Garden of Dreams

*Note: This article was written on Monday. Due to some internet issues and Barney’s busy schedule, it could not be posted until now.

How can I even begin to describe this past Sunday? What started out with a 15-minute subway ride to Penn Station ended with Madison Square Garden rocking and the Rangers playoff hopes uplifted. Yes, I was one of the 18,200 fans who was fortunate enough to be at MSG for what was the greatest Ranger game in recent memory, and no doubt the greatest sporting event of my life, and trust me, I have been to my fair share of sporting events (say like, going to the World Series at Yankee Stadium three times). It was an afternoon that I and many other Ranger fans will never forget, even if the Rangers playoff run comes to a halt in the very near future. I mean, a double-overtime win over the best team in the NHL in the second round of the playoffs. If you ask me, it doesn’t get much better than that. Besides the game being unbelievable, the excitement of the Garden Faithful was palpable even outside the arena before the game. And when Rangers came out of the locker room before the national anthem was sung, the raucous, towel-waving crowd shook the old foundations of the Garden and created what had to be an extremely intimidating atmosphere for the visiting Sabres. You can only imagine the decibel levels that were reached when Michael Roszival blasted his game-winning goal in double overtime. My ears are still ringing. It indeed was an epic afternoon, and here are some thoughts and observations about the game:

• Gotta love the New York fans. We’re loud, crazy, and certainly obnoxious. When a contingent of Sabres fans walked into the arena waving their stupid yellow pom-poms they were immediately greeted with 18,000 people screaming the always pleasant “asshole” chant. Besides the fact that we can get loud, we also know our hockey, and certainly know when to give it to the refs…or even our own players.
• Staying on the topic of the officials, I must say that I have not watched, attended, or played in a worse officiated hockey game than the one Sunday. The two referees and two linesman were absolutely awful and should be ashamed of themselves. Forgot the goal that was called back, that was the doing of the people who work in Toronto. These refs missed call after call after call. Hooking, holding, tripping, interference, almost every imaginable infraction against the Rangers they somehow missed. Even when they were staring right at the play, they missed the call. It was like they were staring through Stevie Wonder’s glasses. It was truly awful, and I am not saying that because I root for the Rangers. Even my friends who watched the game and have no interest in hockey said that the officiating was quite poor. I mean, the Sabres had seven power plays in regulation to the Rangers two. The refs woke up a bit in overtime and called a better, more even game, but it was shocking to me how bad they were in regulation. It was a shame, and they should just be glad the Rangers won. The “These refs suck” chants would have seem mild compared to what Ranger players, coaches, and fans would have said if the Blueshirts had lost.
• The Sabres are a very dangerous team…most of the time. In many cases, they are out hustled to loose pucks, sloppy on defense, not very physical, and seem to be outplayed. In Sunday’s game, the Rangers controlled the pace and tempo of the game by being physical, aggressively fore-checking, and playing stout defense. Yet, when the Sabres come down on a rush, be it a 3 on 2, or just 5 on 5, it seems like they can score with two quick passes and a hard shot. They are fast, great at handling the puck, and very creative. They are probably the most dangerous team in the playoffs and when they are on, they will dazzle you with their talent, which is showed by all players, even the fourth-liners. But there were frequent points throughout the game were they seem to be flat-out outplayed. May also be due to the absolutely fantastic goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist…
• Lundqvist was spectacular on Sunday afternoon. He was huge on the penalty kill and made some key saves late in regulation and in overtime. His stop on Chris Drury’s wrap-around attempt was made without a stick and he was able to pass the puck out to a defender who promptly cleared it out of the zone. 30 seconds later the Rangers were celebrating Michael Rozsival’s game-winning blast. A few minutes after that and Lundqvist was skating back on the ice after being named the first star and was serenaded with “Henrik” chants as he circled center ice. Lundqvist combines his cat-like reflexes with a keen sense of the game and what is going on around him and is undoubtedly one of the top goaltenders in the league. He took his play up a notch in game 3. If he can do that again for games 4 and 5, the Rangers will be in good shape.
• Jaromir Jagr. Not much to be said about this guy, besides the fact that he is a superstar. When he wants it, and oh does he want it right now, he wants it. And is inspiring play was another ingredient for the Rangers victory yesterday. His big frame (6’3”, 250 lbs) and pure skill makes it seemingly impossible for opposing defenders to knock him off the puck. His control of the puck is amazing and he has an innate ability to feed teammates from behind the net, especially on the power play. He takes a plethora of shots (he had 10 SOG in Sunday’s matinee) And Jagr said after yesterday’s game that he can take it to another level. After watching the way he played yesterday, I would be scared if I were the Sabres. And if they aren’t fazed, well, the Buffalo press certainly is. Read this article which was in this morning’s edition of The Buffalo News (http://www.buffalonews.com/111/story/65135.html). Not even the New York Times praised the Rangers superstar this much. Not even I praised him this much…until I watched the tape of the game again.
• Sunday’s game was good for hockey. Faithful Bleacher Creature reader Mike Velez put it best by saying, “That [game] is what the NHL is all about.” And Velez is certainly right. A physical, fast-paced match-up between two exciting teams that went into double overtime was just what the NHL needed for good publicity. The fact that the game was televised on NBC made it even better for the sport of hockey. A national audience was treated to an epic, unforgettable game that will hopefully show people why the NHL is arguably the world’s most exciting sport. I can only hope that more fans will tune in for the many upcoming playoff games that will certainly be just as exciting and memorable as the one that took place Sunday. The lockout was the worst blow that the NHL has ever taken. Incidents like the ones involving Todd Bertuzzi and Chris Simon were black eyes for the sport. But Sunday’s game showed what the NHL is really about. A group of unselfish players playing together like its Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. Try to write that about the NBA Playoffs, which coincide with the Stanley Cup…it’s not to easy, is it?

After all is said and done, all I can say is that Sundays’ game was special. It was one of those moments that I will never forget. It was all that I could ever ask for in a game. Thanks for the taking me Pops, it really meant a lot.

–Barney