Game Day @ Rangers 11/15/08

Game day today as far I'm concerned may as well be "Gravy Day". After beating Chicago and Montreal on back to back nights this week, winning in New York tonight would just be gravy. The B's have already had a huge week. Now, trust me, I'd love nothing more than to see them head down there and lay a beating on the Strangers. But if they don't, as long as they play well, I won't be all that upset. Then again, at this point I expect a win from the boys every time out.....kind of a nice change from recent years, huh? The B's can't change their position in the Conference either way tonight. Win or lose, they'll still be second in the East. But a win would get them within one point of the top spot, and hopefully (with a Montreal and Buffalo loss) give them some room between them and their division foes. Now, I know it's still very early and where you are now means nothing in the long run. But like I've said all along....they WILL run into injuries (Ference is out for at least today, my hunch is it may be longer, hopefully not very long.) and they will run into slumps. So, opening up as big a lead as possible in November and December is just as important as winning games in February and March. The biggest challenge for Boston today will be getting pucks by Henrik Lundquist, who could be the class of the league in net. Although, to be fair to my boy Timmy Thomas, Thomas' numbers are considerably better so far. Lundquist has a 1.99 GAA & .929 save%, compared to Tim-may's 1.76 GAA with a .946 save%. Obviously some of that difference has to do with who plays in front of them. In that area, Boston by far has the more responsible defensive players. NYR have TEN players with a minus rating, compared to Boston's three. And of those three, only Chara (-1) is a regular. The other two are Sobotka and Nokelainen. It's funny, when you think of the Rangers, you probably think of a more high scoring team (ok, well I do anyway). They've only scored 52 goals to Boston's 50, and they've played three more games than the B's (they've given up 6 more). Geeze.....I think I'm talking myself into a sweep for the week. ROUGH STUFF PREVIEW One name that should be familiar to all of, is the one guy to really keep your eye on. Colton Orr. The kid is as tough as they come, and would probably enjoy a chance to go with Thornton. I wouldn't mind seeing it, so like Elton John said "Saturday's nights alright for fighting" And I can get away with an Elton John reference only because he has the number 60 hanging from the rafters of Madison Square Garden, for the number of shows he's done there. (side note, Billy Joel has #12 in the rafters for the longest consecutive show streak at MSG). PREDICTIONS What the hell, I'm feeling good......I say B's win 3-2. Thornton and Orr put on a great heavyweight show. Great week. Oh, and a special shout-out to all of you taking part in the latest Bruins "R.O.A.R." (Rally On A Roadtrip) event. I'm jealous, so have a few Guinness for me and don't take any grief from those NYR fans.....but do Boston proud and represent us with some class (unlike some certain fans that TRY to take over Boston when they visit for a game) Go B's-Kynch