NYR/PHI Recap

My pregame picture that I tweeted out

Welcome to another blog here on DOINOW.com. As always, thanks for your support and spreading the word. Don't forget to tip your bartenders, try the soup at the Bold O'Donoghue's, don't cough & fart at the same time (Never pretty afterwards) and always, ALWAYS, use "IN CAM WE TRUST" as your personal motto.

This has been a great week for me. Having a week off from work in this weather isn't the end of the world. While I'd rather the paycheck, I would rather not be out in these cold ass freezing temperatures. My other union construction buddy, the infamous JEFFREY, was also off all week. In turn, as you could tell by the last three blogs here (and don't forget to check out the archives on the right hand of the site) JEFFREY & I attended every game in this past homestand. All three games were different.  The Rangers needed a shoot-out win to put away Columbus. The Rangers shut-out the Flames 1-0. The Rangers played sloppy, but came back to win to beat the Coyotes  with under 3 minutes left. While all the games were 1 goal wins, the Rangers found a different way to win each time.

Since JEFFREY and I took the LIRR on Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday night, our plan was to keep our non-consecutive day streak going and head to Hudson Station for the WeBleedBlue.com Rangers vs Flyers party. However, late Friday night, I got sick and it just got worse. As I write these words, I have to puke from coughing so much, have a runny nose and basically feel like Henrik Lundqvist after playing the Islanders this season. In other words, not good.

With the Islanders vs Hurricanes on at 5PM, the Rangers/Flyers at 8, I just grabbed out the Dayquil and got ready to see who would be in first place by the time Saturday Night Live came on. What a day of hockey.

Before getting into the meat and potatoes of this blog, and talking the game, I have to weigh in on the Zuccarello trade rumors.

ZUUUUUUUUUUUUC!

If you follow me on Twitter or on the facebook, you may have read me comment on this a bit. However, let me expand my points here. I'm a firm believer that the Rangers DO NOT have to trade Zucc. What we know right now is that Zuc is looking for $5M-$5.5M a year. The Rangers are offering $4.5M.

Couple of things:
 Is this what the NHL wanted when they instituted the salary cap? Even when it's not the trade deadline, all you read about on blogs, NHL.com, twitter, facebook, etc is about the cap and player contracts. There is more focus on what guys are getting paid and their value vs the cap than their production on the ice.

I get why there is a cap. Perhaps several franchises would've folded without it. But do you know what? Maybe be a sports owner isn't for you. I know the cap will be going up next year, but it's not going up enough. I wish we could go back to the days of no-cap. Sure it benefits the Rangers, but really, how many Cups did they win under Sather's free spending ways? The answer - 0. Just because you spend money doesn't mean you will win automatically. Look at baseball. Outside of 2009, the Yankees spend the most in baseball, but have only won 1 World Series in 15 years.

You gotta do something about this cap. Gary Bettman has been the worst commissioner in the history of sports, with 3 lockouts under his watch but the reason he keeps a job is because he works for the owners. The owners love the salary cap. However, you got more fans visiting Capgeek.com than NHL.com.

How I will feel if Slats trades Mats

The salary  cap also punishes teams for winning. A team like the Blackhawks, that have done everything right, especially at drafting and cultivating new talent, had to give up on Leddy & Hayes this year. Leddy is one of the huge reasons for the Islanders turnaround while Hayes is having a hell of a rookie campaign. Maybe they can change the cap and add a provision to increase cap room for homegrown talent? I don't know. All I know is I hate the cap. I hate the cap in the NFL and hate it here.

I know the counter-argument, parity is great for the sport, small market, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I would love to see a dynasty. Why did everyone hate the Heat &  Lebron in the NBA? Because they won  Why did every non-Yankee fan despise the Yankees in the late 90's? Because they won. Every good story has a good guy and a bad guy. Having 30 teams in a dreamworld of equality isn't fun. I want to hate Crosby. I want to cheer for my team to beat his brains in.

The salary cap is the equivalent of little kids playing sports where they don't keep score. Everyone is a winner. Fuck that. If you're an owner that doesn't want to spend money, then you don't belong owning a team. If the NHL is worried about losing franchises, don't worry, Kansas City, Seattle, Quebec, Las Vegas and even Portland are looking for teams.

The sparkplug of the NYR

There is no reason to trade Zuccarello right now, unless it's out of spite. The Rangers are anywhere from $500,000-$1M off from what Zucc wants. Again, it goes back to Henrik Lundqvist. Hank says he wants to win at all costs, but threatens to leave, then gets the most money out of any goalie in the salary cap era. Now the Rangers are forced to penny pinch. Without the cap, Zucc is here and you would never hear me talk about Hank's deal. I'm not the only one. All over the place do you just hear fans talk about contracts, just as much as the games themselves. It's the league Bettman built.

If Hank took a fair market/hometown discount deal, Zucc is a slam dunk. Is Zucc worth $5M? Well when you see what the Rangers have been paying out their defensemen, with the top 3 averaging $6M a year and Dan Boyle getting $4.5M a year, then yea, Zucc has a right to ask for that. Especially since he took less this year to stay a Blueshirt. He's not established like Hank or Boyle, who have had their big money paydays. This will be his first deal, where he's hoping to build a legacy and bond with NY. I understand his viewpoint and I hope Sather is trying to publicly upstage Zucc by making it known he's available for trade, but fuck, I hope Zucc signs that $4.5M deal and stays here.

If you're Sather, what is the reason to trade Zucc? You're mad that he didn't take your first offer? Who are the Rangers really going to get instead of Zucc? A center? Ok, but who replaces Zucc on the wing? Another defenseman? Again, who takes Zucc's spot on the Nash line, the most productive line the Rangers have? Why would you break up the chemistry on and off the ice? Zucc is not only one of the most beloved players by fans, he's also loved in the locker room. That's why he has a TV show with his teammates, instead of say a Henrik Lundqvist, who has a TV show by himself.

I just like posting this pic to piss people off! Where's your sense of humor folks?

We will find out by Monday night if #36 remains a Ranger. It is funny, I bet if Zucc stays, you will see a surge of jersey sales because I know a lot of people who want to buy a Zucc jersey but don't want to get "Del-Zotto'd" or "Dubinksied".

There is no good argument to move Zucc. This is a Cup-contending team. Why break that up? This isn't Cally for MSL. I don't know if the Rangers make the Cup with Cally. MSL really pulled the Rangers out of that PIT series that Hank went down 3-1 to Fleury to. Yea the Rangers didn't score, but dropping 3 games to Fleury is depressing. Plus in MSL, you got a guy who wants to finish here and will work with you on a deal.

For the Rangers, there is no one on the current market, unless something really breaks through, that makes sense to deal for Zucc for. Let him finish out his deal. All you're going to do is deal for another rental most likely anyway.

Zucc may not have the best stats this season, but he does so many little things on the ice. If the Rangers are looking to improve, they should've known what everyone else knew in January and dumped Tanner Glass & bring up Anthony Duclair. Now you're stuck with Tanner Glass, making $1.5M for his one assist all year. 

Some people will whine about me dumping on Hank's deal again. Do you know what? Talbot has proved that Hank is replaceable. You can say what you want about the GAA, but do you know what, the Rangers are scoring and winning games. You don't need an $8.5 million goalie is my point. It was a great deal for Hank to sign that, but it hurts the team. If he wants to be a King, he needs a crown and he hurts himself by taking the king's share of money. Spread that love to the guys getting you all these goals for. You want to complain about your help and "we need to skate better" after a loss? Then share the money. That's all. We all know Hank is a great goalie, but in this cap era, he really needed to take less to help his team out, especially when he's well paid and has endorsements already.

In closing on this subject, all I gotta say is WE WANT ZUCC!

Michael Del Zaster

The Rangers had the Saturday night NBC game, their last of February. The Rangers came into this game with house money, as the Islanders dropped a game at home to the lowly Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers, joining the Islanders in the L column tonight, remain 2 points out of first place, with three games in hand. While the Rangers lost a freebie game, what stung the most, was not they didn't catch first place, but that it was that porn star stalker, Michael Del Zaster, scoring the GWG.

JEFFREY and JOHNNY!

While I was sick at home, JEFFREY was texting me pictures from the WeBleedBlue party. We were both amped for this game. After all, it was a freebie, with the Islanders losing to the 'Canes. The game started off perfectly, with Stepan scoring a goal, 7 seconds into the game. However, the refs called Chris Kreider offside and took away the goal. I've never seen that before. If anything, a goal from the distance Stepan scored from should be worth 3 points. I don't even think the refs reviewed it, they were hellbent on taking it back. That would be the goal that eventually cost the Rangers points in the standings. These NHL referees just do whatever they want, whenever they want.

If you are looking for a quick recap, this was a game once again made up of special teams and faceoffs. The Rangers got dominated on both. The powerplay had as much life as kid fighting cancer and aids at the same time. In the third period alone, the Rangers lost 15/20 faceoffs, which did them no favors when they were chasing a goal, because Michael Del Zotto scored a short-handed goal on them. A lot of the Rangers problems have been swept under the rug because they have been winning, and this being a house money game, it won't be as blown up, but the faceoffs and the anemic powerplay will do them no favors come the playoffs.

Vermette was traded to the Blackhawks tonight, which is good news for Zucc

The Rangers, who should've had a 1-0 lead, had the momentum switch hands when Matt Read trickled one past Talbot. The Rangers couldn't get a clear, and after a ton of chances, Read finally slipped one past Talbot. It was a bad goal, but the Rangers defense looked like they had bricks under their skates.

The goal was quickly erased when JT Miller backhanded one past Steve Mason, just 18 seconds later. 1-1 and the game went to the first intermission.

Talbot, who I thought played well tonight, has these games where he gives up one bad goal, then stops everything. Talbot shut down many breakaways and one timers after this, even robbing #28 in orange. Talbot bailed out McDonagh on a bad turnover in the first. You had to feel happy with Talbot's performance.

If he gets $4.5M a year, Zucc should get $100M a year

Dan Boyle was a complete shit show tonight. Whether it was missing the net by a mile, seeing if he could make turnovers than Geno Smith, missing stick checks, getting blown by or having the puck ripped off his stick, Boyle did it all. The Rangers have a Broadway Hat to celebrate the best player of the game. Boyle deserves to be thrown down the Rangers Broadway Portopotty after his shitty performance tonight. I mean, even fucking Tanner Glass, yes, that fucking Tanner Glass, got an assist tonight!

The Rangers took an early lead in the second period, after yes, TANNER GLASS, got his second point of the season, by assisting on a John Moore slapshot goal. The Flyers tying goal in the first was courtesy of Dan Boyle. Dan Boyle was ready. Boyle passed up an open look, after missing several shots by a country mile earlier in the game, turned over the puck and led to Read's goal.

While John Moore would make the score 2-1, Raffl deflected in a pass by Coburn, making the score 2-2.

Again, Talbot would have a ferocious ending to the second period, but would stop all comers. It's amazing how the Rangers can play night and day. As the game went on, the Rangers got tired and looked lifeless, outside of a late rush in the third.

The Rangers earned a powerplay heading into the the tied 2-2 third period. But Dan Boyle was there to make sure that score would change.

After another "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING BOYLE?" play, Del Zotto skated right by #22 for an open breakaway. This would be the breakaway goal that went in, as Talbot was beat, by self-admittedly, a nice shot by the porn star stalker, Michael Del Zaster. 3-2, early into the third.

Slumping?

Rick Nash, who has been having neck spasms, is on a several game goal scoring drought. Nash had many looks tonight, but is always in front of the net on the horrendous Rangers PP, which limits some good chances. He needs to be more wide open so he can make a move, rather than be forced to make a quick deflection. He seems wasted in the middle.

With 5 minutes to go, the Rangers made a huge rush on Mason and Mason put on a clinic. What was probably 3 saves, it felt like 50, as Mason stopped shots from all angles and depths. It won the game. Helping Mason's cause were the Rangers going 0-3 on the PP, with 3 shots. The Rangers then got dominated in the third period, losing every possible faceoff and Hagelin getting busted with a high sticking penalty with three minutes to go. The Rangers, outside of the one rush that Mason played remarkably during, had no gas in the third period.

The sky isn't falling because of this one loss, but the Rangers had one of their games where they didn't play a full 60 minutes, had faceoff issues once again, a terrible showing during special teams and allowed the opposition way too many quality looks at the net. It came back to bite them tonight, as they weren't able to outscore their mistakes.

MILLER TIME

The Miller/Hayes/Hags line looked good once again tonight. Surprisingly enough, Stempy/Glass/Moore showed some some spark as well. While Nash & Zucc had looks, they couldn't it going. I don't know if that helps Zucc going into the deadline. This one game means nothing, in the grand scheme of things. I don't want to lose Zucc, even if other Ranger fans are screaming that the sky is falling after this loss.

NYR/ARI Recap: FIRST PLACE RANGERS, Bougias Seats, 1st Place Talbot, Jagr & More Live from MSG!

FIRST PLACE!

To accentuate Sam Rosen, "OH FUCKING BABY!"

Welcome everyone to another blog here, on the NEW & IMPROVED DOINOW.com. While DOINOW.com isn't really that new, as it's been around for 5 months, it is definitely improved and looks new. So I'll take that new & improved cliche and use it here!

As these words reach your eyes, please lift your drink in the air, your hand in the air or just take a moment and appreciate this: after Henrik Lundqvist played like shit in the beginning of the season, Cam "MOTHERFUCKIN" Talbot has the New York Rangers in first place. Yes, the Rangers have scored a ton of goals. Yes, the Rangers are playing their best hockey of the season, but the facts are the facts, the Rangers have been better without Hank, which supports what I've been saying all year - Hank is overpaid & a hypocrite.

Why is Hank a hypocrite? Easy. Don't say, "I want to win at all costs" but then demand to be the highest paid goalie in the salary cap era. Your back-up, for $8 million less, is 9-1-2 and has helped this team get into first place after the epic hole you put them in, after your blow outs to Toronto, the Islanders (3 times), Tampa Bay (3 times), etc. Gotta say it - IN CAM WE TRUST!

Before continuing and giving you the usual intro spiel, feel free to click this link and savor in the greatness that is Cam Talbot:
GOALBUSTER THEME SONG

Thursday night was a huge night for the Rangers. When the game was over, they would still have two games in hand with the Islanders. Would this game in hand be a waste or would the Rangers capitalize? A win meant first place. Ranger fans knew how important this game was. As I start to recap this game, let's not forget, tip your bartenders, IN JEFFREY WE TRUST (when it comes to stubhub), try the chicken soup at the Bold O'Donoghues, fuck the Islanders & always, and I mean ALWAYS, use "IN CAM WE TRUST" as your personal mantra.

Yours truly during warm-ups

You know this is a personal game recap when you read these reports. As always, I have my pregame story. As I talked about in my last blog (CHECK OUT THE ARCHIVES ON THE RIGHT HAND OF THE SITE, AS I DON'T LIKE TO REPEAT MYSELF AND TYPE THE SAME SHIT EVERY REPORT) JEFFREY and I have been trying to beat the system. Our system really only works on weekday, non-Islander games. An earlier week/work day like Monday or Tuesday works best, but you can do our deal on Thursday's too.

The "veteran move", so to speak, is to buy tickets last second. Usually people panic last second. In this case, a big SHALOM to Robert Goldberg, who unloaded his 8th row blue line $354 tickets for $100. If you've been to MSG, you know you can't bring in mobile tickets unless they are from MSG. The move to make, is to go to a bar early or of course, take a later train to MSG. Check out Stubhub (They 100% guarantee their tickets vs Seatgeek) an hour before the game. Of course, you have to gauge the market earlier in the day as well. If there are a 1000 tickets around 2pm on gameday, you are golden. People & corporations will panic and sell for less.

You can print tickets at the Hotel Pennsylvania directly across the street at MSG. It's usually $2 for internet time & the printout fee. I am a blue collar guy. I am not rich. I am fortunate to have my own co-op in Nassau County, but I act like a little kid in rich seats. There are a minority of real fans who sit in these rich seats and it pisses me off. For the second game in a row, JEFFREY & I gambled with the last second stubhub and hit. It's not always going to work out like this. It just pisses me off sitting there, with half the section empty and the majority of people who do show up in suits.

If the people behind me tonight are reading this, I didn't want to say this during the game, because I wasn't going to get into a fight or distract myself from the game, but I hope you all get AIDS in the slowest fashion possible. During "NIGHT-TRAIN", and my good friend BISON, will appreciate this, someone said they love AC/DC & this was AC/DC's best song. Of course, JEFFREY & I, being wiseasses, would make that a recurring joke. When "Baba O'Riley" played, we said we loved the Beatles. When any of the 3 Foo Fighter songs the Rangers played hit the speakers, we said we loved Stone Temple Pilots.

What killed me about the assholes behind us, is that they said that Hank made $5 million a season. If you read these blogs, you know how infuriating that would be for me! They then said that Nash had 60 goals this year. What pissed me off, is that I have to pull my stubhub theatrics last second & would love to be sitting on the ice every game. I appreciate it. I'm not the only one. There are thousands more of you reading this that would love to sit great at a low price. It's these elite fucks (One who had to leave with 10 minutes into the second period to get sushi, I shit you not) who don't give a fuck, clogging up space for the real fans. It really pisses me off. I want to be sitting with people who know their shit and even give me shit when I scream IN CAM WE TRUST! Ranger games are serious, not somewhere you go to talk about your Tokyo Tinder (TRUE STORY from these bougias fucks behind me and JEFFREY) experiences.

Keep "CAM" and Let's Go Rangers

Dealing with bougias ass fucks aside, before I could even get two good swigs of my Molson (Sold in section 103) down my gullet, Mark Arcobello beat the defense and had a wide open look at Talbot. 41 seconds into the game and the Rangers were losing to one of the worst teams in the league, a team that was beat 3-0 by the Devils earlier this week and 5-1 by the Islanders on Tuesday. It was also the same team that Talbot had a strong start against on during Valentine's Day. It was a great look for Arcobello, but perhaps a shot Talbot should've stopped.

We all know I'm a Cam Talbot guy, at points where I exaggerate at times, just to get a laugh. Watching him up close and watching him as a starter, there are two noticeable weaknesses in his game. Long distance shots and the high glove. Perhaps that he's played more, it's more well known. It's something he can work on and get better. I still think Talbot is a starting goalie for the majority of the teams in the NHL right now. Dallas Stars fans are already clamoring for him on social media.

I wasn't panicking when it was 1-0, but it was concerning. It wasn't the first time during Talbot's run as starter where he let up an easy goal to start a game, before settling down. Yes, the Rangers have been winning, but there is no reason to spot a team a 1-0 lead before I can pull the wedgie out of my ass in these small seats.

In the last week, I have been hanging out with the infamous JEFFREY. JEFFREY & I had a great time with 10 other Ranger mongos at the local bar here, the Bold O'Donoghue's on Friday night, for Skapski's win. We then attended the next 3 Ranger games, using our Stubhub gambling skills, and sat great for all 3 of Talbot's starts. The result, three Talbot wins. Just a great feeling as one of Talbot's biggest supporters.

INKREIDABLE

How about that Chris Kreider? Just like Wayne Simmonds & PK Subban, while not black, Kreider is very similar. He is that player you love to hate if he's not on your team. Boy, did Kreider make Coyote fans hate him tonight!

With several seconds left on a powerplay, Kevin Hayes, who has just been playing out of his mind right now (And I hate to sound like a braggart, but when you sit close, you can really see it) made a beautiful pass to Kreider. Kreider tapped it in to make the score 1-1. It was an important goal, because the Rangers had 3 very good opportunities to tie it up before Kreider's goal. Can I get this out of my system now - YOU SUCK TANNER GLASS. What a ripoff. He's getting paid nicely for his one assist all season. While he played a decent game tonight, getting several shots off, man, would I rather Derek Dorsett wearing that 15 this season than this piece of broken glass.

The Rangers have been playing strong first periods as of late. However, they had a big breakdown with less than four minutes to go in the first. Martin St. Louis took a questionable tripping call. While on the kill, Klein airmailed a puck over the glass. The result was a 5 vs 3 PP for Arizona. The Coyotes took advantage, with Gagner scoring an easy one. With a 5 vs 4 now up, Gagner got another easy one. The Rangers penalty kill was horrendous. 3-1 Arizona after the first, and a very angry JEFFREY, who even got into it with poor old sweet Frank, the security guard by the Delta 360 bar.

I could understand JEFFREY's frustration. Down 3-1 to a team that sucks ass, when the Rangers had this game in hand and could take first. You know I'm a Talbot guy, and while I blame Talbot for the first goal, those two PPG's were the result of a shoddy PK. Thankfully, the Rangers woke up and Talbot was incredible for the next 40 minutes.

STEMPY

Before the game started, I remarked to JEFFREY that Lee Stempniak has been cold as the NY weather. Maybe I should call out more Rangers on their cold streaks, as Stempy had perhaps his best game as a NYR.

Stempy made the game 3-2, after strong play from the fourth line, that challenged Arizona a lot during this game. A mad rush, five minutes into the second, brought the Rangers within one. Chris Kreider, with 18 seconds left, on a Rangers powerplay, scored his second powerplay goal of the game on a breakaway. 3-3, with twenty minutes in the game. Even the pessimistic JEFFREY was excited, that he wanted to do shots after the period.

What a turn of events. This was a game the Rangers had to win. With a horrible ending to the first, the Rangers came back in the second. The Stempy goal was a result of grinding it out. Kreider used his speed to get a game tying goal with 18 seconds left in the third. These dreaded two goal leads in the NHL. Once the team coming back brings it within one, the momentum totally shifts. The Rangers handled business, took the momentum and had 20 minutes to grab first place. It was now on Smith & Talbot to steal a win for their team.

InKREIDible shirt now on sale at WeBleedBlue.com

With the game 3-3 and twenty minutes to go and first place on the line, the Rangers entered the period on a powerplay. They looked great throughout this game on the powerplay. However, they couldn't get an early goal and would have to fight the Coyotes to the finish.

Call me a racist, a classist or just an asshole, but I thought this was funny. In my section, it was all suits and sushi eating rich jews. Just the facts. I wasn't sitting with diehard fans, outside of JEFFREY.  The guy behind us had to explain to his friend what a hat-trick was. If Kreider scored, I was expecting yarmulkes (pronounced YA-MA-KAS) to be flying at the ice, like a discus at a track meet.

It wouldn't be jew skull caps flying at MSG on this night. However, with less than three minutes to go, Hayes was there with another big assist. Hayes created a turnover in Arizona's defensive zone and found Stempniak. Stempniak took one shot, then grabbed his rebound and got the top of the net for the game winning goal. What a fucking relief, 4-3 Rangers with less than 180 seconds to go.

On an aside, check out the Coyotes postgame report on their website or on NHL.com. Goaltender Mike Smith pulled a Henrik Lundqvist and buried his teammates after the game. I can understand his frustration, but damn, he did a huge rip job on his skaters.

Flashing the 33 with JEFFREY

Talbot shut-out the Coyotes in the second and third periods, giving him 37 saves on the night. Giving up a field goal looks bad on the stat sheet, but if you watched the whole game, you would blame Talbot for the first goal and the two PPG's were due to a bad Rangers PK.

Again, just because I'm a Talbot guy, don't underrate this stat. The Rangers are now 9-1-2 with Talbot as starter, 10-1-2 since Hank went down with a life-threatening injury. It's what I've been saying all along. Hank is way overpaid. I wouldn't care in the non-cap era, but just don't tell me you want to win at all costs, then demand to be the highest paid goalie in the NHL. Yes, the Rangers have been scoring, but it's not like Hank has been lights out either. Really, what it comes down to me personally, is I don't want to lose Zucc or Hags because Hank needs more money for the highlights in his hair.

With the win, a win the Rangers had to have, the Rangers are now first place in the Metropolitan division. Check out the graphic at the top of this blog. The Rangers have games in hand and a better ROW record than the SECOND PLACE Islanders.

However, let's not kid ourselves. The Islanders can grab first place tomorrow with a win over the Flames. They will be gunning hard tomorrow.

If anything, this is just great for NY hockey. Let's face it - the football teams sucked this season, the NBA teams suck, baseball is still 6 weeks away. The Rangers & Islanders have done a great job giving hockey fans a great season.

Come buy JEFFREY a beer

Moving forward, the Islanders, who have played more games than the Rangers, can reclaim first place tomorrow. The Islanders have a Friday/Saturday back-to-back at home. (Us Ranger fans would love that, but the schedule makers know the Rangers will sell out, on paper, on a weeknight and the Islanders need the weekend/no work the next day games to sell tix.)

The Islanders play the dreadful Hurricanes on Saturday, where the Rangers head down to Philly for an 8PM clash. JEFFREY, myself and a few others will all be attending the WEBLEEDBLUE.com party at HUDSON STATION on Saturday night. Let's hope the Rangers are still in first place after that game.

Ranger fans, we have a lot to be excited about. The NYR are in contention for the number 1 seed and not too far away from the President's Trophy. However, we all know, come playoff time anything can happen. No first round series is a gimmie, but you want home-ice advantage.

One of the best of all time

I've written about Jaromir Jagr several times on this site. With the news of Jagr being traded from a team with a way outside shot of making the playoffs to a team that has an outside shot of making the playoffs, I had a mixed reaction.

Jagr, even missing 5 NHL seasons, due to lockouts & playing in the KHL, is arguably the 5th best player in NHL history. He is top 5 in the NHL in goals, assists and points. Really, you can only slam dunk Gretzky, Howe, Orr and Super Mario in front of him. As a hockey fan, it would've been great to see him finish his career in Pittsburgh. I don't know if Jagr plays next year, but to see him in the state known as "God's waiting room", while it seems fitting, seems like a horrible ending for a first ballot hall of famer.

Jagr is an NHL legend and one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Lockouts hurt his career stats. Perhaps he could've finished as a 1000 goal scorer. Whatever the case, it will be a sad day when Jagr hangs up his skates. Let's hope it's not in Florida.

See you at Hudson Station on Saturday night!

LET'S GO RANGERS
IN CAM WE TRUST

Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter

NYR/CAL Reaction

#1 Star of the Game, Cam "Motherfuckin'" Talbot

Now that I got that out of my system, welcome to another blog, here on the brand new DOINOW.com! A huge thank you goes to Candice (@candieaddiction on the twitter) for her hard work on revamping the site. I'm really liking what we've built here at DOINOW.com. If you have any suggestions, send them in.

As always, you can get all the DOINOW.com archives by checking the right hand of the site. We're now mobile friendly, so you can read this drivel on your phone as well! We have added new sections to the site, so give them a yonder when you get a look. As always, tip your bartenders, don't drink and drive, don't eat the chicken at the Nassau Coliseum, make sure to check out my Top 16 Spots to Pregame at a Rangers Game Blog, and always, and I mean as always, make "IN CAM WE TRUST" your personal mantra.

JEFFREY (Samardzjia) and myself

In times like these, I'm glad I'm just a simple-minded blogger and nothing else. I'm not a journalist. I don't sit in a press box. I go to a ton of Ranger games (away & home) a year. I budget my money for this. I don't have other hobbies. I don't do drugs. I dabble in gambling. I don't buy fancy clothes, have a fancy car, have any jewelry and rarely eat out (unless I'm in the city for a game.) Going to NYR games is my hobby.  I could never sit in a press box and not cheer. This site is just a way for me to share my views and opinions for those who care to read them. That is why I get personal with my pre-game stories.

The infamous JEFFREY, who as you know by now, has season tickets in section 213, but is too fucking bougias to sit in them, is in the same NYC construction union as me. JEFFREY (it doesn't work if I type Jeff or Jeffrey here) and I had this idea brewing for a while, that we would just go to NYC and buy tickets right before game time. Granted, you have to pick your spot here. We figured a weekday game, against a non-rival opponent, would be a great time to pull this shit. JEFFREY sold his season tickets in Section 213 before the game. With money in hand and union construction being slow in these cold ass winter months, we decided to put our plan into effect.

JEFFREY and I were able to score section 117, Row 7 (2 rows behind the suites) seats for $120. However, as we tried to enter MSG at 6:30, we were told our tickets, bought from Stubhub, were fake. I'm a little bit more cool, calm and collected than my elder in JEFFREY, but it was concerning. Long story short, JEFFREY called Stubhub and we got the same seats plus $40 in vouchers/coupons. So basically, JEFFREY and I, sat in the bougias ass dead center seventh row seats for only $100. If you're a diehard fan like me, your dick is probably hard reading this. Face value of these seats were $354. I'll probably never sit this close again, but what a night to have this opportunity, considering what happened during the game.

For anyone who has the time and the money, I recommend taking this gamble. Try to buy tickets right before game time. MSG demands you print out stubhub seats. There are printers at the Hotel Pennsylvania, right across the street from MSG. Whenever I print out stubhub or any other secondary market seats, I print them out there. It usually costs $2.00 for the whole process (Internet time & printout fee) and it's worth it. On a night like this, JEFFREY and I gauged the market for a day. We saw there were 2000 seats on the market and it was a buyer's market. Some rich fuck unloaded his seats and while they were fake, it was on Stubhub and Stubhub had to guarantee them. For $100, JEFFREY and I had the best time ever, perhaps more so for me, considering the final result.

Not only was I the only person to wear a jersey in our section, but I was the only one to wear this jersey in MSG!

I don't know how many of you reading this are rich bougias fucks. I'm not rich, but I do ok. I budget my money for this. However, these rich seats were everything I thought they were. A bunch of rich assholes, who didn't even realize Hank wasn't playing, talking about anything but the game going on. While JEFFREY and I were locked in on the game, and to their credit, the four friends sitting in front of us, it seemed like everyone else could care less. Our row was empty, as shown by the pic earlier in this blog. We had the buffer aka "no-homo" seat. It's disheartening that row will be filled and go for $1000 a seat, whenever the Islanders come in town. The downstairs bar, which I didn't even know existed before today, was packed. Do people watch the games or just close deals at them? I guess I'm too big of a fan to care about anything else except the game on hand when I'm at MSG.

Pondering a Molson Ice or Labatt in between periods in the Bougias waiting room

Do you know that MSG has a coat check for the rich people? I didn't know that was even a thing, as I sat down and took the picture above. I'm telling you man, it's gotta be great to be rich. My Nassau & Queens community college degrees really let me down. We will always learn from our elders and always think we know it all when we're young, but let me say this to any young fans reading this - "STAY IN SCHOOL!" As I watched the suit people down their umbrella drinks & talk the bear market, I can't lie - I was jealous. It's gotta be great to be rich. To even live the lifestyle for a day, man, it will suck to go back to JEFFREY's section 213 seats after this! We're spoiled JEFFREY!

JEFFREY says I need to include him more in these blogs. Here I am flashing the Cam "33!"

Oh yea, there was a game tonight, and what a game it was. I tried to get it out of my system at the start of this blog, but let me just purge myself once more:

TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT! TALBOT!

The Shut-Out Kid

The Rangers headed into this game, two points out of first place, with three games in hand. When it was all said and done, the Rangers remained in this position, but gained points over the Penguins & Caps, with games in hand as well. The Rangers moved to 8-1-2 without Henrik Lundqvist.

Reports before the game saw coach Alain Vigneault say that several Rangers were battling flu-like symptoms. I don't know if this was fugazi or not, but Rick Nash didn't play, due to neck spasms. It was the first game he's missed all year. Everyone else played and Oscar Lindberg, a Rangers prospect from the Wolfpack, saw ice time as the Ranger's 9th forward. Moving up in the line up was Kevin Hayes, playing the wing. I really hate the salary cap, and if anything the cap number should be higher, but if it wasn't for the cap, the Rangers would've never landed Hayes from the Blackhawks. The Islanders, who are in first place, are also lucky, because due to that same salary cap, they were able to steal Leddy from the Hawks. With the Blackhawks struggling, I'm sure Chicago fans are pissed off at the cap, and they have every right to be.

Karri Ramo, Hiller's back-up for Calgary, was tested early. The Flames took a penalty, not even two minutes into the game, after a Glencross hooking call on Kreider. Once again, the Rangers powerplay looked strong, but couldn't produce a goal. However, it's not because the Rangers didn't try, it was because of some Flames puck luck and a show-stopping save from Ramo. Hayes tossed in a shot that hit off the post and Miller should've had an easy rebound goal, but Ramo stole a goal from Miller by extending his glove hand and robbing Miller like a 1920's Chicago bank robber. The Rangers tried and tried again on the powerplay, but couldn't get a better look.

Listen, the Rangers are 8-1-2 without Hank and playing fabulous hockey. However, and I know there have been circumstances during each PP, but the Rangers need to bury a PP goal. They've been shut out of a PP goal in the last 5 games. Goals will be scarce come playoff time, so it's pertinent the Rangers figure this out.

Hank who? (Settle down, I'm joKING)

The Rangers, like they've done since the Sabres game on Friday, have played some strong defense. No longer is the defense pinching beyond belief. They are moving the puck, getting the clears, but at times, prone to breaking down. Towards the end of a 0-0 second period, where the Rangers were dominating the puck and the Flames weren't getting many shots off, the Flames took the puck into the Rangers zone and teed off for 4 shots, all stopped by Talbot. It wasn't pretty, but Talbot got the job done. With twenty minutes left in the game, we had a 0-0 hockey game.

Brassard (PASS THE BRASS courtesy of WEBLEEDBLUE.com) forced a huge turnover early into the third period. Just like it was Rick Nash, Brassard left a nice pass for Kevin Hayes, firing up from the wing position. Hayes buried one past Ramo. 1-0 with 17 minutes left in the game. Little did we know, that's all it would take, as Talbot would earn his fourth shut-out of the season. Hayes is the future of the NYR. No questions asked. Without exaggerating, as I've been prone to do, especially talking Talbot, Hayes stepped in for Nash and got the goal Nash would've made. That's a huge undertaking for a rookie, but Hayes did it like he's been here for 10 years.

Did John Gianonne spill his beer?

I don't know how this game came off on TV until I watch it back. However, live, and the seats I had, this was the greatest game ever. I've seen plenty of boring 1-0 games, but this wasn't that. Both teams had chances, but great defense was played. I love great defensive hockey. It's like a pitchers duel. I wouldn't say the goaltending won the game, as much as the team defense won the game. I remember a bad MSL turnover, but aside from that, the Rangers played diligently with the puck.

Let's talk Talbot. Yes, we all know I'm the leader of the Talbot Train and probably the only person wearing a Talbot jersey at MSG. He had a few battles, but not as much as in recent games during his starting stretch. Like the game in Arizona, Talbot was tested and held down the fort. He wasn't hit with a barrage of activity, save the final minute of the second period, but he made the big saves when it mattered and got the shut-out. With Hank going through a life-threatening injury and with reports that still might be out for 2-3 more weeks, you have to feel confident with Cam. He hasn't played well enough to steal the starter job, ala Tom Brady vs Drew Brees or Gehrig vs Pipp, but he's played well enough to earn a 7-1-2 record. Sure the Rangers goal scoring has helped, but many of those goals came from the Rangers pinching, which in turn, led to easy goals by the opposition.

While on the subject of wearing a Talbot jersey, several funny stories. Many remarked in my section how I was the only one to wear a Rangers jersey, much less a Talbot jersey. One person thought I was rich, that I could just go buy a Talbot jersey! I had to explain that I'm insane and a diehard Talbot fan from his early days. I just lucked & gambled into these great seats and would have a Talbot jersey (Thank you tax return) anyway.

ICWT

This was a great game for Talbot. While it wasn't a 40+ save performance, Talbot made 21 saves for the shutout. Where Ramo made the save of the night on the Miller rebound, Talbot held down his end, got the Hayes goal and made sure the game would be a 1-0 final. As much as I hate Hank's contract, but not Hank himself, there is no question - Cam Talbot is the best back-up goalie in the league and could be starting for the majority of teams in the NHL. Tell me another team that would have their back-up goalie post a 7-1-2 record. More impressive, was Talbot shutting out a playoff contending team, with his best skater (Nash) not in the game.

This was a big win for the Rangers. They needed to win this game to keep pace with the Islanders, who blew out Arizona 5-1, the same team the Devils beat 3-0 the night before. Let's hope Arizona gets swept on their metropolitan trip, as they play the Rangers on Thursday. The Islanders are off until Friday, where they play these very same Flames. If the Rangers can win on Thursday, they will take first place in the division and with games in hand. The Islanders better start shaking like Michael J. Fox now.

With the Rangers scoring a ton of goals as of late, they were due to for a letdown. Luckily, we all believe in the mantra of "IN CAM WE TRUST." That was never more evident than tonight, as Talbot held it down when it mattered the most and when he got the least amount of goal support this season.  Let's hope the offense is firing on all cylinders and for the love of the shit, the PP connects for one.

Yours Truly

Before closing, I would like to thank everyone for taking time out to read this, whether it be through my relentless facebook or twitter posts or me texting you. This blog has cracked north of 1400 hits a day, which is not bad,  since I started this project in late October.

Moving forward, my good personal friend and known member of the Mets 7-line, Joe "Shoes" DiLeo will be joining the site doing Mets baseball reports. We plan on launching a podcast, where we will just shoot the shit. It could be a fun listen on your way to work, for those days that Richard Neer is on WFAN. While the site will be taking advertisements over time, this will always be a site, with fan passion, for NY sports.

Thank you for supporting the new DOINow.com, it is greatly appreciated.

I will be back Thursday night, with NYR/ARI thoughts.

LET'S GO RANGERS
IN CAM WE TRUST

Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on twitter

Best NYR Bars

We've all been there!

Welcome everyone to another blog, here on the IMPROVED DOINOW.com. I would like to thank our new webmaster Candice for her work in making this site more user & mobile friendly. Keep checking out the site for new changes as we improve our look. If you have any site suggestions, you can use the comment box, email me or hit me up on the twitter machine. In addition, if you run anything Rangers related, drop me a line, and I will add you to the RANGERS REACHOUT section on the right hand of the site.

Most NYR fans do not live near MSG. Most Ranger fans are commuting from somewhere. In my case, I commute from Long Island. I'm only a 40 minute train ride away from the "World's Most Famous Arena". If you're like me, you like to get to the game a little early, have some pregame drinks/eats and then walk into MSG.

I've been going to MSG my whole life. Whether it was my dad taking me to Ranger or WWE events, going to MSG has always been a thrill. (I never was much for the Knicks, although I had the opportunity to see Michael Jordan play live three times. My fondest NBA at MSG memory was being there when Michael Jordan returned, dropped 55 on the Knicks and hit Bill Wennington for the game winning assist.)

I've seen it all at MSG, whether it be the Rangers in the preseason, the Rangers sucking, a random weeknight game in the winter or even a Stanley Cup playoff game, I have tons of MSG memories. I can remember being there for tons of WWE PPV events, from Hogan to Austin to Cena to even seeing REM at Garden.

However, before attending any of these events, in my adult years, I've always stopped somewhere before heading into the hallowed halls of the Garden. This blog will deal with some of the best and worst bars around MSG and hopefully gives you an insight on where to pregame before an event or game. I'm not here to give you stat-by-stat reviews like a restaurant reviewer or bar blogger, but these are just my thoughts and opinions on these watering holes.

I should note, I have been to more bars than I care to admit to and probably have forgotten a few along the way. For the purpose of this blog, I will be dealing with the top bars around MSG. So please don't contact me when I don't have any downtown or Times Square bars listed here. I'm keeping this within a 2-3 block walking radius from MSG.  With that said, here's my list, in alphabetical order:

THE BLARNEY ROCK

BLARNEY ROCK
137 W. 33rd St. (between Broadway & 7th Ave.)
(212) 947-0825


The Blarney Rock has quickly become my favorite pregame spot. While it is pricier than a normal dive bar, it has that dive bar blue collar feel that you want. Maybe it's me, but I rather be drinking with guys in Ranger jerseys and hoodies than guys talking stocks, bonds and sushi in suits.

The TV situation are small screens plastered around the bar. You won't get the big TV's you get at other places, but this place suffices. It has that dorm room feel, with sports decals on the ceiling and jerseys on the walls. You also get a buy back, depending on how early you start there, which is a bonus in a NYC bar where you're not a regular.

For people like me, who have to break the seal, I enjoy the bathroom situation here, as the bathroom is on the same floor you're drinking on. Very often with these NYC bars, the bathrooms are downstairs, so you gotta stumble your ass back up after taking a leak. I guess that's cardio, but it's something I'm not interested in!

The food is good and affordable. You won't go broke at the Blarney Rock. There is also a nice awning outside, for the smokers, so you won't get soaked when it rains. With only a short walk from Penn Station, cold beers for good prices, you will always have a good time at the Blarney Rock.

Put Some South In Yo' Mouth

BROTHER JIMMY'S
416 Eighth Ave. (W. 31st St.)
(212) 967-7603

Brother Jimmy's is located right on the 31st & 8th ave corner of MSG. Brother Jimmy's is a chain restaurant, but they have some great deals. A few times that I've been in there, they were doing $1 Bud cans. Can't beat that for the money.

Brother Jimmy has a nice bar with all kind of specialty mixed drinks, which is great if you're bring your girlfriend/wife or if you don't drink like a man. If you want to eat, there is plenty of spacious seating. They have nice big TV's there by the bar, so that's a plus. What's not a plus, is walking up a spiral staircase to take a piss. If I'm in the zone, I don't want to be twisting and turning my kidneys to the bathroom!

The food is good, if you like the BBQ style, although they do have non-BBQ options.  The patrons are mixed from hardcore fans to tourists. This is not a true Ranger bar, as much as it is a place that is just close. If you choose to eat/drink here, you're literally across the street from MSG, so you can pound your last beer at 6:55 and still be in your seat before puck drops at 7. (Depending on how long those airport checkers at MSG take.)

Tell Dino that Sean sent ya!

CAFE 31
220 W. 31st St. (between 7th & 8th Ave.)
(212) 695-5966

Cafe 31 was my go to spot for two seasons. It is the closest bar to MSG. If you enter MSG from the main entrance, go down the staircase and make a left, Cafe 31 is right there. That is a huge plus in the cold weather.

I used to go to Cafe 31 all the time because I had a good friend that bartended there. Even when she left, I still hit the place from time to time because it is a great spot. The manager Dino does a great job and makes the most of the space. While this place is smaller than some of the places on this list, they have great beer/drink specials (A bucket of domestics goes for $15) and the food is always good.

The place has an L shaped bar at the back of the house, with restaurant seating everywhere else. It can get hectic and crammed in here, because the place is small, for a NYC bar/restaurant, but people deal with it because it's moderately priced and everything is good. If there is a negative, due to the space, you don't have the giant screens you will find in other places.

Two huge pluses for me is that the bathroom is right next to the bar on the floor level and there is an awning outside, if you should choose to meddle with tobacco products. The guests is a mix, as you will have some hardcore fans, just as you will have some suit motherfuckers. However, at the end of the day, Cafe 31 is a homerun and is my old reliable.

You feile me?

FEILE
131 W. 33rd St. (bet. Sixth & Seventh Ave.)
(212) 695-1122

Gotta be honest with you. This is a place I need to visit again. I've been here twice and have had two horrible stories. The first time I was in here, some guy wearing one of those knock off Walmart Ranger jerseys, where one side is home and the other side is away, threw up right next to me, within 5 minutes of me walking in. Since the place was swamped, I still didn't get my beer. I immediately left and went to the Blarney Rock, which is two doors down.

The second time I was in there, there must've been something foo-foo on TV, as the place was full of suits. If you want to accuse me of stereotyping or being a "class-ist", that's fine, I've been called worse, but before a Ranger game, I want to drink with Ranger fans. I don't want to walk into a place where people are on laptops, talking about how the price of silver dropped or how Moishe Jr. is doing well with a Torah. I want that happy mellowness & excitement from people looking forward to the game like me.

I've had a beer at this joint, on my second go of this joint. I think it was $7 for a Coors Light, I could be wrong, it was so long ago. To be fair, I should hit this place up again. I can't even give you a bathroom review!

The Puck Stops Here

The Flying Puck
364 Seventh Ave. (30th St.)
(212) 736-5353

The Flying Puck is a bar dedicated to hockey and is a place you should visit at least once. Put the Puck on your "Pucket List." (Har, har, har.)

The Flying Puck is one of the more expensive bars on the list, because you're paying for the ambiance. I've hit the Puck before playoff games and let me tell you, it gets fucking swamped. Last year, the Rangers had the Flyers in the playoffs for a 12PM game and the Puck was packed with raging alcoholics (I say that in a good way, I'm one of them!) at 10am, slamming shots of Jameson & Labatt Blue.

There is limited table seating at the Puck, so this isn't really a good place to eat. The food, while ok, isn't as good as the other places on this list. It doesn't have to be. This is a pure hockey bar. They have the best TVs, just like Stout, and the place is always mobbed, wall-to-wall with Ranger fans. The bathroom is on the floor level, which is great, if you can deal with the lines that sometime rival the lines at MSG in between periods.

During the day of the game, you won't get chair seating at the bar because the place is too mobbed for it. Be prepared to stand at the Puck. However, if you want to be around a ton of hockey fanatics, this is the place for you.

Ready For Three Similar Bars?

HARRINGTON'S
370 Seventh Ave. (between 30th & 31st St.)
(212) 736-3636

MUSTANG HARRY'S
352 Seventh Ave. (bet. 29th & 30th St.)
(212) 268-8930

MUSTANG SALLY'S
324 Seventh Ave. (28th St.)
(212) 695-3806

I am grouping these three bars together because for some reason, I feel that all three of these bars are the same. They all have similar set-ups, all have first floor bathrooms, all priced the same, all have a similar menu and all have the same crowd. You will always get a mix of a few Ranger fans, locals and people popping in & out for a quick fix. There is nothing really that differentiates these three bars, which are all on the same block and a minute away from each other.

This is not to say that any of these bars are bad, because they are not. I've had good times in all three. However, there is nothing that makes these bars, "MUST VISIT", like the Flying Puck. It is not a pure Rangers pregame place, like Hudson Station.

You will always get a good meal and a drink at these three joints, but if you're looking to really pregame with other diehard fanatics, these aren't the bars. You will have Ranger fans in there, but the feel is low-key and quiet. It never gets crazy in these three places and it's a good place to take your family if you're looking for a bite. I hope the briefness and grouping of these three bars doesn't make you dismiss them, but you're not missing out either if you don't go to these places either.

The sky view of Hudson Station

HUDSON STATION
440 9th Ave. (W. 35th St.)
(212) 244-4406

This is a Rangers bar but you have to walk a bit to get there. This is where the Rangers clothing line, WEBLEEDBLUE.com usually hosts their shindigs. It is a spacious bar with tons of huge TVs. They also give you a free beer if you have a ticket for that night's game, so that's a reason to go alone.

I've never tried the food there, but my friend JEFFREY & my girlfriend have both eaten there and said the food was good. The beers are reasonably priced as well. As far as taking leak, you have to go downstairs which is what it is. However, for you technological mofos, there is a cell phone charging station next to the beer taps, if you need some juice on your Apple products.

I plan on checking out Hudson Station out again on Saturday, for the Rangers/Flyers game, as part of the WBB party. Hudson Station promotes the Rangers, has a great environment, is clean and is a fun place to grab a drink before a game. This is a bar you should definitely hit if you want to be around other Ranger fanatics. It won't get as loud and crazy as Blarney Rock, due to the gi-normous about of space, but you will have a good time.

The foods are fine!

JACK DOYLE'S
230 W. 35th St. (between 7th & 8th Ave.)
(212) 268-1255

Jack, like Hudson's, is another Rangers bar, designed for huge Ranger get together's. They host several Ranger events and have had ex-players host pre-game parties and away games. I believe they have Kevin Klein coming there to do an autograph session on a non-Ranger game day. They always have raffles and other contests going on. Jack's does a great job promoting the club.

The food at Jack's is pretty good, although you really go for the environment more than the eats. They have a ton of beers on tap, and that's all I care about. Plus, they have a bathroom on the floor level and an awning for the smokers. What more can you want?

Jack's is a great place to hit up before a game, although it can get swamped quick and get hot in there. In the dead of the winter, I was sweating my balls off in there. Maybe that's how they get you to purchase more cold beer!

In either event, Jack's is a place any Ranger fan should hit up.

A great playoff season bar

You hope to be here in June, with a Rangers jersey on!

LOCAL WEST
1 Penn Plaza (33rd St. on corner of 8th Ave.)
(212) 760-2700

LUCY's CANTINA ROYALE
1 Penn Plaza
(212) 643-1270

I'm grouping Local West & Lucy's together, because both these bars are right next door to each other. They both have the same set up and menu. Both are mini-rooftop bars and are great during those playoff months. The drinks & food are also moderately priced, which is great, based on the location.

These bars aren't pure Ranger bars, but a good place to go with your girlfriend or family. The bathroom situation, however, sucks, as you have to go all the way to the basement. That is not a fun trip when you're four levels up.

I wouldn't hit these bars up in the winter time, unless you were really craving Mexican food/the shits before a game. It's a great time when it's sunny outside and you're pounding Corona's roof-side. You wouldn't know the Rangers had a game during the winter months at these places, as most Ranger fans venture elsewhere.

The Molly Wee before opening for action

MOLLY WEE
402 Eighth Ave. (30th St.)
(212) 967-2627

For this generation of Ranger fans, the Molly Wee is probably most associated with Dancin' Larry as this is where he holds court. The Molly Wee is smaller than most of the bars on this list and will get crammed very fast. This is not a place you would want to eat at before a game, because you will be cross checking people like Jeff Beuekeboom, while people hover and spill their drinks by accident on your table. 

This is a shoulder to shoulder, clanging elbows while hoisting 12 ouncers bar. However, if you want that pure Ranger fan environment, look no further. This bar supports the team, is all Ranger'd out and is a fun place to pregame. The beers are moderately priced, you get buy backs once in a while and the bathroom situation is peachy. The Molly Wee is a great dive and a great time.

Many Ranger fans call this place their favorite

STOUT NYC
133 W. 33rd St. (bet. Sixth & Seventh Ave.)
(212) 629-6191

Stout is one of the bigger bars on this list, with huge TVs, tons of beers (They probably have the biggest beer list around MSG) and great food. The bathroom is on the first floor, so that's a plus too!

Stout is in-between the Blarney Rock & Feile, but don't consider this bar the middle child. If anything, it's the feature. Stout is jammed before every Rangers game, but it is spacious enough to accommodate all the traffic.

I like going to Stout when other things are on. If the NFL is going on before a Rangers game, or say the Islanders are on early, Stout is the place to go with their giant ass TV's. You are only a block away from MSG, so you don't miss a thing. The food is always on-point and the beers are always ice-cold.

If you like the intimacy & closed quarters environment, Molly Wee or Blarney Rock does the job. If you want the big building feel with tons of action, even if it is priced higher than the other bars, Stout is for you. I would compare  Stout more to the Flying Puck, but Stout accommodates everyone and everything, where The Puck is really just drink like an animal with the rest of the young crowd.

I think you get the idea about this place

THIRSTY FAN
254 W. 31st St. (between Seventh & Eighth Ave.)
 (212) 216-9355

The Thirsty fan is one of the newer Ranger bars in NYC and sits in the middle of Cafe 31 & Brother Jimmy's. I've only been here once. It is loud and spacious, and as the name suggests, is tailor-made for pregaming.

The food here is not great, as I once had an undercooked burger here and if you look at their Yelp reviews (Where I have been copying and pasting these addresses & phone numbers from) it seems I'm not the only one, as there are a lot of complaints about their food. However, if you want to be with other Ranger lunatics, this is the place for you. 

I feel people don't talk about the Thirsty Fan as much as the other bars because it is not established. For the feel the Thirsty Fan has, it's more authentic and better at the Puck. If you want the food aspect, Stout has it on lock. It's not say that the Thirsty Fan is bad, it's just not on the level of the other bars it competes against.

The old reliable

TRACKS BAR & GRILLE
Penn Station Space #11, New York, NY 10001

(212) 244-6350

I close this Rangers pregame bar blog with one of my favorites, good old Tracks.If you don't know, Tracks is in the corner of Penn Station, right next to the big board and adjacent to McDonald's.

 I don't even know where to start. It is the longest bar in all of New York City and is usually manned by four bartenders at any given time. You never wait long. There is a dining area, separate from the bar, so you won't have the bar patrons spilling over into your meal, if you choose to dine.

You wouldn't think that a bar in Penn Station has good food, but to me, Tracks has the best food out of any bar on this list. The seafood, specifically the Oysters, are beyond amazing. Tracks also gives out buybacks on their beers, with special train tokens, that can be used for another time.

For a commuter like me, Tracks is perfect. Sure, I've missed several trains, as the 3:58 train, turned into the 4:42 train and that train turned into the 6:13 train and when I finally got home, it was 11PM. You can lose time in Tracks because the environment is great, the bartenders are always friendly, the place is reasonably priced and the beers are always cold.

While the place is indoors, which means if you want to smoke, you will have to go up the escalators out of Penn, it is a sacrifice worth making. Tracks is always there for you. While people may like to venture out and try new things, and I get that, at the end of the day, you always make it back to Tracks somehow.

For me, Tracks, which draws everyone from everywhere, is one of my favorite bars to ever go to. There's always something going on and I've never had a bad time in the hundreds of times I've been there. (Keep in mind, when I say 100's of times, I work a lot in NYC & live in LI, so I usually go there to kill time when waiting for a train. If you're a Long Islander, you are probably nodding your head right now.)

LGR

Where ever you choose to visit, please drink responsibly, tip your bartender and don't act like an asshole. No one wants to see two drunk assholes fighting over teams. Trust me, Rick Nash & John Tavares aren't fighting over your job, so there's no reason for a brawl before a Rangers/Islanders game. Chances are, you guys both like the Giants, the Jets, the Yankees, the Mets or whoever, and would be slapping hands during a different time of the year.

I may have left out some bars, some on purpose, some unintentional, but to me, these are the best bars to check out before a game. If you think I snubbed someone, feel free to write in and I will have no problem doing some DOINOW.com bar recon!

LETS GO RANGERS!
IN CAM WE TRUST!

Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter gimmick