Rangers "Moose-merized" by Johan Christian Hedberg in 3 to 2 Shoot-out Loss to T-Birds

In yet another breath-stealing, frustration-filled, nail-biter of a game, Thrashers netminder Johan "Moose" Hedberg was at his very best under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, where he made 46 saves -- many sensational -- on 48 shots by the New York Rangers, who seemed to shoot from any and every angle possible. How did he summon the will and the strength to stand "on his head" as the old hockey lingo goes? Was Johan Hedberg touched by Christmas angels? Or was he just wearing lucky socks like the very ones pictured below?

We'll never know the exact answer, but we can all be thankful that this loyal blogger and fan realized his new and blue lucky socks were in the dryer before the final period began. That's not to say that I've been especially lucky when it comes to pulling for various pro sports teams in my lifetime, but no one will ever be able to doubt my serious dedication to the boys from Blueland and their quest for hard-earned road points against Conference rivals. Luckily, my socks combined with Moose's strong will and stellar goaltending were just enough to make a difference in this heart-stopping 3 to 2 shoot-out win over the Ranjahs. For those scoring at home, that's two games and two OT wins for these snazzy blue reindeer socks.

Author's Note: Since both moose and reindeer (caribou) are members of the Cervidae animal family, I can safely refer to these socks as my lucky, blue "Moose" socks. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog programming.

Special Stat Summary (in lieu of my usual paragraph by paragraph ramblings):

** None of the 4 regulation goals were scored at Even-Strength; the Rangers scored twice on the PP thus putting a serious dent in the armor of the Thrashers previously # 1 ranked road Penalty-Kill unit (in fairness, the first PP goal should never have happened as Evander Kane was summoned to the box for some mysterious phantom holding call after taking a high elbow check...even Coach Anderson expressed his doubt in the TV post-game interview)

** Colby Armstrong scored his first Short-handed goal of the season with a gorgeous over the shoulder top-shelf wrister that left Henrik Lundqvist looking rather stunned; for Colbs it was his fourth straight game with a twine-tickling tally, but this one was the first of the four that wouldn't necessarily be classified as "greasy" or, to paraphrase Army, "banged home and dirty"....oh wait a second, I think he was answering a question about Tiger Woods' extra-marital affairs...sorry for the confusion.

** Hedberg's previous career high for saves in a game was 43 so this effort at MSG (since it included a perfect 2 saves on 2 shooters in the S/O) was perhaps the single best outing in his 10-year career; several saves were high-light reel quality and on quite a few occasions, Moose bailed out his D-men by battling in the crease 'til the puck was covered or cleared to safety.

** Both Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov scored in the S/O by taking different than normal approaches. Kovy was successful in dangling the puck and freezing "King" Henry as he moved from his left to his right, patiently waiting for Lundqvist to fall forward and creating space in the top half of the net for his deft wrist-flick; for Slava, who normally goes wide to the goalie's left before streaking back to the middle and waiting for an opening as he moves laterally, decided to take a more direct approach from Henry's right and waited for him to drop his glove hand before snapping a perfect shot just inside the left, far post. Both goals made the Gold Medal Olympian look quite silly, but Lundqvist was the reason OT was even a reality as he was impenetrable for nearly a minute and a half during a late third period 5 on 3 Thrasher PP.