playoffs???? PLAYOFFS!?!

Oh man,

Two games left for the Rags.  They need to win at least one to limp into the 8th spot.  A Home-and-Home series with who.....

Philly.

QQ


I wonder which Matt W. is more excited.... White or Welsher.



-adam



PS.  The Blues are taking the west from behind...

That's what she said


-adam

         

You have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, Joe, and like most Rangers fans, have finally realized it is an oncoming train.  Welcome to the land of Long Suffering, where Philly hockey has been played for some time. 

When did you EVER get the impression Joe Bondi was a Ranger's fan?



Unless of course Billy Smith played on the Rags!

Love those blueskirts!



Big Fan!  Big Fan!

Everybody knows that Joe is a Flyers' fan.

I mean, he has that big Flyers magnet on his truck...

       

Roy will pay.  But it was classic.

Go Caps!   Need anyone say more.

555 career wins?

I thought Roy has paid enough.

See what I did thar?

It is comforting to know that no matter what, the greatest player to ever spend his career in this region of the hockey world is a Devil.

Didn't you have an aging Wayne Gretzky once?

i hate to say it whoever out of the east gets to the finals is just gonna lose to the juggernaut that is the wings. but still go penguins!! at least they can beat the caps

It is comforting to know that no matter what, the greatest player to ever spend his career in this region of the hockey world is a Devil.

Your opinion.

I would welcome the debate.

For the record, the player I would say was the next best would be Mike Bossy. His record of 9 straight 50 goal seasons will probably never be matched.

FIRSTLY- we (the RANGERS) win the little KR rivalry, having taken the season series from the Isles, Devils AND Flyers... on our way to making the playoffs in the SEVENTH spot (thank you very much) and forcing the Flyers to travel to Pittsburgh for games 1 and 2 of that series.

Secondly-  do you really think Brodeur the greatest hockey player of all time?  Really?  Think before you answer this, because I will go all out against, and I got a lot of ammo.  But I would say he is the goalie I would most found a team with, given the option.  While not as impenetrable as some others of the past (Hasek), and perhaps not QUITE as clutch as Roy, he is the most consistant goalie I have ever had the pleasure of watching.  Even if the Devils style of play DOES lend itself to good goaltending statistics.

There can be no doubt the Wayne Gretzky was the greatest player of all time, I would argue for ANY sport, but for this post I will limit it to hockey.  Just look at his numbers, records, and the way he became the face of the NHL throughout the world if you doubt me.

Finally, just you watch, Bossy's record is not resting safely, not while Alex Ovechkin is cruising around.

T

He is, simply because he saw his idol, and went, "I know I can do something more." Roy's Butterfly style became the norm, and Marty went against it, and became a winner because of those around him. Broduer was built on teamwork. Hence why he is a great player.

In a debate of greatest ever, it is Gretzky. Hands down its him becuase not only did he demolish every record, he opened up the entire US south to hockey in places like Florida, Phoenix, Tampa, and Dallas.

My point was to players whose careers were spent playing in this area. Gretzky as a Ranger doesn't count simply because he only was here a short while and clearly way past his prime. For the guys who played their whole or at least the majority of their careers in this region, Brodeur has them all beat.

I am a Devils fan, so this pains me greatly to say, but Dennis Potvin, Brian Trottier and Rod Gilbert are all potential rivals to Brodeur.  It's hard to compare goalies and skaters, but those were three fairly impressive hall of famers.

Billy Smith > Martin Brodeur

Smith was a wall on 4 consecutive cups and due to him, the phrase,"Money Goaltender" was created.

The Vezina, Conn Smythe, William M. Jennings trophies, scoring goals and regular season standing aside, Smith never played on a team that played "the trap," designed to help defensive ability and smother the opponents rush.  He played on an explosive offense that has seldom been matched in the NHL. 

Despite how good he is, Brodeur will never win 19 consecutive playoff series.  Regular seasons do not matter.  Most wins or shut outs on a team that plays a boring suffocation style of defense first isnt a suprise, especially with a talent like Brodeur.

Brodeur is one of the greatest that ever played.  Just like Roy, Hasek, Fuhr, Parent, Dryden, Plante, Sawchuk, Broda, Cheevers, Esposito, Hall, etc.  As far as the best local players, As mentioned before by Noah and Terry, Bossy, Trots, Potvin, Messier and Gretzky are just a few that come to mind without any research. 

As far as Goalies, I dont think its close. 

Much as I hate to agree, Smith is a better long term goalie than any other.  Benny Parent had three years where he was absolutely unbelievable, but for the rest of his career he was "merely" first class.  I would not consider Gretsky local, any more than I would allow Chicago to claim Richie Ashburn as local.  Coming to a team in the twilight of a great career does not count.

So then using cup logic, Henri Richard must be the best ever?

Billy Smith was a great goalie for a while. And he had a team in front of him too.

Even if you discount Gretzky, the Rangers had Messier, ostensibly greater than Marty, and the Bruins had Bobby Orr.

To call someone the greatest ever, even if only regionally, is to invite difficult comparisons between positions and eras that simply cannot be compared.  Let's just agree that Marty is a great goaltender, probably the most consistent game in and game out guy I have ever seen.

Shit, I think my house is on fire... ahhh, it's just my oven letting me know that my pizza is burning.

T

Even if you discount Gretzky, the Rangers had Messier, ostensibly greater than Marty, and the Bruins had Bobby Orr.

To call someone the greatest ever, even if only regionally, is to invite difficult comparisons between positions and eras that simply cannot be compared.  Let's just agree that Marty is a great goaltender, probably the most consistent game in and game out guy I have ever seen.

[Censored], I think my house is on fire... ahhh, it's just my oven letting me know that my pizza is burning.

T

That's why I added the caveat that I was talking NY/NJ/Philly. I don't consider Boston or Pittsburgh part of the area. Messier had one great year here and came with 5 cups from Edmonton already. No doubt '94 was a hell of a year, but it also took the GM mortgaging the next 15 years for play-off run trades that year.

For all time greats anywhere, Orr is number 2 for me.

For year in year out dominant play and being a leader all the time in both the playoffs and regular season, Marty is the best around here.

PS That burning smell is a man's way of knowing when it's done.

In a debate of greatest ever, it is Gretzky. Hands down its him becuase not only did he demolish every record, he opened up the entire US south to hockey in places like Florida, Phoenix, Tampa, and Dallas.

My point was to players whose careers were spent playing in this area. Gretzky as a Ranger doesn't count simply because he only was here a short while and clearly way past his prime. For the guys who played their whole or at least the majority of their careers in this region, Brodeur has them all beat.

i have to agree that gretzky is facxe of hockey and the best player to ever lace skates up, but i would have loved to see what a healthy mario lemieux could have done.