UPDATE: (Game 3 on wednesday night was the most watched tv show/event ever on versus with 3.6 million viewers, if you take into account that versus only reaches about 2/3 the audience as NBC and average the numbers then you are talking around 5.5-6.5 million on NBC)

Here are the links for the update:

game 3 sets versus record

nhl continues to grow in merchandise and viewership

Obviously some people could care less about TV ratings and to be honest I do not really care the much either but the numbers for this years Finals kind of struck me as surprising but not over the top amazing...

Here are some links to how the first 2 games have done:

game 2 ratings on monday versus competition

game 2 sets highest overnight on record

game 1 off to best start since 1999

game 1 leads saturday night

nhl has substantial gains after 2 rounds

Look, im not saying we are about to compete with baseball(which sucks) and basketball for the #2 sport in the country but hockey has alot more fans then people think. Here are some stats to think about:

1. 4.5 Million average for game 1 is the best start since 99 and during the game, the nhl had competition from game 6 between Celtics and Maagic which averaged 7.5 million and during the game a phillies pitcher threw a perfect game and philly is 1 of the teams in the finals

2. Just over 3 million watched in Canada during game 1 which is about a 13 rating which in the US would be just under 20 million.

3. Game 2 was the best game 2 ever since recording started in 1975.. it averaged just under 6 million people and at 1 point at 10:30 pm had just over 7 million watching.. which isnt far off from what game 6 of the NBA conference finals did

4. The top 10 markets show that the sport is growing as places without teams are showing great support for the final as are places with big name teams and stars: 

Top 10 Markets
1. Chicago 25.1/39
2. Philadelphia 18.5/28
3. Buffalo 10.2/16
4. Indianapolis 6.3/10
5. Pittsburgh 4.9/8
6. Detroit 4.4/7
7. Seattle 4.1/9
8. Denver 3.8/7
T9. Ft. Myers 3.7/6
T9. Las Vegas 3.7/6

As you can see 10 percent of buffalo on average was watching the game last night and indianapolis was 4th with 6.3%.. also a place that I have always pushed for a team to play in is Seattle and this shows they would probably support a good team.

(the rating which is the 25.1 would be the percentage of homes with tv's watching the game and the 39 after is the percentage of homes with tv's on that are watching the game)  

5. At one point Monday night Chicago peaked with a 45.1/64 which means that almost half the city was watching the game which shows the great support they are receiving there. It also averaged a 25.1 which is great

6. These playoffs are setting major records for the NHL and seeing continued growth every year which is great. If this series goes 6 or even 7 we could easily see over 10 million viewers which I never thought the NHL could reach after the lockout.

7. As I said.. I am not usually a guy for ratings but for some reason this just made me excited about hockey even more then I already am and if philly could pull off some wins then this already great series could go down as one of the most important in NHL history.

8. Show some support for the greatest sport we have and watch game 3 tonight to show espn that people care about hockey.. I mean its not like there putting crap on the ice.. the 1st 2 games have been very exciting so far..

I will start by placing the guys we have signed next year in a spot where they belong:

dubinsky- ?- gaborik

avery- ?- callahan

?- anisimov- drury

voros-boyle-?

?-?

mdz- rozi

gilroy-redden

now i am dumping redden in the minors which leaves us a little over 19 million in cap space. I waste no time in signing staal to 3.5 mil a season over i guess 2-3 years and girardi to 2 mil for 2 years. I resign prospal for 2.5 next year and prust for 750k next year. then i give volchenkov 4.5 million but since i am glen sather i will say 5 mil. this roughly 14 of the 19 million i have. i call up grachev and weise(feel like he can have a prucha type rookie season) which levaes me with about 3.75 million. resign shelley and that leaves about 3 million for a trade or another signing.

dubinsky-prospal-gaborik

prust-anisimov-callahan

avery-grahcev-drury

shelley-boyle-weise

voros

switch weise and drury if weise is playing good

staal-girardi

volchenkov-rozi

mdz-gilroy(or another dman such as potter or sangs)

lastly i would fire torts and bring someone else in but thats not happening. if you do want to call grachev up then leave the option to resign christensen or a free agent center. also if you feel we need a true #1 center then there is the option to keep the 2.5 for prospal and go after plekanec for about 4-4.5 a season.

They played a great game and dominated the russians(who played like they could give a shit if they won or not) but there actions were terrible and are a horrible way to promote the game.  Cindy who I believe is the best player in the world, was slashing the 2 KHL player 3 or 4 times in the last 4 minutes much like when he was slashing Dubi in there last game... Getzlaf chirpping in malkins ear was not necessary and he only did it cause he knew nno one can do anything about it... I dont give a shit if milbury or Olcyk(or however you spell it) think about the Semin hit because it was 100% clean and boyle acted like a little bitch and came at him from behind and took his legs out but its all good cause im 100% confident that hank will shut this team down in te next round... I dont really care if you disagree cause that is my opinion plus i was hoping for Canada to win cause i feel they will be easier for hank or the US to beat so this is none of me being pissed about canada winning

1. What current Ranger has scored the most goals against the team???

2. Where is the Rangers AHL affiliate located???

3. How many Rangers are participating in this years Olympics??? Who???

4. Who led the 1994 Stanley Cup team in goals???

5. How many times have the Rangers made it to the Cup Finals???

6. Who is your favorite ranger???

7. How many times has Gaborik scored in the shootout in his career???

8. Name all 6 original six....

im done now.........

Players like Henrik Lundqvist dont come around to often and we should know that... After Richter retired due to numerous injury problems and during his injury problems we had a hard time finding a suitable goalie who could help us win... jussi markanen, dan blackburn(injuries ended career but could have been good), mike dunham(who had 1 good half season for us but then sucked) and kevin weekes and none if you put all of there best abilities into 1 goalie would come close to lundqvist.. if we could put a half way decent team infront of him we could contend for years but we cant even do that but we have to re do our tea every year because if it doesnt work we need a new group of guys who could try and win and score infront of him... its nice to see us build from the ground up but how long is going to take???  if we are not good when his contract ends in 5 years, do you really think he will stay with us??  dumb redden, and rozi... even though rozi has shown signs of the younger rozi who ws pretty good we could get so much more with his 5 million... imagine a line of gabby-dubi-kovalchuk... 2 of the top 10 players in this league and a young star poised to break out... talent like this doesnt come around very often and if we continue to waste it then it will be gone fairly quickly... i mean every year we get to the playoffs jsut on him alone... yeah glen sather probably needs to be fired for this to work but we will probably have to miss the playffs for that to happen and even though not many people outside of rangers fans realize we are still in 6th place but also we are 5 points away from a top 5 pick in the draft next year so anyting can happen..  maybe we will never get to see the potential of this team but with a few moves and one or two more players added we could be a great and elite team as we continue to watch the great talent of Henrik Lundqvist be wasted...

I know avery stood up and fought carcillo and voros fought asham but they have heard the media and seen what has been said about them over the  last couple of days and if the team actually cares about winning and proving they are a team, they will show it tonight... I know they usually core alot against the canadiens but that is not all they need to show... they need to come out hitting, if one of there players gets hit hard or lundqvist gets run over just dont stand there redden, go and hit the person back or fight them... if montreal scores,dont break down and go and fight for a win for your teamates and your fans and hank who is having his best season of his career and we are wasting something in this organization but letting a goalie who isone of the best in the world sit and wait for a team to grow while he is in his prime.. show some fire and attitude and go out a win a game tongiht and forecheck hard and hit everything in sight.. please and i hate canadiens fans so show them we are the better team

I saw this kid in some Hartford Wolf Pack games and in the All-Star game and seems likes he would be a good playmaker to put with cally and drury or voros to get them or keep them going.. he is some what of a Christensen type but  little more speed but I think he could fit on the 4th line like a betts type also... he has been great in the AHL and he we be a nice edition and if we make a trade he could come up.. bench higgins and give a player with some incentive to play a chance.. he has 17 goals and 30 assists in 43 games

The New York Rangers will continue a 16-year tradition this season with their annual Toys for Tots Toy Drive.  Partnering with the United States Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program, the New York Rangers will collect toys for needy children in the tri-state area.
  

Fans attending the annual Toys for Tots Toy Drive get an autograph and the chance to meet Rangers in exchange for donation of an unwrapped toy. Dan Girardi, above, will be among the players on hand.

On Wednesday, December 2nd, for the fifth year in a row, the Rangers will host their annual Toy collection at The Pond, at Bryant Park from 4-7pm. 

 Also Marian Gaborik will be signing autographs(but not for free) at the Roosevelt Field Mall..

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 The New York Rangers (8-5-1)(L2) will face off against the also struggling Boston Bruins (6-5-1)(W1) who have had quite a weird season.  The Storyline for this game is the injuries for both teams and how they will effect the game.  The game will take place and at the "Worlds Most Famous Arena" where the Rangers have had some better luck this season.These two original six teams always fond away to bring the best out of each other which always brings for an interesting and fun game to watch..

UPDATE: According to Andrew Gross, Henrik Lundqvist will start in goal, All 3 injured players and byers and brashear will take pregame warmups, after that they should decide whowill play...

UPDATE #2: According to Gross.. Gaborik,Higgins,Avery and Byers will all go.. Vorors and Brashear are scratched from the lineup today

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The New York Rangers(8-4-1)(L1)are 2nd in the Atlantic Divison and 4th in the Eastern Conference.  On Friday they will be taking on the Minnesota Wild(3-9-0) who are in the last place in the Western Conference with only 6 points.  Here are a list of notes and facts for the game...

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