In case you were wondering Buffalo was offsides on the penalty in the beginning of the period, which is why Fedor Tyutin was pulled out of the box.

But the other calls were terrible. Taking a goal off the board on what is a questionable overturn at best killed any Ranger mo and gave Buffalo a drive.

Fortunately the Rangers were able to kill off all the power plays, so they are able to keep the shaky 1-0 lead.

Now for the third…

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That may be what the Sabres thought when they stepped on the Garden ice. The crowd was awesome.

But the fact is this: If Ryan Miller continues to stand on his head, Buffalo will be tough to beat. A lot of good chances for the Rangers, but nothing to show for it. And the Rangers again outplayed the Sabres that period.

Now some calls could be questionable. I thought Avery should have gotten a penalty shot, but the Blueshirts had some great chances.

They have to now do it again in the second.

Talk to you in 20….

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First, thanks to Tom for covering for me yesterday as I was on my way bacf from Buffalo. Now onto the game.

Tom Renney is dressing Jed Ortmeyer today in favor Ryan Hollweg. The pairing Rocky Rachunek and Paul Mara are still together.

From what I heard, Sean Avery is doing his best to rattle the Sabres, but Buffalo is just ignoring him.

Stay tuned, more after the first….

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In the pressbox here, so I couldn’t update. I am thinking Karel Rachunek coming back wasn’t such a good idea.

He and Mara look lost out there.

3-2 Buffalo with 4 min left.

Hold on to your hats!!

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Well, outside of one poor penalty kill, the Rangers killed the Sabres this period. 13-4 on shots. A great power play and basically total domination.

Unless he’s hurt, you have to wonder why Isbister was dressed over Ortmeyer. On Brian Campbell’s power play goal, that’s a shot Ortmeyer usually blocks. Unless he’s hurt, there’s little reason.

Now onto the good things. If they can keep up this pace, Buffalo will have a tough time keeping up with the Blueshirts. They just look like they have fresher legs.

Now at the end of the period, Michal Rozsival took a check into the boards, so you wonder if he re-injured that leg. That would be a key loss.

Stay Tuned for more….

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The Rangers skated for about 45 minutes today at the HSBC Arena. It was more informal, with only Marek Mailik, getting rest and Michal Rozsival out with his knee injury.

Afterwards, the players were confident and blamed yesterday on their own poor play.

“We can’t keep this with us,” said Matt Cullen. “We had tough times before and it wasn’t like we played our best and were pounded. We played poorly. We made our mistakes; we didn’t play smart. When we did play well, we were pretty effective.”

Now, nothing new to report on Rozsival. He is day-to-day and will be evaluated again tomorrow. If he can’t go, Tom Renney didn’t say who will pick up the slack. It may be more of a committee thing.

Talking to the Buffalo and Canadian reporters, they really feel, Renney’s comments were inflamtory. Although, they may have come out wrong, the you have to question why the Sabres needed “The Cream of the Crop” quote to get them motivated.

The Sabres and their fans also seemed really pissed off at Sean Avery, although his comments were just as innocent as Renney’s.

One reporter said the Sabres needed that, because they always respond when their play is questioned. I responded saying the Rangers have fought back when they were counted out.

Most of these non-New York scribes feel the series is over. Me? I still say it goes 7.  

Buffalo skated earlier and they did look loose afterwards. Spoke with Chris Drury for a bit, who actually was a Ranger fan growing up and sat in the blue seats when he went to games.

Otherwise Lindy Ruff was very careful to say nothing the rangers could use as motivation.

I should have a report on the Matt Cullen line later, which will be posted on NY Sports Day.

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At even strength, the Rangers outplayed the Sabres, but they have to stay out of the box. Giving a team like Buffalo power play after power play will come back to haunt them. It’s that simple.

That being said, Lundqvist was up to the task and the Rangers. The Sabres outshot the Rangers, but with a couple of PPs, who’s counting?  So it’s not terrible.

But stay out of the box.

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Arrived in Buffalo ok. I know you all were worried. Will be heading to the arena in an hour, so I will have some more updates there.

It seems like Sabres fever took over. Every place has Go Sabres signs and even when we landed, the flight attendant said “Go Sabres.” I expect a somewhat hostile environment, at least for the team in white on the ice.

Other than that, I will have another update in an hour or two.

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Ok, I worked things out and I will be up in Western NY tomorrow for Game 1 and then on Friday for Game 2. So come back to the Blueshirts Scene as I will blog live from the pressbox.

Other thoughts as I pack and finish up my article on Mike Nylander for the Blueshirt Bulletin. Should be a good series and look for a series preview on NYSD tomorrow.

Also if you have a chance and 25 bucks burning in your pocket, why don’t you subscribe to NYS and get 12 issues? With everything else so high, this is something pretty cheap.

Visit the subscribe page for more.

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Here’s the Second Round for the Rangers

Game 1: Wednesday 4/25 at Buffalo 7 p.m.
Game 2: Friday 4/27 at Buffalo 7 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday 4/29 at MSG 2 p.m.
Game 4: Tuesday 5/1 at MSG 7 p.m.
Game 5: Friday 5/4 at Buffalo 7 p.m.
Game 6: Sunday 5/6 at MSG 2 p.m.
Game 7: Tuesday 5/8 at Buffalo 7 p.m. 

Makes sense, since both teams were off for the longest periods. I don’t know if I am going to be in Buffalo myself for the first two games – I have some obligations I may not be able to postpone on Friday, but will be there if the series goes long.

And for those who care, the Devils will open up thier series on Thursday at 7 and Game 2 will be Saturday at 8 p.m. due to a figure skating match in the afternoon.

 

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