Here We Go Again

As the coaches finish up their meetings in Naples, I too am headed back north, looking forward to starting my new job on Monday. I'm also ready for more Rangers playoff hockey, as the puck drops tonight in Pittsburgh on the Blueshirts' series against the Penguins.

This was the matchup I was least looking forward to, because I feel like Pittsburgh is the toughest matchup remaining in the East where the Rangers are concerned. However, this is hardly impossible, and I would remind the naysayers that the Rangers won the regular-season series. And no, that doesn't mean the Rangers are going to win here. It just means that the Rangers are capable of beating the Penguins.

It's going to be a great series to watch, of course, with lots of starpower on both sides, the big storylines like Jagr vs. the Penguins (and their fans, the Boo-Birds) and Jordan Staal vs. Marc Staal, and two teams that have played good hockey against each other. However, for now, I'd like to look back to Tuesday night.

Yes, the Flyers won, and I hate the Flyers. Yes, Steve Downie played in the win, and I can't stand Steve Downie. However, it was the best NHL game I have ever seen in person. The atmosphere was everything I could have hoped for, right up until the moment when the life was sucked out of the building as the Flyers scored the winner.

And yes, I thought there was goaltender interference on Philly's second goal. In fact, Don Koharski was also officiating when I watched the Wolf Pack's game against the Pirates in Hartford last week, and he was awful then, too. How he got Game 7 of a playoff series is beyond me. Seriously. How does that happen?

(EDIT: My friend Ken Schott up in the Capital District, where the Albany River Rats went to five overtimes last night, pointed out that the Koharski in Hartford was Don's brother, Terry. I mused to Ken that apparently, every incompetent hockey ref has an equally incompetent brother, and called it "Murphy's Law." If you're an ECAC Hockey fan, you know why. Of course, you WCHA folks might have another name in mind.)

But I'm not going to let Don Koharski tarnish my memories of an absolutely amazing experience. The energy in the building was truly amazing, and Alex Ovechkin is a marvel to behold in person. His goal to tie the game in the second period...wow. Of course, one person I know is quite happy the Capitals lost because Ovechkin is now available to play in the World Championship (and with alll due respect to Tim Thomas, I have a feeling that we're really going to miss Rick DiPietro this year for the US...good to see Lee Stempniak getting another call, though).

I got my first practice giving the "Maaaaarty...Maaaaaarty" chant to Martin Biron, because we're going to need someone else to pick on once we start chanting "Faaaaaaaaatso....Faaaaaaaaaaatso" at Martin Brodeur, and the Caps fans next to me liked it. I think they may pick it up.

Cristobal Huet is also a fun goalie to get behind. I was even able to get a few people in my section to sing "Huet, Huet Huet Huet, Huet, Huet," soccer-style. That's one thing I'd love to see them add, especially during penalty kills (a nod to BU there). Also, as long as they're going to make "Rock the Red" into a big slogan, they might want to lift the Cornell/RPI practice of shouting out "RED" during the national anthem at the appropriate point. Then again, does anyone else find it funny that a hockey team starring Ovechkin, Semin, Fedorov and Kozlov is wearing red and playing in our nation's capital? Just saying.

OK, my BoltBus is about to reach the stop (for the record, I highly recommend it for travel between New York, Washington, Philly and Boston), so I'm going to end it here.

LET'S GO RANGERS!

Ducking Into The Phone Booth

Greetings from the Bolt Bus, everyone!

I'm heading down to Washington to visit some friends for a few days before I start my new job. Actually, I'd been planning this trip for a couple of weeks anyway, since my beloved New York Mets make their first visit to Nationals Park on Wednesday and Thursday, and I've been wanting to visit my friends in DC for a while. However, one of the things I did after I got my new job was buy a ticket for Game 7 of the Caps-Flyers series, just in case it went to a Game 7.

For a while, it looked as if all I did was pay Ticketmaster a convenience charge for absolutely nothing, but instead, I get to witness my very first Game 7 in person tonight at the Phone Booth. In addition, I also get to watch Alex Ovechkin in person for the first time tonight, and I visit my seventh different NHL team's home game this season (the other six: Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Bruins, Wild, and Lightning).

It's good to be able to take in a Stanley Cup Playoff game in person, especially a Game 7, since I wasn't about to pay the ridiculous marked-up price at the Garden (I'm pretty sure Isiah Thomas is to blame for that, because MSG is trying to make up for all the Knicks tickets they couldn't sell). Then again, it's not like I haven't had my fill of hockey in the last week.

Last Thursday, I drove out to Hartford to watch Hugh Jessiman and Mike Ouellette play for the Wolf Pack in their Calder Cup playoff game against the Portland Pirates. It was a good game, but unfortunately, the Pack lost 3-2 in double overtime. The truth is, there shouldn't have been a need for overtime, but Ouellette's would-be game-winner was neutralized when the referee missed a high stick to Mike's throat, and the Pirates tied the game on that same shift. The Pirates won both games in Portland over the weekend, meaning the Pack will need to win three straight to advance.

The next night, I went to the Ziegfeld Theater for the Rangers' Game 5 viewing party. It was fun to watch that game in the company of other fans, singing along with the Rangers' goal song when the team scored, joining the chants of "Maaaaaaaaaaaarty," and generally taking part in the atmosphere that comes from a large crowd of hockey fans.

Oh, and on the Big Handshake Snub: Truth be told, I don't entirely blame Martin Brodeur for not shaking Avery's hand. I love watching Avery, I'm glad he's a Ranger, and the team had damn well better re-sign him this summer, but there's no denying the fact that he's an @$$#0le. He's our @$$#0le, and I'm amused by his antics, but he's still an @$$#0le.

And for the record, there are players I wouldn't consider our @$$#0le if the Rangers acquired them, Steve Downie being one of them. Downie, as it happens, hasn't played for the Flyers in the playoffs, and that's just fine by me.

Oh, and it should go without saying, but I'm pulling for the Caps tonight. Not only do I hate the Flyers more than the Islanders and Devils combined (which isn't saying all that much, because I don't really hate the Isles or Devils), but I'd much rather the Rangers face the Canadiens in the second round than the Penguins. I think the Rangers can beat the Penguins, but that's the hardest matchup remaining. In addition, Gary Bettman is probably creaming himself at the moment in anticipation of a potential Penguins-Capitals series in the second round, and a matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Snide comments aside, Ovechkin-Crosby would be great for the league, and I am, in fact, all for it.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful article in last week's issue of Sports Illustrated about Nathan Gerbe and his tour de force performance at the Frozen Four. It's great to see that kind of article on college hockey in SI, and Gerbe certainly earned it with his play. Of course, given how glowing an article it was - with nary a mention of the infamous spear and suspension - it's going to be an amusing article to look back at in a few years, when he's in the NHL and everyone outside of Buffalo hates his guts.

Well, everyone except those of us who knew him when.