Favorites from Plimpton's list of objects thrown by Rangers fans:
soup cans, a persimmon, eggs, a folding chair, and a dead rabbit.

Would've been better to break the reference out for the Rags game at MSG, but I missed that game. Such is life.

Anyway, in Henrik Lundqvist, the Rags have a goalie far superior (and much less prone to a broken face) to old Gump Worsley. Lundqvist has been keeping New York afloat for, oh, six or seven years now, but this is the first time since Jagr's circa-100-point seasons that the Rangers skaters have properly reciprocated with a stalwart defense so that he doesn't have to do everything. This has been a President's Trophy contender all year long, but they've stumbled a little bit in the last few days, ceding first in the league to the equally goal-stingy but triply odious St. Louis Blues. We either prolong the stumbling with a big home win or play slumpbuster with a four-point game from Brad Richards and a shutout from Lundqvist.

Hawks 8th in goals scored at 2.926, Rangers 11th at 2.697
Hawks 23rd in goals allowed at 2.897, Rangers 2nd at 2.061

Sure looks a lot like the Blues to me, only with legit scoring options.

Hjalmarsson is a maybe tonight. It'd be so nice to have him shore up the third pairing till he's back to 100%. Our defense still finds ways to be bad year after year. Emery likely tonight and every night from here on out. Crawford feels like Rex Grossman these days.

I don't have Comcast Sportsnet, and the game is blacked out on NHL Gamecenter because it's being simulcast on the NHL Network, so it's 720 for me. Party like it's 2007.

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Hey, I like Wiedeman. He reminds me of Foley, when Foley had to carry a radio broadcast himself and didn't just bullshit with Olczyk all night. If you've had a chance to listen to some of the radio broadcasts around the league (south of Canada), hoo boy, it's bad. The Wings have really good radio, actually.

I'm mad I can't watch, because it would've been a perfect opportunity to take in OUR GUY, Sam Rosen! "IT'S a power play GOAL!!" Goof. Still, there are so many good games around the league tonight that I can just mute the TV, bounce around, and keep the Hawks on the radio. I want to watch Pittsburgh disembowel the Panthers, for example.

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I wish all warm-weather teams ill, especially the one that blew the free agent market out of whack just in time for the CBA negotiations by spending lavishly just to hit the cap floor, especially the one run by the same guy who screwed our team up by spending indiscriminately. They're leading their shit division with 27 outright wins in 66 games. Their scoring differential on the year is -23, and -26 if you include shootout markers. Seriously, fuck that team.

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This is a pretty sleepy game. Good for Shaw, I guess, but still. Jets-Flames is where it's at tonight. Down 0-3 late in the first, scored twice before intermission. Right back in it.

Hey Crosscheck, YOUR BOY Jonathan Quick just went 11/15 on the night. Nice goin'.

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Hjalmarsson can go away whenever he'd like. No use for him. They can pay anyone to lay down in front of the puck.

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

Well, see, evidently they can't, though, because they tried precisely that last year with Nick Boynton, the very definition of "anyone," and he was such a liability on the ice that Hjalmarsson had take on so much shot-blocking duty.

That said, there's no excuse for Hjalmarsson continuing to be used so much as a meatbag. They've inadvertently made Brent Sopel look like a bargain at $2.66MM.

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Whew, I thought I was going to be eviscerated by someone over this quote. I think he just flat out sucks. He looks constipated as he skates and gets shoved around like a kid.

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

Hawks win. Holy shit!

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

This team and giving up goals after empty-netters. How embarrassing.

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I am I dumb for liking Oduya?

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

Oduya's playing well for us and playing lots of minutes, but the minutes aren't really coming off the #1 pairing yet. Still, he's fitting in well, and I might want to keep him around for the coming seasons, since who's to say if Steve Montador ever plays another game.

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