And we live to play another game!

He's a witch, he's a wiccan, he was standing on his head. That, plus finally getting a few lucky bounces in this series and the Rangers are heading back to LA for a Game Five. Win one more and we've got a series!!

Of course it doesn't help that the damn Kings are one helluva hockey team. Just ridiculous talent. But I BELIEVE!!!

I'm really a big fan of these Panini Rookie Anthology cards. I have more and I hope the heck my Blueshirts give me a chance to post some others.

Good News, More Good News, Bad News, and then finally Good News again

Well, tonite either Captain Canuck or I am going to be pretty damn happy, but not both. LOL. I was hoping the Rangers would win Tuesday night so I could go the the Orioles games without having to track the hockey game from the stands at Minute Maid Park but it wasn't to be. If I'm lucky the MMP wifi connection will be as good as it was last season when I was able to watch MLB.com feeds in there.

I'm posting my latest Henrik Lunqvist card here today. I don't believe in jinxes or omens so the fact it arrived on the day of The King's Game Five meltdown has no meaning. The post title refers to the transaction that involved it. The 'good news' is I won the auction pretty cheap for it being his rookie card (or one of them I suppose). The 'more good news' was that the seller included about eight other hockey cards. It's always cool to get a surprise with an eBay transaction. The 'bad news' is that he used scotch tape to attach the 'bonus' cards to the outside of the hard case the Lundqvist card was in and one card was ruined. The 'good news again' is that the ruined card was that of a Canadiens player.

Hey, I'm kidding (sort of... had the card been a Ranger I'd have been kind of annoyed).

 

The rest of the cards were pretty cool actually. They were all Panini cards from 2011 or Upper deck Victory cards from the same year. For all I know about modern that may all be the same set somehow.

The Paninis were kind of different, at least to my eye. They had some unusual pictures. Here's the best one:

It shows Radim Vrbata of Phoenix working on his stick with a hacksaw. The write-up says the photo was taken before a Coyotes win in Los Angeles over the Kings. But... isn't that a home sweater he's wearing?

The next one shows a playoff ending handshake between Pekka Rinne and Roberto Loungo.

I first thought this was going to be a shot taken at a skills contest (do they still do that?) but it turns out Vernette and Gerber are old friends, at least according to be card back.

Here is the now retired Teemu Selanne. I failed to scan the back but the pucks he's holding are from a hat trick against the Avs in 2011.

And finally it's the highly skilled Ryan Getzlaf on another Upper Deck card. Both Selanne and Getzlaf are west coast guys and I don't know much about them.

 Nice cards. I don't collect this sort of thing but I'll put them in my hockey box.

Big Game Last Night!

And nobody played bigger than Henrik Lunqvist. 

Playoff hockey is just a blast. Hard to watch a Game Seven when your team is involved but it has to be done. I just couldn't make myself head over to Houston's great hockey bar, the Maple Leaf Pub. Just too nervous to watch around Penguin fans.

But heading over there tonight for the Bruins-Habs Game Seven. I'll have a Molson, please.

Big Game Tonite

I usually don't do much 'ripped from the headlines' posting but tonite's Rangers-Penguins Game Seven has the potential to be a classic. That's based on the 'awesomeness' of the first six games of the series. Sunday night's Game Six ended with a lot on unresolved drama and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

That's a Panini quad jersey piece card from a couple of years back. All of the featured players are involved in the Conference semis at the moment, three with the Rangers and the fourth, Marion Gaborik is playing well for the Kings in their series against the Ducks.

I'm not much of a collector of these type cards but since their heyday has come and gone it seems they can be had pretty cheaply usually. It was hard for me to pass this one up when I bought it.

And here we see Henrik Lundqvist giving Sid Crosby a shower. Before you feel too sorry for Crosby try googling Crosby's crotch blast of Dom Moore.

King Henrik

The NHL gave out it's awards Wednesday night and the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist took home the Vezina trophy as the league's best goalie in 2011/2012. I think he deserved it for all the nights he 'carried' a pretty punchless Ranger team and delivered them to the best record in the Eastern conference. He was nothing short of spectacular night after night. But I didn't think he would actually win. 

Here's the Lundqvist 07/08 Fleer Hot Prospect card. Pretty cool for a 50 cent card I think. 

It was my only Lundqvist card until I scored this one on eBay:

A jersey piece card of my three favorite goalies! I spent more than I should have on it but, as a Ranger fan for 50+ years and a guy who's favorite player is usually the Ranger goalie,  how often will I get a chance for a card anywhere close to this?

Let's Go Rangers!! Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap

The NHL Playoffs began last night and my Rangers are taking on the Ottawa Senators tonite in the first round. That's one of my favorite cards of my favorite player. It's the 2007-08 Hot Prospects Henrik Lundqvist card. King Henrik had a great season. He'll need to continue to do so if the Rangers are going anyplace this playoff season. The grabbed the #1 seed in the East but their play down the stretch didn't do much to inspire my confidence. 

I've been a Ranger fan since... well, I can't remember NOT being a Ranger fan. I went to games with my father in the old Madison Square Garden fifty years or more ago. With there being only six teams back then the rivalries were very intense. And most of the teams only played one goalie all season so if felt almost like a 'club'. My friends and I knew every player. 

I'm very lucky. I've had a chance though the years to became acquainted with, or at least spoken to, nearly all my favorite sports figures. Except one, the great Eddie Giacomin. 

I cried when the Rangers traded him to Detroit. It was one of the most traumatic sports related experiences of my life. It's is right up there with the '69 World Series, Super Bowl III and the Colts leaving Baltimore.

I sure hope that  wearing my genuine Ryan Callahan jersey brings the Blueshirts luck. 

btw..... Potvin Sucks.