Saturday, March 26, 2011

March 26, 2011, HockeyPrimeTime.com examination of Henrik Lundqvist's 2010-11 campaign


Gotham's royal hush Print
Atlantic

Written by Denis Gorman
Saturday, March 26, 2011 05:17


Quietly, Henrik Lundqvist is leading the NHL in shutouts. Inside the Rangers' locker room, the "King" is rightly recognized as the most valuable piece to his team's playoff hopes.

Denis Gorman
Only 3:39 remained in the third period of the Rangers' game with the Montreal Canadiens on March 16 when the 2010-11 season flashed before a franchise's eyes.


Henrik Lundqvist was motionless, sprawled on the Madison Square Garden ice after being steamrolled by Canadiens left wing Benoit Pouliot. Thoughts of concussions or other devastating injuries spread instantly – followed by a requiem for what had been a fantastic bounce-back campaign for New York City’s original-six squad.
AROUND THE ATLANTIC



While backup Chad Johnson is a professional goaltender, he is not royalty. Henrik Lundqvist’s nickname is "King" for good reason.


Before the fans' grief could evolve from Panic to Anger or Acceptance, Lundqvist was able to stand up. Pouliot skated to the visitors’ penalty box, having been assessed a two minute minor for goaltender interference, and Lundqvist played out the remainder of a 6-3 win over the Les Habitants. He finished with 22 saves and one hell of a stiff neck.


Crisis averted.


The scare fueled the question of Lundqvist's workload, which is always high but rarely under such an intense microscope.


“If I play (Johnson) here in this situation, because I think Hank has gotten enough rest, I’m not sure if it’s going to happen," Rangers head coach John Tortorella said last week. "He has practiced well. It’s certainly not an ideal situation to put a guy in, where we’re at right now. But we have confidence in him. He’s practiced very well.”


The Rangers coach expounded that the Rangers’ remaining games and the organizational decision to limit Lundqvist’s workload benefitted both the team and the goaltender.


“The schedule is good for us, especially the rest he got during the year. He got plenty of rest. I think he’ll play under 70 if he plays the rest of these and that’s what we were looking for (during the off-season).” Tortorella noted. “He’s feeling pretty good about himself right now, so we’ll go with him and see what happens.”


Lundqvist is writing the final chapter of one of the greatest seasons ever authored by a New York Rangers goaltender. He's 32-24-4 with 10 shutouts, a .922 save percentage and 2.31 goals-against average. He ranks third in the NHL in wins, first in shutouts, 13th in save percentage and 18th in goals against.


Yet for a goalie who plies his trade in a city known for its myriad media outlets, and an organization that has no issue generating headlines, Lundqvist’s fantastic season seems to have been forgotten. Even worse, it's been taken for granted in the discussion of the game’s best netminders this season.


The Vezina Trophy has long been consigned to the Boston Bruins’ Tim Thomas. Thomas is in the midst of a very fine season in his own right, with a 30-10-8 mark, .937 save percentage, 2.06 GAA and seven shutouts.


Others mentioned in the Vezina race are Montreal’s Carey Price and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, while legitimate arguments can be authored for Ilya Bryzgalov, Cam Ward, Jonathan Quick, Marc-Andre Fleury and Corey Crawford. All have been better than good for their respective teams, all of whom find themselves in the midst of playoff races.


But does that mean Lundqvist’s campaign should be an addendum? Not if you talk to his teammates.


“To a man in the room we all know he is the most important guy for us to win games,” Ryan Callahan said after Lundqvist shut out Florida 1-0 on Tuesday, his 10th shutout of the season. “The big thing is that he is our guy and he is having a Vezina type of year.”


“Hank stood tall for us in there,” added Dan Girardi.


It's foolhardy to think that personal achievement never crosses an athlete's mind. Lundqvist was on the ice in Philadelphia on April 11, 2010, when the Rangers lost to the Flyers 2-1 in a shootout. The Rangers missed the playoffs while Philadelphia would reach the Stanley Cup Final as the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed.


Lundqvist has not forgotten the feeling of missing the playoffs – a first for the Rangers since the lockout – by one point. Montreal was the eighth seed with 88 points. The Rangers finished with 87.


“I keep reminding myself every day now that last year was one point. I don’t want to be there and I don’t think anyone else wants to be there. This is a game that could be the difference,” Lundqvist told a horde of journalists surrounding his stall Tuesday night. “It is fun. We are winning. We just have to keep it going.


“It is going to come down to low-scoring games so you have to be sharp. We didn’t get frustrated. It is easy to get frustrated in a game like this. The key is being mentally sharp.”


Having one of the NHL’s best in goal does not hurt, either.


Notes


Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs after elbowing New York Rangers D Ryan McDonagh in the jaw during Sunday’s 5-2 home loss, not even a full week following the implementation of new guidelines to combat headshots. Cooke told reporters that he needed “to change” the way he plays. … Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy NHL blog posted an entry wondering whether New York Islanders rookie RW Michael Grabner could win the Calder Trophy. Grabner has scored 31 goals and 48 points, and is plus-17, in 70 games this season. …Flyers GM Paul Holmgren announced that enforcer Jody Shelley would undergo surgery on his fractured orbital bone Thursday. D Danny Syvret was called up from AHL Adirondack in the corresponding roster move. … The Flyers organization announced Wednesday that it had agreed to a free agent contract with Bemidji State University F Matt Read. … The Devils playoff hopes may be dashed after losing four of their last eight games.


On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman


Photos by Getty Images

Last Updated on Saturday, March 26, 2011 06:02

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/atlantic/gothams-royal-hush

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 9:07 AM

Friday, March 25, 2011

March 25, 2011, Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers NHL regular season game story for Metro NYC Newspaper


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Rangers' winning streak ends in shootout


NEW YORK
DENIS GORMAN

Published: March 25, 2011 1:03 a.m.
Last modified: March 25, 2011 9:04 a.m.
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The words that spilled out from various corners of the silent dressing room were variations of an identical premise.


This was a missed opportunity. The energy was lacking.


Simply, the players and coaches recognized what the 18,200 in the Garden grumbled about throughout the Rangers’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Senators Thursday night. Erik Karlsson was the lone scorer in the shootout. Ottawa’s second year defenseman used a forehand wrister to beat Henrik Lundqvist in the fifth round of the one-on-one. Ryan Shannon opened the scoring by one-timing a Bobby Butler off-the-board feed with 4:39 remaining in the second period. Brandon Prust tied the game 2:45 into the third by ripping a laser over Craig Anderson’s stick.


Despite the loss, the Rangers earned a point and are two behind sixth seed Montreal, who were decimated 7-0 by the Bruins in Boston. The Rangers lead Buffalo by four points (85-81) for the seventh seed. Carolina trails the Rangers by seven points but have two games in hand. Still it appears that they are batting with the Sabers for the eighth spot.


The Rangers next game is Saturday afternoon in Boston, and should they win and the Canadiens lose to the Capitals that night, the teams will be tied for the sixth spot.


“It is the only positive…that we got that one point,” Vinny Prospal said. “We battled back to tie the game and got that one point. That is the only good thing.”


Unlike Tuesday night in which the Rangers generated myriad chances and made plays in the offensive zone, last night’s match was devoid of sustained offense. The Rangers only had 14 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes. They finished with 30.


Equally alarming is that the Blueshirts have only scored two goals in the last 125 minutes after exploding for 33 goals in their previous seven matches.


“Our start wasn’t great. Our whole game wasn’t where it needed to be at this time of year. For whatever reason, I don’t know. But it has to be better,” analyzed Ryan Callahan. “It’s not a concern. It’s more…it just has to be there. We know the way we can play, the way we have to play. But it wasn’t there and it needs to be. We have seven games left and we’re pretty fortunate to get a point out of that one and move on.”


That the Rangers earned the losers’ point had everything to do with Lundqvist. The Vezina candidate finished with 30 saves and kept the Rangers in a game that they did not deserve to be in, including stopping Chris Neil on a semi-breakaway in overtime.


“It looked pretty dead in the first two periods. Then we played a lot better in the third; we started skating more, hitting and got more chances. At least a point. I think everybody (felt) like we should have played better and got the two tonight,” Lundqvist said. “We had so many good games lately that you can’t get stuck with one bad one. It’s going to come sooner or later. We got a point and just have to move on from it.


“You could tell. The games where we play well, we get good starts and get going. We feed from that; get energy and confidence. Today we were waiting a little bit. I don’t know. But we were right there. We could have easily gotten the two points.”


More about Rangers


http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/813458--rangers-winning-streak-ends-in-shootout

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 2:23 PM

Thursday, March 24, 2011

March 24, 2011, UFC 128 fight main story for Metro NYC Newspaper


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Jones dominates, becomes UFC"s youngest champ


NEW YORK
DENIS GORMAN

Published: March 20, 2011 8:17 a.m.
Last modified: March 23, 2011 8:20 a.m.

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The question surrounding UFC 128 was simple: Could 23-year old Jon Jones, in his 14th mixed martial arts fight, take the light heavyweight title away from the reigning champion, veteran Mauricio Rua?


The answer was obvious to all 12:23 into the five round title fight: Yes.


Jones decimated Rua for three rounds to become the youngest UFC Champion in the promotion’s history Saturday night at the Prudential Center. The Rochester-bred Jones opened the fight with a spinning back elbow and connected with a punch that Rua never recovered from. Midway through the third round, Jones leveled Rua with a punch, then rained blows down until Herb Dean stopped the fight at 2:37. The win capped an eventful day for Jones. The UFC light heavyweight champion prevented a car theft in Paterson by having swept the thief’s leg before Jones’ trainers held the man down, according to the Associated Press.


“It means the world to me,” Jones said of becoming the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with a megawatt smile on his face.


Jones’ next opponent will be Rashad Evans. UFC President Dana White announced last week that the winner of Jones-Rua would next fight Evans. Evans, who trains with Jones at the Jackson-Winklejohn MMA camp, had been scheduled to fight Rua, but pulled out due to a knee injury in training. White does not have a time table for the fight, but it seems likely that the two will meet before the end of the year.


New Jersey natives Kurt Pellegrino, Jim Miller and Dan Miller, and Nick Catone had an up-and-down night for Garden State mixed martial artists, as the quartet went 2-2 in their bouts. Nick Catone earned a unanimous decision over Costa Philippou in a preliminary fight.


“I had 250 people here to see me fight,” Catone said. “I heard them up in the stands screaming for me and that gave me the inspiration to keep pushing forward.”


Pellegrino lost a three-round split decision to Gleison Tibau in a fight that was broadcast on Facebook. Dan Miller, who replaced Yoshihiro Akiyama last week when the latter pulled out due to the earthquake and tsunami that devastated his homeland of Japan, dropped a three round unanimous decision to Nate Marquardt. Miller twice hooked guillotine chokes on Marquardt but was unable to cinch the hold to get a submission.


“I didn’t think Miller was as quick as he was and then we started the fight and I realized I needed to be at the top of my game to beat him,” Marquardt said. “I had to shoot at his chest for the takedown because I knew how dangerous he was with the guillotine.”


Dan’s younger brother, Jim, knocked out Kamal Shalorus in the third round with a combination of punches and a knee to the face. The 155-pounder, Miller has won 15 of his last 16 fights and is 20-2 overall. He praised Shalorus’ toughness before stumping for a lightweight title shot. The reigning champion is New Jersey’s Frankie Edgar, but he has a title match against Gray Maynard at UFC 130 in Las Vegas on Memorial Day Weekend.


“Kamal is as tough as a coffin nail. It was just about getting my hands on him, wearing him down and gassing him out,” Jim Miller said. “That’s seven in a row in arguably the toughest division in the UFC. I’m ready for a title shot.”


Brendan Schaub dropped Mirko Cro Cop with a punch to the side of the Croatian MMA legend’s head in the third round of the pay-per-view opener. Schaub moved to 9-1 with the TKO victory. Cro Cop fell to 27-9-2-1 and has been knocked out in consecutive fights. Frank Mir dropped Cro Cop in the third round of their main event fight at UFC 119. White said that he thought the fight was Cro Cop’s last in the UFC.


“The thing with Cro Cop is he puts both feet even before he throws the kick, so I timed it and threw the big right hand,” Schaub explained. “I know Cro Cop is a world-class kickboxer and that’s why I went for the takedowns. I feel like my speed was the difference.”


Former WEC champions Eddie Wineland and Urijah Faber made their UFC debuts in the semi-main event. Faber utilized his speed to win the bantamweight battle in a unanimous decision. Edison Barboza topped Anthony Njokuani, making his UFC debut, in a three round decision. Barboza landed an array of impressive shots early and snapped a vicious kick to Njokuani’s jaw with seconds remaining in the fight. Luiz Cane dominated Eliot Marshall with a flurry of punches and won via first round TKO. Mike Pyle improved to 21-7-1 with a three round unanimous decision over Ricardo Almeida (13-5) in the other Facebook-carried fight. Erik Koch (first round KO) and Joseph Benavidez (unanimous decision) won untelevised preliminary fights.


More about UFC , Jon Jones


http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/811105--jones-dominates-becomes-ufc-s-youngest-champ--page0

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 4:24 PM

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

March 23, 2011, Florida Panthers-New York Rangers NHL game story for Metro NYC Newspaper




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Lundqvist, Rangers take care of lowly Panthers



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Henrik?Lundqvist earned his league-leading 10th shutout.


More about Rangers
Rangers can close in on sixth place Friday
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Rangers use power play to bury Isles
Rangers carry momentum out West


NEW YORK
DENIS GORMAN

Published: March 22, 2011 10:01 p.m.
Last modified: March 23, 2011 7:56 a.m.
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Rangers 1, Panthers 0


The Rangers had dominated the Florida Panthers in every facet of the game but one for the first 52:11 last night at the Garden. After yet another shift in which the top line triumvirate of Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov forechecked and cycled the puck before Dubinsky shoved a pass from Callahan past an out-of-position Tomas Vokoun, the Rangers’ supremacy was complete.


Austerely, what occurred last night was a mismatch in every statistical and non-statistical category, save for one. And, even then, it felt as if the Rangers’ 1-0 win should have been far greater. The Rangers flexed their muscles, staked their claim to every inch of ice and would not allow their South Beach colleagues to play with the puck.


It is a win that portends well in the handful of games that remain in the regular campaign, and even more, in the vital games that it appears will be played starting in the second full week of April.


“I thought it was very important to win a game like that, this time of year. That’s what I was most happiest about,” John Tortorella said. “Our start was good.


“I was happy with the patience of the team to stay with it. Hank (Lundqvist) made a couple big saves at key times. I thought we defended really well. And just stayed with it.”


Lundqvist improved to 32-24-4 with his NHL-leading 10th shutout. He was not tested much — he only faced 22 shots — but was more than equal to the task when the firepower-less Panthers were able to get a shot through.


“We have a great system and when we stick to it, it is a lot easier for all of us. It starts with playing tough and winning battles and we did. It is fun. We are winning. We just have to keep it going,” a chipper Lundqvist said. “We are sticking to what we have been talking about and pucks are bouncing our way. Even thought you are winning, you can always improve.”


The Rangers, who have won seven of 10 this month, six of their last seven and five in a row, recognize the truism. Coinciding with the Canadiens’ 2-0 loss to Buffalo, the Rangers only trail sixth seed Montreal by three points. With a home date Thursday against 29th-best Ottawa and weekend road dates in Boston (who has lost six of ten) and Philadelphia (4-6 in their last 10), the prospect of jumping from sevenths into the Eastern Conference’s upper echelon before the playoffs begin is very real.


“There are no bad teams in this league. No game is an easy game. Ottawa, they have some young guys playing loose, playing well. We have to be ready for them. There are no easy games. It’s like Torts said, we have one game at a time. We can’t be looking ahead,” said Dan Girardi, who was plus-one in a very strong 24:04. “I think we have to worry about ourselves. We’d like to get high up in the standings but we have to win our games and not worry about what’s happening around the league. If we win our games, we control our own destiny.”


What went right ...


1 The challenge — The opportunity was ripe for a letdown. An ostensibly playoff-bound Rangers squad was a few hours away from the initial puck drop against a nondescript Florida team following a flurry of emotional wins over contenders. “We win a game and come back, a midweek game against a non-playoff team. It’s staring right at us,” John Tortorella said.


2 The response — Despite not scoring until Brandon Dubinsky slammed a rebound home with 7:49 left, the Rangers had leveled 32 pucks at Tomas Vokoun. They had spent so much time in the Panthers end, in fact, that the visitors might have found it apt to charge the home team rent. The lone goal may represent a regression to the mean, as the Rangers had exploded for 17 goals in the three wins before last night.


3 Brick wall — One of the game’s truisms is that the goaltender who is often untested in a match is the one that’s due to yield a goal at an inopportune time. Henrik Lundqvist only faced 20 shots but didn’t break.


More about Rangers

http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/810822--lundqvist-rangers-take-care-of-lowly-panthers--page0

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 1:02 PM