Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesIf you were at MSG on Friday night you might be accused of still shaking your head and yelling out loud;
"ARE THESE GUYS FOR REAL? Or, if you will, "IS THIS FANTASY HOCKEY – OR WHAT?"
A Rangers win – at HOME, of all silly places! Incredible but true? The 6-1 win over Chicago was like an ice version of "The Make Believe Ballroom."
Get this, Pals. It was the first time since Nov. 10 1932 that three rookIe Rangers each recorded milestones in the same game. (HISTORIC NOTES: That was five months after I was born and seven years before I got my first set of electric trains.)
The 1932 heroes included forwards Ossie Osmundson and Carl Voss – both goals – as well as goalie Andy Aitkenhead who had been rescued from the Blueshirts farm team, the Bronx Tigers who played out of the Bronx Coliseum.
Speaking of today; if you Blueshirt fans require more cockeyed happenings, just amble over to The Garden. (S.O.S. - walk, do not run, you might bump into Matt Rempe or the fourth incarnation of King Kong.)
Like the Blackhawks blitzing on Friday night, the Rangers are hoping to level their foe for the incomprehensible second straight home game. But wait a minute; this is not just another foe – it's the no-longer defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Repeat; the Sunshine Staters now are a certified non-playoff team. Which begs the question – what in Heaven's name are they doing here in Bettman's Basement? How is this possible?
Simple: they experienced the most unimaginable run of bad luck since Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen missed a ninth inning passed ball – Egad! What a Cad! – and the Yankees won the 1941 World Series. (OK, back to the Panthers.)
Talk about the curse of "The Unseen Hand, before the campaign started last October, Florida lost its captain, leader and best player, Aleksander Barkov, for the ENTIRE season.
And that was for mere starters. So many other top players soon went down that you'd think Blue Shield and the Blueshirts simultaneously had infected the Florida clubhouse.
If not them, then Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper.
Apart from the Blue Cross Trophy for boo-boos, the Panthers also were stricken by the plague that few champ teams escape, attrition!
If nothing else, a day at The Garden vs. Florida should be a lot more intersting than watching the Blackhawks on Friday night.
And for this battle of the Humpties, if the Rangers win they should pass around 18,000 certificates proclaiming – NO TICKET HIKES NEXT SEASON.
Each accompanied by a gross of aspirin delivered by a guy named Gross!