Goal Line Report
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Reason to Worry?
by Patrick Hoffman on 10/25/09 at 06:21 PM ET
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Another game in Montreal and another comeback by the Canadiens over the New York Rangers as the Habs beat the Blueshirts last night 5-4 in OT.
Even when the Rangers were up 3-1, didn’t you folks get the feeling that the Habs were going to come back? I certainly did and not just because of history, but because of the way the team is currently playing.
While it was great to see the team get off to a great start in the first period with three goals, they were able to score only one more goal during the game. They were outplayed by a faster Habs’ team and were not able to get contributions from some of their better players including Chris Drury, Christopher Higgns, Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan.
In fact, it was a Dubinsky turnover that brought the Habs to within one goal of the Rangers in a 3-2 hockey game.
Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella had the following to say to NewYorkRangers.com beat writer Jim Cerny after the game:
“It’s a turnover in the neutral zone by Dubi that just can’t happen,” said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. “We have stressed that, especially after the last game. It’s just a huge momentum swing.”
You can read the rest of Jim’s recap here.
It’s pretty alarming that Higgins has yet to score a goal in 11 games played. In the beginning, he was able to generate several scoring opportunities but lately, he’s been invisible.
Steve Zipay said the following about Higgins in his blog last night:
Hardly a memorable return to Bell Centre for Higgins, now pointless in nine games. Tortorella basically told him he “sucked”, said Higgins, who agreed. “He’s been very patient with me.” Tortorella was unhappy that Higgins didn’t backcheck enough on the Cammalleri goal that tied the game at 4 with 1:02 left in the second. His high stick had provided the 5 -on-3 that trimmed the lead to 4-3.
Again folks, this is a team that is 7-3-1 so not all is bad. Look at Marian Gaborik - he’s been healthy, he’s producing (8g, 7a, 15 points in 11 games) and looks every bit the offensive sniper that Jaromir Jagr once was on Broadway.
Their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, though slipping of late, has kept his team in all the games he has played and has made big saves when called upon. However, the team needs to do a better job of protecting him or else he’s going to get hurt.
So, is their reason to worry about this Ranger team? Of course there is but there is no need to hit the panic button yet. They’re in the top 10 in the National Hockey League when it comes to points and they have a relatively favorable schedule this week.
Let’s see if they can work out their kinks and get back on track.
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Tags: Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers,
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About Goal Line Report
The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier! I’ll make my opinions known on Eastern Conference news bits (as often as I can), big games, hot and cold players, trades (I don’t make things up) and anything and everything else related to the Eastern Conference that I think is important for hockey fans to know. I will, in every sense of the word, be the beast of the East while also making sure to drop my thoughts on other hockey news items.
I, Patrick Hoffman, have covered the NHL since 2003 and have worked for a variety of hockey media sources including: Stan Fischler, Spector’s Hockey, TheHockeyNews.com, HockeyBuzz.com, McKeen’s Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, XM Home Ice Channel Hockey Blog, HockeyPrimeTime.com, FantasyHockey.com. NY SportsDay, and HokejaVestnesis.com.
For questions, comments or to talk hockey, feel free to send me an e-mail at .