"You can't beat us..."

I was wrong, at the same time I was right. I was right in saying that the Rangers would win. But man, I was wrong about the score. 4-1....
I mean, it's like I can taste it.

Sure, good old Marty fumbled a bit when the first puck hit the net. But then the Rangers show began. It wasn't until the second period the Devils got back in the game. But there he was, Henrik Lundqvist. Unwilling to let anything pass him. It wasn't until the end of the second period, John Madden (I love that name...) found the net with a rebound after a magnificent Lundqvist save.

Aaron Voros, that's a guy that keeps impressing on me. Two goals last night. Both of them coming Holmstrom-style. In front of Brodeur he was, fighting and earning those goals. He will be vital for the Rangers during tis season.

Also, a good game from Dubinsky. 2 goals and 1 assist. The assist was to the empty netter by Ryan Callahan. Dubinsky could have gone for goal himself, thus earning a hattrick but he passed and let Callahan finish the job. Good boy!

This was the Rangers 8th victory in 9 matches against the Devils and when the match was nearing the end, the Garden Faithful just chanted: "You can't beat us!" Very nice.

Before the game there was a moment to honour the memory of Rangers draft pick Alexei Cherepanov, 19 years old, who died during a game with his Russian side Avangard Omsk yesterday. The Russian collided with former captain Jaromir Jagr. The hit itself didn't look that harmful but Cherepanov died on the bench a few minutes later. Today my thoughts and condolances goes to his family and friends.

R.I.P Alexei Cherepanov

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In other news, I'm surprised about the Blackhawks. They mix nice matches with pure crap. Tonight they lost at home to Nashville, 3-2.

The Sabres crushed the Islanders (7-1!) on Long Island and coach Lindy Ruff has got his side all fired up for Wednesdays clash with the Rangers on Manhattan. Should be a good one!

Stay tuned

08-09, here we go!

It's off!

The whole shebang kicked off last night. I will of course focus on the Rangers but there were a few other matches as well.
The Pens beat the Sens , 4-3 in Stockholm. A nice match with a lot of goals. Let's just hope the Swedish referees were there so they now know how to handle a game.

In Prague, the Blueshirts kicked off their season in the best way possible. Markus Naslund opened up in the first period but his shot hit the post. In the second, he got his goal. A magnificent pass from Scott Gomez made Naslund get his first marker for the Rangers. Martin St. Louis equalised before Brandon Dubinsky scored in powerplay, giving the two points to the Rangers.

A few thoughts of 08-09:
The Rookie of the Year will be Steven Stamkos
* Keep your eyes on Vladimir Mihalik (Tampa)
* Wade Redden might get a great season
* The Pens plays even more fun than last season

More thoughts will follow

Keep up!