New York Rangers

In 1974 the NCAA instituted an award to honor a coach or administrator currently associated with intercollegiate athletics, or to a current or former varsity letter-winner at an NCAA institution who took courageous action at the risk of personal harm. For a member of the armed forces confronted with a duty-connected situation to be eligible for the Award of Valor, the action must be clearly above and beyond the call of duty and so recognized by the appropriate military command. The award is not an annual award. Including its original three awardees, it has only been awarded fifteen times since its inception almost forty years ago. One of the awardees was West Point hockey player and assistant team captain Derek Hines from the class of 2003 who was killed during an exchange of point blank gunfire with an enemy combatant who was shooting his troops. Hines killed the enemy as the enemy killed him. This, however, isn’t about the heroics of a West Point hockey player who became an infantry officer. This is about the other NCAA Award of Valor recipient from West Point and the first woman to ever receive it, a sprinter and four year letter winner on the track team by the name of Emily J T Perez. She was an Army brat born in Heidelberg, Germany, the daughter of an African-American mother and Hispanic father. She spent the bulk of her youth there. She loved books and learning. Her dad says that he had to read two books with her each night before bed. By the age of three she was doing her own reading. The family caught on that she was out of the ordinary when she began reciting parts of the sermons she heard each week at the Sunday church services that she loved. She attended Department of Defense schools in Mannheim and Heidelberg. In the second grade she was identified as a gifted student and her schooling became more challenging and demanding. She met and exceeded those challenges and demands, something that was to mark her entire life. By the time her dad left the military and brought the family back to the States in her sophomore year in 1998, Emily had also been identified as a talented sprinter. As a freshman she had taken second place in the European Championships in the 100 meters. She had also been one of the youngest members of the Model UN and had been to Russia and the Netherlands in that capacity. She also played 1st clarinet in the high school band. Yep, she was that kind of kid. In the States she continued her academic brilliance and track stardom, captaining the track team and placing near the top of her class academically. She started an HIV-AIDS ministry at her church and won an award from the American Red Cross for her HIV-AIDS peer counseling efforts at the Alexandria, Va., Red Cross Chapter. One of her high school classmates, a recent vintage PhD, cited Emily in her doctoral thesis as one of the smartest people she has ever known. In correspondence, she wrote about the manner in which Emily would tear apart and solve physics problems that was like no one else. She also remarked about how hard Emily worked on anything she did. That example of drive and determination helped her keep going when that PhD wasn’t looking any closer. Emily went to a conference at West Point between her junior and senior years, one of 400 academically gifted young people from across the country to attend. Her dad says she went because she thought it would look good on her resume, not because she wanted to be in the military. When she came back she wanted to go to West Point. She had spent a week there at the conference, living the life of a cadet and she had loved it – the beauty and setting of the campus, the faculty, the cadets and how they looked out for each other, and the physical and mental challenge of getting through the toughest four years any college or university can place in front of a student. In 2001, 2176 women applied to West Point. 612 re

Just a quick reminder, the BSB live chat will begin at 3pm this afternoon.  Make sure you stop by between 2:45 and 3pm and load your questions up in the queue.  See everyone then! Tweet

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images The Rangers were able to keep their season going/salvage some dignity last night with a dramatic OT win over the Bruins at MSG.  My sister-in-law, who is an ER nurse, was working last night and catching bits and pieces of the game on a hospital TV.  Between the third period and OT, she posted on Facebook, “Ok Rangers, I kept my patient alive, you can keep this game alive!”.  It was a nice microcosm of the attitude of Ranger fandom, and her defiant faith was rewarded.  The Blueshirts still have quite the task ahead, but as they say, “one game at a time”.   Since we are heading back to Boston tomorrow, I thought I’d share some thoughts about the game and series in general… Henrik Lundqvist was stellar again last night.  The funny thing about The King in this series is that he gets blasted for Game 2 (simply due to the number of goals allowed), but I thought he was hung out to dry big time in that game.  For me, if the Rangers fall say, one game short, the missed opportunity will have been Game 1.  Both of the regulation goals in that game were stoppable, and the complexion of this series could have been very different going to New York. As Ranger fans, we tend to focus on our team’s shortcomings in the event of failure.  Let’s not forget in this instance, the Boston Bruins are a very good team.  They can roll four lines for 60 minutes and have plenty of system depth.  We didn’t have a Torey Krug or Matt Bartkowski to slot into the lineup when Marc Staal got hurt.  Many fans are going to lament the teams goal scoring woes, and seek to bolster the offense in the offseason, but I think quality depth is the number one priority at this stage. With that said, as angry and frustrating as this round has been for me, I still try to remain cognizant of the fact that the Rangers are missing three important pieces.  There is no need to delve into how important Marc Staal is to this hockey club.  The front office spent 2, maybe 3 draft picks to acquire Ryane Clowe, who immediately turned the offense into a physical, forechecking machine.  And, although I’m not the world’s biggest Darrell Powe fan, we could sure use him on the penalty kill at the moment. Ok, I’m going to talk about John Tortorella now.  I’m also going to preface this with the understanding that some people just aren’t going to click with his personality.  That’s completely fine, but let’s talk strictly about how he affects the team.  Derek Jeter is one of the most respected and idolized figures in this history of New York sports.  The New York media adore him, and he is one of the best quiet leaders in sports.  The problem I have with Derek and players of that ilk *coughCallycough*, is that they never actually tell you anything in their interviews.  They are wrought with cliché and team speak, saying all the right things while actually saying nothing at all.  Torts is the opposite of this.  I happen to find it refreshing and honest, even if his delivery and tone leave something to be desired. It must have been an incredibly difficult decision to scratch Brad Richards last night.  Around here, we have the luxury of being able to make cold, objective decisions about a player’s performance or role on the team.  Torts has to manage the egos and relationships amongst 23 grown men.  Brad Richards is a close personal friend of Torts; they won a Cup together, and Richie came to New York to play for Torts.  Easy to make that call from here, but most coaches wouldn’t have the moxie to pull the trigger. Torts also knows what the media does in these situations.  As I’m sure his postgame presser has gone viral by now, I can respect him being able to diffuse (well, deflect) that situation and take the spotlight off Richie himself.  Torts clearly is a magnet for media strife/controversy due to his gruff style, but he clearly has a deep respect for the player and the person, and he wasn’t going to let that be trivialized by some beat writer looking for page views.

May 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) scores the game-winning goal on Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) during overtime in game four of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Rangers win 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports Going into last night’s game I wasn’t very optimistic about the Rangers chances. Then after they went down a couple goals I really didn’t like their chances. I didn’t think they showed, grit, or any determination to get back into it. Then Carl Hagelin’s goal was the turning point. Up until then the Rangers really didn’t get anything going offensively. The fluke goal boosted their confidence and had a snowball effect for the rest of the game. I had a feeling that after Tyler Seguin scored the Rangers would find a way to get a goal. The Bruins were going to be on their heels a bit, and 12 minutes can feel like hours when you’re defending a lead in an elimination game. The Rangers couldn’t have picked a better time to get their lone Power Play goal of the series by the way, and Brian Boyle of all people scored it. Really, great timing on that one. Rick Nash and Chris Kreider did the rest and now the Rangers are off to game 5. I just like how the team crawled back into this game. Sure they got some bounces, but they’ve been denied a few of those throughout the series. They were down by two goals at one point and managed to draw level, then went down another goal and equalized again. They never led the game until the overtime goal. Next on the agenda is a tough game 5 in Boston. The Rangers have nothing to lose at this point and should play a loose game. That being said, this will probably be the toughest game to win. Boston definitely does not want a game six, and the Rangers will need to fight tooth and nail to pull out a victory. Still though, if the Rangers win tomorrow the floodgates open up. All the pressure will be on Boston to close out the series, and the media will act like 2010 is happening all over again. Still have a long way to go, but just take it one game at a time. Oh, and can somebody stop Torey Krug from scoring? Be sure to follow me on twitter @11Matt_Josephs8

It was an amazing game last night with an equally amazing comeback led by the 'bus rider', the 'jitterbug' and 'the hands of stone' players. When it was all said and done the Rangers won a game, in OT no less, scored a power play goal, no less, our goalie made 37 saves, what else is new, and one of our star franchise players sat and watched the game from a luxury box. In the order of importance

- About time the New York Rangers won an overtime game in the playoffs, no? That pass from Rick Nash couldn't have been any better if he placed it by hand, and that finish, well, that's what we have to look forward to in Chris Kreider for the rest of his career. - THAT is the type of fight the Rangers need to turn things around. They've needed to play like that from the start, and they haven't. Thursday night they did and they won the game. It's not a coincidence. - This game showed how much fight this team really has (it also makes you wonder where that fight was the past three games). They're down 2-0 in an elimination game against a team that's simply out worked them all series. And then the Rangers get a really, really lucky goal, Derek Stepan ties the game early in the third and the Garden is rocking. Then the Bruins go up 3-2 (again, another opportunity for the Rangers to lay down and die) and Brian Boyle scores a power play goal (not a typo) and the Rangers claw their way into an overtime win. You have to lay your guts on the line in those situations. The Rangers did just that. - Quite a game from Derick Brassard (again) two assists. He also just missed the net on a Rangers power play late which would have avoided overtime. He seems to play better when the lights are brighter and the pressure is mounting. That's really good to see since he was one of the main reasons the Rangers got out of their first round series against Washington. The Rangers will need him to be big here, too. - Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding. Simply outstanding. He deserved that. - Boyle had a hell of a game, too. Scored the tying goal in the third and almost scored the go-ahead goal a few minutes later. He's another guy that seems to play better in the playoffs. - Ryan McDonagh. Wow. That's a special player. Really special. And when his offense comes around (and it will) he's going to be that number one defenseman everyone keeps begging for. - Kreider looked good with the big boys, no? He was solid in the corners, his speed made him one of the Rangers most effective forecheckers and he brought offense. Even without the goal he was really good in my opinion. The Rangers need more of that from him, but John Tortorella should have been playing him more from the start. Let him play. - Derek Stepan had a big game. A hustle goal (where he stole the puck from Zdeno Chara and swiped it into the net) and a pretty assist. I think Stepan's been much better offensively in the playoffs than his numbers show. Thursday was a really good showing, though. - John Moore, too. He played over 20 minutes in the win on Thursday and didn't look out of place at all. This series against the Bruins, I think, has really shown his true colors. Against the Capitals Tortorella was able to hide him in the Capitals weaker third and fourth lines. Against the Bruins Tortorella doesn't have that luxury, and Moore has still looked good. - That revamped fourth line everyone was complaining about didn't look that bad, right? And they can keep up with the physicality of the Bruins' fourth line and neutralize them a little bit. - Give Steve Eminger and Roman Hamrlik credit ,and not just for their long, long, long shift on the overtime goal. - Anyone think Brad Richards will dress Saturday? It's an interesting question for sure. My guess is no, let what worked go again, but it's just a guess. - The goal now for the Rangers (of course) is to get this series back to Madison Square Garden. It requires a win on the road in the playoffs which the Rangers have only done once this year, but maybe there's some life in this team after a win like that. It's also a little deflating for the Bruins, but again, they're the team up three games to one. Regardless, I loved the fight in this team showed. Thoughts?

Tommy Hughes (OHL Images) In the end the Saskatoon Blades that their critics said weren't deserving of hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup gave fuel to those same critics by bowing out of the Memorial Cup after a 6-1 loss to Tommy Hughes and the London Knights in the tiebreaker game. Pick a word or cliche and it will fit as the curse of back to back games kept it's streak intact with the Blades becoming the 3rd team to play a back to back and lose it. The Blades bow out of the Memorial Cup with a 1-3 as London advances to Friday's semifinal against the Portland Winterhawks. This game was over in the first 3 minutes when Ranger prospect Josh Nicholls (2013 UFA) was forced to pull down London's Bo Hovrat who was on his way with a shorthanded breakaway. A penalty shot was called for and Horvat cashed it in for a 1-0 London lead. It might have been the only goal of the period but Saskatoon really looked like they were not into the game and they just didn't challenge London's defense. If there was any indication that was true then look no further than a 4 minute power play the Blades had early in the 2nd period as they failed to generate any real scoring chances which might have turned the game around. It also didn't help that the other Ranger's prospect on the Blades Shane McColgan (2011 5th) was sitting in the penalty box for most of the first 2 minutes of the power play. But that was how the game went for Saskatoon as every time a door of opportunity would open for the Blades, it was their own play that let them down. London would score 2 more goals in the 2nd period to make it 3-0 after 40 minutes and the Blades waved the white flag by giving up 3 goals in a span of 1:06 to start the 3rd period. It was over and that was it for Saskatoon who ended their run at the Cup with a whimper. Ranger prospect defenseman Tommy Hughes (2013 UFA) was scoreless but a +1 and no penalties. Saskatoon just didn't play with any emotion or drive as to be fair they had held their own against all 3 CHL league champions during the round robin portion of the Cup. Their coach Lorne Molleken admitted as much in the post game and it showed. London yes they scored 6 goals against Saskatoon but now it is their turn for the 2nd time to play in a back to back against a Portland Winterhawk team that had a day off. Portland will bring more speed and skill than Saskatoon did but Portland needs to take a lesson from the Blades and "turn the other cheek" against the Knights who baited Saskatoon into taking dumb penalties. The Winterhawks can make the London tactic backfire by playing with discipline. Let London be the ones who wind up in the penalty box by not falling for the London tactics of trying to "poke the bear." That game will be Friday night starting at 7 PM EDT. And the curtain drops Josh Nicholls and Shane McColgan saw their WHL careers come to an end with the loss to London. Nicholls was a respectable 4-2-6 in the 4 games he played in. Nicholls will now move on to begin his Ranger career at the rookie/prospect camp in early July. For his WHL career the 6'2 200lb winger was 138-175-313 in 332 games with the Blades. Barring injuries, Nicholls should start the season with the CT Whale but he is going to need to add some much need muscle to his upper body if he is going to last. Nicholls is the "late bloomer" who had a 47 goal season this year and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty in the corners. Some improved foot speed would also be nice but the Rangers have done well helping their prospects improve their skating. Shane McColgan technically can return to the WHL for an "overage" year but first the question everyone keeps asking me is will the Rangers sign McColgan before the June 1st deadline? I really at this point have to say that I don't see it happening because (a) they already have 4 guys who are 5'9 playing for the CT Whale/Hartford Wolfpack (man I am glad they brought this name back) and (b) at last count t

Is it possible? Um. Probably not. But ya boys can sure make things interesting if they can somehow win Saturday evening in Boston. Like Derick Brassard said, “We’re looking forward to going to Boston. The pressure is on them. Toronto came back from 3-1 and it’s possible. We just want to bring it to a seventh game and anything can happen.” Thoughts: 1) The events of the day were pretty bizarre, from the morning news that Brad Richards was being scratched to the obvious fallout that includes the almost virtual certainty that he will be bought out this summer, to the newly built fourth line … which, other than Kris Newbury’s needless and costly penalty, was pretty decent. 2) I don’t really have much to add about Richards. Kinda said it all yesterday. Kinda been saying it all season. Kinda started saying it on July 2, 2011. Just never though it could possibly happen this quickly, or that the Rangers would have this gift of an opportunity, thanks to Mr. Jacobs’ lockout, to get out from under that contract. Imagine seven more years?. Ooof. And I thought it was OK and kinda cool the way Tortorella got a lot off his chest about his relationship with Richards afterward. Wasn’t anything we didn’t know, but he probably needed to say it. And as I’ve said about Richards all season long, the guy cares. 3) Chris Kreider. That goal, and actually the way he played the entire game, after playing well between being promoted and taking that stick to the eye – the gash in his left eyebrow was pretty nasty, BTW – sure opened up the old can of worms about him playing here. I know he’s been bad both here and, reportedly, in Hartford this season. And whether he’s ready or not is debatable. But the kid is sure going to be a good hockey player, and the Rangers sure don’t have enough guys who have all the tools he has. He created some chances all night, and the goal was a beauty. Can’t wait to see him with a training camp under his belt. (Check out the photo gallery of his OT goal in the post below). 4) Rick Nash. Fought the puck a little bit, but made some plays, too. Robbed by Tuukka Rask a couple of times (needs to shoot more softly, like Hagelin). Great pass on the GWG. 5) Also great pass up ice to start the play by Ryan McDonagh, who had an enormous game again. That penalty he took? Pansification. But you have to like where he was when he committed it. Whatever you guys think of John Tortorella and his system, he wants his defensemen engaged in the offense, joining the play. McDonagh is their smartest defenseman, their best-skating D-man, and I don’t think his puck skills have scratched the surface yet. Would like to see more of him up ice. 6) So the Rangers’ PK gave up, for all intents and purposes (or as Jeremy Roenick might say, all intensive purposes) three goals. Yikes. But their vaunted power play, minus Richards, got a fairly enormous goal. Brian Boyle, playoff specialist. 7) Speaking of which, Taylor Pyatt became a player this postseason. If only he could skate better. Imagine if the Rangers were built properly at the top of the lineup so those guys could be the fourth line that Boston has. 8) Carl Hagelin stinks on those 2 mph backhanders. What a gift. Give the Rangers credit. They were being spanked when that puck crawled over the goal line as Tuukka Rask was sitting on his wallet. They got a break and used it. Good for them. 9) Brassard and Stepan, the No. 1 and 2 centers by default, were sure good in this game. Or most of it. Brassard provided another comic moment when he dropped the gloves with Brad Marchand, then had to go get them and put them back on as Marchand skated away. 10) Stepan made a No. 1 center play on Brian Boyle’s PPG, and picked big Z’s pocket on the wrap-around goal. Chara doesn’t look right to me. Then again, 7-footers on skates don’t look right. That was a t

The post-game Rangers’ room was a mixture of relief - they weren’t swept - and quiet confidence after scoring a power play goal and rallying from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to send this Eastern Conference series back to Boston for Saturday’s Game 5. “I think the atmosphere of the game was totally different because we had nothing to lose,” Derick Brassard said. “We just played tonight and all four lines and all the defensemen played solid. Hank (Henrik Lundqvist) was Hank again and gave us the chance to win. We just need to play that way all of the time.” Chris Kreider scored the winner at 7:03 of overtime, deflecting in Rick Nash’s pass. Kreider, elevated to the second line to start the game and then to spend ice time with Nash and Derek Stepan, wore the Lundqvist, err, Broadway Hat, all smiles. “How’s your face,” I asked him, no serious marks visible after he was whacked by Tyler Seguin’s stick blade in Game 3. “Fine,” Kreider replied, still all smiles. “How’s yours?” Here’s Tom Gulitti’s game story from The Record. And here’s my column on the coaching decisions John Tortorella made today. ====================================================== Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AGrossRecord Follow the Record Sports Staff at twitter.com/TheRecordSports

The Rangers will try to keep their season alive not with Brad Richards and Arron Asham in the lineup, but with Micheal Haley and Kris Newbury. Not with an injured Anton Stralman on defense, but aging veteran Roman Hamrlik, who has not played since April 1. Hamrlik for Stralman aside - Hamrlik, to me, is a better choice than Matt Gilroy here with Marc Staal unavailable - I don’t see how this is a better lineup even given Richards’ struggles. But maybe it’s not about the best lineup. Maybe it’s about a wake-up jolt to a Rangers’ team in danger of being on summer vacation in a few hours. One other notable lineup change: rookie Chris Kreider has been elevated to C Derick Brassard’s second line with Rick Nash on the right. “After the Game 3, everyone was down, everyone was pretty disappointed about the loss,” Brassard said. “We set our mind to make it 2-1 instead of 3-0. I know it looks hard to come back from 3-0. I think it’s possible. You take one game at a time. For us it’s do or die, an elimination game. Maybe, sometimes, when you’re thinking too much and gripping your stick and your back is against wall, sometimes you let yourself loose and maybe it’s a good thing for the team.” Here’s some history: The Rangers have trailed a best-of-seven series 3-0 10 times in franchise history. Six times, the Rangers have been swept. Three times, the Rangers have lost the series in five games. The other time, in the first round of the 1939 playoffs against the Bruins, the Rangers forced Game 7 before losing in triple overtime. The Rangers were last swept in the first round of the 2006 playoffs by the Devils. The last time they faced a 3-0 deficit was to the Penguins in 2008. The Rangers won Game 4 at home but lost the series in five. “The mindset of anything coming to end is nowhere on anyone’s radar,” D John Moore said. “All we need to do is win one game and get it back to Boston.” Keys to Game 4: 1. The small picture: The Rangers must do something only three teams in NHL history have accomplished by rallying from a 3-0 series deficit. So, while it’s totally clichéd, they really must only think of tonight’s game, even just starting with the first period, the first shift. Rallying from a 3-0 series deficit is a monumental task. Winning one game shouldn’t be. 2. Puck possession: Everything the Rangers want to accomplish stems from holding on to the puck and forcing the Bruins to play defense. It starts with winning faceoffs – the Rangers went just 21 of 55 (38 percent) in Game 3 – and continues by getting pucks in deep and then playing in the Bruins’ zone by establishing a forecheck. 3. The power play: Boy, this has become repetitive. The Rangers are now 2 for 38 on the power play in the postseason, without a goal in their last 21 attempts and 0 for 10 against the Bruins. The first trick is to keep the puck in the Bruins’ zone while on the man advantage. Then, don’t worry about being cute. Just shoot away and try to pound in a rebound. Ugly goals are just as good-looking as pretty ones “I think it’s got something to do with the whole game,” RW Mats Zuccarello said when asked whether going and failing on the power play saps momentum from the Rangers. “We don’t get into the flow, we don’t get into the rhythm and it’s just the power play and some of our five on five too. But we’ve got to win one game. Now is not the time to think in negative thoughts and see what’s wrong.” As for the lack of a consistent or effective forecheck in the series, D Ryan McDonagh said, ““You’ve got to give them some credit. They’ve got some big defensemen and they’re able to get back there and retrieve the puck. I thought at times we had the puck on our stick and maybe just got a little bit impatient. You see them, they’re pretty good at waiting for help, wai