Christopher Higgins received 16:23 of ice time, finished a +1 with 0 goals, 0 assists, registering 2 shots on goal.

I wonder how many shots went wide?  I'll assume at least 8.

I wonder if they're enjoying the Higgins drinking game north of the border?  Very much so.

I think he may pick up the pace in the future... but not any time before the middle of next season.

What do you think about this?

It doesn't help that two thirds of our 8-1-3 stretch is from facing bottom feeding teams, but if anything, it should give us some confidence to play 60 minutes against the better teams in the league.  Christensen is looking outstanding... almost makes Sather look like a genius.  I suppose Christensen either needed a change of scenery or some top line time to showcase his true potential.  If anything, this is giving Erik a new lease on life.  He knows his time in the NHL could come to an end if he doesn't produce, so he's stepping up his game.  Certain people on this team need to take a lesson or two from this guy and put the work in like he does.

Why can't other players on this team take notice and respond?  I've seen a couple that either have or figured it out on their own.

Higgins's days are numbered once Prospal returns, he could possibly be relegated to the fourth line if he can't produce.  He gets open in the slot and at the net, and people go out of their way to feed him pucks and he just can't finish.  This guy needs to try a new stick or something, anything.

I think I actually saw Redden dish out a couple checks in our zone which led to possession changes in our favor. 

Rozsival played smart without the puck, and stopped a couple of potential scoring opportunies on the breakout.

MDZ really does improve every game, he made a sweet move to the outside to beat Chara, then walked it in and beat Thomas cleanly.  He also looked much better without the puck, making strong defensive plays.

We could possibly be turning this around for the better.  We're starting to crash the net like we should, getting garbage goals where we wouldn't otherwise.  Our cycling of the puck looked better, overall position in the offensive zone improved.

With so much in store for us in the future, all we have to do is hold out and weather the storm.  So much trash being talked about R&R and Drury because of their salaries, but lets face it, without Drury our PK wouldn't be anywhere as good as it looks right now, and R&R could be doing better, but if they were making half as much as they are now, I don't think we'd be complaining so much.

Your thoughts?  Comments?  Complaints? :P

Looks like we might have a solid backup for King Henrik...  In the game against Atlanta, he looked outstanding, making Lundqvist-esque saves left and right, with 80% less flopping! Unfortunately his stats take a hit letting in 3 shots over 40 minutes against Philly.

NHL GAA: 2.29

NHL SV%: .923

If you only count the games he's started, he sports a league-leading .969 SV% and 1.00 GAA... damnnnnn.

Not horrible stats regardless, especially considering he's only had 1.2 games (One game, 2 periods) in the NHL.  Only time will tell how this kid will pan out for us.

Shouldn't all players regardless of salary, regardless of experience, regardless of what's expected of them play like their job's on the line every game?  I know of a few players on the Rangers that have played like it, whether it's out of playing for fun, playing for necessity, playing for their goddamn jobs.

Enver Lisin, since back from his broken foot, has been playing hard every second he's on the ice.  He, like Christopher Higgins, seems too good to be relegated to the fourth line seeing single digit minutes a game.  Why isn't this guy being given a shot on our 2nd PP unit?  Why isn't he seeing at least third line time, hell, give him Higgins's slot, period.

Erik Christensen is looking very well on the first line with Marian Gaborik and Dubinsky.  He looks really good in faceoffs, looks good with the puck (especially yesterday afternoon leading to Gaborik's lone goal of the night), and seems to fit John Tortorella's style.

Michael Del Zotto looked great, playing a very physical game (How many times did he cream Ruutu in the first period?), which is exactly what we need from him, a little more money shots from the point would be nice, but not complaining, the lack of scoring isn't just from the blue line.

Aaron Voros has looked like he really, really, really wants to avoid another 10+ games of being a healthy scratch.

I don't know what to say about Higgins that we haven't been saying for weeks and weeks.  He reminds me of Eruzione from "Miracle"... that guy that does everything right, but just can't put the biscuit in the basket.  Eruzione at least validated himself in a clutch moment.  Higgins, on the other hand, makes Patrick Stefan's empty net miss not look like an epic failure.  He should try a new stick, wear some lucky charms, take extra long accuracy practice, I don't know... something to get him out of this funk.

We have players still playing like they're entitled to wear the blue without putting in the work for it.  Redden looks okay at best, though he looks like he should be playing in the Euro leagues the way he tries to avoid any physical contact.  Anisimov has been as invisible as Thornton looked in the playoffs last season.  Drury, congrats on your kid, now start playing some fucking hockey.

Why are we paying Donald Brashear 1.3 million again?

What do we have to do to light a fire under their asses and get them to start playing like the team that won 7 straight early in the season?  Sather needs to acknowledge that he's made mistakes, and correct them.  Buy out R&R like he did Holik, demote or move people that don't give a shit anymore.  Bring up someone, anyone... We can't do any worse than we already are.

I've been sneaking a peek at other team's SBN blogs, they all say the same thing.  Gaborik and Lundqvist are the entirety of our team, most others are dead weight.  With a few exceptions, I can't really disagree with them, and I don't know what else we can do.

Your thoughts?

....giving 100% every game, and it looks like we might be on the way to tapping into the true potential of this club.

I've been a long time follower of BB, but my first time posting here, so here goes nothing...

On a positive note, Christopher Higgins looks like he'll fit into this category when he can finally find the back of the net more than once per 20 games, instead of the logo on the opposing goalie's jersey or the boards.

Henrik Lundqvist has been a beast between the pipes, looking like the King Henrik of old we've come to love.  He's the sole reason we've been able to win games despite the lack of scoring we've been experiencing.

Brandon Dubinsky, coming back from injury, doesn't look like he's lost much of his game.  He took a beautiful touch pass from Gaborik, who certainly had a nice scoring opportunity if he were to shoot, and buried it like any goal scorer would.  He's been hustling in the offensive zone, always on the boards battling for the puck, finding the open man.  Nothing but another injury could hold this guy back.

Ilkka Heikkinen looked well during his call-up from Hartford, playing like he belonged on this team.  We need a hard-hitting, gritty defenseman who will take the body and clear the crease.  Maybe this will be the guy to fill the role in the future.

Artem Anisimov has been playing with a purpose also, moving the puck into the offensive zone like a true center should, and not just moving it, he protects it and draws defenders, effectively leaving a man open for a scoring chance.  If he would learn to use his size to his advantage, I see big things from this guy in the future, especially if he starts seeing more ice time.

Michael Del Zotto isn't showing the offensive flair he did early in the season, but then again, nobody else other than Gaborik is.  He still has those beautiful breakout passes that lead to scoring opportunities, but Callahan and Higgins aren't banking on breakaways.  He's improving every single game, and only good things can come from this guy.

Now on to the so-called "overpaid underachievers":

Michal Rozsival (someone who I've been bothered with all season, but am surprised to say) has actually stepped up his game since Tortorella went on the warpath, playing his best hockey yet, is finally hitting the net with his howitzer of a shot (sometimes) and surprisingly was the sole reason Staal didn't tie the last game late in the third with an open net.  If we get more of what we saw Monday night, we might not be as pissed as we've been this season.

Chris Drury has gotten some of his confidence back after receiving a nasty concussion by Glencross, which left him shaken up well after his return to the ice.  He's willing to take it to the net again, and hopefully create more juicy rebounds that we haven't been able to capitalize on as of late.

Wade Redden looked good, playing more physical as of late... still not worth what we're paying him, but at least attempting to earn his paycheck.

These three make up what, $18m of our cap?  We'd be in even deeper crap if Gainey didn't do us a solid and take Scott Gomez off our hands, as we would have never had the cap space to sign Marian Gaborik.  We're trying to make do with what we have, and we're going to struggle if the overpaid underachievers don't perform.  Sather's starting to learn his lesson by refusing to trade his prospects and not take it up the ass in a trade because everyone knows he's Glen Sather.

We have to worry about burning Lundqvist out with the Olympics coming up, but who do we have to back him up?  Valiquette is having problems, yet will still get scooped up on re-entry, Chad Johnson is untested at the NHL level but looks promising if he has time to develop (Don't do what Montreal did to Price), don't know how Zaba's been doing... and we have no wiggle room to try to trade for a proven backup without getting bent over backwards.

What do you think?