James Howard was solid in net for the Red Wings, he allowed just one goal on 29 shots. Henrik Lundqvist played solid as well allowing two goals on 30 shots.

The biggest issue for the Rangers continues to be their lack of offense. I mentioned last week that the Rangers had to have more of a well balanced attack to be successful. They have had three different scores over the last two games, however Marian Gaborik was held to just one assist.

The Rangers have only two games next week and they are spread out nicely. They will travel to Chicago on Wednesday (another original six match-up) and then back home Saturday to face the Sabres.

I would not be surprised if the Rangers make some more moves this week, either by changing lines again or by making a trade or two. They have to turn their season around quickly…

The Rangers won tonight on four days rest, beating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1. The game was close, but the well rested Rangers were able to piece together a full 60 minute contest.  Chris Higgins and Ryan Callahan scored the two goals for the Blueshirts while Jason Pominville scored the lone goal for the Sabres (with less than a minute to go).

Henrik Lundqvist and Ryan Mille both looked sharp. They may face each other in the Olympics next year. Lundqvist allowed one goal on 37 shots, while Miller gave up two goals on 32 shots.

The Rangers defeated a very solid team tonight in the Buffalo Sabres (first in the Northeast), but the Rangers have had plenty of rest. It will be interesting to see if they can keep this level of play going tomorrow as they face the Detroit Red Wings (7:00 PM – Madison Square Garden).

Notes:

Steven Valiquette was sent down to the Rangers AHL affiliate (Hartford WolfPAck) this week and Chad Johnson (not Ochocinco) was called up. Not sure what to make of this move…

The Rangers signed Erik Christenson this week. He played his first game as a Ranger tonight, he played 11:00 total minutes.

With Wade Redden injured, Ilkka Heikkinen played his first NHL game.

Brandon Dubinsky (hand) started skating this week, no word on his return…

1. The Rangers are now .500 with a 13-13-1 record.

2. The Rangers are now tied with the Islanders. That’s right, the Islanders!

3. The Rangers have lost three in a row and are now 3-7-0 in their last ten games.

4. If the Rangers finish the season at .500 (#1), finish tied with the Islanders (#2), and finish their last ten games of the season with a 3-7-0 record (#3), they will not make the play-offs.

5. Marian Gaborik may be the best player in the NHL right now. But, it is not enough. His 21 goals (first in the NHL) and 37 points (tied for first in the NHL) only equal 13 wins for the team.

6. Henrik Lunqvist is not playing well. I know some of the blame can be handed to the defense in general, but the bottom line is that Lundqvist can play better.

7. Lundqvist leads all starting goalies with ten losses. He is 27th in the NHL in goals against average (2.74). He is 22nd in the NHL is save percentage (.910).

8. Rangers fans always complained that the power play was horrible under coach Tom Renney. The power play is now good with John Tortorella, but their record is not.

9. Tortorella’s aggressive style of play may not be a good fit for this Rangers team. The team has issues playing solid hockey for 60 minutes and they have yet to play solid on back-to-back nights. Perhaps they have conditioning issues…

10. The Rangers penalty kill is one of the best in the NHL, currently 5th. Last season they were first.

11. The Rangers need to start playing better hockey and they cannot rely on one player. As much fun as it was to watch Jaromir Jagr play in New York, they were never going to win a Cup with all of the offensive weight on his shoulders.

Alright, I am done at 11 (which is also what time it is). See you this weekend when the Rangers play the Sabres and Red Wings on back-to-back nights.

The video is pretty funny when you see Ballard do his best Sammy Sosa impression, but what happened after? Where did he go? You don’t really see him again…

Here’s a quick look at it:

In other injury news, Alexander Ovechkin was injured in tonight’s contest again Carolina. Ovechkin, who was given a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct will not receive an MRI until sometime tomorrow. So, this begs the question, did Ovechkin throw his knee out to slow down Tim Gleason? To me it looked to be that way, and unfortunately both players were injured. You make the call:

Mind you this is Ovi’s second time of being thrown out of a game in the past 3 tilts. Granted he couldn’t come back in this one, but he was still ejected. Updates on Gleason’s and Ovechkin’s injuries to come.

This is a subject that has bothered me for years. I have been attending hockey games since the age of one. My Dad used to carry me in to Hartford Whalers games until the age of three. My family had season tickets until the Whale took off to North Carolina. In 2006 my Dad and I became New York Rangers season subscribers (which is the fancy way of saying season ticket holders). In addition, I have attended games in about half of the current NHL cities. I have also been to two all-star games (Hartford in 1986 and New York in 1994). I have witnessed a lot of great games and a lot of poor games as well. Either way, you get the point, I have seen a lot of NHL hockey games.

Over my career of attending games, I have also witnessed a lot of fans misbehaving. So, what I would like to do is create a list of DO’s and DON’Ts. This list is long overdue. All of you misbehaving fans, please continue reading to spare yourself of any further embarrassment.

Here they are…

Don’t wear a jersey of a team not competing in the game you are attending. For example, don’t wear a Teemu Selanne Anaheim Ducks jersey to a Buffalo Sabres/Toronto Maple Leafs game. In addition, don’t wear an Olympic jersey in a non-Olympic year. And if you are going to wear an Olympic jersey this year, the name on the back better be playing in the game you are attending. Finally, this same rule applies for non-jersey apparel like hats, t-shirts, hoodies…

Don’t put your last name on an NHL jersey. You did not play in the show so please keep to the names on the current/past rosters.

Don’t tuck the jersey into your pants. Not even the right side of the jersey like Gretzky.

Don’t wear a Charlestown Chiefs jersey.

Don’t yell shoot when your team is on the powerplay. First of all, the players will never listen to you (a lot of times they can’t even hear you). There is a reason why they are on the ice and we are in the stands watching and there is a reason why players continue to pass the puck on the power play. They may not have an angle at the net. They may be trying to set up one specific player. They may be passing to spread the defenders out or simply get the defenders out of position. Either way, keep your mouth shut.

Don’t wear your hat during the anthem.

Don’t boo during the anthem.

Don’t block the view of the people sitting behind you. They paid to watch the game just like you, so sit down. If your team scores a goal or the entire crowd is standing then by all means get up and cheer.  In addition, don’t buy/wear a, “Cat in the Hat” style hat at the game. You will probably block the person behind you from  enjoying the game. (They actually sell those at Rangers games, cotton candy included).

Don’t buy cotton candy, for yourself, your kid, or your girlfriend/wife.

Don’t sit in someone’s seat. You paid to sit in one specific seat for the entire game. Sit there.

Do drink beer.

Don’t drink too much beer.

Don’t drink wine at a game. This goes for broads too. Drink beer.

Don’t leave early when the game is close. I do not care if your train is leaving, stay until the final buzzer.

Don’t show up late to a game. They post the time of the game on your ticket. Show up on time. Some teams even start at 7:05 just to give tardy fans an extra few minutes. No one wants to stand up and let you shimmy by to get to your seat. And if you have no other choice but to show up late, wait for a whistle to go to your seat. If you are new to the building, wait until a TV timeout so you have ample time to find your seat.

Don’t show up to an opposing building talking trash unless your team comes away with a victory (shootout wins don’t count). I have seen it too many times. Some clown shows up from Montreal and starts yapping, gets a beer poured on him and then his team loses.

Don’t pour beer on someone, unless you are a broad or you are pouring beer on an Islanders fan wearing a Potvin jersey.

Don’t bring a professional style camera to the game. If you really have to take pictures, please do so during warm-ups with a small digital camera.

Don’t bring a cow bell to a game. That is annoying.

Don’t boo one of your players. If a guy isn’t playing well, the coaching staff will let him know.

Don’t do, “the wave.”

Do enjoy the game!

Please follow this list of important DO’s and DON’Ts. Not only will you have a better time at NHL games, but you will save yourself from embarrassing situations.

The Lightning played aggressive. That is the style Tortorella likes his Rangers playing. On this night, Tampa Bay beat the Rangers at their own game. This had to be difficult for Tortorella to watch. It was a his first visit back to Tampa Bay, losing to one of his former players in Rick Tocchet. Tortorella won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Lightning.

If the Rangers want to get back to their winning ways they will have to score more goals. And they cannot rely on Marian Gaborik to score every time. They need a more balanced attack. In addition, they will need better play out of Lundqvist. Lundqvist will also need help from the young Rangers defense in front of him.

Notes:

Not only was this John Tortorella’s first trip back to Tampa Bay, but it was Vinny Prospal’s as well.

Michael Del Zotto faced off against longtime teammate Steve Stamkos. Stamkos had one assist and leads the Lightning in scoring. Del Zotto was held off the score sheet, but remains in the top ten in scoring for defenseman in the NHL.

Bobby Sanguinetti made his NHL debut. He was a minus one with one shot on net and almost 15 minutes of ice time.

The Rangers will travel to Pittsburgh to start a home-and-home series with the Penguins. They will play tomorrow and then at MSG on Monday.

The Rangers just completed game three of five over an eight-day span.

The New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers last night with a 2-1 shootout victory. This is the Rangers first winning streak (2 games) since their seven game winning streak to start the season. Marian Gaborik continued his scoring touch with the lone goal for the Blueshirts. Former Rangers Dominic Moore scored a late goal for Florida to tie the game at one. P.A. Parenteau scored the only shootout goal, giving the Rangers the victory. This was Parenteau’s second shootout winner this season. His first came against the Ottawa Senators in the seventh round on November 14.

Gaborik’s goal last night came on the power play with just 25 seconds left in the second period. The goal also gave Gaborik the league lead with 19 on the season. He also leads in the points category with 33. Henrik Lundqvist was solid in net last night giving up just one goal on 26 shots.

Notes:

The Rangers power play was one of the worst in the league last season. This year, they currently sit in 8th place with a 22.3% success rate.

The Rangers were #1 in the league last year on the penalty kill. They are #1 this year as well (85.6%) despite losing two key penalty killers to free agency.

The Blueshirts will stay in Florida for Thanksgiving and face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. From there, they will play a home-and-home with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Henrik Lunqvist stopped all three attempts in the shootout. He is 2-0 in shootouts this season.

Rangers captain Chris Drury returned to the lineup. He had an assist and logged over 22 minutes of ice time in the voctory.

Ales Kotalik sat out after taking a hard hit in the Rangers win on Monday over Columbus.

So as it turns out Laraque will have to serve a 5-game suspension for his leg whip on Wings forward Niklas Kronwall. Aditionally, Laraque will lose $38,000 in salary, he will return December 4 vs. Boston. Yesterday we posted the video and asked what you thought, apparently the same as the NHL.

TORONTO (AP) -The NHL suspended Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque five games for a hit on Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall.

Laraque received the suspension for an incident on Nov. 21. against the Red Wings when he collided with Kronwall resulting in a leg-on-leg, open-ice hit.

The NHL said Laraque, who was assessed a minor penalty for tripping on the play, deliberately extended his knee and, through his actions, caused an injury to Kronwall.

Kronwall will be out four to eight weeks with a sprained ligament in his left knee because of the hit.

Laraque will lose $38,860 in salary over five games. He will be eligible to return Dec. 4 against Boston.

In other news around the league, Ottawa’s goalie, Pascal Leclaire, suffered an unfortunate injury when he was struck in the face by a puck being dumped into the zone by Washington’s Mike Fischer. Leclaire suffered a broken cheek bone and is expected to miss about a month.

On to fights from last night:

We had a good heavy-weight bought featuring Anaheim’s Parros and Calgary’s McGrattan

Another great scrap with the Blue Jacket’s Jared Boll, who racked up 10 minutes in fighting majors last night, and the Ranger’s Aaron Voros

The Rangers have been lacking a well balanced attack and this is exactly what they needed. They had five different goal scorers in a 7-4 win. If they want to go back to their winning ways they must keep this up. One or two goals from Gaborik and/or Prospal is not going to win a lot of games. Especially when King Henrik has been playing more like Queen Henrik.

The Rangers were 3-7-0 heading into the win against the Blue Jackets.

This is the second time this season the Rangers have scored seven goals in a game. The defeated Toronto on October 12 by a score of 7-2. New York also gave up seven goals October 19 against San Jose.

Sean Avery also scored two goals (in less than a minute) tonight and now has four on the season.

The Rangers travel to Florida to play the Panthers on Wednesday. The Panthers beat the Rangers last week by a score of 3-2. New York will stay in Florida and play the Lightning on Friday.

Following two games in Florida, the Rangers will play a home-and-home series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

First things first, I’ve been receiving emails about some cool stuff going on in the show.

1. The Vancouver Canucks new locker room. Pretty sweet set up if you ask me:

Part 1

Part 2

Second order of business: Georges Laraque. What’s up with this guy? At one point he’s doing awesome commercials and next thing you know he’s gooning it up. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, right now the NHL is looking into a hit that Laraque laid on Nikla Kronwall, knocking Kronwall out for about a month with a sprained MCL.

Laraque was issued a tripping minor on the play, and of course he contends that the contact was “incidental”. Yea, the contact was about as incidental as some meat head’s incidental contact on some smokeshow at the Bell in Hand this weekend. The difference? None, both guys couldn’t handle the rush, so they did the next best thing, get any piece you can and hope for a non-call.  Come on Georges, you stuck your leg out because you know Kronwall had the edge, that’s it. To make matters worse, you clearly should have been given a 4-minute high-sticking call 20 seconds earlier.

You be the judge, did Laraque stick his leg out? Or was the contact incidental?

Check out this nice goal but terrible celebration:

Finally, for the comments section. If you head over to the Loge, leave a comment so we know you’re here. I know there are a lot of opinions out there. On that note, if you’re going to say something, back it up. One sentence comments with no substance are worthless. If you think the site or content sucks, give me a reason why….

See you guys tomorrow.

One last thing, welcome back Ben Eager: