A Great Time to be a New York Rangers Fan

Added by Dante Vassallo on January 1, 2012.

How great is it to be a New York Rangers fan right now?  On the eve of the biggest hockey game of the season, The Broadway Blueshirts sit atop the Eastern Conference with games in hand on many teams in the conference playoff picture.  Tomorrow, the world will watch them take it outside against one of their most hated rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, a team whose number they seem to have this year.

The process of creating a winning club in New York began when John Tortorella took over behind the bench, and a new culture was instilled.  These guys have completely bought in to what he is selling, as is evident with each blocked shot, selfless play, and Brandon Prust fist fight.  Every player knows his role and performs it to the best of his ability.  They are an easy team to love.  Unless you happen to be Sean Avery.

Sean Avery has been sent the Connecticut Whale for the second time this season after clearing waivers.  Avery was a healthy scratch for the past nine games, as the return of Mike Rupp has given Tortorella little reason to use the pesky winger.  Speaking of Mike Rupp, it was great to see him make Tomas Kopecky pay for the sucker punch he landed on Michael Del Zotto.  Both Kopecky and Del Zotto have been fined $2,500 over the incident.  The Rangers currently lead the NHL in fighting majors with thirty-one largely due to Brandon Prust and his league-leading eleven bouts.  With Rupper back in the lineup, Prust has somebody to share the load of the enforcer duties.  Stu Bickell has proven to be a willing combatant as well.

I attended the Winter Classic Alumni game on Saturday, and I was very impressed with the event.  Both teams showed a lot of class and respect toward each other.  This was most evident when the Rangers sent a couple of beach balls at the pads of legendary goaltender and Philadelphia icon, Bernie Parent, who retired after suffering an eye injury in a game against the NY Rangers.  Parent displayed a great deal of class as well, pulling himself out of the game after only a few minutes to allow the Rangers to take real shots on the other Flyers goalies.

Tomorrow’s game should be one for the ages.  Both teams are playing extremely well, and both have a healthy hatred for one another.  I would not be surprised to see two or three fights in the game with all of the bad blood between these two heavyweight clubs.  For now, the Flyers have to deal with a goaltending issue due to Ilya Bryzgalov’s unexpected announcement that he will not be the starter.  This situation could get nasty over the next couple of days.

Happy New Year to everyone.  Let’s hope 2012 continues to go as well for the Rangers as 2011 ended.  And oh yeah, Go Big Blue!