Best Ranger Moments From 07-08

As the offseason drags on, i am forced to dream about the colder days when hockey actually existed in the eyes of the sports world (sort of) and i wasn't forced to hear about Brett Favre's retirement situation, or Manny Ramirez being himself(thank god the red sucks traded him), and how every baseball "expert" tells me that if you hit the ball, it's good. Suffering from hockey withdrawl is tough. At times, you may find yourself watching highlights on youtube, or playing NHL 08 and feeling like its the real thing. If you get desperate, you might even watch a full episode of MSG, NY hoping to hear them mention the rangers. No matter what you do to replace watching hockey in the summer, its a tough wait for the preseason. While staring at a computer screen watching ranger highlights on youtube, i began to wonder, what were my favorite moments from the past season? Best hit? Best goal? Best save? Since nothing is happening in hockey at all today, i figured i would share some of my favorite moments of 07-08.

Best Hit
There are a few nominees to consider. Tyutin's big hit against tampa. Avery crushing Kaberle. Avery crushing Paetsch then setting up jagr. Dubinsky making Colin White looking like a fool twice in one shift in game 2 against new jersey. All good plays, but I must say it was Colton Orr knocking out Matt Cullen with a huge hit. Cullen was a good ranger during the 06-07 season. One of my favorite players, and a good team guy that everyone seemed to like. But in his second return to the garden since the trade, and the same game as the avery hit on Kaberle (Fratisek, not Thomas), Matt had his head down coming into the zone. Not a good idea. Weather or not Scott Stevens was on the ice, you will get crushed when you do it. KOlton (yes KOlton)layed a very hard, but clean hit, that left Cullen on the ice, motionless for a second. A scary moment yes, but a great hit, that for some reason was called for an interference penalty. Kudos to Colton Orr for being so good at hitting and fighting, and here's to hoping he proves me wrong and gets a spot to consistantly play on this team.

Best Goal
Because of my hate for Martin Broduer, i feel like I have to pick one against him. Callahan's shorthanded goal (Broduer's mistake) or any goal Avery scored against him. But one goal i loved watching was Marc Staal's first NHL goal. What a great shot on a great play from Shanahan. It was a perfectly placed shot and I think it gave us a glimpse of the future with Staal and what his future potential is.

Best Save
Henrik Lundqvist robbed a boston player twice this season. As amazing of a save as it was against Marc Savard, when he robbed Glen Metropolit at home, after an amazing move and pass from Phil Kessel, it was a huge momentum boost, that led to a 1-0 win in a shootout. if Lundqvist lets that in, we lose. Ironically, the day he robbed savard had the same result, 1-0 in a shootout, but the rangers lost that game.





Thank you for reading today's post. Feel free to leave comments, share your thoughts on what i wrote, or share your own favorite moments.

Around The NHL UPDATE
In my last post i said that terms of vermette's contract were not yet disclosed. According to Yahoo sports, it's a 2 year deal at 5.2 million(2.6 per). I think i should compare every signing to Jeff Finger, because it makes everything look like a bargain. Vermette will surely cash in big time after those 2 years.