I've spent the better part of November watching the New York Rangers spiral out of control towards the basement of the standings.

Saturday night capped off a month of uninspired hockey as well as a back to back rout, this time provided by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and their majestic superstar forward Sidney Crosby. As I watched Crosby skate smoothly over a sea of hats following his third tally and fifth point of the evening, I wonder what's the point. The Rangers have one good forward. One good defenceman. And, when he decides to play, one good goaltender (something is up with Lundqvist... he's hiding an injury, and not doing a good job of it, because he's playing like a pile of ass). Now if I were playing NHL 93', I'd be set with this roster. However, three players do not make a formidable NHL roster.

If the Rangers do make a late push and manage to pull themselves into the playoffs.... so what. They are an also ran club who will be little more than an appetizer for their first round opponents. The downside is, aside from a few lucky recent picks, the Rangers are not well known for the skill at drafting great NHLers.... which is why we Ranger fans watch the Parise's and Getzlaf's tear it up in the NHL, while Hugh Jessiman dominates the ECHL.... so hoping for the Rangers to drop to the bottom of the standings is ill-advised.

Ahhh the despair... it reminds me somewhat of the late 90's and early 2k's when the Rangers were a laughing stock... and in many ways still are.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

Posted by captbosh at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Right now my NHL fantasy roster looks like a Christmas Tree (or holiday bush for those of you who are easily offended) lit up with giant IR's and DTD's next to virtually every player.

The star players in the NHL seem to be falling apart faster than our global economy. The Washington Capitals lost their star forward (and probably the 1st pick overall in just about every Fantasy Draft) Alexander Ovechkin to an upper-body injury over the weekend against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ovechkin currently leads the league with 14 goals.

Ovechkin is listed week-to-week right now, but the Caps hope their best player will only be sidelined for two.

The Pittsburgh Penguins who have already lost defenceman Sergei Gonchar to a broken wrist will now also be without their star forward Evgeni Malkin to an injured shoulder. Malkin had collected 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 12 games with the Penguins and had been playing with the sore shoulder for over a week. The Penguins opted to proceed with caution and rest him... a luxury they can afford considering their hot start to the season which has propelled them to first overall in the league.

Also joining the list of injured players are Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (broken rib), and forward Daniel Sedin ( broken foot), St. Louis Blues forward Andy McDonald (head / neck injury), Philadelphia Flyers forwards Danny Briere (groin), and Simon Gagne (hernia), Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza (upper body), New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias (groin), and defenceman Paul Martin (broken arm), Nashville Predators forward and captain Jason Arnott (arm) and defenceman Shea Weber (foot), Florida Panthers forward David Booth (concussion), Edmonton Oilers defenceman Sheldon Souray (concussion), Dallas Stars forwards Mike Modano (ribs), and Brad Richards (groin) and the Anaheim Ducks goaltender JS Giguere (groin).

Obviously there are way more than this, 110 actually, but these are the more notable names. The real downer here is that things may get worse rather than improve due to the NHL's schedule which has been accelerated to accommodate the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in February. Consider also that players selected to play for their countries will be expected to play several extra games in a little over a week during that break... which will surely take a physical toll on many of them and perhaps threaten their clubs run at the playoffs in April ( I remember what happened to the Rangers and their collapse after Henrik Lundqvist backstopped Sweden to the gold medal... he only won one game in March following the Olympics).

Right now Team Canada and especially Team Russia are reeling with injuries and would be without many of their top players. Rough times my friends.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh

Posted by captbosh at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)