New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

[roolz]

I Am A Ranger

Game Settings:
Version - NHL 11 (PS3)
Patch - n/a
Roster - EA Update
Tuner Set - v1.03
Game Mode - Be A GM

Gameplay:
Difficulty - All-Star
Length - 8 Minutes
Sliders - OnlyByGrace (OS Slider Forum)
Other - Play all NHL Games

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

New York Rangers 2010/11 Depth Chart:

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Game 1 - New York Rangers @ Buffalo Sabres


Sabre'Matics!
Buffalo make the numbers work, Rangers sink in opener

Above: Callahan gave the Rangers hope with a scrappy finish past Ryan Miller; (Right) Vanek foiled by Biron, but it was the Sabre who celebrated at the buzzer

(AP) - A rough opener for the New York Rangers as the Sabres impressed at home to improve to 2-0-0, thanks to a pair of Powerplay goals as Buffalo punished an ill-disciplined Rangers effort on the ice. Leopold's close range shot proved to be the key in the 3rd period, as Buffalo ran up 20 shots alone in the period en route to victory.

Buffalo started up brightly and would strike early as Jason Pominville tucked home following a quick setup in the Rangers zone. Martin Biron the surprise choice to start the season in the Rangers net would then begin to thwart the Sabre threat as kept the score at 1, whilst working his way to a game high 45 saves.

The game would come alive in the 2nd period, firstly Callahan tied things up as he picked up a rebound to finally break Miller's resistance. "We had to work hard to try and pick off Buffalo, the problem is we left ourselves in too many bad situations, we wasted our chance at 1-1 and in the end got what we deserved" explained Rangers Captain Chris Drury.

That would be the final high for the Rangers though as Buffalo would net their first Powerplay goal through an unassisted wrist shot from Derek Roy for the 2-1 advantage. The game would then decend into farce for the Rangers in the 3rd period as they took 4 penalties, giving Buffalo a chance to pepper Biron in the Ranger' net and eventually getting that crucial 3rd via Leopold.

"It was a case of putting my body, glove, stick... anything I had on the line just to keep us in the game. Credit to Buffalo, they made their gameplan work and we will have to come away from here and re-group with some positives" said Rangers Goaltender Martin Biron.

There would be a late rally from the Rangers as Gaborik would rattle the pipes, whilst Drury and Ansimov both drew smart glove saves from Miller as the Sabre 'Minder kept his twine intact through the period. Sean Avery would spark some bad feeling with his hard check from behind, but there was nothing left in the tank and Buffalo could celebrate a perfect start.

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Game 2 - New York Rangers @ New York Islanders

Isles Topple Rangers
Trent Hunter hits 100 with 2 goals, Isles give Rangers 4 of the best

Above: Hunter lashes home his 100th goal on the backhand; (Right) The Isles wrap it up with Tavares on the quick break

(AP) - Another bad night for the Rangers as their early season woes continued with a crushing defeat at the hand of the revitalised Islanders who would imitate the Sabres by taking advantage of the penalty hungry Rangers.

Trent Hunter would inflict the early damage as he would score a quick fire double past the recalled Lundqvist inbetween the Rangers pipes. Lundqvist would suffer like Biron as the Rangers PK Lines once again failed to prevent a barrage of shots at their net, allowing Hunter to score twice, the 2nd being his 100th NHL career goal.

The Rangers would offer some fight in the 2nd period as Prust would push home a consolation goal on the back of a spilled puck by Islanders 'Minder Rick DiPietro. It would be a cruel blow to the Isles who before that looked comfortable enough to complete the game with a shutout.

Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders): "I thought I had the puck at the time, but then I heard a shout and glanced at the puck trickling into the path of the Rangers forwards. I had no time to react, so although we are happy with the win over the Rangers on a personal level I let myself down in a moments lapse of basic netminding"

Into the 3rd period and the same old story would curtail the Rangers comeback before it had enough got off the ground. Yet another Powerplay (carried over from the 2nd) would see Jon Sim touch home for the Isles 3rd. Then as the game became more niggly and aggresive, the Islanders would wrap things up thanks to the future of their franchise, with Tavares racing away to deke out Lundqvist for the Isles 4th.

A familiar ending for the Rangers as their game relied on a comeback in difficult circumstances, leaving them in a 0-2-0 hole to open the season. "Concerned, yes but not overly at this stage. Lets take a step back here and remember its just 2 games and we are still bedding in a couple of new pieces. Time is always the answer to these questions and if im honest, IF we are not able to compete at the right end of our Division/Conference then the buck will stop with me and ill be fully accountable come what may" said John Tortorella (New York Rangers Head Coach).

[StrongMocha]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Hey Roolz,

Nice to see you doing an NHL franchise, your NFL franchise was excellent so I will be following this with interest.

[HeroWorship]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger



This looks very professional, well done, fantastic, and nearly perfect.

Now just send Tim Kennedy to Hartford and call him a bitch.

But losing to the Islanders? That's just un-american

[onlybygrace]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Awesome stuff Roolz...glad my sliders seem to be working out for you.

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Hey Roolz,

Nice to see you doing an NHL franchise, your NFL franchise was excellent so I will be following this with interest.

Thanks mate, appreciate it - that seems like such a long time ago now.

This looks very professional, well done, fantastic, and nearly perfect.

Now just send Tim Kennedy to Hartford and call him a bitch.

But losing to the Islanders? That's just un-american

Thanks for the feedback, and as for the Isles... well at least my controller survived it was rough :o

Awesome stuff Roolz...glad my sliders seem to be working out for you.

Cheers OBG, very good sliders im enjoying the game and getting alot from it and thanks for checking in as well.

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Game 3 - New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs


Leafs Triumph in OT
Phil Kessel scores winner early in OT, Rangers disappointed to take loss

Above: Jean-Sebastien Giguere keeps the Rangers at bay; (Right) Phil Kessel clinches the Toronto OT win with a neat deke

(AP) - Toronto would be the visitors for this years Ranger home opener as the Blueshirts looked to overcome a rough pair of road defeats to open their season. However those hopes would be dashed in Overtime as a tightly contested matchup saw the Maple Leafs break their winless start thanks to Phil Kessel's breakaway effort.

The game itself would start with the teams exchanging Powerplays as the players had their eyes on each other rather than the net. Alas a combined 6 Powerplays would yield no reward for either team and it would infact be a shorthanded effort by the Rangers recent acquisition Tim Kennedy that broke the deadlock.

New York then imposed themselves on the game looking to get another that could put them out of range, however a defensive error from Marc Staal would allow the Maple Leafs Armstrong to score past a lunging Lundqvist to tie things as we headed into the 3rd.

"I have to take the blame for my decision to pass under pressure. It was a stupid risk to take and you are taught from a young age not to play under pressure. I made that error, its cost us and that is personal to me" stated Marc Staal (New York Rangers)

Once again the Rangers would have the better of the 3rd period, this time putting Giguere under pressure as the Rangers crashed the net hoping for any rebounds. But the game seemed destined to end in Overtime and thats where we headed with both Goaltenders on top.

It would then prove to be a quick finish for the Rangers as they over committed early which allowed Phil Kessel to race away with the loose puck, he would finish with a coolhead to deke Lundqvist and settle matters in the Leafs favor.

"We worked hard, we knew tonight would be a tough game given that the Rangers needed to turn their start around, but we hung in under pressure and I believe got our rewards for being patient. It was nice to get on the sheet with the winning goal, but its a team effort and thats how we are approaching this season" commented Toronto's Phil Kessel.

[HeroWorship]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Losing to the Leafs is rough, and we may need to put Lundqvist on suicide watch.

Odd to see Tim Kennedy show up for a game, though.

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Game 4 - New York Rangers vs Colorado Avalanche


'Av That!
Colorado pile more pressure on the Rangers, OT loss and 37 PIM in dire night for hosts

Above: The Rangers see a crucial 2nd goal chalked off due to a high stick; (Right) Kennedy chokes on Penalty shot, Anderson with the save

(AP) - If you wanted something to be able to sum up how the Rangers have started this season, then watch a tape of tonights game as everything that could go wrong did, and any good ended up bad.

Early on the Rangers looked the better side, coming out with purpose and energy and within 5 minutes that showed as newly acquired Frolov would net his first in the Rangers Blue' with a quick wrist shot low to the right. The Rangers didn't relent and 2 minutes later the goal horns sounded again, this time a rebound off of Anderson sat up nicely for a stick slapped 2nd. However the celebrations were cut short as the ref raced in to wipe out the goal due to the stick being higher than the crossbar, something confirmed in the video replay.

Still at 1-0 the Rangers looked good, then things took a turn. Colorado got into their rythmn and within a short period the Rangers would take 3 penalties leaving them shorthanded and on the end of another Powerplay goal as the Avs' Stewart collected in front of the net to tie things at 1.

New York Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella "We spoke about this before the game, if we are going to be playing shorthanded lets be sensible. The problems come about as we took too many penalties, if you are chasing 1 or 2 more player at a time out there it will take its toll, tonight we got punished and made some pee-wee mistakes"

As we moved into the 2nd period the Rangers game almost decended into farce. Penalties were taken almost without whim, this came to a head when Brandon Prust would take a game misconduct call for Boarding Stasny. Colorado tried to take advantage and although they would amass a game total of 53 shots, Lundqvist kept them at bay throughout the 2nd and eventually the 3rd period as the Rangers appeared to be losing their heads, symbolised by Marc Staal taking 3 penalties in the 3rd period, twice for delaying the game.

Overtime would arrive for the 2nd time in the Rangers home games and this time it was Colorado's Anderson who had to be aware as Gaborik and then Drury would go close to stealing a win for the hosts. Then as the clock wound down towards a shootout, the Rangers would get an early chance to seal with a penalty shot of their own as Tim Kennedy was scythed down on his approach to the net. The 1v1 situation saw Colorado's Goaltender Anderson be the hero as his pad save kept the Avs alive to the Garden's dismay.

To compound the disappointment Colorado would wind up winning the game in OT as Hejduk arrived in the slot in time to collect a pass from Stasny, his first time shot would sail into the top of the net and seal yet another loss for the struggling Rangers.

"You have a chance to be a mini-hero in those situations, tonight I made the right move to stop Tim (Kennedy) and gladly we went on from there to collect the win. Its been a tough start for us, so to get the maximum points on the road here is a building block" commented Colorado's Anderson.

[HeroWorship]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Still lacking a win yet, but it will be nice once you eventually do. Kennedy choking? What a shocker. Plus, your keeping it at 2-1 games, so that's a plus.

[roolz]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Game 5 - New York Rangers @ Toronto Maple Leafs


Six of the Best
Leafs go Nap in 3rd period romp, Rangers hit new low

Above: Versteeg takes a big hit and goes off injured as the Rangers sour the night; (Right) Kessel with the pick of the Leafs 5' in the 3rd

(AP) - From bad to worse, thats the simple term required to describe the Rangers after tonights loss at the Air Canada Center as the Maple Leafs run riot in the 3rd period to chalk up a 6-1 win, 5 scored in a frantic period.

After racking up a massive 37 PIM in their previous outing, the Rangers actually looked reserved in the opening period as the Maple Leafs made the most of the extra space to take the lead on the back of a Luke Schenn effort. Toronto would hold on to this advantage until the 2nd period, when for a change New York would themselves take advantage of the extra man, scoring their first PP goal thanks to Dubinsky, who slotted low to the left of Giguere to tie the game.

That would be the end of the highs though, the 3rd period would be wreckless for the Rangers as the Maple Leafs would score 4 Powerplay goals, 3 coming in just over 1 crazy minute as Toronto ransacked the Rangers backline leaving Lundqvist in a daze as to how he would be lit up.

"All we can do is apologize at this stage to the fans. As a team we know we can do better and we did look solid early on here, but again a lapse in concentration left us chasing the game and chasing the extra man" moaned Marc Staal (New York Rangers)

With the goals coming thick and fast, there would be little response from the Rangers and at 4-1 things only got harder. The final few minutes saw the Leafs add another pair of goals, firstly McArthur snapped up the puck following a defensive error to score on a flopping Lundqvist.

The finale would see Toronto's fans treated to a 6th as Kessel and Grabovski combined to setup Kulemin, sealing their placing as the 3 game stars in front of a sold out home arena. As the final buzzer sounded, there was no where to hide for the Blueshirts as 5 games have seen 5 losses and just 2 points accumulated in a miserable start.

*Note Boxscore Error: C. McArthur scored at 15:38

[onlybygrace]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

Rough start, keep pluggin' away. Its a long season.

[HeroWorship]

Re: New York Rangers: I Am A Ranger

I'll send you some moonshine to get you through the night.