The quick positive: my trip to Alberta, Canada has been fun. The quick negative, the Rangers went 0-1-1 against two of the lesser teams in the National Hockey League.
I’ll save you the normal intro since I’m pressed for time here, so let’s get right into it.
If you haven’t seen it already, you can read my Rangers vs Oilers blog here: http://doinow.com/nyroilers-review-from-edmonton-making-the-trip-to-alberta-rangers-look-sadder-than-an-adele-song-glen-sather-night-goaltending-showdown-a-letdown-tons-of-pictures-live-from-edmonton-fatman-the/
If you’ve never been, I found Edmonton to be more livelier. Maybe because it was a work day when we were in Edmonton, but there were more bars and all of them were packed. We also found the people to be really into the Oilers and loved to talk hockey.
Where we found Edmonton to be a blue collar town, we found Calgary to be a white collar town. There weren’t many bars. Our hotel is in downtown Calgary and on a Saturday afternoon, the town was dead. Most of the bars didn’t even open up until 5PM. We were later told by natives that Calgary is trying build itself up and try to catch up to the more modern US cities. While saying Calgary is NYC’s financial district as opposed to Edmonton being NY’s Hells Kitchen would be quite the stretch, perhaps that reference will give you some frame of mind on the two cities.
Even the games themselves, the Oiler fans were loud and everyone in the town was wearing Oiler gear all day. In Calgary, we didn’t find much of that. We had great seats to both games. We sat in the 10th row in Edmonton and all the fans were in jerseys and passionate. In Calgary, we were in the fourth row and it felt like MSG. You had people hanging out in the club, people walking down the aisle during play, people wearing suits and the game seemed to be an afterthought. I saw more umbrella drinks in the stands of Calgary than any other NHL arena I’ve ever been to.
As far as Rexall vs the Saddledome, the Saddledome is a much better venue for hockey. Hands down. It’s more modern, but could use a makeover too. Obviously, the Rexall goes the way of the dodo next season, as Edmonton ushers in their new beautiful Rogers arena. Those fans deserve it. Nothing against Calgary fans, but it was just a quiet atmosphere, and if I enjoyed doing the “POTVIN SUCKS” whistle, you could’ve heard me on TV crystal clear all game.
I love visiting Canada. Every bar you go into, hockey is on all the time. Whether it’s TSN, their ESPN sports center or whatever, there’s always something hockey going on. In the States, we are lucky to have 90 seconds of coverage on ESPN. If you ever can do it, and you’re a big fan of hockey, which you probably are if you’re reading this, you owe it to yourself to come a game in Canada.
Anyway, I got a lot of responses when I put it out there that we were visiting Edmonton and Calgary. One bar that got good reviews after tweeting back to me was Hudsons Canada Pub. We said we would go there, and the guys gave us a $50 coupon. We surely drank way more than that, but the gesture was appreciated and it was nice to feel welcome on a different soil. I hope some NYC bars would do the same for Canadian hockey fans. We wound up spending and tipping more than that, so it was a win-win. The bar was also extremely clean, friendly and that beer was ice cold, so we really felt like we hit a home run, sorry, we’re in Canada; SCORED A HAT TRICK, by being there.
You know on this blog it’s never solely about the x’s and o’s, but everything else, but man, I was disappointed because I hate Budwesier. At home, I drink Miller Lite, Labatt Blue Light or Molson. Luckily, I found a Stella tap and settled for that. I’m sure this paragraph made a difference in your life!
Since I’m pressed for time, let me give you the official scoring summary from NHL.com:
In a scenario we’ve seen way too many times, the Rangers started out strong. Eventually, JT Miller beat Jonas Hiller for the first goal of the game, halfway through the first period. 1-0 Rangers.
For nearly forty minutes, the Rangers played solid hockey. They moved the puck. While the shots were low, like usual, the Rangers did a good job possessing the puck and Raanta, who beat the Flames in MSG & getting the start on the second game of a back-to-back, was solid. The Rangers PK was solid. Their PP was not, and Zucc’s game-tying goal was because of a 6 vs 4 situation.
With two minutes left in the second period, the Rangers just collapsed. Keith Yandle should’ve been given an assist for turning the puck over to Johnny Hockey, who quickly broke away. Raanta had no chance, the poor bastard.
Then, 17 seconds later, the Flames score again, this time off a Girardi turnover, that lead to a 2 vs 1 situation, with Mason Raymond beating Raanta. The Rangers must lead the league in giving up goals within a minute, after a goal has already been scored. Hands down, I would put my money on it. So after playing strong, winning and conservative hockey for nearly 40 minutes, a 1-0 lead was pissed away faster than you could drink one of these Budweiser heroin beers. 2-1 heading into the third.
I’ll be honest, my friends wanted to go at this point. Since I’ll never be back here, at least not anytime soon, I wanted to stay. However, Weidman/Rockhold and McGregor/Aldo sounded like the better option at the time. I’m glad I held my ground and stayed.
Leave it to my man, Tanner MOTHERFUCKING Glass, to cut the deficit in half. I had a bad view of this goal from my seat on the opposite end. It felt like watching a video game goal, when you play against the computer, and the computer goes into FUCK YOU MODE and makes the score close.
Down 4-2, the clock fastly went past the 10 minute mark. It wasn’t looking good. Another person who has killed the Rangers all season, Dan Boyle, a once great player who is making Marty St. Louis’s 2015 playoff run look like the stuff of legends, made the game a one goal game. Boyle wound up the third star of the game. I don’t know how, but he did. His backhand goal gave us some life.
With the clock approaching triple zeroes, the Rangers pulled Raanta and got a questionable powerplay. Up 6 vs 4, the Rangers MVP of the season, Mats Zuccarello, came through, beating Hiller over the shoulder! 4-4 with 90 seconds left of game time.
I can’t lie, I’ve seen this play out one too many times. I really thought the Rangers were going to lose in regulation. It’s just what they do. I was ecstatic getting out of the game with the point, especially with how bad defensively the team has been playing.
As a gambler, I hate the 3 vs 3 OT. It takes away the advantage for the better team. We know the deal, a wild shot, an errant pass, anything and boom, it’s a 2 vs 1 breakaway the other way.
As a fan, I love it, as long as my team isn’t in it. The Rangers haven’t fared too well in these 3 vs 3 showings. They do have speed on the team, but really, this is another scenario where the Rangers could really use Carl Hagelin. I’ve said it a million times on this blog, Emerson Etem is a questionable, at best, as an NHL player. He doesn’t fit on this team. He is not good enough to be on this team. He is wasting a roster spot. He may be better somewhere else, but at this point in time, Etem is dead weight. Everytime I see him on the ice, I get enraged and long for the days of 62 striding 200 feet in 2 seconds.
Another point about the three on three’s is that the Rangers best player is their goaltender in Henrik Lundqvist. You lose his skill advantage in these things too. I guess it’s better than a shootout. Let’s face it, if the Rangers win this, we are all rah-rahing the three on three. When they don’t, we’re pissed. It’s all part of being a fan.
Quick look at the standings:
Washington has 42 points in 28 games.
Rangers have 40 points in 31 games.
Islanders have 39 points in 30 games.
The Devils have 34 points in 29 games.
We got a flight back Monday morning, and since I’m on vacation, I shall be at MSG on Tuesday night to see the Rangers get revenge on the Oilers. Cross your fingers for Hank vs Talbot!
Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone in Canada who has made our trip enjoyable. Wish the Rangers did the same for us!
See you at the Garden on Tuesday!
LETS GO RANGERS!
Sean McCaffrey
Bullsmc@aol.com
@nycthemic on Twitter
Kinda funny how the best bar is Calgary is an Edmonton chain(as is the Pint). As for Bud in the saddledome, it’s got nothing on #RexallCrackBeer as I’m sure you’d agree. Glad the boys enjoyed their time in Alberta!
I didn’t know that was an Edmonton chain bar. In either event, I had a great time. We loved Alberta and will go back once the Oilers and Flames both open up new arenas. Canada is a beautiful country full of great people.