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November 30, 2004

November 30, 2004

New York Rangers or Brooklyn Brawlers?

Last time I checked I was the NY Rangers hockey beat writer, but have on many a night asked myself if I attended a hockey game or a WWE pay per view. Seems to me like the Rangers are pulling away from the competition in the thug department. The team leads the league in numerous penalty related categories and is also 3rd in hits.

While I'm all for a physical brand of hockey (hitting, intensity, and the odd slobber knocker), this season's Rangers are really pushing the envelope. All this "old time hockey" does come with a price tag, the team sits 3rd worst in the Wales Conference with a record of 6-10-4 =16. The ever rising 7.65 penalty kills a game (28 times short-handed in last 2 games) wouldn't be so bad if the penalty kill wasn't 9th worst in the RSHL, successful on only 83.66% of occasions. The Rangers have allowed 25 power play goals against, the most in the league.

All this time in the penalty box has really stifled last season's 6th best offense, resulting in this year's 4th worst goals for. It is really hard to score goals playing almost 38 minutes a game down a man. The lack of discipline has been so bad that even star goaltender Jose Theodore has gotten into the action. He sits 2nd among goaltenders with 9 PIM, 5 of which came in a game in early November in which Jose was assessed a 5 minute major for abusing an official.

Despite having a terrible year the team is mid pack when it comes to attendance at home games, averaging 15,416 fans a night. However, I am concerned about the atmosphere in the arena. I'm just wondering if these ticket holders are there to watch hockey or wrestling. With every passing game the crowd gets rowdier and rowdier, my concern is that we may have a similar situation as in the NBA, between the Pistons and Pacers or a full-blown riot. Only time will tell.

Most Penalized
Rank Team Total
Penalty
Minutes
Avg.
Per
Game
1
752
37.60
2
684
34.20
3
609
30.45
4
583
29.15
5
559
27.95
 
Least Penalized
Rank Team Total
Penalty
Minutes
Avg.
Per
Game
1
261
13.74
2
266
13.30
3
314
16.53
4
322
16.95
5
341
17.05
     
Most PK Attempts
Rank Team Total
Attempts
Avg.
Per
Game
1
153
7.65
2
141
7.05
3
119
5.95
4
115
6.05
5
114
5.70
 
Fewest PK Attempts
Rank Team Total
Attempts
Avg.
Per
Game
1
76
3.80
1
76
3.80
3
79
3.95
4
79
4.16
5
80
4.00

The Brooklyn Brawlers

Scott Mellanby
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
113
6
2
10
Victims:
No one thus far.

Sheldon Souray
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
77
6
2
14
Victims:
Jason Doig (LA)
James Patrik (TB)

Willie Mitchell
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
17
81
5
1
3
23
Victims:
No one thus far.

Olli Jokinen
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
80
4
28
Victims:
Steve Staios (EDM)
Matt Cooke (ATL)

Andy Sutton
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
53
4
1
29
Victims:
Pavel Kubina (SJ)

Tyler Wright
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
58
5
1
30
Victims:
No one thus far.

Scott Hartnell
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
68
3
1
41
Victims:
Steve Konowalchuk (VAN)

David Legwand
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
32
2
Victims:
Chris Pronger (SJ)
Steve Poapst (DET)

Jaroslav Spacek
G.P
PIM
Fights
Ejections
Games
Suspended
Enforcer
Rank
20
24
1
Victims:
Andy McDonald (DAL)
 
11/30/2004
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