Let's Go Rangers: Playoff Preview

It's that time of the year, folks! Strap on your skates and get ready for the biggest 6 weeks in sports: NHL playoff time. If you're like us, you're psyched for another run at Lord Stanley's cup by our hometown Rangers. What to expect from the Blueshirts? Here's 4 keys to their success.

1) Center Yanik Yechovik has to be on point with his passing. He started out on fire this season with 19 assists in his first 30 games but after a freak accident involving a moped and actor Reginald Veljohnson sidelined him for a month he hasn't been the same. Rangers will need him for the run.

2) Backup goalie Steve Johnson will need to stay loose. Lundquist has been the Rangers' MVP all season but he may tire out at some point leaving former member of 90s boy group 98 Degrees turned pro hockey goalie Johnson as the only reliable backup. If he can swat away slap shots as well as he used to swat away screaming teen girls the Rangers should be in good shape.

3) Defensive winger Rick Kazinaki needs to show he can be as strong on the ice as he was prior to his stint in rehab for bath salts addiction. His erratic behavior in previous games (including stripping to his jockstrap and attempting to mount Sidney Crosby) will not fly vs. the Senators. Maybe the Flyers but not the Senators.

4) Coach Tortorella has got to keep his mind on the games and not his recent stint as host of Food Networks' Coaching Bites, a state to state grilling competition pitting coaches from sports as varied as badminton and of course professional hockey. He came in second to Bobcat's coach and former Celtic Paul Silas's honey glazed ribs.


My prediction: Rangers in 5.

Let's drop the puck and get it started!

Da Canucks Lose to Boston, EY!

I don't know what accent I least prefer listening to: Canadian or Boston.

Turns out that the Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins. It may be my New York City bias speaking, but I really feel for the Canucks. Imagine that: I care less for the American Bruins than I do for the Canadian Canucks (Is that redundant?). Let's face it, despite Boston's long sporting tradition, losing to any Boston based professional team is like losing to you're pre-adolescent younger brother at any sport. It should be no surprise then that a riot resulted in Vancouver from the Bruin win.

The Assosciated Press reports that as soon as the final buzzer sounded, a hail of beer bottles rained down - empty of course, these are Canadians we're talking about here. "Autos" were flipped, "rubbish" littered the streets that eventually became rivers of alcohol, and fireworks were thrown around like it was May 2-4. Vancouver had to deploy its whole police force to try and sequester the carnage. But alas, the 10 Member Riot Team deployed was quickly overwhelmed by a crowd of seven-thousand.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Roberstson (never trust a man with two Canadian first names) described the scenes as "embarrassing and shameful". 

"The vast majority of people who were downtown were there to enjoy the game in a peaceful and respectful manner," he said. 

"...Apparently not," I said.