Happy Holidays!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope the new year brings you much joy and many surprises!

(I also hope the Rangers pull it together and start to win...)

The kids have been looking good..

I am totally impressed with how Dawes, Dubinsky and Staal are playing. They all seem to have hit their comfort levels at the same time. They have a great base a veteran players to guide them and I look forward to seeing what they can do this season.

Unfortunately, I did not get to see Valiquette in goal this weekend. St, Barnabus Medical Center does not have MSG....those bastards!

The Latest Addition to the Sec404 Family

Introducing Aidan Louis Poole....


everybody's doing great...

updates....

I don't know if you all saw this but there was a nice article about Lundqvist a couple of days ago in ESPN. MVP? may be too early to say but he has for sure been the big tough stay at home defenseman I was looking for in the off season.

Baby Aidan Louis Poole (aka Mini Mase) arrived happy and healthy on Friday night. Mom and baby are doing great. He's eating like a champ. I'll put up some pictures later this evening. check back.

A Shutout with a Special Guest

Big doings up in the rafters of the Garden last night. Down at ice level Lundqvist worked for the shutout he put up. He stepped up where his teammates faltered provided a much needed spark.

There was a new guy sitting over in sec 408 who was kind enough to take a photo with sec 404's favorite 3 year old.

126 minutes

since the last Ranger goal. I'm not quite ready to panic yet, it's only game number eight, there's a long way to go. They got 36 shots last night, 26 in Boston so they're getting some chances. To my eyes they're not controlling the play, they're not creating chances so much as taking advantage of mistakes. They don't look comfortable with each other out there. Will that come with time? How much time?

On Ice Pest, Fashionista, Man Whore

and oddly appealing.

Sean Avery

Got a Single for Friday Night?

This my buddy Pete....

He sits in sec 206 but has the soul of a sec 404 guy. Pete would love to come to the game on Friday night but his friend that he shared tickets with has given his seat to a girl. Does anyone in beautiful scenic section 404 have a spare ticket? Can you help a brother out?

P.S.

Well, Pete didn't make the game on Friday. And too bad, the Caps looked awful making the Rangers power play look great! I did get to meet the girl. She seemed pretty cool. I hope we get to see her again.

Where is the defense?

I know it was only the second game of the season, but I cannot help asking the question, how long will Lundqvist be able to keep them in the game?

So far, he has been outstanding. He made some unbelievable saves against Ottawa. The score could have been a lot worse then 2-0…that is for sure. However, he cannot possibly make up for the lack of defense all season long without totally burning out.

We need to see a huge improvement in the defense department……SOON!

To Answer the Question

How long do you think it'll take them to jell and start scoring?

2 periods.

See, what they were waiting for was offensive defenseman, scoring sensation, Marek Malik to turn it on. No, he's not the official league leader in scoring this morning but he is tied for third (with like ten other guys).

How good is it to be Chris Drury this morning? Not only does he get to play for the team he grew up a fan of but he kicked ass in his first night and is clearly and instant fan favorite. How do you not like a guy who's been in your seat?

A couple of shake ups in SEC404 last night. Somehow Nick totally flaked and now finds himself sitting clear on the other side of the arena. Dude.... work out a deal with the guy who's in your seat or better yet work out a deal with the guy who somehow wound up in my row! I was a little surprised to see John and Marie made the game last night with the Yanks beginning their playoff run but here's the proof.



Julian, having been hounded by the paparazzi all night, has clearly had enough....

It was great to see everyone last night. Here's to a winning season.

It's Finallly Here!

OPENING NIGHT! I'm ready! The only problem is the Yanks start at 6:30. Do you suppose they'll have the game on the TV in the concession stand? I sure hope so.

In other MSG news, I know you've all heard the news about Isiah and the Knicks. My question is how will this mess effect the Rangers? There's another sexual harassment suit getting up and running, brought by one of the Rangers "cheerleaders" or whatever they were calling them. We all know what a jackass Dolan is. Will the Rangers again be sacrificed to sustain the Knicks? (Let Messier go the pay Ewings big contract). I've got such high hopes this year, it would be devastating to see anything spoiled for the Rangers by Dolan and the rest of the frat boys in the big office.

Kasparaitis waived

I guess this is old news by now, but I was wondering how everyone feels about his not returning to the line up?

Even thought they are lacking defense, I never though we would see him play for the Rangers again, so I am not surprised at all. I am sure he has spent some time getting back into shape and would be an asset to some team if his salary is not to high.

Damn Islanders

Jeez, what the hell happened last night? Seriously, I was at Springsteen so I didn't see the game. Was there even a game? Isn't Simon still suspended?

On Your Mark ... Get Set ...

Camp officially closes today and the boys will be making a stop at West Point on their way down to the Garden for Friday night's pre-season opener. I'm not about to go into the breakdown of camp so far, that's not my style. Go read the Bulletin or Dellapina for that. What I want to know is who's going to the games this weekend?

Mark Your Calendars

Thursday, January 24 v Atlanta. Brian Leetch night. (Thanks to a nameless tipster in the comments.) Shall we start taking bets on what will keep me from attending?

Did you all get the your tickets will be available for pick up letter? Tickets are available next week. yup, the summer is over. Time to start thinking about line combinations and defense pairings. How does Gomez, Jagr, Prucha sound for first line? Too bad there's still a big TBD on defense.

The girl in me.......

It Ain't Happening

Peca signed with Columbus. Apparently Sather went so far as to bring him down to the big city for a face to face last week but decided against making an offer. I'd assume the issue was the question we all had, his health. I was going to say we'll see for ourselves how he looks when the come to NY but after reviewing the schedule posted on the Rangers site and the schedule posted on the Blue Jackets site. It seems the two teams won't be meeting at all this season. How is that possible? Columbus is driving distance! Good thing we've got those eight Islander meeting to keep us riveted to our seats.

Oh, and they still need some defense.

All the cool kids are doing it

Of course Micheal Peca wants to be a Ranger, all the cool kids are already doing it! According to John Dellapina in today's Daily News, Michael Peca is lobbying to be the Rangers third line center for next season. Assuming he's healthy he could provide an aspect much needed defense I've been begging for all summer. Questions are is he really 100%? and how much $$$?

Summer Hiatus

I turned my head toward the sea for a few days and missed all the hub-bub. Honestly, I don't have much to say on the Avery nonsense anyway. Isn't that what arbitration is all about? The team is trying to pay as little as possible after all, aren't they? I think the only weird part is that the comments made it to the papers. Hossa's back in the fold avoiding arbitration. Still need that big D. Who's going to be the first defense pairing? It's not looking real good at the moment.

I can report that the beach was lovely last week. It's nice to see dolphins frolicking off the Jersey shore on a regular basis.

Hey Glenn, how was the party?

still need some D

Shannahan has signed on for another season, Lundqvist is in for one more. Avery and Hossa are still out there and there is still that HUGE hole on defense. I'd give Avery and Hossa to get a solid, strong, stay at home defenseman. In my eyes the defense, or lack of, was the biggest problem the Rangers had last season. You can argue that the kids are more experienced now, bigger strong, but they still need a leader back there.

Key chain update: Dana's broke too. Same exact spot as mine. Two days after the Drury/Gomez announcement.

now just sign the goalie!

Wow! What a weekend! As of this morning 2 of the top centers in the NHL will be wearing blue shirts next season. Drury and Gomez don't come cheap, Drury's in for 35.25 mil over 5 season, Gomez 51.5 over 5. Do you realize that Drury has been a champion at ever level since he as a kid? Little League World Series winner, hockey state champs in high school, nationals in college, Hobey Baker winner, Calder Trophy, Stanley Cup. And Gomez, he's won 2 cups over here Jersey side. Big talent, proven winners, both universally thought of as "good guys". I just hope there's enough cap room to keep Shanney in blue for one more season.

oh, and I found the broken off half of my key chain. Dana says she can fix it. I'd rather have a new one!

Tragedy!

As I was putting the key into the ignition of the Mini this morning I realized that my 1994 commemorative NY Rangers Stanley Cup key chain is no more. It broke. All I have left is the ring with the tiny cup at the very top attached.

Leetchie

Brian Leetch announced his retirement today. No surprise, but it officially feels like the chapter is now officially closed. So, here's an official Thanks for the memories, Mr Leetch.


Oh and, you can bet that something will come up that will force me to miss Brian Leetch night at the Garden.

Fan Fest

Is anyone planning on going?

In case you didn't get the email....

http://msgnyc.com/viewmsg.cfm?n35043s4493c18493571t4509

the last of the pictures

Hey all. As promised the last of the pictures from the 2006-2007 season. Have a great summer. check back now and again for a chat...

Victoria Cup

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2863711

Being a big fan of the Olympic and International style of play (no fighting!) I love the idea of this! I'd love to see the Euro champs v the Stanley Cup champs.

Fun While it Lasted

I keep a Google calendar to keep track of my stuff. I just deleted tomorrow nights game from the calendar. That sucked. I know you all don't have plans for tomorrow night either. I'd say lets all get together tomorrow night and cry in our beer but I don't think we really have anything to cry about. The Rangers played well. They got hot at the perfect time. The defense clicked for the first time all year. Herik stood on his head. The truth is the Rangers were hot, yesterday they went cold and the Sabres are the better team. They had a great run, more than I expected. It was fun while it lasted. Now it's officially summer. I hear the Yanks picked up a starting pitcher yesterday....

I'll post the last of this season's pictures when I get home.

Eastern Conference Semi Finals

Really, they need to score some more goals. Having the entire third period feel like a power play is just too much for me to take. And Henrik, stay in the net! Are you trying to kill me?! Seriously, I was really excited to see that the Rangers can hang with the best of what the Sabres can dish out.

As promised, some photos from games 3 & 4...

2-2

Wow…Great game! I am amazed at the level of play from the Rangers. As we all know, Buffalo is a fast team and our boys really kept up last night. Lundqvist has been awesome. He has been great all season but has really stepped it up in the playoffs.

They got a bit sloppy in the last 10 minutes, which lead to Briere’s goal…. Correction, which led to the puck almost crossing the line. :) They will need to work on that because Buffalo is not about to give up.

Let’s Go Rangers!

That's better!

I'm real glad yesterday's game wasn't a 8pm start! What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Bad calls and stolen goals aside, it was great to see the Rangers come through the way they did. Honestly I was worried early on, they weren't winning the battles along the boards, they weren't winning faceoffs, they were getting manhandled at the blue line. But damn did they look fantastic in overtime or what?!

I'll post some pictures later tonight.

Oh, by the way, i did a little stat checking. Malik is a +6 so far in the playoffs. Rozsival is the only other Ranger defenseman with a similar rating. give the guy a break!

Hollweg Dance

Straight outta the comments. Maybe this will get the ready for tonight.

LETS GO RANGERS

Round 2....Here we go

Here is the Ranger/Buffalo Schedule

Series Schedule
Game 1 -- April 25 Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m. (Versus)
Game 2 -- April 27 Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m. (MSG, Versus)
Game 3 -- April 29 Rangers vs. Buffalo at MSG, 2 p.m. (NBC)
Game 4 -- May 1 Rangers vs. Buffalo at MSG, 7 p.m. (Versus)
Game 5* -- May 4 Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m. (MSG, Versus)
Game 6* -- May 6 Rangers vs. Buffalo at MSG, 2 p.m. (NBC)
Game 7* -- May 8 Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m. (MSG, Versus)

Buffalo

Only 3 of the last 10 President's Trophy winners have gone on to win the Cup. They looked very beatable last round against the Islanders. If the Rangers can continue to play the way they did last round, keep that intensity up, they can totally walk away with this round. It won't be another sweep that's for sure.

I wouldn't want to make the Sabres feel at home, but is there any chance we could get some of those wings shipped down? I'm getting really tired of the "food" at the Garden.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Home Game 2

NEXT

A sweep, who'd have thought!? Is anyone else a little bit concerned about the potentially long wait ahead for round 2? The Rangers have all the momentum right now, can they maintain it? Don't get me wrong I love that they have the opportunity to get some rest, heel some wounds, but it's going to be a long time before they get into a game again. What do you think?

I'll put up some pictures from last night's game later tonight.

SWEEP!

It was a great night at the Garden!
I look forward to the next round and lots of comments from section 404.

Playoffs!

and everyone's happy!

First one's in the bag

They looked good last night! I don't want to get too excited, but they did look good. With the exception by some mistakes by the kids but that's too be expected, first playoff game and all.

Has anyone found the Ryan Hollweg dance on the web yet? I searched YouTube but no luck.

A Cinderella Story?

Did you see EJ Hradek's column over on ESPN.com?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2007/columns/story?columnist=hradek_ej&id=2831527

Dare to dream of warm summer nights in section 404?

It Begins

Did you all see the schedule? Home Game 1 is next Tuesday, April 17. Anyone planning on stopping in at Stout pre-game?

Playoffs?

A month ago it was a question, today it's a reality. Can Sean Avery carry this team through to the second round?

There is a battle of epic proportions brewing tonight north of the border. Last game of the season, do or die, Canadians v Leafs can you imagine what it's going to feel like in that building? I just hope it's on TV down here.