NY Rangers Goalie Cards UK

NY Rangers UK renaissance

2006-08-10T19:03:00.000+01:00

Time to refocus me blog innit! Not done much with it for ages.

At the end of the day, there are so many good Rangers sites out there, it's hard to even think about adding much different from this side of the pond.

So, I'm gonna use this blog as a way of tracking my Rangers goalie card collection. Seems like a plan.

Anyway, thats the idea. I'll prolly add a few other bits as well.

Blueshirt trip, part 2. Pictures from the warm-up Feb 1 2006

2006-02-08T19:05:00.000Z

Penalty Shot King Marek, Struds, Rooch, Prooch, Roszival, Hossa Jnr & Toots.

And more of the same! Prooch, Rooch, Malik, Struds, Rucinsky and Hossa Jnr

Prooch (you see a pattern here?), Jason Ward, Petr Sykora, Michal Rozsival, Nylander & Moore

Hank

Dominic Moore, Ward, Nylander and Struds

Hank, Marty Straka and Rozsival

Marc Andre Fleury and some rookie

Hank again

Tom Poti and Rooch

The real young star of the Pathetic Penguins

2006-02-04T19:41:00.000Z

Having had the 'pleasure' of seeing the Pittsburgh Penguins play twice this past week against the Blueshirts, I come to a couple conclusions from those games.

1. They are the worst team I have ever seen in person.
2. Marc Andre Fleury is the true young star of that team.

OK, so I may be overstating here, as hey - it's just two games right!

But going on those two games, I can only state what I saw.

And first things first, this is a woeful hockey team. I could say they remind me in part, of how the Rangers used to be. Although thats unfair on the Rangers, that's how poor the Penguins look.

Veteran players like Mark Recchi, John LeClair and Sergei Gonchar where woeful in both effort and effect.

The team of course have suffered from the losses of Lemieux and Palffy, and what they have left is a team full of dissinterested veteras, yard dogs, and a smattering of young stars.

Of course Sidney, or should that be Sindy Crosby, gets the headlines, and his stats will show that he's a worthy young talent.

Alas in these two games v's the Rangers, he didn't bother to show up, one easy tap in power play goal aside. The only other times I noticed him on the ice was when he dived, when he whinged at the ref after getting a penalty, and when he gave the puck away for Steve Rucchin to score a short hander.

The real young star of these performances was goalie Marc Andre Fleury. I kinda felt sorry for him in Saturday's game. He faced a rampant Rangers who put 51 shots on goal, and without him, it'd been double figures. Yes he gave up a couple poor goals, but he also made some fantastic saves.

In the game on Wednesday, he wasn't quite as busy, the game was more low key, with the Rangers easing this time to a mere 3-1 victory. But he still showed some great talent. He really does have one of the quickest glove hands I've seen. A couple times he stoned Rangers players who where on the doorstep, just flashing the glove to deny the shooter.

The guy deserves so much more than to be playing on this pitiful excuse of a hockey team. But, I'm sure the future will be far brighter for him and the Penguins - wherever they may be. They surely can't get any worse than this, with all that talent they've snagged in the draft the last few years.

Been over the pond on a Blueshirt jaunt: part 1

2006-02-04T00:09:00.000Z

Just some pictures for now, from the Flyers game, as I only got back today.

Outside The Garden, on 7th Ave

Jags and the boys get ready to go

Petr Prucha and the boys in action

Hank gets set

The players get set in front of Hank

Players having a little set-to, courtesy of Garden Vision!

In honour of Moose Messier

2006-01-12T15:44:00.000Z

Enjoy your night Mess!

Top 10 reasons for the surprising Rangers

2005-12-12T23:36:00.000Z

1. Goaltending - Henrik Lundqvist may not be a huge surprise to Rangers fans, as many have followed his career closely for a couple seasons. But the ease with which he’s settled into NHL hockey has been a surprise to many. Kevin Weekes has had a bit more of a stop start season with injuries hampering him, but he’s also been pretty strong.
2. Coaching - Tom Renney may seem a bit low profile for New York, and a lot of people wondered if he’d be the man to handle a bit of a poison chalice of a job. Coach Renney has turned out to be a hit on Broadway so far. His excellence in working with younger players makes him ideal for a rebuilding Rangers, plus his work ethics and modern, up to the minute ideas means he’s a man in touch. Whereas many other coaches have been moaning about the new rules, Renney and his coaches have just got on with it and adjusted with ease.
3. The Jagr Express - Sometimes sulky and moody, many wondered if Jagr’s heart would be in New York. It’s safe to say the Rangers management wondered too, and so made sure as to surround Jagr with the right people. With his buddies Martin Starka and Martin Rucinsky on the team, and a young prodigy in Petr Prucha to take care of and mentor, Jagr is the happiest he’s been in years. And his play, points totals and leadership points to this.
4. Sensible free agent signings - Yes you read right, the words ‘sensible‘, and ‘free agents’ all together in one sentence. While the likes of Pittsburgh saw the new season and new wage cap as a chance to stock up on some older ‘stars’ in the hope of a Cup push, the Rangers went to the other end of the scale. Straka and Rucinsky where as ‘starry’ as the Rangers got. Two solid veterans with highly respectable numbers, which they’ve continued to add to this season. After that the Rangers have brought in a group of solid, if unspectacular players, many of whom have been a huge surprise. And I guess if the expectations are not so high, then there is that capacity to be surprised. And the likes or Roszival, Ward, Strudwick and Malik have all proved to be nice surprises this season.
5. Rookies being given a chance - Without the high expectations, and with the team being prepared for re-build mode, the Rangers have been able to introduce a number of rookies without too much pressure on them. And many have responded well. Dominic Moore, Henrik Lundqvist, Petr Prucha, Fedor Tuytin, Max Kodratiev and Ryan Hollweg have all played significant parts this season so far, and all have proved themselves to be more than comfortable in this league.
6. Hard work - It should all start with hard work, and the Rangers give themselves a chance each game by giving a great effort. Tom Renney demands it, and the players respond to him.
7. Penalty killing - With so many more penalties being called in the ‘new’ NHL, a team with a good penalty kill are onto a winner. And the Rangers have one of the best in the league. No nonsense players like Jed Ortmeyer, Blair Betts and Dominic Moore are making a name for themselves, not just for their solid play shift after shift, but for being superior penalty killers.
8. Surprise packages - He may not be the biggest in stature, but one of the biggest surprises has been Petr Prucha. 13 goals in his first 26 games in the NHL. But as well as the more obvious surprise package that is Petr Prucha, Blair Betts is another who’s deserving of the accolade!
9. Team spirit - From the first day of training camp Tom Renney and his coaches made sure to unify the team, and to get the team spirit working overtime. This included taking them on a course to an army camp, and that seemed to set the ball rolling. Ever since the team play for each other each and every game.
10. Belief- the Rangers are getting that belief! Will it last? Time will tell.

'Rangers Goalie card of the week' No.3

2005-11-23T23:16:00.000Z

This week, a Rangers legend (again!). Ed Giacomin. The first of two legendary Rangers goalies to have their number retired. No one else will ever wear the number 1 jersey for the Rangers, as worn by Fast Eddie. Giacomin played 539 regular season games for the Rangers, and 65 play off games between the years of 1965 and 1976.

Card: Topps 1971/72 #90
Front: Ohhh what a beauty! Classic posed shot of a young Ed Giacomin in his classic Rangers tie down jersey. A really nice stylish card. So much so, this style of card was recently replicated, during the current trend of publishing 'vintage' style hockey cards.
Back: In the way they did back then, a little cartoon depicting a goalie states 'As a youngster Ed wasn't good enough for junior hockey - but succeeded'. Then in a more serious mode the card states 'Steady Ed Giacomin has been a first or second team All-Star for five straight seasons. He and Gilles Villemure captured Vezina Trophy last season. Ed has acrobatic style'.
Kickice Card Condition*: Fair. Some soft corners and a couple creases, but still in really nice shape for a 33 year old card.
Kickice Card Comment: Ohhh one of my favourite cards! Classic look, and a card of a Ranger goalie legend - all good!

See 'Rangers Goalie Card of the week' No. 1 for 'Card Condition' ranks.

Calling Captain Nemo

2005-11-21T13:03:00.000Z

Ville Nieminen had an inauspicious start to his Rangers career really. I was pleased when he signed, as I’d always liked his play and his crazy smile. (That’s a legitimate reason to like a player right?). So I was looking forward to seeing how he got on and I was pretty sure he’d be a popular figure here.

But it all started a little slowly for Nemo in New York. An early season injury, was followed by a benching, after a few undisciplined displays. But Nemo took it on board, and is now showing some of the grit and under-your-skin style play that he's known for. Added to the fact he has a few points to his name – including the game winner v’s the Bruins on November 20th – things are going pretty well for him now.

And then, on top of that, Nemo made himself a bit of a star turn, after a post game interview alongside Darius Kasparitis. They should try stand-up. Two funny guys! If you haven’t seen it – dig through the MSG website, it’s there someplace. Not much help am I.

When the going gets tough

2005-11-19T21:41:00.000Z

You need a win!

The road trip was 5 games long, the longest we'll have all season. I think that if the Rangers had been offered 3 wins out of them 5 before it started, it'd been a done deal.

So even though the end of the road trip was tough, the overall view of it is I guess, that it was a decent return from what was always going to be a tough trip.

Today the Rangers bounced back with a 4-3 home win over Carolina Hurricanes, one of the league's hot teams! The top line was on fire, Michael Nylander had a goal and 3 assists, and JJ had 3 assists. Michal Rozsival got his first goal of the season. And Petr Puck scored his 4th! All good. And whisper it - Tom Poti had another good game.

It was pretty nervy at the end, but the Rangers held on for a big win.

Petr Puck - Prince of Penalty Shots

2005-11-10T10:09:00.000Z

Never mind Charles and Camilla invading the US, New York Rangers have their own version of the Royal Family. First we crowned King Henrik of Sweden. Now we have Petr Puck Prince of Penalty Shots.

For the 2nd time in a week, young Petr Prucha, who’s fast becoming yet another fan favourite, scored the winning penalty shot. It’s a shame goals in the penalty shoot-out don’t count on regular stats, as the two Prucha has scored, are as important to the club as any goal scored in regulation or OT. In doing so, Prucha, along with goalies Henke and Weekes, secured 2 valuable extra points for the Rangers.

I’d never been a huge fan of deciding games on the penalty shoot-out, having seen a fair few of the over here in Yerp. But during pre-season, where the Rangers had done pretty well in the shoot-outs, my feelings on them where along these lines: As, like many, I didn’t expect the Rangers to be winning that many games, I though that if we could hang on long enough in some games to get through to OT and then the shoot-out, maybe we could win a few and steal a few points. Of course, the Rangers have surprised many, by winning a lot of games already. But those 2 Petr Puck inspired shoot-out wins, have indeed been valuable bonus points for the team.

So I guess right now, I’m a fan of the shoot-out!

Last night Dominic Moore, who’s impressing more and more as the season goes on, scored his 4th goal, and his first against a team other than the Montreal Canadiens! Moore purposefully tried to bank the puck off the back of the goalie, and it worked! A lucky goal maybe, but full marks for perseverance from Moore, and for creativity, being as there was no one there to pass to.

Lack of discipline has reared its ugly head in Ranger Land again, with far too many penalties being taken against Florida Panthers. With 4 more games to go on this difficult road trip, the last thing the Rangers need is to make their job even harder by taking daft penalties.

And next onto Tampa Bay!

'Rangers Goalie card of the week' No.2

2005-11-08T21:27:00.000Z

This week it's a John Davidson card. The very popular ex Ranger goalie, is still a popular Ranger - as he still works for the Blueshirts. And he is the biggest Homer when it comes to Blueshirts broadcasting, it's great!
Card: Topps 1979 #110
Front: What a great mask! A proper old goalie mask. Blue, red and white stripes with the Rangers shield on the side. Topped off with great looking brown leather leg pads and waffle style blocker - classic!
Back: Here we find out that 'John's hobbies include water skiing'. This comment is accompanied by a daft cartoon water skiier - now you won't find that on a trading card these days! And we also are told that JD is: 'A scrambler in front of the net for the Rangers, John often makes difficult saves look easy'
Kickice Card Condition*: Damn Fine
Kickice Card Comment: I love older cards, so I love this one. Classic old Topps cardboard card, that looks very sharp to this day.

*See 'Rangers Goalie Card of the week' No. 1 for 'Card Condition' ranks.

Unlovable Rangers will become loved again!

2005-11-04T12:10:00.000Z

For way to long, the Rangers where one of the most unloved teams in the league. The obsession with spending truckloads of dosh on super-star players, and filling the roster with players more interested in their pay-cheques than the Rangers jersey had become a bad habit that won them no friends.

It even made many of the players unloved to Rangers’ own fans. For years and years, players the fans clung onto where long time legends, worthy of the status, like Mike Richter, Adam Graves, Brian Leetch and Mark Messier V1.0. Not many of the ‘big names’ that came in hit the spot. And when occasionally a youngster showing some promise arrived on the scene like Mike York or Manny Malhotra, they where hurried out of the door before we got a chance to declare our undying love! Added to the fact that the next ‘Great Ranger Hope’ Dan Blackburn had to retire so young, it just seemed that Rangers fans where forever on a fruitless search for new heroes.

So this is an unfamiliar position we find ourselves in. For starters, the Rangers aren’t awash with superstar players, in fact, there is just Jaromir Jagr that fits that billing. And Jagr along with the few veterans who could be considered stars, such as Martin Rucinsky, Martin Straka and Michael Nylander are finding friends amongst Rangers fans. This is unfamiliar territory. It’s not only that these players are putting up very decent numbers, something the likes of Kovalev and Lindros failed to do during their tours of duty on Broadway. It’s also because these players are working for the team first and foremost, that is a rare sight.

Maybe most important though, is that this season we are seeing a new group of players who are winning the hearts of Ranger fans. There is much to enjoy about Henrik Lundqvist, Fedor Tyutin, Dominic Moore, Petr Prucha and Jed Ortmeyer’s performances. And I’m sure all Rangers fans hope that this group, along with the likes of Ryan Hollweg, Max Kondratiev and Blair Betts will see the season through, and will be given the chance to become long-term Rangers’ players. Goodness knows it’s time that the Rangers had a new band of young Blueshirts to give the team some semblance of an identity.

Whether the Rangers can sustain their early season form is not the issue here. The point here is that the Rangers have a group of player’s young and old who really do play for the jersey. And also, maybe most important for the fans, there is new group of players to admire, who are giving the Rangers team and fans some of their pride back.

One of them Stats Updates thingymilarks

2005-11-04T09:41:00.000Z

Top point getters:
JJ: 14 + 8 = 22
Marty Straka: 1 + 14 = 15
Ruca: 6 + 8 = 14
Michael Nylander: 4 +9 = 13
Rootin’ Tootin: 2 + 5 = 7

Tops in +/-
Michal Rozsival: +6
Darius Kasparitis: +5
Nemo, JJ, Steve Rucchin & Ruca: +4

Tops in PIM’s:
Darius Kasparitis: 28 PIM
Mchal Rozsival: 18 PIM
Marek Malik: 16 PIM
Ville Nieminen: 16 PIM

Kick’s Top 3 'Rangers of the Moment':
JJ = tearing it up, like a goal machine!
Michal Rozsival – tops in ice time, and a +6, solid and unspectacular!
Kevin Weekes = must be a bit tough for Weekes with all the hoooooohah about Henke, and fans clamouring for him to be the starter. But Weekes comes back into the line-up with a superb performance on the road v’s the Devils.

And the good news is...

2005-11-02T21:43:00.000Z

Petr Prucha has been recalled from Hartford! :insertdancingsmilie:

In two games for the Pack, he scored 2 goals and 1 assist. Now he's back with 'Big Club', and hopefully will be in the line-up tomorrow.

More good news - Ryan Hollweg is also back with Big Club. There may not be that much of him - but he's tough and will get stuck in, and we just don't have much muscle on the team, so it's a pretty damn good idea to bring him back.

Jeff Taffe goes in the other direction, for a conditioning stint. I wonder if that means he's going to condition what little hair he has left?

'Rangers Goalie card of the week' No.1

2005-10-29T22:17:00.000+01:00

You are never to old to collect hockey cards! That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I used to collect all goalie cards, but that got out of hand, as there are just too many 'common' and regular cards out there these days. So, I've cut back on the habit, and now I just collect cards of Rangers goalies past and present. And inserts/short printed cards of all goalies.

So, in a much anticipated new series, we have the NY Rangers UK Blog's 'Rangers Goalie card of the Week', and a good place to start is with the Great Mike Richter's rookie card.

Card: Upper Deck 1990 #32
Front: Being such an early card, of course Richter is in his old helmet style mask. Also, check out the size of them pads! Ah them where the days, when goalies didn't wear mattresses strapped to their legs.
Back: Upper Deck lets us know that this young rookie 'Was named WCHA Rookie of the Year in 85-86 and a WCHA 2nd Team All Star in 86-87 with the U of Wisconsin Badgers before joining the US National & Olympic Team in 87-88"
Kickice Card Condition*: Damn Fine
Kickice Card Comment: A great looking classic Upper Deck card, and being a rookie card, it gets top marks from me!

* I don't follow the Beckett rules, so conditions are ranked like this:
Damn fine: Top notch card, no major flaws
Pretty damn good: Very good card, maybe not perfect, but excellent none the less.
Fair: Not top notch, but a card in decent condition
Homely: Looks a bit bruised, maybe has a few flaws.
Much loved: OK, so this card has been around the block a few times, but hey, I still love it.

Fishsticks 3 – The Revenge of the Blueshirts

2005-10-28T09:54:00.000+01:00

Starring: Henrik ‘Kid Qvist’ Lundqvist, Blair Betts, Dominic Moore, Martin Straka, Jaromir ‘JJ’ Jagr, Fedor ‘Rootin’ Tyutin and featuring Jed Ortmeyer as ‘The Penalty Killing Machine’

Directed by Tom Renney. Produced by Glen ‘Slats’ Sather

What the critics say:

“Jed Ortmeyer gives the performance of his life as the Penalty Killing Machine” Hockey Digest

“Henrik Lundqvist is the new star on Broadway, whatever you do, go see this kid play” Gotham Gazette

“If you like action, grittiness and plenty of (penalty) killings, then this is for you!” Rangers Review

After being robbed by those pesky Isles a couple weeks ago, the Blueshirts got their revenge last night with a 3-1 win. Marty Straka got his first goal of the season, to go with his 11 assists. Fedor Tyutin and Blair Betts with the ENG, where the other scorers.

Not without a few scares though – how about giving up 11 penalties. Not ideal. But hey, take it as good practise for our already very good penalty killing unit, led by Jed Ortmeyer.

Henrik Lundqvist continues to make friends in Gotham. As does one of my main guys Fedor Tyutin, who had the game winning goal, and leads Rangers d-men in points.

Blueshirts back down to earth, and GET RID OF POTI!

2005-10-24T10:07:00.000+01:00

Rangers are picking up the sort of results probably expected of them right now! Anyway, the team have a few days break now, and it couldn't come at a better time.

What is the chance that Tom Poti and his motor-mouth will be traded in that time? This is a great quote by the perennial underperformer: "The first time he sat me out, I bounced back great, I thought I played five awesome games right in a row, doing what I was supposed to do -- carrying the puck, joining the rush, making plays, creating offense. "

HELLO - EARTH TO POTI. If he thinks he's played 5 awesome games in a row for the Rangers at ANY time in his career, he's even more deluded than I thought. What really bugs me about him though, is his arrogance. He truly seems to believe he's something.

Maybe he was hard done by being scratched v's Buffalo. But, that doesn't hide the fact that he's done so little, and played so poorly for much of his Rangers career. Seriously - trade him for a low pick, ANYTHING to get rid of him. And then call Thomas Pock up.

Call the police, it's a robbery! Rangers v Isles Part 1.

2005-10-20T08:54:00.000+01:00

The good and bad of the first Rangers - Fishsticks tilt of the season.

Let's start with the bad - we dropped a point we should have won. Credit DiPietro, as he kept the Isles in the game long enough, all by his lonesome. It should have been around 3-0 Rangers, before the lazy Yashin scored on the 5 on 3.
Then there's the penalties. After a relentless parade to the penalty box in the first couple games of the season, the Rangers seemed to have got the hang of the new rules, and where more diciplined. But last night, in a highly charged atmosphere, they where back to their old habits. Sure, some of the calls where rotten, but many wheren't. And the Rangers dug themselves a hole in a game that should have been won in the first period.
So them's the breaks, and them's the frustrations.

Then a question - how on earth wasn't that a penalty or even a penalty shot when Petr Prucha had the indignity of having a large stick hooked through his legs?

So there are some good things too - being 2-0 down, early in the 3rd, would probably have spelt the end for the Rangers in recent years. But for the 3rd time this season already, they have battled back from deficits, to gain at least a point.
Then there is the fact that Tom Renney is showing so much faith in his inexperienced set of players. With just a few minutes to go, and still needing a goal, if you thought Coach Renney would stick with his top two lines, and sit the rooks and the 4th liners - WRONG. Renney kept on rolling 4 lines. And on the power play it was rookie Petr Prucha who was on the ice, deep into the game, to get the all important tip on Fedor Tyutin's shot.

And so I finish the ramblings with views on the best Rangers performers last night:
1. Petr Prucha - what's not to like about young Petr. He may not be the biggest, but he's a battler. And on top of that he has the skills. He's really settling now, and did some nice things out there in an intense atmosphere. And his tip in for the goal was excellent. 2 goals in his last 2 games, he's certainly not looking out of place.
2. Fedor Tyutin - amazes me he's only 22, and only has around 30 NHL games to his name, as he playes with the poise of a far more experienced d-man. Good both ends of the ice, Tootin will lead the team in points by a d-man this season at this rate.
3. Tom Poti - yes really, Tom Poti. So often the favourite of the boo-birds, Poti actually looked the part in last nights game. Now if he can keep that up, there won't be need for trade talk every five minutes.

Henrik Lundqvist is worthy of a mention again. At 2-1 down, he made two tremendous saves to keep the Rangers in the game. Sure, like many a younger goalie, he needs to learn to control those re-bounds, but our Henke is going to be some player.

The Kids are alright

2005-10-18T11:17:00.000+01:00

The Blueshirts made it 3 wins in a row - yes you are hearing that right, 3 wins in a row. Right now the Rangers have gained points from all but one of their first 7 games.

It was a good night for the rookies. Henke Lundqvist won his 3rd straight game, and also got his first NHL shut-out.

Petr Prucha scored his first NHL goal, and what a beauty it was from young Petr Puck.

Fedor 'Rootin' Tyutin scored his first goal of the season, and continues to impress. As does his fellow Russian friend Max Kondratiev.

Rookie count so far this season stands at: Rootin, Drats, Prucha, Moore, The Kid Qvist, Ryan Hollweg, Bryce Lampman as well as Al Montoya and Chris Holt who have both served bench duty while Kevin Weekes has been injured.

Be patient with the Kid Qvist

2005-10-17T22:54:00.000+01:00

OK, there is a lot of talk at the moment, about how Henrik Lundqvist should be Rangers #1 goalie.

It's no surprise, he has after all made quite an impact in a very short time. 3 games, 2 wins, 1 overtime loss, just 5 goals conceded, and 2 first stars. Not a bad start for a rookie on a team that's supposed to be struggling.

Also, I think it's safe to say, us Rangers fans need new heroes, and this season is already throwing a few out there for us to ponder over. And Henke, whether he knows it or not, has been on our radar for a while now. The expectation has been there since 2 seasons ago really. And the lock-out only added to it. It gave Rangers fans a chance to follow his progress more closely, and of course what progress it was. Number one goalie in Sweden, and without doubt one of the best in Europe.

So the fact that now, we have him as a Ranger, and he's made an instant impression, just adds to the Henke worship that was already brewing before he even set foot in Madison Square Garden.

BUT, lets be patient, lets not go over-board, and put even more pressure on him, than he already gets - cos it just goes with the territory of playing in New York!

It's a very long season, longer than he's familiar with. Henke is going to get plenty of games. We need two good goalies, and I think we have that in Kevin Weekes and Henrik Lundqvist.

What I really don't want to see happening, but which I can see happening, is Weekes given a hard time when he's in goal, and if things maybe don't go well for him at times. What Weekes needs is our support. I really hope he gets it. As the Rangers will be a better team for having both goalies playing well.

One of them Stats Update thingmies

2005-10-16T10:51:00.000+01:00

As of Oct 16:

Blueshirts top scorers:
Jagr Express: 4+4 = 8
Martin Straka: 0+7 = 7
Martin Rucinsky: 4+2 = 6
Michael Nylander: 1+5 = 6
Hossa Jnr: 3+2 = 5

Top goals scorers:
Jagr Express: 4
Martin Rucinsky: 4
Hossa Jnr: 3
Nemo: 2

PIM leaders:
Kaspar the Friendly Ranger: 16 mins
Jagr Express: 8 mins
Tom Poti: 8 mins
Ryan Hollweg: 6 mins

Kickice's 'Rangers of the Moment' leaders:
1. Henke Lundqvist (I'm signing up as a fully paid member of Henke Fan Club)
2. Nemo the Super Ranger
3. Jed Ortmeyer

Ohhhhh what about them Rangers

2005-10-14T02:12:00.000+01:00

What can you say. So we had a disappointing loss against the team we are meant to be battling with for last place.

Then, Ryan Hollweg gets sent down, then Kevin Weekes, who's been very solid so far, gets injured and Alvaro Montoya gets called up. It's a busy couple days at the Garden.

So then we start a four game home run.

And we go and take a 3 zippedy lead v's the Debbils.

So what is going on there?

I tell you what, these Rangers know what work is about.

The generally poor Jamie Lundmark is getting sat out. Good.

Petr 'Puck' Prucha is getting time on the top line. I just don't know how to react to this new found Ranger way, where Coach Renney actually rewards hard work with ice time.

It's, well, strange! I'm just confused by everthing.

I love having Nemo as a Ranger, his heart and soul will serve us well.

So, it's 4-1 so far to the Blueshirts. Few mins to go.

L E T ' S G O R A N G E R S

Who's leading the way for the Blueshirts

2005-10-10T11:09:00.000+01:00

Stats update #2
Stats as of October 9th:

Point Leaders:
Jagr Express 2+2 = 4
Martin Straka 0+4 = 4
Martin Rucinsky 2+1 = 3
Michael Nylander 0+3 = 3
Steve Rucchin 0+3 = 3

Goals:
Jagr Express = 2
Martin Rucinsky = 2
Hossa Jnr = 2

PIM's:
Kaspar the Friendly Ranger: 10 mins
Ryan Hollweg: 8 mins
Tom Poti: 6 mins

Plus / Minus:
Jagr Express: +2

Kickice's favourite 'Rangers of the Moment' leaders:
1. Fedor 'Rootin' Tyutin
2. Ryan Hollweg
3. Jed Ortmeyer

What's that you say? The hardworking Rangers?

2005-10-08T12:35:00.000+01:00

Yes it really is. The Rangers are working their collective butts off. It's been a while. But it's really happening, and that is probably the best of a good few good positives we've seen so far.

It's been a solid start. Who thought we'd go to Philadelphia and come away from there with a great win having outworked the Flyers in the 3rd period. First time in an age the Rangers have come back from 2 goals down to win.

Then another point v's the Canadiens at the Garden. One worry I've had is where the scoring will come from apart from our first line, so it's been good to see so many players putting in an offensive effort. Marcel Hossa has had a very good start, and Dominic Moore got his first ever NHL goal as well. Very nice! And Straka, Nylander and Rucchin are pitching in with the assists.

Tonight v the Debbils will be a very tough game though. Again the Rangers are going to have to work very hard. But that's one thing Coach Renney seems to be really pressing home with this group - hard work is key!

Rangers trade for a rock and roll star

2005-10-07T21:40:00.000+01:00

Fedor Fedorov comes to New York, Jozef Balej goes to Vancouver in exchange.

Fedor is quite a singer, check out the tunes on Fedorovbrothers.com and try not to laugh. I dunno, it ain't so bad!

So the Rangers continue their quest to sign a team full of brothers. Steve Kariya will be next, mark my words.

And you can guarantee that we draft Jordan Staal next year. It's written in the stars.

Blueshirts 'Compact Stat Pack' #1

2005-10-06T10:58:00.000+01:00

As of October 6 2005

Points Leaders:
The Jagr Express: 2+1 = 3
Martin Straka: 0+2 = 2
Jason Strudwick: 1+0 = 1
Lundy: 1+0 = 1
Hossa Jnr: 1+0 = 1

Goals:
The Jagr Express: 2
Jason Strudwick: 1
Lundy: 1
Hossa Jnr: 1

Penalty Leaders:
The Jagr Express: 4 PIM
Kaspar the Friendly Blueshirt: 4 PIM

Drumroll please, 1st roster of the regular season announced

2005-10-05T07:45:00.000+01:00

Tonight the Rangers have that no so easy task of opening the season in Philadelphia against the Broadstreet Bullies. I'm thinking it could be a bit messy.

Anyway, the Blueshirts roster for the opening of the new regular season is:

Goalies: Kevin Weekes, Henrik Lundqvist
Defence: Darius Kasparaitis, Maxim Kondratiev, Marek Malik, Tom Poti, Dale Purinton (but he's suspended), Michal Rozsival, Jason Strudwick, Fedor Tyutin
Forwards: Blair Betts, Ryan Hollweg, Marcel Hossa, Jaromir Jagr, Jamie Lundmark, Dominic Moore, Michael Nylander, Jed Ortmeyer, Petr Prucha, Steve Rucchin, Martin Rucinsky, Martin Straka, Jason Ward

Injury Reserve List: Ville Nieminen

Good to see Drats and Prucha starting the season in NYC. Along with Tootin, Henke, Hollweg, and even Hossa and Lundmark, it gives the Rangers team a bit of a youthful air. Who would have thought it!

Blueshirts end pre-season with a win

2005-10-03T09:49:00.000+01:00

It's over, pre-season that is.

Rangers finished it with a 3-2 win over the Debbils.

Not a bad way to end it. Jagr, Nylander and Prucha with a goal (thats him there in the photo).

Pre-season looked like being a blow out after the ripping the Rangers got from Boston. But, better performances in the last 2 games has given some hope.

The roster for the opening week of the season has to be finalised by tomorrow afternoon.

Thomas Pock and Chad Wiseman are the lastest to be sent to Hartford.

Hands up who's a little bit dissapointed to see Pock being sent down? Although, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before his back in New York.

Hossa traded to the Rangers!

2005-10-01T19:31:00.000+01:00

Marcel that is.

From the Habs. Garth Murray goes the other way.

A good trade this as far as I can see. Marcel is a young player with a lot of potential, and we haven't traded any picks for him - is this the new Rangers we are seeing! Trading for a player under the age of 30 and not giving picks away. What is going on.

Murray is a solid player, but we have so many similar players anyway, players like Ortmayer, Hollweg and Moore. So the way I see it, Rangers made a good move here.

I look forward to seeing Hossa play for the Rangers.

Boston 2 @ Rangers 4 - Micro Ranger Report

2005-09-26T09:33:00.000+01:00

No waffle, no BS, a Rangers report in 200 words or less!

Rangers skated to a deserved 4-2 win at the Garden. After being 2-0 down at the end of an indiciplined first period, where they took penalty after penalty getting to grips with the new rule. But they came back strongly with goals from Jagr (2), Rucinsky and Straka.

Other worthy performers where Kevin Weekes in goal, who looked very solid, and also saved a penatly shot in the first period, as well as saving all but one on the shoot-out. Thomas Pock played very well, and looks like a player who will flourish with the new rules. Ville Nieminen had a strong game, and Nigel Dawes showed some nice flashes of what he could bring the team. And Jason Strudwick endeared himself to fans with a decent fight in the first period.

Pluses from the game is that we scored a couple power play goals, and played a strong game in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

Negatives from the game is that you have to wonder where the scoring is going to come from - there will be a lot of pressure on Jagr, Straka and Rucinsky to carry the load.

But all together, it was a good performance!

And then there where 35, 3 sent Packing

2005-09-24T11:07:00.000+01:00

Well, actually 2 sent Packing - Anders Eriksson and Alex Giroux. They are reassigned to Hartford Wolf Pack.

As expected Marc Staal has gone back to his Junior team in Sudbury, after a very promising camp.

So now the Rangers roster is at 35:

Goal:
Chris Holt, Henrik Lundqvist, Al Montoya and Kevin Weekes.
Defense:
Martin Grenier, Darius Kasparaitis, Maxim Kondratiev, Bryce Lampman, Marek Malik, Thomas Pöck, Tom Poti, Dale Purinton, Michal Rozsival, Joe Rullier, Jason Strudwick and Fedor Tyutin.
Forwards:
Jozef Balej, Blair Betts, Nigel Dawes, Ryan Hollweg, Jarkko Immonen, Jaromir Jagr, Jamie Lundmark, Dominic Moore, Garth Murray, Ville Nieminen, Michael Nylander, Jed Ortmeyer, Petr Prucha, Steve Rucchin, Martin Rucinsky, Martin Straka, Jason Ward, Craig Weller and Chad Wiseman.

Marc Staal signs up

2005-09-22T09:09:00.000+01:00

Rangers first round pick of the 2005 draft, Marc Staal, has agreed terms, and signed his first professional contract with the Rangers.

Thats him there --------------> with the proper hockey mullett, good lad.

Staal has had a very good training camp, and played in his first Rangers game v's the Islanders on Sep 20. And hopefully us on this side of the pond will get to see him play on Sunday in the game v's Boston.

Although it is expected the 18 year old will return to junior hockey for another year with the Sudbury Wolves.

Confirmed Rangers games on NASN

2005-09-22T08:53:00.000+01:00

So far for September and October:
Sun 25 Sep 22:00 Boston v NY Rangers - NHL Preseason - Live
Mon 26 Sep16:00 Boston v NY Rangers - NHL Preseason - Repeat
Sat 1 Oct 13:00 NY Islanders v NY Rangers - NHL Preseason - Delayed
Mon 3 Oct 04:30 NY Islanders v NY Rangers - NHL Preseason - Repeat
16:00 NY Islanders v NY Rangers - NHL Preseason - Repeat
Thu 20 Oct 21:00 NY Islanders v NY Rangers - NHL - Delayed
Sat 22 Oct 03:30 NY Islanders v NY Rangers - NHL - Repeat

Just your typical Rangers start to pre-season

2005-09-21T17:36:00.000+01:00

Rangers 1 Islanders 5

Jamie Lundmark got Rangers only goal, with assists by Jagr and Nylander.

Henrik Lundqvist and Kevin Weeks played half a game each, with Henke coming out better from this result, letting in just the one goal thank you very much.

Rangers gave ice time to a number of their younger players, will we see them again? Place your bets now.

Rangers play Boston Bruins at the Garden on Sunday. The game is live on TV over here in the UK, on NASN. Face off 10pm our time.

Buying Rangers tickets: UK style!

2005-09-20T09:46:00.000+01:00

Tickets for the 05/06 season are now on sale, and if you are heading over for the first time, here’s some info about getting your tickets and prices in sterling.

Tickets can be bought from TicketMaster. They have the monopoly on ticket sales for the Rangers, so unfortunately you just have to put up with their huge fees. So pretty much any ticket you buy, you can add on at least another $10 (£5.50) to the face value.

Here are ticket prices for the Rangers, without Ticket Master fees:
400 level (Mezzanine) - $27.00 (£15)
300 level - $40.50 (£22.50)
200 + 100 level - $63.00 (£35)
Club silver - $112.50 (£62.50)
Club gold - $121.50 (£67)
Rinkside - $139.50 (£77)

(Prices in sterling where calculated mid September 05, with an exchange rate of £1 = $1.8)

Here is a seating plan of Madison Square Garden

Regarding which tickets to buy, then of course, main thing is what you can afford. Rangers aren’t the cheapest ticket in town when it comes to hockey. But the sight lines and lay out of the Garden make it such that the cheaper seats are also good. I’ve mostly sat in the 300 level seats, and these are great. I once sat in club seats for a game, thanks to the very kind owner of Café 31 on 31st street, who gave me club level seats last time I was over. And they where amazing seats.

TicketMaster don’t post out tickets internationally, so you pick them up at the arena before the game. Take photo ID with you as well as the credit card, as sometimes they ask for this.

By the way – tip for any NJ Devils fan who may have stumbled on this page. If you ever go to see them, do not buy tickets in the upper (200) level if you can possibly help it. The Continental Airlines Arena is possibly the worst designed arena I’ve ever been in. And getting to the higher rows in the 200 level is like climbing Everest. (Not that I’ve climbed Everest, but going to games at that arena seems like good practise).

And then there where 38

2005-09-19T13:13:00.000+01:00

As of September 18, 38 remain on the Rangers training camp roster:

Goal:
Chris Holt, Henrik Lundqvist, Al Montoya and Kevin Weekes.
Defense:
Anders Eriksson, Martin Grenier, Darius Kasparaitis, Max Kondratiev, Bryce Lampman, Marek Malik, Thomas Pock, Tom Poti, Dale Purinton, Michal Rozsival, Joe Rullier, Marc Staal, Jason Strudwick and Fedor Tyutin.
Forwards:
Jozef Balej, Blair Betts, Nigel Dawes, Alexandre Giroux, Ryan Hollweg, Jarkko Immonen, Jaromir Jagr, Jamie Lundmark, Dominic Moore, Garth Murray, Ville Nieminen, Michal Nylander, Jed Ortmeyer, Petr Prucha, Steve Rucchin, Martin Rucinsky, Martin Straka, Jason Ward, Craig Weller and Chad Wiseman.

First pre-season game is tomorrow, v's the Piles

Latest Rangers signings

2005-09-07T10:54:00.000+01:00

Restricted free-agents Jed Ortmeyer and Craig Weller are both signed. As is unrestricted free agent Michal Rozsival.

I'll be posting profiles and stats of the Rangers roster over the next few days. (I HOPE!)

Let's go Rangers

2005-09-05T18:49:00.000+01:00

There seems to be a hell of a lot of Rangers fans in the UK.

I thought I'd start a Rangers blog... ok, so here it is!