If you have the ability to tune in to the Rangers-Flyers game right now, Chad "Dos Nueve" Johnson replaced NHL veteran and Swedish Olympic net minder Henrik Lundqvist after a shaky first period. Chad had a bit of a shaky start, allowing the first shot in against him, but since then, he's made four saves.
The game is airing now and have about 15 minutes remaining in the 2nd period, and the Rangers trail 4-0, only one goal being allowed by Chad.
Hot out of the Nanook Net, Chad Johnson has been doing nothing but impressing in his short tenure in Hartford. Sure, he had a rough few games, but it didn't take him long to get into the top 10 in stats. A while back, the Rangers called him up for a few games, which he sat out in favor of longtime veteran Henrik Lundqvist, he was subsequently sent back down to Hartford and Matt Zaba, also an NCAA prodigy out of Colorado College for a chance. Well, that didn't last long, as Chad "Dos Nueve" Johnson returned to the number 2 position on the Rangers bench.
Johnson, in his first year of pro hockey since graduating from UAF, recently recalled the first start of his college career coming at the ear-splitting confines of Mariucci Arena, where the Minnesota Golden Gophers were opening their season with the #1 ranking in the nation. Johnson allowed 3 goals that night to Ryan Potulny, Phil Kessel and Blake Wheeler - all future NHLers - but stopped the other 38 shots he faced to send the unranked Nanooks out of Minneapolis with a shocking 3-3 tie.
Nassau Coliseum is set to be the site of the 2nd infamous Rangers-Islanders rivalry game tonight in a home-and-home series, which bears some striking resemblances to his first NCAA start..........It's freakin' loud. Chad sat last night, as Lundqvist backstopped the Rangers in an unfortunate 2-1 loss, making 28 saves, but tonight at the Coliseum, fans should expect to see Dos Nueve between the pipes.
Chad finds himself in a unique situation, as the Rangers head into 3 upcoming games in less than 72 hours, giving Lundqvist a much needed and rare rest, as he is not only the No. 1 netminder for the Rangers, but he is getting the nod from his home country of Sweden to start in net for their Olympic hockey team coming up in February.
Eager Nanook fans like myself can subscribe to NHL GameCenter LIVE online, for $20.99/month to see Chad play tonight. As a Detroit Red Wings fan, I already have a subscription, but I won't be watching the Red Wings-Lightning game tonight...
Take Paula Weston's picks this week, and flop the teams and she was right on. Although I neglected to post a preview, I picked a 4-3 W on Friday, and a 4-2 W on Saturday. So 1-1 on the week.
Tonight marks the first Saturday loss of the season. Although you can't win 'em all (just ask Tom Brady), it would have been a nice tally going into the break. Also a first, losing in the Gold jerseys... There's something to think about.
I thought we played well overall, there were a few mistakes made, and UNO just managed to be at the right place at the right time. We played at a high pace, but our guys looked like they were just out of gas. UNO kept up the tempo, and they got us on our heels and capitalized off of the small mistakes.
We had a run going in the 3rd period, but that came a little too late, we ended up losing 5-3.
Dallas made some very good points in the post game conference. "We've got some guys out there playing through some nagging injuries, and I give them points for that", Ferguson said. “I could go through each goal and tell you what went wrong,” said Ferguson, “but at the end of the day, we made some mistakes and they capitalized on them. We’re very disappointed with the outcome, but there’s not really much I can say to put it into words.”
Sad, because we were riding a 5 game unbeaten streak against the Mavericks, dating back to the beginning of last season. Also sad is this loss on our team's mind going into the break.
Last season, we finished the first half 9-5-4, same mark as we have this season. Last season, we finished the first half in 18th place nationally, this season, its 17th.
Here are some highlights from Friday courtesy of Jamie Schwartzwald.
Nanooks open the 2nd half on the road @ Nebraska-Omaha, then head up to Ann Arbor for a series at Yost Ice Arena against the Wolverines.
