Rangers Pregame: Thoughts on Drury and Lundqvist Comments, Blues-Rangers Preview
by Jim Schmiedeberg on Mar 18, 2010 2:00 PM EDT
in Rangers Pregame
35 comments
I know a lot of you weighed in on Chris Drury's comments on the Rangers maturity, but I wanted to give my thoughts as well. In case you missed it, here is what Drury had to say about the Rangers inconsistent play:
"It's immaturity, that's what it's been all year. Simple answer." Drury also said the Rangers better "Grow up fast or you're gonna be watching a lot of playoff hockey in 12 or 13 games, or whatever the hell we have left."
Now despite the 39 years experience I have at acting like a child, I equivocate the word "immaturity" with "young", and while I applaud Drury speaking out about his
A few adjectives Drury might have used instead would be "dumb", "moronic", "ridiculous", and "ulcer inducing".
Now I thought Henrik Lundqvist also had an interesting quote that got passed over in the wake of the Drury comments:
"I don’t know, it’s hard to put my finger on it, why we’re not consistent enough," Lundqvist added. "It’s a tough thing. The top teams are not that much better, they’re just more consistent. A big part of it is mental preparation and how much you want it."
We've all questioned the work ethic of this
Game Preview after the hump.......
Blues-Rangers Head to Head: (courtesy of NHL.com)
 |
STATS |
 |
| 69 | GP | 70 |
| 32 | W | 31 |
| 28 | L | 30 |
| 9 | OT | 9 |
| 73 | P | 71 |
| 0.529 | P% | 0.507 |
| 2.64 | G/G | 2.57 |
| 2.74 | GA/G | 2.69 |
| 16.8 | PP% | 18.5 |
| 85.8 | PK% | 83.5 |
| 29.9 | S/G | 29.6 |
| 30.3 | SA/G | 30.0 |
| 48.9 | FO% | 49.7 |
Season series -- This is the second and final meeting of the season between the teams. The Blues used three third-period goals on Jan. 16 to pick up a 4-1 victory. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had the night off, as rookie Chad Johnson took the loss.
Big story -- If the Blues were in the East, their 73 points would have them just one point out of the playoffs. But in the West, that total is good for 11th place and seven points out of the postseason. The Rangers, meanwhile, have two fewer points than St. Louis and a lot more riding on this game. They need a win to close the
Stat pack -- The Blues are 10-45 with 6 ties all-time at Madison Square Garden, but that mark was a lot worse before they went 4-0-1 in their last five visits. They won four in a row before losing 3-2 in a shootout on March 3, 2007. The last time they left the Garden without a point was a 3-1 loss on Jan. 20, 1998.
Blues Leading Scorer:
Rangers leading scorer:
0 recs |
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Riff developing...
I don’t know. In order for that to happen, players have to care about the team and losing. I’m not convinced the majority of players on this team actually care.
My good man, maturity has ZIP to do with age in this instance. Granted, the textbook definition is all about development (from a science perspective, usually breeding age). But I do not believe IMO that Dru was making a snide comment about the younger players on the team. I don’t see that of him, and I think it was taken out of context.
Maturity isn’t just physical development-it’s also about acting in a certain matter that makes you an acceptable member of society, regardless of age. I think the term ‘immaturity’ applied to this team means that none of them (including the vets) have matured as players to the point where they will be professional athletes that play hard on a consistent basis. I believe this is what Dru meant when he made his comment.
He did choose the wrong word though because everybody will see it meaning something different.
Also, I mentioned it not too long ago, but it would really help if Henrik started speaking up more. Regardless if he’s already vocal in the locker room, the news media and fans need to see it. I don’t think anybody is more respected on this team than Henrik (maybe Dru for some).
Hank has spoken up many times this season
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Mar 18, 2010 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Young At Heart
Jim, I do not agree that Drury was calling out the younger Rangers for being immature. You can be a selfish loafer at any age.
“Selfish loafer” and immature are two totally different things though.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Mar 18, 2010 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder if this "rift"
is angering Drury to waive his no movement clause?
Piss him off, anything to shit can him
Master of the squeegee
Yeah but say Drury does waive his no movement clause
his cotnract acts as one as well. He is not moveable, who would take an older version of Drury where he makes 7 mil the next two years. He does the little things right, but they aint worth 7 mil
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by Joe Fortunato on Mar 18, 2010 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
There are very few teams that would take that on. Maybe a place like Colorado that doesn’t even have HALF its cap used up for next season (granted they need to re-sign 8 or so players, but nobody pricy), but he’d probably be a great fit with all the young kids there, especially Mueller/Stastny/Duchene. Fans would probably appreciate him more and I can guarantee he’d be happier there than here.
That’s actually almost a dream scenario.
Chris Drury returns to the team that drafted him and where he played his first four seasons, leads the youngsters deep into the SC playoffs……
BlueshirtBanter - beating up reporters at bus stops since 1994
"Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right......"
Yeah..after I wrote that I kinda went…‘you know…that’s actual a really good friggin’ idea’. Would probably work out well for both teams-just not sure what we’d get in return-they’re not giving up Stas/Duch/Muel.
How about .....
….nothing.
“Future Considerations”
Just the $7mm free cap space is good for me.
BlueshirtBanter - beating up reporters at bus stops since 1994
"Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right......"
Yeah…though there’s not much we can do with the $ this off-season, at least if we find a way to jettison R&R.
Bakes
..is a 8 foot beast man that showers in pure grain alcohol and feeds his baby shrimp skampi… and he’s a fun player to watch.
Nothing says powerplay like strobe lights and video game music.
immature
i think Dru is using the word to describe the play of some of our Vets and not necessarily the rookies because i think he understands the growing pains (or should) of a rookie and that hes calling out redden rozi prospal aves gabbi to try and wake them up or something along that affect
and i think there is some definate tension in the locker room either between the players or between the players and the coach and i think it needs to be addressed in the offseason
I wonder how much the Olympics factored into Drury's public comments.
Drury obviously served as an elder statesman in the Team USA clubhouse, where every player kept a strong focus on pursuing the gold medal. That would presumably remind him of the good ol’ days in Denver and Buffalo. Then he comes back to the Rangers clubhouse and witnesses the non-Olympic players floating on in their own orbits. That would upset the hell out of me.
Back in 2007, the Senators’ Chris Neil knocked Drury down and out after a dirty hit from behind. After watching Drury struggle to get off the ice, the Sabres started a full, on-ice brawl with the Senators AT THE NEXT FACEOFF. That’s respect, and the ensuing unified attack is a type of “maturity” in hockey terms. Does anyone think the Rangers would respond with that kind of fight these days? At best, we’d hope to get Avery, Prust, or Shelley on the ice with the culprit.
I believe Drury has a better idea of the answer after the Olympics. And who can blame him for trying to change that atmosphere?
Dury & "maturity"
Drury is a total waste.
Rather than be a man & admit that he, Redden, & Rozsival have all played poorly & do not even come close to justifying their ridiculous salaries, he blames the young, underpayed players on the team.
Dury is a 4th or 5th line player & gets paid as a franchise player.
Drury is problem #1.
Redden was clearly on the downside of his career when Sather signed him to upgrade the power play. Enuf said.
Redden & Staal combined have 1 power play assist this year. They have been on the ice 4 more shorthanded goals than that.
Rozsival is on track for 100 PM this season. A remarkable amount of min for a guy without any fighting majors & that does not play the body.
Dubinsky has 7 gm winning, shorthanded, or gm tying goals this season to lead the team.
Callahan is #1 in the league in combined take aways, blocked shots, & hits.
No is even with 100 basis points of his totals. 2nd place goes Dustin Brown of LA-
a distant 2nsd
Does anybody else think that Colin Campbell would not be at the Bruins-Penguins game is Crosby wasn't playing?
by It may HAVE to Last a Lifetime on Mar 18, 2010 5:19 PM EDT reply actions
Yes.
Because he’d be balls deep in Crosby in the locker room
Master of the squeegee
by FreeBradshaw on Mar 18, 2010 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Not in public, Torts.
If Drury was the type to shoot his mouth all the time then maybe I could see putting the hammer on him. Everytime a reporter interviews Chris we are subject to his robot like takes.
Perhaps Torts prefers Chris not to say too much. In retrospect why have a team captain if your coach calls you out like that. I also don’t like the fact Torts made Chris look bad in front of his team and in public. It doesn’t matter whether Chris’s comments might be off base. Just because Torts disagrees with them doesn’t make Torts right. Tortorella act is getting old with me real fast. Let your captain be the captain and quit micro managing everyone all the time.
guess what
I post on the msg board all the time and one just put a link on to larry brooks article that just came out about the Drury / Torts deal. best article by Brooks all year.
As much as I hate Crosby
It is just stupid for Boston to go after him……. They like the Rangers should have done something THAT game and moved on. It’s even dumber to do something knowing the NHL who already has their eyes on Crosby’s health since he is the “Golden Boy” is going to be watching closely.
PS. I agree with stemmer Torts should have kept it between him and Drury, but who knows maybe we are all wrong and Dru was talking about Torts and not the young guys or veterans LMAO
its true
@ least drury was honest
ididnt know u could say hell on TV lol
avery made johnson drop the gloves!! aaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa XD
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| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Jersey
|
82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 103 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 101 |
|
Philadelphia
|
82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 88 |
|
New York Rangers
|
82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 87 |
|
New York Islanders
|
82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 |
(updated 4.12.2010 at 9:21 AM EDT)
Rangers Schedule
Next 5 Games
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New Jersey
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Thu 09/23 | 7:00 PM EDT |
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@
New Jersey
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Sat 09/25 | 7:00 PM EDT |
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@
Detroit
|
Sun 09/26 | 5:00 PM EDT |
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Detroit
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Wed 09/29 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Ottawa
|
Fri 10/01 | 7:00 PM EDT |
Last 5 Games
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Philadelphia
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Sun 04/11 | SO - L 1 - 2 |
|
Philadelphia
|
Fri 04/09 | W 4 - 3 |
|
Toronto
|
Wed 04/07 | W 5 - 1 |
|
@
Buffalo
|
Tue 04/06 | L 2 - 5 |
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Florida
|
Sat 04/03 | W 4 - 1 |
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