The Pen Is Mighier Than The Video.. Well Not Really.. Atlantic Division Preview

From time to time I get asked my opinion on The Rangers in a normal fashion rather than using platforms like Ranger Crisis Video or Ranger Crisis Radio as my own personal soap box to spew them forth.

So when Matt who runs a traditional Hockey Blog called View From My Seats asked me to be part of his Atlantic Division Preview written blog piece, I was somewhat surprised but eager to participate. So with pen in hand I wrote the gosh darn thing, typed it up and submitted it to Matt's site.

The criteria of the piece was to have me answer the following five questions. listed below. Follow the link to see what I wrote and thought about our beloved Rangers outlook for the upcoming season.

Also, Check out what the other teams bloggers in our division are saying about their teams.

viewfrommyseats.com

Then after that, think about what would have been your answers to these questions ? What would have you answered ? Leave it in the comment section.

1. Why is your team going to be better than they were last season?

2. What part of your own team scares the hell out of you this season?

3. Every year there are players that break onto the scene as all-stars or even superstars. Sometimes they’re rookies that are expected to be great, sometimes their rookies that shock the world and sometimes they’re younger players that simply come into their own. Who is someone on your team that we should all look to have a breakout season?

4. We all know that watching a team for 82 games, you start to appreciate things that casual fans won’t necessarily know. Who’s the guy on your team that doesn’t get nearly the respect that he deserves?

5. Prediction time: If you were throwing down some serious money, how do you think the final standings of the Atlantic Division will shake out (1^st through 5^th)? More importantly, which teams do you think are going to make the playoffs from the Atlantic?

The Fighting Irish. Colton Orr vs. Owen Nolan GigantORR 16. Plus Gaborik Sacrifices Body

The final installment of the Ranger Crisis only fight video compilation GigantORR is beamed onto your monitor as we close the books on former Ranger Colton Orr’s pugilistic exploits during the 2008-2009 campaign.

The final tussle shown in the series took place on March 24th, 2009 at MSG. Colton Orr engaged combat with a somewhat reluctant Owen Nolan of the Minnesota Wild, who eventually complies and does a good job of holding his own once things get down to brass tax.

The Mouth points out, that very rarely do you see a teams captain drop the mitts ever, so a tip of the proverbial cap has to go to Nolan who is no spring chicken at age 37 for taking on the much younger and more devastating Orr.

Colton takes care of business in this one but not without Nolan trying to even things up with a sneak attack while on his back. Nolan has always liked to take the odd advantage but Colton just laughed the futile attempt off.

The Mouth also treats us to some bonus footage as a crushing Marian Gaborik body check is shown that took place while Marian was a member of the Wild last year.

The recipient of the clean hit was the now retired ex-Ranger Markus Naslund. We surely don't need Gaborik to hit, we need him to score goals and more importantly Stay Healthy.

Ex-Ranger Brawler Frank Beaton On Ranger Crisis Radio Hockey Fight Special

Tonight was the night ! The Big Man hosted a Hockey Fight bonanza on Ranger Crisis Radio #8. The Mouth's guest was Former Ranger tough guy and in some circles pugilistic legend Frank "Seldom" Beaton.

Both the Mouth and Frank discussed the glory days of fighting in both the WHA and The NHL including the infamous Bench Clearing Brawls the Rangers had with The Flyers in the late 1970's.

Frank also let us know how it was to play with and for Glen Sather. Informative and fun and a must for any old time fight fan. Frank shared incredible stories about Gordie Howie, John Brophy, and even himself including his infamous fight with a gas station attendant who poured gas on his new Corvette.

The Mouth short on time also eventually got around to introducing the Ranger Crisis version of the Bruise Brothers as he brought in his two Hockey Fight experts Dagoon44 and Joe Tucc to discuss the fisticuffs side of both Ranger and NHL Hockey.

Murder At Tax Time : Don Murdoch Interview April 15th 1978 + Fotiu vs Schoenfeld !

The Mouth treats us to yet another treasure trove that features an interview with then young Ranger superstar Don Murdoch. The almost three minute interview was conducted by NHL 78’s Dave Hodge between periods of Game Three of the best of three preliminaries series between the Rangers and Sabres at the Aud in Buffalo.

Donny Murdoch or “Murder” as he was known to his teammates was a personable as they come and a media darling to boot and in The Mouth opinion it absolutely shines through on this video.

If you talk to any former Ranger who played with Don Murdoch they will all eventually tell you that here was a guy who had unlimited potential, skies the limit. Phil Esposito once even went as far as saying that Don could have been a Hall of Famer.

But like a lot of young pro players that play in New York things came so easy and hit so fast and that he got swallowed up, when it was over for Don who was just a young kid from Cranbrook, B.C found himself in all kinds off ice problems. The main one being a drug conviction which led to a absurd 40 game suspension from the league, as well as a banishment from playing any NHL games in his native Canada.

But all that negative nonsense aside, Don was a natural goal scorer, in his rookie season he scored sixteen goals in his first 16 NHL games , he also had a five goal game against the Minnesota North Stars that year, he probably would have won the Calder trophy that season but he hurt his ankle and only wound up with 32 goals. One less than the guy who won it that year Willi Plett.

The Big man besides digging up this Murdoch interview gave a swift kick to the Crisis Time Machine several times and got it to spit out actual footage from this game, which took place on April 15th, 1978.

The Rangers lost badly 4-1 and got bounced from the playoffs. But the Rangers didn’t go down with a fight , and The Mouth means literally. In the last minute the Rangers took their frustrations out on the Sabres which culminated in several fights including a Nick Fotiu versus Jim Schoenfeld scrap.

Mouth's Hot Original Six Tape : First Stop Chicago Blackhawks

If any of you follow The Mouth's wacky tweets on twitter you know that last month he put out an All Points Bulletin for all Blackhawk fans to meet him while he visited Chicago seeking out the Chicago Blackhawk faithful.

The reason The Big man did this was he loves meeting and talking with fans of NHL Hockey, especially teams with a fantastic fan base and history. The Mouth had a great time in Chicago, and the people there were cordial and drunk enough to actually converse with him.

The Mouth's Big man on the street video can be seen at HockeyBarn.com as it is the second lead story there at present. Watch as the Mouth roams the streets aimlessly checking out what Chi-town has to offer including the United Center, its monuments and Cheli's Chili.

The Mouth even had a chance to talk to die hard Blackhawk fans themselves. All captured on video in the sweltering heat in the Middle of July. It even has a hot chick in it.

If you can drop a comment about the video at the Hockey Barn site just to let the Big fella know what you thought of his Original Six tape.

Hockeybarn.Com Mouth Blackhawk Video

Tom Laidlaw Visits Ranger Crisis Radio

Tom Laidlaw joined The Mouth on Thursday August 20th to talk both old and New puck with the Ranger Crisis Radio audience. Tom spent almost 90 minutes talking with fans and the Big man as the phone calls rolled in. Tom was the prototypical NHL stay at home defenseman who was an 11 year veteran of the NHL who spent Seven years with the Rangers and Four years with the Los Angeles Kings.

Tom gave the Ranger Crisis throng some great insight on the Ranger coaches he played for including Fred Shero, Herb Brooks and with a little prodding from the Mouth even Ted Sator. Tom also talked about what possibly could be happening with the Brandon Dubinsky situation. You really should check this out as Tom talks about Ranger greats of the past Phil Esposito, Carol Vadnais, Ron Duguay and Barry Beck.

Two Minutes For Habitual Celebration. The Vinny Prospal For Dummies Video

On Sunday, August 17th the Rangers made a sweet short term pickup in The Mouth’s opinion by obtaining the services of UFA Left Wing Vaclav (Vinny) Prospal. John Tortorella used his past history with Prospal as an inside track to wooing Vinny to New York and allow the Rangers to get him on the cheap for 1 year at 1.1 Million.

Prospal’s contract was partially bought out by his former team the Tampa Bay Lightning as he is due to make 3.5 Million this season but in a shrewd and financially prudent move by Sather and aided by the persuasiveness of Tortorella who coached Prospal while in Tampa Bay the Rangers will only be paying just a little over a million dollars of his total salary for this upcoming year.

Vinny is known for his exuberant flamboyant, celebratory acts and his play making ability. He has also spent some time at center in his career and perhaps the Rangers who at present have a horrible center ice situation may use him at that position.

The Big man loves the terms of the deal and feels how can you go wrong with this signing, The guy is making less than Donald Brashear for god sakes !

The Fast and The Furious and Curious. Darren Langdon vs. Bob Probert 11/16/95

The Ranger fans at Madison Square Garden where standing for the entire time that Darren Langdon fought Bob Probert back on November 16th, 1995. These two gladiators duked it out for almost one minute in what would be their first hook up ever. The Mouth provides us with the quality fight footage, which he is almost sure can not be found anywhere else on the Internet but here at Ranger Crisis.

The scrap is not only a fast and furious one but also a curious match up. Both fighters like to drag their matches out as long as possible over time to let their opponents wear themselves out. It is at the time they go for the gusto. When their opponents are exhausted a thrower like Darren Langdon would try to land a flurry of blows to subdue opponents. Bob Probert on the other hand one of the All-Time greatest NHL pugilists had only one thing on his mind and that was throwing bombs that led to kill-shots.

The Mouth gives his usual vociferous fight call and even is heard to shrill as Bob Probert’s sweater is pulled over his head by Darren Langdon. This is a toe to toe battle as both combatants wage war against each other in what was hands down the most memorable Ranger fight of the entire NHL 2005-2006 campaign.

Chris Kotsopoulos On Ranger Crisis Radio #6 8/13/09

The Mouth had a real treat Thursday for his Ranger Crisis Radio fans as his guest was Ex- New York Ranger and 10 year NHL Veteran Chris Kotsopoulos who by the way also writes for his own dynamite blog called Kotsy’s Korner.

The previous interview between the Big man and Kotsy on terrestrial radio a few months back went so well they decidedto do it again but this time within the friendly confines of the uncensored no holds barred forum Ranger Crisis Radio.

The format was a little different this past Thursday as the phone lines were open the entire show for Ranger fans to ask any question they might have had and for Kotsy and fire away they did. The inmates definitely ran the asylum on this show as Chris discussed a range of topics such as Scott Gomez's reaction to the trade to Montreal, his thoughts on Sidney Crosby and where he stands on the Rangers acquisition of the Big Rig Donald Brashear.

Call Of Duty. Coat Of Arms. Code Of Honor. Colton Orr vs. Shawn Thornton

The Mouth is of the belief that pugilists are some of the best character guys in hockey and an asset every team should have. What perhaps they lack in traditional hockey skill in most cases they make up with a great sense of Team, Sportsmanship and the highest regard for the Code of Honor for the special services they are paid to do. The Big Man suggests in the video itself that more smaller skilled players should take a cue from the enforcers and perhaps the quality of hockey in general would improve dramatically.

An example of sportsmanship and honor to the code of fisticuffs is shown in Episode # 15 of the Ranger Crisis.com only series GigantORR.

On March 8th, 2009 Colton Orr finds himself locked up in a tussle with veteran Boston Bruins thrower Shawn Thornton. Both warriors get into it and things begin to get serious especially after both combatants eject their elbow pads and get down to what they do best.

Shawn Thornton has the slight advantage in the first few seconds against Orr, but as the fight unfolds his advantage escalates dramatically when he manages to pull Colton Orr’s sweater over his head. Instead of pummeling the blind and disoriented Orr silly, The classy Thornton calls in the linesman to break up the fight.

This is tremendous example of sportsmanship by Thornton realizing that Orr was super susceptible to some nefarious knucks. A tip of the cap must go to Shawn Thornton, even though I think in the heat of the battle Colton probably would have wanted the fight to continue even with him being on par with a Helen Keller on skates.

How Low Can You Go ? Hire Ron Low ! Rangers vs Flames 11/18/00

In the year 2000 the Rangers and their fans were just get acclimated to a new President and GM in Glen Sather and a new coach Ron Low both of whom would eventually monumentally disappoint, especially the latter. The Mouth remembers having a near aneurysm when coach Ron Low was hired by Sather to run things behind the bench.

Low who previously had spent five seasons with the Oilers helped "guide" those Five Oil King teams he to under .500 records year after year.

There were not many bright spots for Low In New York as well as The Rangers with unlimited funds, especially in his initial year where the Rangers finished fourth in the Atlantic division and missed the playoffs.

As soon as the Big Man entered the 2000 -2001 season into the Ranger Time machine, the device began to buckle and hiss as it searched it’s computer banks high and low for a game worth watching from that season and to its credit came up with this gem.

The game took place on Novemeber 18th, 2000 and it was a rough, fight filled affair and also featured some great Ranger goals that eventually led to a Ranger 5-4 victory in Overtime on a goal by Valeri Kamensky.

As the Rangers head down the runway off ice they are congratulated by the fiery Blueshirt Theo Fleury who had been sent to the locker room earlier in the game. At the time of this Ranger Crisis video airing Theo is entertaining a comeback to the NHL at age 41.

Ranger Crush Islanders Souls With Game Six Win 78-79 Semi-Finals and Advance To Cup

Before 1994 came along this was the moment all Ranger fans held near and dear to their hearts. The May 8th Game Six elimination of their hated rivals the New York Islanders in the Semi-Finals of the 1978-79 Stanley Cup Playoffs was a thing of beauty.

Not only did this win at MSG psychologically shatter Islander fans dreams at the time of ever succeeding in the playoffs but it also propelled the Rangers into their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1972.

The Mouth revs up the time machine and treats us to rare footage of the game that is given from the Islander point of view. The game is called by Islander announcers Tim Ryan and Stan Fischler. Both goals the Rangers needed to beat the Isles are shown during the 7 Minutes of rare footage.

You will also get a feel of how electric the Garden crowd was that evening, all in attendance were hoping that the Rangers would take care of business that night so as not to have a Game Seven take place at the hostile Nassau Coliseum.

The Ranger faithful would not be disappointed as the Rangers held on for the 2-1 victory and left in their wake the Islanders and their fans completely devastated as the had to see yet another underachieving playoff result whilst the Rangers headed to the Stanley Cup to play the Montreal Canadiens

Ranger Crisis Radio #5 Ranger Prospect Special w/Jess Rubenstein of Blueshirt Bulletin

The Mouth and Prospect Guru Jess Rubenstein spent almost the shows full two hours going over every Ranger prospect as well as the young Ranger hopefuls that we may see playing with the big club this year.

A massively entertaining and informative show. Jess writes for Blueshirt Bulletin and also has his own blog called The Prospect Park. If there's a young player in the Ranger organization you want to know about this is the Ranger Crisis Radio broadcast you need to listen to.

Players discussed :

• Artem Anisimov
  
• Michael Delzotto
• Evgeny Grachev
• Bobby Sanguinetti
• Corey Potter
• Michael Sauer
• Ikka Heikenen
• Chris Kreider
• Tomas Kundratek
• Ethan Werek
• Ryan Bourque
• Matt Gilroy
• Ryan McDonagh
• Derek Stephan
  

Straight Dave's Man Slammin' Max Out / Colton Orr vs Chris Stewart

Colton Orr finds himself in a bout with rookie Chris Stewart of the Avalanche or perhaps we should say it’s the other way around. Stewart a rookie who at 6’2 228lbs had his heart in the right place when he challenged GigantORR after Colton plastered his Av teammate the diminutive Marek Spatos with a thunderous hit.

Stewart’s heart was willing but his arms and fists were unable to translate his passion into any vengeful violence what so ever. The Mouth let’s the Ranger Crisis viewers know that this can only lead to bad things when provoking a fight with a heavyweight of Colton Orr’s caliber.

The Big Mans verbose foreboding of course comes to fruition as Stewart is laid out by a Colt 45 right handed peacemaker. Orr then is sent to the dressing room and on his way get’s into a battle of expletives with NHL super weasel Darcy Tucker.

The Orr/Stewart fight is Episode #14 of The Ranger Crisis.com only feature GigantORR. A segment which shows in time line the pugilistic trials and tribulations of former Broadway Bruiser Colton Orr's fight card from the 2008-2009 season.

Ranger Crisis Radio Thursday 8/6 The Young and The Restless. Ranger Prospect Special

The Mouth returns this week to his normal time slot this Thursday, August 6th 9-11 PM to talk about the Young and the Restless.

Before you think that the Big man has lost what's left of his mind. The Mouth will not be discussing mind numbingly bad afternoon TV but instead getting us the lowdown on the stockpile of Rangers prospects and young players. All of whom are just chomping at the bit to play for the Rangers in 2009-2010.

The Mouth thirst for knowledge for Ranger Youth is insatiable so he will be chatting with the best of the best in that area, Jess Rubenstein of the Prospect Park blog. Jess also covers Ranger prospects for the oldest Ranger dedicated paper/blogs Blueshirt Bulletin.

This will be an informative, frank and fun filled discussion as his guest Jess Rubenstein is a truth machine just like The Mouth and will pull no punches in sizing up Ranger hopefuls.

Hockey Fans this is a must tune in Internet Radio event, as it will be interesting to hear what happens when both these two truth machines collide to talk Ranger puck.

As always we will be taking your phone calls and getting your thoughts on what young players should or shouldn't make the team this upcoming season.

The Number to call in (347) 857-2090

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