So, four points in three games later, the season is well underway. And I'm somehow pleased. We're a very young team, we're learning to play in the NHL at all, let alone with each other, and we lost to the defending Stanley Cup Champions opening night by one goal, then won two in a row. It's a relatively good time to be a Ranger fan.
For the first time in a very long time, I really really like our whole first line. I've liked up to two thirds of it a great deal, but I really like the whole thing right now. Gaborik has been doing fantastic things with the puck, which everyone in the world said he would, but that's never actually meant much before. Dubinsky, a man with something to prove, has been playing like a man with something to prove. His stick work is as smart as it was last season, but he's also been throwing his weight around significantly more, to significant effect. Also, his shot looks really good now. I'm very happy there. I'm also very happy with Vinnie Prospal. Again, forgive me for sounding surprised, but I'm not usually impressed by a mid-30s free agent signing. I know it's early, but three games in, Prospal has, like Gaborik, been everything he's supposed to be. He's really strong on the puck, and I keep being surprised by situations in which I expect him to get stripped and then he winds up on the other side still with the puck. I love what these three guys are doing.
Our second line wings have been the stars of the second line show. This is not to take anything away from Drury, who has played a good few games, now that he seems to be playing his game (be in the right place all the time) a little more. Callahan, the rightful Alternate Captain, has not disappointed, consistently winning battles, as he did throughout last season. Meanwhile, Chris Higgins might be the new forward that has excited me most. Again, I know it's only been three games, but Higgins looks like the kind of winger that plays a physical, smart, hard-working game every minute he's on the ice, and I can't wait to see more.
The third line was completely adequate. Ales Kotalik showed some real promise, but I'd like to see more from him. I didn't manage to notice Anisimov or Lisin doing much of any import, good or bad, despite the abundance of power play time Tortorella gave Lisin. I'm withholding judgement until I watch some more hockey.
The "rough-and-tumble" line of Voros, Boyle, and Brashear is something of an enigma. On the one hand, Voros is pretty much exactly what I want in a fourth-liner. He's very big, and he can create offensive pressure. He fights when it happens naturally, and otherwise he's using his bigness to play hockey. Not only is he big, he's the smallest man on the line. I also like the way Brian Boyle has been playing, and clearly Torts does, too, since he's been out there killing penalties. On the other hand, as good as Brian Boyle gets at killing penalties, and as much of a minor offensive threat as Aaron Voros is, are they ever going to be as good at these things as Betts and Sjostrom? And we know Donald Brashear brings down our classiness factor by about a million. On the other hand, that's not so bad, since Torts never plays his fourth line. And at least Brashear is one of the best actual fighters in the league, right? Plus, I've already seen him make passes Colton Orr would never have made. On the other hand, Brashear has fought twice so far this season, and I haven't been particularly impressed with either: he clearly lost to Eric Godard and kinda broke even against someone named Matt Carkner. And the three-minutes-a-game rumor appears to be no more than that: Torts has been rolling all four lines, even late in the game in a one-goal lead over our rivals. On the other hand, isn't it good that he rolls all four lines? And if Brashear doesn't do anything criminal, he does have better stick work than Colton Orr, and he's bound start winning fights again soon, right? On the other hand...
And so on.
On defense, everything is as good as can be hoped for. Staal and Girardi both look solid. Del Zotto and Gilroy are proving to be offensive threats even this early. I already love the power play. These kids move the puck and also shoot it. They're young and developing and I love it. Redden and Rozsival keep playing leap frog to determine who's gonna suck more that night. Every time one of them does something I like, the other one does something inexcusable. I'm really trying to give them a chance, but $11.5 million a year is making it hard. After this season, Rozsival has 2 more on his contract ($5 m) and Redden has 4 ($6.5 m). Maybe they'll start playing well enough to get traded? Anyway, in conclusion, everything on defense is as good as can be hoped for.
And Lundqvist's lifetime record against Brodeur is 15-2-4.
Thursday night, at 7:00, we invade the nation's capital and pay the best player in the NHL a visit. It's flattering and exciting that the dumbasses on Versus last night were talking about the highly-anticipated renewal of the Staal-Ovechkin matchup. Let's Go Rangers! Until then, we're 2-1 in our first three, and hockey is fun as hell again.
Oh, and let's root for Florida's teams as well, this week. I'd like Jacques Lemaire's homecoming to be winless for as long as possible.
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