Enter Tan-Man (Or Hooray For Holly-wood)

It'd be hard to get more of what I wanted out of tonight's Rangers-Panthers game than I did. On the way in, I spoke to my friend about hoping for overtime, even a shootout, so that the Panthers could get a point out of the affair (being in a tight Southeast Division race) but the Rangers would still win. That might have been a bit much.

But how about this?

Rangers win: Check. 5-0 over the Panthers. The win keeps the Rangers solidly in sixth in the Eastern Conference, which really isn't a bad spot to be in, since it means drawing the Southeast champion in the first round.

Rangers play well: Check. The Attitude ADJustment line continues to impress, even with Dubie in the box (see below), as Sean Avery assisted on Jaromir Jagr's second-period goal. The power play remains putrid (27th in the NHL), but the penalty kill was solid, and Henrik Lundqvist got the shutout, his eighth of the season. The real surprise of the evening, though, was Marek Malik. I actually questioned a fellow Rangers fan for wearing (or even owning) a Marek Malik jersey, but I guess he had the last laugh on that one, as Malik had a goal and an assist, and was the second star of the game.

Tanner Glass ice time: Check. 5:36 total, not including five minutes spent in the penalty box (more on that below), and the first time that I've gone to see Tanner play where he's taken shifts in the third period. There was no particular infraction that kept him out of the third in New Jersey on January 2, but he sat the rest of the game on February 9 after getting burned by Glen Murray for a Bruins goal. Tanner was solid throughout.

Tanner Glass fight: Check. Of course, I'd been suggesting he take on Sean Avery, but instead, it was Ryan Hollweg who was Tanner's dance partner with 2:38 gone in the third period. Normally, I'd be all for Hollywood to kick some ass, but I stood up and cheered for the visitor to let him have it. I believe that the folks over at Hockeyfights.com will rule this one a win for Tanner. I'm watching the replay as I type this, and Sam makes mention of Tanner as a Dartmouth grad, and Micheletti even asked, "They don't do that at Dartmouth, do they?" Fun stuff.

Of course, it wasn't the first fight of the evening. That distiction went to Brandon Dubinsky and Greg Campbell. I have it on good authority that the scrap started when Dubinsky asked Campbell if he'd "run to daddy" if he were to slash the Panthers center. "Daddy," of course, would be league Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. Funny stuff.

Hangout Time With Tanner Postgame: As one might expect, Tanner had a pretty nice group of Dartmouth folk - led by former teammate and Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award Winner Dan Shribman - to see him after the game. The cool thing, though, was walking out the way the visitors exit. Interesting thing I never knew about NHL travel, although I probably should have guessed: they players are checked in and screened for security at the arena, so they don't have to do it at the airport. Kinda cool.

I don't have much to contribute on today's college hockey action - Colgate's win over Quinnipiac is probably the biggest surprise, except that Colgate should be much better than it has been this season - but I think it's kind of interesting that both Minnesota and BU are within striking distance of the NCAA tournament, given the way both teams have underachieved for so much of the season. I almost wonder whether it's good for the college game to have teams underachieve so dramatically and still make the tournament. I don't have anything against Minnesota, but if the Gophers make the tournament this season, it basically means that it is impossible for them to miss it. I don't like the sound of that, no matter which team it is.