NYR/CAR R2G2 5/7 Review: GAG LINE 2.0 & CZAR IGOR Lift Blueshirts In An Epic “Hollywood” Double Overtime Victory! A Game That You’ll Never Forget; An ESPN Broadcast That You’d Like To Forget, K’Andre Miller & Tony DeAngelo “Rekindle” The Past, REMPEMANIACS > Cult of Chytil, Super Special Teams Shine Again, Mika Does Everything But Score; A Match That Trouba Abhorred, Adam Fox = FTW Mode, Lavy, TEAM EFFORT, “Destiny” & Much More!

Greetings and salutations everyone and welcome to another blog here on BlueCollarBlueShirts.com. Six down, ten to go, for your now 6-0 in the postseason BEST IN THE WORLD BLUESHIRTS!

Off puck drop – I don’t even know where to begin tonight – as I’m presently full of elation, jubilation and mass hysteria!

And after a game that we just witnessed on Tuesday night, a match that featured about 9876786869696 different storylines, huge moments and pendulum swings – I’m shot (both emotionally and physically!) – and the fact that I’ve slept maybe ten-hours during the past four-days doesn’t help matters either!

Making matters worse?

This piece of shit dinosaur computer of mine, one that freezes every two-seconds – and akin to CZAR IGOR freezing every Carolina skater from the third period and throughout the two overtime periods in Game 2 too!

But alas, who can sleep following this Rangers’ Game 2 4-3 double overtime victory?!?!

As I try to contain myself, while also trying to focus (as we all know that I have a nasty, but sometimes welcomed, habit of going off on tangents during my “Ranger Ramblings”); let’s just fast-forward to the end of Game 2 – and then go back to the starting line!

After all, and despite the cavalcade of craziness that we saw in Game 2 – the only thing running around my mind right now is NONNA TROCHECK’S BAMBINO – a “Ryan Strome Who?” Blueshirts’ center who now has five goals scored during his past five games played – and the first Ranger to have done so since the days of Cecil Dillon (1933)!

And unlike Dillon, Trocheck plays in a four-line era – and not a two-line era!

“…Zibanejad towards the net, knocked down, Trocheck.. SCORES! HE SCORES! VINCENT TROCHECK WINS GAME 2 IN DOUBLE OVERTIME! HE’S MOBBED BY HIS RANGER TEAMMATES!” – Kenny Albert on M$GN Radio.

“I couldn’t tell you what happened. It went in.” – Vincent Trocheck on his game-winner.

I don’t think that I have to explain to you what Game 2’s victory meant for these 2023-24 Rangers and where I truly believe this – Trocheck’s walk-off goal joins a short list of other famous game-winning goals in franchise history.

While of course, other legendary SEE YA overtime goals scored by Blueshirts such as Frank Boucher, Pete Stemkowski, Stephane Matteau and Mark Messier were more important than this one – and only due to the latter rounds that these strikes were scored in; but arguably, Trocheck’s goal from Tuesday night was the biggest, best and most important goal scored in the post Henrik Lundqvist Era of Rangers’ history.

I know that some fans may point to Panarin’s Game 7 overtime winner against the Penguins (first-round, 2022) – but to me – that goal was more a sigh of relief than anything else – as the Rangers SHOULD have won that series – and it should have never went to seven-games either.

Plus, I still don’t know how that shot went in!

When I look at Trocheck’s goal, it was the finale against a Carolina team, that very much like the Rangers – are in CUP or BUST mode – and where this game-winner meant that the Blueshirts had protected home ice too.

And such a goal prevented the old familiar trope of “Same Old Rangers!”

While it remains to be seen how this team finishes; for now, a goal like this only heightens the hopes after finishing first-overall in the league.

Maybe come June, when pray to the hockey gods – we’re all face-to-face at the parade – then we’ll all look back at this goal as a score that only a team of fate, a Cup champion, could pull off.

And I’m not exaggerating at all, as a game-winner like this one, and where there was some puck luck involved too, was a type of a goal that every former Stanley Cup victor has scored during their silver journey to the premiere championship in all of sports.

Destiny!

I feel like that I’m already all over the place, but make no bones about it – while tired a bit – I am writing from a happy state of mind!

And I apologize in advance for any typos or grammatical errors too – as I’m trying to post this as fast as possible!

(In other words, press the refresh button, and once this apology is removed, then you’ll know that the “BLOG FINALIZATION” process is complete! That said, I’d also like to apologize to everyone trying to contact me, as I presently have something like 3,000 messages unanswered, between emails, social media and the comments section on this site. I’ll try to return all of them on Wednesday night, once returned home from the j-o-b. I just can’t keep up with everything right now – but I will get back to you.)

At this time, let’s dive into this win.

In front of a sold-out crowd full of 18,006 screaming Ranger fans, each team got off to a hot start – but sadly – so did the worst referee in hockey – Kelly Sutherland.

While Sutherland and his shitheads made a total of four boneheaded mistakes in the first period alone, both calls and non-calls; admittedly, the bozos in the black-and-white stripes got better as the game went along – and evened things out too.

But thankfully, and just as it was in Game 1 – the Rangers went another flawless five-of-five on their penalty kill.

Without these NATURAL BORN KILLERS, and where Trocheck is one of them, then #16 doesn’t have his moment in double overtime.

And of course, you can also include CZAR IGOR as one of the NATURAL BORN PENALTY KILLERS, as five of his fifty-four saves where of the short-handed variety.

The Blueshirts’ penalty killing units were so strong that once again, not only did they not allow a goal – but the Canes rarely mustered up any shots on goal either.

And when you consider that CZAR IGOR made six saves when the Rangers were a man-up, one more stop when compared to his five man-down saves – well that says it all.

Following a call (Will Cuylle for tripping at 5:16) and no calls that we’ll later discuss in the GAME REVIEW segment, enter Alexis Lafreniere at the 10:53 mark, who roofed a puck past Andersen for his first playoff goal in his 28th postseason contest.

As the madness continued, including Andrei Svechnikov intentionally trying to injure CZAR IGOR, and a K’Andre Miller vs. Tony DeAngelo spat for the ages (more below), the Canes soon responded and scored two deflection goals during the waning stages of the first frame in a time-span of 4:47, as Jake Guentzel tipped a shot sent his way from Sebastion Asshole past CZAR IGOR at the 15:07 mark, while Dmitri Orlov did the same, a kick to the balls goal, as the defenseman scored his goal with just six-seconds remaining.

And while Orlov’s goal felt like as if you had stepped into a steamy pile of dogshit with your brand new shoes on – at the same time – these Rangers have a penchant for the comeback – and a flair for the dramatics too.

Down 2-1 to enter the middle period, and there was Lafreniere one more time, this time finishing a play following a perfect pass from Adam Fox at the 7:32 mark.

With the goal, Lafreniere is now averaging a goal in every fourteen playoff games played – rather than the zero for his last twenty-eight that he entered this game with.

And I’d expect that average to shrink/improve as these playoffs progress too.

Alas, and as it was towards the end of the first period, and there was Carolina late one more time, and where it was Guentzel who had now matched Lafreniere’s two-goal showing, following his strike at the 18:18 mark – or with just 1:42 remaining in the stanza.

A 2-2 tie had returned to a Carolina one-goal lead.

3-2, bad guys.

The Blueshirts, who went a perfect two-of-two on the power-play on Sunday, ultimately went two-of-seven on Tuesday – but where that 2/7 doesn’t tell the full story, as several Ranger power-plays were abbreviated, due to off-setting penalties.

And when it mattered most, the Rangers’ two most important power-plays of the game produced goals.

As noted all season on this site, and as recently during my Game 1 review too, the aggressive Will Cuylle, the star of the Blueshirts’ third line, is a penalty-drawing machine.

At the 5:22 mark, Orlov tripped the Rangers’ rookie, which then put the Blueshirts on the power-play for the fifth time – and where as they all say – “the fifth time is a charm!”

Just forty-five seconds into this power-play and who other than CHRISTOPHER JAMES KREIDER to score another pivotal playoff goal in his legendary Rangers’ career, which as a result, knotted the game at three goals a piece.

Neither team would score again – that is – until Trocheck called ballgame in the double-overtime.

I said this in my series preview blog, and I said this in Game 1 too, and I’ll say it one more time here:

There had to be at least one game in this series where CZAR IGOR stole a win.

After all, when you look at both of these teams, two squads that are evenly matched, the biggest advantage that either team has is at the goaltending position – and where the Rangers have this leg-up over their opponents.

And while Frederik Andersen played admirably for the Rebels of Raleigh – he was also no CZAR IGOR either (check the GOALIE stats below).

Prior to Trocheck’s game-winner and CZAR IGOR nearly had twenty more saves recorded on his ledger – and he ultimately finished tonight’s tilt with 54 saves to Andersen’s 35 stops.

And to reiterate this point and to be clear – while Andersen made a ton of robbery saves himself – no ski mask was as strong as the one that #31 of the Rangers was wearing.

Simply said, while the Rangers displayed a team-wide effort – without CZAR IGOR, then this game doesn’t go into overtime – nor do the Blueshirts prevail at the end of it either.

As the two goalies traded save-after-save, and where the Rangers had to kill two penalties in each overtime period before they received one of their own; come the 6:37 mark of double overtime – and Trocheck had drawn his former Hurricane teammate, and former Ranger too, Brady Skjei, for a cross-check.

No less than a minute later and Trocheck, with Zibanejad and Panarin assisting on the goal, ended it with a puck that had all of the fiery and spicy fra diavolo sauce on it.

While this wasn’t CZAR IGOR’s most epic performance in net yet (he did make 79 saves in a 5/3/22 playoff game against the Penguins), this one will be remembered more fondly – and just because of who the opponent was – and more so than that – the stakes are much greater today than what they were two-years ago.

After all, in 2022, under Gerard Gallant, those Rangers had a Cinderella run.

Two-years later and it’s about FINISHING THE STORY, via a fifth championship in franchise history.

And just to think as we wind down this long intro – I’ve glossed over a lot of stuff – and where if you didn’t know that hockey was just a sport, a kid’s game if you will – then you would’ve thought that you were watching a Hollywood movie on Tuesday night, as this Game 2 was like watching an Oscar winning movie – and where yes – largely because the Rangers had their sticks-up salute at the end of it!

At this time, and as a refresher, I’d like to share my past two blogs with you in case you missed them – and then get into the quick LAVY’S LOUNGE segment.

Here they are:

I forgot to bring this up earlier this week, but on Monday, 5/6, I was listening to Elliotte Friedman’s “32 Thoughts” podcast, and where the best reporter in hockey said, and I quote, “there’s no one in the NHL that hates referees more than Peter Laviolette.”

How did the NHL respond?

By saddling Laviolette with the worst referee in hockey on Tuesday night, Kelly Sutherland – and where only Wes McCauley can challenge Sutherland for this claim.

The poor officiating from these playoffs was one of the topics that Lavy was asked about during his pregame edition of “LAVY’S LOUNGE.”

Take a gander:

In what I really enjoyed, Laviolette gave Matt Rempe a full vote of confidence, where in turn, I had to update my Facebook status to this:

Lavy, who was careful when selecting his words, made it known that the officials haven’t really assessed Rempe’s play in a fair manner – and where worse than that – the REMPUTATION penalties are getting ridiculous.

No wonder why Sutherland was asked by the league to officiate this game.

And as I’ve been saying throughout these playoffs – I don’t care about Rempe averaging the lowest amount of ice time in every game either – because at this point of the season – your top stars should be leading the way, while also receiving double-shifts.

As far as anything else that I enjoyed from this pregame interview, then it was when a Carolina reporter, significantly better than the birdbrains on the Blueshirts’ beat, finally asked Laviolette about his relationship with Rod Brind’Amour.

Overheard was a New York Post bleach-blonde dimwit whispering to Larry Brooks, “Laviolette once coached Brind’Amour?”

Lavy, and as you’d expect, praised his former charge.

And while Lavy, and as he previously stated, wouldn’t reveal his line-up – we all knew that the future Hall of Fame bench boss wasn’t going to change a thing.

Here was Laviolette’s line-up for the sixth playoff game of the postseason – and the 88th-overall game of 2023-24:

BOX SCORE time.

The following graphics and information come from ESPN.com:

SCORING:

  PENALTIES:

TEAM STATS:

GOALIES:

As the person who talks about these Ranger/NHL broadcasts more than anybody else, and where I have previously discussed in-detail how horrible these ESPN affairs are (check this site’s archives – as I don’t have the time to repeat myself tonight), then this truly says something:

THIS WAS THE WORST HOCKEY BROADCAST THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN – AND THAT INCLUDES ALL OF THE M$GN BROADCASTS THAT FEATURE SIEVE VAGISTAT.

While Vagistat is/remains as the worst ANALyst in sports – you can never criticize the production that M$GN provides.

In a word (or is it two?), tonight’s broadcast was a “SHIT-SHOW!”

I’ll give you examples of what I’m talking about below, but to give you a quick summary, the following:

— The announcers were openly rooting for the Hurricanes.

— The never-ending Epileptic Seizure Providing Network’s unorthodox camera angles.

— Outright missing plays.

— ACTUALLY CUTTING TO THE COLORADO/DALLAS GAME AS THE RANGERS WERE THREATENING DURING THE FINAL MINUTE OF REGULATION WHILE ON THE POWER-PLAY.

— Flashing a “HURRICANES WIN” sign as the Canes went on their first power-play during the first overtime.

I’m not joking or exaggerating when I say this:

Whoever produced this broadcast should be fired – and I don’t say that lightly – as I don’t root for anyone to lose their jobs, that is, aside from Vagistat!

But this broadcast was more Mickey Mouse than Mickey Mouse himself – and outright embarrassing and shameful.

And it’s just amazing that ESPN, who has had experience with the NHL before, can’t even come close to getting it right, while the upstart TNT has been scoring hat tricks after hat tricks in their NHL coverage from day one.

As far as tonight’s pregame show went, I didn’t watch it – as I was at my real life job – and a job where I schedule all of my breaks around these games.

That said, and hush-hush too – I may have taken a sixty-minute shit from 10:15PM-11:15PM (at least that’s what I told my supervisor!) – which is when the two overtime periods were played!

(And don’t ever take it for granted that we can now watch any game in the world, and with our pants wrapped around our ankles as we sit on the throne, from the comfort of our own smart phones!)

But from what I heard, the pregame show covered the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery – and where unlike four-years ago – and to quote Ms. Walker too – “I don’t give a shit!”

The only thing on my mind these days is the Stanley Cup – and not prospects!

That said, poor David Quinn, as the team that just fired him, and as a result of the AHL roster he had to deal with all season, the San Jose Sharks, received the first-overall pick.

They also have the 14th-overall pick.

In turn, DQ will never get to teach these two future NHLers what SWAGGER is all about!

And finally, GAME REVIEW time – and where yes – despite a lot taking place, I’ll try to limit myself somewhat – as I do have to go to bed sometime tonight/this morning!

FIRST PERIOD

Following another excellent rendition of our National Anthem as sung by Blueshirt Baritone John Brancy, the first puck dropped – and where at the time – we had no clue that we were about to experience one of the greatest and most explosive hockey sagas ever told.

And I’m not trying to oversell this game to you – as I fully believe this with every fiber in my being when decreeing such a proclamation.

As it was announced that Max Comtois (pronounced Cum Twat) was replacing Carolina Cokehead Evgeny Kuznetsov in Brind’Amour’s line-up, CZAR IGOR made his first of 54 saves on Jake Guentzel at the 1:03 mark.

Come the 2:40 time-stamp and CUYLLE HAND LUKE, who is so overdue for a goal, recorded the first Rangers’ SOG.

And I’ll say it here because I don’t know where else to insert such an opinion, but for the life of me, the KULT OF KAKKO need a timeout.

All over social media and I had fans telling me how great the Feckless Finn was, including my good friend, Mike Francesa producer, Brian Monzo.

To quote Andre from “The League” – “Child Please!”

There’s no way in hell that anyone can tell me that Kakko is on Cuylle’s level – and as noted before – whenever you watch these two play, then if you didn’t know, then you would think that it was #50 – and not #24 – who was a former second-overall pick of this league.

And Alex Wennberg?

Does he know that it’s legal for him to score goals?

But, and while fair yet firm, I am also a man of my word – and I am not a hypocrite either.

In other words, keep on playing Kakko and Wennberg – and just like how I’d continue to use Rempe in every game too.

You don’t fix what’s not broken!

(And if you read my last blog that was posted on Tuesday, and as linked up above, then you know that I would’ve rolled out this same line-up in Game 3 had the Rangers lost tonight. In short, the only way that I’d alter the line-up is if the Blueshirts get blown out – and I don’t envision such a tragedy ever taking place!)

While Miller was largely good for the most part, he did blow a tire at around the 4:30 mark, which led CZAR IGOR into denying his general manager’s nephew, Jack Ass Drury, of a goal.

Then, and with 5:16 elapsed, Cuylle was boxed for the softest goaltender interference call that you’ll ever see – and keep this in mind for below.

The Rangers on this PK?

They killed their fourteenth consecutive penalty and where as a result, their PK was now 21/23 in these playoffs.

The kicker?

They’ve only allowed 19 SOG during these 23 kills.

That’s the most impressive thing about this team these days, and where there are a whole lot of candidates when discussing this topic.

Following CZAR IGOR’s seventh save with 10:40 to go, ESPN play-by-play man, Sean McDonough, brought up how Tony DeAngelo was hearing the boos.

Then, and as if he were the slimy-and-snaky Adam Hermtrans sliding out from underneath his rock, McDonough then brought up how Brady Skjei was a former Ranger defenseman – but one that was much more popular than DeAngelo.

Funny enough – most Ranger fans wanted Skjei traded prior to the former #76 of the Blueshirts being dealt away to Carolina – and hello Braden Schneider too!

And despite what you think of him, and whether it be professionally and/or personally – but Jeff Gorton’s public declaration when he axed DeAngelo from the team was one of the worst cases/examples of “asset management” in league history.

In other words, had Gorton (and to a lesser extent, JD too), kept his mouth shut, then perhaps he could’ve traded away a player that he no longer wanted. (At the time, Sam Bennett was available in Calgary).

Instead – well you know the rest – and I’m not getting into all of this again!

And yep, this too:

The best defenseman in this series also has a Carolina/New York connection – Adam Fox – and as the life-long Ranger fan forced his trade out of Raleigh to his favorite team.

As a result, that April of 2019 trade, one that fell into Gorton’s lap, was one of the best trades in Blueshirts’ history!

With 9:07 remaining, Lafreniere, still out there during a line change, scored a rebound/top-shelf goal, following a save on MILLER TIME:

Lafreniere makes it 1-0!!! #NYR pic.twitter.com/BsMuIeqjUu

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 7, 2024

1-0, GOOD GUYS.

And while I’ve called Kakko a “bust” before – I’m glad that I never said the same about Lafreniere!

And for those who continue to bring up the summer softball story that I shared with you about ten-months ago on this site – keep in mind – I just told you what I heard – and it was a story later confirmed by both Arthur Staple and Elliotte Friedman.

Today?

I’ll buy Lafreniere a new softball glove if he wants!

Now down a goal, Carolina got frustrated, which then led Scumbag Svechniko into doing this:

Svechnikov takes out Igor and Rangers players are furious, only a 2-minute penalty for CAR pic.twitter.com/ZhaN7v380Z

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 7, 2024

Previously, and as noted above, Cuylle, when trying to hold back, grazed Andersen.

That earned him a two-minute time-out.

On this play, here you have Svechnikov trying to take CZAR IGOR out of the series, and despite a video review to boot – all he got was the same 120-seconds that Cuylle got.

Best league in the world, worst refs – and an even worse ESPN broadcast.

Following this dirty hit, Rempe, with daggers in his eyes, salivated when eyeing down the Crappy Cane.

And while I don’t think that Rempe should’ve fought in this instance, as it’s not worth the penalty and potential suspension – I do think that he’ll have to eventually fight in these playoffs – and just to show Ranger opponents that he’s not shackled in chains by his head coach.

Gotta keep them honest.

This Rangers’ power-play, the first of seven, didn’t score, but they did register three shots on goal – and where Andersen made his first of four robbery saves on Zibanejad too.

Once returned to full-strength, and Guentzel, with 4:53 remaining, tipped a puck past CZAR IGOR, following a shot from Aho, and while the former Penguin had Miller all tied-up.

1-1.

Following another turnover from the scared Kakko, the other Scandinavian, Erik Gustafsson, was blatantly tripped with 1:40 remaining.

Despite Sutherland looking straight at this infraction – no call.

As that was going on, McDonough, who must’ve had his millennial “HATE DEANGELO HAT” on, started championing for Rempe to clean DeAngelo’s clock.

I mean, that was funny, but I’m surprised that McDonough fed into the DeAngelo vitriol – but perhaps he was trying to sell a feud – and a villain too – where in such a scenario, makes the league’s biggest merchandise mover and ratings draw, Rempe, the hero.

Come 50.1-seconds remaining and both Goodrow and Noesen took off-setting minors.

Now at 4 x 4, Orlov scored his deflection goal with six-seconds remaining.

In other words, had the tripping penalty that Gustafsson had drawn had actually been called by these inept idiots, then the Rangers wouldn’t have found themselves trailing, 2-1, bad guys, come the end of the period.

Here’s what I said in real-time at the conclusion of this frame:

2-1, bad guys, after 1. 1P thoughts:

—- Having Kelly “Draft Kings” Sutherland ref a Rangers game is like Hitler being asked to settle the Israel//Paleatine conflict.

— 2 deflection goals allowed, 4 official momentum swings too.

— you can’t even unleash Rempe because the…

— BlueCollarBlueShirts (@NYCTheMiC) May 7, 2024

Furthermore, there’s also this no call from the first period, where Rempe was cross-checked, yet a penalty wasn’t called.

In fact, he was scolded by Stupid Sutherland:

Everything you need to know about Kelly Sutherland. Rempe the one that gets knocked down, Kelly Sutherland give Rempe the lecture. #NYR pic.twitter.com/I8HoI2JVrd

— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) May 7, 2024

SECOND PERIOD

In a word, this period was “WILD” – and I’m not talking Minnesota either!

After all, that team never makes it to the second-round – and where you have to wonder if that’s their homage and tribute to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And as you may know already – the Leafs from Toronto are the only leaves that fall in the Spring!

To begin the period, Andersen stopped Fox and then a rebound from Trocheck.

Then, and at the 2:14 mark, Rangers’ captain Jacob Trouba, who to be nice, wasn’t great tonight, took his first of three penalties, as he high-sticked Drury on this occasion.

On Trouba, I’m not going to berate and bash him as others are doing – so much so – that “TROUBA SUCKS,” “TROUBA’S NIGHTMARE GAME ENRAGES RANGER FANS” and “SCRATCH TROUBA AND PLAY JONES” all trended on Elon Musk’s app on Tuesday night.

While I’m not saying that Trouba had a hell of a showing tonight, but he did tie the franchise record for most blocked shots in a playoff game (9, Dan Girardi) and also led the team in hits (5).

But of course, those stats also tells you that he was in his own end a lot – and without possession of the puck too.

Furthermore, I don’t think that Trouba is at 100% – and perhaps he rushed back from his injury that cost him a dozen or so games following the 3/8 NHL Trade Deadline.

The Rangers’ PK went 2-2 here, as just two-seconds into it, this madman, Svechnikov, and akin to the retarded Sadam Hussein, interfered with Fox following Carolina’s o-zone faceoff.

And if you recall, then Svechnikov also killed his team’s chances of tying Game 1 with another moronic penalty in the final seconds.

What a maroon! (And not a Montreal Maroon from the pre-Original Six days either!)

Now at 4 x 4 again, and Mika almost scored, but after splitting Carolina’s defense, he lost the puck from his handle at the last second imaginable.

Once returned to full-strength, and the two bottom-six lines struggled a bit – but thankfully – CZAR IGOR was not struggling.

And once the GAG LINE 2.0 were back on the ice at even-strength, the first-overall pick picked up his second tally at the 7:32 mark:

BEAUTY DISH FROM FOX AND LAFRENIERE HAS TWO GOALS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/a2YvjATNWU

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 8, 2024

2-2.

Come 11:04 remaining, and Sutherland, doing his best Sieve Vagistat impersonation (asshole), boxed Trouba again, this time for tripping.

Carolina, now on the power-play, thwarted their man-advantage chances again, following this chaotic sequence:

Trocheck giving his patented thumbs up to Guentzel as he’s escorted to the penalty box pic.twitter.com/Tf5cPDn5SP

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) May 8, 2024

“I’ll fight you anytime.” – Tony D’Angelo

(via @BR_OpenIce) pic.twitter.com/Ycp60BxzDT

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) May 8, 2024

I can’t lie – I was hoping that Miller would throw down the gloves with DeAngelo.

While Miller had previously publicly denied the shit show that Adam Hermtrans had tried to drag him through – it still would’ve been entertaining to see #77 fight #79 – and especially after watching Miller absolutely KO the Devils in his first fight of his NHL career earlier this season:

In a way – Miller v. DeAngelo could be bigger than Rempe v. DeAngelo.

However, and in both cases for the Rangers – the tradeoff isn’t worth it – and should Brett Pesce be healthy for Game 3 – then you won’t see the foul-mouthed south New Jersey native for the remainder of this series.

Once returned to full-strength and with both teams trading chances; Brent Burns, who McDonough and Ferraro, and as if they were Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti, received the verbal fellatio treatment.

Sutherland must’ve heard this praise – as he then ignored a Burns cross-check on Fox with 5:15 remaining.

Seriously, these Hurricanes are as enjoyable and heartwarming as a boil inside of your taint.

As Kakko continued to do nothing, and where you wish he played at worst, up to 1/100th of how the other lotto pick, Lafreniere, is playing these days; Rempe had DeAngelo lined up for a hit with 2:15 to go – but the rearguard got out of the way. That said, you could hear the Garden taking a deep breath as they were eagerly awaiting in anticipation of such a hopeful event!

To close the period, Guentzel scored a one-timer from the slot, following an Aho pass that Gustafsson and Trouba were never able to get to.

3-2, bad guys – and your score as we entered the final frame of regulation time.

THIRD PERIOD

To briskly recap this period, the following:

— 1:35 in and Lafreniere just missed his hat trick goal, as his rebound attempt went high.

— Trouba continued to have a night to forget.

— With 16:20 remaining, Ryan Lindgren prevented Carolina from banging in a potential 4-2, bad guys, insurance goal. Don’t forget about #55!

— And with 14:38 to go, this is when Orlov tripped Cuylle, which then led to this:

Chris Kreider cleans up the power play rebound, knotting up the score at 3!#NYR pic.twitter.com/j3guPLGMHi

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) May 8, 2024

3-3 – and another playoff milestone/moment for CK20!

I should also note, and unless I missed it, then Rempe, following the second period, never took another shift. In total, he logged a game-low five shifts and 4:03 TOI – but even so – no one maximizes their minimal playing time in the way that #73 does.

To fast-forward even more so, and following each goalie continuing to outdo each other save-by-save; come 1:38 remaining, and the Rangers had a chance to end this in regulation, as Skjei had tripped Wennberg.

The Rangers would have to wait until Skjei’s second penalty of the match to finally score the game-winner.

Up next?

ESPN absolutely shitting the bed:

One of the worst moments in broadcasting history. pic.twitter.com/NqRM5C5UlT

— Riggs (@RiggsBarstool) May 8, 2024

As you can see, the Rangers, with the puck and looking for the 4-3, GOOD GUYS, power-play goal – left our screens – and in favor of a Stars/Avalanche pregame show.

There’s no excuse for this, but if there’s a silver lining for ESPN – then the Rangers didn’t capitalize on this power-play.

That said, can you imagine if the Rangers had won the game on this power-play – and while looking at the face of A.J. Meleczko, who was covering the DAL/COL game?

Egads.

3-3 through 3.

Overtime, eventually two of them, was required.

OVERTIME

As I continue to briskly get to the end here; Trouba, at the 7:57 mark, was boxed again for tripping Necas.

Two things came out of this.

The first, another blunder:

Nice “Hurricanes Win!” board graphic there#CauseChaos | #NYR pic.twitter.com/PFChEwgyqe

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) May 8, 2024

And of course, this, where many have now turned this into a meme, and where Trouba is either jumping off of the top rope of a wrestling ring, goring a matador or leaping off of the Empire State Building:

Jacob Trouba comes FLYING in on Martin Nečas 😲 pic.twitter.com/56yWt9xJX4

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) May 8, 2024

Seriously – can you imagine if Trouba connected here?

And he’s lucky that he didn’t give himself a concussion after missing this potential TROO TROO TRAIN wreckin’ ball hit too.

The Rangers’ PK, so magical again, did it one more time here.

Once returned to full-strength, and Mika was robbed again by Andersen with 8:15 remaining.

If two things became apparent as this bonus period was reaching its conclusion, then it was the fact that the ice at M$G, mainly because the Knicks are still alive today, was horrendous.

The other thing was that both teams were gassed and tired – as neither squad took off on this night – nor should have they.

(What terrible grammar Batman – but it’s late and I’m on no sleep – give a brother a break!)]

As ESPN continued to flog the penis of Brent Burns, Andersen came up with two more robberies with under ninety-seconds to go, and on both Mika and Lafreniere.

As a result, a fifth period was needed.

DOUBLE OVERTIME

This period can be summed up with the following:

— Panarin was boxed for hooking Necas at the 3:28 mark – and where of course – the Rangers’ PK was Fort Knox.

— Ditto CZAR IGOR, who was in FTW mode himself.

— The Rangers, now after killing two penalties in overtime, finally drew one themselves (and as talked about above), which then led to “VINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER” and “VIN FOR THE WIN”:

FORECHECK. BACKCHECK.

TROCHECK AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM. GAME 2 WINNER ✅️

(via @BR_OpenIce) pic.twitter.com/dpjrOOD7Xv

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) May 8, 2024

Unless you’re senile like Sam Rosen or sadly, suffering from amnesia – then you will never forget about this 4-3, GOOD GUYS, VINCENT FREAKIN’ TROCHECK, GOAL!

What could’ve been a 1-1 series is now a 2-0 Rangers’ lead – and to stress this point one last time – it are the team leaders, the highest-paid players on the team, leading the way.

And the “undercard” isn’t that shabby either!

Here’s a man looking to piss and shit on the “Lateralette” moniker that I gave to him back on my 41st birthday (June 13th) – and now looking to win a Cup for me on my 42nd birthday too – during the post-game edition of “LAVY’S LOUNGE!”

Welcome happy (and relieved!) Peter Laviolette – and a head coach who was absolutely exhausted too – at least that’s my assumption – and solely based on the way that he kept on rubbing his eyes when trying to stay awake when speaking to the dolts on the beat:

Up Next: Game 3 on Thursday night, as the series moves to Carolina.

And after a double overtime game, and with a flight ahead, then I doubt that the Rangers are practicing on Wednesday – that is – outside of a video review session.

I also don’t expect the Rangers to go 16-0 in these playoffs (but it would be nice!), so in my eyes, all they have to do is split in Raleigh – but of course – I’d have no problem with a sweep either!

And for all of the 1994 comparisons and talk, the last time the Rangers swept back-to-back series was in that magical year.

They are now two consecutive wins away from doing so once more.

More 1994 talk?

On May 8th, 1994, a young eleven-year-old boy named Sean McCaffrey needed his bed at a late hour.

Thirty-years removed from that date?

This same man-child still needs his head on his Rangers’ pillow case!

What a game.

And what a blog to conclude with…

PLUGS TIME! (Buy a book and support my Rangers’ induced therapy bills. After all, I don’t run ads on this site!)

My fourth title and tenth book is now available!

“The Top 100 Villains of New York Rangers History,” is now available for sale!

For complete information, please visit: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/rangerkillers/

My second plug of tonight’s blog – the mandatory plug for my book, “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden.”

As mentioned previously, the book is now available in hardcover, in paperback and in Kindle formats. To purchase a copy of the book, visit this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Rafters-Madison-Square-Garden-ebook/dp/B09CM5N2WD

For those still looking for signed paperback versions of the book, I have re-ordered more copies. I now have a few signed copies for sale at $25 a pop (includes shipping price) through me directly. Here is all the information on that:

Order “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor and the Rafters of Madison Square Garden” Book Today

My four-volume set of books, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is a game-by-game recount of the Rangers 2021-22 campaign.

My second title as an author, “One Game at a Time – A Season to Remember,” is now available in eBook, paperback and hardcover formats.

To obtain signed copies, visit: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/onegamebook/

To purchase all four volumes on Amazon, visit: Amazon.com – “One Game at a Time.”

The greatest volume-set of books on Rangers’ history today!

“Tricks of the Trade – A Century-Long Journey Through Every Trade Made In New York Rangers’ History,” a four-volume set of books that meticulously covers every trade made in franchise history, is now on sale.

All four volumes of the title can be purchased on Amazon.com and are presented in three different formats – eBook, paperback and hardcover.

To purchase Volume I: Conn Smythe (1926) – Craig Patrick (1986), visit Amazon.com

To purchase Volume II: Phil Esposito (1986) – Neil Smith (2000), visit Amazon.com

To purchase Volume III: Glen Sather (2000-2015), visit Amazon.com

To purchase Volume IV: Jeff Gorton (2015) – Chris Drury (2022), visit Amazon.com

To purchase signed copies of all four volumes, visit https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/

If you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog for the next update:

Don’t forget to order my four-volume set of books, “Tricks of the Trade!”

If you don’t order through me, all four volumes are now available on Amazon.com

For more details, check out: https://bluecollarblueshirts.com/tricksofthetrade/

Thanks for reading.

LET’S GO RANGERS!

Sean McCaffrey

BULLSMC@aol.com

@NYCTHEMIC on the Tweeter machine