Two Hours Of Ranger Radio Podcast : First Three games Recap and Fans Phonecalls

    Pete Stemkowski                          The Mouth

Ranger Crisis Radio # 14

The Mouth goes off on a intro rant for the ages. This weeks callers talked about the Rangers first three games of the season. what they liked and what they disliked. We air Ranger Crisis Radio every Wednesday 9-11 PM next time you should join in we love hearing from you !

* The Mouth apologizes for his over modulating he didn't realize his mic volume was so high lol

Ryan Callahan Gassed Then Stoked : Endurance and Hustle lead to Terrific Goal

Before the game that the Rangers played against the Capitals that took place on October 8th 2009, Rangers coach John Tortorella called Ryan Callahan " A Pro" and The Mouth couldn’t agree more.

Before the Big man began this wonderful video blog for us he was not the biggest Callahan supporter, he found Ryan small and streaky. Two things that bugged the heck out of him.

It’s takes a big man to admit he’s wrong and the Mouth is certainly is that and he takes back every negative thing he ever uttered about Ryan.

The penalty killing shift that is shown in the first part of clip is one of sacrifice, tenacity, skill and endurance. It really is an amazing series of plays, which includes two separate spoilers of Alexander Ovechkin Power Play shots the last of which results with a super Ryan Callahan goal.

The goal had come when Callahan had nothing left in the tank but hockey heart and that's what got it done..

The second part of the clip takes place just two minutes after Ryan’s tally and gives kudos to the Rangers third line. The hustle of both Artem Anisimov and Enver Lisin in the offensive zone is textbook, combined with a great finish by Ales Kotalik.

Kotalik ended up scoring a sweet goal , that made four Capitals on the ice look absolutely foolish in it’s wake.

Two Days, Two Games, Two Fights : Donald Brashear vs Matt Carkner

Looks like Donald Brashear is going to be a busy ruffian this year as he has already had two fights in his first three games. The season is young but Donald is fitting in well and making the fourth line a positive intangible with both offensive effort and body work.

The Big Rig used his most useful asset, which are his dukes when he threw down against Matt Carkner of the Ottawa Senators on October 3rd, 2009 at MSG.

Matt Carkner who is the cousin of former Blueshirt defenseman Terry Carkner, is no stranger to brawling as he once accumulating 335 penalty minutes in the AHL for the Cleveland Barons. 

The fight itself is uneventful but there is a punch thrown by Brashear that catches Carkner’s helmet flush on. Lucky For Carkner it was his helmet that flew off and not his head.

Domo Arigato Mister Del Zotto : Michael Del Zotto's First NHL Goal Video w/Commentary

Ranger Crisis Radio programming Note: We have Moved to Wednesday's 9-11 PM. Tonight we recap the Rangers first Three and a half Games. We take your calls all night.
(347) 857-2090
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The Mouth wishes to thank Michael Del Zotto for being the first Ranger teenage defenseman to score a goal since Mario Marios did it during the Carter administration.

MDZ as the kids call him, did it in only his second NHL game and his first as a Ranger at Madison Square Garden.

The goal is also a great example of teamwork as the entire unit of Five touched the puck before Del Zotto put his first NHL biscuit into Senator’s goalie Pascal Leclaire’s basket.

Donald Brashear Introduces Left Handed Stun Gun To Eric Godard's Face : Big Rig Episode 2

Donald Brashear had his first fight as a Ranger as he took on a familiar fight face to Ranger fans in the 6’4 227 lb Eric Godard. The tussle was initiated by Godard and The Big Rig was more then happy to oblige.

The opening of the fight is where Brashear showed his quickness, scoring early and stunning the Pittsburgh enforcer Godard. . Godard has always been a game fighter as we found out last year in Colton Orr’s “GigantOrr” series

It was great to see the Big Rig shake the cob webs off from the off season and get down and dirty and do extremely well in his first official regular season battle as a Blueshirt.

Ranger Crisis Radio Rocking Eve

The Mouth guests On This show brought their A game to the show and it all started with Top Notch Ranger Prospect Expert from Hockey's Future Leslie Treff.

The Mouth and Leslie went over as promised practically every young prospect in the Rangers organization for 45 Minutes!

Prospect's Covered In Order

• Artem Anisimov
• Matt Gilroy
• Michael Del Zotto
• Evgeny Grachev
• P.A Paranteau
• Mike Sauer 
• Ilkka Heikkinen
• Hugh Jessiman  ( Yes Hugh Jessiman !)
• Corey Potter
• Ryan McDonagh
• Derek Stepan
• Ryan Bourque
• Bobby Sanguinetti
  
  The Second half of the show some heated banter ensued as The Mouth and his co-host Mandar along with his guests Russ Cohen and Adam Raider debated the state of the Rangers now as well as the past concerning some of the player rankings in Russ and Adam's fantastic new Book "100 Ranger Greats"

Ranger Crisis Radio Tonight 9-11PM : Guests Leslie Treff , Russ Cohen and Adam Raider

Tonight guests are a Ranger Prospect fans dream. Leslie Treff Of Hockey's Future is probably the foremost authority on Rangers Youth and Prospects. The Mouth and Leslie will be discussing the young players that have made the Rangers team as well as the ones who will be in Hartford and even the young Ranger hopefuls who are in juniors and in college.

Th second part of this fabulous prospect twin bill is Russ Cohen who does a prospect show for XM radio. He will be joined by Adam Raider who both collaborated with ex-Ranger PR man John Halligan on their newly released book " 100 Ranger Greats"

Informative and fun, Check it out !

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Rangers On David Letterman : "Top 10 Things Never Before Spoken By A Hockey Player."

Ten Rangers appeared with David Letterman's on his late night television program to help him out with his Top 10 segment.

The Topic was "Top 10 things Never Before Spoken By A Hockey Player."

The following Rangers Appeared in no particular order :

Henrik Lundqvist, Sean Avery, Marian Gaborik, Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Donald Brashear, Dan Girardi, Brandon Dubinsky, and Christopher Higgins.

United Forces : Blueshirt Banter Radio Network

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Call In Number is : (347) 857-2090

The Mouth along with the two of his good friends and esteemed radio colleagues Jim Schmeideberg and Joe Fortunato have decided to join forces in radio coverage of the New York Rangers. The Indians like to call it maze, but we are officially are calling it the Blueshirt Banter Radio Network.

No need to panic Ranger Crisis fans our Thursday show still remains the same for better or worse as it will still be hosted by both The Mouth and Mandar. 

The Blueshirt Banter radio show which I urge all of you to check out airs on Tuesdays. It will be continued to be broadcast by both the incomparable Jim Schmeiderberg and Ranger whiz kid Joe Fortunato. 

The reason for this merger of sorts in creating a network was done primarily because both shows are tremendous fans of each others and frankly we have a blast together.

It was also done for practical reasons. There will be a  plethora of Ranger related guests coming our way in the future plus and both shows are also pleasantly overwhelmed by the reaction of you great fans who have given us a high number of listeners to both shows.

We simply felt the need to consolidate and provide more coverage. We want to bring the Ranger fan the best programming we can. 

Each week I will be posting the week schedule of shows on the network with guests and other details. Here’s this weeks lineup

Tuesday, September 29th - Blueshirt Banter Radio  

7- 9 PM   Hosts: Jim/Joe   

Season preview w/ other NHL teams Bloggers

Andrew Gross- Ranger Beat Writer

Wednesday, September 30th  - Blueshirt Banter Radio Network

7-8 PM  Hosts: Jim/Mouth

Pat Lafontaine -Former Ranger, HOF'er                        Arthur Staples - Hockey writer for Newsday

Thursday, October 1st -  Ranger Crisis Radio 

9- 11 PM  Hosts : Mouth/Mandar

Leslie Treff of Hockey’s future

Russ Cohen and Adam Raider - co- authors of “ 100 Ranger Greats” 
Matthew Mankiewich of NHL.com

Curb Your Enthusiasm Ranger Fans : Shocking Rod Gilbert Interview

The Mouth’s Hockey interviewer soul mate Rose “The Sports Lady” Beiderman  talks with Ranger great Rod Gilbert in what probably is the most graphic expose ever done on Mr. Gilbert. 

The clip is chock full of adult humor some of which I think actually takes Rodrique by surprise, even though he knew what he was getting into before he sat down with Rose.

It may take you a few seconds to recognize who is actually under that powdered wig, if you don’t recognize her at all you might not get premium cable service.

The“Sports Lady character is being played by the talented comedienne and actress Susie Essman. Susie is a regular on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” 

Essman plays the hilarious and foul mouthed Susie Greene wife of Jeff Greene who is Larry David’s best friend and manager in the series.

Back The Big Rig Up ! Donald Brashear vs. Brandon Sugden "The Big Rig" Episode One

The Mouth is once again proud to present a Ranger Crisis.com only feature that will document through video the pugilistic trials and tribulations of new Rangers enforcer Donald Brashear.

Although, The Mouth is saddened by Colton Orr’s exit to Toronto, he must as all Ranger fans must do, press on and wish Donald nothing but the best of luck in crunching and pummeling all comers who attempt to besmirch Blueshirt honor.

The Mouth does this by welcoming new Ranger policeman Donald “The Big Rig” Brashear with open arms. You may have heard other nicknames given to Brashear in the past such as “Huggy Bear” or “The Don” but the Mouth feels “The Big Rig’ is most apropos, a nickname which by the way was given to him by Capital color commentator Craig Laughlin.

“The Big Rig“ video feature that we are about to embark on for the first time will continue in time line a recorded documentation of the tussles and throw downs of one Donald Brashear from start to finish as long as his Ranger career dictates.

In this, the debut episode of “The Big Rig” Brashear tangles with former Hartford Wolf Pack puncher the 6’4 235 lb Brandon Sugden. The fight took place in a Pre-season game that took place at MSG on September 24th, 2009.

Sugden who was trying to impress the Cap coaches, and win a spot as their tough guy came at Brashear with all he had, which led it to be a long and brutish affair.

Crisis Correction : In his manic call of the fight The Mouth incorrectly called Brandon Sugden  "Darren Sugden." Brandon is Sugden’s correct first name.

Ranger Crisis Radio #12 Special Kool-Aid Post Game Edition

The Mouth and his Ranger Callers were chomping at the bit to talk about the Ranger game against The Capitals that took place earlier in the evening at MSG.

A night where Marian Gaborik had two beautiful goals one of them a shorthanded beauty which helped the Rangers beat Alex Ovechkin and the Caps 3-2 .

As well as other topics such as the futures of Evgeny Grachev and Bobby Sanguinetti, the degree of Aaron Voros's usefulness, and Brandon Dubinsky's return to the lineup after his short holdout.

But Most importantly the Ranger Kool-Aid continued to be passed around by The Mouth like a puck during a 1985 Edmonton Oiler Powerplay.

The Crisis callers also joined in the fun and were more than willing to throw back a tall glass of the tasty beverage in a salute to the Rangers youthful and productive future.

Have a glass. The first one is on us !

Friendly Neighborhood Ranger Fan Visits Detroit Red Wing Territory

I think most people who read this will agree that Hockey in any form probably beats any other sport ten fold even in the scorching heat of Summer.. In August 2009, I continued my journey visiting NHL Original Six cities as myself and the Crisis crew trucked it on down to The Motor City. On the way to Detroit we stopped off in Ann Arbor Michigan and even found some hockey there in the former of a Super-Chexx Hockey game. I have to say Ann Arbor is a great town with great people and more importantly a great place to play pinball.

When I arrived in Detroit or as Hockeytown as it is known to the legion of diehard Redwings fans, I couldn't wait to visit some of the puck related spots that the city had to offer. First Stop was the Hockeytown Restaurant. The Hockeytown Restaurant is not a typical eatery by any means, its mostly a Redwing museum, with memorabilia not just displayed in the dining area but pretty much on every level of the building. There is even a Hockeytown mural in the Mens bathroom !

One of the perks of being a fan of an Original six franchise is that you have a tremendous amount of History that goes hand in hand with your team. The Redwings have no shortage of that and it is proudly displayed in the forms of Plaques, pictures and murals of their finest players such as Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio, Sid Abel and Steve Yzerman.

One of Hockeytowns most prized possesions is the old Zamboni that used to clean the ice at Olympia Stadium. The Olympia also known as The Big Red Barn was where the Red Wings called home for 50 years playing there from 1927-1979. The Wings then move into the Joe Louis Arena which was my next stop in Detroit.

In what seems to be a running theme with these original six franchises in the Midwest , their buildings seemed to be placed in the seediest parts of town. As I ducked the myriad of wildings and taping of COPS episodes, I found myself at the foot of the grand stairs of the great edifice known as the Joe Louis Arena. As I climbed the stairs I thought to myself the fans who have climbed these stairs have seen some of the best hockey over the years as well as some of the worst. The Wings were pitiful when the Joe was built and really didnt get any thing going for quite a while until Steve Yzerman blossomed into a full Superstar.

After getting a feel for what the Joe looked liked from the outside, I made my way down below into the ticket office, to perhaps get my hands on a Wings schedule and maybe talk to some fans. Surprisingly, there were no fans to be found but I did have a great conversation with Joe the ticket guy who was good enough to talk to me and tell me who some of his favorite players have been over the years.

One of the main reasons of doing this piece was to get to talk to the Wings fans much like I did in Chicago, I guess because of my freak of nature looks or my New York accent or both , I couldn't get anyone to agree to come on camera with me to talk about their beloved Red Wings. But, its clear just from the atmosphere and mood sports wise in Detroit that you don't need fan testimonials to let you know that Hockey is King here.

Ranger Crisis Radio Special After Game Edition Tonight 10PM-12AM

Listen to Ranger Crisis on Blog Talk RadioWe have upped the start time for Tonight's Ranger Crisis Radio Show to 10 PM to accommodate both the Ranger fans and the Mouth.

Both of whom no doubt will be chomping at the bit to talk about the Ranger game against The Capitals that took place earlier in the evening at MSG. As well as other topics such as who should and who shouldn't make the team for the regular season.

So that's Tonight starting at 10PM right after the final buzzer rings. The show will be Rockin the Ranger Nation till 12 am.

The Craziest 'Mutha" To Ever Lace Them Up

This clip may be the grand daddy of them all as far as Bizarre Bench Clearer's go. It's also one of the best isolated displays of an unlikely combination of viciousness and one of total hilarity.

This "event" most likely can only be topped by the Bruins invading the MSG stands on December 23rd, 1979. What makes the following clip so redonkulous is the participants involved not really the fisticuffs. It all happened at MSG on February 21st, 1979.

The Rangers representative on this trip into bizarre-o-land was none other than Staten Island born and bred Nick Fotiu. Nick who actually despite taking a stick to the head, then staving off a linesman, trying to cut off his adversary in the hallway before he reached his locker room was the most sane of the combatants.

That’s because Nicky had become involved with the craziest mutha to ever lace up a pair of skates at the Pro level, Steve “Demoltion Durby” Durbano. The Mouth can not be convinced otherwise that Steve has no equal when it comes to being the biggest nut job ever to play in the NHL and throw in the WHA as well.

Steve’s life experiences on and off the ice are ones of folk tales and legend. In the following clip Durbano gets in a stick fight with Nick Fotiu and while Nicky is being held off by the late great linesman John D'Amico. Durbano comes over top hitting Fotiu with nothing but lumber in a vicious stick attack.

This all happens in a nano-second during the scrum in front of the Blues bench. The Mouth splices the stick attack four consecutive times into the video so that the viewer can see it, because it comes sneaky and quick just like every other Steve Durbano attack did.

The following night on Marv Albert’s WNBC broadcast he deemed the Blues loony tune defenseman “Hatchet Man“ and said that Durbano “Represented the pure sickness element in hockey today.” I say Marv had it right, and after watching the video I think you will agree.

The Mouth "Ranger Reports" For Duty

The Mouth got a chance to guest blog over at Ranger beat writers Rick Carpiniello fantastic "Rangers Report" blog about last nights exhibition game against the Red Wings.

The Mouth also added some of his musings about the status of some particular Blueshirts up until this point.

Here's the link

Rangers Report

Ranger Mascot Tryouts !

The Mouth feels compelled right off the bat to let his Rangers Crisis fans know that the following clip is a comedy piece. He felt it necessary to immediately talk you off the ledge before you got to the images of a Park Ranger Bob or some goofy Blueshirt version of the Islanders old mascot Niles.

The latter Ranger version he imagines could often be seen slapping hands with Ranger fans during games to basically distract people from the two minute frustrations we Ranger fans call a Power Play.

It is an interesting concept however, though it would never work, not in NYC that’s for sure.

The poor son of a gun in the Mascot suit would end up taking the brunt of every Ranger fan frustration and would have a target on his back a mile wide for every verbal assault in the book a Ranger ticket holder crowd could think of.

The Russians Are Coming ! Sippin Kool Aid.. Splashin Vodka

The Mouth as you know has been drinking the Ranger Prospect Kool-Aid by the gallon of late and from what he sees so far in the pre-season, it is the To Russia with Love flavor he likes best.

The Russian Rifleman Evegeny Grachev has been outstanding and equally so has been Rushkie Ranger centerman Artem Anisimov who showed off some awesome moves in the following video.

So Much so, The Mouth may trade his Kool-Aid for Vodka as Artem Anisimov demonstrated an out of this world move against Bruin defender Jeff Penner and finished it off with an outstanding juke to beat Boston Goaltender Tim Thomas in a preseason game that took place on June 19th 2009.

We all know you have to take Pre-season games with a grain of salt, but in The Mouth’s opinion, just seeing a Ranger player capable enough to pull off these type of nifty maneuvers is something to jump up and take notice of. This type of showmanship of skill by a Blueshirt has been barren since Jaromir Jagr left for the KHL.

The Mouth To Guest Blog over at Rick Carpiniello's LoHud Blog

On Tuesday September 22nd The Mouth will be guest blogging over at Ranger beat writer Rick Carpiniello's blog for The Journal news.

Only the Big man knows what his topic will be as he guests for the great Rick Carpiniello. We have a feeling his guest spot might be something akin to when Don Rickles sat in for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show all those years ago.

One thing we do know for sure know is that the Mouth will be giving us a detailed description of what his keen Ranger eye picked up during the previous nights Ranger vs. Redwings game.

Ranger Crisis Radio # 11 The Cuts, The Guts, The Passion

The Mouth was scheduled to have Hockey's Future Ranger beat writer Leslie Treff on as his guest. But Leslie took ill and has been rescheduled for Thursday, October 1st the night before the Rangers opening game. You fans that visit Hockey's Future and read her blog, should visit and wish her well. She's a good egg.

A solid two hours of passionate Ranger talk took place Thursday night on Ranger Crisis Radio as fans called in to express their views on the direction of team after Thursday's cuts were announced.

Some opinions were controversial but that's how like it, but just be sure you come correct and bring the moxie with you to back your point of view up.

Not every caller agreed with each other. Which in the Mouths mind makes for good radio. Two hours of Ranger discussion that you will never ever hear in or on Traditional media.

Check it out !

Motor City Madman: Hockeytown In August

The Mouth's latest Hockeybarn.com video has him continuing his off season Original Six trek as he makes his way to Detroit via Ann Arbor to visit Hockeytown and the Joe Louis Arena.

The Big man literally takes you inside the bowels of Hockeytown's underground, rides the old Olympia Zamboni and gets a rare behind the glass interview with Joe the Redwing ticket officer.

Read the Article then watch the Video !

Leave a comment at The Hockey Barn Site. Support the Mouth !

Check it Out.

Motor City Madman: Hockeytown In August

Blueshirt Edumacation : 10 Player Videos of 10 New Ranger Forwards for 2009-2010

The Mouth provides the following individual videos with commentary to assist his fellow Ranger fans by attempting to help them with a much smoother transition into the 2009-2010 season.

The commentary provided during these videos is as always ; informative, brutally honest and in general a most entertaining expose.

Just Click The Players Pic to advance To Ranger Fan enlightenment.


Enver Lisin

Evgeny Grachev


Vinny Prospal


Chris Higgins

Marian Gaborik

Brian Boyle


Ales Kotalik


Tyler Arnason

Donald Brashear


Artem Anisimov

Henrik Lundqvist's NEW Triple Crown Winner Mask

Henrik Lundqvist has a new look goalie gear wise for the upcoming 2009-2010 Rangers season. Hank has decided to switch from TPS to Bauer brand equipment citing that the Bauer goalie gear feels much lighter and gives him more balance.

The switch has also allowed him to add a new wrinkle to the brand spanking new Bauer made goalie mask he will be wearing this year.

The graphic addition to his mask comes in the form of a Tre Kronor emblem placed on the forehead portion of the mask.

You may recognize the Tre Kronor symbol as it is Three Blue Crowns seen on the front of Team Sweden’s uniforms.

The following video is an interview with Henrik that showcases all his new gear including the new Tre Kronor mask.

Pat LaFontaine Got Amnesty. Best Ranger Power Play Effort Of The Last 15 Years !

Old Islander ill will dies hard admittedly for The Mouth. It may be the goofy logo on the Isles jersey, the crumbling concrete slab they play in with no tradition or personality, traits that have pretty much existed despite NVMC being home to Four Stanley Cup banners since The Big Man has been following the sport.

It could even be that annoying nasally voice of an old Islander color man named Ed Westfall echoing in the Mouth memory banks that continues to fuel the fire of old hatred for a once bitter rival. It’s probably a lot of things, stuff most likely that only The Mouth and his therapist know about.

Never is the Mouth as well as other Ranger fans more torn with disdain for the Islanders and their love for the Blueshirts than when a player who has once suited up initially for the Hempstead club has eventually through happenstance become a Ranger.

It a tough pill to swallow for sure, especially for any Ranger fans who lived through the 1980’s on Long Island. The Mouth can count on one hand how many Isle/Rangers he has actually liked after it was all said and done.

This video features a goal highlight from 1997 of one of those players that The Mouth has given his Ranger fan favor to in the past, Pat LaFontaine. This might be because Pat after starting with the Isles played for the Buffalo Sabres for six seasons before becoming a Ranger.

But what it really is, it's that Pat LaFontaine produced on the ice as a Ranger and while doing it, showed a passion for hockey that we as Ranger fans only get rare glimpses at. Pat had to hang up the skates after one year with the Rangers because of concussion syndrome.

The Mouth believes that most Rangers fans would agree that it would have been a pleasure to have seen him continue playing at MSG and finishing his career as a Broadway Blue.

The Second Part of the video comes from a game that was played against the Florida Panthers on November 18th, 1997. The Mouth believes this is the best Power Play effort and result the Rangers have had in the last fifteen years, so he is providing it to the Ranger Crisis viewer as video evidence that a great Ranger Power Play effort and goal does indeed exist post 1994. The goal comes from an unlikely source in Niklas Sundstrom.

Flying Under The Radar : Artem Anisimov For Dummies Video

In last years playoffs against the Washington Capitals The Rangers in a desperate attempt to actually get a puck behind the impenetrable wall known as Semyon Varlamov or even muster a shot on goal or two in a period called up a young rookie center named Artem Anisimov.

The Mouth at the time didn’t know much about him and quickly dismissed him as basically as nothing less than a distress call to Hartford while the Rangers playoff hopes were getting torpedoed and taking on water. But the big guy always prone to the snap judgment was wrong and dead wrong at that.

After some investigative reporting which included a Quiznos Sub and Mountain dew and his Commodore 64, The Mouth hit the interwebs and found out that Artem (Artie) Anisimov is somebody he and other Ranger fans should get excited about.

During this off season Anisimov has been flying under the radar as far as Ranger fans go. While Blueshirt fans conversations are fanatically focused on acquiring a center to set up Marian Gaborik , their projected third line center for this year hasn’t got any heat or attention at all.

That’s why The Mouth decided to put together this little video vignette with commentary about Artie Anisimov and let the Ranger throng get a lbetter feeling about what Artem Anisimov is going to bring to the table for the Blueshirts in the 2009-2010 season.

Ranger Crisis Radio Show #10 with Ex- New York Ranger Rick "Nifty" Middleton

If you know your Ranger history dating back to the mid 1970's you know that during that time the Rangers made the worst trade ever in their history. Unfortunately, the Blueshirts dealt Rick Middleton for an aging Bruin in Ken Hodge.

Rick turned out to be a helluva a hockey player who played in 881 games scored 402 goals and had 416 assists after the deal exclusively for the Bruins. Ken Hodge who we got in exchange for Middleton played TWO seasons with the Rangers netted 23 goals and was eventually sent down to the minors then unceremoniously retired.

Rick spent almost an hour talking to the The Mouth about some fantastic stuff !

1) The Cheap Lady Byng Plaque he received from the NHL.

2) New York Post headline was Key to him being Traded away from Rangers.

3) Rick tells story of how Don Cherry made him a two way player.

After The Mouth got done with the fun and informative interview with Rick Middleton Ranger Crisis callers engaged in another Ranger Crisis Rapid Fire Round Up this time with the questions revolving around Henrik Lundqvist.

These were the questions asked :

1) Do you think Henrik is overworked ? If not why? And If so how many games would you like see him play this upcoming season in order to be more productive ?

2) Do you think Lundqvist experience winning a gold medal for Sweden factors into his ability to help the Rangers win a Stanley Cup ?

3) Henrik gets paid a ton of Cash almost 7 million per year, could the Rangers be better served with a 3 million dollar goalie and the 4 million spent elsewhere ?

4) Put the following Ranger goaltenders in order on pure ability. Give brief explanations why ?

Mike Richter
John Vanbiesbrouck
Henrik Lundqvist

You can Listen to the archived show here

Putting King Henrik To Bed : No Easy Task

The Mouth thinks that some Ranger fans might take for granted that most part of 25 years the Rangers have excelled in one area, which is a rare concept in itself for the Rangers excellence on the ice. The area of pre-eminence can be found between the pipes in the Rangers net minding. Since the mid 1980’s the Rangers have had quite a great string of long term quality goaltending.

It’s not to say the Rangers didn’t have their share of Swiss cheesemeisters during that time such as Mike Dunham and Kirk McLean. But if you are asked to think of Ranger goaltenders who were very sub-par and that who had also played a lion share of games you would be hard pressed to find one other than the previously mentioned since John Vanbiesbrouck started the steady string off in 1984.

That brings us to the subject of the Mouth’s new video Henrik Lundqvist. Henrik is an excellent goaltender and the saves that are shown n the video are not some new shocking evidence proving that he should be recognized as so. He has been nominated for the Vezina three times so his talents are no secret. The Mouth think we should all appreciate and not take for granted that the Rangers have a world class goalie in Henrik Lundqvist.

The majority of action in this video was taken in the 2008-2009 season as we see Hank make save after save stopping the likes of Rick Nash, Evgeni Malkin, Steve Stamkos, and Cindy Crosby. The Mouth of course adds his crazy commentary while making a valid point that perhaps with the Rangers becoming a more of an offensive team, that Lundqvist will be tested more.

The Big man suggests that perhaps the remedy is to have Rangers coach John Tortorella lighten Hank’s work load this season and have him start between 60-65 games in net for the Blueshirts. The idea would be especially be prudent in the wake of Henrik’s commitment to play in the Olympics for Sweden during the NHL’s 2009-2010 mid-season break.

Ranger Crisis Radio # 9 : Rapid Fire Ranger Roundup Show

Tonight you the fan were the star of the show, and you should be used to it because you have been the star of every show since show ONE.

The Mouth as well as his most learned co-host Mandar, held what we like to call in these parts a "Rapid Fire Ranger Roundup Show." Crisis Radio fans were put to the test by having to answer five questions in a quick succinct fashion. The Five questions are listed below.

Most succeeded some struggled, but every bit of it was fun. Those who weren't able to call in their answers to the "Big Five" via telephone had their answers read directly from their favorite forums including Hockey's Future and Outside The Garden. The discussion was both frantic and frenetic both on the air and off, as the Ranger Crisis Radio Chatroom was hopping.

These were the questions that were asked.

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

2. What part of our 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 they are rookies that shock the world and sometimes they’re younger players that simply come into their own. Who is someone on the Rangers that we should 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 the Rangers that doesn’t get nearly the respect that he deserves?


5. If you were throwing down some serious money, how do you think the final standings of the Atlantic Division will shake out? More importantly, which teams do you think are going to make the playoffs from the Atlantic?

The last 45 minutes of the show was spent having an in-depth discussion with an attempt on whittling down a list of the top Ranger fighters of all-time.

The Crisis Bruise Brothers , Dagoon and Joe Tucc joined The Mouth to gab about the likes of Joe Kocur, Nick Fotiu,Tie Domi, Rudy Poeschek, Chris Nilan and Barry Beck strictly from the pugilistic point of view.

Great Show and A Must Listen

The Mouth Talks Puck In Chi-Town. Original Six Bondage

Recently, The Mouth visited Chicago and anyone that knows The hefty one from his previous work knows that seeking out anything Hockey related is put on the same high priority list as is stuffing his face with a Chicago style Lou Malnati pizza. The video was originally done for Hockeybarn.com and it is the first video ever shown on Ranger Crisis not laden with exclusively Ranger content.

The Mouth new certain things were tangible and would easily be able to see. The Big man got his first gander at the United Center which is located in a war zone on the west side of Chicago. The mouth suggests if you make the trek down there in the off season you go during the day and bring friends.

The Crisis crew,which included The Mayor, Vinny Vasalino and cameraman Charlie Asti Spumante were half expecting Bad Bad Leroy Brown to accost them as they shot video of an awesome monument honoring the Blackhawks 75th anniversary in the league. On the other side of that monument is a great plaque that pays tribute to Chicago Stadium and lists every Hawk Player to ever suit up and play there. The Mouth was fortunate to see a game in the old Chicago Stadium “The Building that Roared” and he can definitively corroborate that the place was hands down the loudest NHL arena ever.

The Mouth was extremely excited about the things he was able to see that were permanent fixtures and that he knew would be there, but what the big guy was after was much bigger game an intangible of sorts the Blackhawk fan themselves.

Contrary to what is written about The Mouth in the celebrity gossip columns, The Mouth is indeed a people person and can talk NHL hockey with just about anybody face to face sans the delusional Islander fan. The first problem The Mouth had was finding a Hawk fan that was willing to talk hockey was the climate. It was late July 2009 when he and his camera man Charlie Asti Spumante hit the bricks of Chi-Town looking for Blackhawk fans ,and let me tell you something for realz folks, there aren’t too many people wearing their Blackhawk jerseys in the scorching 90 degree heat in Chicago.

But keeping with The Mouth's tradition, he succeeded where others have failed and managed to interview not one but TWO Hawk fans. It’s all captured here on this video. The video is not abut the Rangers but it's about our Original six brothers the Chicago Blackhawks and their fans but More importantly HOCKEY with history.

Ranger Bench Clearing Brawl Infamy. Team Gut Check Comes Up Empty. April 6th 1978

Inherently Ranger fans are a different breed than perhaps any other NHL fans based in the States. The bright shining moments are far and few between for the modern Blueshirt fan and we often find ourselves recalling the more disappointing and infamous events our team has participated in which are plentiful, rather than regaling each another with the scattered more famous achievements our Rangers have accomplished throughout the years.

The following clip is quite a large dose of the first type of event. The infamous and embarrassing kind. On April 6th, 1978 the Rangers got involved in a classic bench clearing brawl against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum. This incident in The Mouths opinion contains one of the more galling and embarrassing incidents in Ranger history.

Dave Hoyda a 6’1 205lb goon with no hockey skills whatsoever is allowed to pummel a game but much smaller Ranger in the 5’9 175 lb Eddie Johnstone. Not only did Hoyda pound Johnstone on three separate occasions during this brawl , but astonishingly enough no Ranger on the ice comes to his aid. The only player on the rink who seems to care enough to attempt a rescue mission of Johnstone’s trifecta of pain is Ranger goaltender John Davidson.

The Mouth suggests after watching this clip the only conclusion J.D wasn’t able to successfully disrupt the carnage is that Big John was so gassed from the tussling of the brawl that he couldn’t handle the interference the opposing goaltender, the ancient Bernie Parent was running on him.

Adding insult to injury the instigator of the brawl Rangers forward Mark Heaslip who highsticked the Flyers Tom Bladon which set the bench clearer off in the first place, gets his head handed to him two separate times by the Flyers Mel Bridgeman.

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.