Blue Notes

"Buzzard's breath, the rooster moans
Stow it boy, you're far from home
Stow your sorrows, stow your fear
What'd you do to end up here?
End up on the devil's rusty train...."

---Iron & Wine

Will the Devils' train----and I'm not yet convinced that it's rusted---be derailed tonight at the MSG madhouse?

Who knows? That's the terrific thing about sports: It's unscripted.

The players and coaches (let's hope not the refs) determine the outcome despite whatever superstitions or perceived bad karma is floating around in the ether.

"Emotional control," in coach Tom Renney's words this morning, will be a huge factor, especially in the first period. The Rangers need to be careful about being too jacked up, with penalties providing an opening for the Devils' power play.

“It’s about making sure you are passionate to play, that you’re not allowing yourself to be pushed around, that you are proactive, but you have to be intelligent about it to and recognize that any extracurricular activity could cost you a game if you’re the team in the penalty box. It’s just about emotional control and recognizing that the team comes before any individual.”

Christian Backman was one of the players who didn't participate in the optional skate, and Renney initially joked at my queston about his status, saying that he had a separated shoulder. "Just trying to keep it light." Of course, I saw the Swedish defenseman walking through the dressing room earlier, but ya gotta ask,

Lundqvist, Rozsival, Gomez, Drury, Straka and Shanahan were among the others who opted not to skate, nothing unusual there, Jagr loosened up near the end.

As expected, Renney will roll out the same lineup for Game 3.

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Stow it, folks...
Very disappointing.
More from the Garden later...