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Petr Prucha Goal Watch – 2009-2010

Eric — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:49:54 +0000

The 2009-2010 NHL season ended and the Blackhawks are the Stanley Cup Champions. That means it’s time to wipe the slate clean. This post is just to preserve the 2009-2010 version of the Petr Prucha Goal Watch in it’s entirety. For the current Petr Prucha Goal Watch, click the photo below.

I don’t know about the other Rangers fans out there, but Petr Prucha is one of my favorite all-time Rangers. Unfortunately, he was traded away at the 2009 trade deadline for what ended up being a mediocre rental (a.k.a. Derek Morris).

Because I know that many Rangers fans still follow Prucha in Phoenix, I’ve decided to keep tabs on him here on this page.

Jump to the Playoffs
Regular Season:

1. October 7, 2009 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins – Brent Johnson – PPG

2. October 22, 2009 vs. Detroit Red Wings – Chris Osgood

3. December 3, 2009 vs. Calgary Flames – Miikka Kiprusoff

4. December 5, 2009 vs. Ottawa Senators – Brian Elliott – GWG

5. December 16, 2009 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @ 13:33 of 1st – Vesa Toskala – PPG

6. December 16, 2009 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @ 0:51 of 2nd – Vesa Toskala

7. December 28, 2009 vs. San Jose Sharks – Evgeni Nabokov

8. December 29, 2009 vs. Vancouver Canucks – Roberto Luongo

9. January 5, 2010 vs. Edmonton Oilers – Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers
Suck it, Tom Renney

10. January 16, 2010 vs. Minnesota Wild @ 7:45 of 1st – Niklas Backstrom

11. January 16, 2010 vs. Minnesota Wild @ 8:32 of 3rd – Niklas Backstrom

12. March 6, 2010 vs. Anaheim Ducks @ 19:14 of 1st – Jonas Hiller – PPG – GWG

13. March 21, 2010 vs. Dallas Stars @ 19:59 of 1st – Marty Turco – PPG

Playoffs!
1. April 18, 2010 vs. Detroit Red Wings @ 8:16 of 3rd – Jimmy Howard – GWG

Jump to the Regular Season

@thenyrangers Laughs at Wade Redden and his Ridiculous Contract

Eric — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:32:36 +0000

I was just looking at some recent tweets by @thenyrangers, the official twitter account of the New York Rangers and saw this response:

I was curious what @Brooklahn had said so I checked it out:

That’s right, someone just took a jab at Wade Redden and his contract and the person who runs the Rangers twitter thought it was a “Great spot.” Haha!

I hope whoever runs the Rangers twitter account doesn’t lose their job over this one.

If you’re wondering what the #NHLCupcake thing is, click here.

Later, bro…(UPDATED)

Rory — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:54:43 +0000

(UPDATE at bottom) Aaron Voros has been traded to the Anaheim Ducks along with Ryan Hillier for Steve Eminger.(Yes, this happened a couple of days ago and this is late. You know what? It’s summer, and pools aren’t going to drink beer and float in themselves, bitches)

I’ve heard Eminger’s name in passing, I know nothing about him, and Ryan Hillier was a Ranger prospect that I know nothing about. So I don’t really have any commentary on this trade in regards to actual hockey and all that crap.

What I can comment on, however, is the greatest contribution Aaron Voros ever made to Ranger fans, and really, society at large. And no, I’m not talking about his fighting skills or ability to play hockey, both of which only ever contributed to the OTHER team, not us.

No, ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about his Twitter feed.

The glorious ramblings of a half-retarded frat boy, who apparently owns no other clothing besides dirty white t-shirts and baseball hats and can’t go five seconds without using the word ‘bro’, mixed with extraordinarily unflattering but completely awesome pictures of teammates, made for some of the best entertainment we Rangers fans had this season.

The life of this magnificent entity was short-lived, as Memorial Day weekend in the Hamptons prompted a Twitter binge that must have angered someone at MSG. Understandable, as the implication of “Henrik’s half-naked and wants you to come party” probably didn’t go over well with those who put together the family-friendly fun at the Garden. Or possibly Lundqvist himself- we are talking about a guy who did a magazine photo spread about how hot he is and wouldn’t take his shirt off.

Whatever the case may be, Voros is gone, and while I could lament the loss of a “heart and soul” player who does genuinely seem like a nice guy and good team guy to have around(and I mean that), his Twitter feed was gone long ago, so this eulogy is long overdue.

And, in conclusion, my dear friends, I leave you with the single greatest thing Aaron Voros has ever done: Tweeting this photo, which may or may not be in the process of being made into wallpaper for my entire goddamn house:

"Hanky-Panky wants to party with YOU! Call 1-900-SWEDE. $2.99 a minute, all major credit cards accepted."

UPDATE: Like an hour after I posted this, Voros made a liar out of me and came back to Twitter. And today, Sean Avery deleted his Twitter. W.T.F.

RIP, Bob Probert

Marc — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:53:47 +0000

Bob Probert passed away today at the age of 45. He was a bad-ass mofo. Rest in peace.

Probert vs. Domi, MSG, December 2, 1992

I Am Not Amused

Eric — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:55:51 +0000

Today is July 1st. All around the world, hockey fans await the news of where the NHL’s free agents will wind up playing come October. Many fans hope to hear the news that their team signed the big name free agent of the offseason or that their favorite player re-signed with the team. We Rangers fans just hope that Jim Schoenfeld has chained Glen Sather to a chair in front of a large tv with his eyes forced open while a loop of the press conferences of every awful free agent signing is played for him.

This article is not about today’s festivities. No, this article is about… a calendar. Yes, a calendar. You see, back in January, the Rangers gave out calendars to fans who attended a specific game. Each month features anywhere from one to three Rangers players. Players like Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist get a month all to themselves. Others have to share the month.

Until about 20 minutes ago, I felt that the month of April had been the worst month in the calendar in terms of which players were featured:

Aaron Voros and Donald Brashear

For a while, the only redeeming quality between the two of them was that Voros had a twitter account that was chock full o’ win. From his snarky replies to haters to the constant pictures to prove that he was indeed friends with Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery. But then, after a Memorial Day Weekend of binge tweeting, poof, the account was gone. Deleted. Suddenly, Aaron Voros was just the guy being paid a million dollars to sit in the pressbox, featured in the worst month of the Rangers 2010 calendar.

That is, until today.

Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden

I mean, come on. Of all the players on the roster at the time, the team in charge of putting together this damned calendar thought that putting these two guys up on the same month was a good idea?

I mean, if you asked me which of these two guys I hated the least, I’d be forced to say Rozsival. But only because he’s signed for two fewer seasons at $1.5 million per season less than Redden.

And to make matters worse, they had the nerve to put these guys up during July? JULY!?!?

Tell me please, is it ironic or just unfortunate that two players with just awful contracts (Redden considered one of the worst free agent signings of all time) are featured in July, the month which kicks off the free agent frenzy?

Is this some kind of joke? If it is, I am not amused.

Rangers to Waive Redden?

Eric — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:33:09 +0000

A little more than a year ago, I wrote an article citing Bruce “Malkin to the Kings” Garrioch as saying there was talk that the Rangers were going to waive Wade Redden. Of course, as we all know, that turned out to be false (surprise!).

This year, Arthur Staple takes a big leap and is much more direct about Redden’s future than Malkin to the Kings was last year.

There is more room on defense, where Wade Redden is almost certain to be waived and sent to Hartford when training camp ends. “He’s been discussed,” Sather said.

The article is actually about Sather. Staple begins the article questioning whether or not this will be the year Slats finally exhibits patience come July 1, not about Redden’s status with the team.

And honestly, the quote that Staple uses from Sather doesn’t lead me to believe that Redden being waived is “almost certain.” Great, he’s been discussed. Slats and Torts could have had a wonderful conversation about Wade and all of the positive aspects of his game. What did Staple say to Sather that Sather answered with “He’s been discussed.”? Is it possible that Sather actually said, “He’s a disgust.”?

I honestly don’t think Redden will be waived. Let’s look at it this way. Are there six other defenseman on the Rangers that are clearly better than Redden?

Del Zotto and Gilroy are signed for next season, but Gilroy spent most of the last month of the season in the press box. Additionally, both him and MDZ will be entering their sophomore season and I would imagine that Tortorella might want to have that veteran presence that Redden brings. Andres Eriksson–who filled in for Gilroy down the stretch–played very well in his eight games with the Rangers. The problem is that he’s 35 and a UFA.

Michal Rozsival is Michal Rozsival and trying to pick the better player between him and Wade Redden would be like asking me to tell you if the paint on the wall to my left is eggshell or off white. All I know is that Rozival’s cap hit is $1.5 million less than Redden’s.

Dan Girardi and Marc Staal still have to be re-signed but they are definitely better than Redden. So assuming the Rangers agree to terms with Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, they have Staal, Girardi, Del Zotto, Gilroy, and Rozsival. That’s five. Where will that sixth defenseman come from? How about Hartford?

Bobby Sanguinetti was the Rangers’s 1st round pick in the draft back in 2006 and had been passed by multiple prospects in the depth chart over the last couple seasons. As a result, he was traded to the Hurricanes yesterday so he’s out of the picture. That leaves Ryan McDonagh, Mike Sauer, Corey Potter, and Mikhail Pashnin.

McDonagh was acquired from the Canadiens last summer in the deal that sent Scott Gomez packing. At the time of the trade, McDonagh was Montreal’s top prospect and many Habs fans were upset when he was traded. I would think he would be the most likely candidate at this point for the sixth defenseman.

Sauer and Potter both got some time in the NHL last season but neither stayed long. Mikhail Pashnin was last year’s 7th round pick (200th overall) and has been a pleasant surprise at Prospect Camp so far this week.

So yes, the Rangers may very well have six defensemen that could play over Wade Redden. And given recent comments by both John Tortorella and Glen Sather about the importance of the youth and giving the youth a shot, I wouldn’t be incredibly surprised if Redden was waived.

Having said that, I still think the Rangers will not waive Wade Redden. There are only a few reasons the Rangers would actually waive Redden:

The Rangers sign a free agent defenseman.
Redden is far and away outplayed by SIX other defensemen at training camp and throughout the preseason.
Redden tells the Canadian Press about his sloppy seconds.

For some reason, I just don’t think any of those things will happen.

Hockey and TBI

Eric — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:04:54 +0000

I was recently contacted by Chelsea Travers of CareMeridian, a care facility located throughout the West Coast of the US that specializes in traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. She asked if I could publish this article to help raise awareness about the severity of head injuries. While a lot of us might know that concussions and other brain injuries should never be taken lightly, many people are not aware of just how dangerous these injuries are, especially if the person does not seek immediate medical attention.

While the article may have been written before the recent rules changes for blindside hits to the head were passed the message is still clear. These head injuries happen way too often and need to be addressed to the point where they are a rarity.

***

Hockey and TBI

Hockey is arguably one of the most physical professional sports. Hockey players are constantly getting body checked, slammed into boards, falling to the ice, slapped by a stick, hit by a dense, speeding puck or getting punched during a fight. If that isn’t bad enough, hockey players take part in one of the longest regular seasons of any sport, effectively taking on harsher pain for a longer amount of time throughout the year. Risk of injury couldn’t be clearer as you all too commonly see hockey players missing their front two teeth. With all of the injuries that can occur, one of the most dangerous is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI is a silent injury that can cause harm to the mind and body of an individual. An injury to the head or brain can alter someone’s life and can even require long-term rehabilitation and care from a skilled nursing facility. These injuries are often far too common in the sport of hockey and if not properly treated can permanently make a hockey player’s life more challenging than the game they play.

TBI is an injury that Philadelphia Flyers player Ian Laperriere knows all too well. In game 5 of an NHL playoff game with the New Jersey Devils, Laperriere took a slap shot to the face that immediately caused him to bleed excessively from the wound above his eye and lose sight. Laperriere was diagnosed with a brain contusion after having an MRI a few days later. While Laperriere may have originally thought that losing sight in one of his eyes was the worst of the two injuries, in reality the bigger concern could wind up being the long-term effects of the brain injury.

Concussions have been dismissed as minor injuries because the physical nature of most sports causes them to occur regularly, but, frequently occurring or not, they are still head injuries where the brain is forced to move violently within the skull and the way it functions could change permanently. When the brain moves in such a manner, it can bruise, bleed, and even tear, which can cause irreversible damage to the victim. For a sport like hockey, this type of injury is very common and unfortunately at times ignored. Many hockey players don’t take into account the possible effects of the injury and because it might not seem like a serious problem exists at first, they keep on skating as if nothing occurred. Their unawareness of the injury makes it so much more dangerous because a mild brain injury can turn into a life threatening injury in a very short period of time without seeking immediate medical treatment.

Studies by the National Academy of Neuropsychology’s Sports Concussion Symposium in New York have shown that since 1997, 759 NHL players have been diagnosed with a concussion. Broken down, that averages out to 76 players per season and 31 concussions per 1,000 games of hockey. That is far too frequent of an occurrence for such a serious injury. It’s a frightening statistic that should send up a red flag to hockey officials that actions need to be taken to further prevent this type of injury from occurring.

The best, and sometimes only, treatment for TBI is prevention. For the National Hockey League new rules are being considered that preserve the game but also help protect the players. Rule changes concerning blindside hits, rink size (which effects players space from each other and their proximity to walls), and stronger helmet requirements all have been considered to help curb TBI and its effects. This demonstrates that the NHL is aware of the seriousness of the injury and is taking proactive steps to help prevent it from happening.

Hockey is one of the most popular sports in North America and has millions of people participating in it every year. Unfortunately, the sport comes with the risk of a TBI. With the right awareness of the injury and the necessary precautions in place, the game should be able to continue with players excited to lace up their skates and enjoy it.

About the Author
Chelsea Travers is an outreach representative for CareMeridian, a subacute care facility located throughout the Western United States for patients suffering from traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or medical complexities, such as neuromuscular or congenital anomalies.

New York Rangers 2010-2011 Games of Interest

Eric — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:57:05 +0000

I figured that everyone is gonna just post the schedule in it’s entirety so I decided to pick out the games I feel are of interest.

The Rangers open their season in Buffalo on October 9th
They open MSG with an Original Six Matchup against the Maple Leafs on October 15th

Division Matchups:

Original Six Matchups:

Petr Prucha comes to town on December 16th.
Christopher Higgins (maybe) and Ales Kotalik make their triumphant return to MSG on November 22nd.

Thanks to Far From NY on the Hockey Rodent Message board, we have some stats on the schedule:

The second game of the year, against the Islanders, is a matinee, on a Monday!
Longest home streak is 4 games from Nov 7 – 14.
Longest road trip is 4 games from March 26 – April 3 (though the third game is against the Islanders).
West coast trip: Ducks and Sharks on the road on March 9th & 12th
Mid west trip: Colorado and Minnesota on Nov 19 & 20
Mid west trip: Stars and Blues on the road on Jan 7th & 8th
10 matinees (all TBD times are counted as manatees–they usually turn out that way).
Two 5 pm starts–against Florida on Jan 2 and Ottawa on Dec 5
17 back to backs.
18 back to back games–14 are three-games-in-four-day
five of the three-games-in-four-days have the off day on day three, two have the off day on day two (not counting the month of November, the week and a half before the all-star game and the first week of March)
November–from the 14th until the 29th (16 days), there are 10 games–three back to backs–five home, five road
The only time close to what is in the second half of November is the week and a half before the all star game where there is 5 games in 7 days and the first week of March where there is 4 games in 6 days.

Looking forward to any specific games? Did I mess up a date or some other thing? Let us know in the comments.

2010 Final “Expert” Picks Standings

Eric — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:57:43 +0000

Thanks to the special magical sometimes there, sometimes not point, the winner this year is Barry Melrose. He wins even though he picked two fewer series winners than Marc. Marc, who went 11-4, lost to Melrose, who went 9-6. Below is reproduced what you currently see on the “Expert” Picks Standings page. I have decided to turn it into a post so that the standings will be saved and can be used to compare for next year.

And yeah, I came in last place. At least I broke my losing streak by picking the Hawks in 6!

The Hawks are very happy that I broke my losing streak by picking them to win in 6.

Each “expert” was awarded two points for correctly guessing the winner of each series. An additional point was awarded if the “expert” also guessed the correct number of games in addition to the winner. To see the picks, follow these links:

Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Stanley Cup Finals

“Expert”	Correct Pick	Incorrect Pick	Correct Pick and Number of Games	Points
Barry Melrose	9	6	6	24
Marc	11	4	1	23
Matthew Barnaby	9	6	5	23
Scott Burnside	10	5	2	22
Ross McKeon	10	5	2	22
E.J. Hradek	10	5	1	21
Pierre LeBrun	9	6	3	21
Matt Romig	9	6	3	21
John Buccigross	9	6	2	20
Risa	8	7	3	19
Greg Wyshynski	8	7	2	18
Jordan	8	7	1	17
Joe Fortunato	7	8	3	17
Sam McCaig	8	7	0	16
Nick Montemagno	8	7	0	16
Ryan McFadden	6	9	2	14
Phil	6	9	2	14
Rory	5	10	3	13
Jim Schmiedeberg	6	9	0	12
Eric	5	10	1	11

New for this year, I grouped the “experts” to see which website or TV network had the best overall pickers.

Website/TV Network	Correct Pick	Incorrect Pick	Correct Pick and Number of Games	Points	Possible Points	Points %
ESPN	56	34	19	131	270	48.5
Yahoo! Sports	35	25	8	78	180	43.3
5-hole.com Readers	22	23	6	50	135	37.0
5-hole.com Writers	21	24	5	47	135	34.8
Blueshirt Banter	27	33	5	59	180	32.8

Where to Start…?

Rory — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:17:05 +0000

In my usual starvation for Ranger news that sets in during the summer, I make a habit of Googling different players who tend to pop up in articles and discussion- to get my Ranger fix. During the days of Aaron Voros’ compulsive Tweeting of nonsense and semi-nude photographs of teammates (thanks for that, by the way), this need was lessened. Now, I have to scavenge. And today’s scavenging led me to this picture:

From seanavery.net (not to be confused with seanavery.com), we have this photo of Ranger Great Adam Graves with Ranger Grater(ba dum bum) Sean Avery. Someone I haven’t written about in a while. Probably because I just haven’t written in a while. Anyway, they both attended Children’s Health Fund 2010 Benefit in New York City a few days ago, where this photograph was born.

Normally I wouldn’t keep the photo so big, but I feel it is necessary to make my point, because it allows for every sweetly ridiculous detail to be viewed in all their glory. Let’s begin.

Number one: Let me start this off by saying: Sean Avery, you are not Hunter S. Thompson. I knew Hunter S. Thompson(no I didn’t), I worked with Hunter S. Thompson(nooooope), and you, sir, are no Hunter S. Thompson. Get rid of those Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas glasses- unless you’re ready to huff some ether and go to the Bazooko Circus Casino with Benicio del Toro. You look ridiculous.

Number two: Why is your forehead three times darker than the rest of your face? Is it left over fake-tan grease from that time Lindsay Lohan continued her rampage of hot mess-ness all over Voros’ girlfriend’s face? I’m sure there was a head butt in there somewhere, she seems like the type to bust that out after she’s done wasting all of the available nectar of life, aka alcohol, by throwing it on bitches. See what happens when you’re not fast enough with the weave-snatch? You best step up your bitch-game, Sean. That way you won’t end up with a forehead like that. People are staring.

Number three: Since you clearly don’t wear sunscreen, as is evidenced by your potato-skinned forehead, I am curious as to why there seems to be a halo of pale around your hairline. And don’t get smart and tell me it’s an ACTUAL halo, I’ll believe that when I see Kirstie Alley and Marty Brodeur eating salad together(chocolate and lard salad doesn’t count). Either commit to the pale, or commit to the melanoma-inducing skin damage. There is no half-and-half.

Number four: Why does Gravey have that same look on his face in every single picture of him on the face of the planet? You’re not new at this, Adam; it’s not going to bite you, it’s just a camera- no need to look so scared. But I love you anyway. Keep it up. And I won’t start about what looks like a bullet-proof vest under your suit.

I feel the need to reiterate my point about the glasses. Until you are prepared to do this:

Get rid of them.