous production of Death of a Salesman on Broadway before it closes Saturday night. Everyone is excellent, but Andrew Garfield will break your heart. Even more spectacular is he's an even better person than he is an actor. Go see it!

testing our limits

So I've been smelling really badly this week. Seriously it's been a little like a locker room up in my shirts, but I realized what it was after that heart wrenching game last night - My frustration with this Devils series, and my hatred of Brodeur in particular. It's seeping out of my pores like Patrick Elias' undernourished excretions. So gross. This lost particularly hurt, but we're not out. I believe we can win the next two games and hope against hope we do. Henrik will shut it down and every line will light Marty up! Let's Go Rangers!

Whatever it takes

Three things I could enjoy from game 4 -

1. No shutout for Mar-tan
2. No more than 3 goals scored on Henrik
3. Rupp's swipe at Brodeur

You know Avery loved number 3. Might have gotten a 71 tattoo in the last day. Also, apart from the game I got to spend it with my favorite people in one of my favorite places - MSG, so thank you Jane and El Fano and Kim, who came all the way from Minneapolis just to be forced to watch nonstop hockey.

Let's hope we give her some thing better to cheer tomorrow night! Let's go Rangers!

Soldiering on

I said when I first saw Chris Kreider in a Rangers sweater at the 2009 draft that he was a soldier, and he's certainly been living up to my first impression. He scored his 5th goal of the post-season and his 3rd on Brodeur yesterday. I have a ton of faith in my team, but they've been surely testing it by playing well every other game. By all measures except the scoreboard they should have lost this one too, but Henrik and the hockey gods sorted us out. Luckily we have Kreider too, that offensive spark that I've begrudged so many other winning teams in the past. I really do believe and so I hope tomorrow we can go up two games for the first time this playoffs. Let's Go Rangers!

PS. Looks like Girardi and Cally have been in a non-stop rumble. OMG, those bruises, those noses. Just another good reason to put away the Devils as quickly as possible!

more than half way there

I couldn't have scripted a better Game 1 of the Eastern conference finals. Well 7-0 wouldn't have been bad either, but I firmly believe in saving some goals for when you really need them -like in the 3rd period of a scoreless game. Girardi (isn't the Broadway hat looking a little spiffier these days?), my boy Chris Kreider made Marty properly suck it and Anisimov sealed it with an empty netter. Henrik earned his 2nd shutout of the playoffs and while he may never reach Brodeur's record, each one is so special. Let's try to not depend on that tomorrow night. I would love to go into NJ having backed up home ice with another win.

We're 9 wins deep already! 7 more to go, but I'll take the next three first. Let's go Rangers!

PS. Dancing Larry got some national coverage (congrats) on NHL tonight Monday, although Kevin Weekes called him something else. As a former Ranger shouldn't he know better?

halfway to heaven

We did it! Thank the hockey Gods we played such a good sound game 7, but even so my heart was beating out of my chest last night. It felt terrific to finally be on the smiling side of the handshake line against the Caps, even as I felt for those sad white sweaters. I've always wondered if I had the resiliency as a fan to endure a deep run, and thankfully I'm about to find out. I have quite a bit of guilt that I wasn't a hockey fan in 1994. It was my first year in the city and to be honest team sports were the furthest thing from my mind at that time. I grew to love the Rangers in the early 2000s, not our finest years, but I still loved those Lindros years.

The Lundqvist years have been much kinder & given all of us a ton of great moments and a few happy handshake lines. My favorite is the 2008 quarterfinal line against the New Jersey Devils. We all remember Brodeur refusing to shake Avery's hand and #16's brilliantly candid interview after, a definite highlight. But I also remember the Devils pulling out game 3 of that series in OT at the MSG and it hurt like Hades. This upcoming series is gonna be brutal win or lose. It's my first conference finals & I definitely have the resolve to get through it. I hope and believe the Rangers do too, but every second is gonna sting, every goal against gonna be a kick in the gut. I just hope (really a lot) that we'll be on the right side of this line. 8 more wins to go, but let's get the next four a little quicker. Let's go Rangers!

I believe!

I hope I can use a similar photo to the one below when I write about tonight's game. To be honest I've been nervous about closing out this series since Marc Staal potted that game miraculous winner Monday night. No matter what I'm very proud of the team this year, but I do hope that the same level of effort and drive the my Blueshirts displayed all season is more than evident tonight. No nail bitting, gonna just try and enjoy it. Picturing sticks raised in joy, please let is be so! Let's Go Rangers!

it was our turn

The Rangers have a poor recent history of conference semifinal Game 5s. In 2008, we lost the game and the series to the Penguins in OT courtesy of a goal by Rangers-killer Marian Hossa. But it was the year before was the real gutcrusher. After winning both games at home to tie up the series 2-2, we go into Buffalo and are 7.7 seconds from taking the all important game 5 from the Sabres when Chris Drury  ties it up. Not a death knell exactly until Afinogenov wins it in OT. On that night 5 years ago, Buffalo snatched victory from the hands of defeat and it hurt so acutely, still hurts in fact. But it feels a little bit better today because it was our turn last night. 6.6 seconds from going down 3-2 to the capitals Brad Richards pulled off a miracle, somehow tucking a puck in the net that normally would have just stuck in Holtby's pads. Not only that small gift from the Hockey Gods, but then Marc Staal pots the GWG less then 2 minutes into OT. It fell euphoric to be on the right side of that miracle, but having suffered through it before I really felt for the Caps afterward. Still I want a full repeat of Rangers/Sabres 2007. Let's go into to DC and take game ^ and hope the hockey gods have a few more smiles for us this series and this post-season.

He's MCA

I am one of the millions who can verify that the Beastie Boys were one of the first rap acts to reach the white suburbs. Beyond that even. I grew up in very rural upstate NY and was weened on a musical diet of crossover country and light FM. Love Eddie Rabbit and Anne Murray, but I had a distinct appetite for rock all along starting with Joan Jett and Blondie and eventually morphing into the heyday of hair rock in the late 80's. My favorite album in 1986 was Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, I played the tape so much on my walkman that it gave out and I had to buy another.  A close second though was Beastie's debut License to Ill. I loved that album to pieces too. Always had a penchant for smart-asses and all three Beastie Boys fit that description. Plus they were funny. I'd never even been to Brooklyn let alone a White Castle, but that album hooked me. I even spent hours playing and rewinding the songs to write down what I interpreted as the lyrics. I remember having to look up Davy Jones' locker because at eleven I didn't get the reference. Love to find that notebook because my "translation" must be hilarious. The Beastie Boys were my first and my favorite rappers - when I saw Ad Rock at a Rangers game last year I involuntarily lost my shit. I never saw them live or followed them with the ferocity I had in the 7th grade, but I will miss Adam 'MCA" Yauch just as much now. Rest in peace.

just in time

So I thought I might miss Wednesday night's Game 3, dooming my Rangers to another loss. didn't make it home until 11pm and having avoided the score was nervous about the potential bad news. Turns out game wasn't nearly over just heading into 2OT.  Just took me a little while to get my mojo working and some terrific saves from both Holtby and Henrik, but Gaborik finally tucked the puck in the net (the right one) at 12:15. So relieved and excited. Woke the neighbors with cheering and clapping. Would love an easier afternoon, but really whatever it takes, I've got all day. Let's Go Rangers!

The reason I missed the majority of the game? A last minute effort to meet Benedict Cumberbatch. I should have known the Rangers were destined to win because I was incredibly lucky all night. Got one of the last standby seats to the PBS Sherlock event, was one of the honored few who got to meet Sherlock himself - plus a couple of great fans, Katie and Chris, who adopted me for the night. Please check out Sherlock series two on Masterpiece Mystery tomorrow night. It's terrific. And Benedict is a complete delight on and off the screen.