Rangers are tied 1-1 thru 1. I would say the usual idiot play by play guy "They couldn't ask for more at this point" comment, but...they could be leading. And I am positive they would ask for that.
In the first the Rangers were very agressive. Higgins made his presence felt, as did obviously the captain. Even Redden looked like he hopes to not be a complete flop this season, breaking up what could have been a breakaway for the penguins with a nice steal of a puck in the penguins zone. Noticeably absent in the first: Dubinsky and Gaborik.
I am not a fan of having Doobie center Gaborik. Besides the fact that he is in hold out shape, Doobie has a way of being a cooler for his forwards. (Since he is a below average passer and has a tendency to not finish himself) I feel like he will be a weight around Gaborik's neck.
Rangers, barring some incredibly bad luck, and a record number of hit goal posts, will score a lot more this year...but at the same time, remarkably enough, they are going to give up even more breakaways then they did last year. Leading to two knee jerks calls from the Nugman right now:
1) Hank, who will have another strong season, will easily have the worst save percentage of his career. I believe he will win 40 games (a career high), but the quality of the shots these Rangers are going to give up will make it very hard for Hank to put up an elite percentage.
2) Mike Richards of the Flyers, who scored already tonight, is my sleeper pick for League MVP. Incredibly talented, gets better every year, all around great player, and Philly is getting a lot of pre-season hype. Richards is the guy.
More later
In the first the Rangers were very agressive. Higgins made his presence felt, as did obviously the captain. Even Redden looked like he hopes to not be a complete flop this season, breaking up what could have been a breakaway for the penguins with a nice steal of a puck in the penguins zone. Noticeably absent in the first: Dubinsky and Gaborik.
I am not a fan of having Doobie center Gaborik. Besides the fact that he is in hold out shape, Doobie has a way of being a cooler for his forwards. (Since he is a below average passer and has a tendency to not finish himself) I feel like he will be a weight around Gaborik's neck.
Rangers, barring some incredibly bad luck, and a record number of hit goal posts, will score a lot more this year...but at the same time, remarkably enough, they are going to give up even more breakaways then they did last year. Leading to two knee jerks calls from the Nugman right now:
1) Hank, who will have another strong season, will easily have the worst save percentage of his career. I believe he will win 40 games (a career high), but the quality of the shots these Rangers are going to give up will make it very hard for Hank to put up an elite percentage.
2) Mike Richards of the Flyers, who scored already tonight, is my sleeper pick for League MVP. Incredibly talented, gets better every year, all around great player, and Philly is getting a lot of pre-season hype. Richards is the guy.
More later
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