Rangers 4 Caps 3 (Rangers lead series 1-0)

I often tell myself to not blog angry. But fuck it, I'm blogging angry.

Maybe the omens were there that this was going to be an unusual night. It has been raining, cold and windy here on the East Coast for about 24 hours. It's some of the most miserable weather I've ever encountered in my 30 years on this planet. About 7 minutes into tonight's Game 1 my cable went out and I was forced to go to the Grotto Grand Slam sports bar, surrounded by Flyers and Penguins fans. I don't know exactly what hell is, but all they needed to do is wave some Terrible Towels and play "My Heart Will Go On" and it couldn't be much worse.

And then there was the game. Like a wrestling heel winning a match with his foot on the ropes, the Rangers stole a game they had no business winning. The Caps pretty much outplayed them in every facet 5-on-5. But the Rangers got 3 perfect snipes and one goal that was complete B.S. in every way. Scott Gomez came down the ice 2-on-2 with Sean Avery. The two Rangers criss-crossed and that jerk Avery stuck his leg out and tripped Mike Green, giving Gomez a free run at Jose Theodore. Of all the calls the refs made tonight, HOW IN THE FUCKING WORLD DID THEY MISS THAT!!!! Avery couldn't have been less discreet about it if he tried. He might as well have waved a sign that said "Hi, here's some interference!!" And yet no call. Theo compounded things by letting in a weak shot but still, that interference was an obvious call that has to be made. This being the Washington Capitals, whose playoff misfortune I documented earlier in the day, of course it ended up being the difference. OF FUCKING COURSE!

Random Notes:

- Being a hockey player myself, I know the pros are much better than I could ever hope to be. These guys have skill and speed that mere mortals could only dream of. That said, Jeff Schultz sucks. S-U-C-K-S sucks sucks sucks. The guy is soft, he can't score and he can't move the puck well. Other than that he's great. Brandon Dubinsky made him look like an in-house player with that "How's she going?" move on the game-winning goal. Please, Bruce Boudreau, I'm begging you. Get this chump out of the lineup and replace him. With anybody. Doesn't matter if its Brian Pothier, Karl Alzner, Sami Lepisto, hell, you can drag Rod Langway out of the stands. Anybody but Schultz.

- To give the devil his due, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was as good as his team needed him to be. He didn't flinch in the face of a hurricane of Caps shots in the 1st and 3rd periods.

- The Rangers found the spot on Theo and it was top shelf. Other than the Gomez goal, all three New York tallies were upstairs over the glove hand. Not good.

- The loss was a waste of an inspired effort from Alex Ovechkin. He was all over the place tonight.

- The Caps had some lovely hits in this game. Mike Green's shoulder check on Fredrik Sjostrom was a beauty. That was "Get In The Weight Room!" quality.

- Too many fucking penalties. What else is new?

- Avery's trying, with his trip on Green and whack at Theodore late in the 3rd, but he has a long way to go before I hate him as much as Scottie Upshall, Hines Ward or Ulf Samuelsson. Give him time though.

So that's it for this piece of shit game. Good riddance. Gotta shore up the D, stay out of the box, keep the Rangers going to the box and keep up the energy 5-on-5 in Game 2 on Saturday. Until then, say good night to da fuckin' bad guys.