Three Bold Pre-Game Predictions – Rangers vs Flyers 1/24/13

Everyone feeling a little better now?  Little more comfortable now that win number one is under our belts?  Good, because the job ain’t over and there’s a lot more hockey to play.  If the Rangers want to do serious damage this year, they’ll have to string together three or four straight games of the kind of effort we saw from them during last night’s first period.  Getting two points against the Bruins was nice, but that was just one battle of the war.  Tonight we see if Torts and Co. can understand that good games shouldn’t go to your head; they should be ingrained into your soul so that you know how hard to play every single time you step out onto that ice.  This can’t be a team that rests on good reviews.  They need to power forward and prove every critic wrong one win at a time.  With that in mind, let’s take some blind guesses at what kind of performance we’ll see tonight…

So yeah, I did five predictions yesterday but think it should be trimmed to three from now on.  Just easier.  Not in terms of thinking up random assumptions that will be most certainly not come to fruition, but because I’m writing all of this shit while on the clock at my real job, and dropping actual work to forecast three things instead of five is simply more professionally responsible.  Without further ado, here are three things my ever-expanding gut says might happen tonight…

1) Hank gets a shutout.  Last night was a tale of two kings.  The good king was standing on his head while the players in front of him sat on their heels for large chunks of the second and third period.  He was standing tall on shots from the point, denying rebounds from Bruins in close, and closing down angles like the Vezina winner we all know and love.  Truly, he made some great saves and was certainly the reason we were walking into the third up one and not down two.  But when a puck did find the back of the Rangers net, it was more often than not a shot he could have saved.  I’ll give him Marchand’s tip on the first goal – there was a lot of traffic in that slot and Nose Face’s tip was derr-T.  But Lucic and Horton picked up points last night that they had no business scoring.  I think it’s a game by game process for Hank to get back that same level of speed and confidence he had at his peak of last year, and what better time than tonight to take that next step.  The Flyers offense has been struggling so far through their first three games, and with Hartnell out injured and Schenn suspended, it feels like as long as Giroux is held at bay we can get Hank is first S/O of the season.  Nothing will boost confidence quite like shutting out a division rival, after all….

2) It’s Nash’s turn to score.  Gaborik may have had the hatty last night, but I’m seeing two in the cards for his line mate in Philly.  Every stride Rick Nash takes in a Ranger uniform seems quicker and more confident.  He turned both Chara and Lucic absolutely inside out last night and I’m thinking a game on the road is just what he needs to truly tear up an opponent on the score sheet.  Look for Richards to orchestrate, Gaborik to get some chances, but Nash will be the one to bury them.  Two goals and an assist – mark it down.

3) Kreider > Newbury.  This one isn’t so much bold as it is obvious/immeasurable.  We all know Chris Kreider is a hell of a hockey talent.  The kid’s going to be damn good someday.  But Torts is simply not happy with his play so far this season.  He sat for long stretches of the game last night, and it was hinted afterwards that his ticket to Hartford is all but booked.  As he watches from the press box tonight, he’ll join us in seeing if his replacement, AHL call up Kris Newbury, can do any better.  I’m guessing he slides in with Boyle and Hagelin as Pyatt moves up to play with the struggling Stepan and Callahan, but I just don’t see Newbury having an impact at all.  His handful of games in a Rangers uniform have seen him record only one assist.  I think a crappy Kreider gives the third line a better chance of scoring a surprise goal than an on-his-game Newbury does.  This move will be good for Chris with a “C-h” though, as some sense of job insecurity can do wonderful things to a prospect’s on ice production.  We know Kreider won’t play tonight, but I’m betting that Newbury won’t impress much either…

Result:  Rangers 4 – Flyers 0.  Kick ‘em while they’re down!  I see another strong performance from the first line and a power play goal or two driving this one home.  I’m betting they pounce early on a mentally weak Bryz and by the end of the night we’ll be rooting for a .500 hockey team.  Take it to the bank, baby!

Pre-Game Jam: Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built”

“Woah-oh-oh-oh-ah-oh-oh-ohhh” is what I’ve been saying pretty much every time Nash touches the puck… LGR!