New York Rangers 2011-2012 Post-Mortem
Losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in Game 6 in Overtime to a hated rival is a particularly brutal way to be knocked out of the postseason. However, after time has passed and I take a more sober view, it’s difficult to not look at the 2011-12 season as a successful one. To be perfectly objective, the Devils were the better team over the majority of the 6 games and, without some breaks and some superb goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist (who was excellent all postseason aside from one period in Game 5 - a period with multiple defensive breakdowns), the Devils could easily have won the series in 4 or 5 games.
It should also bear noting that the Rangers are still a relatively young team, and should have even more young talent on the NHL roster next season with Chris Kreider, who showed flashed of immense ability in the postseason, making his regular season debut and others like Tim Erixon likely to contribute. The team’s grind-it-out style of play won it many points in the regular season but it struggled to decisively put away series in the postseason, against teams playing similarly in series that became wars of attrition. It eventually caught up to them, but a deep playoff run should provide valuable experience and allow the Rangers to make necessary adjustments, both on and off the ice, in the coming months and years.
That’s the cautious optimist’s take on a tough playoff defeat. The future is bright, see you next season.
(On a personal note, it was always going to be a lot to ask for the Rangers to pull off one more championship-winning rally, after Sergio Aguero and Mario Manningham happened in the same year. You can blame me, if you’d like.)
Our goalie is probably better than your goalie. And looks pretty sharp in a fedora.
There’s a lot I missed writing about in my absence. Lots of Mets baseball, City news (Tevez can fly back to Argentina and never come back for all I care), and a couple of nice Giants wins, but today I wanted to talk about the news that the Rangers waived Sean Avery.
He was never quite the same kind of effective pest the second time around with the club, likely due to a combination of the NHL’s glare, John Tortorella and his own diminishing skills, but we’ll always have the hilarious fued with Marty Brodeur and the playoff goal from 2008. He was always outspoken and a wildly entertaining player at his best but it was clear he was becoming a fringe player on this young Rangers team. Still, he’ll be remembered fondly in this corner.
TSN: NHL Rejects Kovalchuk Contract for Salary Cap Circumvention
I lol’d.
This is hilarious, and I hate the Devils, but why this reject this and not the Hossa contract? Or the Franzen and Zetterberg contracts with the Red Wings? I don’t see how the NHL can justify blocking this one but not the others, just because the Devils made it seem slightly more ridiculous. Gary Bettman is going to look bad again, but hey, no surprise there.
Go Blackhawks!
One win in Philadelphia and America gets to see thousands of phony Flyers fans cry into their beer before they remember to change into their Chase Utley jerseys!
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman discusses Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger - ESPN Chicago
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he hasn’t seen Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger do anything that violates league rules in the Stanley Cup finals, despite complaints by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Chris Pronger is a thug and Gary Bettman is a clown so I’m not surprised that this is the case. Meanwhile, every 2 minute penalty Sean Avery commits gets sent to the league office for extensive review to see if it’s a suspendable offense. What a joke. Here’s sincerely hoping the Flyers get embarrassed in front of their own fans in Game 6.
Dan Carcillo hits Jeff Carter - History Will Be Made
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Thank you internet. Tears of muthafuckin’ joy up in this bitch!
This is brilliant.
