NYR/OTT Round 2 Game 6 Review: “Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now”; Rangers & Lundqvist Choke to the Senators in 6 Games, The Finger Pointing & Blame Game Begins as The Book Closes on the Rangers Season, The Worst Series Loss of the AV & Lundqvist Era, PP Dooms Rangers, Anderson Doesn’t Blow a 2 Goal Lead Like Lundqvist & Much More From a Depressing Night in Rangerstown, USA

What’s up everyone and welcome to the final recap blog, of a Rangers game, for the 2016-2017 season. As you may have heard by now, the Rangers lost Game 6 of their best of 7 series, with the Ottawa Senators, with a final of 4-2. As a result of the loss, the Rangers also lose the series 4-2. Someone tell that walking blowjob Micheletti to turn the lights off of M$G on his way out.

Couple of things before continuing:

• I have to be up at 4:30AM for work tomorrow, so I may miss some things here. I’m starting this blog at 11PM and I would like to get some sleep tonight. I know I can’t sleep right away, because I’m so wired up after this loss, hence me doing this blog tonight.
• Moving along, there will be a ton of Ranger blogs, despite the season being over. Stay tuned for the report card, thoughts of the season, favorite memories of the year, more Frank Boucher talk, 1979 Rangers, MSG Networks thoughts and other Ranger related topics.
• Depending on my work schedule (It’s always changing), I plan on recapping the rest of the Oilers run, should they win their Game 7 tomorrow in Anaheim. I have many Edmonton Oiler fans who read this blog and I have unofficially been accepted as one of their own, due to me watching nearly every Oiler game (And every Talbot start) of the last two seasons. Time to give back if I can.
• I want to see what Rangers play in the IIHF tournament this year. If any of them go, I’ll try to recap/give my thoughts on those games. I would be shocked if Lundswiss plays for Sweden this year. Of note, Cam Talbot won the gold in that tournament last year and posted a shutout in the Gold Medal final. Just sayin’.
• I will definitely be doing a blog about the Vegas draft, before and after, so stay tuned for that too.
• I am a bag of mixed emotions right now, so tonight is just about getting this game blog done, with all the reaction in future blogs. In other words, this blog isn’t going on timeout just yet. As usual, I will take my summer sabbatical once the Stanley Cup is over. With the draft, I will be going longer this year, although the blogs won’t be as frequent as they are when the Rangers are playing.

Whether it’s all the two goal leads thrown away by Lundqvist, how Lundqvist can’t win an OT game, the defensive super-dud duo of Staal/Holden, AV’s coaching decisions, Nash not producing on the score sheet, the “name brand” guys not showing up (Kreider/Hayes/Stepan) or the dreadful powerplay, there is plenty of blame and finger pointing to go around.

If you want to bottom line this series,and of course this won’t be a popular opinion with the Hank fanboys/mommy boys/cellar dwellers, but here it is – “When each team needed to rely on their goaltending, Craig Anderson was bigger & better than Henrik Lundqvist.” Simple as that. You can blame everyone and anything else, but keep things in perspective. When the Rangers had two goal leads, when the Rangers needed a key save in OT, when either team needed a big save, it was Anderson, NOT LUNDQVIST, that shone brightest. Game 6 was an example of that.

I’ll talk more about this in a future blog, but one thing really pissed me off before this game. I talked about this on twitter and in my last blog. When Stepan & Lundqvist had their spat, the media ignored it. It took a full 48 hours, but Larry Brooks was the only reporter to get the scoop. According to Brooks, Lundqvist was screaming at Skjei & Stepan to rile the team up and to get them going. Are you fucking kidding me?

Put this in perspective – when King Diva had his bitchy hissy fit, the Rangers were winning 2-0. Lundqvist gave up a goal because of HIS OWN turnover. It was still a 2-1 game and the Rangers were playing well. For everyone who gives Hank credit for a win, but uses the “it’s a team game” excuse after a loss – please tell me how the overpaid & overrated goalie, acting like a cunt, after his own failure, is an example of great teamwork? Maybe one day, some of these Lundqvist fanboys will see through his bullshit. The guy is a selfish egomaniac, which is fine if he can back it up. However, this second round was more proof that Hank’s best days are long gone and he can no longer back up his fat cat bitch ass mouth.

Another culprit in this series, and really, ever since 2017 started, was Derek Stepan, who was just terrible. Another beneficiary of Sather’s terrible contracts, Stepan did not play like a first line center and was brutal. However, I do respect Stepan more than Lundqvist, because Stepan isn’t saying all the silly quotes, accepts his failures and doesn’t do the blame game.

Stepan was the shits in the playoffs, don’t get me wrong. However, he’s not the one with the “give me two goals and I got this” or “I will win the 3-2 type of games” quotes. He’s the guy who said he played like crap & was embarrassed he couldn’t get his game going. He even said it again tonight, if that consoles you at all. (It doesn’t.)

Stepan is not the one who said he wants a “cup at all costs in NY” then demands the most money in the cap era for a goalie & demands the coach be fired. It’s funny, after this loss, I saw fans, the same fans that blow Lundqvist, say, “I wish Torts was still here.” Um, hello, you know why Torts was fired? Hank DEMANDED it. Just google the stories from around that time if you don’t believe me.

Stepan, and I’m using my words, not his, has said he’s sucked & came up short in this postseason. Even in tonight’s postgame, Lundqvist was blaming the team for the loss. Sure, the PP sucked, but when you get lead after lead in this series and just can’t hold it, you have to blame yourself. When you give up a goal right after your team scores, EVERY FUCKING TIME, it’s a momentum killer. Lundqvist and accountability rarely go hand-in-hand.

I’ll talk more about this in a future blog, but with Stepan set to have a NMC kick in at the end of the season, the Rangers must leave him unprotected in the draft (I rather protect a cheaper Jesper Fast, Michael Grabner or even Oscar Lindberg) than the grossly overpaid and under-performing Derek Stepan. If Vegas doesn’t bite, the Rangers may be forced to make a quick trade and settle taking less back, as a result of Stepan’s cap hit. Again, more on that at a future time.

I hate to keep saying “I’ll talk more about this later”, but time is an issue here. If you know me, I’m an AV guy. I question his decisions at times, especially not using Grabner once on the dreadful PP, but what fan doesn’t question their coach? My thinking has always been, the coach is around these guys 24/7 and obviously knows the team & the game more than I ever could pretend. I don’t expect AV to know my job the way I know mine, so the opposite also applies in my eyes.

However, coaches are paid to produce results. Time is an issue here, so I don’t have time to look up the exact stat, but I believe the Rangers PP finished 3-39 in the playoffs and something like 2-25 in this round. It’s just unacceptable. A PPG in any of these losses would’ve swung these games. Of course, Hank holding a two goal lead or making a save in OT would help too, but again, the blame game has many victims tonight.

The Rangers PP was dreadful for most of the year and the entire playoffs. Remember when Brandon Pirri was a thing?

In the era of guaranteed contracts and with AV getting a two-year extension, if anyone gets canned or moved, Scott Arniel should be the first victim on the chopping block. The problem with the Rangers, is that we have an owner who doesn’t care and doesn’t know about hockey. He just knows the team makes money because we are all suckers and pay for this shit. Do you think James Dolan even knows who Scott Arniel is?

If you’re like Dolan, Arniel is the assistant coach and the man behind the Rangers PP. We know that GM Gorton and Coach AV have a good relationship. Firing AV’s coach may cause a rift. However, at some point, results need to show up and this was another season where the Rangers PP was among the worst in the league and the worst in the playoffs. While Stepan may be heading out of town & that may be up in the air, Arniel’s time has run out.

Fuck, it’s 11:45PM and I haven’t got to the game yet. Let’s begin. Sorry for the rush job, but my job pays my bills, not the Rangers!

ESPN.com box score time:

1st Period Summary
Time	Team	Scoring Detail	OTT	NYR
4:27		Mike Hoffman (4) Assists: Erik Karlsson, Clarke MacArthur	1	0
14:44		Mark Stone (4) Assists: Clarke MacArthur, Chris Wideman	2	0
Time	Team	Penalty Detail
5:22		Alex Burrows: 2 Minutes for Holding the Stick
8:35		Derick Brassard: 4 Minute Double Minor for High sticking
2nd Period Summary
Time	Team	Scoring Detail	OTT	NYR
13:32		Mika Zibanejad (2) Assists: Mats Zuccarello, Nick Holden	2	1
15:53		Erik Karlsson (2) Assists: Bobby Ryan, Craig Anderson	3	1
Time	Team	Penalty Detail
10:57		Jimmy Vesey: 2 Minutes for Tripping
3rd Period Summary
Time	Team	Scoring Detail	OTT	NYR
0:53		Chris Kreider (3) Assists: Mika Zibanejad, Brendan Smith	3	2
19:53		Jean-Gabriel Pageau (7) Assist: Mark Stone	4	2
Time	Team	Penalty Detail
6:29		2 Minute Bench Penalty for Too Many Men on the Ice (Served by Mark Stone)
12:58		Ryan McDonagh: 2 Minutes for High-sticking

Key:  Ottawa   NY Rangers
Total Shots  26  39	PIM  8  4	Hits  15  30	Giveaways  10  25	Takeaways  12  10	Faceoffs Won  28  19

Couple of stats really stand out in this game:

• The Senators won the blocked shots department, 20-7. Dan Girardi led all players with 4 blocked shots. If Lundqvist could’ve blocked one more, who knows how this game ends! Seriously though, the Senators played the Rangers game here.
• Rangers out-shot the Senators 39-26. Anderson was just better than Lundqvist.
• Senators won the battle at the dot, 28-19. For a period of time in the first period, I would be surprised if the Rangers won 2 faceoffs.
• 0-4, as in the Rangers PP. In fact, the Rangers PK had better looks and better quality of shots than the dreadful Rangers PP.
• 0-12, as in Lundqvist being 0-12 in trying to win a Cup. Insanity – doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
• 1, as in how many Top 5 paid goalies remain in the Stanley Cup tournament, with Rinne of Nashville being the lone goalie left. There has never been a Top 5 paid goalie to win a SC in the modern salary cap era. Of course, the Rangers have the highest paid goalie in the world.
• 33, as in Cam Talbot, who has not only had a far better regular season than Lundqvist, but also a better postseason. Remember the idiots who said “Talbot will never be a starting goalie in the NHL?”

I really thought the Rangers would spank the Senators, winning this series in 5. At worst, I thought it would go 6. Instead, the Rangers are done in 6 games. They were simply the better team throughout the series, but puck luck and inferior goaltending at key moments did them in. The series started with a fluke goal, saw multiple two goal leads vanish and when it mattered most, it was Anderson slaying the faux Ranger King.

Even with the backs against the wall, I really thought the Rangers would win this game specifically. Instead, just like in 2015, it was another heart-breaking loss on home ice. For me, this is the worst series loss of not only the AV era, but of the Lundqvist era.

Now some people will say the 2014 SCF was a worse series loss, but keep it in perspective. The Rangers had a Cinderella run and over-achieved. Some may say the 2015 ECF was a worse series, but again, keep it in perspective. The Lightning were a good team. When I think of my expectations going into this series, while I thought the Rangers did better than I imagined going into the season, this was a series they just could not lose.

Be honest long time Ranger fans – how confident were you in 2014? 2015? Compare that to now. How confident were you that the Rangers would wipe their ass with the Senators? This was an upset and I’m upset about it.

I really thought the Rangers were a fringe playoff team going into the season. Perhaps they were. That said, after getting the key playoff seed, as the first wild card and going through Montreal, losing to Ottawa really stings. When you look at the games, there was no way the Rangers should’ve lost this series and really, they lost to team that was inferior. The Rangers just gave it away. The Rangers could’ve won this in 5, but choked and came up short in the biggest moments. Losing two games in OT doesn’t help either, especially when you had two goal leads in both games and had the lead in the final minutes of each game.

Before tonight’s Game 6, the Rangers had the lead or were tied 96% of this series. Perhaps the Rangers should’ve went to Antii “Mariano” Raanta in the closing moments of these games!

Simply put, the Rangers were the better team, and for both Lundqvist & AV, this loss was the worst of their respective tenures. They lost to the most inferior team out of any playoff run. The fact that the Rangers were better, despite their shortcomings at times, makes it even worse. If you go back, before AV was here, you would’ve cum and crapped in your pants if the Rangers were scoring 4+ goals a game in a playoff series. Imagine that Ranger offense with some of the teams Lundqvist backstopped? However, that was then and this is now, and realistically, that Lundqvist left this team once he signed his new deal.

On that, it’s hilarious to me whenever people talk about those dark ages and say “Lundqvist carried the Rangers.” Carried them to what? It’s a team game. I want a Cup, not a goalie who plays well while everyone else fails. However, with the new cap kicking in after the 2012-2013 lockout, it’s now the Rangers offense putting up numbers, while hoping that Lundqvist has a “vintage” game. Unfortunately, Lundqvist used up all his vintage games in that Montreal series, as he reverted back to the unreliable and inconsistent Lundqvist that plagued the 2016-2017 season.

Going into this game, with the Caps & Oilers blowing out their opponents in their respective do-or-die Game 6’s, I just knew the Rangers wouldn’t make it easy. In reality, I was expecting a one goal win for the Rangers, because after all, they never make it easy. Instead, Anderson had his best game of the season and prevented the Rangers from hanging another 4 spot on him.

Erik Karlsson, the best Swedish player in this series, started the scoring first. He took a deep shot, which Mike Hoffman slowly deflected by the worst overpaid Swedish player in the series, in Henrik Lundqvist. It was another one of those long goals that Lundqvist has allowed all year. Of course, fans were blaming Staal & Holden for being on the ice, but this is a save you see goalies make all the time, unless their name is Henrik Lundqvist.

With the goal, it was 1-0 Senators before 5 minutes even elapsed. This goal kind of set the tone for this game, as Ottawa could play their game with the lead. As the lead would increase, you would see Boucher & the Senators rely on their dreaded trap and it worked.

The Rangers would get two big powerplays after this goal. Burrows would get caught holding a stick. The Rangers got one shot on the PP. Then, Derrick Brassard gave his old friend Mats Zuccarello a love tap to the face, which produced blood. A double minor, giving the Rangers their second and third powerplay of the game. So if you’re keeping track, the Rangers played a man-up for 30% of the first period. Of course, the lifeless Terry Schiavo like powerplay of the Rangers, had no juice. 0-3 on the PP in the first period alone. I don’t think if you even tried to fail as much as the Rangers do on the PP, you could pull it off.

After blowing several chances to score and watching Michael Grabner, you know, the second highest goal scorer on the team, stapled to the bench on the PP, the Senators made the Rangers pay for their ineptness. Again, I know many people want AV fired, but I’m not one of them, but I have to question why Grabner didn’t get an ounce of PP time this season. I don’t want to hear that his skill set doesn’t apply for the PP – THE RANGERS PP FUCKING SUCKS. What harm could he do?

Mark Stone would score the second goal of the game, firing  a simple shot at Lundqvist. 2-0 Senators. AV would waste his timeout challenging the play. I wondered at the time, if AV was just trying to help his struggling and overrated goaltender out. AV challenged the play, saying that Kyle Turris was offside. Of course Turris wasn’t, and really, why burn your timeout when you could see on the replay that he wasn’t? Even if you thought he was offside for a millisecond, there was no evidence to overturn the call. AV really wasted a timeout to help Lundqvist and that was at the expense of the team.

At this point, the name Antti Raanta came to mind, as Lundqvist was struggling badly. What makes this harder to watch was that the Rangers were outshooting the Senators and had all these PP’s, but Anderson was phenomenal on the other end. Anderson even closed the period out strongly, stopping a key Smith off a Stepan shot deflection. Lundqvist could learn a thing or two about stopping deflections from Anderson.

At the end of 1, bad guys 2, Rangers 0.

Zibanejad would breathe life into this dead team, with 7 minutes left to go in the second period. Zibanejad took a feed from Zucc and beat Anderson, one-on-one, a breakaway goal. This was huge, because Ottawa was doing that 1-3-1 trap game, that you’ve heard so much about. It was effective and with a 2 goal lead, Anderson didn’t want to pull a Lundqvist and blow it. That said, good goal here, and 2-1 bad guys.

This goal was really huge, because the Rangers just looked shot out there. This was like watching a slow death. Anderson was making save after save, while the Rangers couldn’t crack him. Right before the play, Derek Stepan turned the puck over, when all alone with Anderson, if you could believe that. Vesey had a brutal turnover as well. However, no turnover was worse than Nick Holden tonight, as the Rangers had the puck, made their change and he slowly tapped the puck from the Rangers D-zone to a charging Senator in the neutral zone. Pure crap.

However, I saw this script before. While the Zibanejad goal got the Garden hard, I knew what was going to happen and even tweeted out:

Will Hank give it right back?

— BlueCollarBlueShirts (@NYCTheMiC) May 10, 2017

It’s funny, when the Rangers scored, two of my friends texted me saying, “You know Hank will give it right back, right?” Leave it to Lundqvist to not disappoint, as this broken down Swedish product did just that – as Karlsson beat Lundqvist two minutes later, to Lundqvist’s “new five hole”, blocker side. 3-1 Senators and really, just a demoralizing, kick to the cock type of goal. It would also be the game winner.

I would be surprised if Lundqvist has any money in his bank account because he sure doesn’t know anything about saving.

At this point, Raanta, just like in other games in this series, should’ve been put in net. If you’re all about that team game line, then it’s about the team and not the overpaid goalie. Lundqvist was terrible. He had to go, but AV was going to ride Lundqvist like the Titanic. I truly wonder if AV was in a contract year, and didn’t get his two year extension, if he would’ve had a shorter leash with the Swedish bitch?

Speaking of the Titanic line, I tweeted that out at the time. The best response goes to @SCOTTYHOCKEY, who replied, “You mean it’s not? An expensive, high profile, overrated wreck that made NY sad when it sank …”

At 3-1, while they weren’t officially dead yet, the wind was out of the sails. Isn’t it funny how Brassard (won the IIHF Golds last year),Talbot (King), Hagelin (won the Cup after leaving Lundswiss last season) & Pouliot (Had to go) all have a shot at the Cup still, while Princess Lundswiss cries into his lace pillows tonight?

After 2 periods, the Rangers had twenty minutes to get two goals. Wasn’t in the cards.

With the way this game was going, I was wondering if the Rangers realized they couldn’t use the “We got to be better, we know what we gotta do now” bullshit, that they give after every loss in this series. Maybe they can amend that to “We got to be better next season.”

Chris Kreider made everyone inch up on their seats, as he started off the third period with another breakaway Rangers goal. 3-2 Senators. For the Rangers, this was the second one-on-one goal on Anderson. Unfortunately it would be the last. The Rangers led an offensive charge in their do or die period, out-shooting the Sens 15-5. Unlike Lundqvist, Anderson was able to hold a lead and deal with the pressure – EVEN WHEN HIS DEFENSE FAILED HIM.

The Rangers had countless opportunities to tie it. A combination of Anderson and bad puck luck doomed them. Kreider had another chance, missing a 5 hole after not getting all of the puck. Stepan was Stepan. Zibanejad was a monster but just couldn’t reap the rewards of his efforts. Nash came close. Zuccarello, who had a lot of fans in M$G, fanned on his third close shot of the game. The Rangers were all over these guys, but for some reason, especially in the waning minutes, would decide to shoot from bad angles and move the puck to the side of the ice, rather than going straight to the middle, which already worked twice in this game.

With the score at 3-2, with 19+ minutes to play, the Rangers just couldn’t beat Anderson. Another powerplay opportunity arose, when the Senators were called for too many men on the ice. Instead of chanting “Let’s Go Rangers”, the retards at M$G chanted about Denis Potvin. Morons.

Of course the PP went no where. Then McDonagh got called for ticky-tacky high sticking with 7 minutes left to go. The Rangers actually got two chances on the PK, which was better than the 8 minutes of nonsense known as the Rangers PP.  The Rangers killed the penalty and had 5 minutes to knot it up at 3.

As the time evaporated from the clock, Lundqvist had to go and the Rangers would try their luck at 6 vs 5 goal, you know the type of goals that have been scored all postseason around the playoffs and goals that have killed the Rangers this series.

The Rangers would get several chances while 6 vs 5, but never went to the middle once, opting to skate behind the net and make passes to the sides. Karlsson made a great clear on this, a play that didn’t go for an icing. Then Game 2 hero, Jean Pageau finished the Rangers off with an empty netter with 7 seconds remaining. You could hear the workers scurrying to 33rd & 7th to take the RANGERSTOWN tent down.

4-2 Senators in Game 6 and 4-2 Senators in the series. Let the finger pointing begin.

As I write these words, it’s 12:30AM and again, I got to be up at 4:30AM. I have only glanced on social media and haven’t read any game reviews. I saw some of the postgame show on MSG. One thing bothered me a bit. You know I love the MSG Networks crew. I think they all were great, once again this season and I plan on devoting a blog to them soon. That said, Vally did this whole speech about the Rangers never being bad enough to get a number 1 draft pick. He wasn’t really blaming that for the loss, but was talking about that as a reason why the Rangers can never get over the hurdle. Vally will never blame Lundqvist for anything and that’s my beef here.

The fact is the Rangers have been good enough to win a Cup. Hank choked in 2014 with two goal leads in LA. He choked again and gave up back-to-back TD’s in 2015. While Hank was terrible, especially when you consider his first round effort, in this second round, there were other factors in this series loss. Vally simply can’t go on about Kane and Toews & their run and ignore Hank’s contract & the Rangers game plan to not deviate from it.

Bottom line – not having a number 1 draft pick wasn’t the reason the Rangers lost this series. It was Vally’s buddy and ex-teammate Lundqvist. Despite how bad some other players were, if you hold a lead, you win the series. You can’t blame every goal allowed on Staal/Holden and AV. At some point, your star goalie has to play to his contract. While I always use the “2012 Lundqvist would’ve won” line, and that’s true here, the “Lundqvist of the first round wins this series” is also true.

Could you ever, in all your years watching Lundqvist, picture Lundqvist and the Rangers losing games where NYR scored 4+ goals and had a lead with minutes left in a game? If you can’t admit it’s time for the Rangers to move on from him, you need to take your head out of the sand. You must also think Papa Johns is authentic NY pizza too.

Oh and for the people who say that – “Lundqvist needs to ask for a trade to a contender so he can win a Cup”, you’re severely mistaken. The reason why teams are a contender is because they DON’T have Lundqvist and DON’T have the highest paid goalie in this cap era NHL. Plus, what kind of fan are you? It’s about the Rangers winning a Cup, not Lundqvist winning one. Listen, I’m one of the biggest Talbot fans alive, but if it was the Rangers vs the Oilers in the SCF this year, I’m rooting for a Rangers sweep.  Now that the Rangers are out, I’m all about that ORANGE CRUSH winning the Cup!

More on the Rangers to come in future blogs. Just a couple of parting shots to close:

• Let’s Go Oilers.
• I’ll tell you what, if the Oilers lose tomorrow/tonight, I have no interest in the Ducks or Nashville.
• I know I’ve been wrong before, but whoever wins this Caps/Pens series should handle Ottawa with ease. They are on a Cinderella run, especially when you consider how they beat Boston too.
• I kinda want to see the Pens eliminated, but if Ovi goes on and wins the Cup, and I know this will shock some, I don’t want Lundqvist to be the last current great without a Cup.
• Many are predicting that whoever wins the ECF wins the Cup. I wouldn’t bet that.
• Every ESPN expert had the Rangers winning this series. The curse of ESPN is like the Madden Cover jinx.
• Tonight’s loss concludes NHL coverage on WFAN.

This is a tough loss to endure. I think anyone reading this knows that the Rangers should’ve won this. They blew it. This one hurts. Gonna be a while to get over this. I thought with the way the seeding worked out, NYR would’ve went to the ECF and from there, it’s house money. Instead, I feel a case of “the what if’s?”

Another season with the same result makes me really feel that “1994 will last a lifetime” quote. I don’t ever see the Rangers winning the Cup in the Lundqvist era. I’m rooting to be wrong, but when it comes to my predictions on Lundqvist, I’ve never been wrong. If there was no cap, then yeah, maybe the Rangers pull one out. However, you just got to be deeper and with the Rangers D & the PP, it just wasn’t going to happen with a out-of-his-prime Lundqvist.

Many Ranger fans want AV fired. That’s fine if you think that way, I disagree, but you’re entitled to that opinion. That said, is it AV’s fault that his goalie can’t hold a lead? I’m more upset with AV for not putting in Raanta when it was obvious that Hank was struggling. Team game, dontcha know?

In closing, thank you to everyone who’s been with me for this ride. Whether you agree with me or disagree with me, I have a fun time talking and debating with you all. Of course, there are some people I have to ignore, because if your debating strategy consists of saying, “YOO R A GAY FAGIT AND A FAKE FAN, YOU ARE STOOPID”, I just don’t have the time or energy to talk to you.

Oh, and call me an “ageist” if you want, but if you’re under 18 & telling me about how “LUNQUISS IS THE BEST GOALEE IN RANGERZ HISTORY”, then follow that tweet by responding to me with “WHO IZ MIKE RICHTER?”, I tend to either ignore or block you. For starters, I don’t talk to kids in real life, so I have no interest in doing that in the social media world either. Like many my age, I tend to socialize and talk to people around my age group or people who have seen more than me.

For example, it’s easier for me to talk sports with someone 15 years older than me than someone 15 years younger than me, especially since I have done my homework and not to boast, but know my shit. I would rather learn about the 1979 Rangers than talk to someone who says “MARK MESSYA WAS THE BESTEST RANGERS OF ALL TIME!”

In the 3+ year history of this blog, I have had a great time meeting new people and interacting with you guys. I know many of you have said the same to me and the feeling & sentiment is reciprocated. The fact that people can get through my 5000+ word manifestos, which is really just me venting to clear my head and get shit out of my system, is pretty cool. I love talking hockey, even during dark times like this.

Sure, there is a contingent of people who consider me the “anti-christ” of Rangers social media, because of my opinions on Lundqvist. I rather be right and true to my opinions than be liked. Plus, have I been wrong yet on the topic?

I think when many Ranger fans argue and belittle each other, it’s kinda sad. People get hellbent over different opinions, rather than listening &  hearing someone else’s side, than debating intelligently. Keep in mind – we all want the same thing. The Stanley Cup. We all just have different ideas on how to get it done.

I also must mention, I love the “YOO DONT PLAY THE GAYME YOO DON NO SHIT!” line in debates. Very quickly:

• I didn’t realize you were an NHL pro.
• In my case, I’m nearly 35. I have a real job that pays the bills. I played BS rec leagues when I was younger. I don’t have the talent to be an NHL player. I’m glad I realized that and got a job, rather than telling others that they aren’t talented enough to play in the NHL!
• I have respect for a lot of the beer league guys, but some of you guys are like Al Bundy. Give it up for the beer league guys, most of these guys don’t get a chance to get rink time until 11PM, then have to go to work the next day. For me, I rather drink beer at home (or at the bar 5 minutes from my house) and vent with these blogs. Plus, like Lundqvist, my prime hockey days ended long ago! Unlike Lundqvist, I wouldn’t want to risk being injured and missing out on real money because of a beer league. I rather get carpal tunnel from doing these blogs!
• I am not a chef, but know what’s good food. I am not a brewer, but can tell you what’s a good beer. I’m not an automaker, but can tell you what’s a good car. I am not an NHL player, but can tell you the good and the bad of a hockey game.

In essence, thank you to all for reading. It’s been another fun ride (with another crash ending) and I had a great time watching this team this season. The road trips really make it fun, especially with what M$G has become. Right now this is a low time, obviously but time heals all wounds. Unfortunately, as Ranger fans, we are used to losing.

There will be plenty of blogs coming and yes, Oiler blogs too. I’m aiming for a Thursday blog, after all the season ending “We had to be better” interviews. I’m not done yet!

Thank you once again for reading, despite it all, I’ve had fun talking puck with you guys.

As always,

Let’s Go Rangers

Sean McCaffrey

BULLSMC@aol.com

@NYCTHEMIC on twitter