Blue Notes
Steve Zipay takes you inside the locker room, home and on the road, with the New York Rangers.
Live from MSG: Dubi, Prust back
And Steve Eminger and John Mitchell are out...
Interesting line combos in warmups:
Hagelin-Richards-Kreider, Dubinsky-Anisimov Callahan, Fedotenko-Stepan-Gaborik, Rupp-Boyle-Prust....
DeBoer will be in MSG spotlight
Until this week, most New York sports fans couldn't have picked Devils coach Peter DeBoer out of a lineup.
But four games into the Eastern Conference finals - and especially after his Game 4 shouting match with the Rangers' John Tortorella - DeBoer has become a suddenly familiar face.
Certainly, Rangers fans will know where to find him during Game 5 Wednesday night - behind the New Jersey...
Devils not looking ahead to Kings
The Rangers and Devils learned late Tuesday that the winner of their Eastern Conference final will meet the Kings for the Stanley Cup.
But most of the Devils said they were asleep by the time the Kings won Game 5 over the Coyotes in overtime.
And they certainly would not admit to looking ahead to the Kings - not with so much still to be done to get past the Rangers.
"There's...
Devils: MSG ice is not nice
Covering the NBA and NHL playoffs has given me new appreciation for the work of hoops and hockey writers, whose schedule often includes split shifts in which they attend shootarounds/skates in the morning, then return for a game late into the night.
OK, granted, it beats other jobs, like cleaning the bathrooms at Penn Station or covering baseball. But still, it's a demanding lifestyle.
Anyway,...
NBC to Game 7: Fore!
All season long American television's biggest hockey showcase is NBC's weekend afternoon games.
Why then would the network not use that slot Sunday for a potential Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, rather than showing it at night on NBC Sports Network, which is seen in fewer homes?
Blame old golfers. The broadcast branch of the company is committed Sunday to showing the final...
Torts: Using "Pray" was a joke, and his take on motivation
Photo credit: Jim McIsaac
Third question into John Tortorella's morning presser:
"I know I used the word 'pray" yesterday. It was a joke. There are a lot more important things to pray about than a win or a goal. So can I clear that up, please?...I have total confidence in our guys."
I asked Tortorella if he needed to change the way he motivates players or if they actually needed any:
"This...
Brandon Dubinsky likely to return for Game 5, along with Prust
Photo credit: AP
Brandon Prust will return after his one-game suspension, and, as has been widely speculated, it appears Brandon Dubinsky will dress tonight for the first time since Game 7 against Washington.
Dubinsky, who was unavailable for comment, was 10-24-34 in 77 games during the season
On defense, Stu Bickel is in and Steve Eminger out.
Although John Tortorella would not divulge his lineup,...
Stanley Cup Finals schedule
Photo credit: Getty Images
Note the two-day break between Game 1 and Game 2, and only a travel day between Game 5 and Game 6 and Game 6 and Game 7.
Game 1, May 30, 8 p.m., at Eastern Conference champion, NBC Game 2, June 2, 8 p.m., at East, NBC Game 3, June 4, 8 p.m., at West, NBC Sports Network Game 4, June 6, 8 p.m., at West, NBC Sports Network Game 5, June 9, 8 p.m., at East, NBC Game 6, June 11, 8 p.m., at West,...
Tortorella's latest tactic: Beseeching the heavens
Photo credit: Getty Images
You've heard of the so-called hockey gods controlling the fate of games, and series.
Rangers coach John Tortorella hinted yesterday that he was turning to a higher power.
Asked what he could do to get more offense out of his top six forwards, Tortorella, playing the role of the parishoner rather than preacher, said.
“Pray...I don’t know what else to tell you. We’re going to keep...
Turn the page: Hellish NYR effort needed for Game 5
Photo credit: Getty Images
Some musings before Tuesday’s practice at MSG:
One goal, from Ruslan Fedotenko, for Pete’s sake, in a game when you needed three.
This is why, back in February, I told you the management rationale behind chasing Rick Nash, and why the Rangers went hard after him. For times like these, when May is winding down and June is for the final two Cup contenders.
As the playoff saying goes,...
