The first meeting of the season between these cross-river rivals was a much anticipated affair, especially after battling it out in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, but Rangers fans looking for revenge were left with the loser blues again because of an all-too-familiar figure in the far end crease.  Marty Brodeur straight stood on his head last night.  Single-handily won the game for New Jersey.  Stopped every quality chance the Rangers had to put one in and change the game’s makeup.  Lundqvist, who usually gets up for games against the goat, looked like an AHLer by comparison.  You know, after everything that’s happened between these two franchises, the one thing that makes me madder than hell as a Rangers fan is that moment when Marty absolutely robs someone – like he did to Hagelin with his glove hand last night – and you have to sit there, shaking your head, swimming in the full realization that your rival team employs the world’s all-time greatest goalie.  It sucks.  And the fact that this fat fucker doesn’t age makes it all the more difficult to swallow…

Not to take anything away from Clarkson’s two goals or Henrique’s second of the season, but the Rangers lost that game as much as the Devils won it.  Oh for five on the power play, including EIGHT minutes of man advantage time in the first.  Tons of missed opportunities, including Nash missing an empty net ten seconds into the middle frame.  Defensive lapses at key times, including a terribly botched clearing attempt at the end of the first period.  And the weakest, piece of shit, limp-dick forecheck I have ever seen in my life.  Every time they had a chance to put one in and bring the game to 1-1 or 2-1, they’d blow another wide open opportunity and before you know it the Devils would be banging in another goal.  You just don’t win games with that kind of performance; you gotta throw the other team off their game by throwing your body around.  MDZ was defensively awful.  Gaborik was gliding out there.  Boyle looks like a fucking pylon out there this season.  Gilroy and Bickel shouldn’t even be in the league, let alone our third defensive pairing.  If this current Ranger lineup  doesn’t figure out a way to come out and win games in the first 10 minutes through an absolutely relentless physicality, then kiss those cup chances goodbye.  Panic mode, ahoy.  @PhilOsgood