Posted 08 February 2010 - 09:55 AM
OK, this is the first chance I've had to post since attending this game. So here are my thoughts, in the order that they enter my jumbled mind:
1) The Garden sucks. I sat in the front row of seciton 229 and couldn't see anything happening in the nearest corner. Beer was $9.50. The lights are dimmer than they were when the lights went out at the Rock. Crowded, narrow concourses. I think there were two men's rooms on the entire level. Awful, awful arena. If it wasn't for the location, that place woulda been torn down and the rubble woulda been pissed on decades ago.
2) Rangers fans yell too much during the National Anthem. Every fanbase at every sporting event has a few that ruin the song by yelling stuff during certain points, but never have I heard the song disrespected so much by so many. Made me sick to my stomach.
3) Do the Rangers fans really need dramatic video montages and introductions for every period? Really? Turn the lights on and drop the puck. If that isn't enough to get you pumped for another 20 minutes of hockey, you shouldn't be watching.
4) I saw plenty of empty seats in the lower section closest to the ice. Plenty.
5) The Devils badly outplayed the Rangers, but Lundqvist was the difference. When Mike Mottau has two legitimate scoring chances against you, you know your defense is suffering from some serious breakdowns. I hate the guy and I think he's a fraud, but Lundqvist was the difference. More specifically, his glove was the difference. Unbelievable game from him.
6) That said, the high thigh-risers on his leg pads made at least three, maybe four saves for him in the third period. All he had to do was lay one pad down on the ice, use a minimal amount of positioning, and the Devils were left with nothing along the ice. It's my biggest peeve about the game today, and that third period was a perfect example of how it cheapens the game and the position.
7) Marty had a brutal game. But he'll bounce back. He's Marty, he always does.
8) Good to see Elias back in the lineup.
9) If the offense can produce this many scoring chances with a rusty Elias and a Kovalchuk who still really doesn't know his teammates, just imagine how it'll look a few weeks down the line. Nasty!
10) I'm not sure who is more worthless, Andrew Peters or Brian Rolston. I was happy that Peters took a misconduct, unhappy to hear it was only for 10 minutes. And Rolston ... I've never seen a guy cherry-pick so much, and get set up for so many one-on-ones, and do absolutely nothing of any consequence with any of them. Worthless. They both need to go back to their homes on Suck Island.
11) I don't know the details of how it all went down, but if Torts sent Avery out to bait Kovalchuk into going off the ice for the last few minutes, then hats off to him. Brilliant idea and it worked. But, also from what little I could tell from where I was sitting, I'm glad Kovie defended Marty.
12) Douchebag encounters were held to a relatively low number. The worst of them didn't happen until after the game.
a) Jackoff guy squeezing into the elevator to Track 4 after the game, stepping on my girlfriend's feet and nearly getting himself beaten to a bloody pulp by an elevator full of newly-formed enemies.
b) Another jackoff on the elevator who apparently only knew how to say two words: "De-vils Su-uck."
c) The second jackoff was on our train, and kept repeating the only two words in his vacabulary to the point where my girlfriend and I moved to another car. In this car, there was a fat guy talking to his kids about many of the finer points of the game. But he told his kids not to brag about the win when they went back to school on Monday, because "All Devils fans are arrogant, and they'd all be rubbing it in your face if they won. Remember, Rangers fans are classy." I wanted to ask him to move up one train car and explain how our two-worded friend was "classy" to his kids, but it isn't my place to do that to a father in front of his children.
I think that's all. If you read it all, then ... well ... I'm surprised. That's a lot of words up there.
"I don't like those Rangers fans from New Jersey." - Jim Dowd
